Steve Yzerman clarifies rejection of “playoffs or bust”

Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman covered a range of issues in an afternoon presser that he held prior to the start of training camp, which officially begins Thursday from Center ICE Arena in Traverse City, MI. 

One thing that has been on the forefront of fans' minds is a recent comment by Yzerman in which he mentioned that the team's goal this year isn't just to make the playoffs but to build a consistently competitive team that contends for the Stanley Cup. 

"We’d be thrilled to make the playoffs," he said this afternoon. "Is it playoffs or bust? When you say playoffs or bust, I guess you’re prepared to trade all your draft picks and whatever you have to do at some point. So no, it’s not playoffs or bust. But we are going to try to win every game and we’re going to try to make the playoffs, but it’s not at the expense of the future. I’m trying to build a nucleus of a team that can make the playoffs on an annual basis. You squeak in one year and you don’t have the foundation to sustain it, we’re going to be sitting here two years from now and wondering again." 

"We’d love to make the playoffs, and we’ll give it a shot. We did what we could in the offseason to improve our team, without mortgaging any part of the future. Hopefully sooner than later, we’re a playoff team."

Meanwhile, the Red Wings were among the busier teams in the summer in terms of player transactions, and there are plenty of new names on the roster for this season. 

"We had some spots on the roster to fill and we were able to do that free agency, so it’s a bit of a new group, particularly on the blue line," Yzerman said. "So, some new faces, some younger players that are maybe pushing for a spot on the roster. What stands out is, it’s going to be interesting to see how the new faces come together."

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