Yzerman, heading into his fourth season as the Red Wings' executive vice president and general manager, hopes the new additions will help improve team defense and special teams, but knows progress doesn't happen overnight.
"We've got a lot of work to do," Yzerman said. "We've got a lot of improving left to do. But the new players coming in and with our small nucleus of remaining players with the young kids coming in, I think we're trending in the right direction."
Under
new coach Derek Lalonde and his staff
, the Red Wings enter the 2022-23 campaign ready to build on a strong foundation of young talent. While the excitement level is high in Hockeytown, Yzerman wants to be realistic when evaluating Detroit's rebuild.
"Time will tell," Yzerman said. "I'm optimistic that we're progressing, but the plan really hasn't changed. I'm sticking with what I intended to do - keep younger guys and be patient with them, keep our draft picks and continue to build this way."