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“We cannot bear for our most mysterious experiences to remain unexplained. I've therefore learned...that every story has worth, since a person takes the time to tell it. The key is to listen.” ― Josh Gates Today we are going to break down each and every Steve Yzerman trade as the GM of Our Detroit Red Wings. Both the player being acquired, dealt, and the draft pick being acquired, dealt. A lot of the first trades was just him trying to dig out of Ken Hollands hole, and that was a DEEP hole, so the player being acquired may not have been a star, but it was a small to larger upgrade. This could be long, so buckle up! Tampa ended up trading 93rd OA pick to Philly (Zayde Wisdom) for a 2020 4th (Eamon Powell) and a 2020 5th (Jaydon Dureau) of which all three have ZERO NHL games played. Erne played 4 seasons in Detroit scoring 62 points in 241 games. Winner - Detroit again, in an attempt to dig out of the hole, the D was ATROCIOUS, Yzerman dealt away some youth for veteran Alex Biega. Biega played 2 seasons in Detroit playing in 62 games, meanwhile Pope has played ZERO NHL games. Winner - Detroit Staying on topic of trying to make the team a little better, bit by bit, Perlini played 39 games in Detroit, while Regula played 22 games (in three seasons) in Chicago. Considering that Regula was a prospect at the time of being traded, he had a brighter future, yet after being dealt from Chicago to Boston (along with Ian Mitchell for Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno (Chicago won that trade)) he never played in the NHL again after the Chicago trade. Ia am giving this trade a win for Detroit. Winner - Detroit Robby Fabbri (although injured quite often) played 5 years, amongst 234 games in Detroit, netting 127 points. De La Rose only played 47 games, netting 6 points with St. Louis, and hasn't played in the NHL since 2021. Fabbri is still playing as of the end of the 2025 NHL season. Winner - Detroit Comrie bounced around a lot that season, played 2 games in Detroit after being acquired, losing both of them before being waived and claimed by The Jets. Saarijarvi neve stepped foot in the NHL and has returned to Europe. This is a wash IMO. Winner - None Trade of minor league players, each played 35 games in the AHL after the trade and have moved on to other teams (non-NHL.) Wood is in the KHL(Kunlan Red Star) and Kaski in the SHL(HV71) Winner - None Kyle Brodziak never played in Detroit, or the NHL ever again, the 4th round pick was Jan Bednar. Bednar never got a chance in Detroit, played only 4 games in Grand Rapids, but has played 76 games in Toledo, including 37 last season. Mike Green played 2 games for Edmonton and never played again. I would consider this a win for Detroit since Bednar is still in the organization and contributing to Toledo's success. Winner - Detroit On the same day, another trade was made with Edmonton, this one had a lot more meat on the bones. AA was nice player in Detroit, but had defensive issues. Yzerman, again, was looking at ways to dig out of a hole by acquiring draft picks to start some sort of rebuild. AA never seen any success like he had in Detroit, he only played 9 games for Edmonton, moved on to LA for a bit and Chicago where he was waived last season after only 8 games played. Kuffner was signed as a UFA by Detroit out of Princeton and actually played 10 games in the NHL with them. He never played for Edmonton, or in the NHL again after the trade. Sam Gagner played 3 years and 129 games in Detroit, netting 47 points. The draft picks went as follows: 2020 2nd round pick was traded to LA (Brock Faber) for a 2020 2nd (Theodor Neiderbach) and a 2020 5th (Sam Stange.) The 2021 2nd round pick was traded to NYI (Atu Raty) along with Richard Panik for Nick Leddy (we'll hit those details later on!) Considering Sam Gagner played for Detroit for 3 years, we are giving Detroit the win. (Despite trading away what turned out to be Raty) Winner - Detroit Marc Staal played 2 seasons in Detroit, 127 games, 26 points. New York was looking to clear cap space. Considering it was for Future Considerations, Detroit wins this one. Winner - Detroit Merrill was a numbers game, and was dealt away. He only played 13 games in Montreal, yet has gone on to be pretty solid in Minnisota for the last 4 seasons. Verbeek split 2 seasons between GR and Toledo, and then left to Europe. The 2021 5th round pick was dealt to Dallas (Jack Bar - Zero NHL games) in the deal that allowed Detroit to draft Cossa. Winner - Detroit The first blockbuster of Yzerman's tenure. Mantha was supposed to be a super-star in Detroit, but was very inconsistent. He did play 4 years in Washington, netting 92 points before being dealt to VGK. Panik played all of 12 games in Detroit before being traded to NYI, and Vrana who seemed to be on a fast track to stardom with 32 points in 42 games, pissed in someone's cheerios and got dealt to St. Louis for Dylan McLaughlin and 7th round pick in 2025. McLaughlin never played in the NHL for Detroit. Vrana played 2 season in St. Louis, 41 games, before pissing in the cheerios again. He spent last season in Nashville, playing in 13 games. The draft picks are interesting. Detroit ended up trading the 22nd OA pick to Dallas (Wyatt Johnson) a 2021 2nd round pick (Artem Grushnikov) and a 2021 5th (Jack Bar) for the 2021 15th OA pick, thus drafting Sebastian Cossa. For the segment of the trade tree, I give the win to Detroit because of the Cossa draft. Winner - Detroit Detroit, still in need of making their D better, pulled this deal for Leddy. Yet, Leddy only played 55 games in Detroit before being traded to St. Louis in the Fabbri deal, and although Panik only played 4 games on the Isle, the fact that Detroit lost out on