This past season was the Detroit Red Wings’ fourth under the direction of general manager and franchise legend Steve Yzerman, who has led an intense rebuilding phase after years of the team trading away first round draft picks and attempting to sustain their legacy of dominance. As a consequence, in 2022-23, Detroit missed the playoffs for the seventh year in a row, finishing 7th in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division with 80 points. Do we have reason to think this year might be the Yzerplan finally pays off? It is possible, the team took chances this year, and 2023 also could be sowing seeds for a solid future with the team having put in a pretty solid performance in the deep 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Let us examine all of the Wings’ major moves closely and see what impact they may have on the franchise this year and beyond.

On the first day of free agency, Steve Yzerman gave to Detroit fans the news of the signing of former Avalanche and 2022 Stanley Cup champion J.T. Compher to a five-year deal worth $25.5 million. This is something of a mixed bag signing that could be considered questionable. While it could be argued that the University of Michigan product’s increased/career high point production had to do with the fact that his ice time was increased this past year, one could also note that he was playing with excellent teammates including two 100+ point scorers this past season in the form of Mikko Rantanen and Nathan Mackinnon, alongside the league’s arguable best defenseman Cale Makar when he was available. Compher’s reliability is also questionable, this was his first time playing a full season or even getting within ten games of it in a full 82 game year. Compher, even in elite company, has topped out at the 18-goal mark, which combined with his health makes his likely dependability as a top-six forward making this sort of money iffy (sure, the cap is projected to increase but that alone does not justify spending this kind of space on him). He will also be approaching his mid-30’s by the deal’s end, and Father Time is undefeated. His issues and deficiencies will likely be even more prominent by that time. I am not a big fan of this deal even with some of the possible merit that it may have.

In this same crop of early offseason acquisitions, there was G James Reimer coming in at one-year, $1.5 million. The 35-year-old is coming off a season with a GAA just below 3.50 and a save percentage of .890 with the Sharks, so this seems to effectively be a “placing a body somewhere” move. Alex Lyon was also available, and the Red Wings grabbed him, as well, at 2 years for $1.8 million. His numbers for the Panthers when called up from Charlotte were fairly impressive, including a 2.89 GAA and a SV% of .914. There is ample reason to think that Lyon could prove to be a dependable backup to Ville Husso across a slightly larger sample size, making this a very solid signing. The team also added RHD Justin Holl from Toronto. Something of a middle of the road signing, Holl has a WAR of 52% over the last three years and will be bringing in decent defensive ability and passing. The terms of his deal have caused some discontent at 3-years, $3.4M AAV, and perhaps for good reason. This is effectively a depth signing. While a decent addition, it might have been more beneficial to have filled the void of defensive depth and a lack of RHDs at a lower cost. The team also added RW Daniel Sprong after he went unqualified by Seattle. The Dutchman had a career year, scoring 46 points in 66 games, including 21 goals on a 14.3% shooting percentage. He is coming in on a 1-year, $2M deal. This is a potential dark horse steal signing in free agency this offseason. We will see what he does playing in Detroit in what could be a larger role [let it be noted that we at Black Stitch Hockey are aware of the assault allegations against Sprong, but do not want to offer conjecture about what it could mean for his tenure with the team, his career, or any off-ice fallout that could potentially occur]. Another unqualified player acquisition came by way of the signing of Arizona Coyotes castoff and former alternate captain Christian Fischer. The RW is often deployed on the PK, is good at using his size to impose a physical game (capable of producing over 100 hits per full season), and showed some scoring touch last year, posting his best offensive numbers since his rookie season. He is coming in on a 1-year, $1.1M deal, making this a good value signing. D Shayne Gostisbehere is coming in on a 1-year, $4.1M deal, as well. The Florida native and Union College product has shown at times in his career since since his standout rookie season with Philadelphia that he can be a force as an offensive defenseman, wherein it is not a stretch to expect 40 points in a season for him, with his peak numbers being 65 points with the Flyers in 2017-18 and 51 points with Arizona in 2021-22. His defense has improved over the years, as well, and as noted by Clutchpoints, he is capable of playing both sides, making him a versatile asset to have at his peak. There is some risk here, but even if it doesn’t pan out, as Tristin McKinstry also points out in the previously linked analysis, he can still serve as effective trade bait. The team also made some two-way contract signings, among them D Brogan Rafferty; C Klim Kostin (acquired by way of trade with Edmonton for future considerations, alongside Kailer Yamamoto who was subsequently bought out and scooped up by Seattle – Kostin was not qualified by Detroit but was signed on the first day of free agency) [at 2 years, $4M, it might also be a questionable deal but not so much so that it needs to be picked apart when considering the full picture]; C Nolan Stevens; G John Lethemon; and D Jared McIsaac, and additionally re-signed D Wyatt Newpower to a one-year deal, as well as re-signing D Gustav Lindstrom.

