RedWingAbner

Contracts like this are the reason for the lockout. Overpaid by 2M.

Good news guys, I hear Todd Gill is available again.....

As eager as I am to sign that, it would be ignored.

As long as Ken Holland is the GM, accept mediocrity. He's trained the fan base for several years to accept "we like our team," "our deadline addition is _______ coming back from injury," and "the price is too high." The game has passed him by, and he s-*-*-*s away players' careers by not adding necessary pieces (Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Zetterberg). The price *may* be high compared to what it used to be....but Jesus.....you can't tell me we can't sacrifice ANYTHING from the farm team to fix obvious deficiencies we've had for some time? But even then....yeesh....when Ken Holland does do something, does it not seem like a combination of drunken booty call (Quincey, Samuelsson) or flat out stupid (Coliacovo, Gustavsson). I anxiously await the day we get a quality GM again. It's amazing what people here stomach when teams like Boston and Chicago have figured it out. There are teams that have GMs that overreact....Philly, New York.....there are teams who have it figured out......and then there are teams whose GMs simply think showing up and collecting a pay check is enough (KEN F*ING HOLLAND)

The Drake re-acquisition worked. Danny Markov? Really? That one "glorious" season made you nostalgic? Brad Stuart, yes, I'll give credit there---good pickup, good price. But he is also an example of how Holland craps the bed. Stuart left this past summer, and what did Ken do? ......crickets......Carlo Colaiacovo? Brian Rafalski......that's a whole 'nother topic.

No. Look at the list of North American names on that list. They are the players taken in the first 3 rounds. They are also players Holland personally saw before the Wings drafted them. It's not hard to hit an NHLer with the first three rounds, and Jesus, during his tenure as head of scouting, our 1st-3rd round drafts were spotty. Curtis Bowen, Kory Kocur, Jesse Wallin ring a bell? Throw in the fact that guys like Sillinger, Pushor, etc were high round picks.....whew, glad we had Kenny at the helm for those picks. Players in the 5th round on are players he (usually) didn't see play and were found by Hakan Andersson. Hakan Andersson has made Holland look really good for a really long time. What, again, has Ken Holland done SINCE the implementation of the salary cap? He held together a Hakan Andersson found team for a while, then slowly let it crumble away. The biggest move he's made post-lockout #1? Bertuzzi? (I distinctly remember Marian Hossa's agent was the one who called Holland in 2008, and pitched the one-year deal). Beyond that, it's been a recurring cycle of re-acquiring players who didn't work the first time (Hello, Todd Gill.....Mikael Samuelsson.....Kyle Quincey......Jason Williams.....Ty Conklin.....Joey MacDonald.....)

The argument "Ken Holland doesn't suck because there are GMs who suck more" doesn't work. If people are going to credit him for the old system's success, then you can give credit to Shero for constructing a team for the new system. Holland has been an abject failure since the cap was implemented; I refuse to credit the 2008 championship to him considering something close to 60% of that team was Hakan Andersson finds.

Was this article posted on April 1st? Was it in the satire section? Ken Holland.....and the phrase "best GM".....should have a minimum 3-sentence separation, required by law. (Which I just broke). The parity of this league means that with shrewd management, any team can win in any year. Ken Holland has let this team crumble, afraid to do anything of significance, and a could-have-been dynasty has been reduced to the rubble of mediocrity. There is no more "rebuilding" in this league, save for the horrendous cases (Edmonton). In any given year, a team can make a few shrewd moves and win. If Holland was as good as people say he is, given the core we had, we should've been MORE successful. Pointing to the team's success and saying, "well, it was still better than most" is a cop-out to the fact that it should've been better.

Uh, yeah....lol. It was a ton better when there were no salary restrictions.

What is up w/some people? They are convinced, whether they admit it or not, that Wings management reads these boards and always towing the company line will get them a job. That's the only thing I can think of, because to not criticize this team is ludicrous. Re: White....I can believe it. He still is a serviceable depth guy; we are only rebuilding when we don't like prices, all other times, we are trying to maintain a level of mediocrity that will lock in the 7th or 8th seed. That's the magic of Ken Holland--you get both--no value for players primed to leave but no "overpayment" to get pieces needed for a real run. Ahh, 1st round playoff exits....drink them in!

