The post Red Wings Yzerman Says No One is Untouchable appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.
The question was as apparent as the answer provided by Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman.
What do the Red Wings require to get over the hump and make the Stanley Cup playoffs?
“Well, the most obvious would be we need better players,” Yzerman said.
What do Red Wings need to do to make playoffs? Steve Yzerman: “The most obvious would be, we need better players. .. it’s incumbent upon me and my staff to improve the team.” pic.twitter.com/NRZXzPg2KH
— 97.1 The Ticket: (@971theticketxyt) April 23, 2026
How do they get better players? Well, that’s the question that isn’t so easily answered.
Yzerman did reveal one potential solution, though. He acknowledged that no one wearing the winged wheel, whether a current player or a budding prospect, is off the table in trade talks.
“We’ll certainly look at any way we can to improve our team to take that next step, so to speak,” Yzerman said. “Certainly prepared to do that. We’re absolutely open to doing that.”
What does all that mean? Should Captain Dylan Larkin have U-Haul on speed dial? Might a gaggle of prospects be packaged in a bid to land that second-line center or top-six scoring winger that this team so desperately needs?
“We need to change some things, but it’s not just going to go and get rid of everyone,” Yzerman said.
Clearly, though, something has to change. Running back the same team that just squandered a 12-point lead in late January and missed the playoffs for a 10th successive season just isn’t going to fly.
That being the case, it isn’t a bumper crop of budding stars that awaits when the UFA class of 2026 becomes available on July 1. Charlie Coyle or Boone Jenner aren’t the No. 2 center the Wings need. Alex Tuch could address the need for a scoring winger, but as the Sabres battle in the playoffs and look to be on the upswing, it seems there’s a path to see him stay in Buffalo.
Certainly, over the summer, Yzerman can revisit the trade talks he had with the New York Rangers regarding Vincent Trocheck. Does Detroit dare roll the dice and make a blockbuster move to add the mercurial Elias Pettersson from Vancouver?
Steve Yzerman said Chris Ilitch and Red Wings ownership is disappointed for the way the season ended up.As for his own job security, Yzerman said: “I intend to do my job to the best of my ability and I intend to see this through.” pic.twitter.com/iKtuy4w16U
There’s no easy answer in any of these scenarios. So now you get a better understanding of what Yzerman must be considering.
It’s easy to say shake things up. But what if the new concoction winds up leaving an even worse aftertaste than the current flavor of Red Wings?
Yzerman suggested that he is neither optimistic nor pessimistic about what the summer trade market may hold.
“Certainly something that we’re hoping and are open to and looking to address and see if we can’t somehow fill or address some of the positions we’d like to improve upon,” Yzerman said.
There was a definite difference in tone with Yzerman at this year’s season-ending media session. The defiance that was evident a year ago was absent, replaced by a more contrite, contemplative version of Stevie Y.