104 replies to this topic

[9-HoweFan]

Just curious to see what everyone thinks about Ken Holland's off season so far. Consider too that he's got about $6 mill in cap-space left.

Also note what you think he needs to do next.

Edited by 9-HoweFan, 20 July 2011 - 07:27 AM.

[P. Marlowe]

C or D
Commodore and White were good signings. Besides that I'm not happy because Holland didn't take advantage of the fact that every player in the NHL wants to play for the Red Wings and with less money they'd get elsewhere.

I don't have an opinion on what he should do next. Maybe trade Hudler for a scoring top six forward and buy out Ericsson.

Edited by P. Marlowe, 20 July 2011 - 08:00 AM.

[AtomicPunk]

Personally, I think it's just OK. We all expected a Rafalski replacement, didn't come. I think Kronwall will get bumped up and groomed for taking the mantle when Nick is gone. Maybe White can handle the PP too, who knows? But I think this area still has some question marks. Their overall talent level went down with Rafalski retiring and I don't think the void was completely filled. And for me, filling the void was the MINIMUM...I would have liked to see the level brought above last year's team. Maybe the new defense couch will have an effect.

I felt they needed to go after a finisher, someone to benefit from the sweet setups Dats and Z can give a scoring winger. Did not do that. Kind of stood too pat for me. Personally I think that there are a few too many guys who don't go hard to the net and get the dirty hard scoring chances. Would have loved to see him pick up someone who brought that as well as a little sandpaper in his game. And not Franzen kind of sandpaper, real grit. Not facewashing people and skating away.

Goalies? Well, it looks like they are set. Conklin hasn't played great the last 2 years, who knows, but at 1 mil, you can roll the dice. Howard is still the man.

Edited by AtomicPunk, 20 July 2011 - 08:03 AM.

[SwedeLundin77]

Subtractions:
1. Osgood
2. Draper (more than likely)
3. Salei

Additions:
1. Commodore
2. White
3. Conklin
4. Mursak
5. Emmerton

I would grade him at a B+ this offseason. He did what he could and didn't overpay (other than Ericsson) to get the job done. White and Commodore should bring a more defensive and gritty style to the d-corps. Conklin is a solid backup, so we should be getting plenty of quality relief and a fresher Howard throughout the year.

The only knock I have on Holland this offseason is the inability to move Hudler's contract (1 year left) and bring in a more competent top 6 forward to play with Dats or Z. This is something that I feel we don't necessarly need, but would put us over the top in terms of competitive edge. With 6+ million leftover in cap, it may still happen, but I am thinking Holland will bide his time until the trade deadline and bring in someone to help out offensively then.

It is also entirely possible that he is going to try and save that excess cap for next off-season. It's not mystery that Lidstrom will more than likely call it after this season, so bringing in a stud d-man to help adjust to this new era will be top priority. They also will need to give raises to Kronwall and Stuart.

The team, with losing Osgood, Draper, and Salei has gotten younger. The defense has added much needed grit/physicallity, and our goaltending situation has become more stable.

Good job Holland. In you, I trust.

Edited by SwedeLundin77, 20 July 2011 - 08:07 AM.

[HockeytownRules19]

A... People on LGW might say HUH?!

My reasoning is simple... He didn't overspend on any free agents just to fill a need, yes i know we signed Ericsson to a weird deal , but in this market we got Ian White and Mike Commodore to a couple of really big bargains, especially white.

Also, we resigned our 4th line forwards to extremely reasonable deals.

In addition, he looks to have signed Conklin, a very respected backup, at a dirt cheap price.

Most importantly, he re-signed #5!

Rememeber, in recent years we usually never had enough money to make some deals at the Trade Deadline now we do, so I'm excited.

Not bad Mr. Holland!

Edited by HockeytownRules19, 20 July 2011 - 08:09 AM.

[Travis]

Commodore and White were good signings. Besides that I'm not happy because Holland didn't take advantage of the fact that every player in the NHL wants to play for the Red Wings and with less money they'd get elsewhere.

This isn't 2002.

I give him a solid B or B+

He re-signed Nick, didn't overspend on UFA defensemen or our 4th liners, gets a back-up at (what sounds like) a great price, and leaves us with the cap room to make another move or pull something off at the deadline.

Obviously, he overpaid Ericsson, but given all the bloated contracts handed out to this year's defensive FAs - I have to cut him some slack. I'm not crazy about the Commodore signing, but I trust Kenny and Co. and what they see in him. I'm really happy about White, his potential, and the pay cut he took.

