ALTERING THE YZERPLAN

BY MIKE RIFKIN

When Steve Yzerman took over as the GM of the Red Wings in 2019, most people thought there were more glory days ahead. Instead the Red Wings still haven’t made the playoffs under Yzerman, in fact the Wings haven’t made the postseason since 2016. This after successfully making the playoffs for 25 consecutive seasons. And missing the playoffs this season had to be the most difficult, as the Wings were tied for first in the conference on January 24th. But a 9-14-4 record after that really hurt the team. The biggest issue was scoring, after the 24th of January, the Wings averaged just 2.59 goals per game.

Thursday the Yzerplan took a major hit, as Red Wings Captain Dylan Larkin requested a trade. Larkin signed an eight year 69.6 million dollar contract on March 1st 2023 and is signed through 2031. Larkin scored 34 goals and had 67 points in 74 games played this season. For Larkin it was his fifth consecutive thirty goal season. Larkin was also a key contributor for team USA on their way to the Gold Medal.

Yzerman is in a tough spot, on one hand he could trade Larkin and reap a lot of benefits, or he can hold onto him . Either way the Wings have to make the playoffs next season, but in my opinion they’re better off trading Larkin and altering the Yzerplan a tad. The Wings have a nice young nucleus led by Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider,etc… And there are more young players coming. With the Atlantic Division being what it is becoming, the Wings may want to alter their plans and not just trade Larkin, but look into a couple of other guys. Alex Debrincat and Andrew Copp are also both entering the final years of their respective contracts, maybe you shop them at the draft, and try to recoup the first round pick you lost when you traded for Justin Faulk. The other guy they can look to move is John Gibson, with top prospect Trey Augustine signing his ELC, it could be time to turn to the kid in net. Gibson has one year left on his deal and there are a lot of teams in need of a goalie.

 While the Yzerplan has yet to be successful, now could be a perfect time for it to be altered. Yes, the Wings would be getting rid of good players, but these players haven’t won anything there, Steve Yzerman should be listening on everything.