from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

They need to draft wisely, develop their prospects and young players and supplement the roster with value for value trades and the occasional free-agent signing.

After several years of trying to retool on the fly, picking up a veteran free agent or two in the off-season, buying at the trade deadline, the Red Wings have embraced the rebuild. Chris Ilitch and general manager Ken Holland both referred to it as a long process.

Building from the ground up through the draft is the strategy. They made several trades to accumulate 11 picks this year, including seven in the first three rounds. They have nine selections in 2019, including an extra second-rounder.

"That's the blueprint for our future," Ilitch said on April 7, when announcing Holland's two-year contract extension. "It's going to be a process, we're all going to need patience, but (Holland) has the skill and the experience to lead us through that process again."

Holland said they're not starting from scratch. They have a good core of young forwards in Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou and Tyler Bertuzzi. They're high on 2015 top pick Evgeny Svechnikov. They believe 2017 top pick Michael Rasmussen can make the leap from juniors to the NHL next season.

more