I don't know that Kenny is done yet, but if he were I'd still give him a strong grade.

[Nightfall]

I say he gets an A

Holland really has done a great job. Yes, we won't have the offensive defense like we have had in the past. At the same time though, our defense will be much more defensive. This means we should see more 3-2 games instead of 5-4 games like we have been used to in recent past.

I am not going to blame Holland for not being able to move Hudler. First off, who in the hell wants our struggling players with a big contract? Some people here think that moving Hudler for someone better is a slam dunk. I just shake my head when I hear these people. Think about it. If you are peddling a bag of crap, and you want a new computer for it, how many people are going to trade you for your bag of crap?

Not that I think Hudler is a bag of crap. I really do agree to hold onto Hudler for the last year of his deal and then cut him loose if he doesn't perform. He had a bad season last year. I have seen players rebound from bad seasons before. I hope he has a good season coming up.

With plenty of money still in play, Holland can also be active at the deadline or be active right now. That is a good thing. Maybe he is going to bank the savings and sign a big player free agent defenseman next year when Lidstrom retires. Either way, I like what he has done.

Oh, and I believe that the Wings fans should be grading Holland on more of a curve. Look at the consecutive playoff appearances and all the success the Wings have had over the last 20 years. He deserves some respect for the job he has done.

[stinky fish taco]

B+ for not offering osgood a contract

he can bump it up to an A+ if he ditches draper, too.

[Dimaline312000]

B- to C+

White and Commy are both good signings I was just kinda expecting Kenny Holland to put a plan into action to get a replacement for Lidstrom this season. That didn't really happen IMO. I wasn't thrilled with the re-signing of Eave and Miller. However for the price and what we can potentially get out of them they are pretty good deals. Re-signing Ericsson and not re-signing Osgood is what I was most happey with from him. Despite what people think Ericsson is still fairly young and even though he hasn't so far played up to the Wings expecetations for where he is now he still has time and potential to up his game and whith this new contract I think that gives him incentive to play better and prove that he's worth his contract. Ozzie has been injury riddled for a while and I just didn't want to the Wings to risk having MacDonald come up as a back-up for Jimmy if Ozzie goes down with an injury especially if Joey isn't quite ready. Conks re-signing after two seasons of being gone is a good signing and I think he'll be able to take a small load off of Jimmy this season and it won't jeapordize our standings and playoff postion when that time comes. As for what Kenny H should do next I think continuing to see if there is a trade out there for Hudler would be good and I also want to see Kenny really considering bringing more and more young players up from GR over the right time.

[P. Marlowe]

This isn't 2002.

Silly you.

B+ for not offering osgood a contract

he can bump it up to an A+ if he ditches draper, too.

I don't get your attitude. You're entitled to your opinions, but every time you write you're also trying to rile people up. I bet you're blocked by many here. Participating in conversations by being purposedly annoying will end up with you being lonely, old, sad and bitter. Like my grandpa. Few people was sorry when he died. My advice for you old buddy (with hillbilly twang): don't go down that road.

Edited by P. Marlowe, 20 July 2011 - 09:11 AM.

[stevkrause]

This isn't 2002.

I give him a solid B or B+

He re-signed Nick, didn't overspend on UFA defensemen or our 4th liners, gets a back-up at (what sounds like) a great price, and leaves us with the cap room to make another move or pull something off at the deadline.

Obviously, he overpaid Ericsson, but given all the bloated contracts handed out to this year's defensive FAs - I have to cut him some slack. I'm not crazy about the Commodore signing, but I trust Kenny and Co. and what they see in him. I'm really happy about White, his potential, and the pay cut he took.

I don't know that Kenny is done yet, but if he were I'd still give him a strong grade.

Pretty much my train of though verbatim -

Solid B

Add to that, locking up Eaves for 3 years for such a small amount was a home-run too and I think is going to be a HUGE discount over the course of the contract and that we'll be laughing hysterically at Buffalo paying Leino the contract they are, when we have Eaves making 1/4th of that, putting up the same numbers...

[mjlegend]

Sorry, I thought this was a thread where we're asked if we could be given the chance, would we like to drive a street grader over Holland? And I'd say "I'm disappointed with our huge, mega off-season signing is journeyman Ian 'Four Teams in 18 months' White, but that's no reason to resort to violence."

