Shawn Horcoff Press Conference — Oct. 29, 2026.

[0:00] Can you shed a little light on what's happened in the last 24 hours? [0:05] Yeah, to put it simply, you know, I received the call from Dylan's agent today [0:12] just saying that Dylan no longer wasn't going to be coming to the rink [0:15] and no longer want to be a part of the Red Wings. [0:19] Where have trade talks been at? [0:23] Ongoing. [0:23] You know, I think one thing I will say is, you know, [0:28] since I kind of got the job from day one, [0:30] I've worked extensively, exhaustively with CAA to find a solution for Dylan. [0:38] You know, we've talked to the teams on Dylan's list. [0:42] We've talked to other teams and taken calls from other teams around the league [0:45] that have expressed interest in Dylan. [0:48] And we just continue to try to find a solution that fits for both sides. [0:52] You know, we have to sense that to Dylan and his situation [0:55] and understand what he wants in this relationship. [1:00] But at the same time, you know, a responsibility to our players in the locker room, [1:05] the 22 other guys in the locker room, the coaching staff, management, the fans, [1:10] to also do what's right for the organization. [1:13] Can you also shed a little light on how it was handled within the room [1:16] and how guys were told? [1:19] Yeah. [1:20] Unfortunately, with social media nowadays, [1:22] I think probably the majority of them found out on their phones. [1:25] I kind of planned on talking to the guys tonight and just address them quickly [1:29] and talk to the leadership group. [1:30] And I think the choice was, you know, the guys are – [1:33] I got to comment on the players in there. [1:36] They've done an amazing job this year dealing with a lot of outside noise. [1:41] I've been very, very impressed with our leadership group, [1:44] which has grown substantially since the start of the year. [1:46] You know, the older guys that are on top of that, you know, [1:51] the younger guys are showing, you know, [1:53] some beginnings of leadership in their own right. [1:57] And these guys have responded very well. [1:58] They faced a lot of adversity, you know, [2:00] given all the situations we've gone through. [2:02] And it's been very, very impressive. [2:04] They've shown up to work every night. [2:06] I've been extremely happy with how they've organized – [2:07] or how they've handled it and how they've played. [2:11] And tonight, you know, again, I was going to address them quickly. [2:13] I wanted them to hear it from me before I released any sort of statement. [2:17] But the ask was, let's focus on tonight's game. [2:20] It was clear that all the players knew what was going on [2:23] and that we'll address it as a team tomorrow [2:25] and I'll answer any questions that they may have. [2:28] Sean, I know you've said that you're not interested in a rebuild, [2:31] but are you determined to get players that will help right away [2:36] or are you open, more open-minded to possibly getting draft picks, [2:39] futures, and any deal? [2:41] You know, I think the goal is to get players [2:44] that can help us right away. [2:45] But at the same time, the division and the ultimate goal [2:48] is the long-term success of the organization. [2:51] You know, I'm open to all different kinds of deals. [2:55] And really, we're just trying to find something that is fair [2:59] for a return for someone of Dylan's caliber. [3:02] He's a heck of a player on a good contract. [3:05] And it's important for us. [3:07] You know, with Dylan, you know, he signed a long-term contract [3:09] with the Detroit Red Wings, [3:10] and we in turn showed a commitment to him. [3:13] And when that happens, he becomes a major part of your long-term plans. [3:17] And when you remove someone like that, [3:19] it becomes difficult to kind of replace. [3:22] So I think it's important for me to be open to all areas, [3:25] whether it's prospects and picks and players. [3:28] But I am doing my best to try to help this group that we have here now [3:31] in the immediate future if we can. [3:36] Dylan said that he felt that he had to earn the trust of his teammates back. [3:39] But with his latest development, do you feel that that trust was broken [3:42] and kind of a part two? [3:44] Or if you don't receive what you feel is an acceptable trade package, [3:47] are you prepared to have him sit for the foreseeable future? [3:53] In terms of teammates, I mean, I'm not going to