The Hockey News’s Adam Proteau weighs in regarding the Red Wings’ managerial search this morning, noting Tigers GM Jeff Greenberg’s withdrawing of his name from the search, and offering some pointed criticism of the Wings as a franchise:
For starters, there are internal candidates — Detroit’s assistant GMs and former NHLers Kris Draper (director of amateur scouting) and Shawn Horcoff (GM of the AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins). Both Draper and Horcoff know the ins and outs of the organization, and the Red Wings need their next GM to be heavily involved with identifying young talent as the franchise moves into a new era.
But according to [Sportsnet’s Elliotte] Friedman, a prominent external candidate is Andrew Thomas, an assistant GM with the Tigers.
“I don’t know that Andrew Thomas is going to be ready for this now, but I’ve heard that they think very highly of him,” Friedman said in an episode of his 32 Thoughts podcast in August. “That’s a name to remember, although I’m not convinced the opportunity is going to be his now.”
Meanwhile, it’s this writer’s opinion that Red Wings icon and former Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan would also be a candidate for the GM job. Shanahan has significant experience as a manager and he knows the Detroit market like the back of his hand.
It would’ve been ideal for Detroit ownership to decide on a new GM well in advance of the season. Remember, this team has a clear-and-present emergency to address in the form of captain Dylan Larkin’s trade demand.
The next GM will be under the gun immediately to bring an end to the Larkin era and put together a trade that helps the Red Wings in the long haul. Whoever is next has to hit the ground running and immediately start pushing this Detroit team in the right direction.
The time for patience and calm has come and gone, and while every new GM needs some stretch of time to implement their competitive blueprint, nobody in Motown is prepared to waste more of their time, energy and money on a Wings team that doesn’t learn lessons about operating in the salary cap era.
Continued; Proteau argues that the Red Wings’ GM job is far from the most glamorous position available in the NHL, but he does note that, with 32 jobs as a GM available in the NHL, there’s still a certain prestige to the position, even here in Detroit.
