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You know who the real winner of this trade is? Larkin. He gets to move away from that dreaded 3rd line with Sheahan and play with AA and Nielsen

This. There was a lot of overpayment this deadline, but it was all on dmen and centers.

If you were expecting Holland to "fix the team" this week, your expectations were misplaced. There's no quick and easy fix for this team. We have to rebuild, and we have to be smart about how we do that. Part of that is getting the best return you can get for the assets that you've deemed expendable. So, like, sure -- maybe Holland could've moved Nyquist today. We would've enjoyed the immediate gratification, but we would've been selling low on one of our better assets, because 1) trade deadline week generally isn't the time for shopping non-rental players, and 2) Nyquist has really struggled this season. If we're really serious about fixing mistakes and doing a rebuild the right way, it makes much more sense to be patient and wait. What's the rush?

Overall I am disappointed with the deal, but I do believe Holland got the best deal possible. I admit I overestimated Vanek's value, but the more I think about it the more it makes sense. Vanek is a player who has had a roller coaster career, so naturally teams are leery. Not to mention wingers simply have less value then centers and d-men come this time of year. Just look at what other wingers got: Iginla - 2018 Conditional 4th-Round Pick Stafford - conditional 6th-Round Pick P.A. Parenteau - 2017 6th-Round Pick Dwight King - 2018 Conditional 4th-Round Pick Vrbata - Not even traded

Great work this year Ken! Vanek and Otter were phenomenal pick ups, sucks that dumb bloke Blashill screwed it up. Ditched our UFAs as we demanded. Huge return on loser Smith, and even HUGER return for Vanek (new Dylan is massive). We are brimming with draft picks and I cannot wait to see New Dylan punch some heads off. As a rebuilding team I think its smart to sacrafice skill for nastiness. Hes not going to take ice time from any of our kids who need it, while also being able to utterly destroy anyone who opens there mouth around our young stars. Perfect. Should give our kids a nice confidence boost and safety net. All hail Ken Holland, supreme tire kicker, and bringer of Dylans

Personally, I welcome our new face punching overlord Make the Red Wings violent again

W What does any of this have to do with today? Ericsson - Why would any team trade for an injured player at the trade deadline? Truly ask yourself this? If you were another GM, would you be skeptical trading for E and his contract? If you were, but were still leaning towards getting him, why would you do it at the trade deadline? A player like E, if traded would be traded in the summer. Howard - See Ericsson Nyquist - There is no need to trade Nyquist unless its a player for player trade or 1st round picks. This is the kind of guy you want to use when trying to acquire a top 4 D-man. I have no idea why you have such hate for him. Its like now that Franzen is gone you need another Swede to scapegoat. Helm - Not going there with you again, this was the entire summer with you. Green (I think you mentioned him earlier) - He will probably have more value next season when he is in his final year. Teams would love a player like him for a playoff run, but some teams may be hesitant about his 6mil cap-hit for next season. Relax.

Did they do it all on Deadline day? Jurco is a roster player next year that was traded so that is 1 roster spot created. Upfront, with Vanek, Miller, Ott and Jurco gone we have those 4 spots for young guys. Add to that the 1 spot that will be create from the Vegas draft makes 5. There was plenty of talk about Sheahan and I think there's a strong possibility that he'll be traded - maybe at the draft (just speculation, but I have a feeling). Add to that, we do have a lot of youth on the roster already... I'll go with Dickie's A- or B+. We got less than I expected for Vanek (though other deals show I expected too much), but more than I expected from everyone else and the Jurco deal wasn't even on anyone's radar. To add to perspective on Vanek, consider that we picked him up for minimal salary as a UFA, and now we've got a 3rd and a prospect out of an asset that pretty much cost us nothing. Was a great pickup from free agency.

You do realize that we were sellers... and on trade deadline that means giving up players that teams are actually looking for. Teams are looking for a difference maker or player that can add some depth or specific need. Usually a UFA or a player that has very specifc cap hit number. C'mon Lefty. This ain't your first rodeo. Why do we all have to talk you down every "NHL Event Day" Stop pretending like these singular days, Free Agent Frenzy, Trade Deadline Day, and Day 1 of the Draft, are going to miraculously transform this team into your fantasy team.

