Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings deserved credit for the signings of Shayne Gostisbehere and David Perron. They deserve just as much scrutiny for the players they signed as replacements.
When Gostisbehere departed last summer for the Hurricanes and Perron for the Senators, the Red Wings brought in defenseman Erik Gustafsson on a two-year, $4 million deal and winger Vladimir Tarasenko on a two-year, $9.5 million deal. Neither panned out.
Gustafsson was in and out of the lineup for the first couple months of the season and wound up a team-worst minus-19. Signed to fill Gostisbehere's role as an offensive defenseman and power play quarterback, Gustafsson produced nine power play points -- and 18 points total -- in 60 games. He missed the final month of the season with an injury.
Gustafsson's production did pick up after Todd McLellan replaced Derek Lalonde behind the bench, and Yzerman is hoping that continues into next season. It does not sound like the Red Wings have any interest in dumping the final year of Gustafsson's deal. In fact, Yzerman said Tuesday that he's "satisfied" with what Gustafsson provided in year one.
"Early in the season, we’re carrying eight defensemen and as you saw, Gus is in and out, Albert (Johansson) is in and out, Olli Maatta is in and out, which wasn’t great for any of them," Yzerman said. "And then once we went down to seven and (Gustafsson and Johansson) got to play more regularly, I think all of their play picked up. And we’ve talked about it, down the stretch when Erik Gustafsson was out, we felt we missed him. We missed his mobility, his skating."
Yzerman reiterated that while Gustafsson "started slow" without a consistent role, he liked Gustafsson's game as the season wore on: "So, that was good. Overall, I’m satisfied with what we got. Can he do more? Yeah, and I expect more of what Gus did in the second half than the first half."
Tarasenko was a bigger disappointment, given the track record and the cost. After scoring 23 goals last season and averaging 25 over the prior three, he scored 11 in 80 games this season and finished minus-13. While he might be in line for some better luck next year after his shooting percentage sunk well below his career average, Tarasenko struggled to make an impact across the ice for most of the season.
Yzerman allowed that the Red Wings "expect more" out of Tarasenko. Again, it doesn't sound like they plan to move on.
"I think his play was better, probably, than his production, what we’d expect from him," Yzerman said. "As a goal scorer, I would say he was frustrated not being able to produce, and I think that affected his attitude, it affected his play. But you try to reassure him that you’re doing a lot of good things out there and don’t let the missed chances or the inability to score affect your play.
"Hopeful and expecting him to give us more than he did this year, because I know — I believe — he can give us more than what he showed."
Perron, who wanted badly to stay in Detroit after last season, wound up signing a two-year, $8 million deal with the division-rival Senators and scored nine goals in 43 games (while going minus-7) this season. He had scored 41 goals and 103 points in two seasons with the Wings after signing a two-year, $9.5 million deal in 2022.
Gostisbehere played his way into a bigger deal last summer after putting up 10 goals and 56 points on a one-year, $4.1 million contract with Detroit. He landed a three-year, $9.6 million deal with the Hurricanes and recorded 45 points in year one.
Yzerman said multiple times Tuesday that the Red Wings are banking on bounce-backs next season from several of the free agents they've signed in recent years.
"I expect more out of them and am counting on them to deliver more for us, and it’s not just goals and assists," he said. "It’s the all-around game.
Tarasenko and Gustafsson, both 33, could well be among them.