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• Windsor star
Published on June 25, 2024 • Last updated 3 minutes ago • 4 minutes reading
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The page will turn quickly.
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Now that former Windsor Spitfire Paul Maurice and Belle River native Aaron Ekblad have finally secured the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers, the hockey world will quickly turn to the future.
The final in-person NHL Draft will be held on Friday in Las Vegas, wrapping up two selection days on Saturday before free agency begins on Monday.
“Honestly, it’s not ideal,” Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman said of the shortened schedule following a seven-game finals. “It’s a busy time for everyone.
“Things are very compressed and I hope that at some point we can adjust our schedule and spread things out a bit. I hope it can be resolved one day.”
After advancing to the final game of the season before being eliminated from the playoffs, the Red Wings will have the 15th pick in the first round of this year’s NHL Draft. It is the last time the team has made its first selection since 2016.
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“It doesn’t change dramatically,” Yzerman said of the plan. “I think there’s less certainty the further back you go in the draft. There is a little less certainty about who will be there. We are still in the phase of taking the best prospect.
“We feel good. We feel more than comfortable and confident that one day we will have a prospect on our team who will have a positive impact.” And the Red Wings have had recent success at that point. Sebastian Cossa is still considered the team’s goaltender of the future and was Detroit’s second pick in the first round, with a 15th overall pick, in 2021. Captain Dylan Larkin was also the 15th pick overall in the 2014 draft.
“We’re looking at that 15th pick, which is still a pretty high pick,” Yzerman said. “It is important that we get a good player. It’s important that we get a player to play for us in the NHL. We need that and it is not as simple or automatic as we would like to think. It is important that we get a player regardless of position.”
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Through Tuesday, the Red Wings have a pick in each round, with an additional pick in the seventh and final round.
However, the club added a second-round pick, originally belonging to Tampa Bay, in a deal with the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. Detroit sent LaSalle defenseman Andrew Gibson, who plays for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, to the Predators for the second round and Finnish forward Jesse Kiiskinen.
Gibson was a second-round pick of the Red Wings last season, while the 6-foot-4, 197-pound Kiiskinen was a third-round pick of Nashville. He had 10 points in 38 games with the Liiga Lahti Penguins, which plays in Finland’s top professional league. He added 14 goals and 21 points in eight games for the Pelicans’ U20 team.
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But unlike last year, when the club made a first-round pick to acquire Alex DeBrincat, Yzerman doesn’t foresee any major roster moves for the team ahead of the draft at this time.
“I’m not in a big rush to trade our first-round pick,” Yzerman said. “I would be open to it. I’m not afraid of that, but I don’t expect us to make a trade for a player that brings the 15th pick at this stage.
“At this stage, I don’t expect any blockbuster trades from Detroit involving the 15th pick. There isn’t really an option for us.”
Any deal could potentially add a big contract to the payroll, and Yzerman should quickly turn his attention to free agency after the draft. Patrick Kane, David Perron, former Spitfire Christian Fischer, Daniel Sprong, Shayne Gostisbehere and James Reimer are all unrestricted free agents.
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“I’ve been in contact with everyone,” Yzerman said. “It comes down to duration and dollars. We have to make this all fit.”
And that’s because defenseman Moritz Seider and forward Lucas Raymond are both restricted free agents that Yzerman wants to sign to long-term deals.
“Their contracts will increase significantly,” Yzerman said of Seider and Raymond. “That will take up a large part of our limit and I have to be aware of that and make plans for that. That limits what we do in other areas.”
While he has had good dialogue with the two, Yzerman does not expect either to be signed at the start of free agency Monday.
“I’m just going to work around it,” Yzerman said. “In the end, I can’t force anything. They will be ready on time.
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“We remain selective in free agency. We will try to do things to improve our team and give us better chances next year.”
Five years into his career with Tampa Bay, Yzerman won a Stanley Cup, but five years into rebuilding the Red Wings, the club still hasn’t made the playoffs. He remains focused on the draft and believes the team’s fortunes will rise and fall there.
“There’s no perfect way to do it,” said Yzerman, who noted that he had first overall pick Steve Stamkos and second overall pick Victor Hedman when he arrived in Tampa. “I don’t use the term Yzer plan. My plan was so simple: I’m going to try to build a good team through the draft and that will take time.
“I think there are more expectations for our team next year. In the end, I stick to the plan. We’re not trying to build a team that might make the playoffs one year and then maybe not the next year. Our goal is to build a team that is sustainable.”
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