The Detroit Red Wings were well on their way to the worst record in the NHL at last year’s trade deadline when general manager Steve Yzerman indicated he was sticking with coach Jeff Blashill for the 2020-21 season.
Yzerman did not make the same declaration at the trade deadline this past week, saying he and Blashill will talk fairly soon after the season, which ends in four weeks.
Blashill’s contract expires after this season, his sixth as the Red Wings’ head coach. The team will miss the playoffs for the fifth year in a row, not unexpected since it is in the middle of what appears to be a lengthy rebuild.
The Red Wings are 169-217-58 under Blashill, who is the third-longest tenured coach with his current team, behind only Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper and Winnipeg’s Paul Maurice.
The Red Wings have won a season-high three games in a row and are 6-3-2 in their past 11. They have 11 games remaining. Will their performance during that stretch influence Yzerman’s decision on whether to extend Blashill or bring in a new voice?
That was among the questions from MLive readers in this week’s mailbag:
Q: How much longer is Yzerman going to put up with the product on the ice? It seems Blashill may have lost the ears in the dressing room. If I were a season ticket holder, I would be looking for a reduction in ticket prices considering the talent taking the ice every night, AHL-caliber at best. – Tbuck
A: The talent level is much better than it was last season; many of the players they parted with aren’t in the NHL anymore. But they still are short on skill, as evidenced by their scoring difficulties (tied for last in the league at 2.27 goals per game).
I don’t think Blashill has lost the room. They are more competitive than last season, but every now and then they inexplicably have an atrocious performance, like a pair of 7-1 losses to Nashville on March 25 and April 8.
Nobody expected this team to reach the playoffs. Blashill wasn’t going to be judged solely on the team’s record. Overall improvement, player development and consistent compete level surely factor into Yzerman’s decision.
They currently have a .422 points percentage and are 26th overall, compared to .275 last season when they finished 23 points behind the next-worst team. Is that enough improvement to suit Yzerman?
Young players like Filip Hronek, Filip Zadina, Michael Rasmussen and Evgeny Svechnikov have taken steps. Dennis Cholowski and Gustav Lindstrom might get an extended look the rest of the way. Is that enough growth?
Every team experiences bad nights. They have had about seven terrible performances out of 46 games. Is that acceptable?
Yzerman might also take into consideration an early season stretch in which five regulars were out for two weeks or more due to COVID protocol and that two of their best players – Tyler Bertuzzi (played nine games) and Jonathan Bernier (missed a combined 17 games in two stretches) have spent considerable time on the injured list.
If Yzerman had to decide today, my guess is he would not bring back Blashill. But that could change over the final four weeks.
Another determining factor could be whether the replacement Yzerman has in mind will be available.
Q: How does trading for (Jakub) Vrana and (Richard) Panik affect the Wings’ plans for the expansion draft in terms of their protection list? – Shelly
A: Vrana simply replaces Anthony Mantha on their list of seven protected forwards. Panik surely will be left unprotected.
Vrana, 25, will be a restricted free agent. I could see Yzerman wanting to sign him for four years, buying two of his unrestricted years, which would begin in 2023.
My projected list of protected forwards, as of now, also includes Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, Robby Fabbri, Michael Rasmussen, Adam Erne and Givani Smith. Filip Zadina is exempt, as is anyone else drafted in 2018 or later.
This would leave Evgeny Svechnikov, Vladislav Namestnikov and Frans Nielsen unprotected, in addition to Panik. If they wait until after the July 21 Seattle Kraken expansion draft to re-sign Luke Glendening, he will be exempt.
Q: I think Colorado won out on this (Patrik Nemeth) trade. Because if I’m going to keep 50 percent of a player’s contract, I better be getting a second- or third-rounder for my money. -- Brian
A: Nobody was going to relinquish a second-round pick for Nemeth. The Red Wings probably asked for a third and settled for what they could get. Retaining 50 percent of his remaining salary is not a big deal for a team that didn’t need the cap space. Financial and cap constraints around the league surely limited movement at the deadline. Getting anything they could for a player they weren’t going to re-sign was fine.
(If you have a Red Wings-related question, email akhan1@mlive.com.)
More: Jakub Vrana’s Detroit debut a sign of things to come?
The Link LonkApril 17, 2021 at 01:12AM
https://www.mlive.com/redwings/2021/04/red-wings-mailbag-steve-yzermans-decision-on-jeff-blashill-looms.html
Red Wings mailbag: Steve Yzerman’s decision on Jeff Blashill looms - mlive.com
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