Examining the best and worst moves made by Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman during his tenure with the team.
The Detroit Red Wings parted ways with general manager Ken Holland back in 2019 after spending 22 seasons with the team and winning four Stanley Cups. It was time for a change as the team was looking to revamp itself and wanted a new leader to bring the team back from the basement of the league and into the future.
Down South, former Red Wings captain for 22 seasons, Steve Yzerman finished building a Stanley Cup contender with the Tampa Bay Lightning. His team made a Stanley Cup finals appearance in 2015 and with minor tweaks from new GM Julien BriseBois, they would go on to win two Stanley Cups with Yzerman's roster. Difficult to exactly equate how much of the championships were cause of Yzerman as BriseBois made impactful moves before winning the cup but Yzerman showed he can build a contender.
The opportunity presented itself for him to return to Detroit and he got the job in April of 2019 with the team having still not made the playoffs since. What people have started to call the "Yzerplan" has been carefully thought out years of drafting and developing talent while making calculated moves to continue adding and eventually building into a contender.
Similar to the Philadelphia 76ers "Process" the plan is for the team to suffer through years of hardships before paying it off with a championship or two. Along the way, Yzerman has made some home run moves and some brutal ones as we look back to remember which ones the Red Wings are still benefitting from and which moves are still hurting them to this day.
On July 9th 2023, the Red Wings traded several assets of the future to land themselves a top-six forward and greatly benefitted from it. DeBrincat has been one of Detroit's top offensive players with a team-leading 66 goals along with 71 assists for the third-most points on the team at 137 over the last two seasons.
Kubalik was dealt to Chicago, Sebrango has yet to play an NHL game and is an older 23 years old for a prospect, the fourth-round pick was on 19-year-old Javon Moore, who is currently playing at the University of Minnesota and the conditional first was moved to the Bruins as part of Ottawa's deal to get Linus Ullmark. The pick was eventually used on 19-year-old Dean Letourneau from Boston College, who the year following the pick put up just three points in 36 games as a forward.
Rumors indicate issues with Walman and the Red Wings organization that led to a deal where he was virtually traded for nothing. On June 25th 2024, Yzerman would attribute the trade as a cap-clearing move but the deal would come back to haunt them following Walman's larger role with the Sharks. He would go on to post 32 points through 50 games as an offensive defenceman.
San Jose would cash in on the hot streak by dealing him to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a conditional 2026 first-round pick. This is a return that Detroit certainly could've benefitted from, let alone having a talent like Walman on their blueline.
On July 1st 2025, the Red Wings got their future goalie. It's hard to say the impact of this deal as Gibson hasn't played a game for the franchise yet but the implications are massive. Detroit has experienced a goalie crisis since the days of Chris Osgood as since his retirement in 2011, the Red Wings have the fifth-worst goals-against average in the league at 3.05 during that span.
Gibson is coming off a solid season with a 2.77 goals against average and the seventh-best save percentage at .912 meaning he could finally be the answer for a long-winded problem that hadn't been solved. Mrazek never posted the same numbers as a former all-star like Gibson and struggled with health problems this past season, resulting in just five appearances.
On July 22nd 2021, the Red Wings nab Nedeljkovic following his a stellar rookie campaign with a 15-5-3 record. The move was appearing to be a solid one for the future of Detroit's crease as Nedeljkovic was a finalist for the Calder trophy but couldn't agree to terms on a contract with Carolina.
The excitement would quickly fade as Nedeljkovic would quickly solidify his game as a fringe NHL starter with just 25 wins through 74 appearances with a 3.35 goals against average and a .900 save percentage. Detroit would not re-sign him and Nedeljkovic would go on to sign with the Penguins.
Bernier would play one more season but with the New Jersey Devils before retiring a season later. The traded third round pick could have used in a more impactful deal like trading back in the draft to collect more draft capital or moving into the next years draft where the class was significantly better.
