NHL analyst Bob Heyrman of FanSided isn’t a fan of Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman and his move.
At the NHL trade deadline, the Edmonton Oilers acquired Jake Walman from the San Jose Sharks in a package which included a first round pick. Although Yzerman and Detroit didn’t make the move, it comes after Yzerman had to trade Walman and a second-round pick to San Jose so they could take his contract.
Detroit got rid of Walman for nothing, and now not even a year later, San Jose was able to get a first-round pick for the defenseman, which Heyrman calls a massive blunder.
“Detroit hasn’t won many trades with Yzerman at the helm. His latest blunder was the Jake Walman deal this past summer,” Heyrman wrote. “Detroit sent their top-pairing defender to San Jose, attaching a second-round pick to entice the Sharks to take him. San Jose flipped Walman to the Edmonton Oilers at the deadline for a first-round pick.
“So, let’s quickly review this: The Sharks received a first-round (EDM) and second-round pick (DET) for Walman,” Heyrman added. “Walman is in year two of his three-year deal that averages just $3.4 million annually. Walman has recorded six goals and 32 points this season while averaging over 23 minutes per night with San Jose.”
As Heyrman points out, the Walman trade was a massive blunder for Detroit. Not only could the defenseman have had success on the blue line for Detroit, but the Red Wings could have saved a second-round pick and added a first-round pick in a trade had they held onto the star defenseman.
Analyst Calls for Red Wings to Make Front Office Changes
After the Walman trade and Detroit’s lackluster trade deadline, Heyrman believes there needs to be changes to the front office.
Heyrman believes the Red Wings front office is making too many bad trades, so changes need to happen to the pro scout department.
“Yzerman needs to address his pro scouting staff this offseason, which includes his brother Chris Yzerman, and another name familiar to Red Wings fans is Kirk Maltby,” Heyrman added.
Along with making bad trades, Heyrman thinks the Red Wings front office isn’t urgent enough to push for a playoff spot.
“With the Detroit Red Wings in the thick of things despite a five-game losing skid. March hasn’t been kind to Red Wings over the past three years when it felt like Detroit was about to take a step forward in their rebuild. It always feels like a step forward and two steps backward over the past few seasons,” Heyrman added.
The Red Wings are 30-27-6 and outside of a playoff spot.
Yzerman Discusses Trade Deadline Moves
Yzerman and Detroit had a lackluster trade deadline day.
The Red Wings acquired goalie Petr Mrazek and forward Craig Smith from the Chicago Blackhawks for Joe Veleno. That was the only trade they made, outside of acquiring a fourth-round pick to retain some salary.
“We did what we thought we could to help give us a better chance here at the playoffs,” Yzerman said on March 6. “It is earth-shattering? No, it’s not. But the only way we could do something earth-shattering is to give up first-round picks and our best young players and prospects. And I think everybody would agree that just to try and hope for us to get in, this isn’t the time to do that.”
Detroit hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2015-16 season.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Analyst Blasts Red Wings’ GM Over ‘Latest Blunder’ at Trade Deadline Day appeared first on Heavy Sports.