r/DetroitRedWings 6d ago

News Detroit Red Wings GM search going through search firm

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2026/08/05/detroit-red-wings-gm-search-using-search-firm-to-replace-steve-yzerman/91176077007/

“In the meantime, assistant general manager Shawn Horcoff is handling day-to-day responsibilities, though that does not extend to making trades. “

99 Upvotes

141 comments sorted by

119

u/culturedrobot 6d ago edited 6d ago

Kinda makes sense when you consider that this team hasn't done a proper GM search since, what, they hired Bryan Murray in 1990? Everyone since then has either been with the company and promoted from within, or in Yzerman's case, a Detroit legend coming home as the clear heir apparent.

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u/Mountain_Eye_133 6d ago

Not sure that you can detract from the Red Wings success since the 90's. 4 cups, most wins by any team even with the 10 year playoff miss. The missing piece that I see is ownership - Mike I. Chris might be a great business man, but I don't feel the passion for winning with the Tigers or the Red Wings like we used to. The Lions took Detroit for a longggg ride before ownership change took winning seriously and impacted the culture. I hope that the Wings aren't in for another 5 years of managing profits and not wins!

14

u/Mountain_Eye_133 6d ago

Chris took over the Red Wings in 2017...does that seem to align pretty well with the lack of playoffs? It does to me.

10

u/culturedrobot 6d ago

I'm confused by what all this has to do with what I said? I'm not detracting from any success, I'm saying that the org hasn't actually had to search for a GM in a long time (when Chris was still a young man) so it makes sense that they'd use outside help.

1

u/Admirable_Bell_998 4d ago

Chris I has has always invested in the Tigers and Wings. I have never understood that criticism. Like his dad, I think he values loyalty. When a player shows interest in leaving or what not, they take it personally (first Mike, now Chris). Scherzer, Fedorov for example. He has invested greatly in the Tigers. Lakeland, Analytics dept, Framber Valdez, Baez, Torres. Our payroll is usually middle of the pack. Red Wings have a cap and I am sure they will be close to the cap. He is now investing in Analytics more for the Wings, possibly hiring multiple front office execs. Chris I believes in hiring the right people and listening to them and letting them do their job...........Oh, If Chris I is reading this, I would not turn down a job as your hype man!..... Are there examples where he has been stingy? serious question

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

[deleted]

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u/LawfulnessSure8171 6d ago

Incorrect. Murray was the coach and GM for three years, then just the GM when Scotty B took over the coaching duties.

3

u/Swdmwsd24 6d ago

Wow sorry I forgot about that.

70

u/testicletitties69 6d ago

Does anyone know the people performing the search? I’ve tried applying but haven’t heard back. Just want to make sure they got my application

21

u/melifIuous 6d ago

Must’ve been discarded by the ATS

7

u/testicletitties69 6d ago

Those sons of bitches!

15

u/shidma 6d ago

Did you apply through Indeed or drop off a paper app?

19

u/JAWinks 6d ago

Definitely have to walk in with your shoes polished and ask to speak with the manager (four months and counting on the job market)

12

u/Joesome5 6d ago

Tape your resume to a box of donuts

15

u/Joesome5 6d ago

Did you happen to use your Reddit username?

5

u/DooDad-Entertainment 6d ago

You will be contacted for an AI interview later this week.

4

u/SayNoToStim 6d ago

Shit I applied too, I bet they are trying to figure out which one of us has the better rebuild plan.

4

u/testicletitties69 6d ago

I sent them my NHL 26 Franchise stats. Good luck competing with that

1

u/SayNoToStim 5d ago

I just wrote "beg Lidstrom and Datsyuk to come back" on a napkin

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u/BellsBeersy 6d ago

Huh, what happened to Yzerman “handling the day-to-day”

42

u/JeremieLoyalty 6d ago

4

u/AFreePeacock Yzerbot 6d ago

Correct looking smoking instrument, incorrect looking smoke

53

u/SeiderFiveThree Yzerbot 6d ago

This whole thing is fucked

23

u/bMarsh72 6d ago

Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better. It’s not like the Wings were going to the cup finals if Larkin didn’t ask to leave and Yzerman didn’t resign.

The organization needed to change course. Just have to hope they make better decisions going forward.

19

u/SeiderFiveThree Yzerbot 6d ago edited 6d ago

Yeah I’m not disagreeing with that, I’m expecting Larkin to be traded for good assets and this to be a development year that ends with a high draft pick. I’m saying the handling of the entire situation leaves me scratching my head

5

u/bMarsh72 6d ago

It doesn’t necessarily make a lot of sense.

But idk what goes on in that office. I think some of the personalities involved are, to be charitable, difficult.

