As Steve Yzerman transitions and training camp looms, Detroit’s search for a new front-office leader intensifies with internal favorites and intriguing external candidates eyeing a holiday deadline.
It has been an offseason to remember in Hockeytown.
The Detroit Red Wings have had to navigate a trade request from captain Dylan Larkin, watched franchise icon Steve Yzerman step down as general manager into an advisory role, and still need to work out a new deal for restricted free agent Simon Edvinsson, one that seems to get more expensive by the day given recent contracts like Cale Makar's, which have pushed top defensemen north of $20 million per season.
Now, new reports suggest a timeline may finally be coming into focus for who steps into the GM chair.
Appearing on the FAN Morning Show on Tuesday, insider Frank Seravalli offered some clarity on when fans might get an answer, saying "they were endeavouring to have the next person in place by Labour Day, so we're coming up on that this week."
Not much has been made public about the specific candidates in the mix, but fellow insider Elliotte Friedman has reported some of the names involved in the interview process.
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On a recent episode of his 32 Thoughts podcast, Friedman said Detroit began by interviewing internal candidates, including assistant general manager Shawn Horcoff and fellow assistant GM and director of amateur scouting Kris Draper.
He also identified Andrew Thomas, an assistant general manager with the Detroit Tigers, as the first external name to emerge, along with Thomas' boss with the Tigers, general manager Jeff Greenberg, whom Friedman described as the name that continues to interest him most.
Other reports have also floated Detroit's vice president of hockey operations, Niklas Lidstrom, as a name worth watching, along with Horcoff, Draper and Greenberg, all of whom share a background of NHL playing experience similar to Yzerman.
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