CONFUSION: Detroit Red Wings’ GM Delay DEEPENS—Insiders Question HIRING Tactics

0:00This is the Lockdown Podcast Network celebrating 10 years of your team every day. Thank you for making Lockdown your first listen every day. For your second listen, go find Lockdown Fantasy Hockey. Steal Rodin and Flip Living Stone provide daily fantasy tips to give you the edge over your leaguemates all while making you a smarter hockey fan. And lockdown fantasy hockey on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Your team every day. More reports come out about the Detroit Redwing search for a GM. Unfortunately, very few of them are positive. You're locked on Redwings, your daily podcast on the Detroit Redwings. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network.

1:02Your team every day. What is up everybody? Welcome back to another edition of Lockdown Redwings. I am your host, Scott Bentley, Brian Fisher, avoiding responsibilities yet again as we just really become accustomed to at this point. Hopefully we can send you off into the weekend here with a decent show. Yeah, Brian gone really not a surprise. I someone asked me to be an adult around here and actually show up for work and do take care of responsibilities, look out for people. Just be in general a good person and it's clearly that who that is, I think at this point. Hopefully Brian is good and his travel down out of state for his other job is going well. Hopefully the Redwings do not completely hose him by signing a GM while he is away for work.

2:04That would honestly be one of the funniest things ever. If we've been ready at the drop of a hat for two calendar months now for the GM to come in and then the second that Brian has to leave town for work, they hire them. That would just be hilarious. I would laugh a lot. Don't want it to happen but give it dead, it would be hilarious. We're going to keep talking about that. The search for a new GM for the Detroit Redwings. Some reports came out from Friedman and Sarah Valley. Not great. Also in that same conversation was a tip bit about Edvinson and apparently there was a contract offer on the table for Edvinson earlier in the summer. Then we'll talk about the prospect tournament that begins on Saturday before paying our respects to Barry Melrose at the end. For starters, Elliot Friedman and Frank Servoille both had quotes on when they were

3:12Wednesday and Thursday about the fact that the Detroit Redwings had requested to interview candidates for their general manager position earlier this summer and just never followed up on a handful of them and multiple of them. Again, this is from two of the biggest hockey reporters and writers on the planet. They did clarify, I think it was Sarah Valley clarified, he's not saying that that means they're doing a terrible job or that they're botching it but he also is saying that he has never seen that before. That is an actual quote in that conversation is I have never seen this before. I think there was another quote in there that said I don't know what's going on over there or something. It doesn't sound great. It doesn't sound great.

4:17What does any of this mean? Where do we even go from here? I think there are a few things that bounce off the hollow walls of my brain. Again is something that I've said on here before and that I've actually said a few times on here before and that is that this team can't even fire and hire someone correctly. They fired Iserman completely and correctly. They waited way too long to do it. Then they decided they wanted to do it and now it's like the longest GM search I've ever seen in my life. The craziest part to me is because they fired him so late, you would think that there wouldn't actually be that many candidates because you fired him so late that who is available.

5:17There's no no like NHL GM is just like without a job that late into the off season. You have to get permission to talk to others. You get permission accepted and then you don't follow up on them. To me it really screams just I guess I don't know who spearheading the search. Is it the ownership right? Is it illitch or is it more of the third party that they're using? I don't know. I'm not in those rooms. It doesn't sound like anybody knows. But if that is true, it is ridiculous and it is awful. Maybe they actually did and the Redwings are just very closed off as we become accustomed

6:24to over the years and don't let anything get out. But there's a difference between I haven't heard the Redwings following up on person X's interview versus I have heard that they didn't follow up on person X's interview. Those are two very different things. So if they're hearing that they're not I just I think that's absurd. And we're now at a point. The prospect tournament starts tomorrow as you listen to this. And it starts on Saturday, Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and then camp starts at the end of next week. The Redwings fired Iserman in July, dude. What are we doing? And again, who are you like searching the end of the earth for at this point? Who are we like flipping over rocks and digging tunnels to go find?