Detroit’s offseason also featured one of the biggest blockbuster trades this summer, usurped only by the Erik Karlsson trade. Steve Yzerman acquired winger and proven capable 40 goal scorer Alex DeBrincat from the Ottawa Senators for Dominik Kubalik, Donovan Sebrango, a conditional first rounder for next year’s draft (Detroit can send either their pick or the pick they acquired from Boston in the Tyler Bertuzzi trade – Boston’s pick notably also includes top 10-protection, entailing that Detroit can opt to send either their own first rounder in 2024 or Boston’s first rounder in 2025 if Boston’s pick lands in the top 10) and a 2024 fourth round selection. This is a coming home party for DeBrincat, as the 25-year-old OHL alumnus (who has 373 points in 450 career games played) hails from the northwestern Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills. Detroit welcomes its hometown son with open arms, as they are bringing on a reliable goal scorer who may very well help them become competitive fast at a pretty low cost in terms of assets relinquished. DeBrincat was given a four-year deal worth $31,500,000, with a modified (16-team) no-trade clause kicking in in 2024-25. Overall, a good deal which adds a great asset without too much given up. DeBrincat may or may not be the best fit with the forward group that Detroit has, but his skill is undeniable, and the value of this deal is exceptional. Overall, a win for Detroit, at least more so than Ottawa even if they and GM Pierre Dorion were not outright losers.

The Red Wings began the 2023 NHL Entry Draft with the selection of Brandon Wheat Kings captain C Nate Danielson at 9th overall. This pick was solid but is not exactly going to break doors down. The Red Deer, AB MHA product put up 78 points in 68 games on a squad that finished last in the East Division and missed the postseason. According to the Draft Guide put out by Elite Prospects, Danielson possesses natural speed and good stick handling skills and Flo Hockey describes him as a player who “does a lot of little things right.” A respectable selection if one that left some potential on the table. Possessing two first rounders, Detroit selected D Axel Sandin Pellikka at 17th. The Swede put up 36 points in 31 games for Skellefteå AIK’s J20 team last season, and has been recognized by Flo Hockey and Elite Prospects for his playmaking (the former deeming him a “more exciting pick” than Danielson as a result of his impact in that area). The team further drafted G Trey Augustine in round 2 at 41st overall. Despite having put up great numbers with the US NTDP (29-1-2 record with a .926 and a 2.13 GAA with the U18 team this year), I have some concerns about the South Lyon, MI (a western suburb of Detroit) native and Michigan State commit’s trajectory. Sebastian Cossa and Jan Bednar were both extremely highly touted goaltending prospects and both spent last year in the ECHL (in Bednar’s case, he was effectively immediately assigned to Toledo by Grand Rapids upon signing his AHL deal after departing from the Q) and it is unclear if either will have a chance to have a steady NHL career. There are some less than satisfactory results in the goaltending development department for Detroit in the Yzerman era. We will see if Augustine (who is forecasted as a solid NHL starter by Detroit Hockey Now) breaks that trend. Detroit also added two defenseman who are reliable in their own end without very flashy offensive numbers, in the form of Soo Greyhound Andrew Gibson and US NTDP product/soon-to-be Wisconsin Badger Brady Cleveland. At #73, the Red Wings chose Swedish C Noah Dower Nilsson of Frolunda. He is coming off a season where he put up 54 points in 37 games for their J20 team. The 18-year-old could be a very exciting all-around offensive threat to keep an eye on the development of. Descended from 2 generations of pro hockey players (his grandfather of the same name having played in the NHL and his father having Cory having played overseas), D Larry Keenan was selected at 117th overall. The soon-to-be Penticton Vee and UMass Amherst commit put up 37 points in 49 games for Culver Military Academy Prep and was ranked 73rd overall in the NHL Central Scouting North American skaters rankings. Similarly to Noah Dower Nilsson, this could be a solid sleeper pick for Detroit. The Red Wings further picked another stout defenseman in the form of Jack Phelan of the Sioux Falls Stampede; LW Kevin Bicker of Germany (who put up more than a point-per-game in both the regular season and playoffs for Jungadler Mannheim’s U20 team this past year); another goalie by way of Rudy Guimond (whose numbers included a .940 save percentage with the Taft School in 28 games played and a .939 in 17 games with the Yale Junior Bulldogs U18 AAA team; he will be playing with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in the USHL this year and is committed to start at Yale in 2025); and LW Emmitt Finnie of the Kamloops Blazers (whose offensive numbers have been relatively quiet in the WHL, but he possess a solid ability to create plays by defensive effort on both ends of the ice) to round the draft out. Overall, while lacking an undeniable future cornerstone, this was a solid draft for Detroit, and another highlight in an offseason that had a fair number of them.

Overall, Steve Yzerman has made some excellent moves this offseason and drafted well if unspectacularly. The team is in a better position to make the postseason than they were previously and put decent future options into their pipeline. However, some of the not so great spending choices, overall trends, and some on the margin matters serve as demerits, if not ones that are make or break. As such, I will be giving Detroit a B overall letter grade for their offseason performance to this point. They have put themselves in good position to make it back to the Stanley Cup playoffs and be a respectable competitor, but there seems to be some opportunities left on the table. That said, this team is still thinking long term, and we may be nodding approvingly when looking back on their manner of action to continue to propel forward in the summer of 2023. Only time will tell how much this phase of the Yzerplan is worth.