‘We need better players’: Red Wings’ Yzerman on 2026-27 hopes
For the 10th straight season, the Stanley Cup Playoffs have begun without the participation of the Detroit Red Wings.
It’s a far cry from the standard the Original Six franchise set in the previous decades, when the team qualified for the postseason for 25 consecutive years. However, in this decade-long rebuild, the 2025-26 season is unquestionably the most disheartening.
During an end-of-season press conference, general manager Steve Yzerman revealed that ownership is frustrated with how things ended, but is still backing the front office in hopes it can turn the ship in the right direction.
“I spoke with [CEO Chris Ilitch] a few days ago,” Yzerman said. “He and the entire ownership, the Ilitch family, are very disappointed with the way the season played out. He continues to be extremely supportive of what we’re trying to do here. We intend to have further conversations about our team and about our organization in the very near future.”
Leading up to the Olympic break, the Red Wings were fighting for the top spot in the Atlantic Division, seemingly a lock to end the team’s playoff drought. On Jan. 24, they were 34 points ahead of the Ottawa Senators, a team that managed to get hot late in the year and leapfrog Detroit for the last Wild Card spot.
Yzerman admitted that even when Detroit was near the top of the Eastern Conference, there were concerns about the team’s play.
“Truthfully, throughout the course of the season…we had concerns. Todd and I talked about it…we, as a staff. We’re winning games. We see the deficiencies, the areas that we need to improve upon – that probably goes for every team. You’re never totally comfortable, regardless of where you’re at. … We were third overall or something, and we’re like, ‘Let’s be realistic. I don’t think we’re as good as our record at the time, but we are winning games.'”
Contrary to years past, when Yzerman held pat at the trade deadline and did not want to move prospects or draft capital, he made the deal to bring in veteran defenseman Justin Faulk from the St. Louis Blues. The move obviously didn’t pan out, as the team posted a measly 8-12-4 record since the beginning of March.
With another long summer on the horizon for the Red Wings, many wonder if Yzerman is the right man to lead the team into the future. Sure, he’s a Hockeytown legend and led the franchise through a renaissance, captaining the team to three Stanley Cups and putting Detroit back at the forefront of the NHL landscape. However, since being hired in 2020, there have been only slight improvements in the on-ice product, leading to restlessness among fans and media alike.
Yzerman was asked about the status of his job and whether his position feels secure. He admitted that he wants to be the person who brings the Red Wings back to prominence.
“I don’t think I’m just going to sit and hope for the best,” Yzerman explained. “I’m very disappointed how this season played out. … We sit here today in the same spot we have for the last seven years. It needs to take some time…I speak with Chris [Ilitch] regularly throughout the course of the season, and he’s on top of everything. He’s aware of everything that’s going on. I intend to do my job to the best of my ability, to address the areas that need to, and intend to see this through.”
He was also questioned about whether there needs to be further changes in the front office or among other hockey operations personnel.
“I think everything has to be assessed, you know, how we do things, for sure. I’d be ignorant to not really have a really in-depth look at our team, at our organization, for sure. Do we need major shakeups? Maybe, maybe not. Can it be done not doing that? Yes.”
The Hall of Fame center was blunt in what the team needs to focus on over the next few months.
“Most obviously, we need better players…It’s incumbent on me and my staff to improve this team.”
Yzerman noted that the Wings need to get deeper down the middle. Despite having the likes of captain Dylan Larkin and a rising star in Marco Kasper, the Wings lack the depth at center to keep up with the likes of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche, each of which are strong at the position.
“Ultimately,” Yzerman continued, “It’s up to [head coach Todd McLellan] and myself and our staff to make these players better, prepare them better, make them harder, and also to improve the talent around them.”
Yzerman also mentioned that the players themselves need to find a way to grind through the trials and tribulations of an 82-game season to inevitably reach the goal of making the playoffs.
“I went through this as a player myself,” Yzerman stated. The ups and the downs, the failures, the disappointments. You have to learn from it. You have to adjust, and you have to be mentally tough enough to get through it. That’s a challenge for a lot of our guys.”
In part of the mental toughness, Yzerman noted that the current roster needs to find some grit, or he might have to go out and find the pieces to make the Red Wings a tougher squad to face.
“We need to be a harder team to play against. We hear our players talk about that. My message to them would be, ‘Guys, we need our team to be harder to play against. In order to do that, you guys got to be harder to play against. So, either that, or I got to get ready and bring in other guys.'”
All in all, Yzerman does recognize the positives from the 2025-26 season. While the team didn’t meet expectations, the man known as ‘Stevie Y’ understands that some changes might be needed to help get Detroit back to the postseason.
“Some players in particular just reinforce what we believe in. As we watch and see how it unfolds, we think there’s some growth that needs to be done. … You learn a lot in winning. You learn a lot in failure. So, we need to change some things, but it’s not just going to go and get rid of everyone. But there needs to be some very blunt conversations with some of our players, and to challenge them to do more and be better and to get there. Ultimately, we need to surround them with more talent.”