Holland or Yzerman?

[Bannedforlife 403]

In his first season as GM, Yzerman has taken Tampa Bay from 24th place to 7th place, a 23 point improvement. Under Holland, Detroit has been the winningest team in the NHL and has 3 Stanley Cups to show for it. Right now one team is in the conference finals, the other is playing golf.

I know it's not fair to ask which is the better GM at this point, but I want to know who you would rather have as our GM right now.

[GMRwings1983 8,793]

Starting now and for the future?

Yzerman of course. Same reason Emperor Palpatine wanted Luke Skywalker to replace Darth Vader as his new apprentice.

Holland has accomplished a lot here, but every GM moves on eventually, and I would have loved to see Yzerman move in as Wings GM because he'll always be a Wing to me.

Only problem I see is him being conflicted and loyal to players he used to play with, which is a large part of this team. I think he would have felt uncomfortable making moves on some of these players who were his former teammates and friends.

But alas, it's too late. Yzerman is not going to leave Tampa anytime soon. Doesn't strike me as that kind of person.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Starting now and for the future?

Yzerman of course. Same reason Emperor Palpatine wanted Luke Skywalker to replace Darth Vader as his new apprentice.

Holland has accomplished a lot here, but every GM moves on eventually, and I would have loved to see Yzerman move in as Wings GM because he'll always be a Wing to me.

Only problem I see is him being conflicted and loyal to players he used to play with, which is a large part of this team. I think he would have felt uncomfortable making moves on some of these players who were his former teammates and friends.

But alas, it's too late. Yzerman is not going to leave Tampa anytime soon. Doesn't strike me as that kind of person.

Holland just re-signed for 5 years anyway. But when that contract is up, seems like a perfect time for Stevie to come home. Let Stevie get more experience under his belt there, and by then most of the guys he played with for years in Detroit will be long gone.

Edited May 17, 2011 by haroldsnepsts

[newfy 695]

I would rather have Yzerman with Holland steppinng up to VP or something and helping him along the way.

Holland is a very good GM but not as good as most people on here make him out to be. Yzerman could have learned from him and brought some new cunning to the GM office the wings dont have right now because Yzerman was in the trenches come playoff tiem slugging it out and knows what it takes to win.

[Carman 387]

Holland still has a lot left in the tank, he's only 55 so he'll be here awhile.

Yzerman will be a GM for Detroit eventually, that 10 year gap between the two will be a factor.

As for the question I'll take Holland right now, Yzerman is still the student.

[Bannedforlife 403]

Holland just re-signed for 5 years anyway. But when that contract is up, seems like a perfect time for Stevie to come home. Let Stevie get more experience under his belt there, and by then most of the guys he played with for years in Detroit will be long gone.

That's really not the question though. The question is, if you had to choose one guy to be GM right now and into the future, who would it be?

In Holland you have a known quantity. He is arguably the best in the world at what he does. Yzerman made some shrewd moves that whipped his team into shape in a hurry, but there's no way to know how long that success is going to last. On the other hand, many people, including Babcock, seem to think that Detroit's window of opportunity is closing and in my opinion, Holland's style doesnt seem suited to making the gutsy calls that could potentially right the ship.

edit: clarity

Edited May 17, 2011 by Bannedforlife

[Hockeymom1960 5,107]

Holland just re-signed for 5 years anyway. But when that contract is up, seems like a perfect time for Stevie to come home. Let Stevie get more experience under his belt there, and by then most of the guys he played with for years in Detroit will be long gone.

Didn't Steve also sign for 5 years?

[evilmrt 636]

Didn't Steve also sign for 5 years?

Indeed he did. So yeah, in 5 years maybe, if we're lucky, Holland will retire at 60 (sounds reasonable) with a spectacular record as GM, and Steve can come home where he belongs and take over. The point about Yzerman feeling uncomfortable about dealing players he played with is valid...and it won't be much of a factor in 4/5 years so it all works out. Of course, we have no idea how the next 5 seasons in Tampa will be like.

