Steve Yzerman steps down as Red Wings GM, becomes senior advisor

sportsJul 15, 202635460

The Detroit Red Wings announced that Steve Yzerman is transitioning from his roles as Executive Vice President and General Manager to senior advisor to Governor and CEO Chris Ilitch, and the team has begun a search for a new head of hockey operations. Chris Ilitch will lead the search, which will consider internal and external candidates; the search committee will include Yzerman and Ilitch Sports + Entertainment President and CEO Ryan Gustafson among other leaders. Yzerman will remain handling day-to-day hockey operations during the transition and will serve in an advisory capacity to the search committee until his successor is named. Ilitch thanked Yzerman for his contributions and said he looks forward to bringing in new leadership because the organization is not where it and its fans expect to be. Yzerman said he is grateful to the Ilitch family and proud to remain part of the franchise, and he committed to supporting the organization in whatever role is needed. The team memo recaps Yzerman’s Hall of Fame playing career in Detroit, his 22 seasons as a player and two decades as captain, his postplaying roles including Red Wings Vice President of Hockey Operations from 2006 to 2010, his time with the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2010 to 2019, and his return to Detroit in 2019 as the 11th general manager in franchise history.

Acting the Fulemin

@actingthefulemin.bsky.social

Say what you will about Brendan Shanahan, he was clearly the best "Rebuilding Executive Whose Final Surname Syllable Was Replaced with 'Plan'" www.nhl.com/redwings/new...

4445d ago

Acting the Fulemin54

I've been hard on Stevie Y over the years because so many people proclaimed him a genius GM. But now that it's over I'd just like to say, I have been completely vindicated in every respect

alexander solsten1

Wow this is Jim Beniplanning erasure

Flying Yolandas1

There could be something Funky about the Chaka Plan.

Ryan Hana

@ryanhanawwp.bsky.social

Red Wings need to throw a bag at Eric Tulsky. Big pay raise & a POHO + GM "promotion". #LGRW

4445d ago

Mongoose293

Narrator: "They did not throw a bag at Eric Tulsky."

Spencer Meisner1

Fire up the emergency pod machine boys!

Quoting this

Laas 🌸10

Hey! Get your own nerd and leave ours alone!!! 😤 #raiseup

caleb2

Will point out the Tigers did exactly this with Scott Harris and the Giants

Joe Yerdon

@joeyerdon.bsky.social

Steve Yzerman moving to a new role is definitely him being fired without being fired

3645d ago

Brian Cummings2

How’d you like your be the new guy. “Your Captain wants out, and here’s what’s left of the ‘Yzerplan’ that didn’t work. All the best!”

Weirdneal2

“Special advisor” Hey Stevie, advise me on why I shouldn’t fire you right now?

The Detroiter1

Wasn't it just dropping one of his four jobs?

Quoting this

Brian Hedger8

It's basically what #CBJ did w/ John Davidson, who had two years left after the Babcock debacle. He fires Jarmo, then assists the search for Waddell, who becomes POHO/GM. JD's a legend, so you he moves to a senior advisory role/backup TV analyst for the rest of his deal. Now he's a Sabre w/Jarmo.

Prashanth Iyer

@prashanthiyer.bsky.social

Story from @mbultman.bsky.social Steve Yzerman out as GM in Detroit www.nytimes.com/athletic/744...

3245d ago

Atom ⚛️2

Do you have to rename your series now? Because "If I Was Steve Yzerman" probably has more to do with what staples to order now..

David (Spartan)1

I truly do not know who could have done better with what he was given, especially with the loss of Verbeek's expertise in the pro scouting room. Finding it hard to be positive about this :(

Micah McCurdy

@hockeyviz.com

The Steve Yzerman era in Detroit, at 5v5: Goals: +946/-1187 (44%) Chances: +977.8/-1135.9 (46%) Average defence, weak offence.

3045d ago

Quoting this

LW3H2

No, you see he purposely sacrificed offence as he got older to be recognised as the best two-way GM in the game

Vinny Pickles 🐶🇵🇸🏳️‍🌈2

we need to acknowledge that Garth Snow is clearly a better GM than Steve Yzerman @wyshynski.bsky.social

Winged Wheel Podcast

@wingedwheelpodcast.com

🚨 BREAKING NEWS: YZERMAN OUT 🚨 The Detroit Red Wings announce that Steve Yzerman is transitioning out as General Manager & Executive Vice President & into an advisory role. The search for a new GM & POHO is underway. #LGRW Thoughts on Ilitch making the change in Hockeytown? ⤵️

3045d ago

Cosmic Burger Daddy 🇵🇸10

If Larkin stays AND keeps his C I'll be a very unpleasant person to be around for a while.

Shield7

Looks like tanking’s back on the menu, boys!

