The Detroit Red Wings have spent nearly seven weeks searching for the person who will replace Steve Yzerman.
Apparently, they never intended for the search to drag much longer.
NHL insider Frank Seravalli revealed Tuesday that the Red Wings had been working toward having their new hockey operations leader in place around Labor Day.
“They were endeavouring to have the next person in place by Labour Day, so we’re coming up on that this week,” Seravalli said on the FAN Morning Show.
Well, here we are.
Labor Day is Monday, Sept. 7, which means the Red Wings could finally be approaching the end of one of the strangest front-office searches in franchise history.
Red Wings GM Search Could Finally Be Nearing the Finish Line
Detroit has been without a permanent general manager since July 15, when Yzerman stepped away from his role as executive vice president and GM and became a senior adviser to Chris Ilitch.
At the time, the Red Wings announced they would consider both internal and external candidates while searching for their next leader of hockey operations.
Since then, the candidate pool has slowly become clearer.
As Detroit Sports Nation previously reported, Elliotte Friedman has connected several names to the process, including internal candidates Shawn Horcoff and Kris Draper.
Detroit Tigers executives Jeff Greenberg and Andrew Thomas have also emerged during the search, giving the Red Wings some unconventional options if Ilitch decides the organization needs a dramatically different approach.
For a franchise that has missed the playoffs for 10 consecutive seasons, unconventional might not be the worst idea in the world.
The New GM Will Have Work Waiting
Whoever gets the job will not exactly have time to unpack the office and admire the view.
Dylan Larkin’s trade request remains unresolved as training camp approaches. Detroit’s captain has not withdrawn his request, although the longer this goes without a deal, the more realistic it becomes that Larkin could report to camp and begin the season with the Red Wings.
That situation alone would be enough for most incoming executives.
Detroit also has Simon Edvinsson waiting for a new contract.
Edvinsson’s agent, Peter Werner, recently made it pretty clear what has been holding up the process, saying they are waiting for Detroit to hire its next general manager. DSN recently examined what Edvinsson’s next contract could look like.
In other words, naming a GM will not solve everything.
It will simply allow Detroit to start solving everything.
A Big Week in Hockeytown?
Seravalli’s comments should not be interpreted as confirmation that Detroit will announce its next GM by Labor Day. He described that as the organization’s target, not a hard deadline.
But after weeks of interviews, speculation and very little public movement, we finally have something resembling a finish line.
And the timing matters.
Red Wings training camp opens Sept. 17.
Detroit still needs clarity on Larkin. It still needs to sign Edvinsson. And, perhaps most importantly, it needs somebody with the authority to decide exactly what this organization is trying to become.
If Seravalli’s timeline holds, Hockeytown may finally get that answer within days.