Red Wings Must Fire GM Steve Yzerman After Another Playoff Miss

After seven years of mediocrity and frustration under Yzerman, it's time for the Detroit Red Wings to make a change at the top.

Apr. 13, 2026 at 9:11am

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A cubist-style painting depicting a Red Wings hockey player or game scene broken down into sharp, overlapping geometric shapes and planes of red, white, and blue, conveying a sense of fragmentation and disarray.The Red Wings' struggles under GM Steve Yzerman's leadership have left fans frustrated and the team's future in disarray.Today in Detroit

After 10 years of missing the Stanley Cup playoffs, including seven years under GM Steve Yzerman, it's time for the Detroit Red Wings to fire their iconic former player turned executive. Yzerman's tenure has yielded little more than mediocrity and frustration, and the team's latest collapse down the stretch has exposed the need for a bold change in leadership.

Why it matters

The Red Wings were once the gold standard of the NHL, but under Yzerman's leadership the team has lost its identity and become a perennial also-ran. Fans are growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress, and owner Christopher Ilitch needs to act decisively to restore the franchise's competitiveness and recapture the passion of the fanbase.

The details

The Red Wings' March struggles under Yzerman have become a troubling trend, with the team posting losing records in the third month of the season for five straight years. This year, the team was in playoff position at the trade deadline, but Yzerman made only minor moves to add veteran help rather than swinging for the fences to address the team's scoring woes. When star center Dylan Larkin was injured, the Wings' offense sputtered and they fell out of the playoff race.

  • Over the past five seasons, the Red Wings' March records have been: 3-8-3 in 2022, 5-9-1 in 2023, 3-9-2 in 2024, 4-10-0 in 2025, and 5-7-2 in 2026.
  • The Red Wings were tied for the most points in the Eastern Conference in late January 2026, but then began to slide down the standings.
  • On March 6, 2026, Yzerman made minor trade deadline moves to acquire defenseman Justin Faulk and forward David Perron, rather than making a bigger splash to address the team's scoring needs.
  • On March 11, 2026, Larkin suffered a leg injury that sidelined him for seven games, exposing the Wings' lack of offensive depth.

The players

Steve Yzerman

The Detroit Red Wings' general manager since 2019, and a legendary former player for the team. Yzerman's tenure as GM has been marked by a lack of progress, with the Red Wings missing the playoffs for seven straight seasons.

Christopher Ilitch

The owner of the Detroit Red Wings, who needs to make a bold decision to fire Yzerman and reset the franchise's leadership in order to end the team's long playoff drought and recapture the passion of the fanbase.

Dylan Larkin

The Red Wings' star center, who suffered a leg injury in March 2026 that exposed the team's lack of offensive depth and contributed to their late-season collapse.

Todd McLellan

The Red Wings' head coach, who was hired by Yzerman in December 2024 to replace Derek Lalonde. McLellan's old-school approach initially seemed to resonate with the players, but the team still failed to make the playoffs.

Justin Faulk

A defenseman acquired by the Red Wings at the 2026 trade deadline, in one of Yzerman's minor moves to try to bolster the roster.

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What they’re saying

“There's been some great years here, and they want us back to that and that's what they expect here. To hear that, it's very difficult. We're down. I'm down, as down as I could be right now.”

— Dylan Larkin

What’s next

The Red Wings' owner, Christopher Ilitch, must decide whether to retain Steve Yzerman as general manager or make a change in leadership in order to end the team's long playoff drought and restore the franchise to its former glory.

The takeaway

After seven years of Yzerman's leadership yielding little more than mediocrity and frustration, it's clear the Red Wings need a bold change at the top in order to get the franchise back on track. Ilitch must act decisively to fire Yzerman and bring in new leadership that can restore the Red Wings' identity and competitiveness.