Steve Yzerman saw his Detroit Red Wings enter the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline just outside of the Wild Card race in the East. Detroit held onto one of the Wild Card spots heading into the 4 Nations Face-Off. However, a string of four straight losses — two of them to their fellow playoff contender Columbus Blue Jackets — dropped them slightly off the pace.
Yzerman and his Red Wings were in a similar position this time last year. The Detroit icon turned general manager watched as his team ripped through the league in January and February. And on March 8, 2024, the Winged Wheel was in possession of the first Wild Card spot. They were tied on points with the Tampa Bay Lightning at that time.
Detroit elected not to make a trade last season. However, the Red Wings made a trade at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. They traded center Joe Veleno to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for goalie Petr Mrazek and center Craig Smith.
Detroit fans were excited to see this team make a move at the deadline. But this particular move drew out a long-standing frustration with the team. And, in particular, Yzerman’s unwillingness to make a move to truly bolster the roster ahead of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
There is a feeling that the Red Wings lost the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline from many around the league. Unfortunately for Detroit, this feeling is not unfounded. Let’s take a look at why this deadline came as a failure for a team well in the weeds of a painstaking rebuild.
Red Wings have responded well to coaching change
The Red Wings hired Todd McLellan on Boxing Day after a slow start to the season. Derek Lalonde tried to recapture the magic that led Detroit to Wild Card contention in 2023-24. However, his team languished near the bottom of the league for most of the season.
On Boxing Day, the Red Wings had a record of 13-17-4. This made Detroit the second-worst team in the East on points percentage. Since then, Detroit has a record of 17-10-2 since McLellan took over. They have earned more points (36) with their new bench boss than they did under Lalonde (30) to begin the season.
This team has run into a rut as of late. And there is some question about how much they can keep this all going. In saying this, the Red Wings have rarely looked better during this rebuild than they have under McLellan. The team deserved to receive a jolt in the way of a big trade to aid their effort toward postseason hockey.
Craig Smith, Petr Mrazek trade is uninspiring
As mentioned, the Red Wings traded for Craig Smith and Petr Mrazek at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. It’s undeniable that this team needed to make a move to try and compete for the postseason. However, this trade is quite uninspiring.
Smith is a fine bottom-six player. He essentially replaces Veleno down the lineup, with one key difference. Ideally, Smith can bolster the offensive output on the fourth line. He has nine goals from the fourth line this year. For a team that lacks scoring depth, this is a fine addition for the Red Wings.
However, Smith is 35 years old and is only marginally better overall than what Detroit already has. There is a logical argument to be made hat Smith could serve as the 13th forward on this team. Especially if the Wings are trying to go for a more defensive set up for any given opponent.
The true baffling decision was the move to bring back Mrazek. Mrazek seemed like a star in the making at times in his first Detroit stint. However, things did not work out. He was eventually traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. And he has bounced around the NHL since then.
This season, Mrazek has struggled. He has an .890 save percentage, by far the worst among Red Wings goalies. Additionally, he has -10.08 Goals Saved Above Average and -9.52 Goals Saved Above Expected this season, according to Evolving Hockey.
Both players could offer some value to this Red Wings team. However, neither of them moves the needle, and their additions do not elevate this team above the Blue Jackets and the Ottawa Senators.
Logical moves were there to be made
Steve Yzerman said in his post-deadline press conference that his team isn’t in a position to pay big for rentals. He wants to make moves, and he is willing to pay premium assets to make those moves. But they need to be for long-term pieces and for players they believe in.
“For where we’re at, and we’d love to make the playoffs, but to get into that rental thing, we’re giving up our first-round picks and all of what we consider our top prospects and I think we would all agree that whether we like it or not, being in this situation, that’s not the thing to do,” the Red Wings general manager said, via the Detroit Free Press.
Of course, Yzerman knows more than anyone what the prices were. However, there were players moved at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline that made sense for the Red Wings. Moreover, they were moved for prices that made sense for Detroit.
For instance, the Boston Bruins traded for Henri Jokiharju in a deal with the Buffalo Sabres. Jokiharju would have been an upgrade over Justin Holl on the right side of Detroit’s defense. The price paid by Boston? A 2026 fourth-round pick.
This is a move the Red Wings could have made. Sure, one could point to the fact that Jokiharju is a free agent at the end of the season. But this is a player who is a legitimate upgrade for Detroit’s blueline. And it did not involve giving up a first-round pick like Yzerman mentioned in his media availability.
It’s hard to imagine that deal not being available to the Red Wings. Especially since Buffalo dealt Jokiharju within the Atlantic Division. Detroit had their chances, and they missed. Perhaps they make the postseason this year, and those of us doubting this deadline are forced to eat crow. Until then, though, it’s hard to argue that this was a botched trade deadline in Hockeytown.
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