comment [3:56] on what other guys are thinking or feeling about this. [3:59] Plus, it's pretty raw. [4:00] You know, I think everybody needs some time in the locker room to digest it. [4:05] I will say that I've been very, very impressed with, you know, Dylan. [4:09] Dylan requested to be traded this summer. [4:12] And those players welcomed him with kind of open arms, [4:15] as did the coaching staff, as did management, [4:18] as did the fans to a large extent. [4:21] So I just, you know, for me, I was very impressed [4:23] with how the players were able to kind of see past that [4:26] and welcome him and try to support him. [4:28] It was, you know, one thing for Dylan, too, it was not an easy situation. [4:32] You know, he, I got to give Dylan a lot of credit in this as well. [4:35] Like, he came back and he showed up to camp. [4:38] You know, unfortunately, he got injured. [4:40] But, you know, he faced you guys in tough circumstances. [4:43] He went out there, you know, for, you know, opening night. [4:47] He faced the fans and still went out and played hard for us. [4:51] But in regards to the players, I'm, you know, very impressed. [4:55] And I think it just goes to show the type of people we have in that locker room [4:59] that we're able to support him. [5:01] And it goes to show the friendship. [5:02] Dylan's been here for 12 years. [5:03] You know, he's put a lot of great years into a Red Wing jersey [5:07] and created a lot of friendships in there. [5:11] In terms of sitting out, I can't put a timeline on it. [5:18] You know, one thing, you know, I will say is, you know, [5:21] with the teams that Dylan has on his list, [5:22] it's difficult to get something done in a trade like this. [5:29] There's significant challenges when you're trying to, you know, [5:32] put a salary cap or put a salary like Dylan's into a team, [5:38] trying to find the right pieces to give in return. [5:40] So, you know, it's difficult. [5:42] How long it takes, I'm not sure. [5:45] But I'm prepared to, you know, wait as long as it does, [5:49] as necessary to make sure that the return that we get [5:52] is something that is good for the Red Wings overall. [5:55] I think you just touched on it a little bit there, [5:57] but you talked about needing to do something [5:58] that's going to make sense for the Red Wings. [5:59] What has been the – what aren't you getting [6:02] or what hearing so far that I guess you need to be? [6:04] I'm not going to get into the specifics of what, you know, the trade talks. [6:10] Yeah, I'm just going to keep that between the teams [6:13] and myself that are talking about it. [6:14] There was a report earlier today that talks were escalating. [6:17] Is that a fair statement? [6:19] I'm not on social media, so I didn't read that, thank goodness. [6:24] I'm sure there's lots of reports of things out there [6:27] that the majority of the time when I was on social media aren't true. [6:32] I mean, the truth is when you have a player of Dylan's caliber available, [6:35] your phone rings daily, and my phone rang a lot today. [6:40] Last thing for me, were you surprised? [6:42] I know you mentioned hearing about this morning. [6:44] Was this something that you were bracing for that would catch you off guard? [6:49] No, I wouldn't say – I would say I was surprised. [6:53] You know, I think – you know, I thought for a large part Dylan over – [6:58] kind of overcame that – the biggest hurdle really, [7:00] which was coming back and, you know, facing the initial – [7:04] you know, the initial questions from you guys [7:07] and getting on the ice for the first time with the fans. [7:10] You know, I was happy that – you know, I think initially one thing I will say [7:13] is my initial plan was to try to fix it. [7:15] You know, I wanted to try to do what I could to keep Dylan here [7:19] in a red-wing jersey, and clearly that – I was unsuccessful doing that. [7:24] But, you know, again, I think when that phone call came today, [7:30] I think the last couple days and maybe on the road trip, you know, [7:33] you can sense that things were a little bit off with him. [7:35] He was growing maybe a little bit more frustrated, [7:37] but I will say it was a bit of a surprise for me this morning. [7:42] Yeah, it was kind of a little bit off that comment too, Sean. [7:45] I was going to ask you about how has his mood been here the last little while? [7:49] How much have you been in contact with him, talked with