Around the NHL — Episode XLXVI

[aragorn]

Will Yzerman get fired for missing the playoffs for 5 yrs?

Calls to Fire Steve Yzerman Growing Louder

Calls to fire Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman are growing louder as the Wings watch their hopes for a wildcard playoff spot slip away.

heavy.com

 

[Hale The Villain]

Will Yzerman get fired for missing the playoffs for 5 yrs?

Calls to Fire Steve Yzerman Growing Louder

Calls to fire Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman are growing louder as the Wings watch their hopes for a wildcard playoff spot slip away.

heavy.com

People on HFSens can hate the Wings all they want, but Yzerman has done an objectively good job.

When he took over in April 2019 the Wings young core consisted of Larkin, Hronek, Bertuzzi, Rasmussen, Athanasiou and Mantha, and their drafting had been putrid in recent years. They had recently wasted 1sts on Zadina, Veleno, Cholowski and Svechnikov, and the drafting on day 2 wasn't much better.

After 5 years his team has a pretty bright future and they were 1 point away from making the playoffs. Really they should have made the playoffs with a +4 goal differential, but worse teams like the Isles (-17) and Caps (-37) lucked their way into the playoffs instead.

You look under the hood at individual moves made and who deserves credit for the Wings turnaround and it's mostly him. He's gotten tremendous value in trades and has signed a lot of NHLers that have made an impact.

People calling for him to be fired after the Wings overperformed expectations are out of their damned minds.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I actually think he's played their hands about as well as possible, from the outside looking in. He's obviously identified that the team did not have the necessary horses and needed a bit of a reset last year, which I think was the right move. He then insulated the roster with UFA's on short term deals that got them playing meaningful games this year. Now he needs to figure out the horses part and get a squad seriously capable of doing damage. I don't think there was much else he could have done to fast forward things.

 

[Hale The Villain]

Really the only criticisms I can level at Yzerman is that he went a little overboard with some of the UFA deals, particularly for Chariot and Holl, which may hurt their ability to afford upgrades in the near future.

Also for a team lacking high-end scoring talent, I would have expected them to roll the dice a bit more on some of their recent 1sts. Kasper and Danielson are safe picks that will play in this league, probably in top 9 roles, but I'd be surprised if either are stars. You have to hope for more picking top 10.

Unfortunately for us Detroit has an advantage in that a number of players come from Michigan and want to go back there during their careers. It's a fairly attractive destination for players and they may be able to make up for mediocre drafting by attracting talent via UFA.

 

[SensHulk]

Coyotes confirmed to Utah. Just like that. Seems when the league wants to get things done they can move fast. Not to give Andlauer the keys though, that takes over 3 months after a year of "vetting". What a joke.

I agree with the sentiment but I wonder if Andlauer just had way too many partners that needed to be vetted versus someone like Ryan Smith who may be a sole buyer (and probably pre-vetted already during their initial submission for expansion)

 

[thinkwild]

Is Yzerman considered a nepotism hire?

 

[Hale The Villain]

Is Yzerman considered a nepotism hire?

He basically built the Lightning team that won the cup twice in two years before coming to Detroit.

And before becoming GM of the Lightning he was VP of Hockey Ops for the Wings for 4 years and was the GM of Team Canada.

Bit more experience than our guy prior to being hired, but nice try.

 

[Tragedy]

He basically built the Lightning team that won the cup twice in two years before coming to Detroit.

And before becoming GM of the Lightning he was VP of Hockey Ops for the Wings for 4 years and was the GM of Team Canada.

Bit more experience than our guy prior to being hired, but nice try.

And what exp did Yzerman have before being named vp of hockey ops?

Or Sakic for that matter. He's lead a team to a cup and he only had 2 years as advisor before being named executive VP of Hockey ops.

Seems like Staios working as a successful GM in the OHL has had more relevant work experience than either Yzerman or Sakic did before they were named VP of hockey ops.

 

[Hale The Villain]

And what exp did Yzerman have before being named vp of hockey ops?

Or Sakic for that matter. He's lead a team to a cup and he only had 2 years as advisor before being named executive VP of Hockey ops.

Seems like Staios working as a successful GM in the OHL has had more relevant work experience than either Yzerman or Sakic did before they were named VP of hockey ops.

Being among the best players to ever play the game definitely vaulted them up the ladder quicker.

Those two proved to be more than capable of the job. Hopefully Staios does the same.

 

[Micklebot]

And what exp did Yzerman have before being named vp of hockey ops?

Or Sakic for that matter. He's lead a team to a cup and he only had 2 years as advisor before being named executive VP of Hockey ops.

