To this point, Yzerman’s work has followed a fairly consistent slow-and-steady blueprint. Four straight years of top-10 picks, four years of taking swings in free agency and on the trade market to find a solution in net (usually by way of offering a greater role to a star backup), to shore up the blue line around the club’s young talent, and to inject some life into the team’s offence. But on all of those fronts, not much has managed to take, and a number of the club’s additions have wound up as subtractions not long after.
So far this off-season, Yzerman’s done some of the same. On the back end, oft-maligned former Maple Leafs defender Justin Holl has joined the fray on a three-year, $10.4-million deal, along with Shayne Gostisbehere on a one-year, $4.13 pact. In net, yet another backup fresh off a standout season, Alex Lyon, was signed to a two-year, $1.8-million contract, with veteran James Reimer coming aboard too, at one year and $1.5 million.
Up front, another loss of a former mainstay, as the club terminated the contract of 2018 sixth-overall pick Zadina, who’d asked for a trade that the Red Wings weren’t able to make happen. But added to the forward corps were depth gambles forwards Klim Kostin (acquired from Edmonton in a deal that also netted Kailer Yamamoto, who the Red Wings then bought out) at two years, $4 million; Daniel Sprong at one year, $2 million; and Christian Fischer at one year, $1.13 million. Added, too, was another veteran, in J.T. Compher at a hefty five years and $27.5 million.
Take it all together and it should be clear why DeBrincat represents a significant shift for Yzerman and his vision.
To this point, the majority of adds the captain-turned-executive has been able to orchestrate in Detroit have either been for veterans past their prime, depth pieces, or dice-roll offensive adds who could hopefully break out in a Red Wings sweater.
In DeBrincat, they get something else. A bona fide top-tier offensive talent, in his prime. A key piece of the team’s core moving forward. The first 40-goal threat in a Red Wings sweater since Marian Hossa, a decade-and-a-half ago.
The value of DeBrincat’s new deal alone should indicate as much, as the $31.5-million sum he was given is the most Yzerman’s handed out to anyone aside from captain Dylan Larkin — the only player he gave term to, on an eight-year, $69.6-million extension. At four years, DeBrincat doesn’t get as much term as recent additions Compher and Copp, who each got a fifth year, but the former Chicago and Ottawa sniper will be the second-highest-paid player on Yzerman’s roster next season, by a decent margin.
The question now is how much of an impact DeBrincat’s able to have in Detroit. More additions, and further growth from the club’s marquee prospects, are needed for true progress to come for the club. But if the 25-year-old can rediscover his 40-goal form, if he can perhaps climb even higher among the game’s top snipers, his presence should signify an important step forward for a Red Wings rebuild that’s seemed stuck in the mud for the past half-decade.
