Shawn Horcoff didn't shed much light on the biggest story surrounding the Detroit Red Wings, but he was more open on other topics.
Horcoff, 47, has been handling daily duties since the Wings made a change in the role in mid-July, removing Steve Yzerman from the title he had held for seven-plus years and designating him instead as a senior advisor. While the search continues for a permanent replacement, Horcoff is in charge. He is also a candidate to land the job full-time.
Horcoff was made available to reporters on Wednesday, Sept. 16, a day before the Wings were set to start training camp. A turbulent offseason has included the shocking timimg of Yzerman's dismissal − three months after the season ended − and dealing with an unhappy core player.
Horcoff started with the organization as director of player development and later was named assistant general manager of the Wings and the general manager of the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Here's what Horcoff had to say on key topics:
On the Dylan Larkin situation
Dylan Larkin, 30, requested a trade shortly after the season ended in mid-April, using his no-trade clause to limit his choice of destinations to the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights. Last week, the Wings stripped Larkin of the captaincy he has worn since January 2021. Larkin will report to camp but won't be on the ice while he rehabs an upper-body injury sustained while training.
Asked if anything has changed regarding the trade request, Horcoff said the team will "keep the conversations private between management and Dylan. For now, our focus is getting Dylan healthy and getting him back and returning to playing."
On the Simon Edvinsson situation
Restricted free agent defenseman Simon Edvinsson, a top workhorse for the team, is without a contract. Insurance (arranged by his representation) will enable Edvinsson to be at camp, but it behooves Horcoff to get this deal done. Already the Wings have missed the chance to sign Edvinsson, 23, for eight years, as the collective bargaining agreement changed on Sept. 16 to reduce the maximum length of a contract of an own-player by one year. Delaying this long likely also has cost the team a chance to lock up Edvinsson for around the same money as Moritz Seider ($8.55 million annual average value) because a number of young defensemen have, in recent weeks, signed in the double-digit million dollar range.
"We started with that," Horcoff said. "That's a priority for us. Simon is a fantastic player and a bright spot in our organization, so we're going to get to work on that contract as soon as we can and hopefully have something done here shortly."
On extending Alex DeBrincat
DeBrincat, who led the team with 41 goals last season, is eligible for an extension as he's entering the last year of his contract.
"Alex is a fantastic player," Horcoff said. "He had a fantastic season last year. He's a guy that we rely on for his leadership, for his scoring ability. He's a local kid, loves being here, loves being a Red Wing, and we're going to get to Alex shortly. There's not a timetable with him. We have some time to get to an agreement with Alex, but it is something that's on our forefront. We'd like to get him signed."
On the captaincy
The Wings announced last week that Larkin would no longer serve as captain and don't have a timeline on what's next.
"That'll work itself out," Horcoff said. "We're going into the season without a captain. We feel like there's a ton of leaders in that locker room, lots of guys that are able to step up and fill that role. And honestly, for us, it's very important that the leadership in that room doesn't just come from one person. We want it to come from multiple, and we're hoping that happens early this season."
On his vision for the team
Horcoff made a point of saying his focus was on the future, not rehashing how the team collapsed for a third straight March after looking in good shape to make the playoffs entering the Olympic break in early February.
"My approach is I'm here, it's my responsibility now to do everything that I can to make the best possible decisions for the Detroit Red Wings," Horcoff said. "My goal is to hopefully in the long term prove that I can do a good job and remove this interim tag. But our goal is no different going into this season.
"I think we're going to take it week by week here. I think it's going to start with camp. We're going to evaluate who we have and the players that are in the lineup. A rebuild to me is out of the question. We have too many good players in that lineup. We've been close. The last three years in a row, we've been really close. We're not looking backward, we're looking forward. We want to focus on what it's going to take for us to get over that hump."
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: Red Wings interim GM Shawn Horcuff: Rebuild is 'out of the question'
