The Detroit Red Wings have had an interesting offseason to say the least, and things took another turn on Wednesday when franchise legend and general manager Steve Yzerman announced he was leaving his position.
He will remain with the organization but will now serve as an advisor to CEO Chris Ilitch.
According to NHL.com, the team’s search for a new general manager is already underway and the team will consider internal and external candidates for the position.
NHL TEAM’S TOUGH OFFSEASON GETS WORSE AS FRANCHISE LEGEND LEAVES TO COACH RIVAL
Children, prepare the popcorn…
Yzerman is, of course, one of the greatest Red Wings of all time and was captain of three Stanley Cup winning teams, some of which had what are, in my opinion, the greatest teams of all time.
Go watch the 2002 Red Wings, and you’ll say, “Oh, so that might be part of the reason they instituted a salary cap.” ยป
Steve Yzerman captained some giant Red Wings teams of the 1990s and 2000s. (Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images/NHLI)
So it made sense that after a successful tenure as general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Yzerman would be the man to help the Red Wings return to the top in 2019, after last making the playoffs in 2016.
However, in Yzerman’s seven years as general manager, the Red Wings never made the playoffs.
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Worse yet, this futility led captain and Detroit native Dylan Larkin to request a trade.
I think this speaks to the danger of putting a franchise legend in charge of your team. There is no doubt that if anyone else without Yzerman’s experience within the organization had posted the same results, there would be no chance he would have lasted as long as he did.
Steve Yzerman is leaving as general manager of the Detroit Red Wings after first accepting the position in 2019; however, under his leadership the team never reached the playoffs. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
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And maybe letting things go on this long led to Larkin wanting to walk away. Sure, players ask for trades all the time (especially these days), but that’s not a good look at the current state or future direction of the franchise.
Now, one of the big questions is whether this change in direction will cause Larkin to reconsider his desire to leave the team.
That wouldn’t be unusual, but it appears the next Red Wings general manager will have to deliver the sales pitch of the century to convince Larkin that the franchise can quickly return to winning ways.
