Steve Yzerman's offseason checklist

Here's how the Detroit Red Wings can make the playoffs

General manager Steve Yzerman has a lot on his plate this offseason.

To say things were less than ideal this last season is an understatement. From firing head coach Derek Lalonde to seeing the San Jose Sharks net a first round pick by trading Jake Walman (who the Red Wings traded a second round to offload his contract), it was a mess from top to bottom. Questions about Hockeytown’s pro scouting department, buyouts, and prospect call-ups are nothing if not frequent.

Change, by all accounts, should be in the air. But what, specifically, needs to be addressed? How much should change fundamentally? Will the existential crisis ever be fixed? Well, Steve, if you’re reading this, I’m here to lend a hand. I’ve put together a little checklist of things that the Red Wings should follow this offseason (because there’s nothing a tried-and-true hockey executive considers more than the opinions of a guy online).

Anyway…here’s what I’m thinking:

I’m gonna be so mad if this winds up being correct

Step 1: Use the 13th pick effectively

The Red Wings fell in the draft order again. At this point, it’s almost an inevitability. Since 1995, the only team to fall as low in the draft lottery are the Ottawa Senators — and they’ve had far more chances to draft than the Wings. That doesn’t change the reality of drafting 13th this year, though. Notable players around this range include Victor Eklund (often compared to Jesper Bratt and Logan Stankoven) and Carter Bear (similar to Zach Hyman of the Oilers). The way I see it, there are two ways that Detroit can use this pick:

Draft a bargaining chip

There comes a time in a rebuild where you’ve got to make some tough decisions. Not every prospect is going to make it, much less pan out as a player. Eventually, you’re going to draft players that you could use in trades down the line. We’ve seen it when the Florida Panthers traded Spencer Knight for Seth Jones. The Vegas Golden Knights trade prospect after prospect to keep their window open. Sooner or later, Detroit is going to be in that position — and they’ll need some bargaining chips to make moves.

Why not draft the best player available? It’s a win-win scenario. Either you have a blue chip bargaining piece you can flip for serious talent, or you’ve got a young player on an affordable entry-level contract. Drafting in the early teens is a bummer, sure, but the best thing that you can do is make lemonade out of the lemons you’ve got. Having said that, there’s another route that might be more appealing:

Trade the pick for young talent

When you’ve spent almost a decade drafting and developing talent, there comes a time where you’ve got to take that next step. Two years ago, Yzerman traded a first round pick to the Ottawa Senators for Alex DeBrincat. Could we see a similar deal for a player like K’Andre Miller? Quite a few teams are in a bad spot with their younger players. Others need fresh starts in new locations. Heck, Trevor Zegras, the guy who did “more for the sport of hockey than anyone” just got traded for a second round pick and a depth forward.

Pat Verbeek boy do I have an offer for you

Last year’s draft was fairly uneventful, with very few trades happening in the first round. This one, however, appears primed for big moves. You’ve got players like JJ Peterka and Bowen Byram unhappy with their current teams. Others, like the Los Angeles Kings, appear caught in the mire between rebuilding and contending. This seems as good an opportunity as any to secure a difference-maker with the 13th pick. As for who’s available in exchange for the 13th pick, well, that’s anyone’s guess. But, if history is any indication, a DeBrincat-tier player could (and should) be comparable.

Marco Rossi, anyone?

Step 2: Hit free agency hard

With fresh draft talent (or a new player) in hand, the next step is to fill in the gaps with free agency. This is going to be tricky: after all, the pro scouting division’s results these last few seasons have ranged from “meh” to “downright abysmal”. Is this their final shot, or will Yzerman bring some new staff around before July 1st? The odds of the latter happening are unlikely at best. With that in mind, these are the needs I believe the Wings will address this offseason:

• Defensive depth (specifically, a top-four defenseman)

• Depth scoring (ideally a 2C)

• Patrick Kane

If Detroit media is any indication, a Kane-Red Wings reunion is almost inevitable. That leaves the other two needs: a top-four defenseman and, ideally, a second-line center.

Go big or go home

As far as big names go, Aaron Ekblad looks like a perfect fit for Detroit. He’s tall, physical, comes with plenty of playoff experience, and he’s a two-time Cup champ. While, yes, he’ll need a pretty big deal to stick around, he fits the exact type of player Yzerman always praises.

In simpler terms, he’s what everyone thought Ben Chiarot was back in 2020.

If the Wings can’t convince Ekblad to come to Hockeytown, Vladislav Gavrikov of the Los Angeles Kings is a great consolation prize. The 29-year-old defenseman, praised for his consistency, would add some much-needed stability on the team’s top-four. To top it all off, he wouldn’t come in at a very high price — The Athletic has him set to earn around $7.5M a year. This could be one of those deals that pays off for Detroit in the long run.

A realistic (read: inevitable) approach

The only roadblock is, of course, convincing him to sign long-term with the Wings. If neither candidate decides to go for Detroit, they’ll need to look down the depth chart for help. We’re talking Henri Jokiharju, Ivan Provorov, maybe even Cody Ceci. These might not be the top-tier candidates we want, but they could be the stopgap that Yzerman considers while waiting for prospects like Axel Sandin-Pellikka to take their next big step.

Or we could just go with the same thing we always do. Who even cares anymore?

Step 3: Give the kids a chance!

Last season, Marco Kasper secured a full-time roster spot. The year before, Simon Edvinsson showed he has what it takes to make it in the NHL. This year, Axel Sandin-Pellikka has a chance to make this roster. The Red Wings should allow him every opportunity to make a case for himself. Last season, the 20-year-old defenseman won the Swedish Junior Hockey Player of the Year Award, leading SHL juniors in points and goals. While it’s almost inevitable that he starts the season in the AHL, wouldn’t you want to see him get an honest shot at making the big leagues?

Speaking of honest shots, remember the time Nate Danielson almost made the roster in the preseason last October? With a full year of the AHL under his belt (and 32 points to boot), Danielson has his eyes set on making the roster next season. Like Kasper, he’s shown he’s got what it takes when the pressure’s on. Could he be the piece the Wings need to make that push?

Then again, putting all this pressure on the rookies is unrealistic at best and downright delusional at worst. Sooner or later, though, they’ll need to be thrown into the fire. Maybe this is the season Yzerman finally decides to let the youth movement run rampant.

As long as we don’t see more of the same, the fans (and players) should expect some serious change.

What do you want to see out of Yzerman this offseason?