him? [7:51] How did he see him? [7:54] I think for the large part, Dylan's been good. [7:56] Again, maybe the last couple days of the road trip. [8:01] I think maybe the people around him and, you know, for me, you know, [8:04] on the road especially, you're kind of – I'm not in the locker room with these guys. [8:08] You know, I see them on the bus or kind of in the lobby, [8:10] and, you know, I'm there watching practice, and I see how they are on the ice. [8:13] I don't really see them off the ice all that much unless we're – [8:17] you know, unless I kind of run by them in a place. [8:20] But I think probably the last couple days you kind of saw something [8:23] a little bit, you know, different with Dylan. [8:26] And Dylan's going to have to answer those questions on exactly what he was feeling. [8:31] Sean, in your eyes, is this unfixable now at this point? [8:38] I mean, all I'll say at this point is Dylan no longer wants to be a Red Wing, [8:42] and he's not with us. [8:43] You know, I think – I mean, that pretty much, you know, is a strong statement. [8:48] And, you know, I think Dylan's the only one that really would be able to answer [8:52] something like that. [8:53] But for us, it's pretty cut and dry. [8:56] Sean, given where we're at now with the latest turn of events, [9:00] I'm sure you would have wanted to win all 12 games. [9:03] But given all that's gone on here, like, how do you think your team has performed [9:08] in light of everything that has happened in these first of all games? [9:11] Yeah, I think we've performed very well. [9:13] You know, I think – honestly, when I look back at the majority of the games [9:19] that we've played in, I've been very, very happy with our effort. [9:21] We've been in every single game this season. [9:24] There's certainly areas of our game that we need to improve. [9:26] We're focusing on our penalty kill. [9:29] Early in the season, we try to, you know, focus on scoring more goals, [9:31] and we've been a little bit better with that. [9:33] But our defensive play has been outstanding. [9:36] For the large part, we've gotten really good goaltending. [9:38] Really, you know, emergence of some young guys and just guys stepping up [9:42] into new roles and, you know, playing bigger parts of our – [9:46] you know, bigger parts for our team has been great. [9:49] So I've been happy with the way we've played. [9:52] You know, we're right there. [9:53] And it was a good road trip for us, [9:55] so it was a lot of positive coming back from the trip. [9:58] You know, and unfortunately this is – you know, makes things a little bit different. [10:01] But we're going to deal with it. [10:02] We're a resilient group in there. [10:03] They've proven on the ice and both off the ice. [10:06] And I'm really confident that, you know, we'll just kind of – [10:09] we'll deal with this as a group again and move on. [10:13] Sean, you said a couple of times that he no longer wants to be a Red Wing. [10:16] But can you just clarify, is he no longer want to be a Red Wing [10:19] or no longer wants to put his health at risk [10:21] and maybe risk not being able to be traded going forward [10:24] and is removing himself for that kind of a reason? [10:29] His stance today was he no longer wanted – he wasn't coming to the rink. [10:33] You know, it was too much for him. [10:35] He just no longer would be around – be on the team. [10:37] Sean, are you hopeful that this news today expedites anything [10:48] and including possibly expanding that list, the no trade list? [10:53] Yeah, I'm hopeful that – of course I'm hopeful for things to speed up. [10:57] I don't think anyone wants to be in this situation. [10:59] You know, I'd like to solve it for Dylan as well. [11:01] I mean, we're in the same – you know, in the same spot [11:03] that we wanted to come to a resolution and move on. [11:07] In terms of expanding his trade list, I certainly do get calls [11:12] from other teams in the league that have interest in Dylan, [11:16] strong interest in Dylan. [11:18] And there probably are certain teams in the league [11:20] that if they weren't on his list, it would be easier for us [11:23] to come to a deal and come to an agreement. [11:26] But unfortunately at this point, we're not there yet. [11:37] On Simon, you know, Simon, there's status quo for Simon [11:41] for me last time. [11:42] There's nothing changed there. [11:43] I'm still trying to get something done. [11:44] I'd like to sign him, okay?