Insider Proposes 4 Candidates To Replace Steve Yzerman as Red Wings' GM
The Detroit Red Wings are still on the hunt for a new hockey boss to replace Steve Yzerman, who is stepping down. Jeff Marek has taken on the task of proposing four candidates that he feels might be good fits in the Motor City.
On Daily Faceoff's The Sheet podcast on Tuesday, Marek first had to address his idea floated last week that went viral of whether the Red Wings would "consider" former longtime Detroit goalie Jim Rutherford for the job. He was just speculating, and has no intel that the two sides are actually interested. He shot down the rumor that emanated out of his chat (it was "a conversation" only, he says).
But he did double down to say that "I do think it would be in the Detroit Red Wings' best interest to talk to Jim Rutherford — and to talk to as many people as possible... (But...)
"To my knowledge, there is nothing between the Detroit Red Wings and Jeremford not being offered the position.
Now that he got that out of the way, he went on to note that things are pretty quiet around the team right now, but he felt comfortable proposing three other candidates that, to Marek, make "a lot of sense" for the Red Wings job.
Scott White, Dallas Stars Assistant GM
White has already been under consideration for a number of the GM openings that came and went in the NHL since the season ended. And Marek thinks his name will continue to come up.
"I expect Scott White from Dallas to be interviewed (in Detroit). That just makes sense. But at this point, considering his career, I expect him to be interviewed by everybody. He's one of those people that you insert into every general manager search."
Tyler Dellow, Carolina Hurricanes Assistant GM
With the Red Wings' desire to bring in someone with an analytics bent, Dellow is certainly another great fit. In his AGM role with the Stanley Cup champs, he has been responsible for overseeing data analysis and compliance with the NHL's salary cap.
"Dellow makes a lot of sense," Marek said.
Tim Barnes, Washington Capitals Assistant GM
Barnes is a hockey analytics pioneer and was the Caps' longtime director of hockey analytics for 10 years before being elevated to AGM near the beginning of this past season.
"He would be someone that would be 'a person of interest' for the Detroit Red Wings," Marek said, adding that Barnes, too, makes a lot of sense.
"I am just proposing names based on the criteria that (Red Wings CEO) Chris Illich has laid before us as far as who they could/are interested in," Marek reiterated.
Yzerman stunned the hockey world on July 15th by announcing he was stepping down from his longtime role leading the Red Wings. The Yzerplan is no more, though he remains in charge of daily hockey operations until a replacement takes over. He is transitioning into a position as senior advisor to Ilitch.
A couple of weeks back, we took a look at another half a dozen candidates would might be good fits for the Wings' front office role.