Steve Yzerman keeps his cards handy, especially this time of year.
The 2023 NHL Draft is a week away, with all the usual trade potential that comes with it — in fact, maybe more. Free agency will follow on July 1. And with five Top 50 draft picks, plus plenty of space, it looks like Yzerman and the Red Wings might once again be in the thick of the action.
The Detroit general manager, of course, isn’t looking to comment on his plans. But when he spoke to the media for more than an hour on Tuesday, there was still some insight to be gained on some of this summer’s major topics.
Here’s what we learned about the Red Wings’ offseason.
He said he had five of the 43rd first picks in the draft
“I don’t expect the ninth pick to be made,” Yzerman explained. “Most likely, given that we’re here today, I also expect the 17th pick to be used on the first night of the draft. »
Can you read anything about additional qualifications in the 17th choice? Perhaps, given “As We Stand Here Today,” Detroit has that extra first-round pick, and so you would naturally expect to use it. Should a particularly attractive trade offer arise, the Red Wings should of course consider it – and Yzerman let himself free to do so with those words. But you can certainly rule out that the Red Wings weren’t eager to give up the 17th pick, and realistically, that’s the likely outcome they would get.
His comments on Plans 41, 42 and 43 were the most interesting.
“I’ve never had three picks in a row, especially three picks in the second round,” he said. That’s fun. Those picks tend to be valuable. If you look at each team’s grid, a lot of the teams don’t have leadoffs, they don’t have second-round picks, so you’re probably looking at those picks. But again, while we’re here Today, there’s more stuff that’s really going to happen in the draft, really on the ground in all likelihood. But it definitely gives you options. “Return every form of currency. Whether you use it to get into the draft, go back into the draft, or get more picks. Or acquiring players. In the position we’re in, it’s nice to have a lot of draft picks.”
Since the end of the season and the advent of this draft order, three consecutive draft picks have risen as a source of maneuverability. For Yzerman, there are far too many teams that didn’t make a first or second round selection this year, and even those who could either be aiming for more or seeking promotion or a comeback. Detroit has all of these options on the table, and the team is picking what Yzerman considers a good draft pick, even if it is, as he points out, a top-notch job in class.
“Just look at the draft history, it’s going to get more and more random as you go,” Yzerman said. But as we go through our meetings and we talk about players and kind of building your roster, we eventually sit down and say, you know, ‘We’re excited, we’re optimistic at Pick 43 that we’re going to get one from this group of players. And even today, it’s an educated guess who’s going to be there, but we think some of those guys are going to be there, in the third round of Tests, things like that, we’re like, this player. »
Well, it’s possible for Detroit to make all five picks in the top 43. But if I take one thing away from capital ruminations, it’s probably the line about the value of these picks and the idea other teams are seeking to get.
Yzerman said that these chords occur in a draft of the speech. But his talk of “money” tells you that he’s definitely thinking about his potential options.
About the first Russians in the chapter, considerations regarding the formulation of A
Yzerman didn’t let anything get away when I asked if the Red Wings had been able (or expected) to meet top Russians Matvey Michkov, Daniil Butt and Dmitry Simashev, who weren’t able to attend the combine (no surprise there). He was short and vague about whether the Russians’ lack of live action scenes this year would prevent him from using a high pick, saying simply, “Maybe. Maybe not.”
But that would of course be one of the biggest questions in the draft, as those three players were ranked in Corey Brunman’s top 10, including third-ranked Meshkov, but with the possibility of slipping up later.
However, Yzerman later clarified some of his market thoughts in relation to Russia’s prospects as a whole, even if not his team in particular.
“Just look at the recent releases,” he said, “I don’t think things have been much different. “Teams will take the best player on the roster at the time, and I don’t think there’s really a negative bias for any reason, whether it’s a contractual situation or (something) outside of Russia . The only challenge, is the only One NHL team that has the president of the amateur division who lives in Russia and is the main decision-maker. So they don’t see it often, they’ll be more reluctant to make that choice, especially a large one. But going through the draft, players will take MVPs, players who play in Russia, under contracts, in the end, if they’re good, maybe they want to get in. And if they’re good, you’ll want them to come.
