Major New Detail Emerges About End of Yzerman’s Red Wings Tenure

The Detroit Red Wings described Steve Yzerman’s July departure from the general manager’s chair as a leadership transition.

Elliotte Friedman now says the decision may have been considerably less mutual than it appeared.

During Tuesday’s edition of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Friedman revisited Yzerman’s exit and offered an important clarification about what he believes happened behind the scenes.

“Initially I thought that maybe Yzerman resigned. I don’t believe that’s the case. I believe the Red Wings made the choice to move on,” Friedman said on 32 Thoughts.

That is a significant distinction.

Yzerman did not simply reach the end of seven seasons as Detroit’s general manager and decide it was time for someone else to take over, at least according to Friedman’s latest understanding. Ownership made the call.

When Detroit announced the change on July 15, the organization said Yzerman was transitioning from executive vice president and general manager into a senior adviser role with owner Chris Ilitch.

The official announcement from the Red Wings included appreciative comments from Yzerman about the Ilitch family and his continued commitment to the franchise. There was no public description of the move as a firing.

Our initial coverage of Yzerman’s departure reflected the information available at the time: Yzerman was stepping down, remaining with the organization and Detroit was beginning a search for its next hockey operations leader.

Friedman’s latest reporting puts that announcement in a different light.

The end result has not changed. Yzerman is no longer running hockey operations, and he remains connected to the organization in an advisory capacity.

The reason he left the GM chair apparently has.

That matters because the difference between an executive choosing to step aside and ownership deciding to replace him says something about how Ilitch viewed the direction of the franchise.

Detroit missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in all seven seasons Yzerman served as general manager. The drought reached 10 consecutive seasons last spring, and the organization entered this offseason with questions involving Dylan Larkin, its ability to attract high-end talent and how quickly the current roster could become a legitimate contender.

When the leadership change was announced, Ilitch said Detroit was not where the organization or its fans expected it to be and said he wanted new leadership capable of building a championship-level organization.

Friedman’s report gives those comments more weight.

There was another question immediately after the announcement: How much influence would Yzerman retain?

Putting a franchise icon into an advisory position while hiring his replacement can create an awkward arrangement if the new executive is expected to operate underneath the shadow of the former one.

Friedman indicated Tuesday that the next hockey operations leader is expected to report to ownership and have authority to run the organization. His reporting suggests Yzerman’s continued presence should not prevent Detroit’s next executive from making independent decisions.

That will be important as Detroit’s GM search continues to narrow from a large initial pool of candidates.

Friedman also reported Tuesday that Detroit began by speaking with internal candidates before moving into external interviews. Brett Peterson of the Florida Panthers and Jeff Kealty of the San Jose Sharks remain among the names he has heard, while Detroit Tigers general manager Jeff Greenberg continues to be connected to the search.

Whoever gets the job will inherit decisions that could reshape the franchise immediately, none larger than Larkin’s unresolved trade request.

The new information about Yzerman adds another layer to that transition.

For more than a month, Detroit’s public description allowed for the reasonable interpretation that Yzerman had chosen to move out of the GM role after seven seasons.

Friedman now believes that interpretation was wrong.

If his reporting is correct, the Yzerplan did not end because Yzerman decided it was finished.

The Red Wings decided they were ready for something else.