Yzerman turns attention to free agency, draft
General manager turns attention to draft and decisions on key free-agent personnel
When the Detroit Red Wings selected Steve Yzerman with the fourth overall pick in the 1983 NHL draft, it took four years for the club to win a playoff round and five seasons before the team posted a winning record.
Now the executive vice-president and general manager of the Red Wings, the 55-year-old Yzerman has spent his career learning how to be patient. For Yzerman, all the NHL did on Tuesday, by deciding to officially bring an end to the regular season, is start him on the next step of his game plan in rebuilding the Detroit franchise.
“We’re trying to run a good program to develop our young players to rebuild and get the team back on track, which I’ve said is going to take time,” said Yzerman, whose team finished with the worst record in the NHL at 17-49-5. “I don’t know if I’m really shocked (by the record).
“We felt it would be a stretch to be a playoff team and we weren’t a playoff team. I’m not totally shocked by anything. I’ve learned a lot about our organization, I feel I have a good handle on what the next steps are that need to be taken.”
Now heading into his second off-season running the Red Wings, one of the first things Yzerman made clear in a Zoom meeting with media on Wednesday was that head coach Jeff Blashill will return for a sixth campaign whenever the 2020-21 season begins.
“I have no plans of making a coaching change at this time,” said Yzerman, who has seen the Red Wings miss the playoffs four straight years. “I think Jeff’s done a good job. I think it’s been a difficult position.
“In his tenure here, the Red Wings are in a rebuild for a while. For the last two or three trade deadlines, the team has traded valuable players, good players, for future assets and Jeff has, with his head held high, diligently worked hard and done a good job in coaching this team in a difficult situation throughout that. I said in February, I think it’s unfair to judge him based on our record at this time. Quite frankly, we need to improve the team for anybody to truly critique or assess the coaching staff.”
And like the teams he played on in the ’80s, Yzerman believes improving that team will come only with patience and a longterm plan.
“Ultimately, we need to continue to draft and draft well, run a good development program to get these players to fulfil their potential,” Yzerman said. “That’s the plan, that’s the most important thing and ultimately the only way we’re going to get it turned around.”
The Red Wings still have good odds of securing the top pick in the NHL draft at 18.5 per cent, but the league’s decision to allow teams that are eliminated into the play-in round of the playoffs into the mix is not necessarily embraced by Yzerman.
“Mixed feelings about it,” Yzerman said. “You knew the league was going to do whatever they felt they had to do to make it work. It is what it is. We’re excited. Obviously, we’d all love to get the highest pick we possibly can, us included, and we’re confident we’re going to be happy with the player that we get.”
Yzerman also has a few key restricted free agents to deal with in Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi. It’s not sure if Yzerman feels as strongly about restricted free agents Robby Fabbri, Brendan Perlini, Evgeny Svechnikov, Taro Hirose, Adam Erne, Christoffer Ehn, Dmytro Timashov, Dominic Turgeon or Kyle Wood.
“The restricted free agents, are not going to go anywhere,” Yzerman said of Mantha and Bertuzzi. “We’ll get deals done with them. I can’t say that goes for all our restricted free agents. We will prioritize certain guys.”
He’ll also jump into free agency, whenever it begins, but is only looking to fill holes that help his young group of players develop and not at the expense of blocking young prospects as the rebuild continues.
“We need to get better in every aspect and it’s going to take time to do that,” Yzerman said. “I’m confident that we will. I think we’ll see improvement next season, I just can’t tell you what that translates in wins and losses.”
Jeff (Blashill) has, with his head held high, diligently worked hard and done a good job in coaching this team in a difficult situation.