Detroit Red Wings' Steve Yzerman in enviable position at NHL trade deadline: Here's why

Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is in an enviable position entering one of the busiest weeks of the NHL season.

The trade deadline is Friday, and Yzerman may well make a move. But this is the first such event since he was named GM in April 2019 in which he has been in a favorable position at this time of the year.

There's no pending unrestricted free agent that he must move to avoid setting back the organization. Even with having lost the last two games, the team (33-22-6) is in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and projects to make the playoffs. While a long run is, naturally, desirable, the Wings are not advanced enough in the rebuild to start tossing around first-round picks and top prospects, which is generally needed to acquire impact players.

What that means is that Yzerman may stand pat, and put his faith in the players that have the Wings on track to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

HELENE GOES ON CARLOS AND SHAWN: Helene St. James on why Detroit Red Wings' playoff push is for real

"I think what Steve has done here in his tenure, the guys in the room is what he built," coach Derek Lalonde said this week. "I think there is a huge trust from both coaches and players on whatever he does. There’s a confidence in what he does. I’m comfortable coaching whatever he does or brings to us. I know he has the best interest in the micro, which is now, and the macro, the big picture, going forward. I won’t lose a ton of sleep and I don’t think our guys will, either.

"Maybe the most aggressive move of all would be no move at all. I think that would speak volumes of where our group is at."

It is such a change from a year ago, when Yzerman had to trade pending unrestricted free agent Tyler Bertuzzi after contract talks stalled, instead adding a first-round pick to the organization's draft capital. Having just seen his team implode in back-to-back outings at Ottawa, signaling a chance for a playoff spot was diminishing, Yzerman also flipped defenseman Filip Hronek for a first-round pick.

In 2022, teammates said goodbye to Nick Leddy and Luke Witkowsky at the trade deadline; in 2021, it was Anthony Mantha. That side of the business affects those left behind, too.

"You never want to see what we’ve seen the last few years, guys having some serious changes," Dylan Larkin said. "Trading guys for draft picks is frustrating, so hopefully we are not in that position this year.

"I think it’s the group we have, the guys we have with the chemistry - I think it’s been great this year and obviously in the standings, we are in a different position than we have been. We are in a great position, but we want more in this locker room."

Yzerman could look to add a depth player, though he already has Justin Holl in reserve on defense, and Ville Husso is, according to Lalonde, expected to return from a lower-body injury before the end of the regular season, which would make the Wings three-deep in goal. Up front, it might appeal to add more grit and physicality — Klim Kostin was brought in for that reason last summer, but he hasn't played to expectations and has been a healthy scratch the past eight games. The Wings didn't handle the Panthers' physicality well in Saturday's 4-0 loss, but it wasn't a loss that warranted wholesale changes like last year after the Wings were manhandled by the Senators.

Prices are always high this time of year because contenders are willing to gamble in an effort to strengthen their odds. But Yzerman already added a game-changer when he signed Patrick Kane at the end of November. The 35-year-old has been a phenomenal contributor on and off the ice, helping instill confidence among those who long for the playoffs.

"I can’t say enough good things about what he has meant to our team," Larkin said. "He’s gotten more comfortable with the group and when he speaks, it’s impactful because he’s earned that by his career accomplishments and the kind of player and person he is. When he says this team is special and that he thinks that we can make some noise, then it carries weight, because he’s been there and he has been on special teams. A guy like him wouldn’t just say that so it’s just been great having him, great to see the buy-in that he has had."

Yzerman is wily and could pull off a move. But for the first time in five years, he could also choose to stay silent.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her @helenestjames.

Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from  Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings' Steve Yzerman in good shape at NHL trade deadline