Aatu Raty gives them the loss on this one. Even though Raty was later moved in a blockbuster to Vancouver giving the Isles Bo Horvat, Wings still would've been better off with Raty. (that is IF they would've drafted him.) Winner - Islanders This 2021 3rd round pick was originally owned by VGK and was acquired in the trade of Tomas Tatar back in the Holland era, Carolina drafted Aidan Kreschuk, who just finished his senior year at Boston College last season. Bernier was a pending UFA, and never suited up for the Canes, so by default we are going to give this one to Detroit, even though Ned has moved on, although he did play 74 games for Detroit in 2 seasons here. Winner - Detroit Mitchell Stephens was a fine role player for Detroit, he played 27 games while there. He has since moved on to Montreal and last season in Seattle. The 2022 6th round pick was moved by Tampa to LA in a deal getting them 2022 3rd (Lucas Edmonds) and LA drafted Jared Wright. Neither prospect has seen the NHL, Wright won a National Championship at U of D, and Edmonds is currently playing for the Hartford Wolfpack in the AHL. Since we're not sure how these prospects will turn out, let's give this a wash. Winner - None Now we are getting into draft picks that have yet to make the NHL or even the AHL due to still being in JR or College. Detroit used this pick to select Brennan Ali who is currently a sophomore at Notre Dame. The Wings have until August 15, 2027 to sign him to an ELC or he becomes a UFA. Right now, Detroit is still on top of this deal. Winner - Detroit Vladdy was a popular player in Detroit, and loved being there considering he grew up in the Lockeroom watching his uncle Slave Kozlov play. He only played 15 games in Dallas. Detroit drafted goalie Landon Miller with the 4th round pick, he just finished his 4th season in The Soo and is still Detroit property. They have until June 1,2026 to sign him to an ELC. It could be a long road though considering the Wings have Cossa, Augustine and Rudy Guimond ahead of him on the depth chart. But he is only one season removed from his draft year, so we will see what happens. Considering the kid is still in the system, we'll give this one a Detroit win. Winner - Detroit This is pretty much looked like a big win for Detroit. Witkowski didn't go on to do much for St. Louis, but Leddy is still there enjoying the last 4 seasons playing. Sunqvist and Walman played big roles in Detroit but have both since been traded. The 2nd round pick was used to draft Andrew Gibson, who has also since been traded. Initially the trade looked lopsided for Detroit considering Sunqvist played 70 games in Detroit amongst 2 seasons and Walman saw 1st pairing minutes alongside Seider. He played 145 games in Detroit before being cast off to San Jose. Both his and Sunqvist's trades are coming up later. I am going to have to give this initial trade to Detroit, even though in the end of the trade tree, Leddy is still going in St. Louis. Winner - Detroit Again, another goaltender who had Vezina numbers (Like Ned) and Detroit steals for a bargain. St. Louis used the pick to draft Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, who remains in their system playing his 1st full AHL season last year in Springfield. Husso seemed like he was going to be the buffer for Cossa to arrive, he played 3 seasons in Detroit, 84 games, but injuries doomed him, and after Detroit had Lyon and Talbot on the roster, he became expendable. He was dealt last season. Initial winner was Detroit, but right now, if Kaskimaki makes a jump to the NHL, they might be. We'll give it a tie. If the prospect faulters out, then Detroit wins Winner - Both (for now) In an exchange of AHL players this was a very minor move. Winner - None Ok, 2nd blockbuster IMO, of Yzerman's tenure. Hronek just couldn't find a spot here in Detroit. He has thrived on the 1st pairing with Quinn Hughes (damn you Holland!) and has found a home. The 4th round pick was Ty Mueller who spent all of last year in Abbotsford, but has played 2 games in Vancouver. The 1st round pick wound up not being transferred to 2024,thankfully because, with that pick Detroit drafted Axel Sandin- Pelikka who just happens to be ranked one of the NHL's top prospects. The 2nd round pick was traded to Nashville (Felix Nilsson) for a later 2nd (Brady Cleveland) and a 5th round (Kevin Bicker) both of which are still Wings property. Hands down, despite Hronek doing well in VAN, Detroit wins this trade on prospects alone. Winner - Detroit Boom! Yet another blockbuster! The 2024 first found it's way back to Boston (after the Detroit Debrincat trade.) The 4th ended up being a conditional pick in the Jeff Petry deal, the condition was the LESS favorable of Boston or Detroit's 4th. I guess since Detroit finished ahead of Boston, Montreal will get Detroit's 4th. But the same condition was put on the trade that sent Fabbri to Anaheim with a 4th, so I guess that the Boston 4th goes on to Anaheim. BUT they trade that conditional 4th to NYR in the Jacob Trouba deal, so in the end NYR gets Boston's 4th in 2025. Whew! At the time, since nobody knew Debrincat was coming, and Bertuzzi did really well in Boston, we are going to give this a tie, since 1st round picks are hard to come by. Winner - Both This was a dump of a pending UFA for draft capital. Detroit drafted D-Man Larry Keenen who just finished up his first season at UMass-Amherst. Sundqvist only played 15 games in Minny before going back to St. Louis as a UFA. Gotta give Detroit the nof here since Keenen is still a prospect. Winner - Detroit This one had us scratching our heads. Vrana seemed like he was getting back to playing well in Detroit after his stint in player assistance program. But he could not crack the lineup consistently for