​The Detroit Red Wings will have a new general manager for the 2026-27 season, with current GM Steve Yzerman transitioning to a new front office role.Yzerman took charge in 2019, immediately beginning a rebuild that fans hoped would bring the Wings back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. And though the team steadily improved with Yzerman in charge, drafting franchise cornerstones in Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider and trading for forward Alex DeBrincat, the Red Wings stretched their postseason drought to 10 years under Yzerman’s stewardship – worst in the NHL, a league where half the teams advance to the playoffs.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Red Wings looked to break that drought in the 2025-26 season, finishing with 92 points, the most under Yzerman. But a brutal finish that included six losses in their final seven games doomed them to another playoff-less finish, leading to questions about Yzerman’s leadership and a trade request from team captain Dylan Larkin.But in reality, Yzerman’s tenure with the Red Wings may have been doomed way before the end of the previous season.Here are four moves Yzerman likely wishes he could have back, listed in chronological order.Detroit Red Wings right wing Anthony Mantha (39) receives congratulations from teammates after scoring in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019, in Detroit.Mantha, a 2013 first-round pick, had a solid if unspectacular first few seasons in Detroit, seeing his production dip as he missed time with various injuries from 2018-21. His trade in 2021 for Czech forward Jakub Vrána, Richard Pánik and two draft picks was initially seen as a great haul, but it did not turn out so great for the Red Wings.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFor one, the first-round pick the Red Wings acquired in the trade turned into goalie Sebastian Cossa, who made one career appearance for the Wings before being traded to the Utah Mammoth at the 2026 draft. For another, Vrána and Pánik are both out of the league after disappointing runs in Detroit, while the journeyman Mantha scored a career-high 64 points for the Pittsburgh Penguins last season (albeit after stops in Washington, Vegas and Calgary before that).This trade took a while to evolve, but several years later, it hasn’t been nearly as successful as initially thought.Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde watches a play against the Chicago Blackhawks during the first period of a preseason game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022.From 2005-22, the Red Wings stuck with two coaches: Mike Babcock (2005-15) and Jeff Blashill (2015-22). Yzerman made a change ahead of the 2022-23 season, hiring Lalonde, a Tampa Bay Lightning assistant, as his first coaching hire.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLalonde’s inexperience showed, however, as the Red Wings missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons from 2022-24. Yzerman didn’t wait until t