'I think we improved the team': Yzerman talks Red Wings free agency

DETROIT -- When addressing the media in his 2021-22 end-of-season availability session, Detroit Red Wings executive vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman said he would navigate this offseason's free-agent market with a methodical approach.

And after signing eight free agents last week, Yzerman is pleased with how that strategy panned out.
"I think we've improved the team," Yzerman said to the media in a free agency Zoom call last Thursday. "But we gotta go on the ice in September and then play in October. I think we've addressed some needs and I'm hoping we're a better team."

On the first day of free agency
, Detroit signed centers Andrew Copp and Austin Czarnik, left wingers Dominik Kubalik and David Perron, defenseman Ben Chiarot and right winger Matt Luff.
On day two
, the Red Wings agreed to terms with blueliners Olli Maatta and Mark Pysyk, providing the club with several experienced players who will join forces with rising stars like Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond.
"There's a core of young players that has a chance to be a potentially pretty good team one day," Yzerman said. "The players recognize it. There's a definite need in a role like an Andrew Copp, for example, to have an impact on and off the ice in a leadership role with a group of young players who are hopefully on the rise."
When asked about his free-agency pitch, Yzerman said several players already had a genuine interest in signing with Detroit.
"The guys that I talked to, they were pretty astute," Yzerman said. "They do their homework, and they should. They look at the team, where we are, what their role on the team is gonna be and everything that's important to them they look into."

Yzerman, heading into his fourth season as the Red Wings' executive vice president and general manager, hopes the new additions will help improve team defense and special teams, but knows progress doesn't happen overnight.
"We've got a lot of work to do," Yzerman said. "We've got a lot of improving left to do. But the new players coming in and with our small nucleus of remaining players with the young kids coming in, I think we're trending in the right direction."
Under
new coach Derek Lalonde and his staff
, the Red Wings enter the 2022-23 campaign ready to build on a strong foundation of young talent. While the excitement level is high in Hockeytown, Yzerman wants to be realistic when evaluating Detroit's rebuild.
"Time will tell," Yzerman said. "I'm optimistic that we're progressing, but the plan really hasn't changed. I'm sticking with what I intended to do - keep younger guys and be patient with them, keep our draft picks and continue to build this way."

Looking ahead, Yzerman added that he doesn't anticipate making further splashes in free agency but is "always looking at ways to get better."
"I don't have a blockbuster in the works or anything like that," Yzerman said. "I think we get through free agency and explore some teams that have to make moves in light of what's happened. I think it's important to keep looking around and keep communicating with other teams around the league to see if there's any potential fit, but I wouldn't expect me to announce any future signings."
In addition to the free agency signings,
Yzerman announced Monday that Detroit hired Jay Varady as an assistant coach.
Varady has spent the past four seasons as a coach in the Arizona Coyotes organization, including three seasons as the head coach of the AHL's Tucson Roadrunners from 2018-20 and 2021-22.
Prior to joining the Coyotes organization, the Cahokia, Ill., native was the head coach of the OHL's Kingston Frontenacs in 2017-18, guiding the team to its first-ever Eastern Conference Finals appearance.
Varady arrived in Kingston after spending the previous four seasons as head coach and director of hockey operations for the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers from 2013-17.