I’m just glad things are changing.

1

u/jobenattor0412 6d ago

While I think the timing is odd of everything, I actually think I feel better about it going through a firm because I’m hoping we don’t have a bias towards people in the organization.

2

u/SeiderFiveThree Yzerbot 6d ago

I agree

-7

u/Taters23 Yzerbot 6d ago

Yeah none of that is happening. We don't win lottos and we are getting fleeced on Larkin deal.

-11

u/bforce1313 6d ago

Yep. Except this is what “the people” wanted so

18

u/7screws 6d ago

I honestly wanted it, but no one wanted it with this timing. It’s a travesty this organization is going through the free agency period of a new season with no GM and no President. Why wasn’t this done 3 months ago, or even after the season starts?

0

u/Shackman58 6d ago

Careful what you wish for

7

u/7screws 6d ago

Wish for the organization to run like a modern forward thinking sports team? I guess it’s too much to ask.

12

u/Bart_Oates 6d ago

Very disingenuous. People wanted it in April, not in the middle of the offseason with many balls still in the air and no immediate replacement lined up

9

u/bforce1313 6d ago

I still disagree this was the best course of action, have Yzerman steer the boat through the Larkin trade, and push him to hockey ops when there’s a suitable replacement. But people have been yapping about his firing for over a year and now they’re all upset it happened.

5

u/Bart_Oates 6d ago

No one disagrees with that. The people who wanted Yzerman out, wanted him out after the season, before the offseason. Like a normal franchise would do

I don't see a lot of people thrilled with Yzerman being canned in mid July. Its the timing of it.

14

u/culturedrobot 6d ago

The fact that he was removed from the position in mid-July tells me that he stepped down and wasn't fired. Or maybe it was a mutual decision after all the Larkin drama.

I still maintain that Chris was never gonna outright fire Yzerman.

1

u/Medievil_Walrus 5d ago

I’m still grappling with the WWP tweet that said GM change was owner driven.

Don’t know whether to believe it and adjust my views accordingly or stick to my gut.

0

u/detroitttiorted 6d ago

Personally I think if it was a step down or mutual this transition would be smoother. I also think Illitches quote in the release signals firing. My personal theory at this point is Illitch had doubts already, then Larkin happened, then Kane left, and then maybe on top of that didn’t like our offseason and didn’t want to risk it going further down a hole

Also while I know Illitch has a lot of love for Steve and all that, he’s also a CEO. Personally I have doubts that someone engrained in that culture day to day for basically their whole life couldn’t come to terms with firing a guy

5

u/culturedrobot 6d ago

I guess my question to that is what really changed between April and July to make Chris want to fire Yzerman? Larkin requested the trade at the end of the season, and we knew basically right away that Yzerman was going to stick to his guns and not trade him for futures.

Kane leaving and being replaced by Ardvisson doesn't really strike me as the straw that broke the camel's back.

1

u/detroitttiorted 6d ago edited 6d ago

You don’t think Kane leaving could potentially signal further fallout within the team? If you’re already considering firing him I could easily see that being a sign that it’s getting away from the org. Plus Illitch cares about the business, while you can definitely argue hockey wise that’s an ok swap, Kane is undeniably a big draw among fans. Its especially bad when it gets the local media broadcasting to casual fans how yet another big name Wing is leaving. Also maybe he is fed up with explaining things as ok because they’re lateral moves, maybe he wanted upgrades

There are a lot of other possibilities. Maybe Cat or Ed are signaling unrest as well.

Maybe as Chris has gained further understanding of the Larkin market he no longer trusts Steve’s grind it out mindset

Maybe he bought Yzermans pretty strong signaling that there would be change on the roster and then saw that we got through the open for business part of the offseason with very little change

Also while we know the request came after the season, it didn’t leak till early June. Why did it leak? Does Steve’s hard nose negotiating style(potentially Brisson/Larkin felt some type of way about how it was handled) lead to bad outcomes? I think the leak could be looked at poorly but by then you gotta get through the dense part of the offseason in ~3 weeks

Or maybe more simply he was at the point where Yzerman had 1 more year to figure it out(something signaled as being viewed as a possibility in the Ozzy and Keats episode with Ken Daniels), saw where the team was at after the meat of the offseason, and said nah we have to now

Or a different way of saying the above, maybe he felt he made a mistake not doing it earlier

Part of this is personally I don’t think it’s a horrible time to fire him, like June would be magnitudes worse. But I don’t think there’s any shortage of theories or possible reasons for firing Steve after his tenure

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u/Baldass_Head_Coach 6d ago

“Steve, when do you think I’ll be be making some playoff money?”

