Detroit Red Wings fans have made their feelings clear about the state of the organization, and Steve Yzerman is still taking the heat.
The Athletic’s recent front-office rankings, built from fan grades and outside evaluation, placed Detroit 30th out of 32 NHL teams with a D- overall. Only the Seattle Kraken and New York Rangers finished below them. For a franchise that once sold itself on stability and pedigree, that’s a rough landing spot.
Dom Luszczyszyn didn’t mince words in his assessment. “There are obviously positives from the last decade, namely Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond.
But everything else on the pro and amateur side was far from ideal,” he writes. “The biggest issue, though, was trying to take the cake out of the oven before it was done rising.
What’s left is an underbaked mess for the next guy to clean up. The Red Wings aren’t unsalvageable, but they are in a very unenviable spot post-Yzerplan.”
That fan reaction lines up with the broader frustration around Yzerman’s run as general manager. He arrived with huge expectations, carried by the memory of his Hall of Fame playing career and the belief that his success with the Tampa Bay Lightning could be replicated in Detroit. Instead, the Red Wings missed the playoffs for 10 straight seasons, and the final stretch of his tenure left fans pointing at a front office that never solved the problem.
The grades reflected that disappointment. Detroit earned D- marks for roster building, trading, free agency, and vision.
The strongest areas, according to fans, were cap management and drafting and development, both at C-. Public perception wasn’t much kinder.
It matched the fan grade in cap management, drafting and development, and trading, while also landing at D for roster building, free agency, and vision.
Yzerman’s exit leaves the next general manager with a long list of problems to sort through. Chief among them is Dylan Larkin, who requested a trade after the Red Wings’ 10th consecutive playoff miss. The new front-office leader will need to figure out what Larkin wants to do next, whether he stays put or still wants out, and whether any trade return should be built around immediate help or a package of prospects and draft picks.
There’s also the matter of Alex DeBrincat, one of the team’s top scorers, and a contract decision that is already looming. DeBrincat has said he wants to stay, but the question is whether Detroit will be willing to pay what he’s likely to command.
Whoever takes over won’t be walking into a clean situation. The Red Wings are still an Original Six franchise with all the pull that comes with it, but the new general manager will be expected to fix what’s broken and get the organization moving back toward its old reputation. Right now, that job looks plenty daunting.
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Moritz Seider Just Raised Expectations For Detroits Next Step
Moritz Seider is already one of the main reasons the Red Wings can look at the blue line and see a real foundation, but he is not ready to treat last season as some finished product. After another strong year, the young defenseman said he still sees plenty of room to grow, and that is the kind of mindset Detroit has been looking for as it tries to take the next step from promising to genuinely dangerous.
The expectations around him are only going to climb from here, too. Seider finished in the mix for the Norris Trophy last season, which only sharpened the conversation about where he belongs among the leagues best defensemen, and the Red Wings will be watching closely to see how far that trajectory can go. If he keeps pushing the way he says he intends to, Detroits next step may end up being tied as much to his ceiling as to the roster around him. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings GM Search Just Got More Serious For This Roster
The search for Steve Yzermans successor is moving beyond the usual safe guesses, with the Red Wings now interviewing candidates from inside the NHL front office ranks and even outside the sport. Florida Panthers assistant general manager Brett Peterson, San Jose Sharks assistant general manager Jeff Kealty and Carolina Hurricanes assistants Darren Yorke and Tyler Dellow are among the names being discussed as Detroit looks for the person who will guide a roster that still needs clear direction.
Jeff Greenberg, the general manager of the Tigers, has also emerged as a reported candidate, which adds an unexpected wrinkle to a process that was already drawing attention around the league. His background is rooted mostly in baseball, though he does have some hockey executive experience, and that makes Detroits decision feel broader than a standard GM search as it continues to sort through a list that includes both familiar league operators and a surprise contender. [Read more 🡒]
Which Red Wings Prospects Could Force Their Way Into Detroit Soon
The Red Wings prospect pipeline remains one of the more interesting parts of the rebuild, and the latest look at the organizations top 10 young players helps sort out who might be close and who still needs more runway. The group spans different stages of development, with some prospects trending toward bigger roles in the minors or college before they are ready for Detroit, while others are already making a case that their path to NHL duty could come sooner than expected.
Carter Mazur stands out because his situation could force the club to make a decision rather than simply stash him in Grand Rapids, which adds another layer of urgency to his progression. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard is another name to watch after a strong evaluation of his long-term upside, and the broader picture is clear enough for Red Wings fans: the next wave is getting closer, even if the exact order of arrival is still up in the air. [Read more 🡒]