Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen and DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills both posted late-breaking articles regarding Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s press conference on Friday evening.
In a subscriber-only article, Allen confirms that the prices that Yzerman stated were asked for the players Detroit was looking for were in fact too high for the Red Wings GM’s liking…
Yzerman didn’t talk about who he was, or wasn’t, interested in, but hockey insider Elliotte Friedman reported earlier that the Red Wings were interested in rugged Buffalo center Dylan Cozens. He’s 24 and his contract runs to 2030.
Sources told Detroit Hockey Now the Red Wings were willing to offer a package of draft picks and attractive prospects. But the Sabres told the Red Wings, and other potential trade partners, they were only interested in “hockey deals.” They wanted a player or players back who helped immediately. What they really wanted a skilled center who generated more offense than Cozens.
The Senators were able to complete a trade for Cozens because they gave up Josh Norris. He’s a 25-year-old scoring center who already has 20 goals this season. Dylan Larkin is the only center Detroit has that could better the Senators offer.
“We did look hard at trying to acquire a centerman,” Yzerman said. “…But there just wasn’t a centerman that we could acquire at a reasonable cost. Unless we’re ready to get into that UFA market and give up multiple picks and prospects for guys that are rentals with no assurance that we could re-sign them.”
Allen continues (paywall), and Mills noted the following from Yzerman regarding the Red Wings’ new start under coach Todd McLellan:
Yzerman added that he’s “certainly pleased, for the most part,” with how the players have responded since head coach Todd McLellan took over behind the bench on Dec. 26.
Including Thursday night’s 4-2 loss to the Utah Hockey Club at Little Caesars Arena, the Red Wings had a 17-9-2 record under McLellan.
“I believe Todd is very good coach and he’ll do a good job moving forward with us,” Yzerman said. “Got us into the playoff race, but now here, we’ve got to see if we can win hockey games, obviously, and win a lot of them. But I wasn’t sure what to expect coming out of the coaching change, honestly. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but felt it was the right thing to do at the time, and I still do. And again, it wasn’t just to get through the season. It’s hopefully, and I expect it to be, a long-term thing.”
And entering Friday, Detroit (30-26-6; 66 points) was just one point out of the Eastern Conference’s second Wild-Card spot with 20 regular-season games to go.
“It’s going to be an incredibly exciting playoff run where we’re looking at it,” Yzerman said. “I think it’s going to be an exciting battle, and I’m hoping that we can remain in it for those Wild-Card spots too. The NHL is having a great year, and a lot of excitement in these moves here, particularly in the East, are going to make it very interesting.”
Bottom line:
“I’m going to continue doing what I think is right and here at the deadline, over the course of the summer, at the draft, and always do that,” Yzerman said. “I want to make the playoffs. I want to win a Stanley Cup as much as anybody in this city, and I take full responsibility for where we’re at today. I’m going to make the best decisions that I can for us, short-term and long-term, and not feel like I’m doing that I’m doing anything that is right for me. It’s going to be right for the team.”
