If you missed it yesterday, The Detroit News released a 45-minute long interview with Detroit Red Wings CEO and owner Chris Ilitch. In it, he discussed Dylan Larkin, Steve Yzerman and the future of the organization under interim GM Shawn Horcoff.
But what particularly stood out among the sea of quotes was this regarding Horcoff:
"I've been highly consistent in giving all of our sports leaders 100% autonomy and authority to make the decisions necessary as they see fit. I've done that from Day One."
While Ilitch obviously isn't going to say he doesn't give his leaders autonomy, it does beg the question given his alleged hesitancy with signing 40-goal scorer Steven Stamkos.
Ilitch can certainly say that his leaders - including newly-minted interim GM Shawn Horcoff - have autonomy, but do they actually have autonomy? Or is this merely a statement to save face?
Huge tests to autonomy coming to Red Wings
This season's to-do list should serve as a perfect stress test to the supposed autonomy Horcoff has. In his interview, Ilitch mentioned that there's a chance disgruntled former captain Dylan Larkin will remain with the Red Wings throughout the season. If Horcoff has an opportunity to trade him - or if Larkin expands his trade list - will Ilitch allow a trade to go through? After all, Horcoff is the interim GM, not a full-time GM.
Business like extending Simon Edvinsson and Alex DeBrincat is simple enough, but what if Horcoff sees the opportunity to trade a young prospect for a player in a position of need? It's hard to imagine that Ilitch will allow anything other than a slow, conservative approach to managing the Red Wings this season.
He could, of course, completely prove the doubters wrong. There's a chance Horcoff is allowed to make a gamble on a trade. But until we see that, there's no guarantee he has that level of autonomy.
Horcoff auditioning for full-time gig
While sources have indicated that Horcoff isn't interested in the role on a full-time basis, he is a human being and is capable of changing his mind. As of right now, a source on the Grand Rapids staff has indicated that Horcoff is taking on this role as a favor for the club and doesn't want to commit to the job just yet.
But Ilitch hopes that this isn't the case.
Other sources close to the Red Wings organization have indicated that Horcoff is Ilitch's preferred candidate. An internal hire would certainly save the organization more than an external hire. It is allegedly Ilitch's hope that this interim process goes well so that Ilitch can promote from within. This would, in turn, help Ilitch save face from his disastrous hire of an external firm.
Time will tell whether Horcoff accepts the role, whether he's a good fit and whether Ilitch actually grants him the autonomy he needs to succeed at the job.
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