whatever reason and wound up being cast off to St. Louis. as stated above McLaughlin never played in Detroit. We'll see what the 7th round pick brings, since the still own it, but don't hold your breath. Vrana did ok for St. Louis, but walked as a UFA in 2024. No winner here really, unless the 7th round pick is a diamond find! Winner - None Pretty much just a favor to Kampfer to try to get him some NHL time. Although it didn't really work out in Arizona either. He has since left for the KHL. Winner - None In this draft day swap of picks we saw the Predators and Wings trade resulting in Nashville drafting Nilsson and Detroit drafting Cleveland and Bicker. Winner - TBD This seemed to be a slam dunk for Detroit. They immediately bought out Yamamoto, then signed Kostin to an extension. Yzerman was very high on Kostin, but he couldn't find an everyday job under Coach LaLonde. He was traded away after only playing 33 games for Detroit. I guess since Kostin played 33 games, Detroit wins this trade. Winner - Detroit BOOM! Blockbuster again! Detroit definitely won this trade outright initially. Kubalik didn't do too much in Ottawa, 74 games only 15 points. Sebrango has played 2 games in Ottawa and remains in their system. The 2024 4th they used to pick Javon Moore, who is still playing at Sioux Falls in the USHL. The 2024 1st found it's way back to Boston getting Ottawa Linus Ullmark. Debrincat has thrived in Detroit, playing in Detroit. He has played in 164 games scoring 137 points. He scored 39 goals last season, the first to score that many since Hossa scored 40 in 08-09. Many will say Detroit hands down won this trade, but is Ottawa too upset with having acquired Ullmark via that 1st? They are in the playoffs and Detroit has missed out again. Both Debrincat and Ullmark have signed extensions, so it has worked on for both. BUT in this initial trade, Detroit is definitely the winner. Winner - Detroit Lindstrom couldn't find a home in Detroit and was out of waiver eligibility. Yzerman was in need of a RHD and Petry became available. Considering Lindstrom only played 14 games in Montreal and Petry finished out his contract in Detroit, 117 games played, despite him being a shell of his former self, we have to give this win to Detroit. Winner - Detroit The first of a few head-scratchers. Yzerman really like Kostin, yet under LaLonde he couldn't find a daily job, this trade was just maybe a favor to him? He is still in San Jose and playing more than he did in Detroit. Simek never seen Detroit and only played 9 games in GR. Winner - San Jose (won't be the first one!) Another exchange of AHL players. McIssac was a Holland draft pick in the early 2nd round of 2018. He was touted a 1st round pick by many. But injuries kept him down and he never saw Detroit. Neither player has seen any NHL games even after the deal. Winner - None Ugh... you knew this one was coming. We'll never know why Walman fell out of favor in Detroit, but it is what it is. And considering what San Jose flipped him for, only puts salt in the wound... With that 2nd round pick, San Jose chose Leo Sahlin Wallenius, who has yet to come over from Europe. Clear winner here... Winner - San Jose This is the 2nd round pick that Detroit sent San Jose in the Walman deal, Detroit sent Gibson to Nashville for Kiiskinen and that 2nd. Kiiskinen has yet to sign a ELC and remains in Europe, Gibson was singed by Detroit prior to the trade but has yet to crack the Nashville or AHL lineup. He spent last season still in the OHL in Oshawa. No winner as of yet. Slight edge to Nashville because Gibson has a contract. Detroit has until June 1, 2027 to sign Kiiskinen to a ELC. Winner - Slight win to Nashville Another strange one. Fabbri seemed like a good fit in the core here (despite his injuries) and was pretty solid. He played 44 games in Anaheim last season, probably got injured out there too. The 4th round pick did a lot of bouncing and ended up going back to Boston in the Trouba deal. Gage Alexander played 1 game in Toledo and is an RFA now. Win goes to Anaheim IMO. Winner - Anaheim This was a numbers game, Maatta was just the odd man out. We'll see what the 3rd round pick brings. Detroit will pick 75th and 76th in this round. Maatta has signed a 3 year extension with Utah. Winner - Right now Utah Having too many goalies in Detroit, something needed to happen. Husso was waived a couple of times, with no takers, Anaheim did Detroit a solid by taking him off their hands. He did play 4 games in Anaheim. Winner - Detroit by ditching the contract This one seemed like Yzerman was just trying to help his old buddy Brisebois out. Aucoin was unsigned and remains that way in Tampa. They have until August 15, 2025 to sign him or he'll become a UFA. We'll see which 4th round pick Detroit gets, and go from there to determine a winner. I guess if Tampa does well in the playoffs and Gourde is key, they'd win. Winner - TBD Finally this last one! Veleno just wasn't going to make it in Detroit, and it looked like Yzerman wanted to acquire a couple of vets to try to make a playoff push. Veleno did play 18 games in Chicago and had 7 points. In Detroit Mrazek got injured, but he played 5 games, going 2-2 and Smith played in 19 games and had 2 points. I guess in the end, Chicago got a solid young center, that needed a change of scenery. Depending on what happens with Mrazek next year, we'll see who the winner is. Winner - TBD ...so there you have it, all of Yzerman's trades, not too bad, a couple of blockbuster wins and a few headscratchers, but all in all, he has made this team better via the trade market. Maybe next time we'll discuss the draft picks (after 2025 draft) and the UFA's (after July 1.) Maybe we'll have more trades to add to this topic! I hope you enjoyed this!