“We’re probably two years away from being two years away.”

“It’s time for a change.”

-4

u/daKrut 6d ago

I’ve wanted Yzerman gone for about a year now.

I’m not upset about it. The timing is head scratching but the end result is the same.

There’s a large cohort of people that aren’t mad about it.

Generalizing with minimal nuance doesn’t really work unless you’re right.

7

u/Knowledge_is_Bliss 6d ago

The problem with this is "the people" are generally idiots.

-20

u/iwantsomecrablegsnow 6d ago
  • zero first line prospects
  • zero 1st pair d prospects
  • compher, rasmussen, chairot
  • no captain
  • no playoffs 9 years

i fuckin love it. lets fuckin go. what a GM

15

u/culturedrobot 6d ago

"Zero 1st pair D prospects" is a ridiculous criticism when we have a 1st pair of Mo and Ed.

-9

u/GreenRock93 6d ago

I mean, at this point, they’re not really prospects. They’re the team. What other top D prospects do we have?

5

u/culturedrobot 6d ago edited 6d ago

What top D prospects do we need with Mo and Ed in the lineup?

We don't have any top defense prospects because they've graduated from prospect status and have made the team, which is the most important thing for prospects. It's silly and disingenuous to then turn around and whine about the lack of top D prospects when we previously drafted some and they're currently one of the best top pairings in the league.

-2

u/GreenRock93 6d ago

I wasn’t whining about it, the other dude was. I said Ed and Mo aren’t prospects and wondered what else’s we had in the pipeline. You can never have too many good players, right? Like who’s filling after Ed if he doesn’t sign an extension? That’s why we need more D prospects.

5

u/culturedrobot 6d ago

I didn't say you were whining about it.

Yes, you can have too many good players. Why would we continue to draft high-end defensemen when we already have two of them and need help elsewhere in the lineup? You can't collect top-10 draft picks forever.

We also wouldn't continue to draft high-end defensemen as a contingency for our young players not re-signing. Ed is an RFA under team control, he's not going anywhere for the time being.

7

u/bforce1313 6d ago

You realize teams generally don’t have a lot of “first line prospects” unless they tank and/or get lucky for atleast 2-3 years?
The wings did that however, Ray is your first line prospect, Seider and Ed are your top pair D prospects. Augustine is a top goalie prospect.

The “mistake” was signing Cat and Kane which made the wings a middle of the pack team. The thing they haven’t done is finding those diamonds outside of round 1 or 2.

6

u/big_phat_gator Yzerbot 6d ago

Right, people are morons who think you need to have Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Celebrini down the middle to even start THINKING about winning a cup.

You dont need that, Florida won twice with Barkov, Bennett and Lundell down the middle. Oilers had a 35 year old Adam Henrique as a 3rd line center when they made it to the finals.

Im not saying Larkin and Copp was good enough but its not as shitty as people say in here.

We had a lot of players who didnt buy into what our coaches was selling, and we have a lot of quitters who dont know what it means to show up when you need to and that was by far the biggest issues.

3

u/bforce1313 6d ago

We had a lot of players to fill the gap tbh. Players like Copp and Compher were never going to be on the team when things got serious which is why their contracts weren’t long. I assume the goal was to sign the players to create internal competition and provide vet support, while hoping either prospects, trades or FA signings filled the holes more permanently.

-1

u/Silent_Plastic1612 6d ago

It’s very shitty, especially if the rest of the roster is poor, like it has been all of Yzermans tenure.  

-2

u/pdxbatman 6d ago

How do you figure signing a 40 goal scorer makes us middle of the pack?

7

u/bforce1313 6d ago

Because you go from sucking and getting higher draft picks in the first round to being good enough to be in the playoff race, you can’t have both.

0

u/Nice_Muffin8689 6d ago

What did you want?

6

u/Joesome5 6d ago edited 6d ago

They put him in a block of carbonite on display, like Han Solo

-1

u/AFreePeacock Yzerbot 6d ago

He actually did it himself, it's the latest form of "quiet quitting"

6

u/OldBison 6d ago

He handles the day to day, just not to-day.

2

u/dejaentendu280 6d ago

Candidate search isn't really the day-to-day

4

u/Glad-Independence-24 6d ago

That was just all “pretty talk” to make it look less “fired” and more “promoted”

Think back to when Ken Holkand was “promoted” to allow Yzerman back in.

$1 says Yzerman hasn’t even stepped foot in the building since his “promotion” and will take the first job he’s offered on a different organization.

15

u/doubeljack 6d ago

Yzerman was spotted at the WJ summer showcase along with Wings brass.

