Former Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg has criticized the way Steve Yzerman’s time as Detroit’s general manager came to an end. In an interview with the Swedish newspaper Expressen, reported this week by Octopus Thrower and Detroit Hockey Now, Zetterberg said simply, “I thought it was wrong.”
Zetterberg, who succeeded Nicklas Lidstrom as captain and won the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy with Detroit in 2008, described the stretch as brutal for the organization and said it was very hard to watch Yzerman step down. He stopped short of explaining what he objected to, telling the paper he would not get into the reasons or what happened behind the scenes.
Yzerman’s departure left Shawn Horcoff in charge as interim general manager during a turbulent start to the season. The Red Wings are dealing with captain Dylan Larkin’s trade request, which has kept him out of the lineup since late October, and a contract standoff with restricted free agent Simon Edvinsson that faces a Dec. 1 deadline. Detroit is 7-7-3 heading into Saturday’s game in Colorado.
Zetterberg is the latest Red Wings icon to weigh in. Lidstrom called Larkin’s standoff with the team “very disappointing” on a Swedish podcast earlier this month. Yzerman, meanwhile, has landed a new role: Hockey Canada named him this week to its new National Teams Advisory Group.
Earlier on Mitten Hockey: Steve Yzerman joins Hockey Canada’s new National Teams Advisory Group and Nicklas Lidstrom calls Dylan Larkin’s standoff with the Red Wings ‘very disappointing’.
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