RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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The post Red Wings Executive Search In Good Hands appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now .
Sergei Fedorov hugs Steve Yzerman after Yzerman’s speech during Sergei Fedorov’s jersey retirement ceremony at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
The Red Wings search for a new general manager is just about a month underway, with interviews set to begin in the next week or so according to reports from earlier this week. However, many fans have been wondering exactly who is in charge of the search for the next Red Wings’ top executive.
In early August it was revealed the team had hired an outside search firm in their quest to find an analytics driven GM, however, details from the Free Press and TSN insider Elliotte Friedman were sparse on particulars.
However Sean Shapiro of Elite Prospects and Shap Shots was able to discern that the search firm Detroit has turned to is TurnkeyZRG for their next top executive.
Linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs hire of new general manager John Chayka and former Vegas Golden Knights’ President Kerry Bubolz, the firm has recent experience with the NHL hockey operations side, according to S ports Illustrated . One detail that has raised eyebrows with some Red Wings fans, however, is the fact that a former Ilitch Sports executive is CEO of the operation.
That, coupled with the Red Wings longstanding tradition of keeping things internal, has many wondering if the Red Wings actually are able to keeping things at arms length in the search. However, if one looks into Len Perna and the firm’s history, there’s plenty of reason to think the Red Wings could get things right.
Track History
If the Red Wings want to right the ship, the hire of an outside firm was absolutely necessary. Chris Ilitch, for better or worse, has shown loyalty and given jobs to those who helped build the Tigers and Red Wings under his father.
The results have been mixed, to say the least . The common factors between the Tigers and Red Wings at the end of their last general managers tenures’ have been middling teams with long playoff droughts. The Tigers changed leadership in late 2022 with the help of the firm, hiring Scott Harris. One season later, the ‘Gritty Tigs’ were the talk of Detroit as they battled their way into the playoffs, breaking a decade long drought in 2024
Beyond Detroit, the company was also essential in a few key coach and executive placements in 2023. Last year’s College Football National Champions, the University of Indiana, were led by Curtis Cignetti, who the firm flew out to meet high ranking University personnel in January 2023 .
Their 2023 ‘class’ of placements also includes Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petiti and current University of Wisconsin’s men’s ice hockey coach Mike Hastings.
Going the distance
For fans still skeptical of a search firm hired by Ilitch, supposedly run by a former Ilitch sports stooge, keep in mind something else.
Perna has been CEO of TurnkeyZRG for just over three decades now. Before that, he was a top executive for the Dallas Stars legal division. There’s at least a few degrees of separation between the man and any possible loyalty he could have to Ilitch 30 years out from being an executive when the company was under a different name.
The Red Wings need an infusion of new blood if they want to clear the decade-long malaise affecting the franchise. Going back to the old, reliable cure put the team in the mushy middle, and has left the roster in neutral.
There are pieces to build this team with right now, but whoever ends up being the next top executive in Detroit will need to work fast to turn things around. Detroit is a fanbase that doesn’t have time for fake timelines or insincerity at the top of their organization.
We all know what the Red Wings need. It’s a question of whether they will be able to get the guy they want to lead them to that point.
The post Red Wings Executive Search In Good Hands appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now .
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