Detroit Red Wings GM search narrows to seven candidates

Ryan Martin spent 16 years with the Red Wings, 11 of them as assistant general manager, before moving to the Rangers.

Internal candidates offer continuity

Kris Draper has served four seasons as Red Wings assistant GM while Shawn Horcoff completed the same four-year span overseeing Grand Rapids in the AHL. Both remain inside the organization and know the current roster depth chart that includes 28-year-old Simon Edvinsson entering restricted free agency.

Chris Ilitch confirmed the search will weigh internal and external options after the previous regime concluded. This dual-track approach contrasts with organizations that promoted solely from within during the last decade.

Ryan Martin’s earlier 11-year assistant GM tenure inside Detroit gives him direct knowledge of the prospect pipeline that produced Dylan Larkin, whose contract situation remains unresolved.

Scott White enters as Jim Nill’s right-hand man in Dallas after three prior GM interviews with Toronto, Vancouver and Nashville. His external profile supplies fresh salary-cap models measured against the $88.1 million ceiling projected for 2026-27.

External options bring specialized skill sets

Tyler Dellow has spent two seasons with Carolina managing data analysis, salary cap and CBA compliance, functions that produced measurable improvements in Carolina’s cap efficiency during that window.

Evan Gold departs Boston after 11 years as assistant GM on August 1, freeing him from any immediate conflict with the Bruins organization that hired Kevyn Adams as senior advisor only last week.

The seven-candidate pool therefore mixes four external profiles against three internal voices, a balance that allows Ilitch to weigh institutional memory against new analytical frameworks.

Timeline pressures shape the decision

Alex DeBrincat enters the final season of his contract and becomes extension-eligible this summer, creating a second major negotiation alongside the Larkin file. Any new general manager inherits both files immediately.

The search must conclude before free agency opens on July 1, 2027, yet the more pressing deadline is the September training-camp roster freeze that locks in Edvinsson’s qualifying offer.

Martin’s combination of prior Detroit tenure and current Rangers title positions him to accelerate both negotiations without onboarding delays that could cost the team leverage in the restricted-free-agent market.