Evan Gold just removed himself from consideration, which is really terrible news for the Detroit Red Wings as they hunt for a new hockey manager.
Three weeks have passed since Detroit announced that Steve Yzerman would be leaving his position and taking on a senior advising role under CEO and Governor Chris Ilitch.
Yzerman continues to manage daily hockey operations during the shift, and Detroit has stated that both internal and external prospects are being considered.
Although Gold was largely considered to be one of the more reasonable outside alternatives, the organization has not publicly floated any particular names.
Now, that alternative is officially unavailable. Gold has been named assistant general manager of the New York Islanders after spending the previous 12 years with the Boston Bruins.
He’ll also manage the Hamilton Hammers, the AHL affiliate, as general manager, cooperating with Mathieu Darche’s hockey operations team on every aspect of the organization’s affairs.
His experience managing the cap, negotiating contracts, devising roster strategies, preparing for arbitration, handling CBA issues, and scouting professionally are precisely what a franchise like Detroit that is rebuilding would want.
Who is still involved in GM’s search in Detroit?
Especially since no obvious frontrunner has emerged publicly in the weeks following Yzerman’s announcement, losing a candidate with that particular skill set hurts.
However, Detroit still has genuine internal options. Kris Draper, Assistant GM and Director of Amateur Scouting, and Shawn Horcoff, Assistant GM, are still logical options within the building.
Dallas Stars assistant GM Scott White and New York Rangers associate GM Ryan Martin are reportedly still in the running on the outside.
Especially, White’s name keeps popping up in league-wide offseason searches, the kind of name that is questioned practically everywhere a GM job becomes available.
There’s no rush for Detroit to do this. In order to avoid settling out of desperation, the organization has plenty of time to get this hire correct thanks to Yzerman’s continued management of hockey operations on a daily basis.
But the field becomes a little narrower with each candidate who accepts another employment elsewhere, and prior to Sunday, Gold was a well-known name on that list.
Watching a legitimate choice walk into a division rival’s front office isn’t the start anyone in Detroit wanted for this search for a club trying to determine its next era.
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