What we learned from Steve Yzerman's pre-draft press conference

Some quick notes as the Red Wings GM met with the media on Friday morning.

Steve Yzerman held his pre-draft media availability on Friday over Zoom.

The whole thing lasted about 54 minutes, here are some of the highlights/observations that I jotted down.

• Yzerman gave the expected answers on unrestricted and restricted free agents, he’s working on everything, but really if you want to read anything more into any of Yzerman’s answers on a specific player it’s a fools errand — that includes Patrick Kane.

• Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider are both RFAs, there deals will impact everything. Yzerman was also coy about what’s happening and wouldn’t give anything on money or term. He did say at this point he’s not expecting getting it done before July 1 at this point and he’ll have to work around that.

• Dylan Larkin had an upper-body injury and surgery after the season, that’s why he didn’t go to the World Championships. Yzerman said he’ll be ready for training camp.

• Alex Lyon had a cut on his hand at worlds, he’s also going to be fine for training camp per Yzerman.

• Detroit will have Ville Husso back next season, he’s healthy now. And at this point Yzerman said he’d look into the goalie market, but also noted he really wasn’t going to make a move that would bring in an older goalie that isn’t going to be here in two or three years.

• Yzerman said he also doesn’t envision carrying three goalies on the NHL roster next season. Did mention he expects another step and larger role for goalie prospect Sebastian Cossa in the AHL.

• Detroit is open to move the 15th pick at the 2024 NHL Draft, but it’s only probably going to be a draft posturing move. He doesn’t expect a blockbuster involving that pick.

• At the draft Red Wings will go best player available, not really drafting positionally. Also noted he doesn’t believe in taking fliers on players, when one reporter was clearly asking about Cole Eiserman, despite not naming him directly.

• Yzerman said he’s always asked teams at the top of the draft about what it would cost to get their pick, and the answer has always been the team with those picks weren’t interested in such a deal.

• For the draft itself, Yzerman prefers the “war room” setup that will take over next year when the teams will be de-centralized. He doesn’t like the current setup with all the teams on the floor, said it makes it feel like everyone is spying.

• Yzerman also doesn’t like how tight the June schedule is. Opened his presser by stating how the quick turnaround from draft to free agency makes teams rush, and pointed to last season when teams had travel issues getting out of Nashville. At some point he’d like the league to change the schedule.

• The Red Wings have a scout in Russia who has stayed there throughout the current geopolitical situation with the invasion of the Ukraine. Yzerman said it’s not ideal right now that he or Kris Draper couldn’t watch Russian draft prospects in person or in IIHF play, but Detroit has never pulled scouts out of Russia like some teams have.

• When it comes to the current system, Yzerman didn’t name names but mentioned with the Grand Rapids Griffins playoff runs there were some players that stood out, but also some older and younger players on the AHL roster that disappointed him.

• Simon Edvinsson’s injury that impacted him at the end of the AHL playoffs isn’t a concern going into next season.

• When it comes to CapFriendly Yzerman said it was a good tool that presented easy ways to look at other’s cap situation, but the team already had all that information internally. Now they’ll just have to do slightly more work in house to keep it all organized.

• Yzerman himself doesn’t use the term “Yzerplan” and kind of bristles at it when someone else asked about it in the presser. He was also asked about the state of the rebuild compared to his time in Tampa and noted that with the Lightning he has the luxury of stepping into a team that had already drafted Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos before he got there.