What does Yzerman's Detroit departure mean for Marco Kasper?

Not entirely surprising, but certainly so in terms of timing: Steve Yzerman is no longer General Manager of the Detroit Red Wings. A legend lost his job.

Yzerman was relieved of his duties as General Manager and "Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations" on Wednesday and made a "Senior Advisor". The Red Wings therefore need a new man at the helm to take over the sporting agenda externally (trades, signings) and internally (staff composition).

The Yzerplan

Yzerman played for the Red Wings from 1983 to 2006, winning three Stanley Cups.

After four years on staff, he moved to the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he worked as GM for eight years. His return to Detroit in the summer of 2019 was met with great hopes. He was supposed to get the struggling organization back on its feet.

Yzerman – a leader as a player, but a very reserved man as a GM – repeatedly preached patience, but the term "Yzerplan" did not come from him. Yet with each year without playoffs (he is responsible for the last seven of ten), doubts about him grew, and the Red Wings have been treading water for years. In the last two seasons, they consistently squandered a seemingly secure playoff spot towards the end of the season. They have been far from bigger goals for ages anyway.

The Timing of his Departure

Yzerman was allowed to conduct the draft and the beginning of free agency, but only now could owner Chris Illitch bring himself to take this measure. Illitch, who inherited both the franchise and the "Little Caesars" pizza chain from his parents, decided years ago to change GMs at a similar time for the Detroit Tigers.

Nevertheless, it was a rather unfortunate timing, as Yzerman signed two players at the start of free agency, Viktor Arvidsson and Keegan Kolesar, who were supposed to increase scoring (Arvidsson) and physicality (Kolesar). These are decisions that by no means seem absurd, but should nevertheless be reserved for a GM who is also responsible for the upcoming season.

Yzerman's Role as "Senior Advisor"

Naturally, one doesn't want to unnecessarily tarnish a legend like Yzerman, so he was allowed to slip into a new role on paper. In some organizations, this title is reserved for older individuals who fill it with more or less substance. Rick Dudley, for example, was still on the road as a super scout for the two-time Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at 77 years old.

But fundamentally, the role of "Senior Advisor" is a holding pattern for new assignments in another organization and a relatively worthless title.

What is Yzerman criticized for?

Officially nothing, of course, as he still has too many fans. But seven years without playoffs speak for themselves; the organization really just drifted along under him.

Added to this are now the disputes surrounding captain Dylan Larkin, who wants to move on after three of his eight contract years, citing a lack of sporting prospects as the reason.

Yzerman's successor must face this problem. Larkin himself has so far only named four organizations to which he could imagine a trade, which of course severely limits the market.

Poor free-agent signings naturally didn't help over the years either, but blaming Yzerman for some misjudgments in the draft is less understandable. My information from Detroit suggests that he left the draft to his scouts and did not interfere at all. Highlights (Moritz Seider) and mistakes (Filip Zadina, Sebastian Cossa instead of Filip Gustavsson, who was just traded away) are therefore attributable to a scouting staff that has also seen better days.