Change is in the air in Hockeytown.
Interim general manager Shawn Horcoff had general manager experience before taking the interim tag with the Detroit Red Wings, serving in the same role for the Grand Rapids Griffins since midway through the 2021-22 season. With Horcoff moving on to bigger things like navigating the Dylan Larkin trade situation and Simon Edvinsson's contract extension, it sounds like Dan Cleary could be the front-runner to take over the AHL club, according to Daily Faceoff's Anthony Di Marco.
I have a story coming on this later, but with Shawn Horcoff now serving as interim GM in Detroit, several league sources have indicated that Dan Cleary will be taking over running the @griffinshockey.
— Anthony Di Marco (@ADiMarco25) September 22, 2026
He was previously the assistant director of player development.@DailyFaceoff
Cleary has been the Assistant Director of Player Development with the Red Wings since the 2017-18 season, making him a natural predecessor for the AHL GM role. He's got experience in the organization and alongside many of its prospects. Player development has been his passion since retiring from playing, whether with the Red Wings organization or back home in Newfoundland and Labrador, where he runs a highly successful summer hockey school for youth.
Before teaching the up-and-coming stars of the game what it takes to reach the next level, Cleary taught himself the same. After a rocky start to his playing career, the gritty forward eventually landed with the Red Wings after the 2004-05 lockout and spent 11 seasons in Detroit, helping the Wings win a Stanley Cup in 2008.
Now, his first year at an upper-management level in the NHL will see him leading the same Griffins team that he ended his career with during an attempted comeback to the NHL in 2015-16. A hockey lifer, Cleary is committed to staying in the game for a long time, and this next step will hopefully be the start of a long and illustrious management career.
Dan Cleary reportedly takes over GM role in Grand Rapids
Horcoff leaves Grand Rapids in a great spot following a regular season where the Griffins went 51-16-5 before a heartbreaking second round loss to the Chicago Wolves in the playoffs. The team finished second overall in AHL standings under Horcoff's watch. One reason for all the optimism in Detroit before the Larkin controversy was their abundance of young depth in he pipeline, and as long as Horcoff doesn't take all his players to Detroit, Cleary will be starting with a leg up.
Trey Augustine, Michal Postava, Carter Bear, Theo Rochette, Jesse Kiiskinen and Shai Buium headline the group that Cleary will now lead. The Red Wings are in a bit of a holding pattern amid uncertainty at the top of their organization, and the Griffins' new GM should have an easier job developing his players than whatever his predecessor in Detroit has to deal with. If the Red Wings' bet on Cleary is correct, he will be the right man to get all these high-end prospects to the NHL.
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