Four days from training camp, the Detroit Red Wings still don’t have a general manager.
That alone is hard enough to square. What makes it worse is the silence around it.
The Red Wings hired a search firm two months ago to find a GM, yet there’s still no announced candidate and no public sign that interviews have even taken place. If Elliotte Friedman’s reporting is accurate, the club has also let a handful of requested candidates slip by without following up.
On Friday, the organization issued a statement about captain Dylan Larkin and his trade request, but it didn’t include any update on the GM search or even hint at a frontrunner. For a team that once benefited from keeping things close to the vest, that approach now feels like a problem rather than a strength.
The issue isn’t just the missing hire. It’s the absence of communication.
Other teams usually let it be known who they interviewed and when the process wrapped up. Sometimes that information comes through reporters, sometimes straight from the club.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, for instance, shared their interview process openly on social media.
Detroit has done none of that.
The only reason fans even know an external search firm is involved is because media members such as Helene St. James and Sean Shapiro reported it after receiving the information. Since then, the only statements from the organization this summer have been Steve Yzerman’s resignation and the update on Larkin’s captaincy.
That’s it. Radio silence otherwise.
For a fan base that has already lived through a rough stretch over the last decade, that kind of opacity lands badly. The Red Wings are in a better place than they were before, but “much better off” clearly isn’t enough anymore.
And the timing makes everything more urgent. Training camp is almost here, which leaves almost no runway for a new GM to settle in and get a handle on the roster and the organization’s needs. The situation is even more delicate with Simon Edvinsson, who is two days away from only being able to sign a seven year deal.
Right now, the Red Wings look disorganized in a way they haven’t in decades.
At this point, they have two choices: hire the GM, or at least explain why the process is dragging on. For a franchise with Original Six status, that shouldn’t be too much to ask.
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Red Wings Camp Battle Could Open Door For Two Surprise Names
Training camp always turns a few prospects into stories, and this one has two names worth watching in Carter Bear and Anton Johansson. Bear, the Red Wings 2025 first-round pick, arrives after a strong season with the Everett Silvertips and a bronze medal run at the World Juniors, while Johansson has kept building since being taken in the fifth round in 2022 and showed enough with the Grand Rapids Griffins to get another look.
Both are trying to force their way onto the NHL roster in a group that already includes more established options, which is what makes their camp battles so intriguing. Bears offense and pedigree give him real attention, and Johansson has the kind of steady upward track that can turn a long shot into a serious candidate, but neither is walking into an easy opening and the next stretch of camp should tell plenty about how close each really is. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Prospects Face One Big Question Before The Finale
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Detroit also played without two players who had been in action Saturday, leaving the lineup a little thinner than it figures to be for the final game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The matchup offered another look at how the prospects handle pressure and pace, but it also left the bigger question hanging over the finale: how much stronger will the group look when those missing pieces are back in place? [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Rookies Had A Brutal Turn In Costly Loss To Pittsburgh
Kienan Draper went from hero to hard-luck rookie in the span of a night, helping Detroit outlast Dallas in a shootout before finding himself in the middle of a far less forgiving result against Pittsburgh. The Red Wings had enough chances to escape with points, but the game swung on a handful of costly moments and left the young forwards otherwise encouraging stretch under an ugly spotlight.
Detroit also wasted a night in which its special teams never really found a rhythm, and the Penguins were able to make the most of the openings the Red Wings handed them. With other scorers contributing and a few regular absences shaping the lineup, the margin for error was already thin, and one bad break in particular became the kind of play a team spends the next day trying to flush. [Read more 🡒]