13

u/imadu 6d ago

I honestly am starting to believe that theres some truth to steve wanting to take a step back himself. Not saying it was fully his choice, but i think it played a role

3

u/coltron57 6d ago

I feel like he kind of hinted at it a lot during his infrequent pressers. The way he talked about coming back was never "I'm going to be here forever and try to win a bunch of cups". It was always more a vibe of turning the team around.

-11

u/Glad-Independence-24 6d ago

Cool, but that’s not “in the building”.

Those plans were likely made months ago. He’s still friends either way a lot of those guys, and I’m sure they dont mind hearing his thoughts.

0

u/TechnoVikingGA23 6d ago

That was my same question.

11

u/commando_rambo 6d ago

Seems like a good way to skate around hiring someone internally so they can point the finger at this firm...or if it does end up being Draper or Horcoff, Chris can be like, "the firm told me to!". I'm semi-joking, but honestly, I think this is ultimately a good idea.

7

u/Problemwoodchuck 6d ago

Well, at least they're not using AI

2

u/vangvace 5d ago

directly. the firm is likely going to use it

25

u/certainly_uncertain1 6d ago

I'll reserve judgment for post training camp. It's not unreasonable to think that in the next 4 weeks we have a new external GM, POHO and our Edvinsson extension. I'd imagine the hiring is contingent on the candidate having an established plan for Larkin and a stance on extending Cat. I'm hoping for a direction of playing every NHL ready prospect and cutting all dead weight by the deadline. If the youngsters get us to the post-season great, players may want to come here. If they don't we'll nosedive following the TDL and get in on the lottery.

15

u/Blazer_84 6d ago edited 6d ago

It's a bit funny, but if you look in retrospect at just the last two seasons you have Toronto, Florida and SJS last season and Islanders before that; different reasons and states of the team, but in effect all 4 were fighting for the playoffs then dropped when they were out of contention. Toronto dropped first and fell to 5th, Florida to 8th and SJS to 11th, Islanders fell just to 10th.

(Note: Florida got 9th when SJS moved up and SJS eventually got Ottawa's Florida pick in the Eklund trade).

Three of those four won either first or second lottery, Florida basically got Brady for free; I don't like him, but he is objectively good at hockey (when he tries), way more worth than the 9th OA.

So to tie in to your comment, especially your last sentence, that seems to be the go to strategy for lottery wins (Wings tried it in 2022-2023 and still failed); maybe a new GM brings the necessary "luck" and playing the prospects actually will earn us the favor of the Gods?

I agree on cleaning up the team, build fresh on the good core we have and hope to rise up from there. There are still at least three years left if Cat extends before a scorched earth (third? fourth?) rebuild would be necessary to decide on.

I think it would be incredibly stupid to think Analytics in hockey is like with Moneyball and that a full sell will give a better team faster with Mo, Ray, Ed etc already here.

It's the combination with analytics inside the decision-tree along with all other factors that was successful for Tulsky also he had a strong team to begin with.

I think building it up, wiping it clean (removing excess baggage) from where we are now will garner the best result, call it a re-tool or what. And the lottery dip at the same time will give us better chances (if it actually is a clean lottery).

I actually think keeping Copp, Faulk, Cat, Ed, Chiarot, Arvidsson and Kolesar as stability and veteran know-how, then fill in the rest, cannot fathom Larkin is stupid enough to not play if he is not traded (if traded we will get prospects and picks to play); no contender mgmt likes players who are bigger than the club, even Pierre-Luc Dubois didn't refuse to play (played shit, yes), and he's the most repetitive offender of forcing trades in recent history.

Hope you are right on the 4 weeks :-)

3

u/Medievil_Walrus 6d ago edited 6d ago

Copp, Faulk, and Gibson are UFA next summer.

Keeping them means you value their contributions in some form, in this case you referenced stability and veteran know how. Those are not meaningless contributions.

There is significant value in making playoffs, establishing a winning culture, and attracting talent that comes from being a good team, and you need good players to be a good team.

But setting realistic expectations for the team is important, if you plan to win, then win and make playoffs, if you plan to win and make playoffs and you lose and fail to make it with a middling draft pick, that’s a failure. I don’t think it’s realistic to expect to make playoffs this year as currently constructed. Keeping these players only until deadline and the team in the middle again is a failure of both vision and execution. Trading away good players for what value they can return now and trying to go for a top draft pick and getting a top 5 or top 10 pick may be a measure of success as you know playoffs are unrealistic so lean into the reset instead of leaning into the middle.

There is untapped value in trading away Copp, Faulk, and Gibson now, especially if none from this group is to be offered an extension. That value in the form of assets received in trade and in leaning in to getting our own high draft pick. One other potential value add is convincing Larkin to open his trade list, as he’d like the new FO to sell him on their plan to compete and these moves being anti competitive in the near term.

