Losing on purpose: Steve Yzerman did everything he could to draft Alexis Lafrenière

Before the 2020 draft, Alexis Lafrenière was seen as the next big thing in the National Hockey League.

He’d been the talk of the town for a few years now, even earning comparisons with the likes of Sidney Crosby in the process.

He was that good in the QMJHL.

In the end, it was the Rangers who won the lottery that year, and they took the opportunity to select the Québécois with the very first pick in the draft.

That said, it was Steve Yzerman who must not have been happy, because he did everything in his power to select Lafrenière first overall.

Renaud Lavoie talked about it this morning on the radio(BPM Sports): Yzerman “didn’t bother” with his club in the final stretch of the season to make sure he got the best possible pick.

I’ve never seen a general manager abandon his team like that.

From January 12 to March 10, the Red Wings played a total of 26 games to end their season.

And during that stretch, the club won… five times:

At the 2020 trade deadline, a few months before the Laffy draft, Steve Yzerman took the necessary steps to hurt his club.

He traded Andreas Athanasiou and Mike Green to Edmonton, leaving the Red Wings with little quality left in their lineup.

You only have to look at the team’s top scorers for the season to understand just how pitiful it was :

In the end, Steve Yzerman’s plan failed miserably.

The Red Wings didn’t even get a chance to draft in the top-3 that year… But they were lucky anyway, as they got their hands on Lucas Raymond with the 4th overall pick.

It’s a good consolation prize because Raymond is still an important player in Detroit.

On the other hand, Renaud Lavoie has a point when he says that we should punish teams that want to lose on purpose.

It’s not good for the sport’s image (although it’s also seen in the other three major leagues in North America) and it sends a negative message to the team’s fans who still travel to the games.

Overtime

– I can’t wait to see it.

It’s going to be tough with the power of the other three countries pic.twitter.com/QXFjxWSCIM

– DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) December 5, 2024

– Wow!

TONIGHT: a holiday market outside the Bell Centre and a showdown against Nashville

Buy tickets ↓ #GoHabsGohttps://t.co/bZVhFN0yOL

– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) December 5, 2024

– Ouain…

We usually scroll through SKA’s IG page for Ivan Demidov content.

This is a weird photo to post & it’s definitely not accidental. We don’t remember them posting an image of Roman Rotenberg any time this season just yelling at a player on the bench. pic.twitter.com/XVDr6H7Qml

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) December 5, 2024

– Happy reading.

Huge respect for Kristian Matte announcing his retirement.
-A real good guy with everyone
-A true pro on the field
-A true teammate of great quality
No wonder he was so loved by the #Alouettes @RDSca https://t.co/jzYLRaRY6L

– Eric Leblanc (@eleblancRDS) December 5, 2024