Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman quips about Brad Marchand's 6-year Panthers extension

Brad Marchand signed a six-year, $31.5 million contract with the Florida Panthers earlier this week, keeping him contracted till his age-43 season.

Marchand was traded ahead of the deadline to the Panthers in a league-shaking deal from the Boston Bruins. He scored 51 points during the regular season, but it was his potency during the playoffs, scoring 20 points in 23 games, that helped Florida earn back-to-back Cups.

Detroit Red Wings General Manager Steve Yzerman is hoping his players can follow the example set by Marchand when it comes to longevity and consistency. When asked about his plans for captain Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat, Yzerman said:

"Well, Brad Marchand at 37 just signed a six-year contract," Yzerman said (Timestamp: 16:38). "So I've got Dylan for another 15 years, I figure. We have got plenty of time. We're trying to build around that same group of guys. They've got a lot of years ahead of them—which isn't comforting at all to anybody—but I'm not concerned with the age of Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat.

"They're great athletes. They train hard. They take good care of themselves and they're very motivated. Believe it or not, we are trying to improve our team. We are trying to get in the playoffs. We keep adding these younger players."

Larkin, 28, and DeBrincat, 27, are important pieces for the Red Wings. In 734 games, Larkin has scored 576 points for the Motor City team, averaging 19:28 on the ice. Meanwhile, DeBrincat has 517 points from 614 games, 137 of them for Detroit after his move from the Chicago Blackhawks.

"We’ll manage it" - Steve Yzerman on 84-game schedule

The NHL and NHLPA agreed to extend the regular season by two games starting next season. The two added games will provide balance to the divisional games, which currently follow a rotation system with teams playing each opponent thrice and some opponents four times.

Steve Yzerman is optimistic about the increase in the number of games, although he mentioned the workload management that teams will have to do as the regular season wears on.

"You're always weighing how many games your veteran players need to play, the guys that are knocking on the door, the call-ups, and then those players really trying to push to make the team. It’s going to be hard to get everybody in a reasonable number of games with four. That’s the downside. But we’ll manage it. I think the 84-game season makes a lot of sense," Yzerman said (Timestamp: 19:11).

The Red Wings missed the playoffs by five points last season, finishing two places outside the wild-card spots.