This is the most pivotal year in Steve Yzerman’s tenure as general manager of the Detroit Red Wings.

Writers have and will say that every year until either the Red Wings make the playoffs or Yzerman does get fired.

However, this year is more prudent than most. Since taking over in 2019, the Red Wings have steadily improved. A multitude of draft picks are emerging as capable NHLers under Yzerman. Yzerman’s eye for young talent has proven itself again and again, but the Red Wings have yet to cross the Rubicon. 

The Youth Movement is On

This preseason has brought three of Detroit’s latest draft picks onto the opening night roster. Those names include Axel Sandin Pellikka (1, 2023), Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, (1, 2024) and seventh round surprise Emmitt Finnie (7, 2023). 

However, in those 6 years, he is now on his third coach in almost as many years. Don’t forget, Derek Lalonde was hired in 2022 and Todd McLellan in late 2024. The team, meanwhile, has seemed to hover right under the cutoff line for the playoffs.

Free agency in recent years has been quiet on the acquisition front and mixed on the results front. Often to fans’ chagrin, Yzerman’s free agency and trade front in the offseason have been mostly middle or bottom of the lineup players. The notable impactful exceptions are Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat, who have found a home on Detroit’s second line. The list outside of that includes the much-maligned Ben Chiarot, David Perron, and Alex Lyon. Both of the latter two have since moved on.

Red Wings Moving Forward

This offseason, the Red Wings made two player trades. One to acquire goaltender John Gibson, and one to effectively dump Vladimir Tarasenko’s salary after a disappointing season. Gibson is the only veteran acquisition considered a true needle mover.

Gibson has a more proven track record as a starter who can take on more of a regular load for a season as part of a tandem than Lyon did. That should add up to more stops, and more importantly, a couple more wins in net for the Red Wings. But the game is more often than not decided by the 10 or so other players on ice who skate outside the crease. The Red Wings need to play better defense in front of Gibson and Talbot to reach the playoffs.

With the moves made before opening night to waive Justin Holl and Erik Gustafsson, Yzerman has taken the first step into the unknown. No more dredging for depth with veterans and former Cup champs like J.T. Compher, Perron, or Tarasenko. Nine members of Detroit’s lineup are players drafted by Yzerman, many within the last three years. There are going to be growing pains with any rookies. Especially so when there’s one on the top line left wing with only 10 AHL games under his belt, and two more from the SHL.

Said Coach McLellan when asked about Sandin Pellikka, “With all first-year players, Dylan Larkin, Ben Chiarot, they all played their first games their first year. There’s ups and downs, and there’s lessons to be learned along the way.”

Time is of the Essence

The Red Wings have been just good enough to give fans hope and not quite bad enough to get a top pick in the draft.

They’ve been stuck in a rut right in the middle. 

10 years into a playoff drought, going into your centennial season, it’s more than high time to finally mount the hill and plant the flag as one of the league’s contenders. They don’t have to get in, but they have to prove that they belong.

That means not tripping over themselves like they have the past two years. That means growth not just from the rookies, but from the veterans on this team.