Those were all great days of promise; Ken Holland's retirement will usher in an era of prosperity and change. No more "injured coming back=deadline acquisition," no more paying for crap (Quincey, Samuelsson) retreads and calling it "going all in," no more watching superstars of their generation (Yzerman, Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Zetterberg) waste away at the end of their careers because "prices were too high." For every Brendan Smith there's a Jesse Wallin; I'd much rather give a 1st/2nd and know what I've got (Boumeester) for 6 years than hope a draft pick develops into J-Bo in 6 years.

The greatest day in Red Wings history=when Holland has no impact on the team anymore.

This is such a joke. We should unload Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Kronwall, et all and stockpile these "high prices" for the rebuild. KH=whiney D-Bag.

I live in Tampa Bay; the Lightning have a need--goaltending--and a surplus in one area--offense. You have to give to get. Conacher for Bishop was a good trade.

Are you laughing at the trades where a GM actually picked up good players, or the fact that the Toronto Maple Leafs--a team perpetually mocked on these and other boards--are much, much BETTER than these Red Wings?

Yes, the Kessel trade was bad; but he also fleeced the Flames for Phaneuf, got Lupol and Gardiner for Beauchemin; and though he's gone, his constructed Leafs team is a better team than Holland's Wings right now.

Brian Burke.

Ken Holland sucks, so no, nothing happens.

#1, he wasn't the GM in 1997. He inherited that team and added Macoun + Mironov and won in 1998. At best, I'd call that 1/10 "his" team. In 2002, he went and got every player the Wings could've wanted via free agency. In 2008, a team largely built on European, late-round Hakan Andersson-found talent won it. Holland is the luckiest GM in sports b/c he doesn't do anything yet because of the team's success in spite of him, people like him. How many times have we let a player walk for nothing, then brought him back as means to "improve" the team? Kyle Quincey is the most recent, but he's done this with others as well. How many times has a player be let go by KH to become something we could use? Cap hit aside, Leino wasn't worth keeping for the year he went to Philly? Shane Hnidy? Kyle Quincey? These aren't even "prospects" shipped out to bring in guys, which I argue for. These are guys let go for nothing. Holland sucks. It is going to be the greatest day in the history of the Red Wings when he is no longer the GM. He has convinced a formerly rabid fan base to accept mediocrity and complacency, and rather than buying it, there are some of us who realize that he's not the savior....he's an anchor.

Holland should be fired regardless. He's a crappy GM that has conned a fanbase into thinking he's awesome, but he does jack every year.

That's my point exactly.....8-9 years, there may be a problem....or we could lock in a #2/3 defenseman for nearly a decade at a reasonable cost....

Way to miss the point (on the Luongo thing). Ehrhoff is a puck moving defenseman. 40-50 points is not out of the question. Vanek is a 40 goal scorer. Are we really worried about what MIGHT be a problem 8-9 years down the road? Ehrhoff's cap # is $4.0M. Even at 6 years, that's a decent run. And as you guys mentioned, he's not physical.....performing to the end of the contract is possible. It's ok to be a middling team? Jesus Christ, people. Do you hear yourselves? This is supposed to be a team that has one goal, every year--The Stanley Cup. You've been brainwashed into accepting mediocrity so that we can be mediocre for 3-4 more years before falling off, rather than a serious contender (now) and dealing with the future as it comes? If Ken Holland is the genius some make him out to be, why do we have to accept s*** teams? If we are nearing the end of our window, why not go for it? Oy.

When did 30 years old become a negative...?

I said a 1st and a 2nd for Vanek and Ehrhoff. Yes, I will take a 40 goal scorer and a 50 point defenseman. And no, it's not the Phil Kessel trade as it is not 2 lottery picks. Glad to see that Kenny has you on board with standing pat. Remember the 80s? I do. We're on our way back.

I am of the opinion that the Wings won 4 Cups in a span where they should've won 6 or 7. The Wings are a team very much different than the Flames. We have a solid support cast; what the team needs is a few more high-end guys. The price of doing business in this league is a 1st round pick for said players. Quincey blows; bringing him back for a 1st rounder was stupid. That doesn't mean that no moves should be made, nor should our first rounder be off limits. In addition, Bertuzzi was not acquired for a first round pick (Matthias and conditionals). If I Ken Holland, what would I do? If I was Ken Holland, I'd do nothing and sit smugly. If I was GM of the Wings and still myself, however, I'd go out and use a 1st/2nd to get Vanek and Ehrhoff (or some semblance of the two) and shore up my team knowing that my #1 center is only playing 1 more season and my captain is advancing in age.