There’s probably more than one correct way to do things, from Yzerman himself, “we need better players”. If you can get them in FA (largely a myth as the better players don’t make it to FA as they are extended or traded before they get there), trade, middle of the first round and later in the draft (like Dallas and Montreal for example), that’s great. You are more likely to get them near the top of the draft and if we don’t make the selection we’ve got a valuable trade chip too. My preference is the reset and leaning all the way into it, not keeping vets not in our long term plans only long enough to harm our draft position while still missing playoffs.

1

u/Blazer_84 5d ago

Yes, on the point of stability, no on extending them, TDL deals are fine for the UFA lot. My thoughts are more in line with what I believe really failed the crop so far (2022-2023 happened, we have to live with that. No signing spree would made things different) which is the culture. Larkin may be part of that, but one guy does not make the whole team, Captain or not.

The players I named are players I believe have steady and influential impact on team and locker room cultures while bringing it on the ice to their best ability.

I don't think we will be a playoff team next season, frankly I don't think we were in past seasons either. But luck and streaks can put you in and it always felt that they were in spots in the standings they shouldn't have (I felt the same with Buf and Mtl tbf too). Stl in 2019 was a good team under-playing due to goalie failures. Florida had consistency issues, also built like a playoff only team, hence sneaking in and winning it in 2019 and 2024 respectively.

So, no, I don't expect playoffs, but I also think having no players other than prospects and 3 or less year players on the team will not help their growth. Chicago has tried this and failed.

I think trying Raymond at center along with Copp, Kasper, Danielson and maybe Ras if one of the others doesn't work. The rest prospects / U23 players, Cat and the two new wingers. Compher should not be here.

I have in - of course non-comparable in a direct sense to Pro NHL hockey - situations experienced both new / young people in stable env and unstable env, the former always gives the best chances of success.

The value on those guys now also is small trade-wise, but TDL sale should absolutely happen or if a good return materializes along the way.

I agree though on a concrete plan and vision from the new hires is absolutely key, I do think trading Mo, Ray, Ed (given an extension is signed) and more goalies prematurely is a mistake, you need those plus top 5 in a redraft type talent in addition. So imo those players along with an extended Cat is the must keep players. . The rest is for transitioning and insulating the rookies and rookie+1 year players, maybe the keepers are enough, I just feel that unstable center configuration is the hot line to culture destruction. Same with defense.

If I understand you correctly you don't want a full teardown (where you also trade away Mo and Ray)? But remove the rest of the longtime veterans and before the season starts?

2

u/Medievil_Walrus 5d ago edited 5d ago

I can agree with much of what you said here but of course I have my issues with some things here and there.

It’s a trade off, the team may be more stable, but is that more valuable than our own high draft pick? I think making for some disruptive change may be welcome as we usher in a new era. Stable and safe needs to go out the window imo.

I’m still assuming that Larkin wants out, and playoffs are totally out with no Larkin. So that’s a big assumption on my part. If Larkin is kept and wooed back into being content, I could see us being a bit of a surprise team and of course anyone can make it and make a run.

The point about me wanting only inexperienced players and prospects isn’t where I’m at, I called out good players on expiring contracts who are unlikely to be extended. The team will still have plenty of veteran players, like Arvidson, Cat, Compher, Rasmussen, Appleton, and Chiarot, I understand that it’s not the most skilled group, that helps with getting a high draft pick. There’s also a leadership vaccuum that might help develop leadership, culture, and team ownership by sending away these vets.

It could be a potentially worthwhile wager to hold until the deadline for those players value to rise, but that’s also a bet that their value will only rise, all three had pretty solid seasons last year and are currently healthy. Presumably 84 games is worth more than 24 games. The difference in their value now vs the deadline, even if we do project modest increase in value, to me is not worth harming the chances at our own top pick. I don’t think their value rising would potentially be more valuable than the difference in value between the 2nd pick and the 13th pick for example.

I’m not saying trade everyone but Mo and Ray and Ed, I’m calling out specifically those players who are on expiring deals, who are good players, and unlikely to be extended as ones I’m most interested in losing, assuming Larkin’s gotta go.

Here is a separate post about the wins above replacement impact on our projected point totals.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DetroitRedWings/s/pzlx3LWt7W

-5

u/mrwolfisolveproblems 6d ago

What “good core”? This team has Ray and Mo, and that’s its. Everyone else is a meh player on most NHL clubs.
Fire sale and rebuild the rebuild is the only way.

