Despite a hand-picked softball interview to that was akin to the “This is fine” meme of a dog sitting in a burning room, all is not alright with the Detroit Red Wings and the fanbase has had enough of it.
A pointed letter taking issue of a lack of leadership and accountability of Detroit Red Wings (and Tigers) owner Chris Ilitch made an appearance in the Detroit Free Press this wee. It's now live on a website called Concerned Detroit Fans.
Enough is enough
The letter does not mince words at the Red Wings situation, for good reason. This offseason started with captain Dylan Larkin requesting a trade, general manager Steve Yzerman stepping down a week into free agency and a bungled GM search -- and it only got worse from there. From empty statements to hollow press conferences, nothing was more tone deaf than the Chris Ilitch interview where Ilitch brushed off concerns as fan frustration.
Worst of all, the Red Wings still have yet to sign star defenseman Simon Edvinsson.
Regarding the lack of leadership and accountability, the letter reads:
"“The uncertainty surrounding Steve Yzerman’s departure, the prolonged search for his successor, the last-minute appointment of an interim general manager and the handling of Dylan Larkin have combined to create an unmistakable appearance of dysfunction. That perception matters. It affects the organization’s credibility with current players, prospective players, agents, executive candidates, sponsors and fans. When respected hockey professionals cannot understand who is making the decisions, what the plan is or who is accountable, ownership cannot simply dismiss the reaction as impatience from frustrated fan base. Losing is painful. Becoming an object of national confusion and ridicule is worse.”"Concerned Detroit Fans (online letter)
The fan letter rightfully goes on to mention that those issues contribute to make Detroit less of a destination and more of a place that any good talent will actively avoid coming to.
A tangible request
After seeing Ilitch and the organization go about the offseason in a way that almost seems intentional in the way it has been mismanaged, the letter finishes with the following request for Chris Ilitch and the Red Wings (lifted again from the article):
- A full press conference at which you answer questions from the Detroit sports media.
- A candid explanation of the leadership transition involving Steve Yzerman.
- A timetable and transparent process for hiring a permanent general manager and head of hockey operations.
- An explanation—within legitimate confidentiality limts—of how the organization reached this point with Dylan Larkin.
- A credible hockey plan, with measurable benchmarks, for returning the Red Wings to contention.
Whether or not Chris Ilitch steps down from his executive suite to entertain such a request from the fan article, it is clear that the fan base is at a boiling point in their frustration following 10-straight seasons without a playoff berth.
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