Steve Yzerman’s plan to rebuild the Red Wings has largely revolved around patience.
He has been patient in his plan.
He is asking for people to be patient with his plan.
But this is year seven of his tenure as the team’s general manager, and they are still on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture and still a badly flawed hockey team.
Their top players are outstanding and are performing. They are a strong core. The type of core you could probably very easily build a contending team around. The rest of the team, for the most part, is still not particularly good.
Nowhere is this more obvious than on the team’s defense.
The Red Wings’ top defense pairing of Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson is one of the best in the NHL. When those two are on the ice during 5-on-5 play, the Red Wings are outscoring teams by a 20-10 margin with a 61.8 percent expected goals share. They are also doing that while only starting 44 percent of their shifts in the offensive zone. They are getting the most challenging defensive assignments, playing the toughest competition every night, and dominating them. They are sensational.
When that pairing is not on the ice, and specifically when neither player is on the ice, they are being outscored by a 22-37 margin with 46.7 percent expected goal share. The other two pairings are also getting the highest percentage of offensive zone starts. And they are still getting crushed.
In other words, the Red Wings desperately need more defensive help. Adding a player like Hughes, who could take over a lot of those offensive situations, would open up so many other things for the team, its offense, and its overall play.
The Red Wings have salary-cap space. They also still have a decent prospect pool with some value, as well as younger NHL players who could fit Vancouver’s vision. The time for patience is over. It is time to become a contending team again. The chance to acquire Hughes should have Yzerman and the Red Wings circling in the waters if and when he becomes available.