Every dynasty has its architect. For the Detroit Red Wings, it's Jim Devellano. The former general manager is the mastermind behind the Russian Five, Steve Yzerman, Nick Lidstrom and countless other legends that have dressed for the Winged Wheel ever since. While it's been some time since Devellano's been a general manager, as the Senior Vice President and Alternate Governor of the Red Wings, he's still got an inside track on everything going on.
In an interview with John Keating and Chirs Osgood of the Ozzy and Keats Podcast, Devellano laid out his thoughts on the Red Wings and the Dylan Larkin situation without mincing words.
"I wish it hadn't have happened [with Larkin]," Devellano began. "But we've kind of kissed and made up. We let bygones be bygones. We'd really like you to stay, and that's kind of where it stands now, but...McLellan and his players said it best. We're better with him in the lineup than out of the lineup."
This information coming out around the time that Dylan Larkin has reportedly expanded his trade list shows that both still aren't really on the same page. Larkin has yet to rescind his trade request and it doesn't seem like reconciliation is possible, but Devellano remains optimistic all the same.
If the organization and Larkin truly have "kissed and made up", Larkin will need to do his due diligence to reconcile with the fanbase as the current situation doesn't seem tenable for anyone involved.
Devellano shares insight on the rebuild
Larkin wasn't the only topic of interest by Devellano, who built two dynasties: the New York Islanders' dynasty of the 1980s and the Red Wings of the 90s and 2000s. Early in the interview, Develllano discusses what it took to build both dynasties. He followed it up with a deep dive into the iconic 1989 draft, where the Red Wings drafted six players that each played over 1,000 games. Names like Sergei Fedorov, Nick Lidstrom, Mike Sillinger, Bob Boughner, Dallas Drake and Vladimir Konstantinov came from just one draft alone.
This time around, things are a little different.
"Rebuilding today in a 32 team league isn't exactly what it was when we came to Detroit," Devellano said. "The problem today is 16 make it, 16 don't make it. The last three years - just to give the Red Wings some credit - we were over .500, so it's not like we were below .500. Last season, we were 10 games over .500. It hasn't been an easy rebuild, but everybody's hanging in."
As far as the current rebuild goes, there are still some positives.
"One of the positives I've seen is the defense. Look at the two Swedish kids that came in (Albert and Anton Johansson). [Anton] has been able to just go in and play...I like our defense. Our defense even without Simon Edvinsson is okay.
With that said, Devellano recognizes the biggest place of need.
"Where we've had trouble is that we're short a couple top-six forwards. Guys I would call needle-movers. If we'd had even one of those the last three years, we'd probably be in the playoffs."
Depsite the overall lack of morale among fans, Devellano lends an optimistic light to the future of the Red Wings. Whether his optimism is realistic or just wishful thinking will remain to be seen -- especially on the Larkin front.
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