Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen argues that the Red Wings need to “giddy up” in terms of their GM/president of hockey operations search, while also suggesting that the team should hold fast to its demands in terms of a return for Dylan Larkin:
First and foremost, the Red Wings must get the hire right, but they also need to move as quickly as they can in this Detroit vetting process. The new boss will need time to explore Larkin options, including whether he might want to stay.
For those who believe the new hire will accept some draft picks and prospects from Minnesota for Larkin and move on, that is unlikely to happen. When you talk to people around the NHL, no one believes [Steve] Yzerman was wrong for demanding a proven player or players in a Larkin swap. A weak scoring team cannot give up a proven 30-goal scorer for spins at the roulette wheel.
Everyone in the NHL understands that unless you are picking in the Top 15, draft picks are raffle tickets. Even in the first round, there’s roughly a 30% chance a team won’t land a player who will make it.
If Larkin hasn’t changed his mind, and won’t add to his list of acceptable destinations, Detroit’s best opportunity to get an acceptable return might be to involve a third team, a team that perhaps has a high-salaried veteran it would like to move for cap relief. Detroit could then accept futures from Minnesota and move them for a veteran.
But that kind of deal requires time to sort through the possibilities. The new hire will be under the gun as far as time is concerned. He also needs to re-sign Simon Edvinsson, consider a non-Dylan Larkin move to increase scoring, get on the same page with coach Todd McLellan, consider major staff changes and call Alex DeBrincat and tell him to expect the Brinks truck to show up at his house as soon as he can make it happen.
Shawn Horcoff is in charge on the interim basis, but Expressen reports that Edvinsson’s agent is waiting for the new hire before continuing contract talks. Horcoff cannot make trades, which means all Larkin talks have stopped.
Continued; the Red Wings are riding a fine line here. Detroit’s got to hire the “right fit” in terms of their GM and/or president of hockey operations, but they also need to hire the person/persons quickly, because the 2026-2027 season is indeed imminent, and there’s unfinished business in terms of DeBrincat and Edvinsson’s contractual situations.
I’m not certain how exactly the Wings are supposed to “get it right,” but expediency can’t be used to justify a half-assed hiring.
