Shawn Horcoff isn’t spending his time selling a reset in Detroit.
That was the message Wednesday, when the Red Wings’ interim GM met the media in a formal setting for the first time since taking over. With training camp opening Thursday, Horcoff made it clear he’s looking straight ahead, not backward at the mess that has surrounded the organization since the end of last season.
The backdrop hasn’t helped the optics. The Red Wings are being pushed off the main ice sheet at Little Caesars Arena by Disney on Ice, which has only added to the sense that the franchise is taking a hit in the public eye. Horcoff knows the noise is out there, even if he says it hasn’t carried the same weight inside the room.
“It’s a good thing I’m not on social media too much, right?” Horcoff said.
“What noise? I think that’s what it was, just external noise.
It wasn’t as loud for the people that were in here.
“We went through a major leadership change, and it took a couple of weeks for us to get used to that. But then it became very clear what our goal was: Everyone in their department take control of it, take ownership of it, and find ways to improve and get better.”
The summer has been rough on the organization. The GM is gone, the former captain wants out, and the way everything has unfolded has left the club absorbing plenty of criticism.
Horcoff, though, is not the one who created the situation. He’s the one tasked with sorting through it.
And he’s not interested in dwelling on the collapse that followed last season.
“I want to focus on this season and moving ahead,” Horcoff said. “We want to focus on what it’s going to take for us to get over that hump.”
He also shut down the idea that Detroit needs to tear it all down.
“A rebuild to me is out of the question,” Horcoff said. “We have too many good players in that lineup.
“Listen, we’ve been close the last three years in a row. We’ve been really close.”
There’s still the unanswered question hanging over everything: how long Horcoff will actually be in charge. The interim label means uncertainty by definition, and nobody can say whether that lasts a couple of weeks, a few months or longer.
For now, though, he’s approaching the job like someone determined to make the most of the opportunity. Horcoff said he wants to hear from everyone around the organization and use those ideas to push the team forward.
“We have some fantastic people here, from players to staff, very capable staff, management, coaches,” Horcoff said. “I want to listen to them all and come in and hear their ideas on how we can make improvements.
“But my philosophy is to focus on the day-to-day, and hopefully we can get some results.”
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