Finally: a sign of life from the Detroit Red Wings.
Last night, Red Wings and Dallas Stars insider Sean Shapiro announced that Mark Leach, former amateur scout for the Red Wings and Stars, will once again return to the Red Wings. Leach very briefly served as the Director of Amateur Scouting for the Toronto Maple Leafs before leaving the organization alongside General Manager Brad Treliving.
The hiring (or re-hiring) of Leach directly coincides with news that Assistant General Manager Kris Draper will now handle pro scouting for the Red Wings. Leach will join Head of Amateur Scouting Jesse Wallin. While Leach's role isn't quite clear yet, it's likely that he joins as either an amateur scout or some sort of advisor.
This, along with Dan Clearly's promotion to general manager of the Grand Rapids Griffins and Draper's move to the scouting department, are the first major moves interim general manager Shawn Horcoff has made in his brief tenure with Detroit.
What Mark Leach brings to the table
Leach, a former scout with the Red Wings, served the organization as an amateur scout from 1996-2013. He played a role in helping the team identify young talent, helping the Red Wings along their way toward winning four Stanley Cups. After 2013, he took a role as an amateur scout for the Dallas Stars, leaving with assistant GM Jim Nill.
Since Nill took the helm in Dallas, the Stars have been one of the best at drafting in the league. Nill, along with prospective GM Scott White and Leach, have hit the jackpot on more occasions than one. Under the trio of Nill, White and Leach, the Stars drafted players like Nick Paul (101st overall, 2013) Roope Hintz (49th overall, 2015), Jason Robertson (39th overall, 2017), Wyatt Johnston (23rd overall, 2021) and Logan Stankoven (47th overall, 2021).
While it's hard to imagine that Leach played a part in every single one of these picks, the fact that he stayed with the Stars for so long indicates that he played a major role in helping the team accumulate this level of talent.
Most recently, Leach worked as the Director of Amateur Scouting for the Toronto Maple Leafs. His time in Toronto was short, as current GM John Chayka cleared house at the start of his tenure. We likely won't see examples of Leach's handiwork in Toronto until a few years from now, as his work only went into two drafts.
Still, Red Wings fans can now say they got the scout that brought Gavin McKenna to Toronto. (Yes, it was a no-brainer, but it's still funny to say).
Red Wings looking to outside help
While not technically an "outsider", the hire of Leach suggests the Red Wings are open to help from the outside. It's frustrating to see the Red Wings operate at a glacial pace as they work through simple things like signing Simon Edvinsson, though. With no GM hiring in sight, the team will likely continue this slow approach to doing business until they're able to find an actual GM.
Fans, on the other hand, are not as thrilled with this process.
It's gotten to the point where they're hiring witches to lift the curse on the franchise. That's usually not an indication that things are going particularly well.
Ideally, this gets sorted out soon. Otherwise, we might very well see an exorcism by the end of the year.
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