The Detroit Red Wings’ decision to move Steve Yzerman out of the general manager role closes a chapter that never quite delivered what the organization hoped for. For all the patience, all the goodwill, and all the weight that comes with a Hall of Fame name, the results in Detroit never caught up to the plan.
Anthony Di Marco of the Daily Faceoff said on TSN Radio in Montreal that his skepticism about the “Yzerplan” goes back to December of 2024, with another round of criticism after the 2025 trade deadline. He said he became more optimistic after last season, only to watch the Red Wings “completely fall flat” and do “next to nothing” at the deadline beyond a trade for Justin Faulk, whom he described as “a puck-moving power play defenseman.” Di Marco said that move felt redundant because of Mo Seider’s presence on the back end, including Seider’s right-shot profile.
Di Marco also pointed to the rest of the roster-building as evidence that the franchise had stalled. He said Detroit “did a whole lot of nothing” in free agency and at the draft, while also citing the decision to overpay Victor Arvidsson on a two-year deal worth $5 million per season. He added that the trade sending former 14th overall pick Sebastian Cossa to the Utah Mammoth for the 23rd overall pick this year fit the same pattern of slow movement.
Where Di Marco did give Detroit credit was in amateur scouting and development. He said AGM Kris Draper has done “a really nice job” with picks made outside the top three, naming Lucas Raymond, Simon Edvinsson, and Moritz Seider as strong selections. He also praised the goaltending pipeline, calling Cossa and Trey Augustine “great pick[s],” and said they have developed well under Shawn Horcoff with the club’s AHL team.
The problem, in Di Marco’s view, was what happened once those young players needed support at the NHL level. He said the pro scouting group brought in players such as Andrew Copp, Ben Chiarot, Justin Holl, and J.T.
Compher without enough impact. He allowed that Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat “were good adds,” but said they still “didn’t move the needle all that much.”
Between the pipes, Di Marco said the Red Wings spent too long cycling through options before finally settling things with John Gibson last year. Before that, he mentioned Cam Talbot and Ville Husso among the rotating cast.
His bottom line was blunt: “And I just think that eight years in, it is simply not good enough. Or I guess seven years in, it has not been good enough for the Detroit Red Wings.”
He also said Yzerman’s approach eventually became part of the issue. In Di Marco’s words, “eventually, I think Yzerman’s stubbornness kind of landed him here.”
The timing of the announcement was unusual, but not surprising given the name attached to it. Di Marco said it is difficult to fire someone like Steve Yzerman and suggested the move was a “quiet, polite, respectful way of saying, you know what, you’re no longer a hockey guy. You’re an advisor, but to the owner, not the team.”
The broader picture in Detroit is hard to ignore. The Red Wings never reached the playoffs during Yzerman’s run, and while the organization’s AHL side has shown progress, the NHL club has not. The source also noted that some players feel those in the minors should be up.
There was also the matter of Dylan Larkin’s trade request, which the source identified as one of the final straws. Yzerman said there were no guarantees he could honor the teams Larkin put forth in the request.
For a franchise trying to move forward, the verdict on Yzerman’s tenure comes down to the same question that hangs over so many long rebuilds: how many general managers get seven years or more, miss the playoffs, and still keep the job?
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