The Detroit Red Wings entered Thursday near the bottom of the NHL standings at 1-3-2 (4 points).
Captain Dylan Larkin requested a trade this summer, and one of their top defensemen remains without a contract. They still don’t have a permanent general manager after removing franchise legend Steve Yzerman from the role in July.
Through it all, Red Wings owner Chris Ilitch said he understands why fans have begun chants directed at him to “Sell the team.”
“Fans absolutely have the right to tell us how they feel,” Ilitch told reporters Thursday before the Red Wings hosted the Philadelphia Flyers. “This is their team. So I understand fan frustration. I share it, to be frank. My thoughts are that fans want to see our team win on the ice, and I do too. And as the person that’s accountable for this franchise, it’s why I made the change (in general managers), and it’s why I’m so deliberate in our search.”
Ilitch said the Red Wings are working to hire a president of hockey operations, and he will let that hire decide whether to bring in a general manager under him or her. Shawn Horcoff, the current interim GM, remains a candidate for the full-time role.
Ilitch defended the timing of his decision to remove Yzerman, which has had an impact on the Red Wings’ ability to get a deal done with restricted free agent defenseman Simon Edvinsson before the season began. Horcoff said Wednesday that the Red Wings had “zero interest” in trading Edvinsson amid the elongated negotiations.
“I think what is happening, the direction I’m taking this franchise is the right direction,” Ilitch said. “It’s one of the most important things I can do, and one of the biggest contributions I can have to this franchise is to go out and find an innovative difference-making leader who’s going to be able to help us build that championship team again. I’m determined to find the right leadership, and I’m not really looking backwards to say, ‘should this have happened or could that have happened?’ I’m looking forward, and very focused on finding our next leader.”
Ilitch also said that he supported Dylan Larkin, the longtime captain and franchise player who is from the Detroit area and has spent his full NHL career with the club.
“I support Dylan. I support every single one of our players on our roster,” the owner said. “I do everything I can in terms of resources, support, to make sure that our players can reach their full potential, and that’s how our team is going to reach its full potential. And so I support all of our players. Until they’re not a Red Wing, they have my full support.”
Larkin, 30, is a two-time All-Star who has played 813 games for the Red Wings, counting Thursday. He entered Thursday with 277 goals and 368 assists for his career. Edvinsson, 23, was the sixth overall draft pick in 2021 and tallied 19 goals and 41 assists in 175 games over his first four seasons.
Horcoff and the Red Wings did ink forward Alex DeBrincat to a seven-year, $91 million contract extension earlier this week.