Yzerman became GM in 2019. Their points each season have been (starting in '19-20): 39, 48, 74, 80, and 91 this season. Steady improvement and youth still to come.

I stand by the fact if Larkin doesn't go down, the Wings make the playoffs. I really, really hope Kane comes back.

Danielson has been on fire since he was traded, won WHL player of the week last week. Pellikka, just led his team to the Swedish championship and I believe won defensive MVP. Both those picks are shaping up to be potential 1a additions.

Sprong was such a defensive blackhole that I don't see him coming back. Fischer was bettter in that regard so I hope he is back.

Larkin went down with a month to go and the soul fell out of the team. Once he was back, they clicked again. If the young core keeps their pace and Larkin stays healthy, they can absolutely get in. If a few of the kids on the farm come in and contribute, they could get really good, really quickly.

Yzerman, had a lot of clean up to contend with. I believe they should stay the course and trust the plan.

Goal tending is the key. When Lyon was a brick wall in Feb, starting with that west coast road trip, the team in front of him had the ingredients and quickly gained the confidence to become a real force.

As a Colorado fan since '95, I will always "hate" the Red Wings. That being said, I would like to see Detroit return to form, because it is boring when your rival isn't able to compete. Also doesn't help that Detroit moved to the East, because the only way I will ever see them in the playoffs (against Colorado) is in the Finals, but I would love to see a Colorado/Detroit Cup Finals.

I am biased of course, but I think the Wings are in an incredibly interesting situation. Without the luck of the draft lottery, or the ability to sign a superstar, the Wings have had to slowly build a balanced, deep team that rolls four lines and three pairs fairly evenly. It started to pay off this season, in terms of goal scoring at least. Lalonde's defensive system still hasn't really clicked into place for this team, so he can make more adjustments. But we also might see improvement without needing to add more star players. There's no way around it, the prospects are the future of this team. Several of them need to hit, and several of them have, it looks like. Berggren and Albert Johansson are no longer waiver exempt, so they'll most likely have a spot on the team. Edvinsson will finally be up full time after he looked so steady. Kasper, Danielson, or Mazur could earn a spot in camp. The Wings might have several rookies next year after having none this year. And that might mean they actually do take a step back. We're in a weird situation, but I'm willing to put the young guys in the lineup at this point even if it means possibly missing the playoffs one more time.

Love when you do videos on my favorite team. Keep it up

in terms of the FA's Sprong is gone, he had a falling out near the end of year after being benched in the final few games. Perron also probably coming back, he talked about wanting to be back

Rebuilds do take time...just ask the Sabre's #trusttheYzerPlan

Fun fact: Detroit is still paying Justin Abdelkader

People overreact with Detroit. 3 years of the drought was spent under Holland still locking us into terrible contracts. Yzerman didn’t even have a full year as gm before covid happened and the entire world shutdown. We’ve really only had four full seasons with yzerman, there’s been visible improvement every year all while building a great prospect pool and drafting elite young guys despite horrible draft lottery luck. I think it’ll all be alright.

A lot of people don't understand how bad Holland was the last few years in Detroit; I mean, he passed on Hughes for one. He mortgaged our future to keep making that playoff streak, and Yzerman had to start with a bare cupboard of prospects.

Lifelong wings fan since early 90's. I'm beyond thrilled with what Yzerman has done. We are where we should be as a team. In fact, I think we're actually ahead of where we should be. The thing about being a GM, is that you can do everything RIGHT, and still have things not turn out. Not saying that things won't turn out, but even if the Wings don't make the playoffs next year, that won't change my opinion. We have not been lucky in the draft. It really sucks. But you MUST take that into consideration when measuring the rebuild. Yzerman has taken awesome risk measures moves to compensate. From moves that didn't work out from Brendan Perlini and Jakub Vrana, to moves the have worked out in Fabbri and Walman, he has done remarkably well in being creative in order to find a solution. We don't have a for sure solution in net yet, and I love the swings he took. People looked at the Nedelkovic trade as a fleecing at first. Just because it didn't work out, doesn't mean it wasn't a great calculated risk at the time. He did it again with Husso, and there's still time to see if that could work out. But regardless, they were great moves trying to identify young goalies with potential. I could go on, but there's no way you can look at Yzerman's body of work objectively and not appreciate the work he's done. Not to mention that he brought a level of decorum and respect to the organization that is hard to come by when you're still a team out of the playoffs

Shannon, you absolutely nailed it. For anyone who’s been around long enough and understands how a rebuild works, it is working just as planned here in Detroit. The prospect and developing player pool is amazing. And you are absolutely correct, we don’t just want to make the playoffs and be a flash in the pan, we want to remain a contender for a long time. Just watch it happen.

