When the 2017 NHL playoffs begin, there will be a familiar team missing. The Detroit Red Wings’ 25-year playoff streak will likely come to an end as the team sits with just a 0.2% chance of making the playoffs. The Red Wings have succeeded over the past-quarter century by developing the organization’s young talent in the minor leagues and bringing in NHL superstars from Free Agency. The foundation for the last 25 years of success started with drafting Steve Yzerman in 1983 and building the team around him. To return to their former glory, the Red Wings need a new star draft pick to lay a new foundation for the next 25 years: a new Steve Yzerman. Mike and Marian Ilitch bought the Detroit Red Wings in 1982. Before this, the Red Wings had their worst 25-year stretch in their history. They were a perennial cellar dwelling team referred to as the “Dead Wings.” The first move that the Ilitch family made was drafting Steve Yzerman in the 1983 NHL draft. From that point on, Yzerman became the heart of the Red Wings and the team was built around him. During the 1990s and early 2000s, the best players would give up higher paying contracts to come to Red Wings because it gave them the best opportunity to get their name on the Stanley Cup. These players include Brett Hull, Dominik Hasek, Luc Robataille and many others. To compliment these names were young rising stars, who the Red Wings drafted in late rounds. Draft picks include Pavel Datsyuk in the sixth round and Henrik Zetterberg in the seventh. No other teams even considered drafting these names, but the Red Wings organization found them in Europe and these two became future hall of famers. With the combination of big names coming to Detroit and Detroit’s management finding hidden gems, the Red Wings exemplified how a professional hockey organization should run.
Now, with Detroit’s last Stanley Cup in 2009, Hockeytown is no longer the premier destination for the best free agents. Instead, today’s best free agents go elsewhere. Marian Hossa best represents this as he left the Red Wings to join the Chicago Blackhawks, which resulted in him winning multiple Stanley Cups. Without the signing stars, Detroit has been forced to play its younger generation of players who have not had as much time to develop. The roster now includes Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha, Andreas Anthanasiou, and others who are all 23 and younger. Had these prospects had longer time to play in the minor leagues, they would develop as intended. The Red Wings can no longer afford the delay in bringing their talent to the roster for the long-term benefit. To be successful again, the Red Wings organization must draft someone who does not need time to develop. As the Red Wings face the reality of the end of streak, they need to look to the future while also remembering the past. Mike Ilitch built this team starting with Steve Yzerman. It will take a new “Stevie Y” to revamp the team. There needs to be a new reason for the NHL’s best to come to Detroit again. Detroit has had a successful hockey organization; it is just missing a top draft pick to restart the system. With the streak coming to an end, Detroit must draft a young star to set its new foundation in for the future.
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Sean KageffSenior at the University of Michigan studying Actuarial Math CategoriesArchives |