The Detroit Red Wings closed the book on one of the most significant eras in franchise history on Wednesday, as Steve Yzerman stepped down from his role as general manager and executive vice president of Hockey Operations, transitioning into a senior advisory role.

The move brings an end to what was ultimately a lackluster stretch for the organization, one defined by a lengthy rebuild that never fully delivered.

Yzerman, who spent 22 seasons as Detroit's captain during his playing days, left the Red Wings organization years ago to build a winner elsewhere, taking the reins of the Tampa Bay Lightning and constructing an eventual Stanley Cup contender. 

His roster reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2015, and with additional tweaks from successor Julien BriseBois, that same core would go on to win back to back championships. While it's difficult to measure exactly how much credit belongs to Yzerman versus BriseBois for those titles, Yzerman had already proven he could build a winner from the ground up.

That track record made him an obvious target when the Red Wings came calling, and Yzerman returned to Detroit in April of 2019. What became known around the league as the "Yzerplan" was billed as a methodical, multi-year approach built on drafting and developing young talent while making calculated additions along the way, eventually forming a true contender. 

Instead, the plan never fully materialized, and the Red Wings missed the playoffs for a tenth consecutive season this past year.

In many ways, the approach mirrored the Philadelphia 76ers' infamous "Process," banking on years of difficulty in exchange for sustained future success. Now, with Yzerman's tenure as GM officially over, it's worth looking back at some of the moves that defined his time running the franchise, for better and for worse.

Signing elite young talent never comes cheap, but Yzerman's belief in Seider and Raymond paid dividends. Seider has developed into one of the league's premier defensemen, and his $8.55 million cap hit through 2031 already looks like a bargain. The same goes for Raymond, who signed for $8.075 million through 2032 and has since become a point-per-game player.

On June 25th, 2024, Detroit shipped defenseman Jake Walman to the San Jose Sharks for future considerations, a deal widely attributed to cap clearing amid reported friction between Walman and the organization. 

The trade has aged poorly, as Walman broke out with San Jose, posting 32 points in 50 games as an offensive defenseman. The Sharks would later flip him to the Edmonton Oilers for a conditional 2026 first-round pick, a return Detroit could have used for themselves, not to mention losing a talented piece on their blue line.

On July 9th, 2023, the Red Wings sent Dominik Kubalik, Donovan Sebrango, a 2024 conditional first-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Alex DeBrincat. 

The move paid off in a big way, as DeBrincat has been one of Detroit's top offensive weapons over the past two seasons, leading the team with 66 goals to go along with 71 assists for 137 points, third-most on the roster in that span. 

Meanwhile, Kubalik was eventually moved to Chicago, Sebrango has made little impact at the NHL level, the fourth-rounder became winger Javon Moore, and the conditional first eventually became forward Dean Letourneau, who is now in the Boston Bruins system.

Heading into the 2023 offseason, the Toronto Maple Leafs were more than happy to part ways with underperforming defenseman Justin Holl, who they had been paying $2 million per season. 

Detroit not only added a player who had struggled against one of their fiercest rivals, but gave him a raise with a $3.4 million cap hit over three seasons. The deal played out largely as expected, with Holl managing just 13 points in 111 games over the first two seasons before spending the final year of his contract entirely in the minors, eventually being dealt to the St. Louis Blues as part of the Justin Faulk trade.

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For a young and developing roster, adding a veteran presence like Patrick Kane proved to be an ideal fit. Over three seasons in Detroit, Kane helped mentor younger players like Lucas Raymond while still producing on the ice, tallying 57 goals and 106 assists for 163 points in 189 games.

At the 2026 trade deadline, Yzerman sent Justin Holl, prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov, a 2026 first-round pick and a 2026 third-round pick to the St. Louis Blues for rental defenseman Justin Faulk. 

The move was widely criticized after Detroit stumbled to a 6-10-3 finish, missing the playoffs and surrendering a valuable first-round pick in the process. Faulk remains under contract for next season and could still provide value as a veteran mentor for young defensemen like Seider, Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Simon Edvinsson. 

But if the Red Wings miss the playoffs again next season, the trade will go down as the final costly misstep in Yzerman's tenure.

Drafting and developing talent worked out early and often for Yzerman. His first five first-round selections as GM, Seider (sixth overall, 2019), Raymond (fourth overall, 2020), Simon Edvinsson (sixth overall, 2021), Sebastian Cossa (15th overall, 2021) and Marco Kasper (eighth overall, 2022), all look like hits. 

All are already making an impact at the NHL level, aside from Cossa, who is expected to get his opportunity with the Utah Mammoth next season. Tasked with rebuilding the Red Wings with essentially only Dylan Larkin as a foundation, Yzerman quickly unearthed multiple franchise cornerstones.

It's still too early to fully judge the long-term impact of a trade made less than a month ago, but the optics are far from favorable. Despite Detroit's deep goaltending pipeline, Cossa looked like the franchise's presumptive goaltender of the future. 

Instead of using him to bring back immediate help, Yzerman moved him to the Utah Mammoth for the 23rd overall pick, a selection lower than where Cossa himself was drafted, along with prospect J.P. Hurlbert. 

If Hurlbert fails to develop into a full-time NHL contributor and Cossa emerges as Utah's franchise goaltender, this deal could end up looking like one of the final missteps of Yzerman's Detroit tenure.

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