Hope you had a nice Easter Left. Well done on the rundown, I agree with about 99% of it. Caveat, I'd make... Since rejoining Detroit SY has dominated the trades in which he appears to have been able to sit back and work the tradeblock. Not so much when he's NEEDED to get something done and forced it. To use Fabbri as an example... I highly doubt SY originally coveted Fabbri or had his eye on him. But when he found out the underutilized player could be had cheap, he took a swing. However, when all of the sudden he felt he needed to move on from Fabbri ASAP, suddenly he's tripping over his own shoes. Staying with Fabbri, besides the reactive trade for him being good, and the proactive trading him away being bad, the timeline of events surrounding the former trade alludes to the lack of a grandiose plan. Surely SY would have known that guys he wanted to make plays for, like Stamkos, would have more than likely been available in the offseason, and that he needed to clear space to make a bid for them. If he didn't, that would show a level of incompetence, and would prove their isnt a grand stradegy at play... So if we give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he indeed had the foresight to see that coming, his decision ultimately was to not clear that space at the oppurtune time to do so (The TDL) and instead reluctantly give Fabbri away for nothing a few months later... only to lose out on the asset (Stamkos) he made that move to acquire. Sure... he wanted to make the playoffs... but if he wanted to make it that badly, he shouldve added to his roster at the TDL instead of doing nothing. And I'll support that by saying...look at what Kane and Larkin just said in this years exit interviews. The team was stumbling, getting hurt, but still fighting, and then the shot-in-the-arm/support at the TDL didnt come... and it continued to falter from there. Said in not so many words by our own leaders. Back to Fabbri, one could argue he didnt know he'd have to sell so insanely low on him in the summer, or that maybe there was no market for Fabs at the TDL. But there was a market for plenty of players like him, and its beyond obvious to everyone that there isnt the same market for players in summer as there is at TDLs. To add insult to injury, its rumored he could not get the stamkos deal done bc he did not get prior approval from Illitch. Indicating more lack of planning. And in the case of Walman, he did not even attempt to waive him - and Grier and other GMs indicated that they wouldve claimed him if done so - indicating another rash unplanned decision. And as a sidenote you had the agents in the agent pole this year literally stating there is no "plan" in Detroit. MY POINT IS THIS There is no plan. There is no grand stratedgy to what he's building. Yzerman is any fan with an Xbox playing GM mode. He's reacting often in the moment without much thought to whats to come. Is this terrible horrible bad news? No. But we do need to put the "yzerplan" narrative to rest. He's been exceptional at trades when he can sit back, take his time, and evaluate the block/market. He's been bad when he buys into his own teams hype, sits back and does nothing, and then feels forced to make panic trades later because of his own inaction. Not giving him a pass. I would like to see more and better planning, and a clearer direction. Its precisely his LACK of trades as of late that have been our downfall, not his wins and loses.