Red Wings fan here- Love our trajectory! Steady improvement with youth on the way. Thought we would make the post season this year, but I’m okay with what we did. We should be back in the playoffs next season, can’t wait!

Hey Shannon, and first off, always want to say thanks for the awesome content and analysis in your videos! Also I am rooting for the Canucks as well! We'll see what happens! So for Detroit.. I think we have absolutely been improving in a steady process of blooming and upcoming talent. I think Detroit really just needs a few select things. Number 1 priority right now in my opinion. We need that 2nd center to help Larkin. We've had Yzerman and Fedorov, we've had Datsyuk and Zetterberg, and now we just have Larkin. He is a really good player ofcourse, and our captain. We need that second good/elite center. We also need a power forward, (hopefully Soderblom) to protect our players and have some grit. We need a stable/solid goaltender. I'm proud of Steve's work and I feel like we're almost that contending team. Edvinsson has a lot of upside/poise that he plays with along with a handful of d core in our prospects. I'm excited for this team! But we absolutely need that second good center. Also, I love Andrew Copp as well, I just think we signed him maybe a little too high for his term/contract. Maybe he bounces back next year though!

Thank you for doing all the research. Informative

Those defense signings are rough

I hope they make the 2025 playoffs first though

I think that there were mistakes made this year (Holl, Petry, etc.) that will rear their head next year, and people will likely overreact. You can feel free to hold me to that. Zero Rookies or Sophomores in a team approaching the end of the rebuild is nuts.

I think people forget how long it took for the Wings to get back to contention after Yzerman showed up as a player. It was at least ten years (depending on what you call contention) and those were the Norris Division days when the playoffs could be made with sub-.500 records so was it really that they were that good when they made it? Outside of two runs to the conference finals were they got stomped by Edmonton, they didn't have much to show for it. The league has expanded, other teams are also trying to build and get better as well, three of them in the Atlanic alone. Yzerman and the Wings have continued an upward trajectory since they bottomed out in 2019-2020. 1st round picks like Raymond and Seider are every game contributors. Edvinsson looked like he belonged on an NHL rink already at the end of the season. Put that with Danielson, Kasper, Johansson, Cossa, Pellikka, Augustine. Some of these contracts are rough to be sure and it'll take quite a bit of capital to get them off but good news is that Yzerman has it. Trust the process LGRW

Next year might be a step back, depends on the rookies and players like Bergy and Edvinson and how fast they can be consistent everyday NHL players. The youth has to either start working it's way up the depth chart or be traded for better assets. Cap issue this year is concerning and may force more ELC players on the roster than can reasonably be relied on to produce night in and out. Hope Steve Y can pull a few rabbits out of his hat to even allow us to think about resigning Kane and Ghost.

Thank you for rocking the old school D jersey! Brings back memories :)

Depends on how their 2025 goes I’d say

Full faith in Yzerman! Next year should be playoff!

Losing both Perron and Kane would be a huge hit to leadership and motivation. Perron is probably back and Kane we'll have to wait and see hopefully he wants to stay. Sprong is an offensive powerhouse and an absolute defensive liability. Yzerman was clear that he wants this team to get more defensive so as much as I want Sprong back I don't think he will be. If Yzerman can offload Copp Woll and Husso and bring in Stamkos to center Perron and Kane and by some act of divine magic trade for Markstrom. Wishful thinking :)

