What Are The Bare Minimums Yzerman Should Hit To Remain Red Wings GM?
After a devastating late-season collapse saw them plummet out of a playoff spot, the Detroit Red Wings' future under GM Steve Yzerman has been called into question.
And rightfully so. Yzerman has had seven years on the job running things in Detroit, and the Red Wings have now missed the playoffs for a full decade.
However, in a Thursday press conference, Yzerman spoke like a man who was coming back as GM next season, citing discussions with Red Wings owner Chris Ilitch about his future.
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Detroit Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan shared his thoughts on forward Lucas Raymond during Thursday's joint media availability session with GM Steve Yzerman.
Bare-Minimum No. 2: The Red Wings need to be in a playoff spot by American Thanksgiving – and they need to hold onto that playoff berth through the end of the year
As we should all know by now, if NHL teams aren't in a playoff spot by American Thanksgiving, they'll have a rough time making the playoffs. This season, three-quarters of the 16 playoff teams at Thanksgiving wound up earning a playoff berth.
And so, if the Red Wings aren't in a playoff position by the fourth Thursday of November next season, Yzerman should be dismissed.
Yes, you never can completely count out a team making a late-season surge into a playoff position. That happens, every year, to one team or another.
But the optics of the Red Wings being out of a playoff spot by Thanksgiving will be alarming to Detroit fans. And at that point, firing Yzerman will be the only thing that makes those aggrieved Wings fans happy again.
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Bare-Minimum No. 3: The Wings have to come up with some type of generational talent through the draft
One of the areas the Red Wings have lacked is the foundational, high-end talent you always see on Cup-winning teams.
Yes, defenseman Moritz Seider qualifies as a generational player. And yes, forwards Lucas Raymond and Dylan Larkin are elite players.
But there's been no Red Wings equivalent of a Connor Bedard with the Chicago Blackhawks, a Nathan MacKinnon with the Colorado Avalanche or a Connor McDavid with the Edmonton Oilers.
And that's an issue Yzerman must try to solve.
With the Red Wings having the 16th-best odds of winning a draft lottery draw, their pick can only move as high as sixth overall. If they can trade into the top 10 or even top five, they can improve their chances of getting a truly elite core player. If that means packaging some of the future to do it, so be it.
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This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 2:33 PM.