Detroit Red Wings GM hints at Vegas Golden Knights player tampering with Mitch Marner in free agency

Since July 1st, the NHL has been absolute chaos. Free agency and trades have taken over the league, with players jumping ship and new deals popping up faster than fans can even process.

But for some teams, there really wasn't much action over the last 72 hours. Yzerman and the Red Wings did made some moves by bringing in James van Riemsdyk, John Gibson and Mason Appleton, but missed out on the heavy hitters. the kind of players fans were hoping would finally turn the corner for this franchise.

Yzerman talked about it in a recent press conference, and what he said turned a lot of heads. When asked about missing out on the top names, he didn't hide his frustration:

That's not exactly a throwaway line. Yzerman basically hinted that some of the decisions were made well before July 1st. Sure, some guys signed extensions ahead of time, but everyone saw how quickly deals got announced right when the market opened. It's hard not to wonder if there was some serious tampering going on.

Take Mitch Marner for example. The Wings had the cap space and were clearly in on him. But by the time free agency officially rolled around, Marner was already packing for Vegas. Yzerman didn't even get a shot. That lines up with all the rumors floating around about how the Golden Knights operate.

The NHL had warned teams it would be cracking down on tampering. So much for that. And now Yzerman's basically put the league on the spot with these comments.

Is anything going to come of it? Probably not. The NHL rarely wants to open that can of worms. But it's still a tough pill for Wings fans, who were hoping to see a real splash after some rough years. Instead, they're left watching top guys suit up elsewhere, and listening to their GM say he couldn't even make a pitch.

It'll be interesting to see if the Golden Knights end up facing official tampering accusations.