Shawn Horcoff has officially been named interim general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, but the franchise's long-term outlook is still uncertain.
All you can do is take Detroit Red Wings owner Chris Illitch at his word.
While Shawn Horcoff, a long-time member of the Detroit front office, was formally named the interim general manager of the team just two days ahead of training camp, the search continues for a permanent leader of the hockey ops department.
In a lengthy interview with The Detroit News, Illitch pulled back the curtain on a brutal summer featuring a GM dismissal, trade request from the captain, and persistent questions about the present and future of the club.
But first and foremost, he has "a clear vision" and knows exactly what he wants to do.
That apparently includes demurring on questions about leaving RFA defenseman Simon Edvinsson unsigned before training camp, Detroit Tigers AGM Jeff Greenberg reportedly pulling out of the running for the Red Wings GM job, coach Todd McLellan's future, whether Dylan Larkin will be traded, Alex DeBrincat's future with the team, and more.
What is clear, now, is that the current search has reached the 'farce' stage, and Horcoff being publicly named interim GM doesn't change that.
It turns out that the current search is apparently for a new head of hockey ops, who would then hire a new GM. And that Horcoff, who has been GM of the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins since 2022, is in the running for either job.
It's reasonable to suspect that Greenberg was the preferred hire but, in pulling out of the search for reasons unknown, set the organization back to zero only about a week before camp opened. Illitch also denied reports that the Red Wings had asked for permission to speak to people in other organizations and then not-spoken-to them.
Horcoff getting the interim job is mostly just to do some of the necessary day-to-day business of running the team and doing stuff like, say, signing Edvinsson — after his agent went public in the Swedish media, telling Expressen, "We are patiently waiting for a new general manager," and that the Red Wings apparently wouldn't negotiate any new contracts after Yzerman stepped down.
As far as anyone on the inside is willing to let out to the general public, Horcoff was seemingly already working in this role.
Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press reported a month ago that Horcoff was already interim GM at that time and had a deal in place to retain Anthony Mantha — who signed shortly thereafter with New Jersey — around the same time Yzerman got the boot.
The report also said ownership possibly nixed a free-agent deal that would have brought Steven Stamkos to Detroit a couple of years ago.
When asked about that rumor, Illitch responded, "I've been highly consistent in giving all of our sports leaders 100% autonomy and authority to make the decisions necessary as they see fit. … I would say 99.9% of them go through just as they're recommending."
That's two different numbers.
If, this entire time, Horcoff didn't have the authority to do so much as extend an unrestricted free agent who wanted to be there, or bring back an RFA who has a bright future, then something akin to working out a Larkin trade or DeBrincat extension is likely beyond his purview as well.
While giving him this power, publicly, on Sept. 15 makes sense, it also made sense to do it exactly two months earlier. Today's interview shows Illitch seemingly made his decision on Yzerman's future earlier than mid-July, but inexplicably let the legendary GM continue to do the job through the draft and early free agency for, I guess, continuity of operations?
"After those determinations, we were beyond the traditional GM recruitment window, the draft and free agency were approaching, and the preparation was done by Steve and his staff," Illitch told the paper. "So I waited until those two events to let Steve know I was going to make a leadership change."
The problem with all this is that, if you're asking the GM to move on, or however they want to phrase it, you're tacitly acknowledging that the current situation is untenable.
But confusingly, all indications are that DeBrincat and the fanbase really want to bring the aging winger back — he scored 80 goals over the last two seasons — for another contract, and that Larkin is going to spend at least some time with the club this season.
Illitch allowed for the possibility the ex-captain plays the full 84 in Detroit. He also allowed for the possibility that a director of hockey ops or a GM hire, "could happen during this season, it could happen after this season."
All of these details indicate the same thing: Nobody's hand is on the rudder here.
Illitch said he had his own feelings about the need to rebuild but won't share them out of fairness to whomever they hire. But if he, as owner, is signing off on whom they hire, wouldn't he choose the guy whose own vision for the future of the Red Wings necessarily have to align?
Horcoff may want to extend DeBrincat, but didn't they just spend three years with he and Larkin as the team's best forwards and get nowhere? Doesn't Larkin want out because he sees the future in Detroit for what it is? What good does it do this club to sneak into the playoffs and get eliminated in the first round by, say, Florida or Carolina?
Everyone — fans, players, media, ownership, coaches — fundamentally understands what it means to be a team with a decade-long playoff drought whose captain is publicly asking out and whose best goal-scorer is looking for a large deal for the seasons when he'll be 30-plus years old.
This is all irresponsible. It's all unfitting for what's supposed to be one of the premier franchises in the sport.
So while Horcoff can now handle the day-to-day business of the team, and other teams and agents have that amount of certainty, they should have had it weeks ago.
The fact that we're only just getting here is inexplicable.
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