Horcoff Rules Out Another Red Wings Rebuild
Detroit's interim general manager says the club has too much talent for another teardown despite a 10-year playoff drought.
Shawn Horcoff used his first public comments as interim general manager of the Detroit Red Wings to rule out another teardown.
"A rebuild, to me, is out of the question," Horcoff said Wednesday. "We have too many good players in that lineup. Listen, we've been close. The last three years in a row, we've been really close."
Horcoff was named interim GM on Tuesday, with Detroit's training camp opening Thursday. He has worked in the Red Wings front office since 2016 and had been an assistant general manager since February 2022.
Detroit has missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for 10 straight seasons, the longest drought in franchise history and the longest active one in the NHL. The Red Wings were tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for first in the Eastern Conference on Jan. 24 and held a 12-point playoff cushion, then went 9-15-5 the rest of the way and were booed off the ice in their home finale.
The offseason brought more turnover. Dylan Larkin requested a trade after last season. The team announced July 15 that Steve Yzerman would move from GM to senior adviser to owner Chris Ilitch. Patrick Kane signed a two-year, $16 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on July 23.
Ilitch, asked whether the team needs another rebuild, deferred. "I have my own thoughts on that, but more important are the thoughts of our new leader," he said. "I'm going to hold off on sharing my thoughts out of fairness to him."
Horcoff said he and coach Todd McLellan began working through changes in midsummer rather than waiting for the front office to be sorted out.
"We weren't waiting for direction," Horcoff said. "We were moving forward here and making the necessary decisions to improve our hockey club."
