The Detroit Red Wings have essentially lived through the same cycle time and time again in the NHL, falling short of the Stanley Cup Playoffs once more. As players gear up for an offseason that arrived earlier than they’d hoped—again—captain Dylan Larkin voiced a powerful statement, taking a shot at General Manager Steve Yzerman and the front office in Mo-Town.
The Red Wings have now missed the NHL postseason in each of their last nine seasons, with their last playoff appearance being during the 2015-16 campaign. Moreover, the franchise hasn’t won a playoff series since the 2012-13 season, which was shortened to just 48 games.
Franchise legend and three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Red Wings, Yzerman, became Detroit’s General Manager in 2019, but his tenure has yet to yield a playoff spot. Patience is running short in Motor City, as the team features a lineup that feels just shy of getting over the hump season after season.
As the Red Wings failed to deliver on their long-awaited promise to bring playoff hockey back to Detroit, Larkin dropped a stern message—aimed at Yzerman and the front office—for their approach to the trade deadline, when the team was caught in a jam-packed race for the wild card berths.
Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings attends the 2022 NHL Draft at the Bell Centre on July 07, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
“It was hard, especially March, that we didn’t do anything, and I felt we didn’t gain any momentum from the trade deadline,” Dylan Larkin said during the Red Wings’ end-of-season media availability. “Guys were kind of down about it, it’d be nice to add something, bring a spark on the ice, and maybe a morale boost, as well.”
see also
NHL News: Patrick Kane voices major admission on future with Todd McLellan’s Red Wings
The Yzerplan
As Yzerman’s management has been called: ‘The Yzerplan’ has been far from a success so far, and many are questioning how much more will the organization endure this soul-crushing state.
Todd McLellan’s appointment as head coach midway through the season provided a spark, but as Larkin’s message revealed, the players felt let down, as they weren’t given all the resources in order to secure a playoff spot.
The sentiment around the room is Yzerman played his cards too conservatively, and after almost a decade of witnessing hockey season come to an end in April, fans in Detroit expect bolder moves from their front office.
SurveyIs Steve Yzerman the right name for the GM job in Detroit?
Is Steve Yzerman the right name for the GM job in Detroit?
already voted 0 people
What’s done is done, though, and the Red Wings will now hope Yzerman will make a big splash in the offseason, targeting a star player to light a fire under the team.
