Have a holly, Merry Christmas.
One person who may be questioning the choices made earlier this year is Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman.
The former player turned GM has been praised for his smart maneuvers while managing the Red Wings, but his approach last summer could have done more harm than good.
The Red Wings traded away emerging talent in favor of older players with mediocre to average results. They also signed older goaltenders instead of focusing their efforts on younger, available talent.
Red Wings should have continued to recruit young talent
The most puzzling move the Red Wings made over the summer was trading rising Jake Walman for a bag of magic beans. The 28-year-old found his stride and signed a favorable contract for the commitment and minutes the Red Wings got out of him.
To replace him, they signed Erik Gustafsson and Justin Holl. Many were confused by this approach, as neither defender was known for their defensive skills. However, Gustafsson is an offensively gifted defenseman with a decent point production history.
Gustafsson and Holl have both played 26 games. The 32-year-olds achieved five and three points respectively. They averaged 16:42 (Gustafsson) and 15:18 (Holl) per game.
On the other hand, Walman has emerged as a strong defender for the San Jose Sharks. In 31 games, he has recorded 25 points while playing nearly 23 minutes per night.
Speaking of ouch.
Should have put their chips on Askarov
Moreover, the approach with the goalkeepers was just as peculiar. While they haven’t given away any top goalkeeper prospects for free, they have signed 37-year-old Cam Talbot and 32-year-old Jack Campbell.
While Talbot has had an excellent rebounding season (and should have been named to Team Canada for the Four Nations Faceoff), he is recovering from injury and cannot play every game for the Red Wings.
Campbell hasn’t played a single NHL game this year and only recently started playing AHL games again. He has a 1-2-0 record, 2.37 goals against average (GAA) and a .912 save percentage (SV%).
A much better approach would have been to acquire Yaroslov Askarov. He was phenomenal in the AHL, posting a 9-4-2 record, 2.00 GAA and a .938 SV%.
Askarov has a 1-1-2 record in the NHL combined with a 2.75 GAA, 0.909 SV%. He only cost the Sharks two prospects and a first-round draft pick. With the stacked prospect boxes the Red Wings have, they could have easily paid the price necessary to trade for the young Russian netminder.
It doesn’t make much sense if you look at the movements. Yzerman operated as a team pushing their chips in for a playoff run instead of signing the best players available. Apart from Talbot, every other acquisition at the back end or in net has been a flop.
This leaves most Red Wings fans without a holly, Merry Christmas.
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