Red Wings Fans Chanted 'Sell the Team' — Ilitch Still Has No Permanent GM
GOATIFYChris Ilitch did not dispute the anger coming from the stands at Little Caesars Arena. With Detroit opening the season 1-3-2, supporters had begun chanting for the Red Wings' owner to sell the franchise. On Thursday, before a home game against Philadelphia, Ilitch acknowledged the frustration and said he shared it. The admission was striking, but it did not resolve the central question hanging over the club: who will be empowered to make the decisions that end Detroit's long playoff absence?
That uncertainty extends from the executive offices to the dressing room. Steve Yzerman was removed from the general manager role in July, Shawn Horcoff is still operating on an interim basis, Dylan Larkin requested a trade during the offseason and restricted free agent Simon Edvinsson remains unsigned. Ilitch insists the search for new hockey leadership must be deliberate. Fans who have watched ten consecutive seasons end without playoff hockey are entitled to ask what deliberate action will look like on the ice.
Ilitch accepted the anger — but the leadership search has no finish line
The chants were not merely a reaction to one disappointing night. Detroit's 1-3-2 start placed a familiar spotlight on an organization that has spent a decade trying to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The public frustration is amplified by a summer of major decisions that have not yet produced a settled hockey department. Yzerman, the former franchise captain whose return as general manager once symbolized a new era, was moved into a senior advisory role in July. Two months later, Horcoff was named interim general manager. The permanent search continues.
Ilitch said fans have every right to voice dissatisfaction and connected his decision to change management with his responsibility for results. He did not blame supporters for expecting more or suggest that loyalty should excuse another season outside the playoffs. But his response also left the key operational question unanswered. Detroit is seeking a president of hockey operations who could then decide whether to hire a separate general manager. Until that structure is determined, everyone in the organization is working around an unresolved decision at the top.
There is a reasonable case for taking time with a hire of this magnitude. The next leader will inherit valuable young defensemen, established scoring talent and complicated contract decisions. A rushed appointment could create years of further instability. The counterargument is equally clear: the club changed leadership in July, opened the season without a permanent replacement and reached October with urgent business unfinished. Patience becomes harder to defend when the cost of waiting appears in the lineup.
Horcoff's interim label does not mean inactivity. He has authority over day-to-day decisions and remains a candidate for the permanent job. But the owner has indicated that the future president will shape the executive structure. Detroit needs present-tense answers while searching for the person who will ultimately decide its future.
Larkin's trade request and Edvinsson's contract are the immediate tests
Two of Detroit's most consequential roster questions have different origins. Larkin's trade request reflects a veteran star's frustration with the competitive direction of the franchise. Edvinsson's unsigned restricted-free-agent status is a negotiation involving a young defenseman the team says it wants to retain. Both have become symbols of a front office struggling to provide certainty.
Larkin has spent his entire NHL career with the Red Wings and is deeply connected to the city. He requested a move after the 2025-26 season, when Detroit missed the playoffs for a tenth consecutive year. The organization then began the new campaign without naming a captain, removing the letter Larkin had worn since 2021. He reported to camp and said he intends to act professionally, but neither side has publicly announced a resolution to the trade request. Ilitch says he supports Larkin while he remains a Red Wing. Support is not the same thing as a mutually agreed plan.
Edvinsson's situation is more straightforward in one respect: Horcoff has publicly said he has no interest in trading the defenseman. That stance matters because a 23-year-old former sixth overall pick who can handle heavy minutes is precisely the type of player Detroit should build around. Edvinsson averaged more than 22 minutes per game last season and has become a central piece of the blue line. Yet his negotiations have extended into the regular season, leaving the team without an important defensive option.
These cases should not be treated as interchangeable. A trade request requires an honest assessment of what the player wants and what a return could do for the team. A restricted-free-agent negotiation requires terms that protect the club's future without unnecessarily damaging its relationship with a cornerstone player. The common requirement is decisive management. Neither can be fixed by a press conference about how much the organization cares.
DeBrincat's $91 million extension shows Detroit can still act
The most concrete counterpoint to the organizational uncertainty arrived this week. Detroit agreed to a seven-year, $91 million extension with Alex DeBrincat, keeping a high-end scorer in place rather than allowing another major contract question to dominate the season. The deal gives fans an example of a transaction that matches the stated ambition to build a competitive core.
DeBrincat's production makes the commitment understandable. He scored 41 goals and 85 points in 2025-26 and began the new campaign with eight points through seven games. A player who can create goals consistently is difficult to replace, and the extension removes one obvious source of future uncertainty. It also shows that Horcoff's interim status does not prevent meaningful decisions when management is aligned on the player's value.
There is still a distinction between keeping talent and constructing a playoff team. Detroit has retained a dangerous scorer while Larkin's future remains unsettled and Edvinsson has yet to sign. A $91 million commitment is a significant vote of confidence in DeBrincat, but it also raises the stakes for the next hockey executive. The club will need to balance long-term spending, defensive depth, the center position and the development of its younger players.
Ilitch praised the work Horcoff has done in the interim role. That praise is warranted in the narrow sense that a major negotiation reached the finish line. But the contract should be judged within the broader roster rather than as a substitute for the bigger decisions. Fans are not asking only whether Detroit can pay an individual star. They want evidence that those investments add up to a team capable of playing meaningful hockey in the spring.
The next hockey chief inherits a playoff drought, not a blank slate
Detroit's next president of hockey operations will not be starting from zero. Moritz Seider anchors the defense, DeBrincat is now under a long-term contract, and there are enough established NHL players to make the idea of a competitive roster plausible. Horcoff has said another full rebuild is out of the question. That creates a clear expectation for the next executive: improve the current group rather than simply resetting the clock.
The challenge is that the Red Wings have been close enough to discuss playoff scenarios in recent seasons without crossing the line. A ten-year absence cannot be explained by one injury, one unlucky month or one coaching decision. The organization needs a consistent identity that survives changes in personnel. It must decide how aggressively to pursue immediate wins, how to handle veterans who are uncertain about staying and where its prospects can realistically help.
Ilitch says he wants an innovative leader capable of building a championship-caliber organization. That is a reasonable ambition, but it will become meaningful only when a person is hired and given the authority to make difficult choices. A president who inherits a predetermined plan would offer less change than the public rhetoric suggests. Conversely, a new executive with a real mandate may need to make unpopular decisions before the benefits appear.
For supporters, the next visible milestones are practical rather than rhetorical: a settled front office, a credible path for Edvinsson, clarity on Larkin and a roster that stops relying on late-season hope. The win over Philadelphia on Thursday helped the standings, but one victory cannot settle questions created over several years. Ilitch has now said publicly that he understands the anger. The next chapter depends on whether the organization can give fans something concrete to believe in.
Ilitch's acknowledgment of the chants matters because it makes the accountability explicit. But there is a difference between accepting criticism and providing a timeline for change. Detroit has talent worth building around, a major new commitment to DeBrincat and an interim executive who can make daily decisions. It still lacks a permanent leader empowered to set the long-term direction.
The Red Wings beat Philadelphia 2-1 later Thursday, a welcome result that does not erase the larger questions. The next test is whether the eventual president of hockey operations can turn a divided fan base, an unresolved Larkin situation and a stalled Edvinsson negotiation into a coherent plan. Detroit does not need another slogan about its history. It needs decisions that make the next season meaningfully different from the previous ten.
