NHL Insights: Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks

Welcome to another edition of NHL Insights. The offseason has hit a lull after the flurry of the NHL Draft and Free Agency. However, there are still free agents out there to be signed. Whether those players or signings prove to be any good down the road remains to be seen.

In this edition of NHL Insights, we take a look at the Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings. Both believe their time is now to make the playoffs, but what are their actual plans for success?

The offseason continues to roll on. Everyone expected trades to occur as they do every year, but the action slowed down, as usual, this time of year. However, some teams addressed some housekeeping items, which should hopefully lead to a flurry of trades later in the offseason or when the season begins. However, until those trades materialize, let’s examine the offseason and some of the interesting decisions or choices teams have made to reshape their rosters. In this edition of NHL Insights, we dive into the Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks.

It’s time to dive into some NHL Insights for this week.

NHL Insights: Red Wings and Ducks

Detroit Red Wings

The clock is ticking in Detroit for General Manager Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings. Captain Dylan Larkin is unhappy that the team has not made the playoffs since 2016. He made his voice known at the end of the year about the disappointment the locker room had in the lack of moves by the general manager at the trade deadline to get the team to the playoffs.

Larkin wanted a sign of life that management believed they were a playoff team. But the lack of moves did not boost morale. However, Yzerman put the onus back on the group to get to the playoffs. However, Yzerman stated that there were moves to be made and he was willing to move assets he compiled to improve the team. He also wanted to be in on some of the top free agents before they signed with their respective clubs, but he could have traded for their rights if he had wanted them that badly.

But what kind of impression does it send to the team when the General Manager is daydreaming and not paying attention to the questions asked by reporters during the year-end press conference? Players notice looks and understand when management is not being serious. 

Players want to win, and the pushback Yzerman is getting is something he is not used to. But this was the time for the Red Wings to be in the playoffs. The rebuild had to be over, given that teams like the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens had returned to the playoffs before the Red Wings. There has to be progression, and Detroit was as close as you can get without making it two seasons ago.

The rebuild eventually has to come to an end, despite what Yzerman says about the cost of keeping a streak alive. While Detroit has made the playoffs for 25 consecutive seasons, the talent is in place, with players like Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider, Marco Kasper, and Simon Evidsson, all of whom contribute to this team’s success. However, the GM has missed on the goaltending and his free agent signings.

Yzermann is gambling again on another goaltender, this time John Gibson. The move he made to acquire him could have been done at the deadline. Yzerman better hope Gibson stays healthy. While he is looking to unload contracts, teams don’t want J.T. Compher or Andrew Copp; they want pieces of that young core. Just imagine if the Red Wings could have gotten Dylan Cozens from the Buffalo Sabres this team could have looked a lot different.

Patience is wearing thin in Detroit. People are starting to question Yzerman, as it’s now or never time for the Red Wings to make the playoffs. Sometimes duplicating a successful strategy, like he did with the Tampa Bay Lightning, is not always the best course of action. Being patient only gets a team so far. It’s time to win.

Vancouver Canucks: What Are the Vancouver Canucks Doing?

Montreal Canadiens: Are the Montreal Canadiens Done Dealing This Offseason?

New Jersey Devils: Sources: No Plans in the Works for the Devils to Trade Dougie Hamilton

Montreal Canadiens: What Else Do The Montreal Canadiens Have Planned This Offseason

Anaheim Ducks

Then there are the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks GM, Pat Verbeek, comes from the Steve Yzerman tree. He has made some questionable decisions this offseason, as well as in recent years. Similar to Yzerman, he is a tough negotiator, as seen with Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, and again this offseason with Mason McTavish.

McTavish is an unrestricted free agent with no arbitration rights. He needs a new contract, and it is going down the same path as Trevo Zegras. But the goal should be to get McTavish into training camp, not play hardball. Verbeek should know by now how McTavish and Olen Zellweger will fit into this team. There is no reason for this deal not to be done, given the Anaheim Ducks salary cap situation. Verbeek can’t allow this to go down the path of Zegras.

Verbeek not only traded Drysdale but also Zegras this offseason. These were key pieces to Anaheim’s future, but Zegras was not a Pat Verbeek guy. That was clear from the start. Although former Ducks head coach Greg Cronin had helped Zegras develop his two-way game as a defender, it seemed like Zegras was not going to be with the Ducks for more than this season. And despite the former coach’s comments, Verbeek thought it best to move on from Zegras as he hired new head coach Joel Quenneville.