Seriously! Mad props, @LeftWinger! Also, I like Expedition Unknown.

That's a lot of work... nice job.

Interesting tidbit from Freidman... Apparently the ask from the Sabres for Dylan Cozens was Marco Kasper, which SY routinely rejected. Sabres ended up shipping Cozens to Ottawa for Josh Norris. Reading mixed reactions from Sabres fans on this, but those who seem to be in the camp of Kasper wouldve been a better grab, are even saying they wouldve given up more than Cozens to snag Kasper. Though a homer, I tend to agree. Norris is a goal scoring nightmare, but he's older and has had significant injury issues. Kasper hasn't yet reached his peak and already plays a better 3 zone game. Big motor. Chippy. Can slot in anywhere in the lineup. Glad Stephen held back on that one.

God bless the Saints for not taking Sanders last night lol Honestly I can see how Saints mgmt would think that. Campbell is a "players coach" and I complain about these types all the time in regards to hockey. Mostly because I think the mast majority of them are not effective in this approach, and one who is is really rare.

Who TF cares about these semantics at this point? Larkin's been taken off the PK. Copp takes on the elites. Larks still not producing and now whining publicly. Seider gained a legit teammate in Edvinsson. Still playing like the neutered version of his rookie self. I highly doubt Marco Kasper is the key depth piece that magically fixes this roster from top down. Maybe injecting a true "difference maker" turns the middle mush around. Maybe injecting 5 more solid depth pieces does the same. Who TF cares? Neither is happening anytime near soon. This roster is still so far from competitive its sad. We have a cultural problem that starts from the top down. Yzerman has accomplished none of his goals. 6 seasons in and we're employing an interim emergency coach picked up mid season because no other team wanted him. We have a captain that is morally shattered, publicly disastisfied with the team, and IMO has learned to be a "loser". Our other leader - Kane - already has his cups and is content coasting into retirement on a builder. Only reason he's even here is bc Detroit is perfectly nestled between his home in Illinois and his home in Buffalo. Team needs a collosal facelift shakeup IMHO.