7:29Two months in after everybody else's front office is already hired and intact. They have botched this at every single opportunity they have been given. And that doesn't mean it's not going to work out. That doesn't mean that they're they're going to hire some garbage GM, right? My opinion here's my I'm not sure I've said this on air before. Maybe I have. I don't know. My theory, okay, this is like tinfoil hat type of stuff. Okay. So like admittedly, that doesn't this is not like gospel and probably not even true. But my my thought experiment here is that they fired him and they realized very quickly that they fired him at an unbelievably stupid time in the calendar year. Like the stupidest possible time in my opinion in the calendar year.

8:32In order to have the perception of saving face to any capacity about, hey, look, we did our due diligence. We interviewed everybody. We looked everywhere for the best GM possible. They've taken as long as possible just for optics. Now again, that's tinfoil hat. It's probably not true. And even with that, I'm not saying they haven't done work. I hope that they've done serious work to find their new GM. But I think there's a little bit of like saving face mixed in there where that now in the introductory presser, when asked about the hire, they can just talk about how they did their due diligence and left no stone unturned. It's mind blowing to me that we are in this position. Two over two months after he was removed from his position, I general manager, Izerman obviously.

9:33Okay, I don't have too much else to say on this. I just again, it doesn't even necessarily mean that they're doing anything wrong or poorly. I just every single report that comes out about this gives you no hope. There has not been a single report since Izerman was let go by the media that we have read and been like, wow, I feel really good about where this is headed. And that doesn't mean anything that is ultimately just optics. But like, I'd love a good report. Okay. Let's move on to the other comment in that same conversation with Friedman where they talked about a Simon Edvinson extension or contract that was offered earlier in the off season that obviously he did not take. We'll talk about that right after this.

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11:36about Indeed on this program. Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms can just apply. Need to hire. That's a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs. All right, everybody. Welcome back here. Segment two. Locked on Tigers. Appreciate y'all for tuning in as always, making us to our first listen. I said Locked on Tigers. I really thought I was going to do it. It's just it's so second nature because I am never the person on here that is doing the transitions and saying locked on Redwing. So I'm so used to always saying Tigers. Anyway, we're back better than ever. Segment two. Another comment that was made here was that reportedly earlier in the off season, the Redwings offered Edvinson a short term deal. Now, we've had a lot of conversations about the intricacies involving Edvinson's contract,

12:42what he's waiting for, what he wants to do. I think it is totally justifiable for him and very understandable for him to wait until a GM is actually in place before doing business with the organization. I do not blame him in any way, shape or form, especially even if there is like Horcoff as the interim, you want to know if you're signing a multi year deal, especially who your boss is going to be, right? Even if it's the same exact contract copy and paste, I'd still rather sign it with the person that I at least know is going to be my boss for the immediate future than someone who I know is just sitting in for the next couple of weeks and is not going to be my long-term boss for the contract. I'm literally signing. So I completely get it. Now, from the wing's perspective, the long-term versus short-termness of it.

13:44I would just prefer a longer term deal and like I do somewhat understand the notion and I'm under the assumption that this is Iserman that offered this, but I guess it might be after that seems very far-fetched, but I'm imagining that this was before Iserman was let go or promoted, if you will. But I truly think that perspective of a short-term deal isn't as like gross as maybe some other people think with Edvinson. Like I ultimately, this is a guy that we haven't seen the ceiling of and with the salary cap going up and the amount the defensemen have been paid this year. Like I do somewhat get like, hey, we're not ready to bite into the UFA years and the reason for that is because his agent would definitely say those are going to cost you a lot a year to cut into.

14:45But we are confident and willing to give him a raise over the RFA years. So it's not like the most offensive thing I've ever seen or like the stupidest thing I've ever seen. I get it. We haven't even seen this dude play to what is hopefully his ceiling. So how much do you want to commit in a guy that you're still projecting? You're still projecting his future value and even his immediate value, right? You're hoping he takes a step forward this year. If he repeats what he did last year for the entirety of whatever contract he signs, that would be a disappointment. So there's a lot of projection involved in that in turn involves risk and all of that stuff. For me, you have cap space even before the salary cap was going up. The wings had a ton of cap space and I just didn't want there to be a situation where you have the potential to lock up a long term piece of this team and you have the money

