The Detroit Red Wings’ front office is in motion again, and this time the focus is on the top of the hockey-operations ladder.
After Thursday’s 2-1 regulation win over the Eastern Conference’s last-placed Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit sits at 2-3-2 through seven games in the 2026-27 season. That record has come with plenty of noise around the organization, from Dylan Larkin still seeking a trade to unsettled contract talks with restricted free agent defenseman Simon Edvinsson. The club also still doesn’t have a full-time general manager.
There has been one notable move already: Alex DeBrincat signed a seven-year, $91 million extension earlier in the week. Even so, the tension around the franchise has not gone away.
Now owner Chris Ilitch says the Red Wings are searching for a President of Hockey Operations, and that person will help decide who takes over as the full-time GM. In an interview with Red Wings beat reporter Max Bultman of The Athletic, Ilitch said he wants an “innovative difference-maker” to steer the organization, while making clear that analytics should be part of the process without being allowed to dominate it.
Shawn Horcoff, the current interim GM, remains in the mix. He has the authority to make moves he sees fit, including the DeBrincat extension, and Ilitch made it clear he’s been pleased with the way Horcoff has handled the job so far.
“Shawn’s doing a great job,” Ilitch said. “He’s come in; he’s hit the ground running.
It’s a great opportunity for him. It’s a great opportunity for me to see him in action, and he’s been really good.
Did a great job with Alex. He’s working hard on any and all other issues.”
Trade discussions involving Larkin are still active. Horcoff also said this week that he is not interested in moving Edvinsson, even though he has had conversations with other teams.
For now, there doesn’t appear to be a hard deadline on when Ilitch wants the new president in place. But the owner said he sees the search as a key step in reshaping the franchise and getting it pointed toward another championship team.
“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.”
In Other News...
Carter Mazur Is Running Out Of Chances With The Red Wings
Carter Mazurs path in Detroit has already been defined too often by bad timing. Since the Red Wings drafted him in 2021, injuries have repeatedly interrupted his momentum, including the season-ending setback on his first shift of the 2024-25 season. After finally getting back into the mix this year, he has been trying to reestablish himself while working with limited ice time and production.
The bigger issue now is less about talent than opportunity. Mazur needs to show enough to stick in the lineup as the Red Wings sort through roster decisions and decide who can hold down a regular role. For a young player still trying to carve out an NHL future, every game matters, and the margin for error is getting smaller. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Face Another Huge Goalie Decision They Can't Miss
Detroits goaltending picture is getting crowded in a hurry, and the organization is once again staring at a decision it cannot afford to miss. The trade of top prospect Sebastian Cossa changed the long-term outlook, while Michal Postava has quietly pushed himself into the conversation with strong play in Grand Rapids, giving the Red Wings another name to track as they sort out what the future in net should look like.
What makes the situation trickier is that neither goalie has really been given a meaningful NHL runway, leaving Detroit to project from a distance instead of leaning on certainty. The choices that put the club in this spot were made under the previous regime, and with new leadership in place, the next round of decisions could look very different as the Red Wings try to avoid another misstep at a position that can shape everything. [Read more 🡒]
Dylan Larkin Trade Buzz Just Raised A Huge Question For Detroit
Dylan Larkins name has started to surface in trade chatter, and for Detroit that alone turns the conversation into something bigger than a typical rumor cycle. The captain carries a significant cap hit through 2031, which is part of why any discussion around him immediately becomes about more than one player. If the Red Wings ever decided to move him, the return would have to reflect the kind of centerpiece talent he is, and Montreal has been among the teams doing the kind of big-game shopping that can keep these talks alive.
The Canadiens are reportedly looking for a superstar in his mid-20s and have been asking about a range of players, including both wingers and centers, so the fit is easy enough to understand from the outside. The complication for Detroit is that interest and ability are not always the same thing, especially when some of the clubs that might be willing to pay up could run into Larkins no-trade list. That leaves the Red Wings with a question that goes beyond asking price and into whether there is even a realistic market to begin with. [Read more 🡒]