by Mike Whitaker
DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings moved on from two-time Stanley Cup-winning forward Vladimir Tarasenko after only one season, trading him to the Minnesota Wild for future considerations.
Tarasenko still had a season left on his contract, but the decision was made by GM Steve Yzerman to cut the cord after a disappointing 2024-25 season. Tarasenko struggled and scored only 11 goals, falling well short of the 20-goal range that he was being counted upon to produce.
Not long after shedding Tarasenko’s contract, the Red Wings signed James van Riemsdyk to a one-year deal, effectively replacing Tarasenko in their lineup. Yzerman would explain that he was able to not only free up salary cap space with the trade, but also land a replacement player at a far lower price.
“I was able to move Vladdy and replace him with a less expensive player, so that’s really the decision to go that way,” he said. “It frees up cap space to do what, I don’t know. But it frees up cap space to maybe do something, and that was heading into free agency. Still got a long offseason and a long way to go until the Trade Deadline.”
Yzerman terminated head coach Derek Lalonde on December 26 after the Red Wings began the 2024-25 season with a 13-17-4 record, replacing him with Todd McLellan, who would go 26-18-4 after the change.
Over a full 82-game season, McLellan’s record likely would have been sufficient to yield a postseason spot for the Red Wings. Does Yzerman anticipate an advantage to starting the 2025-26 season with McLellan behind the bench?
“I think he’s an excellent coach and there’s a very positive vibe in the locker room amongst the players. We saw a boost last year…I think the new coach bump that you sometimes see is over with and it’s up to the players and coaches to show that they can sustain that level, and I expect them to.”
With Development Camp now officially in the books, the Red Wings will next gather for Training Camp in mid-September.
