Steve Yzerman's trade fully blows up in his face at the NHL Draft.

Everyone who has ever been a general manager in the National Hockey League has made some mistakes, some bigger than others, but it's not every day that those general managers get to stick around in their roles long enough to see the consequences of those mistakes fully realized.

That was the case for Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman on Friday night when, during the 2026 NHL Draft, he saw what many consider to be the single worst decision of his career come full circle.

Back in June of 2024 Yzerman did the unthinkable when he dealt beloved Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman and a second round draft pick to the San Jose Sharks. In that deal the Red Wings received absolutely nothing in return, setting the stage for what will undoubtedly be the ugliest trade deal of Yzerman's career as an NHL GM.

That second round pick has since turned in to Swedish defenseman Leo Sahlin-Wallenius, a Sharks prospect, but it only gets much, much, worse from there.

The Sharks would make Yzerman's decision look foolish just a few months later when they dealt Walman to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for forward Carl Berglund and a first round pick (20th overall) in this year's NHL Draft. I'm sure you can see where this is going now.

The Sharks didn't sit on the pick they got for Walman, dealing the 20th overall selection this year to the Buffalo sabres in exchange for defenseman Michael Kesselring and the 27th overall pick in the draft. A nice bit of work for the Sharks getting an NHL ready defenseman for the price of moving down just 7 spots.

The Sharks then dealt the 27th overall pick they acquired from the Sabres, packing picks #62 and #120, to move back up to the #21 spot where they would select 18 year old defenseman Ryan Lin.

What was a throwaway trade for Yzerman, one in which he quite literally threw away a player for nothing, has become a huge part of the San Jose Sharks rebuild and has netted the Sharks the following assets:

Leo Sahlin-Wallenius
Michael Kesselring
Ryan Lin

Oh and they got to use Jake Walman for 50 games during the regular season as well, prior to dealing him to the Oilers after picking him up in the trade with the Red Wings.

The Red Wings netted the following assets:

Nothing

A masterclass in rebuilding from Steve Yzerman, but unfortunately one that had positive results for a team other than his own.