Soooo, a few thought... How about Erik Karlsson to fill a huge hole on that 2nd pair & PP1? At first glance it sounds a bit crazy but after thinking about it, it kind of makes sense... These are my thoughts behind this... YES, cap space will be tougher with Raymond & Seider's upcoming contracts and YES we are still somewhat of a "rebuild team" but this could actually work out pretty good for both partys and not many complained about bringing in Patty Kane who was very valueble both on and off the ice even with us still not being quite there... So lets dig in here... Rumour goes that the Penguins wants to move on from Karlsson and his contract with 3 more years at a 10 mil cap hit, even after just a year after aquiring him after his norris season, where his value have dropped significantly since. Detroit have a couple of contracts with less term left that could be attractive for Pens to take on to clear their cap beyond next season: Mock trades with Detroit shipping out shorter term contracts like Holl (3,4 for 2 more years) and Fabbri (4mil, pending UFA after next season) makes it work cap wise, then comes the question in what Detroit would be willing to give up in draft capital and/or prospects... I personally wouldn't part with any 1st round picks or premier prospects for a 33 year old with that big of a cap, but with Penguins poor season and obviously failed experiment of a fit with bringing in Erik Karlsson, when they already had Kris Letang, makes it less likely that they will demand the moon for him. Maybe 2nd or 3rd round pick with a mid range prospect could work? Depending also if you are willing to take on the full 10 mil cap or if you want Pens to eat like say, 25%, so it comes down to 7,25, would also ofcourse depend on what Detroit would have to give up... So why would this be a good move for us? Well, Detroit have a HUGE need to fill on that 2nd pair on the right side where i think most of us can agree that Jeff Petry isnt fit to stay on that role for the next season & would help get him slotted more correctly on the 3rd pair. We also have a HUGE need for an offensive dman to be able to quarterback the PP1 unit, since i seriously doubt they will be able to bring back Gostisbehere (who brings pretty much nothing of value 5 on 5, but will get paid as a UFA with the top available offensive dman on the market). So with Karlsson you both get a legit top 4-dman aswell as your PP1 dman who will both be big holes for next year. Add to the fact that Edvinsson have said publically that Erik Karlsson is one of his biggest rolemodels and both being from Gothenburg (along with Raymond & Söderblom i might add!) they have all trained off season for a few years now and grown into becoming friends, so there is connections there aswell as the appeal to have Edvinsson benifit playing with a guy like Erik Karlsson would be huge... Raymond is also currently playing in WC for Team Sweden on the first line aswell as PP1 gelling with Karlsson wearing the "A" under EK65 who is the "C" on the team... An extra spice to add on it is that it would give Axel Sandin Pelikka (who is still just 19 and realistically will need atleast 2 more years in SHL/AHL, like Edvinsson did, before he is viewed as being ready) extra time to grow into being a legit NHL dman. So yeah, I don't know maybe this isnt all that "far out" to speculate in. The cap and age looks crazy at first glance to take on, but thinking about Ghost will get 5-6 mil at open market along with moving on from Holl/Fabbri aswell as when other players are up for their extensions after their ELCs finnish up (like Edvinsson & ASP), i would say it's atleast doable and valueble enough to take on that for 3 next seasons... Not only what he can bring on the ice, at 2nd pair & PP1, but probably even more in the lockerroom for the surplus of young swedes on this team, specially on the defense... So, curious to see what you guys think? Again cap space would not be an issue really when you replace him with Gostisbehere (4,125 off the books, and trade out Holl/Fabbri, that would be a total of 11,5 mil cap available, Berggren or Mazur could easily fill Fabbris role on alot lesser salary and yeah Holl isnt playing on this team either way...) , if Holl isnt duable to move in this scenario, Olli Mattaa (2 time cup winner with Penguins and their former 1st round pick) at 3 mil for just next season, could be, either one of them would free up enough space but obviously Holl would be prefereble since Pens sure aint gonna be (or even are allowed to with them trading him to us with salary retaintions) taking Petry back so he is likely a lock on the third pair next year with us, which I would be fine with... Ghost would not be any real loss with Erik Karlsson replacing him on the PP and Albert Johansson is more then capable to replace Olli Mattaa on a 3rd pair with not even half his salary so... Anyways interested on listening to some real and thoughtful point of views on this... 🤓🏒 #LGRW

At least 3-4 Griffins have to make the team next year or be traded so the roster will look quite a bit different. Sprong's gone, Ghost probably priced himself out, and Reimer should just retire. It'll be an interesting offseason for them for sure, lots to be figured out.

Oh I could have such a long conversation with you about this. Funny you say they probably don't bring back Perron but probably do bring back Sprong. I don't see sprong back after all the times he was benched near the end which he was unhappy with. I really hope Kane comes back but I would much rather see Perron than Sprong back. Perron WANTS to come back and at his age and speed decline he will probably take a pay cut to stay. I'm a big Perron fan. I don't want to see him go! I want to see Gostisbhere back but I think it's unlikely. I'm also a big fan of his and that Jumping zone keep in move he did in the second last game of the year was one of the sickest things I've ever seen. Up until they brought up Edvinsson I wanted to see Petry go too but once Simon got here Petry was much better. Plus Petry is the only Right side D we have besides Seider (not including prospects because ASP is Right side D also.) I could go on and on and on......