“I don’t think that, throughout the league, there was any real bias for any reason about Russian players. It was quite a challenge to see them, to get in there and to see them out of your team that’s in Russia now. I don’t talk to a lot of GMs and ask them, ‘Hey’ “What are you planning to do in the draft in terms of Russian players? Because they won’t share what their plans really are. And the guy who says to you, ‘No luck, we’re going to stay away,’ is the guy who goes to get the player. We’re just looking, and if we like a player No matter what country he lives in, what we want, we will choose it.”
So does that tell you if the Red Wings were to take a hit on Michkov, should he fall in love with them? Not exactly. This is exactly what Yzerman wants.
But it’s a good window into what GM believes is the real mitigating factor: the lack of live-action spectacle and what that means for ratings, over the course of a decade.
Great for hardcore players while rebuilding
If the Red Wings can impress a qualified player, the dynamic Yzerman must fork out future capital for the “now” player – on a team that remains pragmatically more oriented toward future success than the present.
“We weigh, is he a young player? Does he fit into the schedule for us? How much does it cost to get him? And then how much does it cost to sign him? It all depends on that,” said Yzerman. , and guys in that age group who fit in there and be a part of it for a long time.So again, if we want to convey our picks or any of our hopes, it has to be a player that we feel comfortable with, what the cost of getting him, what the cost of getting him, and also the contract, the term That will be part of things.”
Nothing shocking about it, it’s just a normal trading account.
But the “schedule” idea persisted, as Yzerman was—and still is—extremely reluctant to give timelines for rebuilding Detroit. However, when asked if there were any ages or contracts that would be as extravagant as potential acquisitions, he went back to the Larkin era to make his point.
“Is there a definite age that is the limit of our essence? No,” he said. I’m still referring to Dylan. I think Dylan is 27 (he will be 27 in July). Somewhere around that age or younger. Then you look – seven- and eight-year contracts are a risk at any age. And some of them may turn out to be good. But if you look at their stories, most of them don’t. So be very careful how many people we distribute and who you give them to. When choosing this age group, this age group is between 18 and 27 years old. … If I want to build that core around these guys, they have to be pretty decent in that age group.
I’m sure many viewers after reading this went straight to Alex DeBrincat, one of the hottest names in publicity this summer, who just so happens to be 25 years old. So of course it fits in the window.
However, DeBrincat is the FRG that will need a new contract, and that’s where Yzerman’s commentary on the seven- and eight-year deals stands out. If DeBrincat (who turns 26 in December) signs such a deal this summer, he’ll be 32 or 33 by the time it expires. And as a player as good as he is, a lot can happen in that time.
Cela a toujours été l’un des important factors for savoir si l’échange de Brincat fonctionnerait vraiment for les Red Wings: devoir abandonner des activities for the avoir, puis faire demi-tour et lui donner un enorme contrat a long term sur- field.
Another outstanding question about such a deal is the idea of intra-divisional trades, but Yzerman wasn’t intimidated by that prospect on Tuesday when asked generally about intra-divisional trades.
“I think the old school approach was… ‘We’re going to trade one player to the worst team in the league, and you get traded to the worst team in the league, I don’t want that to come back and haunt us in any way.'” “Today I will offer the best deal possible to the Detroit Red Wings. If it were in our division, I could have had a few sleepless nights throughout the year. But I still had to offer the best deal to the Red Wings.
So, again, does this tell you whether the Red Wings will make a good deal for DeBrincat? No, but he sheds light on some of his general thoughts on issues on the sidelines of a potential deal.
advice
Regarding the Red Wings’ injury, Jake Wollman (upper-body injury), Simon Edvinson (shoulder surgery) and Marco Casper (lower-body injury), “They’re all going through the recovery well, nothing to worry about,” Eiserman said.
Wollman was Detroit’s biggest player last season, and Edvinson and Casper are both starters with opening night coaching opportunities, so these three tackles are a huge recovery for the Red Wings.
And when it comes to Detroit’s first-choice goalie behind Phil Hossu, Eiserman hasn’t given up on his plans, but he hasn’t ruled out bringing back one (or both) of Magnus Helberg and Alex Nedeljkovic.
“(We have) a decision to make very soon here with the advent of free agency,” he said. “Should we bring one or both back, if we can accept some kind of contract, or go to market? Obviously we’ll have to make the decision to offer free agency in (July) first, kind of consider whether we can sign with our partners, and if It’s not like that, we’re going to go into the market which is a bit unexpected at the moment. It’s a tough question that I have to answer right now, and it’s something we’re really thinking about here and we’ll have to make a decision soon.”
(Photo: Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)
