- Steve Yzerman is out as Red Wings GM and executive vice president
- He moves to a senior adviser role under CEO Chris Ilitch as Detroit starts a search
- Read below for what Ilitch said and how it ties to the Dylan Larkin saga
Steve Yzerman’s run as Red Wings general manager is over.
Detroit announced Wednesday that Yzerman is stepping down as GM and executive vice president. He shifts into a senior adviser role under Governor and CEO Chris Ilitch, and the team has already started a search for its next leader of hockey operations.
Ilitch did not dress it up. Asked to explain the change, he pointed straight at the results.
“Clearly, we are not where we and our fans expect to be as an organization,” Ilitch said. “I’m looking forward to bringing in new leadership to build the championship-caliber organization Hockeytown deserves.”
The numbers back him up. Detroit missed the playoffs for the 10th straight season in 2026. Yzerman took the GM job on April 19, 2019, hired to pull one of hockey’s proudest franchises out of a long rebuild. Seven years later, the rebuild still had not produced a playoff team.
Yzerman is not walking away entirely. In his own statement, he thanked the family that gave him the job.
“I am sincerely grateful to Chris and the entire Ilitch family,” Yzerman said. “This organization has given me incredible opportunities, from my time as a player to the privilege of returning as general manager.”
The timing lands in the middle of a messy Detroit summer. Captain Dylan Larkin asked for a trade earlier this offseason, and Yzerman confirmed the request last month while making no guarantee a deal would ever get done.
Around the league, plenty of people read this as an ownership call rather than a mutual goodbye.
Yzerman spent his entire 22-year playing career in Detroit and captained three Stanley Cup winners. Now Ilitch is looking beyond that history, weighing both internal and external candidates, to find the person who finally ends the drought.