I am not a Derek Lalonde fan. His inability to consistently motivate the team, his insistence on playing Chiarot and Petry top-4 minutes and his passive defensive systems hold this team back. However, the Wings did improve by 11 points and that's not nothing. I know he won't get fired, but he is going into the final season of his contract. At minimum, 2 new rookies should be on this team, because not only are their salaries cheaper, but they're better than who they'd be replacing, like Berggren for Fabbri and Kasper/Danielson for Copp. I'd be in favor of buying out Copp, because that cap penalty goes down by percentage as the cap goes up in the coming years. I trust Yzerman, though he's been far from perfect and has not received the kind of blind luck many other teams have via the lottery.

youre still the best analyst out there!! you love the game and you know the game.

As a fan since 1996, I'm the happiest I've been with the team in the last 10 years.

I hope so. They were quite impressive this year.

Took Steve ten years to win in it all In Tampa…. Red wings win cup in 2029 😊

They can if they take the goalie position seriously. Been a revolving door in net since Howard

Thanks!

Perron is probably coming back, Sprong is almost certainly gone. Sprong's offensive numbers were excellent for how little time on ice he got, but he is one of the worst players I've ever seen in terms of his defense. Even being heavily sheltered, he cost us multiple games with really really bad decision making. That's why he was benched at the end of the season, and all reports are that he's not happy about it.

Only people mad at Yzerman are the super hardcore fans that are mad after every loss, everything is doom and gloom etc

I think it's going to be difficult for Detroit to be better in 2025 than 2024. Here's why: - They're likely to have an influx of young talent. Name a team with 3+ rookies who are competing at a high level. Hard to do with regularity. -They have a less than ideal cap situation barring some moves from Yzerman which very well could happen - a wild card to us fans. -The cap situation gets a lot better in 2026 where the young talent may also be in their sophmore year. These two things line up better for a "go for it" strategy. -I haven't even mentioned specifically young goaltending yet in this timeline. With that, I think they will once again try to be competitive through depth, but without supserstar ability. They will be playing meaningful games in April again and they could get in or miss again. 2026 seems like them right time to have the young talent contributing meaningful minutes paired with a cap situation that says "no more hold over 'good enough' contracts" like an Andrew Copp might be for example. Instead, it's "go for it" contracts for the next 5 years. When they're really in the mix, I imagine they'll look a lot more like a Dallas than a Tampa. 2026 is the beginning for the real window. 2029 is when I think they should be top of the conference (if everything works out).

It’ll be interesting next season, I think the playoff line will be higher, this team is also capable of getting more wins too. But, I could also see a 1 year regression as they bring in a bunch of young players because Detroit hasn’t been bringing their prospects up very often, instead filling roster spots with stop-gaps. I think Yzerman is doing well, just wish we could redo the holl contract (or not sign at all), and have paid copp a couple million less per year. But, they honestly got pretty lucky on D-man injuries last season and didn’t need the extra d men.

It felt like the Yzerplan was a year ahead of schedule this last season and were right there on bubble. The timing of their improvement feels nearly perfect, as they get a chance to move up while some teams ahead of them in the standings now move down over the next few seasons.

My only real concern is the coaching. I can't get over how bad the team just nose dived when Larkin was hurt. There's no reason one player should have that kind of impact on the entire team. Makes me believe Newsy lost the locker room and Larkin is the one holding it together.

I agree with what most people are saying, Larkin is a major part of this team, he’s well respected and a massive morale boost, not to mentioned highly skilled. But Larkin get so heavily targeted on the ice because most teams know “just bully Larkin and Detroit falls.” I think that Detroit needs to take a lesson from Vancouver and start becoming a really physical team that fights back, but still retaining discipline. Larkin is a big part of that discipline and helps guide new young players, but if he’s injured, it’s over. I think this is just a team that needs a lot more time to grow with the players it has and will have.

the fans that are frustrated are mostly casual fans spoiled from the last run. Holland's drafting was terrible. yes he lucked out on the Euro twins but how many of his first rounders endured? add to that the fact that every team scouts the way we did back then now and there are no short cuts in a rebuild now. Yzerman prototypes seem to be as such: two way defensemen with an emphasis on size (sergechev, hedman) large goalies who take away a lot of space by default top 6 full of high motor two way players regardless of size. I think last year he hedged his bets on more of an offensive defenseman than usual but it's hard not to see the way the game is going and what a game breaker it can be to have a guy like that. people just need to calm down and let this club grow into itself granted we don't have the elite scoring top line Tampa did when they got some lottery luck but right now he seems content to see if guys will grow into that and/something that makes sense will present itself.

