Since Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman unofficially stepped down from his position in order for the organization to find a new general manager, we haven’t heard a peep from the Red Wings’ front office–somewhat predictably, given how Detroit’s sports teams work–and Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen finds the information blackout to be problematic:
Fans have concerns because they can’t feel, or sense, the urgency in hiring a new general manager. It’s been 13 days since Yzerman met with Chris Ilitch and left without his GM title.
Oddly, we have not heard the usual search chatter about teams granting permission to interview, people pulling out of consideration, those who have interviewed and those coming back for a second interview.
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Neither Ilitch (nor Yzerman) has spoken with the media to explain why Yzerman was out after he was in charge of the draft and free agent signings. We don’t know what kind of general manager that Ilitch wants to hire. Does he want a big name like his late father always did? Does he want a younger GM with a more modern approach? The Detroit Tigers are stressing analytics with their hires. Is that going to happen with the Red Wings?
But what the fans want to know most is the timeline for the search. They want to see the new person in place with the time to make an impact before training camp, if that is even possible?
The Red Wings have a right to conduct business as they see fit. But this is a business dependent upon the loyalty of fans. You would think that someone in the chain of command would explain how long they anticipate the search will take and whether the Red Wings are really open for business while this is going on. It should be priority to free your fan base from worry.
Continued; the Red Wings never operated with much accountability toward their fan base during the Yzerman regime, and the fact that the information blackout continues seems to indicate that nothing is going to change any time soon in terms of holding the team accountable to its paying customers.
