Fourth Period’s Dave Pagnotta joined the Sirius XM NHL Network Radio Power Play segment with Steve Kouleaus and Jason Strudwick. He was asked about the New York Islanders’ offseason plans and whether there will be any changes with the Detroit Red Wings.
Writing for NHLRumors.com
What will happen to Steve Yzerman and the Detroit Red Wings?
Steve Kouleas: “Talking to Dave Pagnotta, Sirius XM insider. As it relates to the Fourth Season, and looking at some of the things you have on the site. We have the Islanders missing, but added (Pete) DeBoer, trying a lot of recent miracles and one is missing with the Detroit Red Wings. Let’s talk about those two franchises, and hear those two?
Dave Pagnotta: “The Islanders, they’re making their biggest move in terms of head coaching, and obviously they want to do something there. This is another team that was very active, and Mathieu Darche was very active leading up to the trade deadline and in the weeks leading up to it. Trying to add impact up front on the roster.
Now, obviously, they added Brayden Schenn, who can do that, but I really believe that this team will look to make more additions this year, and I’m sorry, in the summer. And they found their coach. As they found the man they were looking for. They knew they were going to make that change.
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Remember, like Patrick Roy it wasn’t Darche’s guy coming in. He was a grandfather, so to speak. But, they found their boy now. Now it’s a good topic, how do we get to where we felt we could be this year? And I expect them to be a little more aggressive in that, in trying to add to the top six. And I’ve seen them try to bring in another shutdown-type defender in the backfield to help (Ilya) Sorokin and help that whole D-corps.
About Detroit. This is a season of you-know-what or going down the pot, I’m thinking of Steve Yzerman and the Wings. He’s going to continue this, and he’s done a great job filling out the cabinet and really stacked up quality prospects and draft picks. But now it’s a matter of some of those kids now taking the next step and packaging some of these kids to bring in some NHL-caliber talent now.
Like what we saw last season, especially during the draft, the Canadiens went back to the Habs, as they brought in Noah Dobson from the Islanders. Now, yes, it was contractual obligations in that situation that played a role in his availability, but to be able to give up a guy like (Emil) Heineman, a third-rounder, but also two first-round picks to bring in a guy like Dobson, that was certainly a move that paid dividends for that club.
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And I think that’s what Detroit will look to do this offseason with all the recruiting they have. You have to take turns. And I think they were waiting to see when the opportunity was right, when the opportunity was right to do that. And I think this is going to be the situation this offseason where the Wings get aggressive on that offense, trying to push to make the playoffs and get to that level that a lot of people expected, myself included. I thought they would be a playoff team this season.
It didn’t work. Now it’s up to Steve Yzerman to take the next steps at Yzerplan. It took a while, but again, he’s checked a lot of boxes. Now it’s a matter of making sure the NHL club starts reaping some of the benefits, and I think that’s what he’s going to try to do this summer. “
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