clutchngrab

I'm not saying that all of these things would have come to pass, just that it was not unreasonable to expect most of them to happen from Hollands perspective. I don't think anything in this list is unreasonable by itself barring injury. Really, the only way the wings could have kept Hossa and Mule would have been to either trade Flip to free some cap, which they didn't want to do. I'm just curious what specific moves you, as GM, would have made to keep Hossa, Hudler and Mule?

que the violins

Your point apparently is: keep guys on past the point of no return and forget about the future to live in the past. Look, all these guys - yzerman included - recognize they have a shelf-life on their career. I mean c'mon, Yzerman wasn't treated like s***, Shanahan made a decision to leave, Chelli - well he really was done. These guys are paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to give value and contribute - and they know they can be traded, waived, etc. I don't know what profession you are in, but mine works the same way. I get a certain amount of slack based on past performance, but if that stops for any extended period, I fully expect to be out on my ear - And I'm not paid 7 figures. Hossa was a "good teammate" and he played here for 1 year. Maybe they miss Hossa. Pretty naive theory if you ask me.

Yes - good post. Look at Mike's history w/ Anaheim. Rode a hot young goaltender with a mix of vets and mostly younger guys that he could mold and it got him to the SF finals. I'm not a Babcock hater, but I've never been a super huge fan either. My biggest issue with him is as a bench coach. I don't think he adjusts well to the game (or series) at hand - which is a different issue than the motivational one.

agreed.

I don't think Yzerman was forced out - I think he got tired of playing on one leg. So what? He had good years, but he was essentially done when he left. And Chelios is so valuable that he could hardly get playing time on the Wings with Brett Lebda in the lineup and is getting DUI's in the AHL. Again, time passes. You forgot Sawchuk, Delvecchio, Lindsey. Its called time passing, age, life, death, the truth that all things must come to pass.

I don't know - hindsight is 20 - 20. Sure letting Hossa, the shin-guard assassin and Hudler all walk was a probably a mistake. But who would you have traded to keep Hudler or Sammie? Flip? Regardless, it was not a stretch to think that: 1. Mule would pick up significant scoring slack with a year on par with last or better. 2. Z and D would have offensive years on par with where they have been 3. Lids and Rafalski would be on par offensively with where they have been. 4. We would see improvement in Flip including more goals. (I think he is playing fine, btw) 5. Leino would not have been a complete and utter bust 6. Bert and Willie would be good for 15 - 20 goals each. 7. Helm and Abbie would contribute more than last year. 8. Erriccson would improve, Lebda and Meech wouldn't suck. 9. Kronwall and Stuart would be forces. Collectively, these are not bad assumptions from a GM's POV - but only 4 and the Helm part of 7 turned out to be true. And people will and have argued point 4. Injuries, the lack of development and age are the big factors this year. I mean, when you think about it, the brightest spots this year have been Helm, Howard, and the emergence of Kronner offensively before he got hurt. Probly only Kronwall was something the GM considered. I knew scoring would be a challenge, but I did not expect such inconsistent play on D and the obvious injuries. I fully expected 2nd in the central this year.

yeaaah, that should right the ship.

oops - the amount of beer I consume, one would think I could spell it.

Bowman was a bastard that everyone hated - that's how.

I agree its the players on the ice, but repeatedly blowing leads is a reflection on the coach. Bad defensive pairings are a reflection on the coach. Lack of PP, defensive net coverage, and even blown OT points is a reflection on the coach. Basically when a team chronically and repeatedly under-performs you either change some players or you change the coach. That's been the formula in sports forever.

Q: "Mike, what's going thru your mind right now". A: "Well, Trev, to perfectly honest - I'm very concerned about my job right now. I went with a hunch that Stewie and E would be a great match together based on the tea leaves I read in my tea cup this morning at the hotel. Also, who knew those goal posts were there? Did you know that doesn't even count as a shot on net? That doesn't seem fair... Anyhow, I'm looking forward to the olympics where I'll have a blue line that doesn't think they are playing in a non-check bear league."

I've been saying this for a while. I think the shelf life of a coach is about 3 - 4 years until players basically stop listening.

I used to live in LA - always kinda liked the kings. :-)

your optimism is contagious only to be matched by my sarcasm.

Not one of Jimmie's best games - one goal was completely his fault. But absolutely no nad in front of the net. This D has testicles the size of BBs.

so ******* soft in front. Wow.

Injuries goalposts crappy PP.... no god.

I left for 5 minutes and it went from 3 - 1 to 3 - 3. Between s***ty play and injuries, its hard to think much of this season.

Who knew Bert could be so polarizing

Now that's funny.

I get it - apparently the 2 or 3 weak plays a game that Bertuzzi is good for means what? That I don't think he has a plus side as well? Or that I'm being hypocritical? Not so, I mostly think Bert is on the plus side of the ledger - warts and all.

piss off clown

another one what?

Nice to see Zets going to the net again.