Yzerman: Playoffs not a priority

[dalem177]

That is a misleading headline. Yzerman is building a CHAMPIONSHIP team, not a playoff team. He speaks of sustainable excellence via skilled depth.

I am not big on the Yzerplan miracle plan contrived in some secret lab of his own devise. This team was, at best, 1st round playoff fodder last season. This year isn't much different. I still see them 2-3 years away. They have no star forward, very little in terms of the wing, need D depth and don't have a top 10 goalie on the roster or in the pipeline.

Once ready, he'll buy the parts he can't develop. I am OK with missing the playoffs by a point, getting into the lottery, having my dreams of lottery luck and moving on to next season... you know like the Lions hopeful in September, compared to December.

Even a dummy like me can listen to the man and understand what he is saying, and he is saying exactly what you typed.

Barring crazy injury weirdness like last season I expect they will be competing hard for a wildcard spot this season. They might get in. Might not. If they do get in I expect they'll get smoked in round one and I would be ecstatic. 4 games of playoff hockey is exactly what these rookies and this team needs at this point.

I have learned that playoff hockey must be like sex - it doesn't matter how much someone explains it to you - you don't know anything about it until you're in there grinding. And once you DO know, you have to have more, because it's awesome, and you'll do a lot to get it.

 

[lidstromiscool]

I think Yzerman's biggest, and really only, blunder thus far has been the Chairot deal. But I see what he's doing with most of his free agent deals. He's building through the draft and signing veterans to deals to bridge the gap while the prospects develop into full time players.

The Chairot deal is terrible in hindsight. So is the Cossa pick. Signing vets like Chairot/Copp/Holl/ to long term contracts that short term move Detroit to 10-14th place, and long-term take up roster spots from young players. Detroit is in purgatory now, to good to get a high pick, not good enough to make the playoffs.

Oh dear. He wants a sustainable winner. How dare he!

"Our goal isn't just to make the playoffs. Our goal is to build a championship team."

So will you be happy if we just make the playoffs for a few years and never win a Cup? Probably so, since then you can whine that the Yzerplan failed...

The funny thing is that the path Detroit is on is to barely make the playoffs. This team is nowhere near championship calibre. The prospects coming up like Edvinsson and Kasper are great but will they move the needle enough to help this team make the playoffs? Maybe once in the next few years.

 

[Pavels Dog]

The Chairot deal is terrible in hindsight. So is the Cossa pick.

I don't think you understand the meaning of hindsight.

 

[Henkka]

We will be at the playoffs, and at same time Yzerman is gonna build that young nucleus for future winning years.

Why all the misundestanding?

Plan is quite clear for me.

 

[kliq]

The Chairot deal is terrible in hindsight. So is the Cossa pick. Signing vets like Chairot/Copp/Holl/ to long term contracts that short term move Detroit to 10-14th place, and long-term take up roster spots from young players. Detroit is in purgatory now, to good to get a high pick, not good enough to make the playoffs.


The funny thing is that the path Detroit is on is to barely make the playoffs. This team is nowhere near championship calibre. The prospects coming up like Edvinsson and Kasper are great but will they move the needle enough to help this team make the playoffs? Maybe once in the next few years.

Are you implying Cossa is a bust at 20? Or picking a goaltender in the first is terrible?

 

[lidstromiscool]

Are you implying Cossa is a bust at 20? Or picking a goaltender in the first is terrible?

I don't like drafting goalies in the 1st round, and I don't think Cossa was a good pick. He is definitely trending towards a bust. You think Cossa was a good pick?

 

[kliq]

I don't like drafting goalies in the 1st round, and I don't think Cossa was a good pick. He is definitely trending towards a bust. You think Cossa was a good pick?

I think it’s too early to tell as goalies take much longer than most other positions to develop. He could be a bust, he could be the our version of Andrei Vasilevskiy who Yzerman also used a first on. I have no idea.

 

[Henkka]

Why this Cossa talk.

He has zero impact to our playoff chances.

 

[JohanFranzenstein]

He won't say it, but he knows, we know, and the players know that we should at least be pushing for a wild card position.

 

[Run the Jewels]

He won't say it, but he knows, we know, and the players know that we should at least be pushing for a wild card position.

Yzerman's not going to put any pressure on anyone, but Lalonde made the statement that the team will be "significant" so that suggests they have a goal of making playoffs. It's not make or break or anything.