[Barrie 900]

Now: Holland

Future: Yzerman

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

That's really not the question though. The question is, if you had to choose one guy to be GM right now and into the future, who would it be?

In Holland you have a known quantity. He is arguably the best in the world at what he does. Yzerman made some shrewd moves that whipped his team into shape in a hurry, but there's no way to know how long that success is going to last. On the other hand, many people, including Babcock, seem to think that Detroit's window of opportunity is closing and Holland's style doesnt seem suited to making the gutsy calls that could potentially right the ship.

Oh.

Well I guess since Holland is signed for 5 years here and Yzerman is signed for 5 years in Tampa, I figured it's decided anyway.

And my answer is still the same. Even if we could have Stevie right now, it'd be good for him to get a few years experience at least in Tampa. Then come home and take over in Detroit.

[Johnny Diamonds 25]

Bet if the Wings played a Pens team without Cindy and Geno, a Caps team with zero defense or goaltending they'd be in the conference finals as well. Yzerman has done a decent job thus far. Picking up Roloson was a nice move for one. But for the most part Stevie Y walked into a good situation with a good balance of quality veteran players who have already won a cup. And also having some young star players that can do nothing but only get better each year. And oh yeah some cap space to work with. I'll take a wait and see approach with Stevie Y. But for right now it's Holland.

[CenterIce 83]

Bet if the Wings played a Pens team without Cindy and Geno, a Caps team with zero defense or goaltending they'd be in the conference finals as well. Yzerman has done a decent job thus far. Picking up Roloson was a nice move for one. But for the most part Stevie Y walked into a good situation with a good balance of quality veteran players who have already won a cup. And also having some young star players that can do nothing but only get better each year. And oh yeah some cap space to work with. I'll take a wait and see approach with Stevie Y. But for right now it's Holland.

The Wings also have Jim Nill. He could be picked up by another team, but the organization seems to like him because they have declined offers to talk to him while still under contract. I don't see a guarantee that Yzerman will pop back to Detroit, once his current contract is up. I like what Yzerman has done in Tampa, but it has been less than one year, where Holland has been running Detroit for 14.

[13dangledangle 957]

Holland just re-signed for 5 years anyway. But when that contract is up, seems like a perfect time for Stevie to come home. Let Stevie get more experience under his belt there, and by then most of the guys he played with for years in Detroit will be long gone.

Such a fantastic fairy tail ending! I hope it happens, Holland still has some moves to make and a another cup to add in these last five years. After that come home Stevie

[wingslogo19 281]

I'm really pulling for the Lighting

[kook_10 1,705]

Holland is lazy and sucks. Trade him for Arron Asham.

[Opie 308]

Now: Holland

Future: Yzerman

What Barrie said!

[Majsheppard 203]

What about Nill??

[toby91_ca 620]

I would rather have Yzerman with Holland steppinng up to VP or something and helping him along the way.

Holland is a very good GM but not as good as most people on here make him out to be. Yzerman could have learned from him and brought some new cunning to the GM office the wings dont have right now because Yzerman was in the trenches come playoff tiem slugging it out and knows what it takes to win.

1 - Holland is already an Executive VP I believe, so moving into a VP position would be a step down.

2 - While you may be right in that Holland is not as good as most people on here make him out to be, I guess that depends on how good people on here make him out to be. He's very good though and he has a lot of supporting staff that is very good, which makes him look better. A good boss/leader, always has good supporting staff, it's a necessity.

3 - Are you making Yzerman out to be better than he is? I think you have to be very careful to place too much praise on him just because the lightning are in the conference finals. He has made some decent moves to far, but he's largely been just getting his feet wet.

4 - Not sure how Yzerman being in teh trenchse come playoff time, slugging it out, knowing what it takes to win translates into abilities as a GM.

[Doc Holliday 1,888]

Holland.

