Author: George Malik

Updated 3x at 12:43 PM: The Detroit Red Wings have named Shawn Horcoff their interim general manager, and they tipped the beat writers off to this development, as the Athletic’s Max Bultman had a piece ready to go at 10 AM…

The Red Wings begin training camp on Thursday but have yet to settle on a permanent top executive after a search that began July 15, when Steve Yzerman was removed from his position as general manager and moved into a senior adviser role.

The move gives Horcoff the latitude to handle day-to-day operations and complete the team’s most urgent piece of business, signing top-pair defenseman Simon Edvinsson to a new contract. Beyond that, though, the team’s No. 1 center, Dylan Larkin, requested a trade earlier this summer, and having an interim general manager at the helm could make the now-former captain’s request even more difficult to resolve before camp, or even the first games.

“We’re focused on identifying an innovative decision-maker who can lead the Red Wings to Stanley Cup success,” Illitch said in the news release. “We’ve had substantive conversations with talented executives over the past two months, and it’s been gratifying to see such strong interest in this organization and the caliber of candidates involved. This reflects our confidence in where this organization is headed. Our search continues, and we’re excited about the path forward. We’ll share updates when we have something meaningful to announce.”

As did the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan:

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

The Detroit Red Wings name Shawn Horcoff interim General Manager.

Details » https://t.co/Joaqi8DKUR pic.twitter.com/fYf5419PF8

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 15, 2026

DETROIT RED WINGS NAME SHAWN HORCOFF

INTERIM GENERAL MANAGER 

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today appointed Shawn Horcoff as the club’s interim General Manager. Horcoff, who has served as the Red Wings Assistant General Manager alongside duties as General Manager of the Grand Rapids Griffins, will manage day-to-day roster decisions, salary cap, and hockey operations personnel for the Red Wings – reporting to Red Wings Governor and CEO Chris Ilitch during this interim period.

“As our process continues to find the best possible leader for Red Wings hockey operations, I’m appreciative of Shawn for stepping up to serve in this capacity,” said Ilitch. “His knowledge of our organization and range of experience allows us to operate with a clear decision-maker in place for the season ahead, while maintaining our commitment to carry out a thorough, methodical search process on our own timeline. Shawn has my complete support, and the authority to make decisions in the best interests of our organization.

Ahead of today’s 2026 prospect tournament finale against the Columbus Blue Jackets (2 PM EDT start, streamed on DetroitRedWings.com), DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills looks back at the comments made by Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson and forward Jesse Kiiskinen after Saturday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

For Watson and his players, the tournament is more than simply an opportunity to “get their legs under them” again:

The way Grand Rapids Griffins head coach Dan Watson sees it, what the Detroit Red Wings’ up-and-comers absorb off the ice during the 2026 NHL Prospect Tournament at BELFOR Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena is just as beneficial as what happens on it.

“That’s part of the experience of the Prospect Tournament — get all the young prospects together, get a feel for each other,” Watson said following Detroit’s 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday night. “Get their game under their belt before they get into main camp, start to build some chemistry and build some of that culture within the locker room here. We’ve already started that with this group, so it’s exciting for these guys to come over, learn new things and figure out what the pro hockey lifestyle is going to be.”

Forward Jesse Kiiskinen, for example, has enjoyed acclimating to the organizational culture. That’s been an ongoing process for the 21-year-old, one that started near the end of the 2025-26 season, when Kiiskinen joined Grand Rapids and made his American Hockey League debut on April 11.

ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski asked the NHL players taking part in the NHL/NHLPA North American Media Player Tour many questions, but he only asked Alex DeBricat a simple query:

What was your favorite experience of the summer?

“I went to Scotland on a golf trip. That was probably my favorite. A couple good rounds, actually. Overall, it was just cool to experience those courses.” — Alex DeBrincat, Detroit Red Wings

Continued at length…

The Athletic’s Max Bultman offers an answer to a “Burning Question” as part of The Athletic’s survey of all 32 teams’ biggest questions heading into training camp, and Bultman believes that hiring a GM is the lynch-pin of the Wings’ struggles:

Detroit Red Wings

Who is the GM?

The answer could be “everything,” but let’s start at the top. The Red Wings don’t have a GM after removing Steve Yzerman from the post in mid-July. They also need to figure out how to resolve Dylan Larkin’s trade request, a new contract for Simon Edvinsson and ideally get some clarity on Alex DeBrincat’s future, too. But hiring a GM is the key domino for most of that, and also the biggest source of uncertainty right now. — Max Bultman

Continued (paywall)

Red Wings trade acquisition Sutter Muzzatti stands at 6’6” and 229 pounds, and the big forward could have chosen to continue the “family business” by following in the footsteps of his father, Jason Muzzatti, an NHL goaltender. According to Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff, a simple “no” got the younger Muzzatti excused from crease duty:

“I tried,” Muzzatti said of netminding. “One game. I didn’t like it too much, so my dad didn’t force me into it. So grateful for that.”

