The Free Press’s Helene St. James offers her take on Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s press conference, suggesting that fan (and media) frustration doesn’t necessarily register with the Red Wings’ program:
“The goal here is to build a team that can compete for the Stanley Cup,” Yzerman said Wednesday, Sept. 17. “We’re going to continue to try and run a good program, we’re going to continue to try and improve each season with the goal of becoming a playoff team and a team that eventually competes for a Stanley Cup.”
This week marks the start of training camps around the 32-team NHL, and the Wings are nobody’s preseason favorite to be playing next June. But what about just making the playoffs, ending a streak that’s grown to a franchise-tarnishing nine straight seasons?
“I understand the frustration or maybe the lack of, I don’t want to say patience because I think everybody’s been pretty patient, but the sense of urgency within the fan base,” Yzerman said. “I understand it. But you guys heard it when Kenny Holland was here – you want to go into a rebuild, it takes time and it takes a long time. It’s not finishing at the bottom for a couple years getting a high pick and away you go, it’s over. Just looking around at all franchises, it’s taken along time for them to do it.”
It takes a long time isn’t exactly a marketing department’s dream slogan. Yzerman is right that his predecessor, Holland, used to say the same thing – find a general manager that says otherwise – but the Wings head into camp coming off a season that saw them, for the first time since Yzerman was named GM in April 2019, regress in the standings points-wise, finishing with 86 points, five less than in 2023-24. They were also eliminated days before the end of the season, rather than forcing it all the way to overtime in the final game of the previous season.
Last season was marked by a coaching change at Christmas, and there’s no doubt that Todd McLellan being in charge from the start of camp will be beneficial. He’ll have largely the same team in front of him when the Wings take the ice starting Thursday, Sept. 18 in Traverse City, with only a handful of new faces: Forwards James van Riemsdyk and Mason Appleton, defensemen Travis Hamonic and Jacob Bernard-Docker, and goaltender John Gibson.
“Our goal is to improve from last year,” Yzerman said. “Our younger players taking another step, the addition to John Gibson in goal – how good? Can’t really tell you at this stage, but I expect our team to be improved.”
Continued (paywall)
