GM Steve Yzerman admits Detroit Red Wings would have tried to land Mitch Marner before Leafs-Golden Knights blockbuster trade

Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman has admitted that the team would have tried to acquire star forward Mitch Marner from the Toronto Maple Leafs had it not been for Toronto's blockbuster trade with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Marner was sent to Vegas on Monday in exchange for center Nicolas Roy in a sign-and-trade deal. Just before the trade, Marner had signed an eight-year contract extension with Toronto.

When speaking to the media on Thursday, Yzerman acknowledged that Marner was a player the Red Wings had an interest in.

"We were certainly open to it," Yzerman said (1:45). "The guys that we were hoping to talk to all signed before free agency with their clubs or got traded. In the case of Mitch Marner, we didn’t even get an opportunity to talk to these guys. There’s not much you can do about that.

"Going into free agency, we all recognized that it was going to be difficult all around the league. It was just a season where there weren’t as many, what we would all consider high-end free agents available."

When asked about other top free agents that Detroit pursued, Yzerman remained tight-lipped. He said it might not be appropriate to discuss which players the Red Wings were or weren’t in on but noted there weren’t many.

According to Yzerman, most players had already decided on their preferred destinations, and it was out of respect for those teams that Detroit didn't pursue them.

Steve Yzerman on Red Wings signing James van Riemsdyk

The Detroit Red Wings added veteran forward James van Riemsdyk on Tuesday. They signed him to a one-year deal worth $1 million. Last season, van Riemsdyk tallied 16 goals in 71 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

When speaking about the signing, Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman said:

"'JVR' is a bigger body who scored 19 goals last year and 18 or 19 in each of the last couple seasons. He gives us a lot of flexibility up and down the lineup.

"If you check his usage in Columbus, that's exactly what they did, he played up on the first line at times and moved up and down. He's also a useful guy on the power play."

The GM added that van Riemsdyk's experience and scoring ability will provide valuable depth to the Red Wings' forward group.