Jason_R

It is a coveted job. Wings have a great arena and resources. Ilitch has an open mind about structure; do you want a single VP/GM or do you want to split into two separate roles? He will cast a wide net, including Draper and Horcoff, but will get a ton of interest from external candidates. Friedman floated the name of Brendan Shanahan, who "left Toronto a lot better than he found it." I have no interest in Draper or Horcoff, but you better believe I'd interview them to find out what went wrong.

He gone.

There is a culture problem in the organization. Yzerman is responsible for the culture. Yes, Larkin is soft and got petulant at the end, but as soon as he made the trade request everyone in the NHL came out and said, oh they haven’t talked in a long time. If that was the case well before the Olympics, and I believe it was, that was on Yzerman. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was as dismissive of Larkin as he was of the press.

At this point, I think it is clear that Yzerman was a big part, and maybe the biggest part, of the negative culture in the organization. I hate to say it, and it even seems counterintuitive, since he was The Captain™️. But it seems like he was somehow unable to give the players, maybe even Larkin, space to be themselves. And he was unable to do the thing that made him great as a captain, which was to hold himself accountable to learning and changing his game.

I don't know who wrote this and I have no thoughts about any of these specific candidates, but yes, I think you make the calls to Nill and Tulsky, and yes, I think you interview people from Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay, and Dallas.

Obviously nobody is making any decisions about anything until a new GM is hired, and that GM is going to have to come in and handle Larkin. Next, he'll have to sign Edvinsson to a long term contract. The key decision will be Debrincat, which doesn't have to get made before the season starts. From a timing standpoint, it seems unlikely that a new GM would come in and make any other significant decisions before the season starts. I could see the new GM come in and tell Larkin, "I'd like honor your trade request, but the way things have shaken out, it might not happen before the trade deadline. So go out there and bust your *** until then." I don't think it was just the losing that wore on Larkin, I think it became personal between him and Yzerman. Ilitch may not have been trying to rescue the relationship with Larkin by firing Yzerman, but if the relationship was going to be saved, firing Yzerman was the precondition. With Steve's firing, I would not at all be surprised to see Larkin start the season in a Red Wings jersey. A new GM will also give Debrincat a chance to beg out, but I have a hard time thinking anyone would willingly let Debrincat walk. And I get the sense he wants to be in Detroit for personal reasons. Size notwithstanding, he is exactly the kind of guy Detroit should build around, a local kid with world-class skill and grit. If you can re-sign him, re-sign him. I could also see the new GM come in and agree with Todd's initial opinion that the team has been playing scared. I suspect they'll turn some of the kids loose and see what they have before the trade deadline -- especially Postava. Even if the kids do better than expected, I would not at all be surprised to see Gibson and Faulk traded at the deadline, along with Larkin. But I don't think a new GM will (or should) get hired and conduct a fire sale right away.

I’ve assumed for a long time that Stevie told Chris it would be an 8-10 year rebuild. Three years of near misses could be ascribed to tough luck, but to lose Larkin like that was a black eye. I’m sure there were multiple conversations back-and-forth about how it came to that and how to bounce back from it but I also assume that Chris saw what the rest of us saw, which was no clear pathway to resolving the impasse. Yes Steve could not get rid of Larkin, Chris had to get rid of Steve. Anyway, it needed to happen. I’m sure that almost every GM and every perspective GM would love the chance to run an original six franchise, with a dedicated and very wealthy ownership group, and a rabid fan base. They will get someone good and build a model franchise.

Maybe, but if Chris comes out and Todd comes out and the other players come out and say, we are thrilled to have him back, I think that stuff calms down pretty quickly.

I’m not saying they will or should. But when nothing happened at the draft, that left everyone looking toward the prospect of training camp and the start of the season with a showdown, and Larkin either showing up or sitting out. The fact that Stevie is not in charge anymore makes it a lot easier for the Red Wings and for Larkin to save face, if that is the best option available to both parties.

I don’t assume it will happen, but Ilitch has effectively indicated that Stevie was the bad guy in the relationship. I could see Chris hiring a new GM, and then saying something like, “Dylan Larkin is a Red Wing and will always be a Red Wing. My family learned a lesson from the Sergei Fedorov situation and we want to leave the door open for the new GM to rebuild the relationship with Dylan.” No, that wouldn’t totally fix things but it is plausible.

Sad to see it end this way for Stevie but he just wouldn’t or couldn’t adjust. He didn’t maintain the relationship with his most important player, he didn’t embrace modern analytics. I assume Larkin’s trade request stands, but this does make a return possible.

