Red Wings GM Search Gets Several Concrete Names

For more than a month, the Detroit Red Wings‘ search for Steve Yzerman’s replacement has been long on process and short on actual names.

That is finally changing.

Elliotte Friedman provided the clearest picture yet of Detroit’s candidate pool Tuesday on 32 Thoughts, identifying multiple executives connected to the search while also shedding light on how the Red Wings have approached the process.

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The list includes familiar internal options, executives from successful NHL organizations and two people currently working across the parking lot for the Detroit Tigers.

Yes, the Tigers.

At this point, Chris Ilitch appears willing to look almost everywhere for the person who will run the Red Wings. Considering where the franchise has been for the past decade, restricting the search to the usual hockey executive recycling bin probably wouldn’t make much sense anyway.

Red Wings Started With Familiar Names

According to Friedman’s latest reporting on the search, Detroit began by interviewing internal candidates.

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Assistant general managers Shawn Horcoff and Kris Draper were among the names Friedman discussed.

Neither is a surprise.

When Yzerman’s departure was announced in July, Horcoff and Draper immediately emerged as logical internal possibilities. Horcoff has overseen the Grand Rapids Griffins and worked closely with Detroit’s development system, while Draper has played a major role in amateur scouting.

Promoting either would offer continuity.

The more interesting question is whether continuity is actually what Ilitch wants.

Detroit did not move on from Yzerman after seven seasons without a playoff appearance just to change the name on the general manager’s office while preserving everything underneath it. If ownership decided the organization needed a different direction, an outside hire would seem to offer the cleanest opportunity to create one.

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And the external names are becoming more interesting.

Brett Peterson and Jeff Kealty Enter the Picture

Friedman pointed to Florida Panthers assistant general manager Brett Peterson and San Jose Sharks assistant GM Jeff Kealty as two executives connected to Detroit’s search.

Peterson brings a résumé that should get Detroit’s attention.

He has served as a Panthers assistant GM since 2020 and was part of the management group that helped build Florida’s back-to-back Stanley Cup champions in 2024 and 2025. He also served as general manager of the United States men’s team at the 2026 IIHF World Championship. Florida’s official biography of Peterson details a background that includes player evaluation, contract negotiation and experience as a player agent before moving into an NHL front office.

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Kealty took a different path. The Sharks hired him as assistant general manager in July after more than two decades with Nashville. San Jose put him in charge of its professional scouting staff while working with GM Mike Grier across hockey operations.

Neither is a retread being dusted off because he once held a GM job somewhere else.

That may be telling.

The Tigers Connection Keeps Getting More Interesting

Then we get to Jeff Greenberg.

Friedman mentioned the Tigers general manager earlier this month, and his interest in Greenberg has not faded.

Greenberg is not simply a baseball executive being randomly dropped into a hockey search because Ilitch owns both teams. Before joining the Tigers, he spent 16 months as associate general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks.

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According to the Tigers’ announcement when Greenberg was hired, his Chicago responsibilities included strategic systems and processes across scouting, player development, coaching and hockey operations.

There is another Tigers executive worth filing away.

Friedman also mentioned Andrew Thomas, Detroit’s vice president of baseball analytics, while making clear that Thomas may be more of a name for the future than someone ready to take the Red Wings job today.

Thomas’ background explains why his name surfaced at all. Before joining the Tigers, he worked extensively in sports data science and served as the Minnesota Wild‘s lead hockey researcher from 2016 through 2019. Detroit’s announcement of his Tigers hiring also notes his academic background in statistics and data science.

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That doesn’t make him Detroit’s next GM.

It does make the larger pattern difficult to miss.

Detroit’s Candidate List Is Starting to Reveal a Philosophy

We previously learned that Detroit’s search began with more than 100 potential candidates and that Ilitch hired TurnkeyZRG to help conduct the process.

At the time, the number was interesting. The names are more useful.

Peterson has been part of one of hockey’s best front offices. Kealty brings decades of scouting and personnel experience. Greenberg has worked in both hockey and baseball with an emphasis on modern organizational systems. Thomas is an analytics specialist with previous NHL experience.

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Horcoff and Draper remain possible internal solutions, but the external names suggest Detroit is at least exploring something broader than simply finding another traditional hockey lifer.

That is analysis, not confirmation of Ilitch’s preferred candidate. Nobody Friedman mentioned should be labeled the favorite based on the information available.

Still, the profile is becoming easier to see.

Detroit appears interested in executives who can blend scouting, development, analytics and organizational structure rather than treating those departments as separate worlds.

The new hire will inherit an unresolved Dylan Larkin trade request, an unsigned Simon Edvinsson and a team still trying to end a playoff drought that has reached double digits.

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The Red Wings started this search with more than 100 names.

Now we finally have a few worth remembering.