[ogreslayer]

C or D
Commodore and White were good signings. Besides that I'm not happy because Holland didn't take advantage of the fact that every player in the NHL wants to play for the Red Wings and with less money they'd get elsewhere.I don't have an opinion on what he should do next. Maybe trade Hudler for a scoring top six forward and buy out Ericsson.

Really? Really? I seem to remember a certain former Hab, now Blue Jacket, that damn near everyone on LGW wanted Kenny to sign who went on NHL Live & said that Detroit's unwilling to pay people market value & that's why he signed for big money in C'bus. So I guess you'll want to change that fact to "every player minus one".

Kenny gets a B/B- from me for locking in Lids, Eaves, White, Commodore, & Conks at the prices he did & saving cap space for later instead of spending just to spend. Would be a B/B+ if not for the overpayment on Big E though.

[hillbillywingsfan]

Silly you.




I don't get your attitude. You're entitled to your opinions, but every time you write you're also trying to rile people up. I bet you're blocked by many here. Participating in conversations by being purposedly annoying will end up with you being lonely, old, sad and bitter. Like my grandpa. Few people was sorry when he died. My advice for you old buddy (with hillbilly twang): don't go down that road.

HEY!!!
I resent that remark.

[dragonballgtz]

C+ or B

Dislikes
E got overpaid
Defense wasn't improved (coaching change might help though)
Hudler and Flip are still on the team
Having another Ritola type of situation on hand this year
Not getting a legit 2nd center

Likes:
Lidstrom is back
Amazing at how little he pays goalies
Didn't overspend on FA

[Johnny Diamonds]

I'll give him a solid B for now. Especially with all the capspace left for a deadline deal. I still want to see him get a top six forward. Hopefully he can make something happen by the trade deadline.

[dragonballgtz]

Really? Really? I seem to remember a certain former Hab, now Blue Jacket, that damn near everyone on LGW wanted Kenny to sign who went on NHL Live & said that Detroit's unwilling to pay people market value & that's why he signed for big money in C'bus. So I guess you'll want to change that fact to "every player minus one".

[stinky fish taco]

I don't get your attitude. You're entitled to your opinions, but every time you write you're also trying to rile people up. I bet you're blocked by many here. Participating in conversations by being purposedly annoying will end up with you being lonely, old, sad and bitter. Like my grandpa. Few people was sorry when he died. My advice for you old buddy (with hillbilly twang): don't go down that road.

thanks for the really awesome after-school-special advice, but that's my legitimate opinion. i don't want osgood or draper on the team anymore. i'm not the only one.

have to give you +1 for the ridiculous suggestion that posting unpopular viewpoints on a messageboard = dying sad and alone. i like your style.

[eva unit zero]

C+ or B

Dislikes
E got overpaid
Defense wasn't improved (coaching change might help though)
Hudler and Flip are still on the team
Having another Ritola type of situation on hand this year
Not getting a legit 2nd center

Likes:
Lidstrom is back
Amazing at how little he pays goalies
Didn't overspend on FA

Hmm.

Although I'm no fan of Ericsson, Holland is correct in his assessment that Ericsson probably would have gotten more on the open market. Commodore is a significant upgrade over Salei, while White is only a small downgrade from Rafalski. Hudler and Flip were only going to leave this team in a trade which improved the team. No such trade was available without another team placing a better offer. If Emmerton is the "Ritola" situation you are referring to, Holland told Draper he would have to play for a spot on the team. Draper won't be coming to camp without a contract. Conner is unlikely to gain a roster spot as we already have speedy checking line players with better size and skill. And we don't need a *new* second line center. Datsyuk and Zetterberg are more than capable of centering the top two lines. If they are boh on the top line, Filppula or Franzen can center the second line. We need to replace Holmstrom and Bertuzzi with Dan Cleary clones.

thanks for the really awesome after-school-special advice, but that's my legitimate opinion. i don't want osgood or draper on the team anymore. i'm not the only one.

have to give you +1 for the ridiculous suggestion that posting unpopular viewpoints on a messageboard = dying sad and alone. i like your style.

It's not that you post unpopular viewpoints. It's that you try to get people mad. You intentionally start arguments just for the sake of arguing. It's like going on a political website and posting radically opposing views and statements, even if they aren't yours. I wouldn't be surprised if you actually do that, also.

[Johnny Law]

Solid B

I still think they are one piece away, either a top 4 puck moving d-man to replace ericcsson or some secondary scoring preferably in a guy who can play some center but neither of those were really available.