It’s been a long time since I got behind the keyboard and wrote a blog entry, but not so much has changed when it comes to the Detroit Red Wings.
The Wings have been following their front office’s usually methodical path through the offseason, not yet choosing whether to buy out Justin Holl or Vladimir Tarasenko, and instead, revealing plans for the team’s Centennial celebrations, re-signing Griffins defensemen Antti Tuomisto (a prospect with a little bit of runway left to develop at 24 years of age) and William Lagesson (a 29-year-old d-man who dutifully served as the Wings’ 7th defenseman in warm-ups for the vast majority of the regular season)…
And that’s about it. We can all guess that the Wings are probably eying diminutive Swede William Eklund with the 13th overall pick, and then they’ll draft 8 more players on Saturday in LA…
We know that the team is going to sign more Grand Rapids Griffins players before the Summer Development Camp begins on Monday and free agency begins on Tuesday…
And there are a lot of people who are frustrated with the team right now, because their front office doesn’t seem to be doing what the Detroit News’s Bob Wojnowski prescribed yesterday night:
Steve Yzerman has drafted extremely well, especially in the first round, especially with no lottery luck. It’s his greatest strength as a front-office executive and has supplied the Red Wings with a solid batch of young talent.
Now he needs to show more of his untapped forte: Shrewd, aggressive maneuvering.
Player acquisition via trade and free-agency hasn’t gone nearly as well in Yzerman’s six seasons as GM. He has been patient and methodical, an understandable approach after inheriting the worst roster in the league. But as the Wings’ 25-year playoff streak has turned into a nine-year playoff drought, there’s ample motivation – and resources – to accelerate the process.
Now would be a fine time for his ruthless competitiveness to kick in with a shake-it-up mentality, and he sounds willing to do so. This is about more than Friday night’s draft, where the Wings hold the 13th pick and could land another prospect from a foreign land (Swedish winger Victor Eklund?) who won’t play in Detroit for three years, minimum.
I really hate to say it, folks, but as the blog sputters to life after my major depressive episode…
I have a strong feeling that Yzerman, Shawn Horcoff (wouldn’t it be nice if the Wings snagged a late-first-round pick to draft William, Shawn’s son?), Kris Draper, Nicklas Lidstrom and the rest of the Wings’ front office are going to stick to the script.
Hold onto the draft picks and draft the 9 players that are available, based upon the team’s list and only the team’s unique list of targets, as opposed to the more popular names;
Slowly but surely accumulate Grand Rapids Griffins signings in the lead-up to free agency on Tuesday at 12 PM EDT;
Hold a Summer Development Camp at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center starting on Monday, with new and old draftees alike taking part;
And try to sign some secondary targets in free agency, because, in all honesty, the Marners, Ehlers and Gavrikovs of the free agent marketplace probably aren’t interested in signing with Detroit.
Why stick to the script?
The Wings may be a “cap team,” and they may be attractive to some players as an Original Six franchise, but this just isn’t a team with a big-market advantage any more.
Nine years without the playoffs and no vocal ownership mandate to end said streak = as the cap goes up to over $100 million, the Wings may be among the “haves” again, but as long as Steve Yzerman is the GM–for better or worse–this team will be built through the draft and free agency, at least for the most part.
Now I’d love to be surprised with a “bold” trade as much as you would over the course of the next four or five days, but it’s just not how he operates, so I’m not holding my hopes up. And I don’t want y’all to get too excited about the free agent marketplace, because the class is pretty thin, and the Wings are still a rebuilding organization.
That doesn’t mean that the situation is hopeless by any stretch of the imagination. The team has drafted well over the last couple of seasons, and after a LOT of free agency misses, well, there’s always this year, though I really believe that the Wings are going to be looking at the “second tier” of free agents as potential targets.
The Wings are a team that’s “in progress.” It’s begun to gain some traction on the ice thanks to the Larkins, DeBrincats, Raymonds, Kanes (let’s hope he re-signs once more), Seiders and Edvinssons of the lineup, and now, it’s time to shore up the defense with steadier folks, add some forwards who drive play and are bigger, faster, tougher, and maybe can score some goals, and maybe even resolve the team’s goaltending situation…
But I don’t think all of those things are going to be accomplished by July 2nd or 3rd.
As Yzerman said in his end-of-season remarks, I do believe that this team is going to be bigger, faster, and a little tougher come September, I do believe that there will be some better free agent signings to help steady the blueline and forward corps…
But I think that, given GMSY’s methodical nature, we’re looking at a lot of hope for growth from within as well as players like Carter Mazur, Elmer Soderblom, Albert Johansson, and maybe Axel Sandin Pellikka graduate from Grand Rapids and grow into full-time contributors, be it their freshman or sophomore campaigns as Red Wings players.
This team doesn’t make Noah Dobson trades or Mitch Marner-level signings, at least not yet. And I don’t think any of that is going to change any time soon.
If that’s okay with you–and it doesn’t have to be okay, because the fan-team relationship is a lot like a marriage, and can withstand a little anger and arguments as to how the relationship should develop–my gut feeling after a long layoff is that we’re going to see a slightly more aggressive version of the same old, same old.
Hopefully, we’ll see bigger, better draft picks picked, and then, plain old better free agency signings.
And I’d love it if the management group proved me wrong by making a “bold” signing or a savvy trade.
But I just don’t think that all the bullshit you’ve been reading from blogs and websites looking to accumulate your clicks and vie for your attention are going to come to pass.
Whether it’s the rumors proffered by, “Well, I saw this trade proposal on CapFriendly, so let’s write an article as if it’s a rumor with legs” sites, or promises of brutal decisions to be made or exhilarating moves accomplished, that’s not how this team rolls.
At least not yet.
And, as I keep saying, I just don’t believe that Steve Yzerman’s job is in jeopardy if we see more of similar philosophies as applied to the draft, free agency, and trades come to pass.
Sure, his seat is warm because fans will want to see a return to the playoffs, or at least a full season’s worth of playoff-spot-hunting under a full season of coach Todd McLellan, during the Centennial season, but this is a 10-to-12 year rebuild, and we’re in year 8 or 9 here.
I want to be patient as much as you do–which is to say not at all–but I’m afraid that, until we are proven wrong, more patience is needed going forward.
Yzerman’s gonna Yzerman. And we are all along for the ride, for now. He may yet change his ways and surprise us, but I’m not holding my breath for that to happen.
For now, I’m excited to learn the names of the Wings’ 9 draft picks, and I’m hoping that the team does make a bold free agent signing or two to help stabilize the blueline behind Moritz Seider and add more punch, literally and figuratively, up front.
Mostly, however, I’m hoping that some prospects “make the jump” and find more permanent full-time roles this upcoming season, and that a full year’s worth of the Toddfather will be the elixir that the team needs to get over the hump.
We’ll have to wait and see. I know it sucks to be a relatively powerless fan, but I fully believe that we will see playoff appearances and playoff runs sooner than later, presuming that the plan comes to fruition…
And until then, I’m still chained to the bandwagon, though I’m trying to be as realistic as possible regarding the direction of the team and its slowly-but-surely-rebuilding philosophy. And I think that it’s gonna be a while yet until the kids who never knew what it was like to win four Stanley Cups in 11 years will feel the joy that those of us who are now middle-aged knew with such familiarity.
Sorry this one is so long. I’m a little rusty, and when I’m rusty, I get blabby.
That being said, it’s good to be back.
