Ranking 15 Red Wings GM Candidates

The Steve Yzerman era is over—and the final verdict on the Yzerplan is becoming impossible to ignore: the Detroit Red Wings never picked a lane.
After seven seasons without a playoff appearance, Max Bultman’s examination of Yzerman’s tenure raises the question Red Wings Rant has been asking for years: Was there really a long-term plan—or simply patience without a clearly defined destination?

Then we count down 15 candidates to become Detroit’s next general manager or head of hockey operations. This is not a prediction of who Chris Ilitch is most likely to hire. It’s a ranking of who could create the clearest break from the previous regime and deliver a faster, more modern turnaround.

The candidates include:
Kris Draper, Shawn Horcoff, Ryan Martin, Tom Fitzgerald, Brendan Shanahan, Marc Bergevin, Josh Flynn, Brandon Pridham, Jim Nill, Scott White, Sam Ventura, Evan Gold, Brett Peterson, Tim Barnes and Darren Yorke.
Who can establish a legitimate contention window? Who would bring analytics, aggressive roster management and a modern player-first philosophy to Detroit? And which candidates would offer little more than another version of the Yzerplan?

Let us know your No. 1 choice—and which candidate you want nowhere near the job.