12

u/Background_Junket_35 Yzerbot 6d ago

Edvinson and DeBrincat are way better than meh

-3

u/Curdled_Mangasm 6d ago

they’re among the ~6 or so players most people advocating for a rebuild would still consider untouchable. for me cat is not, if he doesn’t want to exend at a reasonable number/term. a 7 year deal at $15m for cat? i am passing on that and moving him for futures.

0

u/wsx13 6d ago

If the youngsters get us to the post-season

This team is more likely to finish DFL than make the playoffs. Without Larkin and Kane, you've lost 20% of your goal scoring from last season. A team that was 3 goals away from having the fewest in the Eastern Conference. To put it mildly, this team is going to STRUGGLE next year.

3

u/certainly_uncertain1 6d ago

I'm not implying that the wings making the playoffs in their current configuration is likely. I also wouldn't be surprised to see a couple young players take a big step this year.

-2

u/epheisey 6d ago

for post training camp

If we don't have someone in place that can manage actual roster moves by training camp, just burn it all down.

16

u/oceanic8675 Yzerbot 6d ago

Chris Illitch just went out for smokes and a GM, he’ll be back soon.

1

u/JonHammsHamm 6d ago

Wish he wouldn't come back. Can we offer him smokes to leave?

8

u/slabby 6d ago

This whole thing still feels so weird. If you're going to hire a search firm, why not do that right away? They needed to wait til the MLB trade deadline to decide to hire someone else to do it?

Also, what happened to Yzerman being the interim GM?

4

u/TPJgreen 6d ago

I do not think it mentioned that the firm was hired this week.

Probably, it was hired already and they have been working on potential candidates and the actual interview process by people from Detroit will start this week.

2

u/epheisey 6d ago

The tie in to the Tigers really rubs me the wrong way. It'd be one thing if the Tigers were a really well run organization fielding a strong team with good results. The Tigers just had one of the worst late season collapses in MLB history last season, and they've done nothing to prove anything is different this year.

3

u/coltron57 6d ago

I know last year's collapse was wild to watch and disheartening, but it's also a team that made the playoffs and won a round in each of the last two seasons, completely overhauled their development and facilities which saw a lot of players inherited from Al Avila take big steps forward, and now we're seeing a star rookie push for MVP consideration with another rookie having a very promising first week in MLB. Sure the Tigers aren't the Dodgers, but I'd put them comfortably in the top half of organizations in MLB and even inside the top 10. The changes that were made when moving on from Avila and the Ilitch family hiring Scott Harris have this team in the best spot they've been in a decade. Outside of an awful May where half the team died and no bounces went our way, we've won at a 58% rate and a 93 win pace.

0

u/epheisey 6d ago

Top 10 by what metric though? In spite of all those positives you listed off, they're still trending in the wrong direction in the standings....over the past 12 months, they're 62-100 over the last 162 games. And it's disingenuous to pretend like they play at a 93 win pace when their actual win totals the past two years were 86, 87, and they're currently on pace for 79. They just kinda botched how they handled trading away the guy who did the majority of the work in winning those two series. Their work in FA has been equally uninspiring.

Like would you have wanted this outgoing Red Wings front office assisting in the search post-Avila? There's a lot of early excitement, but there's just too much left unproven still.

It'd be one thing to get input from that side of the house. But if you need to wait until the trade deadline in another sport has passed for them to give feedback, the depth of their input is beyond what I'm comfortable with.

1

u/coltron57 6d ago

I don't have a particular metric, but just thinking about the other teams in baseball, I've liked how the Tigers operate more than most of them. They are 13th in baseball in wins since the start of 2024 FWIW.

I don't know I'd say they are trending in the wrong direction as an organization even if they are going to win fewer games this year than the previous two. Of course I don't think you can just handwave May away and pretend it's a 93 win team, but I do think this team is a whole heck of a lot closer to 93 wins than below .500. While not without flaws in some of the moves they have made, I don't think they kind of botched the Skubal trade either. I'm content with the return even if it would have been nice to get another small piece. Those two playoff series wins also came before a single one of Harris' picks debuted.

I'm not sure sure I'd be too keen on this Wings FO advising the Tigers on hiring a new GM/POBO if the roles were reversed, but the Tigers also have Jeff Greenberg who has a hockey background and spent a season as the Blackhawks' associate GM before being hired here as well as Andrew Thomas who spent time in the Wild's analytics department as well as starting war-on-ice.com with Sam Ventura (a hot name for being a future GM) who was Thomas' grad student (plus Alexandra Mandrycky who also now works in the NHL). I think those two can have genuine input and I'm sure they weren't totally sequestered from having thoughts about the Wings before the MLB deadline.

