The Detroit Red Wings are embedded in a search for a new hockey operations leader, whose first task will be sorting out the Dylan Larkin situation.
Right now − in the middle of August − Wings owner Chris Ilitch is holding the cards in charge of the Wings.
The Red Wings and former general manager Steve Yzerman parted ways on July 15 after the Red Wings missed the playoffs for a 10th straight year, seventh under Yzerman since he was named GM in April 2019.
So the Red Wings have gone more than a month without a GM, but the team is dedicated in taking its time to make the right call on who is next.
"From the very beginning, we were never going to let the process or the timeline dictate" the decision on whom to hire, a person with knowledge of the Detroit
Red Wings' organizational thinking told the Detroit Free Press. "We're always going to really be super thorough. I can tell you that when we moved on from Steve, we did it really strategically.
"People forget that right around the Olympic break, we were not only contending for a playoff berth, we were in first place. So it's hard to say, hey, Monday morning quarterback, why didn't you do this in April? And the real reason is because we didn't want to make knee-jerk decisions, we want to be super thorough."
As the Free Press was the first to report, the Red Wings have hired a search firm (TurnkeyZRG) to help narrow their search for who will replace Yzerman.
"We spent our time to really understand what's the right thing for the Red Wings moving forward to win the Stanley Cup − that's the only thing that matters," the source said. "I can tell you that there is no one that cares more about that than Chris, and there's no one that works harder in our building than Chris Illich achieving that among other goals that he has. So when we moved on from Steve, and when we made that announcement, it wasn't just on a whim, it was because we were really thoughtful about it."
The Wings brought Yzerman in in spring of 2019, as someone who could turn around the franchise. At that time, the Wings had ended a historic 25-season streak of making the the playoffs in 2017.
But after recent seasons fell short of expectations, the Red Wings decided to go in another direction to reach their ultimate destination − deep in the playoffs.
"Chris challenged [everyone], let's go find the next leader that's going to bring a Stanley Cup to Detroit, from whatever level they're at in the organization that they're with right now," the source said. "Let's go find that person. And so we started with over 100 names. And we are making our way methodically through that in a manner where we're being strategic, trying to figure out how do we get the right person in the role?
"I'm not going to comment on specifics on where we're at and interview process or timeline because I don't want to paint a picture that, you know, we have a specific date. Yes, we'd like to have somebody in by training camp. But at the end of the day, what people should feel really confident in is that we're turning over every stone and going through a very thorough strategic process."
As for the Larkin situation, the Wings do not want to trade him without getting full value in return. And that could well mean Larkin will be in a Red Wings jersey when camp starts September 17.
Larkin, 30, requested a trade shortly after the season ended. He has five years left on a contract carrying an $8.7 million cap hit. Larkin has not responded to requests for comment and his agent has declined comment, too.
Contact Helene St. James at Hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Where do Red Wings stand in GM search? One inside source sheds light
