Steve Yzerman's biggest mistake as general manager that's costed the Red Wings a playoff clinch

Following Tuesday night's painful gut punch of a finish for the Red Wings' pivotal game against the St. Louis Blues, combined with the results of both the Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets' respective games, it feels like the Red Wings are destined for another year of no postseason hockey.

The Red Wings failed to protect their 1-0 lead despite a heroic game from goaltender Cam Talbot; the Blues tied things up late and won in OT. Meanwhile, the Habs tied their game against Florida with 9 seconds left and then won in OT to move 4 points ahead of Detroit.

Should Detroit fail to make the playoffs, the already heated debate on GM Steve Yzerman's biggest errors this year will only intensify.

The signing of Vladimir Tarasenko has been nothing short of a disaster; he has 31 points (10G, 21A) in 72 games, nowhere near the kind of output that was expected. He's also under contract for next year with an AAV (average annual value) of $4.75 million.

Compared to the value the Dallas Stars are getting from Matt Duchene (1-year, $3 million), who has 75 points, the Tarasenko deal looks especially brutal.

The Red Wings have also lost underwhelming defenseman Erik Gustafsson for the rest of the year with an injury and no longer have Jake Walman or Shayne Gostisbehere.

Walman was dumped for nothing (along with a 2nd round draft pick) to the San Jose Sharks, who then acquired a 1st round pick and a prospect last month when they shipped him to the Edmonton Oilers.

Gostisbehere wasn't re-signed, allegedly due to Yzerman's hesitency to give him the contract length he wanted; he returned to the Carolina Hurricanes for 3 years.

Perhaps the biggest error of all was holding on to coach Derek Lalonde for as long as he did; had the coaching change taken place in late November following a pair of brutal losses to the Anaheim Ducks and Sharks (or as some fans wanted, during the summer), the Red Wings could be in a much better position in the standings.

Red Wings fans, what do you think was Yzerman's biggest miscalcuation this year?