Same Day Analysis: Steve Yzerman is really good at his job
The Detroit Red Wings GM traded one of his three second-round choices and a fringe player, and used his cap space to get a reliable defenseman. That's great managing right there
Nine days after the team that has his fingerprints all over it won its second consecutive Stanley Cup, Steve Yzerman again showed why so many people think he’ll one day lead the Detroit Red Wings back to the promised land. When Yzerman stepped down as GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning three years ago, then took the Red Wings job two years ago, people knew it was going to take time to restore the Red Wings to their former glory. And it will. But moves like the one he made Friday are part of the process that will almost certainly make that an eventuality.
Yzerman used his plethora of draft picks and abundant cap space to get defenseman Nick Leddy from the New York Islanders. He gave up a second-round pick in 2021, a commodity of which he had three, and fringe winger Richard Panik to get Leddy, a 30-year-old left shot defenseman who can play 20-plus minutes a game and will likely be a mentor for prized prospect Moritz Seider next season. Speaking of mentors, one wonders if Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland, who groomed Yzerman in Detroit after the latter retired as a player, might right about now saying something like, “Man, why couldn’t I have made that deal?”
Moving Leddy out certainly helps another savvy veteran GM in Lou Lamoriello. By trading Leddy, Lamoriello moves out $5.5 million in cap space and takes on only half of Panik’s $2.75 million hit for a net cap savings of $4.125 million. Leddy likely would have been exposed anyway in the expansion draft by the Islanders, who wouldn’t have been devastated if he had been selected by the Seattle Kraken, but now it ensures that won’t happen and they’ve received something back in return for him.
Back to the Red Wings, it’s expected Leddy will play alongside Seider, the Red Wings’ first-round choice in 2019 who looks ready to step into the NHL next season at the age of 20. The Red Wings are still going to lose. A lot. And that can sometimes have a negative effect on a young guy. Having Leddy there to provide Seider with some positive guidance will be key to his development in that kind of environment. There will be a lot of long nights when Leddy will come back to the bench, give his defense partner a pat on the shin pad and say something like, “Hey, kid, things will get better. Just keep doing what you’re doing.” That will go a long way.
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By giving up Panik, Yzerman parted with a player who was never in the Red Wings’ long-term plans. You’ll recall Yzerman acquired Panik from the Washington Capitals, along with Jakub Vrana, a first-round pick in 2021 and a second-rounder in 2022 in exchange for Anthony Mantha. (Hey, did anybody notice that Vrana had three more points in three fewer games for Detroit than Mantha did for Washington after the trade?) By moving Panik, the deal now essentially becomes Vrana, Leddy and a first-round pick for Mantha.
As we said earlier, the Red Wings will continue to lose in 2021-22. So before the 2022 trade deadline, you can probably expect Yzerman to flip Leddy to a contender to acquire more futures. Speaking of future, according to capfriendly.com, the Red Wings have exactly one roster regular signed beyond next season at the moment, captain Dylan Larkin. That number will increase with the addition of Seider and any other rookies Yzerman adds to the mix, but depending on what he does with Tyler Bertuzzi in the off-season, it looks like the housecleaning is just beginning in Detroit.
Which means at least a couple more seasons of pain. But with two outstanding drafts coming up in 2022 and 2023, and with Yzerman successfully lobbying the league to change its draft lottery rules, the Red Wings will almost certainly be picking high. Who knows? Perhaps Steve Yzerman will find another Steve Yzerman. Whatever happens, it’s clear by his moves that Yzerman the GM has the Red Wings on the slow, but eventual, path to becoming serious contenders again.