Steve Yzerman is Feeling the Heat in Detroit
Yzerman Reacts as Red Wings Captain Doubles Down
While you wouldn’t know it from his demeanour, Detroit Red Wings General Manager Steve Yzerman is feeling the heat. The pressure is on Yzerman to get the Red Wings back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Nine years is a long time for a team to miss the playoffs. Just ask the Buffalo Sabres, who missed the playoffs 14 straight years. However, with the Detroit Red Wings acquiring goaltender John Gibson from the Anaheim Ducks on Day 2 of the 2025 NHL Draft, Yzerman heard the calling from his captain.
Larkin, who doubled down on his comments after the season wrapped, stated in an interview before the Rocket Classic Pro-Am in Detroit that he wants to win.
"We want to win. We don't want to just make the playoffs, we want to win the Stanley Cup...and parading down Woodward." Dylan Larkin said. "It's time this thing starts ramping in the right direction.”
His tone was more upbeat than when the season was over, the Red Wings had missed the playoffs for the ninth straight season, and rumours had ramped up that he was leaving.
"It was hard that we didn't do anything, and then I felt the group kind of, we didn't gain any momentum from the trade deadline," Larkin told the media. "Guys were kind of down about it, so it'd be nice to add something, and bring a little bit of a spark on the ice and maybe a morale boost as well."
According to sources around the league, the Red Wings did attempt to upgrade at the deadline. Before the draft, teams were asking for core players such as Marco Kasper, Lucas Raymond, Simon Edvinsson, or Moritz Seider. However, that is a heavy price for the general manager to pay, who is getting frustrated with the trade process.
Recall that the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres had been discussing a Dylan Cozens trade for months, but the Sabres did not want futures, a combination of prospects and picks; GM Kevyn Adams wanted rostered players in return. So, just like the deals leading up to the deadline and the draft, everything fell through.
Around Full Press Media
Toronto Maple Leafs: Toronto Maple Leafs Management Finally Won Contract Negotiations
Buffalo Sabres: Kevyn Adams Words or Lack Thereof Are Hurting the Buffalo Sabres
Edmonton Oilers: Connor McDavid Leaving Edmonton Talk Won't Go Away
Anaheim Ducks: Trevor Zegras Was Never a Pat Verbeek
PODCAST: Pre NHL Draft Rumors - Noah Dobson Traded to the Montreal Canadiens
WANT MORE PODCASTS? Spanning the NHL Globe: Florida Panthers to Mitch Marner
And while Yzerman wanted to make a deal or two, there was nothing there that he liked or that benefited his team. Maybe the John Gibson trade will be different. Now this is the third time Yzerman has traded for a goalie, and he is hoping the third time is the charm.
First, it was Alex Nedeljkovic, then it was Ville Husso, and now it's John Gibson, not to mention the other goalies who have been on the carousel in Detroit, such as James Reimer, Petr Mrazek, Cam Talbot, Alex Lyon, and Sebastian Cossa. There are probably a few others who have not been able to step up and help the Red Wings reach the playoffs.
However, it is somewhat ironic that Gibson is a Red Wing, just a couple of days after Larkin doubles down on his comments from the end of the year. Larkin is antsy and wants to make the playoffs. He was right there a couple of seasons ago, when the Red Wings lost out to the Washington Capitals because of a tiebreaker.
Larkin saw the playoffs in 2016 and has not been back. He does not want to see Detroit reach the point of the Buffalo Sabres and become irrelevant for over a decade.
Steve Yzerman is feeling the pressure from his captain, and you can tell that he didn't like being called out. Guys like Yzerman and Joe Sakic are respected around the NHL because of what they have done as players. You can see at times he is flustered by it because that has never happened before.
The only other situation was when he was the GM with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and he had to deal with the Martin St. Louis situation after leaving him off the Olympic team. He was there anyway due to an injury, but requested a trade out of there.
However, it's a new day and age in the NHL, as the players have a voice. They're going to use it, and when they're upset, they're going to let the world know.
The pressure is on in Detroit, and if they can't get it right with the goalie again, many are going to have to question the direction of the Red Wings.
Steve Yzerman has to get the Detroit Red Wings to the playoffs, or else he could be finding a new job next season.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s new, and we’re just getting started. Rumor roundups and hot topics from around the league.