Here's good analysis on why Vanek got such a low return. Not for the anti-analytics crowd but REALITY FOLKS. Vanek was sheltered and other coaches and teams that use analytics knew that what you see isn't what you necessarily get. Florida, with their forward corps now healthy, can use him for what he is... an offensive threat, but not much else. For example: Wanna know why LAK weren't interested in Vanek? They've already got an all offense guy in Gaborik. http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/thomas-vanek-traded-small-return/

No I'm just confused why you're using this thread to critique Holland's career. It's a trade deadline thread and you're bringing up the last 5 years playoffs.

Perhaps after 2013 we had "one" decent playoff run. Before that we were fine. 2011 -Lost to SJ in WCF game 7. 2012 - Lost to Preds in WQF game 5 2013 - Lost to Chicago WCF game 7 God we were so spoiled, thus some of our fans don't know we can't win every year.

At 1:07pm -- Incomplete. ...but I'm giving your post an A++ Dickie. I see some positivity from your POV. Refreshing!

Holland has been crap the last two years. He did well at the deadline. These are not mutually exclusive statements. Sent from my LGLS676 using Tapatalk

Holland did surprisingly well for his first time being a deadline seller. Got more than expected for both Jurco and Smith, Ott was a fair swap, and Vanek he did alright, but I thought he'd fetch more. I was hoping for at least a 1st. i'm glad he realized that the team was not going to make the playoffs and did the right thing, traded his assets, and started the (hopefully) official rebuild instead of standing pat and trying to hold on and find a way iin to keep The Streak going, which wouldn't have happened. And would have blown this chance to stockplie picks. A- for Kenny for the deadline.

Holland continues to hold this team back. Selling off Smith, Jurco, Ott, and Vanek was good, but from a fan perspective I would not trust this guy to trade on my kids NHL17 game. To me, I feel the game has passed him and he and Detroit need a fresh start.

Wow people have unrealistic ideas as to what is possible at the deadline. Sent from my LGLS676 using Tapatalk

That analysis makes sense. It just so happened to be exactly what the wings have needed, imo.. so obviously it worked out great here, and fans loved him. I can see why some teams might be a little skeptical of adding Vanek though.

R-E-L-A-X

Agreed. A rebuild doesn't get done in a day. Up until just a few weeks ago this team was still "rebuilding on the fly" There's probably still a lot of that mentality in the management group. Do you just give up on 25 years of playoffs over night? An attitude of we're one or two pieces away from contending or going deep with the blink of an eye. Sure. You, the casual or fanatical fan might be able to, but that's not how things work. How many contracts with term or huge cap were actually moved today? ...or this week? Those things require hockey trades. How many of those were completed today? This week? Oh right, it doesn't matter how the league works or what GMs are really looking for on Trade Deadline day. It's what Ken Holland did or did not do. Sorry your most hated player of the month didn't get moved. Or that Ken Holland didn't do enough for you. Sorry about your tough luck. I'm sure Ken Holland is losing a lot of sleep about how you feel he did on trade deadline day

#threadpolice

I would agree if Kenny had sticked by his old ways. That is trading a pick or prospects for a rental. He didn't. He changed course, he became a seller. And did the right thing. Loading us up with picks. What do you expect him to do differently ? Magically trading Vanek for McDavid ? Just look what the Avs got for Iginla. A conditional 4th in 2018. Comparing that to our Vanek trade Holland did pretty well.

We don't have a three goaltender problem. Howard is hurt, and when he returns Coreau is sent down.

It's hard to be all that critical of this performance. I mean, really, the only disappointment is the Vanek trade, and I happen to believe Holland when he says that was the best return he was gonna get. A 3rd is more than I'd thought we'd get for Jurco. A 2nd and a 3rd is more than I'd thought we'd get for Smith. I would've taken future considerations for Ott; a 6th is a win. Holding on to Green, Nyquist, Tatar, et al. (if only for the time being) is the smart move. We've cleared out some bodies and potentially freed up a spot or two for some younger players. Honestly, this deadline was never really about the picks. I mean, it was. But I think it's fair to say The Big Thing we all wanted to see was Ken Holland -- and the Red Wings organization -- taking that first step towards something better, a brighter future. "One small step for Ken, one giant leap for Hockeytown." Of course, there's really nothing to say that the ghost has officially been given up. Maybe Holland and/or management don't see this as Step 1 in a rebuild plan, in which case we're f*****. And, tbh, that possibility is sort of a gray cloud hovering over my feelings on these deadline moves... BUT. Based on the moves themselves, I'll give Holland...a B+? Maybe an A-? I guess? Bueller?

I have always found in life, when a person has to always talk about how great they are, there is usually a reason, and it's generally not because they are great.