Many older Detroit Red Wings fans will recall the "Dead Wings" era of the 1970s and 80s where the Red Wings just couldn't build a consistent team to save their lives. The team suffered incompetency, frustration and failure for years on end.
Somehow, this current era of the Red Wings is giving that era a run for its money.
If we spent the entirety of this article listing off the Red Wings' failures over the last decade, we'd be here all day. Instead, let's focus on the here and now: the current situation the Red Wings find themselves in:
- The Red Wings hired an outside firm to conduct a GM search in July. Steve Yzerman resigned from his position three months ago and, in that time, the Red Wings have failed to find his replacement.
- Worse yet, if quotes from insider Elliotte Friedman are believed to be true, the Red Wings haven't even bothered to interview many of the candidates they've requested to interview.
- In Yzerman's place, they've temporarily promoted Shawn Horcoff to an interim role. It's unclear how long he will be in this position, nor how much autonomy he has.
- Number two defenseman Simon Edvinsson, a restricted free agent, still does not have a contract in place. Negotiations are, apparently, still underway, though it's unclear why the deal isn't done yet.
- Alex DeBrincat, who has repeatedly stated that he wants to stay in Detroit, hasn't received a contract extension yet. If he has, the front office has yet to share anything close to an update.
To put it lightly, this has had a negative effect on the fanbase. Morale is lower than it has been in decades. Sure, young players like Anton Johansson making the roster is encouraging, but it's hard to get excited when the Red Wings can't even get their second best defenseman signed.
Red Wings failing to deliver on promises yet again
Ilitch has repeatedly stated that his goal with hiring a new general manager is to make Detroit a destination again.
How are you going to make Detroit a destination when you can't be bothered to make it a destination for your own players?
Fortunately, Red Wings fans may have more control in this than they realize. According to NHL insider Jeff Marek, a long-term extension may come soon as the Red Wings continue to face pressure from fans to get a big deal done. If this is true, the "outside noise" that Ilitch dismissed earlier this offseason may have more sway on the organization than he's letting on.
Plenty of fans have already vowed to not renew season tickets or even purchase them outright. A fan-made letter openly rebuked Ilitch leadership and asked for a clear plan of action moving forward. The lack of communication may have worked well when Steve Yzerman was still in charge, but that was when fans felt as if there was a plan in motion. Now, with no GM, no Edvinsson extension and no indication on where the team is going, that silence is louder than ever.
This might be the most humiliating decade in Red Wings history.
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