15:47to do so and you just don't. Running a team is impossible to build a winner without some risk being taken. And like some are going to work out wonderfully and some are not. But like there is no there is no gain and there is no building a championship contender without taking some risks and Edvinson is a risk I'm willing to take. The reason for that is because of the floor. He's not going to be worse than he was this past season and he wasn't bad this past season. He was pretty good. And anything you get on top of that is then again that project ability that we've been talking about. So is it the best news in the world that the wings have offered him a deal and he didn't sign it? No. But I think he probably was looking at it from the perspective and his camp and his agent and whatnot from the perspective of okay, if we need a fallback option and we don't

16:51agree to anything long term, we can go back to this. Now no one could have known that Iserman was going to get canned. So promoted, promoted, but right. That can be a fallback. Okay, we'll go to the shorter term deal if we can't get anything done long term. So let's focus on getting something done long term. If assuming that's what I advance and wants, because there's more money involved in that, it's more a a v, etc, etc. I'm glad that he's reporting the camp anyway because at this point, who even knows if we're going to have a GM by camp. I just this is so ridiculous. This whole thing is so absurd. I want a GM. I want Edvinson under contract. I want Dylan Larkin traded. And I want it all right now. I sound like a high maintenance toddler. Like I want, I want, I want and it's so annoying that we're two months, we're three months removed from a Larkin trade request and we're two months removed from Iserman getting

17:56canned. And neither of them have been resolved. That is nuts. That's a quarter of a year, a quarter of a calendar year. Larkin's request has been on the table. And that can't happen because we don't have a GM and Edvinson can't happen because we don't have a GM. And the GM thing also happened eight weeks ago. Okay. Prospect tournament. This weekend, the wings will play the Dallas stars, the Pittsburgh penguins and the Columbus Blue Jacket. So I have just a quick list of kind of things that I'm looking for in the prospect tournament this year. Most of them are individual players, but I have a couple of more like broader things to look at there. I think the biggest one for me, I get maybe two biggest ones are individual players and it's Daniel Sin and Trey Augustine. And for very different reasons, Trey Augustine, I just want to watch play hockey in a redwing

18:59sweater. Right. And even if there's no chance he makes the team or even if he doesn't perform very well, like this is his first real taste against even if it's not like all AHL talent, just like, I don't know, it's his first like scrimmage with his peers. It's his first televised, like even if it is kind of more of a practice type of scenario. And it's his first televised performance in a winged wheel. And I think that I'm really just excited to see how he looks against other players that are of his age and talent level, etc. And if he does really well, then proves that he's above said talent level, then that's even icing on the cake. But really, I just want to see him look, well, I just want to look at him. I just want to look at him in all with my jaw on the ground and be excited.

20:01That's really it. If he does poorly, so what? We move on. Danielson's very different. Even though he's just as big of a conversation, it's a different conversation. And that is one of, he needs to look way better than everybody else. And honestly, if he doesn't, then I feel like that kind of is an issue. Danielson, I mean, we talked about it when the roster came out what a week or two ago, Brian and I even mentioned like this dude, him being even on the roster is surprising. Him even playing in these games is somewhat surprising. And maybe like he goes out there and game one and he puts up an Ovet trick and they bench him the other two games. They're like, all right, this is stupid. Maybe. But I think part of it's conditioning. I think part of it's just making sure that he's ready to go and at, you know, peak form for training camp to start.

21:04But I do think there's a little bit of like, hey, we really want you to make the team this year. You have to prove that you are comfortably better than all of these guys before we throw you in with the NHL roster. I think that there is something to be said for that, not that he looked lost out there in his NHL spin and not that he looked terrible by any stretch. But I mean, point production wise, it was underwhelming. I think they still just want to what they want him to prove himself. I think again. And maybe it's even a confidence thing. Like he doesn't produce at the end of last year he plays against NHL talent. Maybe it's like, hey, you go out there. You know you're better than all these guys. We know you're better than all these guys. Go rack up, you know, however many points in a game or two and just really get your confidence about you before you head into camp as well. Okay, got a few other names I want to talk about. We will do that right after this.

