Five Moves That Defined Steve Yzerman's Disappointing Tenure With The Detroit Red Wings

One of the reasons the Detroit Red Wings and GM Steve Yzerman decided to move in different directions is simple: too many of Yzerman’s moves have fallen short of expectations, and too few have panned out to propel the Wings into the Stanley Cup playoffs and end a playoff drought that now stands at 10 seasons.

Looking back, it’s clear why Red Wings fans have grown so exasperated with the Yzerman era: Yzerman had more opportunity to stick the landing than most NHL GMs ever get, and the fact that he and the team waited until after the NHL draft and free-agency period was long over to announce the end of the Yzerman regime as GM speaks to the fact the Wings couldn’t this correctly.

But what moves stand out as cautionary-tale decisions by Yzerman that the next Red Wings GM should learn from? Here are five Yzerman moves in Detroit that the next Red Wings GM must avoid as they chart a course back to relevancy for the organization. 

Mantha was Detroit’s first-round draft pick in 2013, and in two years between 2017 and 2019, he posted 49 goals and 96 points. But in 2021, less than a year after signing Mantha to a four-year, $22.4-million contract extension, Yzerman traded Mantha to the Washington Capitals for forwards Jakub Vrana, Richard Panik, and a first-round pick in 2021 and a second-rounder in 2022.

The first-round pick Detroit acquired in the trade turned into goalie Sebastian Cossa, who (as we’ll explore below) made one career appearance for the Wings before Yzerman traded Cossa to the Utah Mammoth in June. 

So, to summarize, Vrána and Pánik are out of the NHL after their Detroit stint was a letdown, and Mantha produced a career-best 33 goals and 64 points for the Pittsburgh Penguins last season.

Yzerman hasn’t been bereft of salary cap space over his years with the Wings, but too often, his free-agency decisions were errors – and Compher is an instructive example of Yzerman swinging and missing with the cap space he did possess.

Compher signed a five-year contract with Detroit at an average salary-cap hit of $5.1 million. But while he did generate a career-best 19 goals in 77 games in his first year as a Red Wing, Compher has averaged 11 goals and 30 points with Detroit in each of the past two seasons.

The Red Wings could’ve found a replacement-level player for half of Compher’s salary, and that’s why the Compher acquisition has proven to be a financial sinkhole for the Wings. They didn’t sign Compher to challenge for the Art Ross Trophy, but they did expect more out of him, and they haven’t received it. 

We’re not here to pile on Holl, a nice guy who earned only what the market gave him as a UFA. But when Yzerman signed Holl to a three-year, $10.4-million contract, we were one of the contract’s harshest critics. Anyone who’d watched Holl make mental error after mental error as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs had to be shaking their head in disbelief.

After two disastrous seasons with Detroit, Holl was dealt to the St. Louis Blues at last spring’s trade deadline in the Justin Faulk trade. But when Holl signed with Washington this past spring, Holl’s 2026-27 $900,000 salary is what he should’ve been making all along with the Wings – not more than three times that amount.

Holl spent most of 2025-26 in the AHL, and that’s a huge indictment of Yzerman and his pro scouting department. Holl's signing was a massive unforced error by Yzerman. 

After three seasons with the Blues, Walman was acquired by Detroit in March of 2022. But just one season after Walman signed a three-year contract worth $3.4 million per season, Yzerman traded Walman to the San Jose Sharks, while also attaching a second-round pick to move him.

Knowing the eventual trajectory for Walman, it had to make Wings fans incensed to see the Sharks flip Walman to the Edmonton Oilers for a conditional first-round pick. You can argue there was a dressing-room impetus for Walman to be traded out of Detroit, but the bottom line is Yzerman had an asset he failed to get enough out of, and that’s one of the Yzerman Era’s unfortunate hallmarks.

Walman is earning $7 million with Edmonton, but nobody begrudges him it. The issue here is that Yzerman couldn’t convert Walman into a long-term asset in a way Sharks GM Mike Grier was able to do.

At one point not long ago, Cossa – Detroit’s 15th-overall pick in 2021 – was considered the Wings’ goalie-of-the-future. Cossa thrived last season in the AHL, posting a .915 save percentage and 2.33 GAA in 39 appearances. So it was more than a little shocking when Yzerman dealt Cossa on June 26, sending him to the Mammoth for the 23rd-overall pick in the 2026 draft.

The Red Wings have a solid goalie pipeline, but trading Cossa and signing journeyman netminder Daniil Tarasov to form a tandem with John Gibson just doesn’t make sense.

It might’ve made sense to Yzerman, but a considerably large part of being a successful GM is selling your moves to the paying public.

Yzerman got a first-rounder for Cossa, but Cossa is only 23 years old, and giving up on him could come back to haunt the Red Wings.

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