- PuckPedia says some Red Wings GM candidates have been told they are out
- Detroit’s internal target was a new executive in place by Labor Day
- Read below for what Frank Seravalli said about hitting that deadline
Detroit’s general manager search finally moved this week, and it moved by subtraction.
PuckPedia reported Thursday night that some of the candidates involved in the Red Wings’ GM process have been told they are no longer in the running.
That is the clearest sign of progress since July 15, when Steve Yzerman stepped aside from his executive vice president and general manager roles and took a senior adviser job under governor Chris Ilitch. Almost two months later, nobody has replaced him.
The club did give itself a deadline. Frank Seravalli said on the FAN Morning Show on Sept. 1 that Detroit wanted its next executive hired by Labor Day, which falls on Monday.
Seravalli sounded a lot less encouraging two nights later, after calling out another outlet for running an inaccurate version of his reporting:
“I reported the Red Wings’ goal was to have their next GM in place by Labor Day. I don’t have any evidence yet they’ll be able to meet that goal.”
Names have been out there since August. Max Bultman of The Athletic pointed to Panthers assistant GM Brett Peterson and Sharks assistant GM Jeff Kealty as the external candidates on his radar, and he added Carolina assistants Darren Yorke and Tyler Dellow as names worth watching. PuckPedia did not say which of them got the bad phone call.
Assistant general manager Shawn Horcoff is handling hockey operations day to day while a search firm works through the field.
He is also running out of runway. Detroit’s rookies report for the prospect tournament in about a week, and training camp opens Sept. 17.
Whoever gets the job inherits a captain who asked for a trade in June and has not been moved, an unsigned Simon Edvinsson, and a roster that has not seen the playoffs since 2016.