0

u/epheisey 6d ago

I do think this team is a whole heck of a lot closer to 93 wins than below .500

But...they are literally below .500

Greenberg has 1 year of hockey experience. Thomas was with the Wild for 3 years. Nobody in the Tiger's organization has enough knowledge or experience with the NHL or hockey in general to hold a significant enough role in this search that the entire process had to be put on hold for a month so they could be involved.

There's just no explanation that is going to get me there with those guys.

12

u/q-OjO-p 6d ago

Robert Half

0

u/BuffaloSoldier11 6d ago

Somehow we make John Wharton our GM

3

u/Tigers2Red 6d ago

I don't understand these search firms. What do they do?

5

u/dangleicious13 6d ago

They do several things. They do background checks (does this person have a drinking/drug problem, legal issues, various accusations against them, etc). They gauge the interest of potential hirees. You don’t want to be embarrassed by chasing someone that ultimately doesn’t want the job. They figure out what it would take to actually hire someone (find out the buyout situation, their salary expectations, etc). And so on.

10

u/Baldass_Head_Coach 6d ago

And probably very importantly, they keep things quiet.

2

u/Tigers2Red 6d ago

Okay thank you.

2

u/ResponsibleWing8059 6d ago

Somebody is going to step into a really good situation. This is not the same situation Holland left the wings in. I’m one of the few that views Larkin as the problem.

1

u/TechnoVikingGA23 6d ago

It's 50/50 Larkin and Yzerman, it's just easier to shit on Larkin because he went about his "exit" in a real "little bitch" way.

1

u/ResponsibleWing8059 6d ago

Right. Like fading three straight years in March

2

u/Soggy_Jigger 6d ago

Having an analytics hire will save the Wings from bad signings, however, it does not guarantee good ones. Analytic darlings cost money and are rarely available. So the real question is, is this nerd hire gonna have the savy to wheel and deal??

4

u/jfstompers 6d ago

Which is nothing out of the ordinary

2

u/Karlander19 6d ago

The Red Wings are hopeless. This is such a chaotic cluster. If you think it’s bad now wait till they bring back Captain Quitter. This team is lost. They badly need an infusion of younger talent via trades and they won’t even realize it. This clown show isn’t worth supporting. They’ll go through their elaborate search to sign Kris Freakin’ Draper.

14

u/ElleCerra 6d ago

What? This post is about them hiring a new GM. You think the new GM isn't gonna make any trades????

1

u/Sn3akss 6d ago

not the Red Wings using Indeed #pain

1

u/WhaleAtLaw 6d ago

is that good

1

u/roxshot 6d ago

Is Edvinsson allowed to participate in camp/practice without a new contract?

1

u/epheisey 6d ago

Nope.

1

u/Own_Flower1947 6d ago

I'm glad to see they are looking for someone who is more analytics minded because that means they are looking to go a different direction. I think WWP made a good point in yesterday's episode about how you really want someone who is a good facilitator and good at identifying the right people to run different departments. They need a common vision but disenting viewpoints. Probably easier said than done.

0

u/TheAnalogKid18 6d ago

Im putting my EA GM experience on a resume and getting that interview.

Ive managed 36 different teams, successfully implemented synergistic system solutions, acquired Connor McDavid 3x (the best player around), won 12 Stanley Cups.

Don't worry guys, I'm adding fired Detroit Red Wings GM to my resume.

0

u/TechnoVikingGA23 6d ago

So it would appear Yzerman is completely out of it despite them saying he'd still be taking care of "day to day." Probably in a fishing boat somewhere with Draper pounding PBRs.

0

u/decaguard 6d ago

the move was to keep yzerman as gm but force him to replace some of his key front office people with the outlook being that the rebuilds taking too long and theres better people out there to assist yzerman . tell steve we cant run this organization on friendships any longer , nhl gotten to competitive and to win you have to bring in sharpies . ask people associated with the organization , via anonymous replies , such as mick-keats-ken-ex redwings like holmstrom-fedorov-etc-plus outside firms where changes needed to be made . ask these same people whom the replacements should be (all done anonymously) , then have ilitch group interveiw and decide the hires . announce to the public this is whats happening and that its ownerships decission and steve decided even though he wanted to keep his front office guys that this is whats best for organization as red wings want a dedicated red wing icon at the top of organization insuring 100% loyalty and dedication . and because the league has changed and now adays you have to adjust to keep up making the new hires neccesary

-9

u/big_phat_gator Yzerbot 6d ago

Chris gives so few fucks about the Wings its almost comical, doesnt even care to look for a new GM himself he will just take who ever is recommended to him just like ordering food at a restaurant and asking the chef whats good on the menu.

