The Detroit Red Wings have had an interesting offseason to say the least, and things took a different turn Wednesday when franchise legend and general manager Steve Yzerman announced his retirement from the position.
He will remain with the organization, but will now serve as an advisor to CEO Chris Ilitch.
According to NHL.com, the team’s search for a new GM is already underway, and they will consider both internal and external candidates for the job.
NHL TEAM’S ROUGH OFFSEASON GETS WORSE AS FRANCHISE LEGEND TAKES COACH OF ARCHERY RIVAL
Kids, get the popcorn ready…
Yzerman, of course, is one of the greatest Red Wings of all time and captained three Stanley Cup-winning teams, some of which had what are, for my money, the greatest rosters of all time.
Go look at the 2002 Red Wings and you’ll be like, “Oh, so that might be part of the reason they put in a salary cap.”
Steve Yzerman captained some juggernaut Red Wings teams in the 1990s and 2000s. (Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images/NHLI)
So it made sense that after a successful tenure as GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Yzerman would be the man to help the Red Wings get back on top in 2019 after last making the postseason in 2016.
But in Yzerman’s seven years as GM, the Red Wings never made it back to the playoffs.
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Worse, that futility led captain and Detroit native Dylan Larkin to ask for a trade.
I think that speaks to the danger of putting a franchise legend in charge of your team. There is no doubt that if someone else without Yzerman’s history with the organization had posted the same results, there is no way he would have lasted this long.
Steve Yzerman steps down as Detroit Red Wings GM after only taking the job in 2019; however, under his watch, the team never made it to the postseason. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
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And perhaps by letting things go on for so long, it led to Larkin wanting out. Sure, players ask for trades all the time (especially these days), but it’s not a good look for the current state or future direction of the franchise.
Now one of the big questions is whether this change of leadership will make Larkin reconsider his desire to leave the team.
It wouldn’t be unheard of, but it looks like the next Red Wings GM will have to deliver the sales numbers of the century to convince Larkin that the franchise can return to its winning ways in a hurry.