What Fresh Hell is This Now?4

This off season has been one continuous loop of this

CazzaDamo4

Personally, this is a solid move. Keep him in the org because he knows the sport and city, but have someone else dealing with agents and the media. Hopefully Larkin goes. Maybe now guys will want to play here 🤷‍♀️

THE Redman4

Needed to happen. I agree, odd timing, but Yzerman had a huge role in getting to where we are now. Need to start fresh. Overhaul pro scouting.

oneeyedbandit67.bsky.social2

Where is Evan? Is he headed to DET?

Quoting this

Local Man7

STEVE YZERMAN, MORE LIKE LEAVE YZERMAN

Elliotte Friedman (Bot)

@notfriedgehnic.bsky.social

In a major development, the Red Wings announce Steve Yzerman is stepping down as the team’s head of Hockey Operations and becoming an advisor to Chris Ilitch. A search for the team’s next President/GM is underway [Response to a quoted post]

2445d ago

Quoting this

jagoff68.bsky.social2

lol I guess the Yzer-plan is over?

Sean Shapiro

@seanshapiro.bsky.social

Steve Yzerman is out in Detroit, a demotion by promotion, what does it mean for what comes next? My latest at Shap Shots www.shapshotshockey.com/p/the-yzerpl...

1945d ago

Omar

@tictactomar.bsky.social

Hey [insert new GM], welcome to the Detroit Red Wings. Your first line of business is to trade our captain who has given us four, count em, four teams he’d go to.

2145d ago

Detroit Red Wings (Unofficial)

@notdetroitredwings.bsky.social

An update from the Detroit Red Wings. Read more » bit.ly/0715update_ #LGRW

1445d ago

Quoting this

Matt Vader14

The real Yzerplan was the friends we made along the way.

Adam Herman9

Having a mandate to swing big in the offseason, then landing Keegan Kolesar and Daniil Tarasov while your captain maintains a trade demand, and then getting fired in mid-July, is as humiliating of a manner in which a GM was fired for hockey reasons as I can remember.

Sam5

Welp, now we’re cooked cooked 😩 Not that Stevie was THE guy but making this change at this point in the off season makes absolutely no sense.

gwent champ5

Wild that this was done. Wild that this was not done sooner.

Mike 3

I obviously wanted success for the Wings, but I wanted success for Yzerman, too. Sucks to see a franchise icon like Steve move on like this, but it's necessary. I'm not exactly brimming with confidence in the organization's ability to find a good replacement, but here's hoping 🤞

Dali Dimovski, Your Friend!3

YESSSSSSS WE DID IT! WE DID IT!

David2

Very confused at the timing of this. Was the plan to let Steve get the minimal free agent signings done so that they could focus on a replacement? If you wanted a change, it makes more sense to me to bring in the new person and their team for the draft and free agency.

Kyle Schwerin2

Things are going great here in Hockeytown.

Tom Gulitti

@tomgulittinhl.bsky.social

Red Wings announce Steve Yzerman will transition from his role as Executive Vice President and General Manager to senior advisor to Governor and CEO, Chris Ilitch. A search for a new head of hockey operations is underway.

1045d ago

Quoting this

horse massacre14

rip to the yzerplan which one day might lead to a single playoff game

phil7

alfie becoming a leafs coach could have been worse. he could have become the sens' GM

Ponsonby Britt4

Mike Keenan can finally get the Detroit job he's wanted for over 30 years.

One More Year haver Adam3

RIP the Yzerplan. Guess he wasn’t the magician in Tampa, just the guy behind the curtain

ruth's chris drury steakhouse2

Embarrassing shit out Detroit, how do you let that guy grift you even more than he already did

@peristy.bsky.social

steve yzerman is out as red wings gm, but ben chiarot will remain until 2029 at least (3 years remaining at $3.85MM per year)

1445d ago

Frank Seravalli (Bot)

@notfrankseravalli.bsky.social

The /DetroitRedWings announce that Steve Yzerman is out as general manager, will transition to an advisor role. Owner Chris Ilitch will lead a search to find Detroit’s next GM, including internal and external candidates.

1045d ago

Quoting this

Hockey Chic 63

Steve out here failing upwards.

Back-in-MI-Train

@mackletrain.bsky.social

Two things can be true: Steve Yzerman is one the greatest Red Wings to ever play the game Steve Yzerman started strong and then fell into abject failure as a GM and needed to go. #LGRW

1245d ago

Michael Russo

@russohockey.bsky.social

Steve Yzerman’s departure as Red Wings GM adds wrinkle to Wild’s pursuit of Dylan Larkin www.nytimes.com/athletic/744...

1145d ago

2 sources

detroitnews.comWings' Yzerman steps down as GM, search begins for replacement nhl.comRed Wings announce leadership transition | Detroit Red Wings

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Steve Yzerman steps down as Red Wings GM, becomes senior advisor

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