Steve Yzerman addressed controversial comments from within his own team during his end-of-season press conference on April 29.
Early on in the nearly hour-long presser, during which he sat side by side with coach Todd McLellan, Yzerman focused on what the Detroit Red Wings did at the March 7 trade deadline – or rather, that all they did was acquire a veteran goaltender and a veteran grinder. Both that night and on April 19, the day players cleaned out their lockers, captain Dylan Larkin was critical that the Wings did not gain any momentum from the trade deadline.
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“I’ve addressed Dylan’s comments directly with Dylan, and I will not elaborate,” Yzerman said. “If Dylan wants to share what I had to say with him, he’s more than welcome.”
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Larkin, both hours after the trade deadline passed on March 7 and again on April 19, two days after the end of the season, pointed to how little the Wings did. The only move Yzerman made was to acquire 33-year-old goaltender Petr Mrazek, and veteran fourth-line forward Craig Smith, in a trade that sent Joe Veleno to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Larkin said earlier this month that, “We didn’t do anything and I felt the group – we didn’t gain any momentum from the trade deadline and guys were kind of down about it. It would be nice to add something and bring a little bit of a spark on the ice and maybe a morale boost as well.”
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To Yzerman’s point, acquiring such a player is costly, and the Wings are not a place in the rebuild where they can afford to make those kind of moves.
Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman & coach Todd McLellan, April 29, 2025 in Detroit.
“I sit here today and I feel very comfortable − I can’t say I’m happy or I liked it, but I’m very comfortable with the fact we weren’t able to make a trade that involved our top prospects, or first-round picks − any of those highly valuable assets,” Yzerman said. “We were prepared to do that. We did trade a first-round draft pick recently, for Alex DeBrincat. I feel very good about that move, we got an excellent player on our team.
“We are prepared to use our draft picks. We are prepared to use our prospects. We’re prepared to use any player for that matter, in a trade that makes us better and helps us in our timeline to get better and ultimately be a team and compete for a Stanley Cup.”
Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin (71) skates during the warmup before a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Thursday, April 17, 2025.
Yzerman also pointed to other teams that didn’t do anything – and are playing right now.
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“I would point out two teams. in Montreal and St. Louis, who at the trade deadline were sitting outside of a playoff spot,” Yzerman said. “Neither team did anything. They both ended up making the playoffs and are playing very well at this time, led by their best players.
At the deadline, we looked, we had hoped, as I said, to try and improve our team. There were no good options. I can’t break the confidence of the other general managers around the league and things that we talked about, but there was no deals to bring in anyone of any significance that we really felt would make a difference, not just to make the playoffs this year, but to make us a better team in the long run. And to get us ultimately to where we were going to go.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Steve Yzerman addresses comments by Detroit Red Wings’ Dylan Larkin