And then say fuq it and trade for Rempe too. This team needs a radical new identity. Larkin leaving is the perfect time to flip that on its head. NYR cant re-sign all their boys and may very well be losing Rempe anyway. To NYR: Berggren + Rasmussen + the extra 1st acquired from CBJ To DET: RW Rempe + LHD K'Andre Miller Johnny Bergers and Ras are too soft and gray for our teams new in your face mentality. Go do your perimeter scoring in the big apple. Miller has been on the block with NYR bc they likely cant afford his extension. But we can. Big 6'5" scary black man who can score. Welcome to the D big pimpin. Dcat - Kasper - Raymond Soderblom - Sillinger - JTC Tarasenko - Copp - Olivier Mazur - Danielson - Rempe Edvinsson - Seider Miller - Chiarot Ajo - Gustafsson Is this lineup going to win you the cup? No. Will it get pushed around while Kasper, Danielson, Soderblom, Sillinger, Mazur, Edvinsson, and Ajo develop? FUQ NO! That lineup would be littered with highmotor young guns in big roles, with nasty shopwreckers to back them up. Its okay to lose - but push the other teams s*** in every night and make them pay for it.

I doubt they wanna move Fantilli or Johnson. Theyre basically younger versions of Larkin so thats be a lateral move at best. BJs do make a lot of sense though. Theyd be adding a vet leader their young group needs after losing Gaudreau, and uniting butt buddies Dylan and Zach. They also have an extra 1st this year, so sending one to us is something they can easily afford. To CBJ: Larkin To DET: C Cole Sillinger + RW Mathieu Olivier + 1st Sillinger is the young replacement center we can develop. We drafted his dad Mike way back when, and he narrowly missed winning a cup with us in the 90s. Mike would be familiar with our entire nepotistic front office, and has done scouting work in the past, so might as well give him a job too. Olivier is probably the best pound for pound fighter in the league, outside maybe Rempe or Reaves. Except Olivier can also put up 30+ pts a season unlike those two goons. We could nab him now b4 his NTC kicks in. Dcat - Kasper - Raymond Soderblom - Sillinger - JTC Mazur - Copp - Olivier Berggren - Ras - Tarasenko

If our whiny baby captain who dissapears every March actually wants out... IMO this is who's next in line for the C. I've said it before, but he has NHL coach written all over him. Articulate, insightful, honest... and yet measured. He's a true student of the game, and is superb with the media. He came here and was asked to basically sacrafice all his personal stats to be THE shutdown center. Has he ever complained once about that? No. What happened when he went down for the season this year? Team totally collapsed. This is a hometown kid, good soldier, and leader in the lockerroom. My favorite interview of his will always be between periods after he scored his 100th goal. Q: Andrew, what does it mean to you to have 100 goals? A: It doesn't mean s***. Hopefully the next 100 come faster. Copp is a fuqqin G

Speaking of Larkin's EOY presser... Where is Yzerman's??? Never taken him this long to do it in the past... fuqqing coward.

Not to mention he's nowhere near as good as Larkin on a much worse contract. Hard pass. But... Given that Marco is looking really really good, I'd take Pettersson for something centered around Danielson tho. Larkin, Pettersson, Kasper down the middle would give McClellan a million options next fall. Let Larkin take the tough matchups, which he's used to (and that Pettersson can't handle). Give Pettersson the sheltered offensive minutes, which he's better at than Larkin anyway. And then absolutely cook teams with something like Sodorblom-Kasper-Berggren/Mazur on your third line. All for the cost of a really good prospect that we'd no longer need. Edit: Basically look at the trade that sent Sam Reinhart to Florida. A lottery protected 1st and a good but not great prospect (Devon Levi). I'd imagine any trade for Pettersson would look something like that.

The availability and scrutiny surrounding Pettersson in itself sorta telltale sign of 'run away'...His on ice performance has been erratic these past few seasons and it's been rumored that the Canucks screwed up and traded away the wrong guy (JT Miller) and it should have been Pettersson getting shipped out (locker room drama). Sending Larkin to Vancouver for Pettersson would be a big mistake.

