There are going to be lots of Shawn Horcoff stories today.
The new Detroit Red Wings interim general manager met the media on Wednesday, making his first public comments since officially getting the title on Tuesday.
Horcoff showed up to the presser buttoned up and handled things about as well as one could in his situation, he stuck to his talking points, referred back to his notes multiple times, and showed a commitment to doing the best possible job in an interim role so he could potentially earn the full-time gig.
Those stories matter, they do, but I’ll probably leave that to the other local media outlets that cover the Red Wings in a more traditional manner.
I instead want to talk about Horcoff’s history, the end of his playing career, when he played two of his final three seasons for the Dallas Stars, an organization I covered at the time.
Horcoff was acquired on July 5, 2013 by Dallas, the day after the Stars acquired Tyler Seguin, as part of a rebuilding effort by Jim Nill and an attempt to bolster Jamie Benn’s leadership abilities.
The Stars viewed Horcoff, the former Edmonton Oilers captain, as one of the new sounding boards for Benn, someone that would immediately step into that room as a louder, bolder lieutenant to Benn.
It worked to an extent, and while Horcoff’s on-ice play had diminished, there are people in the Stars organization, including Nill who have told me he left a positive lasting impact on Benn and the team in general.
Benn, rather famously, doesn’t open up about much, but I can tell you a few seasons back, the Stars captain told me that Horcoff, Rich Peverley, and Vernon Fiddler were amongst some of his better influences on him as a captain.
In many ways, that’s the situation Horcoff is now stepping into in his management career. He’s a guiding light of sorts, maybe not the final light, but perhaps the one that’s needed right now for an organization that is basically rolling back the same staff and plan from the past decade outside of Steve Yzerman.
There are parts of the new era already in place, Dylan Larkin may still be here, but his leadership authority, especially publicly, has been torched and it feels like a foregone conclusion that Moritz Seider will eventually be named captain. But outside of that, Horcoff is tasked with polishing things as best he can, trying to figure out a deal with Simon Edvinsson and Alex DeBrincat, while also balancing trying to compete, somehow, in a loaded Eastern Conference.
It’s a very tall task, almost an impossible one, but it’s probably the best job interview anyone will ever get for this job.
Horcoff avoided disclosing any of the internal visions, deferring to the world salad that’s been served lately by Red Wings owner Chris Ilitch, but did acknowledge he’s been informally in this role for a few weeks now, making a minor-league trade, for example. He also, almost adamantly, said there was no appetite for a rebuild, which is what he probably has to say, and prove, to keep this job.
Will it work?
I have no idea, but Horcoff has done strong job with the Grand Rapids Griffins, his team-building skills are well regarded others in AHL circles. He’s also had a history of living through and attempting to help facilitate a rebuild at the end of his playing career.
Now we all get to watch and find out.