You will never be happy

Stop pretending like you want the Red Wings to succeed

To the “Fire Yzerman” crowd,

I get it.

I get why you’re angry. Nine years without playoffs. A mildly underwhelming free agency class. A division home to four of the last six Stanley Cups. This, by all accounts, should be the offseason where transformative change occurs. The good news is, it happened and looks like it’s going to continue to happen.

You wanted a big splash and you got it. Steve Yzerman netted the best goaltender on the market. You wanted moves that would improve the team, so Yzerman signed a depth defenseman and a forward who would be sixth in goals if he played for the Wings last year. You wanted Kane to stay, so he’s staying.

But are you happy? Of course not.

But it isn’t because Yzerman didn’t sign every single top free agent out there. It isn’t because he didn’t trade a 7th round pick for Connor McDavid, either.

It’s because, no matter what the Wings do this offseason, you won’t be happy.

We’ve done this before

Three seasons ago, the Wings signed Andrew Copp, one of the top free agents in 2022. While he’s certainly underplayed the value of his deal, it cannot be stressed enough that he was a top free agent. To say Yzerman hasn’t ever swung for the fences is disingenuous at best and downright wrong at worst. The next year, he signed J.T. Compher and Patrick Kane: two of the top-ten free agents available that season.

Two of the three aforementioned deals haven’t panned out. But that’s par for the course with free agents. Brady Skjei, the top free agent defenseman last season, has five years left on an abysmal deal with the Nashville Predators. The Vancouver Canucks are paying for Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s buyout for the next five seasons.

In a few years, the Columbus Blue Jackets will regret paying Ivan Provorov the same salary as Moritz Seider. If he signed that deal with Detroit, you’d be upset he wasn’t Aaron Ekblad. You’d call it an overpay (which, for the record, it is). In three years, you’d be clamoring for the team to buy out his contract.

“Well, he should’ve signed-”

Stop.

Andrew Copp isn’t Connor McDavid. He wasn’t signed for that role. He was signed to be a stopgap player while the prospects develop. No, he hasn’t been a superstar by any means, but he’s given the team enough leeway to properly draft and develop. Imagine if the team signed all the top free agents every year. Not only would they still be a bubble team, they’d be drafting lower and lower each season.

Then you’d complain that the team has no prospects.

“Why can’t Yzerman make a trade?”

1. He did.

2. It is July 1st. The NHL season doesn’t start until October.

3. Name a guy the Wings should trade for that doesn’t cost a blue chip prospect or key roster player. Quickly.

“But Yzerman hasn’t done anything!”

I’m so tired of this narrative. Moritz Seider won a Calder - the first Calder for Detroit in over 50 years. Lucas Raymond is an elite winger. Dylan Larkin is one of the best two-way centers in the league — and they’re all signed for under $26M. The prospect pool is consistently a top-five pool in the league. Sometimes, it takes prospects time to develop. Not every player is going to light the league up at 18.

You want to know what happens when you rush your prospects? Take a look at the Buffalo Sabres. They’re 14 years removed from the playoffs and have been trading away their young players left and right. Countless first round picks haven’t panned out because they’ve been thrown into the fire. Is that what you want? To ruin the confidence of a kid so you can feel vindicated?

“But Cossa!”

Connor Hellebuyck and Igor Shesterkin are two of the top goaltenders in the NHL. They didn’t get their starts until their mid-20s. Goalies develop at a different pace than the rest of the NHL. They’re like a stew: the longer you let them simmer, the better chance you have of them guiding you to a Stanley Cup. Let the prospect development team cook. Don’t rush anything for the sake of your feelings.

Let’s just be honest here

It’s time to just say it: you would rather Yzerman fail than the Wings succeed. This isn’t about the prospects or the roster. You’re angry and you need to feel vindicated. If Yzerman succeeds, all that frustration is for naught. Unfortunately, if the Yzerplan fails, it won’t make you feel any better. You’ll still go to bed angry. The only way out of a rebuild is through. Yes, it sucks. Yes, it’s a bummer to see some other teams make moves.

But you have to understand that having a meltdown over Noah Dobson and attacking people on social media won’t make you feel better.

This will, though: