How long is Steve Yzerman’s leash in Detroit?

When the Detroit Red Wings hired Steve Yzerman in April of 2019, it seemed inevitable that he would turn the franchise around after the success he had during his time at the helm of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Six full seasons later, the Red Wings still have not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs during Yzerman’s tenure, and they have only finished outside the bottom three of the Atlantic Division one time.

The general consensus around this season’s roster was that it was likely to be underwhelming again due to a lack of defense, and those concerns were quickly realized on Thursday night in a 5-1 season-opening drubbing at the hands of a Montreal Canadiens team that was on a second leg of a back-to-back.

On Friday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed Yzerman’s job security and the state of the team after a disappointing start.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Not the start to the season they were looking for, and I think they’re one of those teams where their first month needs to be good. They need to come out of the gate strong, because we’ve seen them try to play catch-up the last number of years, and it doesn’t work. The playoff drought is extended. Everyone’s questioning the Yzerplan… That was an ugly one for Detroit.

Carter Hutton: You’ve got to be a little bit worried [about goalie John Gibson]. But the other thing for me is the Wings’ back end… when we talk about defensive zone and predictability and how they kind of set the foundation for your team… I feel like there’s going to be an adjustment period. What I last night saw was the chances were very off-the-rush and East-West plays where John Gibson isn’t really known for being this crazy lateral goalie. This Red Wings team, again, how long is the leash for Yzerman?

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…