Red Wings Take Big Step In GM Search
Chris Ilitch is hiring an outside search firm to find the next Red Wings general manager, @HeleneStJames reports.
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) August 5, 2026
Shawn Horcoff is running the day-to-day — but cannot makes trades — as the Wings are aiming to find someone heavily in analytics, according to the report. pic.twitter.com/4mHItGRlzv
Helene St. James reports in the Detroit Free Press that a person "with knowledge of the process" told her that owner Chris Ilitch hired the firm to help determine who should replace Steve Yzerman.
She adds that assistant GM Shawn Horcoff is handling the day-to-day responsibilities, but he does NOT have the authority to make trades.
Who the Red Wings are looking for in search for new hockey boss
The team is said to be looking for an analytics-driven person to take charge, which, of course, is the new thing for teams around the NHL. And it's come with plenty of success.
"Ilitch and the search firm may well look to teams like the analytics-driven Carolina Hurricanes, who just won the Stanley Cup, following a two-season Cup run by the Florida Panthers fueled by the analytics department," noted St. James.
"The Wings have employed analytics within their hockey operations department, but it has been in an advisory capacity, not a decision-making one. But after 10 years of missing the playoffs and seven disappointing years under Yzerman, it appears the Wings are in for a significant change in management style as the 2026-27 season draws closer."
The Red Wings last made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2015-16.
Whoever the new hockey boss is, his first and most important duty, of course, will be determining how to deal with captain Dylan Larkin, who requested a trade after the season.