The Detroit Red Wings’ sudden decision to move on from Steve Yzerman has already sent the NHL front office carousel spinning, and one name tied to the New York Rangers has surfaced as a possible fit.
On Wednesday, the Red Wings announced that Yzerman was stepping down as executive vice president and general manager. The timing raised eyebrows, especially with Detroit having allowed him to finish the NHL Draft and handle the early part of free agency.
Now the franchise is staring at a major reset, with questions swirling about its direction and whether captain Dylan Larkin could be traded. Larkin requested a trade this offseason after the team missed the playoffs for 10 straight seasons and because of his rocky relationship with Yzerman.
That leaves Detroit with a big hire to make, and The Athletic’s Max Bultman laid out 13 possible replacements. Among them is Rangers associate general manager Ryan Martin, a longtime Red Wings figure who once ran the Grand Rapids Griffins.
“Martin is an associate general manager with the New York Rangers and GM of their AHL affiliate in Hartford. But before that, he spent 16 years in the Red Wings’ front office, managing the Griffins and working under Ken Holland and then (briefly) Yzerman,” writes Bultman.
“He’s also been a big part of USA Hockey at the junior and senior levels, including serving as GM for the 2022 World Championship team. He has history and familiarity with the organization but is removed from the current management group.”
That kind of familiarity matters in NHL hiring, and Martin has plenty of it in Detroit. He first joined the Red Wings in the 2005-06 season as director of hockey administration, later became assistant general manager in 2010-11, and then took over as general manager of Grand Rapids in 2013-14. While leading the Griffins, he helped guide them to the Calder Cup in 2016-17.
Martin also handled the general manager role for Team USA at the 2022 IIHF World Championships, where the team finished fourth.
He left the Red Wings in the 2021-22 season to join the Rangers as an associate general manager under Chris Drury and to serve as general manager of the Hartford Wolf Pack. Hartford drew plenty of attention this season after a difficult year that also highlighted the thinness of the Rangers’ prospect depth.
Martin has already been in the mix for other GM openings this offseason. He was a candidate for the Toronto Maple Leafs before they hired John Chayka, and he also interviewed for the Nashville Predators job, which went to former Colorado Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland, who also received the title of president of hockey operations.
Whether Detroit reaches out remains to be seen, but with Martin’s long history in the organization, it would be a surprise if he didn’t at least get a look.
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Rykovs path back overseas after his lone North American season and Hjeks inability to lock down a permanent role both speak to how quickly defensemen can slide from promising depth to organizational afterthought. For the Rangers, it is a reminder that not every bet on size, pedigree or upside turns into a lasting NHL answer, and in each case the early promise ended with a lot more questions than the team ever got to answer. [Read more 🡒]
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What makes the picture more interesting is the price range New York seems able to operate in, which points to a player who can fit in the middle of the lineup rather than a major splash. If the Rangers want to make that kind of move, they may have to clear room with waiver-eligible depth pieces, and that is where the rumor mill starts to widen beyond the obvious targets and into the kind of possibilities that can pull another team into the discussion. [Read more 🡒]