Bleacher Report’s Lyle Richardson suggests that 5 NHL teams “need a front office overhaul,” including the Red Wings, and as you know by now, I disagree with this theory:
DETROIT RED WINGS: Steve Yzerman was one of the greatest players in Detroit Red Wings history, leading them to three Stanley Cups in one of the most successful eras in franchise history. As general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, he laid the foundation for their back-to-back championships in 2020 and 2021.
Yzerman missed those Stanley Cup parades in Tampa Bay, returning to Detroit to become the Red Wings’ GM in 2019. The Wings were at their nadir after missing the playoffs for three straight years and were rebuilding in earnest when he took over.
During his introductory press conference, Yzerman forewarned Red Wings fans there was a lot of work to do, telling them it would take time to turn this team into a Cup contender again. The denizens of Hockeytown bought in, remaining patient with the rebuilding process.
The Wings came tantalizingly close to reaching the playoffs in 2023-24, prompting anticipation they were poised for their long-awaited breakout campaign. This season, they’re jockeying with several teams for a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
However, Max Bultman of The Athletic conducted a poll last August showing Red Wings fans were losing faith in their front office. Confidence in their roster building, salary-cap management, drafting, trading, free-agent signings and vision for the future was down compared to the previous season.
Yzerman will remain a beloved figure among Red Wings fans and in Detroit’s sports history. Nevertheless, another missed postseason will make it nine straight, far exceeding the previous franchise-worst of seven in the 1970s. That could prompt ownership to consider front-office changes, beginning with the general manager.
Continued; again, Yzerman and the Wings’ management team do not have a perfect record in terms of their free agency decisions, and every Red Wings fan feels that it’s been far too long since the team made the playoff cut…
But we all know that as long as Mrs. Ilitch and Chris Ilitch are in charge of the team, Steve Yzerman can consider himself the Red Wings’ GM for as long as he wants to work in that role.
So you look at the good and the bad of Yzerman’s tenure with the Red Wings, you assess whether his belief that the Red Wings are in the middle of a 10-to-12-year rebuild is correct (and it is), and here we are, halfway through the rebuild.
That’s just where we are, and it makes us all frustrated, from GM SY on down, but we have every right as the paying public to expect more, and we’re seeing that “more” through coach Todd McLellan.
For now, the Red Wings are still in their rebuilding phase, and it may take a little while longer before we can count upon the team to make the playoffs on a regular basis. But between the draft picks, the few free agency hits and the new coach, there is finally promise in the team as far as its performance is concerned, and that’s progress enough for me, especially from a GM-for-life.