Do you think adding 2-4 rookies could set us back? Several minor leagers running out of options.

It really depends on what we do in the offseason. If Kane comes back at a reasonable hit and if DeBrincat has a more steady year, I think we’re in a good spot. I think Kane leaves, though, and as always, at least the last 10 years or so, there isn’t a ton to add in free agency that makes me feel warm and fuzzy… so if the prospects coming up don’t hit in a major way I feel like we’re right around the same kind of spot as this year, if not a little worse because it’s gonna be hard to come back and win as many games as we did down 3 goals or whatever. Idk what it is about the team but it just feels like they lack the fire, and the leadership (now, Larkin is still young and when he was hurt really is what killed the season) but you’d have thought at some point during that stretch toward the playoffs they would’ve picked up their game or had a fiery speech or a players only meeting to get themselves going but they just came out flat way too many nights and while once in the game they came back a few times but there’s no excuse not to come out like a house on fire when you’re about to be eliminated potentially if you don’t win.

The cap potentially moving up over the next two years helps those Copp, Chiarot and Holl cap hits. You would think Yzerman will want to lose the latter however. It will probably cost him a pick that he won't mind losing. Fabbri will almost certainly not be back at $4mil after his contract is up. I can see Jonatan and Albert Johansson both up to start the year replacing Perron and Ghost, Mazur/Danielson/Kasper will see time up next year to cover injuries. So it probably goes: Cat - Larkin - Raymond Berggren - Compher - ??? Fabbri - Rasmussen - Copp ?? - Joey V - ?? Nate D Mazur Kasper Walman - Mo Simon - Chiarot Olli - Albert Petry Ville Lyon ------------- As ever, how you fill in the "?'s" is key but there is a good basis to work from without over committing money and term to Kane and Perron maybe one of them back on a 1 year if they are agreeable (I'd go Kane). We then get Ville, Maata, Petry and Fabbri off the books and get the better part of $14mil back next off season with more prospects like ASP and the first call ups from next year more than likely fighting for a spot as well. We are in a good place, I'm not convinced about Lalonde, but from an organisational and cap stand point, not a lot to be alarmed about.

I think there’s a very good chance they take a step back next year. For a rebuilding team, this is a team that had no rookies and no sophomores, sans 16 games from Edvinsson. They are in a situation now where a lot of prospects are basically forcing their way onto the team, including the aforementioned Edvinsson, Johansson, and Berggren. There’s a good chance one or two of Kasper, Danielson, and Mazur make the team as well. So that’s four-five young guys make the team next year, and that’s only going to lead to additional growing pains, rookie mistakes, etc. So honestly, even if they do take a step back, I don’t think that’s an indictment of Yzerman either, this is a rebuilding team and rebuilding teams take time.

The defense, especially towards the last couple of months, was atrocious to say the least. That is by far the most glaring cause for concern. Not goaltending, not coaching. I knew Lyon was going to hit a wall towards the end, or god forbid he got hurt, it would've ended the same. We did absolutely squander the last month or so, I think we lost 12 of 15 games. But, one more overtime win and we would've made it. That's as close as it gets. If we can trade for a really solid defensive defensemen, and if Cossa or Augustine hit, we're going to be hard to beat. I'm almost positive Trey gets called up before Cossa. And for the love of God, BRING UP BERGGREN and keep him there!! He's better than 40% of our forward core right now.

Detroit fan since 96. I think it will be a step back this year. But hoping you’re right

Simon didn't put up the points maybe but watching him play at the end of the season it was clear that he is going to be really good. Smart player.

I was waiting for you to do the wings i trust stevie y and our young players all look very good he knows how to draft and i think we will continue to improve

If one more person tells me Larkin is not a 1C, I'm gonna keep laughing like I always do.

Last year was a wild one for Red Wings fans with it's ups and downs. They had some good streaks but they were prone to bad streaks also. They only missed the playoffs by one point and if Larkin didn't go down with an injury in the middle of the season there is no doubt they would have made it. The addition of Patrick Kane was Yzerman's best move as GM. Without that they wouldn't have been in the hunt for a playoff spot in game 82 because Kane brought the boost they needed. I hope they can re-sign him but if they can't the future still looks bright for this team.

