Yzerman clearly not satisfied with the foundation yet.
I get it, but get those two wins against the Sens instead of two blowouts and I thought we had a shot to make the playoffs this year. Nice return for a rental guy; did well yesterday too. Lotsa picks, but I think we need a big free-agent signing this summer as well.
There's literally nobody out there as UFA this summer, as Pasta just signed for $90M.
there's literally a ton of guys out there as UFAs, just no younger all-star level guys worth bringing in
Tarasenko is a UFA but I imagine the Rangers will sign him since they just traded for him.
Just another guy sabotaging the meaning of literally. Thanks Putin!
Man, why do I want spaghetti right now?
It wasn't even that they lost it was how they lost. They were physically imposed upon.
The Wings will look at the back to back losses to OTT as a huge moment for the franchise, if they're what flipped the switch from unserious bubble team to sellers, given the returns they got for Bert and Hronek.
That, plus the stockpiling being done in the East right now with the top of the conference (NYR, TOR, BOS) loading up and a lot of teams in the middle doing the same.
While I wanted to make the playoffs for the sake of...well, the fact that Detroit sports will have gone 10 years between playoff series victories unless the Tigers shock the world. But stockpiling and arranging to make moves in a year where hopefully the east calms down a little bit- that makes sense to me.
They were still ~15-20% odds before the 3 game losing streak.
I was hoping they could stay in it a bit longer (going to see them in Nashville on the 14th, fellow MgoBlog member ThatGuyCharlie scored some awesome AF tickets behind the wings bench). Still excited to see them, I have not been to a wings game in several years.
Hasn't been quite that long:
- Pistons: 2019
- Red Wings: 2016
- Lions: 2015 (Jan 2016 game)
- Tigers: 2014
Basically all of these were low-seeded, first round exits, but we're technically only at 4 years (and counting).
They did say playoff series victories, rather than just making playoffs. Pistons haven't won a playoff series since 2008.
Lions 1991
Tigers 2013
Red Wings also 2013.
Ah missed that. Then yes, last one is that 2013 pair. Current status of the active series win droughts is a fun one:
Lions: 1st (31 years*)
Pistons: 4th (11 years)
Red Wings: 4th (14 years)
Tigers: 6th (9 years)
*That 1991 win is all that separates this streak from the preceding 33-year drought, which is neat.
Detroit sports will have gone 10 years between playoff series victories.
Emphasis mine.
It seems you are in violent agreement.
It just feels like it's been 84 years for all of them.
I think I see what you did there.
dammit, one of my faves.
Detroit also had to pick up 50% of his salary, but I'm OK with this. Two articles I read said the contract talks were going nowhere, so Stevie got something in return instead of watching him walk for nothing.
That's called good Team roster management and the fact that he was able to get a 1st rounder (although protected Top Ten) is quite a deal...
Yes, and the previous negotiations for Bertuzzi's current contact were very difficult. With them unable to come to an agreement for the future contact, there was just too much risk.
The money means zilch. They are not going anywhere this year. So you are paying $2M+ for a first round draft pick. That's fine.
This deal is interesting... Bert seemingly really only went to Boston because they just put 2 guys on LTIR.
As an aside, Bettman leading a charge to investigate teams who make players unavailable in the season but play in the playoffs to get around the salary cap because players aren't paid for the playoffs. RE: Nikita Kucherov.
Getting back to this deal... I'd laugh my ass of at Bettman if Taylor Hall is suddenly healthy for the playoffs.
We could also get him right back next year, if the price is right.
Per reporting they haven't even talked since December so the 2 camps have very different views on the player's worth OR term. Hard to sign a guy like this past 2 years since he is injured repeatedly.
was a Bertuzzi fan but not mad. when the season started i said wings will be challenging for the playoff but likely miss out, which is pretty much where they are now.
lots of picks gained to draft / trade for the necessary pieces to make a playoff push next next year and challenge for the cup in 2-3 years.
Lets hope there are a coulple Datsuyk, Zetterberg picks lurking in the middle rounds of the draft.
We got pimped by the lottery when we had the worst record in the League and should have had the 1st overall pick. We're missing some of that elite talent.
And we need size. Stevie flourished because he had Probert on his wing and a tough roster including Joey Kocur, Darren McCarty, and Brendan Shanahan. We got pushed around in Ottawa.
