Through veteran acquisitions the past two years, Steve Yzerman has built an experienced Red Wings team looking to break through to the playoffs
Through veteran acquisitions the past two years, Steve Yzerman has built an experienced Red Wings team looking to break through to the playoffs
Despite injuries and suspensions, cold spells and even losing streaks, the Red Wings are right where they want to be — a playoff spot.
This marks the deepest into the season that Detroit can boast such an accomplishment since last making the playoffs in 2016. And in large part, it can thank its veterans for making a difference.
“I mean, this is what you play for,” defenseman Ben Chiarot said Monday after a 4-3 overtime win in Seattle. “This is why Steve (Yzerman) brought older guys and veteran guys, too. It's for this time of year to be contributing and to be pulling on the rope, be at the front of the line and getting the job done when it needs to be done.”
Patrick Kane, J.T. Compher and David Perron brought experience to the forwards. Jeff Petry, Olli Maatta and even Chiarot himself wised up the blue line. Even goaltender James Reimer brought 490 games of experience with him as a backup goalie. All of these additions not only made the Red Wings better, but they also added to the overall wealth of knowledge that the team can draw from.
Yzerman didn’t just bring in experience — he also brought in the kind of experience that’s rare to find. In his additions since the 2022 offseason, he brought in players with a combined 17 appearances in a conference final series and 12 Stanley Cup Final appearances and six cup wins (granted, Kane counts for three of those). Before these additions, only Robby Fabbri had accumulated any such experience with two Western Conference Finals and the 2019 Stanley Cup with St. Louis.
Such resume clips are valuable for a team whose core pieces lack playoff experience. Young stars like winger Lucas Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider haven’t made the playoffs in their short careers. Even players in their prime have only made sparing entrances into the postseason, including Larkin’s role in the Red Wings’ last playoff appearance in 2016. The same goes for a more recent addition in Alex DeBrincat, whose single playoff series in the 2020 bubble stands apart from his highly credentialed peers. Making the playoffs would be a whole new game for this crowd.
Already, the guidance of the veterans has shown up in big moments. Kane has led the Red Wings’ power play in recent games, all the while notching his 1200th game and 800th assist in recent weeks. Chiarot and Petry make up a well-established second defensive pairing that brings a calm to the game. Even Reimer has shown what it takes to win, coming in as the third goaltender of the rotation and getting a shutout against Calgary on Saturday. The veterans aren’t just adding experience — they’re adding production, too.
There’s a tradeoff for the wisdom of years, though. While the older group might bring a guiding presence for the locker room, they aren’t as dynamic and exciting as a youth movement might be — especially the likes of Simon Edvinsson and Jonatan Berggren. But that isn’t necessarily a negative. In fact, a tamer and more systematic approach to the game is exactly what Detroit coach Derek Lalonde wants to see from his unit. With so many veterans who know the mental and physical grind of a playoff run in addition to the lead-up to even making the playoffs, Yzerman has given him players who fit that style.
At a critical juncture in the rebuild — the third time the Red Wings have pushed toward playoff contention — they’ll benefit from the industry knowledge of their veteran additions. They know the blueprints Detroit needs to follow, and they can teach it to the rest of the roster.
Such experience might also make Detroit more competitive if it does clinch a playoff spot. There’s a sense in pro sports that teams have to lose before they can win — that is, they have to learn from playoff heartbreak in order to do something special. Whether that condition is true or just a product of confirmation bias, the Red Wings won’t have to learn as much on the fly in a potential playoff run considering how many its roster has collectively been a part of.
Even if the roster knows how to make the playoffs and how to win once it’s there, it still takes skill and ability to act on that knowledge. But with depth and experience, Detroit hopes it can make noise once it’s there.
In order to do that, it will take veteran leadership pulling the rope, at the front of the line, doing whatever needs to be done.
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