The Detroit Red Wings shocked the NHL landscape when they announced that Steve Yzerman would no longer be their GM. The front office is now in flux during one of the most important offseasons in recent Red Wings history.Â
Already this offseason, the Red Wings have to deal with Dylan Larkin’s trade request, Alex DeBrincat’s impending extension, Marco Kasper’s possible extension, and Simon Edvinsson’s new deal. That doesn’t even include close to $20 million in cap space at the end of July (prior to Edvinsson’s new contract). Yzerman had a ton on his plate, and the fact that we got to the middle of July without any of it getting handled is probably why he’s no longer in charge.Â
The search is on for a new GM. We don’t hear a ton about candidates, but current Grand Rapids Griffins GM Shawn Horcoff seems to be the internal frontrunner. Brendan Shanahan is another Red Wings legend who doesn’t have a job right now, and other Red Wings legends like Nicklas Lidstrom are also in the running based on logic alone. We haven’t heard of many external candidates, but one has come up in conversations.Â
Tom Fitzgerald was recently let go at the GM and President of Hockey Operations for the New Jersey Devils. After yet another season without a postseason berth despite having Jack Hughes on the roster, Devils ownership decided to move in a different direction and hired former Florida Panthers assistant GM Sunny Mehta.Â
Fitzgerald did some decent things in New Jersey, but the overall body of work was bad. The Devils have one of the most expensive defenses, but they don’t have much to show for it. Out of Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, Johnny Kovacevic, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Brenden Dillon. Luke Hughes obviously has upside, but this isn’t exactly a defense anyone would like to emulate.Â
He also failed to find the right winger for Jack Hughes. Jesper Bratt was already here when Fitzgerald took over for the late Ray Shero, but they’ve tried at least a dozen players on Hughes’s other wing. Nobody has worked. Right now, the choice is former Edmonton Oilers winger Connor Brown. It’s certainly a choice. For six years, Fitzgerald has failed to address the most obvious issue for the Devils.
Tom Fitzgerald does not fit as the next Detroit Red Wings GM
Then, there’s the goaltending. Since Fitzgerald took over in 2020, 16 goalies have played in a game. He made mistake after mistake at the most impactful position on the ice.Â
His biggest mistake was giving Jacob Markstrom a $6 million AAV extension way before he had to, while Markstrom was actively struggling. Markstrom was then traded to the Florida Panthers as one of the first moves by the new GM.Â
This is all to serve as a warning to Red Wings fans. The Fitzgerald experience is a frustrating one. Every single season, the Devils would go into the season with a glaring hole, and that hole ended up sinking the season. It was way too predictable. Even when things seemed like they were on the upswing, one series loss to the Carolina Hurricanes derailed his process and changed how he approached building the team moving forward.Â
One series made him go from building a team to move the puck fluidly and score a ton of goals on the rush to a team that shuts things down and slows the game almost to a halt.
And that’s the big warning here. Even when Fitzgerald starts to get success, he fumbles the long-term outlook when one thing goes wrong. Playoff losses happen. Imagine if the Hurricanes made massive changes because they kept losing in the Eastern Conference Finals. They certainly wouldn’t be the defending Stanley Cup champs.
Fitzgerald might do well in the right situation, but the Red Wings have too much on the line this offseason for him to be their choice. There are just better options out there to replace Yzerman.
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