Im not convinced on coaching. Not playing Lyon until sweden when they knew Husso was having a kid around that time was bad imo. December was pretty bad, but was 1 blowout. Now that stint ending feb going into mid march with losing to arizona twice, and you couldn't score more than 2 goals for 5 games and under for 3 goals for 9 games straight, that is just downright scary when its supposed to be a defense system and every game you give up 4+ goals except 1(feb29-mar17). This next season is make or break imo for lalonde.

Berggren cannot be sent to the minors next fall without going through waivers, and Yzerman has said that he doubts that Berggren would clear them. If he had played one more NHL game this year, then he couldn't have been sent back down for this year's Grand Rapids playoffs without clearing waivers, which is probably why he didn't play one more game. Better for a developing player to play playoff games in the AHL, than to watch playoff games on TV in the NHL. Clearly, Berggren will be an NHL player next fall. If the Red Wings cannot find a spot for him on their NHL roster, then someone else will. But if he does start as a full-time Red Wing, it will be a milestone in the rebuild. Back in 2017, when former General Manager Ken Holland decided that it was time to start a rebuild, his first move to that end was to trade Brendan Smith to the New York Rangers for the draft pick that he would later use to draft Berggren. So while a few exceptional talents like Seider and Raymond can jump the line, Berggren will be the start of players drafted in the rebuild making the team through a more regular order.

I’m afraid not. Probably a regression unless they get out from under a few contracts and replace Kane’s production. Also would need a few good additions and the young players like Berggren and AlJo to be solid. Goaltending situation right now is also not in a great place.

Husso's numbers are all from the first month of the season before sweden iirc when the wings were hot on scoring nearly 5 goals a game.

They need to play more sound defense. Forwards very much included. Some of the contract steve y gave out are iffy but they are gap fillers till the prospects come up. He also inherited a shit load of bad deals from holland holding on to hope and players to long. The fact is they have improved. Each of the last few years you can see them getting closer. We had shit luck in the draft lottery as well never getting what anyone would call franchise changer. Hell if larkin doesnt miss all his time he did this year we prolly squeak out another piont and they make the playoffs and the entire narrative changes and he looks like a savant. Hard to judge a rebuild while its in progress

Super thanks

Hoping young players get us to playoffs

Rational analysis for my wings…. Thanks

They were on my all sports fantasy team so watched a lot of their games. They were a roller coaster all season but a fun watch. 96 points or above next year.

Hope Ed takes off this coming season

The thing that everyone outside of Michigan doesn't understand is that we are used to playoff hockey. This team went 25yrs straight in the playoffs. We as fans are not used to this talk about rebuilding and year over year improvements. That being said, Grand Rapids is currently in the running for the Calder with some serious talent "on the way." I'm not worried. Stevie will have us back winning the Cup within 3 years.

Fully expect them to get better next year

You have to consider the state of the franchise when Yzerman took the helm. There were several bad contracts both in and out of the he winged wheel sweater. The prospect pool was practically non-existent. Who were the top “prospects”, Mantha and Zadina? Holland sold the future of the franchise to keep the Red Wings window from 2008 open, but really just managed to qualify them for the playoffs (26 straight years, with what, three cups?) I’d call it prolonged success, however that is the reason for the last eight years. Really we are entering year three of Stevie Y’s rebuild as the books are much better now. Three of his prospects now play major minutes in the NHL and the Griffins, top prospects are leading a deep run into the AHL playoffs, with likely at least one to two likely to make the opening day roster for Detroit. I believe we will see Cossa here and there in goal in Detroit as well. Kasper should challenge for a bottom six spot, Berggren comes up or is traded, likely for NHL ready talent. This team is in a really good spot.

Thank you from Yellowknife!

Defense, defense, defense. They don't have to touch the offense for next year but they gotta fix the defensive core and probably a reliable starting goalie.

