Steve Yzerman was supposed to lead the Detroit Red Wings back to the promised land when he was hired as the team's general manager in 2019. Seven years later, he's out as the team's head of hockey operations without a single playoff appearance to show for his efforts. He'll transition to a senior adviser role with the club.
With the Red Wings still mired in mediocrity, it's safe to say the so-called "Yzerplan" was an utter failure.
His hiring was viewed as a home run, and for good reason: He was the architect of the Tampa Bay Lightning teams that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020-21. Although the team won those championships after he departed for Detroit, the infrastructure was largely put in place by Yzerman.
He inherited a difficult situation in Detroit: The club had already missed the playoffs in three straight years and was in dire need of a proper rebuild. After Yzerman built the Lightning into a contender from the ground up, the Red Wings expected he could do the same in Detroit. So what went wrong?
Couldn't recapture Lightning draft magic
Yzerman's Lightning teams were largely built through the draft. While he inherited key building blocks in Steven Stamkos (No. 1, 2008) and Victor Hedman (No. 2, 2009) from his predecessor, he constructed the rest of the team with primarily homegrown players despite rarely picking high in the draft. Here are some of his best picks that went on to help Tampa Bay win at least one Cup:
| Year | Pick | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 58th | F Nikita Kucherov |
| 2011 | 208th | F Ondrej Palat |
| 2012 | 19th | G Andrei Vasilevskiy |
| 2014 | 79th | F Brayden Point |
| 2015 | 72nd | F Anthony Cirelli |
| 2016 | 118th | F Ross Colton |
Of course the Lightning had some misses along the way, but that's arguably the best stretch of drafting by any NHL team in the salary-cap era.
That list doesn't include Jonathan Drouin (No. 3, 2013), whom Yzerman eventually traded for Mikhail Sergachev, or late first-rounders Vladislav Namestnikov (No. 27, 2011) and Brett Howden (No. 27, 2016), who were eventually dealt as part of a package for Ryan McDonagh.
Yzerman didn't come close to replicating that draft wizardry in Detroit - perhaps because the vast majority of Tampa Bay's amateur scouting staff stayed with the Lightning after he left.
The Red Wings did make some great picks under Yzerman. Moritz Seider (No. 6, 2019) was arguably his best selection despite being considered a reach on draft day. Lucas Raymond (No. 4, 2020) and Simon Edvinsson (No. 6, 2021) also proved to be key building blocks. However, many of his other first-round picks have yet to become impact players, including the recently traded Sebastian Cossa (No. 15, 2021), Marco Kasper (No. 8, 2022), Nate Danielson (No. 9, 2023), Axel Sandin-Pellikka (No. 17, 2023), and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (No. 15, 2024).
The biggest problem is that Yzerman failed to find gems outside of Round 1 the way he did in Tampa Bay. Albert Johansson (No. 60, 2019), Elmer Soderblom (No. 159, 2019), and Emmitt Finnie (No. 201, 2023) are the only non first-rounders to become NHL regulars. Early second-round picks Antti Tuomisto (No. 35, 2019), William Wallinder (No. 32, 2020), and Shai Buium (No. 36, 2021) stand as his biggest misses - they've combined for zero NHL games.
Astute drafting is crucial for a successful rebuild, and Yzerman's spotty track record with Detroit is arguably the main reason for the team's mediocrity. But it isn't the only reason.
Fumbled the blue line
Detroit's biggest weakness over the last several years has been the blue line. Seider and Edvinsson formed an excellent top pairing this past season, but the rest of the defense struggled to pull its weight, which was a major culprit in Detroit crumbling down the stretch and missing the playoffs for the 10th straight season.
In an alternate universe, defense could've been one of the team's strengths.
Filip Hronek and Jake Walman are two players Yzerman should regret trading. Hronek has developed into a legitimate top-pairing defenseman. He was an ascending 25-year-old when the Red Wings shipped him to the Vancouver Canucks in 2023, even though he was young enough to fit in Detroit's contention window. The return of first- and second-round picks wasn't terrible, but Detroit would surely rather have Hronek anchoring the second pair behind Seider right now.
The Walman trade was arguably Yzerman's most puzzling move. Although Walman came into his own with the Red Wings and had good chemistry with Seider on the top pair, the Red Wings traded him - along with a second-round pick - to San Jose for future considerations during the 2024 offseason. Less than a year later, the Sharks flipped Walman to the Edmonton Oilers for a first-rounder. Last year, the Oilers deemed Walman worthy of a seven-year, $49-million extension.
If Yzerman had kept Walman and Hronek, the Red Wings wouldn't have had to trot out Ben Chiarot in a top-four role he clearly can't handle for the last several seasons. (To make matters worse, Yzerman gave the 35-year-old a three-year extension with a $3.85-million AAV this past season.) And the Red Wings also wouldn't have had to give up a package including a first-round pick for 34-year-old Justin Faulk at the 2026 deadline.
Overpaid middle-of-the-lineup players
If Yzerman traded Walman and Hronek because he didn't want to pay them, it's even more perplexing that he allocated significant cap space to middle-of-the-lineup players like Andrew Copp and J.T. Compher.
Copp inked a five-year deal with a $5.625-million AAV as a free agent in 2022. Compher signed a five-year pact with a $5.1-million AAV as a free agent the following season. That's nearly $11 million for two third-line-caliber players. Copp's averaged 39 points per 82 games with the Red Wings, while Compher has averaged 38 points per 82 games.
They represent the type of signings a team should make when it feels it's on the cusp of contention, not in the thick of a rebuild as the Red Wings were at the time. Detroit should've given that money to true difference-makers - like Hronek - or weaponized that cap space to continue collecting assets.
