Major Sign of Rebuilding Shift

[SpikeDDS]

So yesterday there was a LOT of movement in the Red Wings' personnel. The biggest move of note was Ericsson being put on waivers. This has been a long time coming, but the day has finally arrived. And although it doesn't mean he has played his last game as a Detroit Red Wing, it COULD mean that. This is a guy who is getting $4.25M, so he is likely to clear and head to GR, which is where he will be assigned. The move only saves us just over $1M in cap hit, which should let you know that it really is not about the cap at all.

 

But that wasn't all. In addition, Erne was placed on IR retroactive to 10/18. In addition, Alex Biega was sent down to GR.

 

The result of that is that Svechnikov has been called up from GR again. I think this time it will be more than a symbolic gesture. IT BETTER BE!! The Wings need scoring. They need D too, but they cannot possibly win only scoring 1.25 goals per game. Not. Gonna. Happen. So up Svech comes to try to inject some life into the middle six.

 

But to me, this smells of Steve Yzerman shifting the focus from trying to put a product on the ice that will sell more seats in the now to focusing on rebuilding the program for the long-term. This is a distinct change from what they have been selling, which has been, "We are going to put the players we feel give us the best chance to win on the ice every night." This says, "We are going to focus on developing young players at the top level now, even if it means losing more games this season. We are now focusing on what is best for the franchise in the years to come, even if it means we may be in the basement this season. So be it." TBH, I have been waiting for this day for a LONG time.

 

We are so far away from having a defense that is NHL-worthy that I think the Wings' best hopes of filling seats in the next couple of years is to develop an offense that is more electrifying. They may lose 6-4, but at least you got to see AA's breakaway goal, or Mantha's next hattie. And yup, it means another top-6 draft pick next draft, and we better be taking the best Dman available, barring a lottery win and a generational talent being available.

 

I think this is smart. You could see that the attempt to feign like we have a team that can compete nightly in the NHL from a defensive point of view will not work. We don't have the defensive chops. It's time we were honest with ourselves. That is what has bothered me for the last 6 years--the Red Wings from office lying to themselves and us saying we had a competitive team, when their definition of "competitive" was "Maybe we could make the playoffs and sell tickets for 2-3 playoff games." At best. They got what they wanted, and now were left with what we have.

 

We also, IMHO, made the mistake of using our early round draft picks to take the most talented player available rather than focusing on getting the best talent for the position we need most. Even the Zadina pick could be questioned--though most saw the opportunity as too good to pass on--but I'm really talking about the years before that. Defense was just not a priority. And it shows.

 

Mark this day down as the day the Red Wings started to genuinely rebuild. After last night's 5-2 third period collapse debacle of a game, they now see this, properly, as a necessary evil, and appear to have begun the process of transitioning to the new wave of players.