Bleacher report’s Sara Civian offers a late-summer “Vibe Check” on NHL teams this morning, and her “Summer Thoughts” discuss the so-called “Yzerplan” and its hiccups of late:
Yzerplan: Yay or Nay?
I’m usually on the same page as my beloved Detroiters when it comes to their beloved Red Wings, but I ruffled some feathers on X when I suggested Vladimir Tarasenko’s two-year, $9.5 million contract was an overpay.
Look, two things can be true at the same time: That’s a slight overpay for the veteran winger, especially when you look at how the Cup champion Panthers were able to acquire him midseason. But unlike the Panthers, the Red Wings can afford a slight overpay for this player on a less-than-three year contract.
Detroit isn’t expected to contend right now, nor does it have too much money tied up in other overpays. I like Tarasenko on this team and his flexibility in the top six as some of the younger players hopefully evolve into bigger roles. A player like him gives some space and time for that to happen.
Then, there are the deals for Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond that GM Steve Yzerman has had to take into consideration. That’s perhaps why you lose a player like Jake Walman seemingly out of nowhere.
All in all, I still believe in the Yzerplan—the plan was to cultivate in-house and have a rotating cast of outside talent until it’s time to seriously contend, right? I’m good with two more years of letting the kids grow up.
Continued; I’ll readily admit that now I’m starting to get a little nervous about the Raymond and Seider contracts getting done, but Yzerman seems to be one of those wait-until-all-extra-time-has-expired GM’s, so I’m trying to have a little faith in that.
As for Tarasenko, yeah, the Wings gave him maybe half-a-million to a million more dollars than a contender would have, but that’s okay. The Red Wings do have to continue to sign star or near-star players to build up their cachet as a free agency destination, and sometimes, that means making hard decisions–like bringing in Tarasenko after David Perron left for more money and term than he was worth, or making a lateral move in signing Erik Gustafsson after Shayne Gostisbehere signed a cheap-for-a-contender contract with Carolina.
This free agency business isn’t easy–see one Andrew Copp–and sometimes mistakes are made. Here’s hoping that Tarasenko ends up fitting in well.
