YZERMAN OUT! RED WINGS GM CHANGE IN DETROIT (Emergency Episode) - July 15th, 2026

Winged Wheel Podcast - A Detroit Red Wings Podcast

Winged Wheel Podcast

Sports, Hockey

4.9 • 981 Ratings

🗓️ 16 July 2026

⏱️ 92 minutes

🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This (EMERGENCY) Detroit Red Wings podcast breaks down the stunning news that Steve Yzerman is out as general manager in Detroit. Hockeytown news & analysis covers what this means for the Dylan Larkin trade request, the search for a new head of hockey operations, & who Chris Ilitch will choose to take over for Yzerman.

(00:00) - Intro & Behind The Scenes
An emergency episode as the news drops: Yzerman transitions to senior advisor and Chris Ilitch begins the search for new hockey ops leadership. We read between the lines on the announcement and why the timing in mid-July is so strange.

(05:15) - YZERMAN OUT.
Yzerman transitions to senior advisor and Chris Ilitch begins the search for new hockey ops leadership. We read between the lines on the announcement and why the timing in mid-July is so strange.

(16:20) - Was It Deserved?
The full tenure review: home-run drafting at the top, phenomenal contracts for the core, but pro scouting misses, self-inflicted wounds, and a philosophy that never adapted.

(31:25) - Who Replaces Yzerman?
Internal options versus an outside hire, the president of hockey ops question, the Eric Tulsky pipe dream, and the names being floated around the league. Ventura, Peterson, Yorke, or others?

(53:00) - Larkin, Edvinsson & DeBrincat
Does the change alter Larkin's trade request? Simon Edvinsson remains unsigned and exposed to an offer sheet. Meanwhile, Alex DeBrincat's future is completely up in the air with no GM to negotiate. Also, is Todd McLellan safe?

(1:09:00) - First Moves for the New GM
Sign the RFA, get clarity on the roster, and start the reset - why the next hire has to be bold from day one.

(1:15:20) - Overtime
Your questions on Nicklas Lidstrom as a candidate, Yzerman's emotional high point, and how Ilitch ownership factors in.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Wingwheel podcast, the number one source for news, analysis, and discussion on the Detroit Red Wings, the NHL, and all things hockey.
0:19.2	Here are your hosts, Ryan Hanna,
0:21.5	Brad Criscoe,
0:22.5	and Evan Lopsinger.
0:28.9	So it's black smoke when the conclave has met,
0:32.6	but no Pope has been elected,
0:34.3	and it's Little Caesar's orange smoke over michigan not because of
0:40.0	canadian wildfires but it's because of the detroit ridings gm has been constructively
0:46.2	promoted i.e. let go it feels almost too fitting to the point that it might actually be true
0:54.0	it did come on fast it was like very sudden and then almost too fitting to the point that it might actually be true.
0:55.9	It did come on fast.
0:59.7	It was like very sudden and then just like the news this morning.
1:09.3	I don't think I've ever been more on top of bigger breaking news the moment it dropped.
1:13.8	That text I said, I don't even remember what I sent to you guys.
1:17.8	I think it was just Eizerman out in all caps.
1:19.1	Yeah, that sounds right.
1:22.6	We had one week of off-season digitally.
1:23.7	One week.
1:26.0	Do you guys enjoy your single Wednesday off?
1:29.5	No. That's terrible because they're all gone now.
1:38.0	We got to circle back to how on it. People don't have the full context of this because I know I told you about it before we start recording. I was actively on Twitter about 10 tweets from the top of my feed,
1:46.0	probably 10 seconds away from refreshing to when I did eventually refresh.
	...

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