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23:11Great organizations win because operations matter and that's why you should get Odo. Odo is one platform to manage grow and scale your business. Try for free today at odo.com slash locked on. It's od.com slash locked on. All right, everybody welcome back here. A third and final segment of locked on tigers. Appreciate you all for tuning in as always. Let rocked on red wings. It's literally just muscle memory at this point. I say the same exact thing coming out of every single break unlocked on tigers. And so if I'm steering it's just it's impossible to avoid one of these days. I'll do it. Prospect tournament kicks off at well on Saturday and I believe their Saturday game is the 630 game of the two. They play the stars penguins and blue jackets. We talked about a couple of noteworthy players before the break. The other names I'm kind of looking at obviously Carter Bayer. This is like the most intimate viewing experience right that we have really had with him so far.

24:18We've seen him play. We've seen clips of him play. This is the first again similar to Augustine right. It's kind of the same conversation like this is a guy that has not played in Detroit in a winged wheel yet. And so him having the opportunity to do that is still exciting. Former first round pick was hurt a little bit in his draft season and has looked really promising. I'm interested in how not only just he stacks up like production wise or whatever but physically right like this is a guy who on draft night was kind of touted for being a good to a forward like you know I always did. For not being afraid to throw the body and kind of use his body in a positive way on the ice. And so I'm hoping that we can see that kind of translate into Detroit right away. Who else?

25:18I mean Keenan Draper just because like of the draper connection but like he had a good year at Michigan that'll be kind of interesting. Noah Dauer Nielsen a name who's a what second or third round pick probably like three years ago now time really does fly. So the yeah like there's certainly some other names on the defensive side. This is where I get more broad with it. We already talk Augustine so defense really the last thing I want to bring up. It's a I don't think it's fair to call it a weak blue line on the roster for the prospect tournament but it's a shallow one. Anton Johansson's really the only like notable name on the blue line and then I don't know like outside of that I think three of the defensemen are non roster invites like guys that aren't even guaranteed to be in the organization at the end of the tournament and at the end of camp like I don't know I just I would like to see someone besides

26:24Johansson maybe step up a little bit and and just kind of make a name for themselves if you will. I think that that would kind of go a long way in the eyes of the front office that nobody is currently manning because of course. Okay, gonna end the show by saying rest in peace to Barry Melrose man absolute legend. I think a lot of people my generation and younger even a little bit older like he he is kind of the face of hockey media and we knew that when he stepped away from ESPN a while ago now that it was because of health reasons but that doesn't make it any more devastating. He was such a cultural icon in the terms in terms of hockey right. A guy that was I mean ESPN did such an awful job of covering hockey for so long and the

27:29one person that that carried the entire load of that network was very and it was Melrose and like there's quotes in movies about right like the famous like hey if you call this game quickly we'll get home in time to watch Melrose like he was just he was the voice because there was nobody else on the network that talked hockey. So it was just Melrose and like he did others stuff in the media outside of just his work for ESPN right but like he he was to so many like just sports fans even if they didn't follow hockey they watched ESPN so they knew Melrose and he coached and he played obviously there's a ton of ties within the Red Wings organization specifically. He did so much for the game of hockey so much more than he probably ever would have admitted and more than maybe even some people realize but there are few people in the last 20

28:36years and the last 30 years of hockey that have helped grow the sport and grow the game quite like him to be quite frank. Absolute legend and somebody that we will not as a community as like the hockey world will never let him slip through the cracks of hockey history and be forgotten in that regard because he is so important to get hockey to where it is now and even again off the ice just as a media member about as important of a media member as the sport has had in its entire existence you could argue. A legend I know a lot of people's hearts are heavy going into this weekend and Rest in Peace to the great Barry Melrose and obviously thoughts and prayers with his family and everyone

29:40who is affected by his passing. Okay another episode down we'll be back well if there's no GM hired over the weekend we will be back on Monday if there is a general manager hired either Friday or Saturday then Brian and I will probably do an emergency episode at some point depending on what his work travel schedule kind of is if a GM is hired what will be back before Monday if not then we're just business as usual Brian will be back it'll be both of us back again I don't know maybe by like Tuesday he's probably going to have to go to like Ohio for no reason or something and I'll be alone again thanks for making us your first listen I appreciate you all so much for tuning in even without Brian we ball same time same place it's your team

30:42every day. Thank you for making locked on your first listen every day for your second listen go find locked on fantasy hockey steal rodon and flip living stone provide daily fantasy tips to give you the edge over your leg maids all while making you a smarter hockey fan. Lockdown fantasy hockey on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts part of the lock on podcast network your team every day.