Larkin is getting torched on Reddit for saying something that any Red Wings fan with eyes could see for themselves the last two seasons. The TDL is a time of extreme stress and uncertainty for players on bad teams. These guys genuinely have no idea whether they're going to lose friends, or have to uproot their families, or just "fold" on the season because your GM decided you were a "seller" again this year. So to put them through it year after year after year without committing to any particular direction is completely tone deaf. It drives ME nuts to see a flawed team that neither sells nor adds. I can't imagine how the players feel about it. What even is the point? It's clear going into the deadline that we're not good enough, everyone (including SY) can see it so obviously , and yet he decides to...bring in Craig Smith? Why even bother? Wouldn't the team have been better off just keeping Veleno...a guy they all loved?

This team desperately needs a physical heart and soul guy that can play... I'm not sure who that would be nowadays... I'm thinking on a range between McCarty and Shanny

Great work Lefty!

Also, remember, Stamkos was already gone on the 3rd of July, Yzerman traded Fabbri ($4M) and signed Tarasenko ($4.75M) on the same day. He could've had Perron and Ghost at $7.2M combined, instead he got Tarasenko and Gustafsson at $6.75M. That was a major mistake IMO. The Wings had $2M leftover in cap space after the season, He could've signed both Perron and Ghost and still been under the cap. I would've preferred Perron over Fabbri in this case, so if he needed to trade him still, it would've been ok. Perron has 103 points in 2 years with Detroit. PLUS he stood up for his teammates, which is more than what most the players on this team do. And Ghost had 56 points, as a defenseman here. He definitely would've equaled or come close to that again. There's no going back, but Yzerman needs to make up for the mistakes. Move forward, you have to cut your losses. I HOPE that he does so. If not, we're in for another crap season in 25-26, minus Kane most likely as well. This COULD'VE been your opening night roster. He would've had to have dealt away Husso to fit, but he was washed up anyhow, and was not going to be around too long. Just trade him for the Future's to start the season. Instead of signing Motte, Holl, Gustavsson and Tarasenko. Here's what could've been, WITH the contracts they signed elsewhere. Also, roughly $1M left under the cap!

If the plan is "tinker around the mushy middle" then I agree there is a plan. Otherwise I dont. For two seasons in a row now we have rolled into the TDL on our last legs, and in both instances the decision from SY has seemingly been "im praying too hard for playoffs too sell, but i also need my futures/prospects to build" so nothing. "The price of inaction is far greater than the cost of making a mistake" - some semi intelligent german Ahole >buying (even minimal purchases) = morale boost for the lockerroom = morale boost for the consumer (at least you tried) >selling = pressure off the lockerroom (no longer expected to win and therefore no longer your troops fault) = consumer at ease (looks to the future) >doing nothing = lockerroom in shambles (you believe in them... but not really) = consumer confused by lack of direction and doubt about org competance begins creeping in I know Ive been raging about this in in every thread. But its sooo fuqqing incompetant... im almost hoping someone will posit an argument that makes me see the silver lining. But to date ive found none. Unless there are some clownishly good moves up SYs sleeves this summer, this roster will be much the same next year, with much the same result. I could even see wheels falling off in Fall again, and we fire McClellan mid season. That reality is on the table right now. I wish Scott would come back already because his takes are always bizarrely ahead of everything - like the Alex Jones of LGW. >HES PULLING AN YZERSCAM, DONT BELIEVE HIS LIES. HES KEEPING PLAYERS ON THE ROSTER TO TURN THE TEAM GRAY. >we laugh >1 year later... wait... there is no plan and our team is gray...??? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

He's done a pretty darn good job in reality, which is why people need patience with Yzerman. His 1st round picks have hit, and there's more to come....soon! His acquiring of Debrincat, and even wooing Kane to play here weas remarkable. The trades of players who have soured on the team for whatever reason, I guess needed to be done. We don't know what went on behind closed doors, or even if the other GM's KNEW he had to get rid of said players and had him handcuffed. We just don't know. The Mantha, Bertuzzi, (as mentioned) Debrincat acquisition, and the Hronek deals were outstanding, many draft pick swaps were good deals as well.

To be fair to stevie, im not convinced anyone else could do better. Hes hit on his 1st round picks (the ones you NEED to hit on) and his trading ability is actually very good. But i am seriously confused by, and disagree with, his lack of direction. As well his coaching choices. You can be the Scotty Bowman of GMs, but an inability to acquire the right personel or lead this team in a distinct direction will sink even the best. So basically i dont think hes a bad GM/hockey brain, but I do think he has made serious mistakes at this point. Mistakes he may come to regret.