Seems like Staios working as a successful GM in the OHL has had more relevant work experience than either Yzerman or Sakic did before they were named VP of hockey ops.

The question is how much different is being GM of an OHL club from being GM of an NHL club. There's obviously different strategies required to be successful since roster turnover in the OHL is much faster, and you are dealing with salary and cap implications, but why is it that so many people discount that experience while being happy with AGM or advisor roles in the NHL.

 

[JD1]

People on HFSens can hate the Wings all they want, but Yzerman has done an objectively good job.

When he took over in April 2019 the Wings young core consisted of Larkin, Hronek, Bertuzzi, Rasmussen, Athanasiou and Mantha, and their drafting had been putrid in recent years. They had recently wasted 1sts on Zadina, Veleno, Cholowski and Svechnikov, and the drafting on day 2 wasn't much better.

After 5 years his team has a pretty bright future and they were 1 point away from making the playoffs. Really they should have made the playoffs with a +4 goal differential, but worse teams like the Isles (-17) and Caps (-37) lucked their way into the playoffs instead.

You look under the hood at individual moves made and who deserves credit for the Wings turnaround and it's mostly him. He's gotten tremendous value in trades and has signed a lot of NHLers that have made an impact.

People calling for him to be fired after the Wings overperformed expectations are out of their damned minds.

Well, 5 years into his tenure what does he have?

Apart from Seider, he's got a group of on the downside veteran D, probably 3 or 4 of whom are out of the league in two years. and Edvinson who everyone says is gonna be great but he's D+3 now and still played most of his year in the A.

And then upfront, you've got a run of the mill Ufa guy in Compfer and you've got over the hill guys in Kane and Perron amongst your top scorers.

Literally 40% of the roster is free agent opportunism. Aging players, on the downside, looking for a cheque, looking to keep the glory alive.

What he's assembled hasn't made the playoffs and if he strips it down and goes with youth, he's in SJ territory

I agree with the sentiment but I wonder if Andlauer just had way too many partners that needed to be vetted versus someone like Ryan Smith who may be a sole buyer (and probably pre-vetted already during their initial submission for expansion)

There's a lot of salt Lake factors. The guy there has an NBA team already. That puts the dual purpose new facility in play. 2034 Olympics might end up there. And a huge tourist destination

 

[JD1]

He basically built the Lightning team that won the cup twice in two years before coming to Detroit.


Bit more experience than our guy prior to being hired, but nice try.

He waltzed into TB with a 1oa and a 2oa (Stamkos and Hedman) already on the books and they went on to hall of fame careers.

Nice try though.

You need to be honest Hale. How many GMs can be successful with a destination location and a 19 and 20 year old HoF calibre players?

Yes he had a very successful run. But he had a very good opportunity as well.

 

[Xspyrit]

Yzerman didn't have the luxury to take over a rebuild with prime assets like Karlsson, Stone, Duchene (or 4 OA + Turris, etc), Brassard (or Zibanejad + 2nd), Pageau, Dzingel, Hoffman, Ceci, Chabot, Paul, Batherson, Formenton, etc

I wonder where we would be now if he took over the Sens in 2018

 

[GCK]

Yzerman didn't have the luxury to take over a rebuild with prime assets like Karlsson, Stone, Duchene (or 4 OA + Turris, etc), Brassard (or Zibanejad + 2nd), Pageau, Dzingel, Hoffman, Ceci, Chabot, Paul, Batherson, Formenton, etc

I wonder where we would be now if he took over the Sens in 2018

Replace Melnyk with Vinnick and Yzerman could have made us competitive by now.

 

[Xspyrit]

Replace Melnyk with Vinnick and Yzerman could have made us competitive by now.

Haven't we started to spend more since 2021-22?

 

[GCK]

Haven't we started to spend more since 2021-22?

Does Vinnick get consulted on every move, does Vinnick run a bare bones front office, even spending more we had a budget of 74M in the summer of Pierre, etc…

No one could be successful under Melnyk, especially a buffoon.

 

[Xspyrit]

Does Vinnick get consulted on every move, does Vinnick run a bare bones front office, even spending more we had a budget of 74M in the summer of Pierre, etc…

No one could be successful under Melnyk, especially a buffoon.

Having Melnyk is the reason we were stuck with Dorion which is the reason we were stuck with DJ

 

[GCK]

Having Melnyk is the reason we were stuck with Dorion which is the reason we were stuck with DJ

DJ was okay but they kept him 2 years too long, because he was dirt cheap.