 

[Oddbob]

I don't like drafting goalies in the 1st round, and I don't think Cossa was a good pick. He is definitely trending towards a bust. You think Cossa was a good pick?

How is he trending toward bust after 1 pro season? Goalies never make it right away, even the best ones.

 

[heyfolks]

The Chairot deal is terrible in hindsight. So is the Cossa pick. Signing vets like Chairot/Copp/Holl/ to long term contracts that short term move Detroit to 10-14th place, and long-term take up roster spots from young players. Detroit is in purgatory now, to good to get a high pick, not good enough to make the playoffs.


The funny thing is that the path Detroit is on is to barely make the playoffs. This team is nowhere near championship calibre. The prospects coming up like Edvinsson and Kasper are great but will they move the needle enough to help this team make the playoffs? Maybe once in the next few years.

Chairot/Copp/Holl/

Chiarot - 4 years at $4.75M. Yzerman anticipated solid D, blue line toughness, mentoring and protection. That certainly did not display itself in 22-23. He didn't click with Mo, or anybody else. Deadline deal... only if he rebounds (and the Wings eat some $$). Buy out.... I don't see it, simply because no one is pushing him out of the top 6.

What Chiarot Brings to the Red Wings​

Steve Yzerman isn’t messing around going into free agency, as he’s already added a significant piece to a defence corps that badly needs it. Even though he has a stud like Moritz Seider leading the way, the blue line isn’t a one-man show, especially if you are trying to win consistently. Chiarot will bring a stabilizing presence to the group with his veteran savvy and overall defensive game. Given his pedigree, he was most likely signed to be the 2022 Calder Trophy winner’s partner for the 2022-23 season, so that he has more freedom to do his thing in the offensive zone.

Chiarot will also make teams think twice about taking liberties on the Red Wings’ young stars like Lucas Raymond and of course, his partner Seider. His physicality is something to be feared as he has put up over 100 hits in all but three of his seasons in the NHL. Not to mention he’s a wizard at blocking shots, which will prevent the new tandem of Alex Nedeljkovic and Ville Husso from becoming a shooting gallery for opposing teams.

Copp - Really surprised people are not more upset with this deal. Horrible signing, only defended by injury. A careeer year, at the right time (see Martin Lapointe). 5 years @ $5.625M per. The idea was he'd be a hard to play against, good in the circle, defensive type center. He is the 3rd highest player on the team. This guy is a 3rd line center, 4th on a championship team.

Andrew Copp Stats And News

Get all the latest stats, news, videos, and more on Andrew Copp.

www.nhl.com

Holl - 3 years @ $3.4M per. A real head scratcher. What I took from the D signings is simple Wallinder and Edvinsson are not ready. This guy is a #5 -6. Really dislike this one.

Red Wings sign defenseman Justin Holl to three-year contract | Detroit Red Wings

Blueliner has spent last six seasons with Toronto Maple Leafs, logging 82 points in 285 games

www.nhl.com

 

[Detroit Knights]

Copp - Really surprised people are not more upset with this deal. Horrible signing, only defended by injury. A careeer year, at the right time (see Martin Lapointe). 5 years @ $5.625M per. The idea was he'd be a hard to play against, good in the circle, defensive type center. He is the 3rd highest player on the team. This guy is a 3rd line center, 4th on a championship team.

Copp was actually a fantastic signing. Might be a little overpriced, but by year 3 it will be right where it should be at. He had an abdominal tear and played through it. Don't you think abdominal region is quite important for, idk, at the faceoff dot or hockey in general? He was also pretty hard to play against (even though half the year was working through an ab injury...) because he used his body a lot. His FO efficiency got better as the year gone on because his injury was starting to heal better. He was able to get Rasmussen to be a pretty good winger and increased his ability to be difficult to play against, so being a mentor or teacher was pretty helpful there. I am pretty sure his position outcome is going to be winger by next year because Kasper should be ready by then to take that spot.

So, yeah, he was defended by his injury...but as the season went on and his injury was healing (even though he played through it all and played a full 82 game season) he increasingly made his presence much better throughout the entirety of his game.

It kind of seems like you got upset about copp in the beginning of the season and refused to see his growth and just kept looking for the negatives...

 

[Henkka]

Love these guys being upset against everything when this team will start winning... and winning a lot after a month.

I hope you guys hate that WINNING feeling. Keep bashing Yzerman as an idiot etc. Lovely way of life.

