Horcoff ‘very proud’ to be named interim General Manager, talks goals for Red Wings ahead of 2026 Training Camp

DETROIT – Interim General Manager Shawn Horcoff met with the media at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday afternoon for the first time since being elevated to his new role, taking questions about everything from his current to-do list and leadership philosophy to his expectations for the Detroit Red Wings heading into their 2026 Training Camp.

"I'm excited for this opportunity," Horcoff said. "I don't take this lightly. To be the leader of the Detroit Red Wings organization — a storied franchise, in my opinion one of the best franchises in the National Hockey League — is something that I'm very proud of, and I'm going to take it very, very seriously."

Horcoff brings a wealth of hockey operations knowledge and organizational familiarity, having been with the Red Wings since prior to the 2016-17 season in key roles such as Director of Player Development, General Manager of the American Hockey League's Grand Rapids Griffins and Assistant General Manager.

That decade of experience aside, Horcoff is approaching all this with a few guiding principles.

“My job is to listen and support,” Horcoff said. “That’s what I’m going to do early, is listen to the people. We have some fantastic people here from players to very capable staff to management to coaches. I want to listen to them all, hear their ideas and how we can make improvements. But my philosophy is focus on the day-to-day and hopefully we can get some results.”

As part of Tuesday’s announcement from the Red Wings, Horcoff remains under consideration for the permanent role.

“It’s my responsibility to do everything that I can to make the best possible decisions for the Detroit Red Wings,” Horcoff said. “My goal is, obviously, to hopefully, in the long term, prove that I can do a good job and remove this interim tag. But our goal is no different going into this season. I think we’re going to take it week by week here.”

Horcoff replaces Steve Yzerman, who on Tuesday officially transitioned from his role as Executive Vice President and General Manager to Senior Advisor to Red Wings Governor and CEO Chris Ilitch.

“I think the world of Steve,” Horcoff said. “I owe him a lot. He’s been an unbelievable mentor, a friend. He’s left this organization in a good place. We have good players. We’re close. We’re right there. He’s built our prospect pool… He’s inside the Red Wing family where he belongs, and I’m happy he’s still part of that.”

Regarding Detroit’s players, one of Horcoff’s top priorities as interim GM is taking care of some business with Simon Edvinsson. Currently a restricted free agent, the 23-year-old defenseman recorded 25 points (nine goals, six assists) in 72 games last season.

“Simon is a fantastic player and a bright spot in our organization,” Horcoff said. “So, we’re going to get to work on that contract as soon as we can, and I hope we have something shortly.”

Like Edvinsson, Horcoff spoke highly of Alex DeBrincat. The 28-year-old forward, who led the Red Wings in goals (41) and points (85) last season, can become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

“Alex is a fantastic player,” Horcoff said. “He had a fantastic season last year. He’s a guy that we rely on, first, for leadership, for scoring ability. He’s a local kid, loves being here, loves being a Red Wing. We’re going to get to Alex shortly. There’s no timetable with him. Obviously, we have some time to get to an agreement with Alex, but it is something that’s on our forefront. We’d like to get him signed.”

Beyond individual skaters, Horcoff expressed optimism about what the club could achieve in 2026-27.

“I think we have a great mix of veteran players,” Horcoff said. “We have some young players that are really starting to come into their own and prospects that are pushing. So, I expect camp to be super competitive. That’s kind of what we’re looking for. We want guys to challenge for jobs, bigger roles, more minutes, more playing time, bigger expectations. If we’re going to take that next step, we need everyone in that locker room to get a little bit better.”

Horcoff was also asked about Dylan Larkin’s trade request, which he acknowledged as “a massive area of interest not just for [the media] but the fans as well,” and added, “it’s important for us to keep that private and in-house.”

“One thing I do want to touch on [regarding] Dylan right away is he sustained [an upper-body] injury earlier this week,” Horcoff said. “He’s been seen by our doctors. He’ll be at Training Camp with the team rehabbing, but he won’t be on the ice participating. That’s going to take him a little bit of time to get back from it. When we have a better timeline of when he will be back and available, we’ll let everybody know.”

Included in the statements shared by the Red Wings and Larkin last Friday was that the club will begin the 2026-27 season without a captain. In Horcoff’s assessment — he also has an impressive 1,008-game NHL career of his own — leadership doesn’t require a “C” or an “A” on a sweater.

“We feel like there’s a ton of leaders in that locker room,” Horcoff said. “Lots of guys are able to step up and fill that role. It’s very important that the leadership in that room doesn’t just come from one person. We want it to come from multiple, and we’re hoping that happens earlier this season.”