Trades & Restricted Free Agents Fuel Yzerman's Red Wings Rebuild

Trades & Restricted Free Agents Fuel Yzerman's Red Wings Rebuild

The Red Wings may be a mile away from the playoffs, but Detroit has a serious rebuilding project underway.

Jan 16, 2020 by Jacob Messing
Trades & Restricted Free Agents Fuel Yzerman's Red Wings Rebuild

Borrowing some terminology from NHL salary cap connoisseur, CapFriendly, being an Armchair General Manager is easy with a couch and laptop, but there is far more to building and perfecting a perennial playoff team than some what-if digital remedies.

The continued growth and rising interest in analytics only complicate the recipe for a GM and have resulted in various teams employing younger, mathematically-driven minds to lead the organization into the future. 

Last April, the Detroit Red Wings welcomed home Steve Yzerman, naming him the new GM while simultaneously ending Ken Holland’s reign of 21 seasons as the Red Wings’ GM, prior to his move to Edmonton in the same capacity.

Yzerman, commonly referred to as “Stevie Y” or “The Captain,” in Detroit, was the franchise’s beacon in the early ‘90s that helped created Hockeytown. A relentless attitude, impeccable skillset, and superb leadership helped him restore the team’s glory and capture four Stanley Cups, the last coming as a front office cog.

A desire to run a team, coupled with the job security of Holland, saw Yzerman join the Tampa Bay Lightning in the spring of 2010.

Building the Bolts

In Tampa Bay, Yzerman inherited a team already boasting Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, and Victor Hedman. In his first year, the Lightning erased a three-year playoff drought prior to losing in the Eastern Conference Final.

As his tenure continued, he made quick work, seemingly came out on top of every trade, extension, and free agent signing. Those signings, trades, and savvy drafting helped Yzerman shape the Lightning into an annual Stanley Cup contender.

Retaining a No. 1 center and annual Norris Trophy contender in Stamkos and Hedman, respectively, steady additions through every available method, built a deep, dominant club.

Undrafted players including Tyler Johnson and Yanni Gourde have prevailed; perfect picks including Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and Andrei Vasilevskiy have developed into NHL All-Stars; headline-grabbing trades landed Ryan McDonagh, J.T. Miller, and Mikhail Sergachev. 

Despite never attaining the ultimate goal of a championship, Yzerman’s blueprints built a powerhouse that reached the Stanley Cup Final and three other Eastern Conference Finals over nine seasons.

Rallying the Red Wings

When Yzerman suddenly stepped down from his position prior to the 2018-19 season, the writing was seemingly on the wall for a return to Detroit. As endless rumors finally came to fruition, Yzerman certainly knew the groundwork ahead of him as he was tasked with another rebuild, one that is certain to be a longer process than his first time around.

That’s because this time around, there was no Stamkos, no St. Louis, and no Hedman — that is, no dominant No. 1 center, wing, or defenseman. Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha have shown promise, but a weak supporting cast has sullied their chances for consistent offensive output. 

Moreover, detrimental contracts in both term and salary left Yzerman financially restrained and hindered his chances at making a splash in free agency last summer, meaning players including Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene, and Sergei Bobrovsky were far from possibilities for the Red Wings.

But knowing when to be patient is an important characteristic for any GM, and while certain names were enticing, Yzerman showed a dedication to rebuild right and rally Detroit back to greatness, just as he did on the ice decades ago.

Now, with the patience of one season — a trying season that has the Red Wings sitting in 31st place and a 12-32-3 record — opportunity is approaching.

A total of 23 contracts are expiring for the Red Wings at season’s end, which includes the main club and AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Among that list are 13 restricted free agents, eight unrestricted free agents, a buyout, and the long-term injured reserve status of Johan Franzen.

That leaves Yzerman with a ridiculous amount of freedom to mold the team into his vision. But just because he has remained patient doesn’t mean he hasn’t already begun the process. Yzerman signed veterans Valtteri Filppula and Patrik Nemeth in the offseason and cut in-season deals to acquire Adam Erne, Alex Biega, Brendan Perlini, Robby Fabbri, Eric Comrie (since lost on waivers), and Kyle Wood.

In doing so, he sent out a 2020 fourth-round draft pick, forwards David Pope and Jacob de la Rose, as well as defensemen Alec Regula, Vili Saarijarvi, and Oliwer Kaski.

Method to the Madness?

It’s no coincidence that each acquired piece is on an expiring contract. Yzerman’s accumulation of RFAs is creating a battle for a new contract, forcing players to earn a deal with their play. Regardless of team status, no one is guaranteed a future in Detroit.

Yzerman’s RFA method could stem from a few various reasons, not limited to competition, lack of viable trade chips, cap considerations, or even possibly doing the best he can with what he inherited from the previous administration.

Going back to the lack of game-changers on the roster, while the prospect system has grown over the past two years, there aren’t a lot of enticing trade chips after the few untouchable guys.

But buying in bulk could be the way to go when the trade deadline arrives, where Yzerman is guaranteed to shop pending UFAs Mike Green, Trevor Daley, and Jimmy Howard. In the search for a draft pick(s) or prospect, offering cap-restrained teams one of those guys in addition to a pending RFA would provide both depth during a playoff run and financial flexibility in negotiating a new deal for an RFA over the summer.

Or, sticking with the patient approach, simply shopping the plethora of RFAs in the summer likely opens up the number of interested teams and available pieces. Last summer, the Vancouver Canucks paid a mediocre price of two draft picks and an aging prospect to Tampa Bay for J.T. Miller due to cap constraints; now Miller is enjoying a resurgent season and likely has Lightning GM Julien BriseBois shaking his head in hindsight.

Those are the types of deals Yzerman will likely be looking at: acquiring young, bounce-back candidates on modest contracts from cap-restrained teams in exchange for negotiable RFAs that can add depth in return.

But, as Detroit fans continue to preach, they fully trust the “Yzer-plan,” and his blueprint could be much more complicated and sneaky than one person can decipher.


Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @Jacob_Messing.