Red Wings Weigh External GM Hire After 10 Playoff-Miss Seasons Under Yzerman

Q: With Yzerman gone, is captain Dylan Larkin's trade demand now off the table, or is a franchise-altering deal inevitable?

Larkin’s trade demand is not automatically off the table just because Yzerman stepped aside, and a major deal still looks very possible. Yzerman’s exit removes one clear source of tension. Reporting around Larkin’s request pointed to a strained relationship with Yzerman, dating to difficult contract talks and frustration over Detroit’s inactivity at the trade deadline. A new hockey-operations chief could try to reset that relationship and make the case that the organization is changing course. But the larger issue remains: Larkin wants to win, and the Red Wings have missed the playoffs for 10 straight years. That problem did not disappear with a front-office change. Unless Detroit can quickly convince him that a real turnaround is coming, the logic behind his request still stands. The contract structure gives both sides leverage. Larkin is signed through 2030-31 at $8.7 million annually, a valuable number for a top-line center, and he has a full no-trade clause. Detroit is under no pressure to move him cheaply, while Larkin can control any destination. That combination makes a trade complicated, but it also means the return could be franchise-shaping if the team decides to act. So the most likely reading is this: the demand is still alive, but not yet irreversible. The next head of hockey operations will probably get a chance to meet with Larkin and test whether a reset is possible. If that fails, a blockbuster trade becomes the defining decision of Detroit’s next era.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · Jul 15

Detroit has few credible in-house candidates to replace Steve Yzerman after shifting him from general manager to a senior advisory role on July 15.
Nicklas Lidstrom is viewed as qualified but has indicated he does not want a larger job and lives in Sweden, while assistant GM Kris Draper is seen by hockey sources as a long shot.
Shawn Horcoff appears to be the strongest internal option after 4 years as assistant GM and experience running AHL affiliate Grand Rapids, where he handled many NHL-style front-office duties.
Seven of Detroit's 10 straight seasons outside the Stanley Cup playoffs came under Yzerman and his staff, strengthening the case that the club needs a fresh outside perspective rather than continuity.