Detroit Red Wings: Steve Yzerman has already begun leaving his mark

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Detroit Red Wings General Manager Steve Yzerman is back at it again. After a successful tenure with the Tampa Bay Lightning, he is back to his magical ways again, this time in Detroit.

Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman has been regarded as one of the best general managers of this era and for good reason. His incredible trades as the Tampa Bay Lightning GM are widely talked about. Yzerman’s remarkable work while negotiating new contracts is well known. He built Tampa into a super-team during an age in hockey where the salary cap mostly prohibits that ability. Yet, he maneuvered his way around that cap to get it done.

Now, his former team in Detroit has called for his help, and he answered. Almost immediately, Yzerman has begun his masterful work. His first somewhat big move went towards dealing with the Lightning. There, he acquired then-restricted free agent forward Adam Erne.

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Yzerman then signed him to a one-year, $1.05 million contract. All he gave up was a 2020 fourth-round pick. Despite not yet recording a single point in the first 14 games, Yzerman is familiar with the young forward. He could work with Erne and get him to pick it up as we near the halfway point of the season.

Next, he acquired Alex Biega from the Vancouver Canucks. He has only played five games to this point, though he had some pretty stellar underlying stats last season with Vancouver. If head coach Jeff Blashill can get the right pairing for him, this could be another excellent depth acquisition. All they gave up was former fourth-round selection, David Pope, who has yet to play a single NHL game, despite being 25-years-old.

Finally, Yzerman made his best move to this point – he traded left-winger Jacob de la Rose to the St. Louis Blues for Robby Fabbri. Jacob de la Rose has never played more than 60 games in a season and has recorded just 32 points in 196 career NHL games while playing primarily on the fourth forward line. This season, de la Rose has four points in 17 games, with all four points coming in Detroit, through 16 games.

Meanwhile, Fabbri has played one season over 70 games, though he never played more than 52 games in a season since then. Despite playing in fewer games, mainly due to injuries, he has posted far more points, with 76 points in 166 games. In St. Louis this season, Fabbri had recorded just one goal in nine games.

In his first two games in Detroit, Fabbri has recorded three points (two goals, one assist). He’s also averaging nearly five minutes more per game while in Detroit. Fabbri has immediately found a role in Detroit that benefits both the team and himself. This trade immediately paid dividends while the first two have yet to reap much yet, in terms of production. However, this is just the surface of what Yzerman can bring to the table.

We need only to look at some of his best trades in Tampa to see just how incredible Yzerman has been as a general manager. But before we get into that, it’s equally important to note his mastery when it comes to contract negotiations.

In the 2016 offseason, everyone seemed to believe that Steven Stamkos will find himself as a free agent. However, at the last second, Yzerman got Stamkos to take a shockingly low deal at $8.5 million per season for eight years.

Following the conclusion of his entry-level contract and a 66-point season, it seemed as though Nikita Kucherov was due for a pay-day that Yzerman could not afford. Instead, he talked Kucherov into taking a three-year bridge deal, worth an average of $4.667 million per season.

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