Red Wings: Upcoming 2020-21 season crucial for the rebuild

The Detroit Red Wings need to show improvements during the 2020-21 season to show positive steps in the rebuild.

Since the 2019-20 season is in the books, the Detroit Red Wings focus is on the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and the upcoming offseason. But, further down the line (not by much) is the 2020-21 season, where the Red Wings need to make some strides in terms of the rebuild.

There is no way the rebuild can rage on for years and years to come; pieces need to start falling into place. Red Wings General Manager (GM) Steve Yzerman is currently rolling through year two of his Yzer-plan, and the fanbase loves it.

Since former GM and newly inducted Hockey Hall of Fame member Ken Holland left the organization for the Edmonton Oilers organization, Yzerman has been at the helm. Since his arrival, the Yzer-plan has been in full effect, and the organization has been seeing an upward trend.

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The best thing the Red Wings organization did was bring in Yzerman before the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, where he may have shocked fans, but pieced together one heck of a draft class.

The strength in the 2019 Red Wings draft class is immense. They only added to the organization’s prospect strength with the strong draft.

It’s known that not all of the Red Wings prospects are going to be successful in the pros. However, having the depth within the organization will only benefit them as time goes on.

The concern of the Detroit Red Wings front office should be ushering in an era of competitive play sooner than later.

The 2020-21 season will surely not be a normal one due to the late return-to-play and tampered schedule thanks to COVID-19. However, the Detroit Red Wings can have a positive season and move in the right direction. It should be expected that there will be steps in the right direction.

If Yzerman’s Yzer-plan is not going to be bust, prospects need to start getting work in on a nightly basis. Simply put, players like Mathis Bromé, Gustav Lindström, Michael Rasmussen (take two), Evgeny Svechnikov Joseph Veleno, and Filip Zadina need to see playing time.

Rushing the youngsters like Moritz Seider is not wise, but not letting him get his feet wet in the NHL with the Red Wings would be wrong. They should allow him to get some playing time at some point to expose him to the caliber of play that the National Hockey League brings.

At the very least, Yzerman needs to show the team is making strides by weeding through the prospects and starting to give these kids a chance to play consistently. The team of the future needs to be worked in around the surrounding anchor players like Tyler Bertuzzi, Dylan Larkin, and Anthony Mantha.

The 2020-21 season may not see a “competitive” and “contender” Red Wings, but a big signing, an upgraded goaltender tandem, and excellent development from the youngsters make for quite the scene.

Hard to see a team that finished last place in 2019-20 make significant strides, but the Detroit Red Wings could show massive improvements from 2019-20 to 2020-21 after Yzerman keeps up with his Yzer-plan.