Personally I feel all things considered Detroit's rebuild is on track. Those that aren't satisfied have to remember Detroit has had nothing but bad luck in the draft lottery which has hurt the speed of the rebuild. There are several teams who have been rebuilding as long or longer than Detroit and finished behind them in the standing so I think Detroit is doing well. While I think Detroit has did well in drafting players one area of concern to me is some of Yzerman's signings such as Copp, Holl Petry and Chiarot. Another signing that many fans liked but I hated was Gostisbehere. Yes he put up good offensive numbers but defensively he was a huge defensive liability. There were some games I watched where he was the opposing team's best players with his defensive zone giveaways and defensive gaffes. I hated that signing when I heard it and still do. Personally I think Yzerman needs to find a way out of Holl and Petry's contracts and not resign Gostisbehere. Use that savings to find better defenseman to run the power play while promoting some of the defensemen prospects. I don't think the can do any worse defensively. Offensively I think if they can get Kane on a decent contract bring him back. Personally I think Danielson is going to make the team next year and could easily replace Sprong. Berggren should be on the team. I think you could see Kasper and Solderblom, maybe even Mazur and that team be even better than this year's team. I don't agree with the over ripening of prospects. Yes get them ripe then see what they can do at the next level. It's been shown many times over in the NHL some players need the bigger responsibility and chance to blossom. The last couple of expansion drafts have had players toiling away on the 3rd or 4th lines of a team but when given the opportunity on the new team blossomed in to good and even great players. I think several Detriot prospects will bloom with the chance.

Sprong won’t be back, he was scratched late in the season because when he’s not scoring he’s worse than useless at everything else. At the minimum they need to get rid of Copp, Holl, Husso to clear cap and roster spots.

Trust the Yzerplan. Also Albert Johansson is likely to be up next season.

Edvinsson looked great to finish off the season, him being in the lineup to end the season really did the team good. I’m not sure Ghost is sticking around unfortunately, but if he does we may have a lethal Ghost/Edvinsson/Chiarot on the left which I’m happy with. Also Albert Johansson will be waiver eligible and played well so he will definitely get a shot to get in

It'll be a 7 year contract around 8mill for Lucas Raymond and probably a bridge contract for Moritz Seider

Its gonna be a very interesting offseason, and some tough decisions need to be made. Yzerman has a tough task ahead, the team cant take a step back and i imagine the playoffs is the goal, while simultaneously getting youth into the lineup. My one complaint about the 23-24 team is, detroit is rebuilding yet there wasn't a single rookie on the team until edvinsson at the end, and not even a sophomore, berggren in GR all year. At some point these young guys have to graduate. Edvinsson no doubt is top 4 next year, berggren and albert Johansson ( who has yet to play an nhl game ) are no longer waiver exempt. So barring trades, they icing 3 young inexperienced players next year. Young guys make mistakes and have growing pains, typically not a formula for making a playoff push. Making moves to improve the top half of the lineup would help to offset the inevitable struggles of youth. I expect yzerman to be very active this offseason, with the ultimate goal of moving the team forward all the while knowing some inexperience will be in the lineup.

ASP and Edvinsson are studs. If they develop well, Seider may find himself on the second pairing in a few years.

Sprong scored some big goals for the team last year, but he ended up in the doghouse the last ~6 weeks. Not sure if they want him back or if he wants to come back.

All depends on Seider and Raymond. If they get paid near-max value, the contracts and cap will force maybe some more low-end contracts or rookies, and it's hard to imagine significant improvement, especially without a big goalie change. The other thing to consider was Detroit was close arguably because of NJ, OTT, and BUF underperfoming based on projections. With MTL and CBJ coming up, points will be at a premium. I am absolutely starved for playoff hockey in Detroit and LCA, but I think we're going to be a few points out of it again next year. 😢

I agree with what Yzerman is doing and not jumping the gun to be a first round exit. But I think he needs to ship the older players on 1 year deal this past season. Ghost is a great example because he was a great pp QB but player like a pylon 5v5. I think Lalonde is on thin ice or at least should be

I hope people who saw Yzerman was back, dont expect immediate success within

I think Sprong and Ghost are gone to UFA. If Kane is gone too, then we’re losing a ton of scoring. That also means maybe 3 rookies in the lineup. Could be really good, could be a step back.

I grew up a hockey fan. I was 10 when the wings last won the cup and didn't really appreciate it. I've only become an NHL fan to a high degree since ~ 2015... Just in time to watch my hometown team be awful for 7 seasons. Next year has got to be the year but i also wouldn't be surprised if the team looked way different and we take a slight step back

2026? Is that a typo or sticking it in deeper?