 

[Xspyrit]

DJ was okay but they kept him 2 years too long, because he was dirt cheap.

I wish we still had DJ, as an assistant coach. He would have been perfect in that role

 

[GCK]

I wish we still had DJ, as an assistant coach. He would have been perfect in that role

I’m glad all the Melnyk stink is gone. This is the first chance the new regime can start to fix the damage. No more Bobby Ryan, Debrincat, Chychrun reactionary moves.

I expect fans will be extremely underwhelmed by the moves made this off season but they will turn out to be very solid moves.

Gruden

Tanev 3 x up to whatever it takes

Chychrun return will be lower than hoped

Brannstrom not QOd

Forsberg out new Alex Lyon type goalie in

Vet bottom 6 forward that can PK but doesn’t put up points

Big bottom pair vet to replace Hammer.

No flash but likely makes the team much better.

 

[Loach]

I wish we still had DJ, as an assistant coach. He would have been perfect in that role

Take it back

 

[bicboi64]

Well, 5 years into his tenure what does he have?

Apart from Seider, he's got a group of on the downside veteran D, probably 3 or 4 of whom are out of the league in two years. and Edvinson who everyone says is gonna be great but he's D+3 now and still played most of his year in the A.

And then upfront, you've got a run of the mill Ufa guy in Compfer and you've got over the hill guys in Kane and Perron amongst your top scorers.

Literally 40% of the roster is free agent opportunism. Aging players, on the downside, looking for a cheque, looking to keep the glory alive.

What he's assembled hasn't made the playoffs and if he strips it down and goes with youth, he's in SJ territory

He's a smart GM because he's not dumb enough to get rid of quality vets. Guys like Compher, Perron, Copp, etc.. they're not enough to move the needle to make you a cup contender, but they insulate the youth enough that if they end up sucking, you still have guys that know how to play the 82 game grind and can give you a fighting chance.

Guys like Chiarot and Holl are overpaid, but they're not scrubs like Hamonic. If Edvinsson, Wallinder, etc.. don't work out, their D is evenly constructed enough to still compete. All they really lack is good goaltending and elite star power.

I hate the Wings, but Yzerman came into a shit situation, restocked their cupboards, and has the team playing meaningful throughout the season.

 

[aragorn]

People on HFSens can hate the Wings all they want, but Yzerman has done an objectively good job.

When he took over in April 2019 the Wings young core consisted of Larkin, Hronek, Bertuzzi, Rasmussen, Athanasiou and Mantha, and their drafting had been putrid in recent years. They had recently wasted 1sts on Zadina, Veleno, Cholowski and Svechnikov, and the drafting on day 2 wasn't much better.

After 5 years his team has a pretty bright future and they were 1 point away from making the playoffs. Really they should have made the playoffs with a +4 goal differential, but worse teams like the Isles (-17) and Caps (-37) lucked their way into the playoffs instead.

You look under the hood at individual moves made and who deserves credit for the Wings turnaround and it's mostly him. He's gotten tremendous value in trades and has signed a lot of NHLers that have made an impact.

People calling for him to be fired after the Wings overperformed expectations are out of their damned minds.

That's their fan base calling for Yzerman to be fired, I personally could not care less. That's the life of professional sports win or get fired.

 

[BigRig4]

Detroit missed the playoffs by 5 minutes and has a top 3 prospect pipeline. If Stevie gets fired it would be so moronic.

 

[JD1]

He's a smart GM because he's not dumb enough to get rid of quality vets. Guys like Compher, Perron, Copp, etc.. they're not enough to move the needle to make you a cup contender, but they insulate the youth enough that if they end up sucking, you still have guys that know how to play the 82 game grind and can give you a fighting chance.

Guys like Chiarot and Holl are overpaid, but they're not scrubs like Hamonic. If Edvinsson, Wallinder, etc.. don't work out, their D is evenly constructed enough to still compete. All they really lack is good goaltending and elite star power.

I hate the Wings, but Yzerman came into a shit situation, restocked their cupboards, and has the team playing meaningful throughout the season.

the irony of what you posted is the bolded is what you actually need to win. Anyone with money to spend and a destination that players will go to can sign a Perron, a Petry, a Ghost, a Compher.

i don't have a dog in the fight, it really doesn't matter to me but the actual truth of it is this:

• gifted two young Hall of famers and an attractive destination and he thrived
• minus two young Hall of famers and he's failed to make the playoffs in 5 years

and all I will say it's hard to f*** up the first situation and hard to dig your way out of the second one
So what has he really done that is special?