Fourth Period’s Dave Pagnotta was on the Sirius XM NHL Network Radio Power Play Segment with Steve Kouleas and Anthony Stewart, and was asked about the Detroit Red Wings and whether GM Steve Yzerman will have an active season.
Writing for NHLRumors.com
How Brave Will the Detroit Red Wings Be in the Offseason?
Steve Kouleas: “It’s been quiet, and because I have friends, in that Detroit-Windsor corridor. What’s the plan in Detroit? There are a few rumors there. I think we’ve talked about it before. What’s real as they even watch Ottawa lose, but look at Buffalo, look at Montreal. Where’s the Detroit division mix in this Steve Atlantic?”
Dave Pagnotta: “They’re in a tough situation because all these other teams are improving, they’ve improved. Everybody expects Florida to take a mulligan this season and get back to where they’ve been the last couple of years next season. Detroit’s mindset has to be in this playoff. And you’ve got to be able to do whatever you can to improve this program to take those steps a little bit.
They have filled out their cover continuously with a deep prospect pool, but not all of these people will hit. You have to be able to start exploring other options and start bringing in NHL-level players, and I think that’s what they want to do, and I think that’s what Steve Yzerman is looking to do this offseason.
Now it’s a matter of adding NHL-caliber talent, both on the veteran side and on the youth side, to improve this club. I can see them trying to go back to Robert Thomas and try to go in those types of directions to bring in those types of players to push to reach the postseason next year. That should be the idea, and I believe it is, but it’s going to take a huge amount of work for Detroit to get to that point.
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And that’s why, guys, that’s why I think that this season, or this summer, will be a makeup of the last few seasons, where we expected significant movement and we didn’t get anything, especially last year. There are a lot of teams with a rising cap, that’s one thing, and the free agent pool is another in its depth; it is not deep.
We know that, but with so many teams wanting to take the next steps, and so many teams, some of them needing to take the next steps, I think the incentive to make these types of moves has grown a little bit here, and that’s why I find the end of June in terms of the draft and the beginning of the first half of July is going to be very interesting. “
NHLRumors.com Note: This is a big season for the Detroit Red Wings and GM Steve Yzerman. This was supposed to be the year of the Red Wings, but instead, they missed the playoffs again for the 10th consecutive season. There is a belief that they will look to make a big deal and revisit talks with Vincent Trocheck at the trade deadline. However, with the Atlantic Division remaining one of the toughest divisions in the NHL, the Red Wings have their work cut out for them.
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