I could see Detroit not re signing Sprong and bringing back Perron. I feel like the Wings might have Berggren replace the role that Sprong had and hope he can improve his defense compared to Sprongs. Perron has been great for the locker room and he still has good puck possession and can play on the powerplay a bit. It depends on how much money Perron wants if we keep him or not, he's gonna have to take a discount if he's gonna stay, but I think they want him back. I'm hoping they sign Kane to a 3 year extension to match up with Debrincat and maybe play them on the 2nd line with JT Compher. Main problem I see is we need a 1st line winger to play with Larkin and Raymond and I'm not sure if they will have the cap space to get that. Would probably have to trade Fabbri and a defenseman to free up cap.

As a life long fan of the Wings, i believe they stall out this next year as young player come in to fill the holes they'll have from some of the veterans moving on. I dont see them get better until Danielson, Kasper, ASP, and Cossa because NHL regulars. Which is fine, I want a team that is great for a long time, not a team like the Kings that rushed to be good, but can't become great because of it.

veterans bolster defense? Pesce from Carolina? Chychrun from Ottawa? others?

Ill wait and see how Yzerman handles the roster, and what that roster looks like on the start of the season. Im hopeful that they make the playoffs next year.

I like Yzerman, think he’s done a good job. But a couple of those contracts don’t seem so good, ie chariot, Copp, and Holl. Makes me a bit nervous for the next couple years

I can't wait for the 2,500+ comments about how Shannon said 2026 instead of 2025 playoffs! Aaaaand I"m too late :( Even with the videos only being 2 mins old, kind of impressive!

91 points seems like the Wings moved ahead of schedule thanks to Lyon's hot streak and Kane's signing at midseason. Without them, I think the season was on the verge of getting ugly in December/January with Reimer unable to handle the starter's workload and Husso's string of groin injuries derailing his season (and making him a question mark for next year). With the right moves I think they'll be in the mix again next season but until there's a long term solution in net, they're probably not a playoff team unless one of their young players goes to another level offensively. Overall, there's a general need to get younger, faster, and I'm just not sold on the low risk gameplan that Lalonde and Boughner run defensively. The Wings seemed so risk averse that it became counterproductive with the Wings so reluctant to make plays up ice that their 5 on 5 game slowed to a crawl in transition. The Wings defense relied on lofting the puck to the neutral zone so often that opposing teams forward were waiting for it at times. Finishing 24th in goals against while playing it that safe doesn't add up. Finding the right balance of avoiding mistakes while still letting the defense drive play could pay off at both ends of the ice. Replacing Kane's point per game production from within isn't going to happen so I'd like to see him return but I could see a couple of prospects picking up where Sprong and Perron left off, at least on paper.

The rebuild is working but as you said Shannon and a local radio host as well, when you do the slow rebuild you cant afford to take a step back. If they miss the playoffs next year thats when i'll start questioning the rebuild.

While the points increasing each season is promising, they did not play sustainable winning hockey, both in their systems and individual play. Next year portents a regression in the standings. Larkin’s had three injuries now, this season. The shelf life on his career is expiring at double speed. Seider and Raymond were playing for contract extensions and history broadly suggests they take points regressions. The UFA’s leaving don’t have easy replacements and if they slot in youth, the team will flounder in the standings.

Cossa, Kasper, Berggren, Edvinsson, Mazur killin it in the AHL playoffs. Griffins are off to the 2nd round

i dont see this team going backwards,hard to tell the 2024-25 season however nobody knows it this point time will tell young guns coming up could be the difference real soon! 💪go wings💪👍

I think Yzerman does deserve some criticism in terms of some of the signings he’s made. The D Core has some rough deals, highlighted but Justin Holl’s 3.3 million for 3 years signed last summer. They are probably going to have to eat one of those deals or trade something of value away to fix it. The prospect pool looks good, and Raymond really broke out in the 2nd have. Gotta find some more support for Mo, Walman, and Edvinsson. The goalie prospects look great but I don’t think they can help the team next year. I think some creativity and call-ups are required to find ourselves in the playoffs next year.

I definitely was disappointed we didn't make it this year, but I do think that we will see improvement. Raymond looks like he's made another step, Seider still looks steady, Edvinsson and Berggren could be a big help. We just need some of the young guys to become difference makers and that takes time.

As long as yzerman cleans house a little but over the summer (getting rid if older guys to make room for the young guys) we should be fairly competitive, i never saw this team this past season really making an impact in the playoffs if they were to make it, and i dont see us being a contender till after next season, but i do think next season we will make the playoffs, we have the talent and the time is coming.