Steve Yzerman's 4 worst moves that doomed him as Red Wings GM

The Detroit Red Wings will have a new general manager for the 2026-27 season, with current GM Steve Yzerman transitioning to a new front office role.

Yzerman took charge in 2019, immediately beginning a rebuild that fans hoped would bring the Wings back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. And though Detroit steadily improved with Yzerman in charge, drafting franchise cornerstones like Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider and trading for forward Alex DeBrincat, the Red Wings stretched their postseason drought to 10 years under Yzerman's stewardship.

The Red Wings looked to break that drought in the 2025-26 season, finishing with 92 points, the most under Yzerman. But a brutal finish that included six losses in their last seven games doomed the Red Wings to another playoff-less finish, leading to questions about Yzerman's leadership and a trade request from team captain Dylan Larkin.

But in reality, Yzerman's tenure with the Red Wings may have been doomed way before the end of the previous season. Here are four moves that the former GM likely wishes he could have back, in chronological order.

1. Anthony Mantha trade: April 12, 2021

The former Detroit 2013 first-round pick Anthony Mantha had a solid if unspectacular first few seasons in Detroit, seeing his production dip as he missed time with various injuries from 2018-21. His trade in 2021 for Czech forward Jakub Vrána, Richard Pánik and two draft picks was initially seen as a great haul, but it hasn't turned out so great for the Red Wings.

For one, the first-round pick the Red Wings acquired in the trade turned into goalie Sebastian Cossa, who made one career appearance for the Red Wings before being traded to the Utah Mammoth at the 2026 draft. For another, Vrána and Pánik are both out of the league after disappointing runs in Detroit, while the journeyman Mantha scored a career-high 64 points for the Pittsburgh Penguins this past season (albeit after stops in Washington, Vegas and Calgary before that).

This trade took a while to evolve, but several years later, it hasn't been nearly as successful as initially thought.

2. Derek Lalonde hiring: June 20, 2022

From 2005-22, the Red Wings stuck with two coaches: Mike Babcock (2005-15) and Jeff Blashill (2015-22). Yzerman made a change ahead of the 2022-23 season, hiring Tampa Bay Lightning assistant Derek Lalonde as his first coaching hire.

Lalonde's inexperience showed, however, as the Red Wings missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons from 2022-24. Yzerman didn't wait until the end of the next season to find his new guy, firing Lalonde in December of 2024 and hiring Todd McLellan, which yielded better results despite the Red Wings falling short of the playoffs once again.

3. J.T. Compher signing: July 1, 2023

The Red Wings signed forward J.T. Compher to a five-year deal with a $5.1 million AAV ahead of the 2023-24 season, giving him the third most-expensive contract on the team at the time.

And it initially worked out for the Wings, with Compher putting up 48 points in 77 games in his first season in Detroit. But his production dipped to 32 points in 2024-25 and 28 points in 2025-26 despite consistent playing time, making his contract look like an anchor for the next two seasons.

Compher's contract now falls below those of other forwards like Raymond and DeBrincat, but so does his production, which makes this one of Yzerman's least productive free-agent signings.

4. Justin Faulk trade: March 3, 2026

It may be too soon to judge a trade from the 2026 deadline, but it certainly doesn't look good for Red Wings fans right now.

The Red Wings sent Justin Holl, prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov, and two 2026 draft picks (a first and a third-rounder) to the St. Louis Blues for the veteran Faulk, who appeared in 17 games for Detroit down the stretch. The Red Wings were 35-21-7 before trading for Faulk and 6-10-3 after trading for him.

That's not entirely Faulk's fault – but trading out of the first round for the manifestation of a dud deadline looks really bad, even if Faulk can somehow find that All-Star form he showed with Carolina early in his career.

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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Steve Yzerman's 4 worst moves that doomed him as Red Wings GM