Instead, as Duff notes, Muzzatti is a net-crashing 23-year-old, which has Red Wings prospect coach and Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson intrigued:

“I think it’s something that I’ve figured out I can do and have an impact with,” Muzzatti said. “So it’s definitely a big part of my game.”

Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson is already envisioning all the elements that the first-year pro can bring to the AHL.

“He moves well for his size,” Watson said. “He’s going to learn to protect pucks and make plays out of it, learn to hang on to pucks and spend some time offensively. But what I’ve seen already is he can play on the power play, he can be on the penalty kill, he can play against the other team’s top line. He’s very responsible, and he’s going to be very trustworthy already. So the size certainly helps. We’ve got to make sure that he uses it the right way.”

As he grew into his body, Muzzatti, who played college hockey at RPI and Notre Dame, recognized what destiny held for him as his role in the game. And he willingly embraced it.

“I think it was something that kind of had to get used to, and I kind of enjoyed being able to play the body and protect the puck for sure,” Muzzatti said. “Yeah, it’s definitely something I try to bring every night. Just finishing my hits, playing clean but playing hard.”

Continued

Casino.org’s Frank Seravalli suggests that the Red Wings are a good bet to finish last in the league due to their front office dysfunction:

Detroit Red Wings (+1900) to have the fewest points 

Yes, in a league with the Vancouver Canucks, this might seem like a stretch. Detroit finished 34 points clear of the Canucks last year, but their final position doesn’t tell the full story. 

But this is a bet on the dysfunction in Detroit with a Red Wings team closing in on training camp without a general manager. “It’s inexcusable how long this search has taken, truly baffling to me that a billion-dollar franchise would operate this way in 2026,” an NHL GM said.  

“When the league held its Zoom call with GMs and head coaches last week, we were all jockeying to try and figure out who was representing Detroit.” It was assistant GM Shawn Horcoff, alas.  

From an NHL’s Media Twitter/X post, via the Red Wings’ Twitter account, comes a 3:29 clip in which Tony Luftman, Mike Rupp and Corey Schneider discuss why the NHL Network has named Moritz Seider their 30th-best player in the league right now:

"If you're mentioned in the same breath as [Nicklas] Lidström, you had a heck of a year!" – @TonyLuftman

Moritz Seider (@DetroitRedWings) put together the best season of his career, earning him the #⃣3⃣0⃣ spot on NHL Network's Top 50 Players Right Now list.

📺: #NHLTopPlayers… https://t.co/B0YLLoHb5F pic.twitter.com/hqJkWQdzJL

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) September 14, 2026

The video’s available in YouTube format as well:

Several Red Wings beat writers have been rightfully singing the praises of 2025 13th overall pick Carter Bear as the plucky forward has displayed some dominant offensive instincts at the Red Wings’ 2026 prospect tournament…

But Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen split his attention between Bear, a first-round pick, and Myles Brosnan, Detroit’s 196th and final pick in the 2026 draft.

Allen duly notes that Bear’s looking a lot like a star in the making already (which is a significant compliment for someone after two prospect tournament games), but Allen also rightfully points out that Brosnan, who played high school hockey for Dexter Southline High School in Brookline, MA last season, is looking like a special prospect in his own right:

Meanwhile, Brosnan is noticeable because of his blend of skills and plucky, aggressive play. He is showing a prickly side, even playing against more experienced players

“A quality that most players need to have still is the ability to handle pressure, to be physical in the right areas to win 50-50 battles, be competitive,” [Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan] Watson said. “And he seems to be doing that. He’s a good skater, he moves well on the ice, and he’s a young guy who’s just learning right now. But what we have noticed is. he’s around the net, he’s hard in the corners.”

The Red Wings drafted him 196th and even then there was a suggestion that he could have, or should have, gone higher. The Red Wings are undoubtedly pleased that he will play for Gardiner MacDougall, the highly respected coach of the Moncton Wildcats in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Brosnan has also committed to play for Harvard in two seasons.

Continued (paywall); Bear’s heading to Grand Rapids to begin his professional hockey career this fall, while the 6,’ 194-pound Brosnan will head to New Brunswick to play for Moncton. Over the course of two games, both have made a significant impact, and that’s impressive regardless of their respective drat rankings.

Given that the Red Wings’ 2026 prospect tournament is sponsored by Camping World, I guess this question was inevitable: