Legendary Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman has stepped aside as the team's general manager and president of hockey operations, which strangely enough, may mean the Red Wings say goodbye to two former captains in the next few months. While nothing has been made official, with Dylan Larkin's trade request hanging over the franchise, it's likely he won't be starting the season with the "C" on his chest.
While a new general manager is likely to try and convince the former University of Michigan product to stay in Hockeytown, that is still far away with the vast majority of major offseason landmarks, and hirings, already complete. The only other team in a somewhat similar situation is the Colorado Avalanche. Joe Sakic has temporarily resumed the GM chair while the team searches for a new roster manager in the Mile High City after Chris MacFarland left Colorado for a title upgrade with the Nashville Predators.
However, the situations under which the two teams find themselves in an executive hunt during the late stages of the offseason are completely different. The Red Wings have sat outside of the playoffs for a decade now and have suffered three collapses in the late stages of the season to prevent that drought from breaking.
The Avalanche won a Stanley cup title (with Sakic as GM) just under a half decade ago and have been perennial playoff contenders since. That includes finishing as the President's Trophy winner's last year and making the conference final before falling to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Yzerman stepping aside this late after the draft and the bulk of free agency work sets the Red Wings and their roster even further behind the 8-Ball than they already were. The team's future is even more unclear than it was with Yzerman as they scramble to find a new direction to lead them to the playoffs.