 

[Ricelund]

Chairot/Copp/Holl/

Chiarot - 4 years at $4.75M. Yzerman anticipated solid D, blue line toughness, mentoring and protection. That certainly did not display itself in 22-23. He didn't click with Mo, or anybody else. Deadline deal... only if he rebounds (and the Wings eat some $$). Buy out.... I don't see it, simply because no one is pushing him out of the top 6.

What Chiarot Brings to the Red Wings​

Steve Yzerman isn’t messing around going into free agency, as he’s already added a significant piece to a defence corps that badly needs it. Even though he has a stud like Moritz Seider leading the way, the blue line isn’t a one-man show, especially if you are trying to win consistently. Chiarot will bring a stabilizing presence to the group with his veteran savvy and overall defensive game. Given his pedigree, he was most likely signed to be the 2022 Calder Trophy winner’s partner for the 2022-23 season, so that he has more freedom to do his thing in the offensive zone.

Chiarot will also make teams think twice about taking liberties on the Red Wings’ young stars like Lucas Raymond and of course, his partner Seider. His physicality is something to be feared as he has put up over 100 hits in all but three of his seasons in the NHL. Not to mention he’s a wizard at blocking shots, which will prevent the new tandem of Alex Nedeljkovic and Ville Husso from becoming a shooting gallery for opposing teams.

Copp - Really surprised people are not more upset with this deal. Horrible signing, only defended by injury. A careeer year, at the right time (see Martin Lapointe). 5 years @ $5.625M per. The idea was he'd be a hard to play against, good in the circle, defensive type center. He is the 3rd highest player on the team. This guy is a 3rd line center, 4th on a championship team.

Andrew Copp Stats And News

Get all the latest stats, news, videos, and more on Andrew Copp.

www.nhl.com

Holl - 3 years @ $3.4M per. A real head scratcher. What I took from the D signings is simple Wallinder and Edvinsson are not ready. This guy is a #5 -6. Really dislike this one.

Red Wings sign defenseman Justin Holl to three-year contract | Detroit Red Wings

Blueliner has spent last six seasons with Toronto Maple Leafs, logging 82 points in 285 games

www.nhl.com

Who cares? Honestly, if these are the worst “mistakes” Yzerman makes as GM, we should be grateful.

 

[Axel Sandy Pelikan]

I don't think you understand the meaning of hindsight.

What is bad about the Cossa pick?

Copp was actually a fantastic signing. Might be a little overpriced, but by year 3 it will be right where it should be at. He had an abdominal tear and played through it. Don't you think abdominal region is quite important for, idk, at the faceoff dot or hockey in general? He was also pretty hard to play against (even though half the year was working through an ab injury...) because he used his body a lot. His FO efficiency got better as the year gone on because his injury was starting to heal better. He was able to get Rasmussen to be a pretty good winger and increased his ability to be difficult to play against, so being a mentor or teacher was pretty helpful there. I am pretty sure his position outcome is going to be winger by next year because Kasper should be ready by then to take that spot.

So, yeah, he was defended by his injury...but as the season went on and his injury was healing (even though he played through it all and played a full 82 game season) he increasingly made his presence much better throughout the entirety of his game.

It kind of seems like you got upset about copp in the beginning of the season and refused to see his growth and just kept looking for the negatives...

No, core injuries are what babies use to get out of tummy time.

How dare Copp not play professional hockey well with a tear in his abdomen.

I don't like drafting goalies in the 1st round, and I don't think Cossa was a good pick. He is definitely trending towards a bust. You think Cossa was a good pick?

Explain how he is trending to being a bust. They played him a ludicrous amount, shipping him from GR to Toledo and back, simply so he could see a lot of rubber. Doing that means you're not settling in and building rapport with either team the way you would if you were set and forget.

You can hate first round goalies all you like... but there is nothing in his makeup or how they used him last year that indicates "bust".

 

[Detroit Knights]

No, core injuries are what babies use to get out of tummy time.

How dare Copp not play professional hockey well with a tear in his abdomen.

 

[Retire91]

LOL, I feel it's pretty nitpicky. Yzerman had a first round goalie pick in tampa and also had a few questionable signings there. No one has a perfect track record. Cossa is 20 and also had an incredibly strong finish to the season.

Not seeing the forest for the trees much? Yzerman is the undisputed best thing that happened to this organization since the last cup. Is he infallible no, but at this point it's just criticism for criticism sake.

 

[SoupNazi]