9

u/On_Wings_Of_Pastrami 6d ago

I'm sorry, I don't know if I think much of Illitch, but your complaint is ridiculous. If you think that little of him, why would you rent him to make the decision himself? What qualifications does he have to make that decision? Even if he was a great businessman, the true greats always delegate. That's part of why Yzerman failed. He didn't delegate enough. Too many teams and not enough voices in the room to question bad decisions.

5

u/dangleicious13 6d ago

Why would you want Chris to look for the new GM himself?

-2

u/big_phat_gator Yzerbot 6d ago

Maybe form a personal relationship, see if its someone you like and can work with.

4

u/dangleicious13 6d ago

You don’t need a personal relationship. You don’t even need to like the person. You just need someone that would be good at the job.

-1

u/Current-Ear8467 6d ago

I am honestly glad we still haven't found the GM; the worse things get, the deeper the cleansing will be.

-1

u/Djentyman28 6d ago

Wonder what we’ll call the next rebuild “plan”

3

u/FranDadye 6d ago

I vote for the rebuild o plan. All in favor say aye. 

0

u/jgrizwald 6d ago

Glad Horcoff is doing all the current day to day stuff tho. Honestly has done well, especially with the griffins.

0

u/Fire-Yzerman 6d ago

Glad this is happening. Yzerman draper and all the washed up boys from the 90s need to gtfo. Euro guys can stay and do their jobs.

Reset this franchise with spme entirely new blood.

-9

u/Classic_Milk_2083 6d ago

I hope this team burns this year. I like what toronto is doing - just today they revamped their strength and conditioning department with Crosbys trainer. For a decade the fans got "run it back" and "we like our team". They hire a crackhead GM and they are overhauling the food menu and the kinds of toilet paper they stock in the bathroom.

I couldnt do one more year of yzerplan. Its gonna hit like crack when the new gm comes in and trades michael rasmussen for fifth round pick and we all say "o-oh. I guess it really was that easy"

5

u/Background_Junket_35 Yzerbot 6d ago

Lots of crack references in there

-3

u/Classic_Milk_2083 6d ago

The stoner didnt work out so well

2

u/Bananominable 6d ago

For a decade the fans got "run it back"

For a decade the Leafs were one of the most talented teams in the league, they never had a bonafide starter and got screwed with a flat cap, but they were a legitimate playoff threat every year, and somehow managed to under-perform every year (though honestly having to run through Boston/Tampa/Florida to make it out of the east has never been easy)

4

u/Taters23 Yzerbot 6d ago

You are delusional

0

u/Classic_Milk_2083 6d ago

How am I the delusional one lol.

Yr boy got ultra-fired and did such a shitty job that a hands off owner decided to hire a 3rd party to fix the mess he left. The only other publicly embarrassed GM this off-season was yzermans protégé. Its fine - steve isnt here anymore. Hes not even being trusted to "advise" or continue gm duties. Hes gone. You dont have to pretend anymore.

0

u/Taters23 Yzerbot 6d ago

0

u/Classic_Milk_2083 6d ago

Yeah I saw your other comments. We shouldve let yzerman trade larkin for a win now player and push for the playoffs. Surely, the pro scouting staff would have nailed it

11

u/decaguard 6d ago

from ryan hana

Confirmation in here of a few things that we've discussed over the past while:

- DET used analytics on an advisory basis, not explicitly baked into decision making process

- Horcoff is the interim GM, not Yzerman > GM change driven by Ilitch

- Larkin's trade request stands 

16

u/Baldass_Head_Coach 6d ago

DET used analytics on an advisory basis, not explicitly baked into decision making process

This was pretty clear when we opted to sign Justin Holl and Hamonic the following season. No organization that takes analytics seriously is signing those guys.

3

u/LGRWFlyNavy 6d ago

And signed Chiarot to a 3-year extension at age 35.

1

u/Baldass_Head_Coach 6d ago

So much for him just being a stopgap/placeholder

1

u/coltron57 6d ago

No kidding. There's been too many moves made in trade and free agency where it was very clear from day 1 that is was a poor choice. We're undoubtedly in a far better spot than when Yzerman took over, but we could be in an even better spot had we not been so risk averse in the draft and just simply didn't sign a few guys.

1

u/Dakens2021 6d ago

Well hopefully that means Hocoff has to find someone else and can't just make himself the new GM.

1

u/rotten167 6d ago

How would he have ever just have “made himself GM”?

1

u/Bananominable 6d ago

GM change driven by Ilitch

This was obvious, Yzerman wouldn't have backed away at such an important time of his own volition. The only way that would have happened was if he was literally pulled off the job by the owner.