The Wings talent pool is a little imbalanced right now. Stacked at D (left D in particular) but only one for-sure C (Kasper) and one for sure winger (Soderblom). Some other hopefuls but still a ways away from NHL caliber. I think they need to transition to drafting a little more for position need than BPA so having the picks will help with that.
Yep
Nice D player pool.
Not so great when looking at potential top 6 forwards. They are pretty much all up here at this point.
Do you have any thoughts on Ville Husso and how he's been as a goalie this year?
gerard gallant was on stevie's wing and was his main protection for a good part of his early years.... part of the reason i was shocked he didn't can blashill a year earlier and hire Spuddy.
Gallant probably wasn't interested in a rebuild project. The Wings job was only attractive to a guy looking for his first head coaching job.
Darren McCarty, Bob Probert and Joey Kocur (even on their best possible days) would not even sniff a training camp roster in today's NHL. I assure you we do not need any of them or similar players on this roster.
I say this as someone who's favorite player until adolescence was Bob Probert.
Um, Probie was an all-star. He could skate.
It’s a way different NHL now. The guys have to have size and skill.
While I agree that the Wings were screwed by the lottery, they did get Raymond out of that pick.
We've got lots of picks now to make that happen, but the era of the Wings having meaningfully better foreign scouting is over.
1000% this. This was our main differentiator in the heyday.
Challenge with what players in 2 years? A guy drafted not in the top 5 this summer will probably be NHL ready in 4 years.
This is the most loaded draft class since 2015. Most of the guys drafted from 4-15 (Save Michkov for obvious reasons) should be ready in a couple of years, not four.
I always thought it was unlikely the Wings would re-sign TB. He's going to be looking for a big pay day and was most likely going to test free agency. I think they would have traded him regardless if they were still in the WC hunt. Decent return for a rental.
Yup; reminds me a bit of Martin LaPointe. Fan favorite, sand, could score, but IMO the market was willing to pay him much more than he was worth. Got paid (ironically, in Boston) and did not perform up to the price.
He's a good fit with Boston and will look pretty nasty in those black uniforms. I'll be rooting for him. If Buffalo sneaks in I'll pull for them, but I wouldn't mind seeing the Bruins and Rangers in the ECF or before that. The Eastern Conference Playoffs should be a blast this year.
I like the decisions Stevie Y is making. He put it in the players hands, and they were playing great, until they ran out of steam. It's obvious to everyone that they're not there yet and need some serious upgrades in skill. First round picks and cap space will help. It doesn't help that they're in the Eastern Conference which is loaded right now. The timing isn't right yet.
Seeing Ottawa and Buffalo ahead of them in their respective rebuilds is frustrating to watch. Ottawa had a couple great picks and a few good trades/signings and suddenly are a pain to play against. Buffalo has built through the draft and trades and are building something special. Honestly the Wings feel like they're on their way there though. We just have to hope they strike it big on all these draft picks and eventually they'll be in a position to go sign someone of significance as well.
Buffalo has the youngest roster in the league. Their future is looking bright!
Bert on a 2nd or 3rd line where he does't have to do the heavy lifting is going to be awesome for him. And he fits Boston's culture - a bunch of pesky rats. Team you love to have as your own but hate to play against. I see this as a win win for all. Boston is having an unbelievable year when many said they would plummet due to being a bunch of old fogies. Bert probably lowers their average age by half a year hah.
And yes Ottawa made some huge moves last offseason and got a nice D from Arizona as well this week. Watching Tkachuk bark at our bench and us do nothing about it was sad and frustrating. He is signed for less AAV than Dylan.
We are potentially building a young, large, mobile, heavy defense corps. The problem is that elite top level forward talent. Our 1st line would be the 2nd line for top 5-6 teams. Hard to find those - maybe Steve packages 5 first round picks to get Bedard :p
They could always re-sign him as a free agent if they really want to/he wants to come back.
There's also a chance Yzerman packages all these draft picks to get a player, which I think is what I would prefer as even high end draft picks are an unknown and take time to develop. Still a day to go and then there could also be offseason moves.
Good move Stevie Y, both sides couldn’t agree on contract extension. Stocking a pile of first round picks for the future and trades.
We trust Stevie Y plan.
Trust the Yzerplan!
Hope Bertuzzi wins a cup this year and the Wings keep building towards a sustainable future.
Making the playoffs is a fine start, but we need to build a team that can contend for the cup. There's work to do there.
Hope Bert wins the Cup with Boston and then a bunch of Boston players ride off into the sunset so they are average next year and the Wings get a first round pick in the 12-18 range in 2024.