I agree that Yzerman has backed himself into a corner. Over time he has apparently put out the vibe of being a hard guy to play for and now this is underscored by the departure of his homegrown captain, not to mention a top goalie prospect and a few other players who underperformed in Detroit and found another gear elsewhere. I understand why he would have wanted to retool rather than rebuild after the Larkin demand, but that was always going to be a narrow path. If he has just been sitting on his hands waiting for Billy G. or Pat Brisson to bring him a deal, that is a little bit clueless. I also understand why he might have been reluctant to trade Larkin for Robertson without an extension or a promise of one -- and without a center. But you have to read the room, Stevie. There is not an equivalent player available. So take the trade then put faith in your young centers to set up three elite wingers in Raymond, Debrincat, and Robertson. Make yourself an attractive destination for a FA center. If he could have had Robertson for $15 million and didn't take him because he didn't want to write the check, Chris I. needs to stage an intervention.

Maybe Larkin should have demanded to be adopted by Keith Tkachuk.

I just saw this and was about to post it. I trust that Keith knows what is going on behind the scenes.

Nobody knows what conversation Steve and Chris have had about the budget. Nobody knows the budget limit that Chris has set for Steve. Nobody knows if Chris has given Steve a limit on how much he can pay any specific player whether in dollars or in term. Especially in light of the EP 40 contract, I can see plenty of owners interested in being aware of contract terms for very highly paid players. Owners do not become billionaires by paying no attention to how their employees spend tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. Though, of course, it might be said that some owners come by their billions of dollars by inheriting them. In any case, I don’t find it at all plausible that Chris has never said a word to Steve about player salary structure.

These rumors are troubling but just rumors. I could see how Stevie would not want to trade for Robertson without an extension in place, just like with Hughes. I could also see that he would not want to have $25 million tied up in two wingers with no clear 1C or even 2C. Ultimately, though, Chris Ilitch signs the checks. It would be very weird if Chris said, “I would pay $11x8 for Debrincat” and Yzerman said, “I won’t do it. He’s not worth it.” So what are the budget parameters under which Stevie is operating?

Larkin would have been too busy watching his reflection in his gold medal even to have noticed. Amirite? Or amirite.

I agree with this. This is one of Yzerman’s successes, along with building an elite first defensive pairing. Maybe the pieces are in place for a good to very good defensive corps. But the kid earned a start and it was a mistake that Stevie didn’t give him one.

The Cossa pick was a bust. Full stop. If it had worked out he would have been playing in the NHL already. If he had been playing in the NHL already, maybe they don’t trade their first round pick at the deadline. If they don’t trade their first round pick at the deadline, they have it to draft JP. Instead they wasted five years on Cossa plus however long it takes for JP to make the team, assuming he makes it.

Yes, for all of Stevie’s shortcomings, he still put together a team with a strong pipeline in goal, anda solid and improving foundation on defense. They had not gotten over the playoff pump, but they had been in the race until the final days, and he gave the team support at the trade deadline. Then Larkin threw a tantrum. It would have been easy for Larkin to say that he would accept a trade or even that he would like to be traded and then keep his mouth shut. But he has done a tremendous disservice to the franchise. And it is hard as the bad guy in this scenario.

Since Helene is reporting this, I assume it is coming straight from the wings. I suppose it is possible that Larkin has drawn a line in the sand, though that seems very foolish on his part. I could also imagine that his agent has said vaguely that Larkin would accept a trade elsewhere but without naming teams. Maybe Stevie is trying to send the message to Larkin that you don’t get to demand a NTC then demand a trade. I’m less worried by Stevie’s hope to get an established player than by the thought that his pride is causing him to drag this out to the start of the season or even the trade deadline. Clearly he is not going to end up with a player of Larkin’s caliber but he needs a credible center and he needs to nail down ADB. He may already have lost Kane, which may turn out to have lost him ADB. This may turn out to mean that by being passive Stevie backed himself into the corner of a second rebuild rather than his desired objective of a rebound.

The player may turn out but the pick was a bust for Detroit.

Yes but when you go back over the past dozen drafts and see that they’ve missed on two dozen outstanding players it raises questions.

Of course you can mismanage a pick and a player. Jesper was the consensus top goalie. If you are trading up for a goalie and don’t pick him, that is one thing, but it really shows confusion in the front office if you don’t have a clear plan for his development and you don’t give him a shot. And then, how was it you missed on Johnston? Keystone Kops stuff here.

Yzerman salvaged value from a pick and player he mismanaged. Sure, great work getting a 1st for 1st who made two AHL All Star teams. But why did they pick him if they weren't going to let him play? What did he need to accomplish in order to get a start? Just utterly inexcusable talent management.