It was never much of a question for Steve Yzerman, even if the announcement came later than expected. Jeff Blashill will be back for a seventh season behind the Red Wings' bench as the organization continues its climb back to relevance.
Yzerman said Tuesday he sat down with Blashill after this season concluded and got the answers he needed.
"Jeff and I needed to sit down and see one, how does he feel about the situation? How enthusiastic was he?" Yzerman said. "And clearly from our conversations, he's determined to be successful here and looks forward to the challenge of continuing to rebuild the Red Wings.
"So was it a hard decision? Not really. I’m comfortable with it, I feel good about in and we’ll continue to work. Having said that, we all have expectations and we have to continue to go in the right direction."
This was the fourth full season of Detroit's rebuild, over which time the club has the most losses in the NHL. That would be an easy reason to dismiss the head coach. But Yzerman doesn't judge Blashill off the team's record, not with a roster that isn't ready to win. What matters to Yzerman is that the Wings improved from last year to this one. They kept more pucks out of their net, picked up more points per game and were more competitive on a nightly basis.
Yzerman said "two things, most important to me" assured him that Blashill remains the right man for the job.
"One, I feel our team was collectively very competitive. Whether we played well or not every night was different, but we played hard. And I think that’s a reflection of the coaching staff, that they have the respect of the players. That was important."
To Yzerman's point, Detroit didn't fold after falling out of the playoff race early in the season. In fact, the club played its best hockey down the stretch. The Wings went 12-10-5 in their final 27 games, a full-season pace that would have left them four points out of the playoffs, and 6-4-4 in their final 14. And a large chunk of these games came after Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi and Robby Fabbri went down with injuries and after Jonathon Merrill and Patrik Nemeth were traded.
The Wings remained competitive in part because their young players stepped up. And their young players stepped up, Yzerman believes, because Blashill knows how to coach them. This was reason No. 2.
"The other part is, Jeff has really shown the ability to work with me in transitioning our young players into the lineup," Yzerman said. "Being patient with them. Not handing them positions or ice time, really forcing them to earn it. Guiding them along and being firm yet patient. And as we’re rebuilding and trying to move more younger players into the lineup, I think it’s important to have a coach that has a calmness and a willingness to allow these younger players to go through some of the growing pains of playing in the NHL."
There are more young players on the way, including 2019 first-round pick (and 2021 Swedish Hockey League Defenseman of the Year) Moritz Seider. Yzerman said he expects him to start next season in Detroit. He said the same is possible for 2020 first-round pick Lucas Raymond. These are the kind of players who will come to define Blashill's tenure with the Wings. His tenure with Yzerman may be just beginning.
Right now, the GM knows the coach is doing the best he can with what he's got.
"Ultimately, we need to have a better team," Yzerman said. "We need our current players to play better and it’s up to management to bring in players that make us a better team. You need good players to win in the league. I can change coaches year after year after year. We need good players, and if we don’t have good players it’s not going to change."