Photo credit: © Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK
Kris Draper is no longer a background name in Detroit, he looks like a real GM option as the Red Wings hit another pressure point.
This is the real question, not whether Draper is beloved.
It is whether he can make harder calls than Steve Yzerman has made lately.
Detroit still entered this week clawing for its season, then lost 4-3 in a shootout to Columbus before answering with a 6-3 win over Philadelphia. That is not stability. That is stress hockey.
Darren Dreger pushed the idea into daylight when he said Draper looks ready for the next challenge. Around the league, that kind of line sticks.
You can almost hear the front-office debate in this post.
"I wonder about the men...who appear to be ready for the next challenge; I think about Kris Draper with the Red Wings; doesn't seem likely Detroit is going to make some changes there, okay well, is Drapes ready to be a GM? Probably."
- Darren Dreger
- Darren Dreger
Draper is not some ceremonial alum. He has been Detroit's assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting since July 2023.
That matters because a GM chair is really about pipeline, timing, and conviction.
Kris Draper fits Detroit Red Wings succession talk
Fans are right to be split here, because loyalty can steady a franchise or trap it.
The case for Draper starts with continuity. He knows the room, the farm, the draft table, and the organization's appetite for risk.
The case against him is just as sharp. If Detroit wants a true reset in vision, promoting from inside may only protect the same habits that kept this club in the mushy middle.
A GM has to spot when a top-six needs more pace, when the blue line needs a cleaner first pass, and when sentiment has to lose to timing.
If Draper gets that chair, his first test will not be speechmaking. It will be whether he can separate Red Wings history from Red Wings urgency.
That is why Dreger's comment lands so hard right now.
Detroit may still keep Yzerman in charge, but if change comes, Draper looks more like the next man than a placeholder.
Previously on HockeyLatest
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 11|62 ANSWERS Kris Draper is no longer a long shot in Detroit’s GM race Should the Detroit Red Wings trust Kris Draper with the GM chair? | ||
| Yes | 33 | 53.2 % |
| No | 29 | 46.8 % |
| List of polls | ||