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Two trades completed by the Red Wings appear to favor Steve Yzerman heavily early on into 2025-26 season
Photo credit: NHL.com
Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman's most recent trades highlight the true vision he had to guide the organization to the next step, and two specific moves are really appearing to be favoring the Original Six club to this day.
The Detroit Red Wings' offseason plan was to make room for their youth to bloom at the highest level, and Steve Yzerman started to take action at the March 7th trade deadline last year.
It all started with the trade of Joe Veleno, the organization's 30th overall pick in 2018, to the Chicago Blackhawks.
This allowed Yzerman to free up some cap space while offloading an asset who had yet to reach anywhere close to his full potential.
Veleno was later traded to the Kraken by the Blackhawks and bought out by Seattle.
Veleno, 25, inked a one-year contract with his hometown Canadiens team, and it has since gone downhill for the former first-round pick.
In 14 games this season, he has yet to register a single point and carries a plus/minus of -7.
He isn't the only former Red Wings forward struggling with his new organization.
An offseason trade between the Minnesota Wild and Red Wings saw two-time Stanley Cup Champion Vladimir Tarasenko depart from Detroit, and since then, things appear to have gone downhill for the forward.
Known for his goal-scoring abilities, he has posted two goals in 18 games this season.
Steve Yzerman's trade execution must get appreciation
While the Red Wings general manager tends to receive some harsh criticism from his respective fan base, appreciation must be shown.
Tarasenko's $4.75M cap hit being off Detroit's books is still having impact on Yzerman's organization, making their current available cap space a whopping $14,797,204.
While the trade of Veleno opened up room for youth to further their development in the NHL this season, such as Emmitt Finnie, who has been one of the clubs most impactful players early on.
Well done, Stevie Y.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 18 | 584 ANSWERS Two trades completed by the Red Wings appear to favor Steve Yzerman heavily early on into 2025-26 season What would you grade Steve Yzerman's job as the Red Wings general manager? | ||
| A+ or A | 134 | 22.9 % |
| B+ or B- | 294 | 50.3 % |
| C+ or C- | 139 | 23.8 % |
| Other | 17 | 2.9 % |
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