Red Wings’ general manager Steve Yzerman has spent plenty for multi-year deals in free agency.
However, he has not done so wisely.
It’s a false narrative that the Red Wings, with an influx of high-end young players developing faster than the norm, are a young team.
The Red Wings were the sixth-oldest team in the NHL last season with an average age of 29.08. Their top players, Yzerman draft picks Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider, Simon Edvinsson and Marco Kapser, and even veterans Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat, all started the ’24-25 season under the league average age of 28.3.
Precious few players remain from the Ken Holland era, which tells you the veteran players Yzerman has acquired, with the exception of DeBrincat and Patrick Kane, have not remotely lived up the value of their contracts.
It’s how the Red Wings became a hot mess during the 2024-25 season, and why 2025-26 will start, to an alarming degree, behind the 8-ball.
The situation is not hopeless, though. The Red Wings have the above-mentioned promising core to build upon for the coming season, and a solid prospect pipeline.
But Yzerman must learn from his mistakes.
He must stop throwing good money at either past-their-prime (Jeff Petry, Ben Chiarot, Vadlimir Tarasenko, Cam Talbot, Erik Gustafsson), or at best, average players, whose previous production was evidently based on being on strong teams (J.T. Compher, Andrew Copp and Justin Holl). Petry is the only one totally coming off the books, but that was negated by Yzerman’s baffling deadline trade for goaltender Petr Mrazek.
The Red Wings’ lack of progress under Yzerman can be attributed to repeatedly acquiring players like this in the $4 million to $5 million annual range. It took up more than 30 percent of cap space in 2024-25, and already more than a quarter of it for '25-26.
Yzerman fell into the trap many GM’s do, regardless of the sport.
It’s the, "Two supposedly solid players are better than one premier player for the same price theory."
He has gradually fallen into the same money pit as his predecessor Ken Holland. Actually, it’s alarming how some of these signings mirror such Holland gems as Trevor Daly, Mike Green, Frans Nielsen and Stephen Weiss.
Free agency is shopping retail. Teams are going to overpay both in regard to salary and term. The mistake is made when GM’s think they’re going to get bargains below the high-end free agents. They don’t. They still overpay.
The Red Wings last two general managers are classic examples of this faux pas.
It’s the same with overvaluing draft picks and prospects. Nobody is suggesting Yzerman unload top-end prospects like Sebastian Cossa, Axel Sandin Pellikka, Nate Danielson or Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, but there are other ways to use prospect depth.
Look how much better St,. Louis was after getting highly-skilled defenseman Cam Fowler in December.
They gave up to Anaheim second- and fourth-round picks in the ’27 draft and a 23-year-old prospect, who was released by the Red Wings early in his pro career (defenseman Jeremie Biakabutuka, former Michigan running back Tim Biakabutuka’s nephew). He was subsequently sent to the East Coast Hockey League.
This isn’t the NFL. Only 15-to-20 percent of players taken in the second round of a given NHL Draft ever play in the league.
Fowler is signed for next season at $6.5 million. Certainly one Cam Fowler is better than any combination of the Red Wings’ flagging veteran D-men at a higher "combo" price. He was plus 19 with a 54.0 Corsi even strength in 51 games for the Blues. He had 10 points (two goals and eight assists) and was plus 2 in the Blues’ epic opening-round loss to the Jets.
The website spotrac.com has the Red Wings with more than $24 million in cap space to work with this off season. It’s 12th-most in the NHL.
Obviously, Mitch Mariner is the big name in this summer’s free agent class. It’s all right to dream, but the Red Wings need a second-line center badly. Sam Bennett is perfect for them because of his toughness. Centers Brock Nelson, John Tavares, Matt Duchene and Mikael Granlund are also available. The Red Wings sure could use an Aaron Ekblad or a Neal Pionk along the blue line, don’t ya think?
Or there is always the option of getting creative and making a really good trade, like Yzerman did to acquire DeBrincat, which frankly has been his only home run move so far.
But please, no more buying at the bargain bin during free agency.
You don’t even get what you pay for, which hopefully the embattled Yzerman knows by now.