I would love to have Yzerman as his successor, but due to the circumstances that is not going to happen. You guys are in for a real disappointment if you expect Yzerman to bail on the Lightning to come back here.

[Dimaline312000 51]

I would have definetly loved to have Yzerman as our GM and send Holland packing. Kenny has done great things for this team and organization but I feel it puts to much emotion in his signings in keeping players that he shouldn't and such. I think Yzerman knows what it takes to win and having that certain balance of players on the team. Having the older veteran players but also mixing in the right amount of younger less experience players. I guess you could make a case about this as to who is the better GM but really the GM can only sign the players he can't make the players play any better. Granted Holland could've signed different players that we might have gotten a lillt more milage on this season and previous seasons but I can't say he is a worse GM than Yzerman but I would have much rather had Yzerman as our GM.

[ogreslayer 1,069]

Holland by far at this point based on his long term track record. Stevie had a great first year but he walked into a spot that was perfect for a new GM i.e. a very talented team that had grossly underachieved the previous year due in large part to mismanagement at the ownership level. The pieces for the run they're on were largely in place before Stevie arrived. And regardless, 1 year does not a trend make. I want to see if he can keep the team at a sustained level of success over a longer period of time. The first indication of how that's going to go certainly has to be how he goes about locking up Stamkos.

[HankthaTank 1,100]

I have extreme, wait for it, LOYALTY toward Kenny. The guy is put on a pedestal, and rightfully so. I wouldn't want another guy in the spot and like Doc said, do not expect Stevie to just up and come back if the spot opens up. Also, I wouldn't worry that things will go to s*** if and when Kenny steps down. The Detroit Red Wings will not employ the next GM as someone who can't do the job the absolutely right way. I would love Stevie to be the guy but we need to keep perspective here.

[Electrophile 3,554]

When both of their respective contracts are up in 5 years, that would be a good time to assess whether what Steve has done in Tampa would warrant the offering of a contract here for him to take over as GM.

Right now, I want Holland. The reason being, Steve has no success AS A GM with the Red Wings, whereas Kenny has loads. Success as a player doesn't automatically mean success as coach/GM/owner/fill-in-the-blank. Obviously, Steve has had a very successful first season in Tampa thus far, which bodes well for him if the time were to ever come when Holland is no longer GM and we're looking for one. Someone with ties to the team and the community who has been able to hack it in that job would be someone you'd want to hire quickly. Of course, you run the risk of Tampa wanting to lock him up into a longer deal when this five-year contract is up, but I'd rather not think about that as a possibility.

For the future.....I'd love to see Steve Yzerman running this team in one way or another. He's a Red Wing. He was meant to be in this city, with these fans, with that team. I consider him to be on loan to Florida right now.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

Holland right now, perhaps Yzerman later.

Those who always want change, the grass isn't always greener on the other side, at least in the immediate future. Holland is one of the best at present, not just me saying that, but fellow peers and the like. Not trying to knock Yzerman whatsoever with this, but it's only his first year as a GM. Give him time. This team is in fine hands with the current management. And hopefully that will include Yzerman in the somewhat near future (but not anytime soon).

[eva unit zero 271]

Holland is the best GM in the world, but he will be leaving. I think Yzerman will eventually become the Wings' GM, but not for a while and not necessarily right after Holland.

As for the "players he played with" thing...

Guys who Yzerman played 5 or more seasons with:

Holmstrom, Draper, Lidstrom, Osgood

Other guys who Yzerman played at least one full season with:

Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Cleary, Kronwall

That first group will be completely retired within the next two or three seasons, if not sooner. As for the second group...

Franzen and Cleary played one full season as grinders during Yzerman's last year. A rookie Kronwall was injured in exhibition and came back to play just under 30 games that year. Leaving Datsyuk and Zetterberg as the two players Yzerman played any significant time with that he would have to make decisions about.

Two of the five best forwards in the world. One of them is signed for life, the other is signed for a damn long time.

So what "emotional" decisions are we talking about?