T.Low 1,011 Report post Posted October 31, 2013 Today I got to listen to a lot of Red Wings talk on Vancouver's team 1040 Doug McLean talked about his time in Detroit as assistant GM to Brian Murray. He said it was an amazing organization to be a part of. He said his first day on the job was the day after Fedorov defected. Amazing times for sure. But he said two things of significance relevant to the way Holland does business. McLean and Murray were called down to the Fox theater to see Mike Illitch. The security guard said to them, " you're going up to the 10th floor to see Mr. Ilitch. If you come back down, you will be a changed person for the rest of your life." McLean said that he and Murray we're about to trade Jimmy Carson for Paul Coffey and Ilitch really grilled them about it. Illitch loved Carson and did not want to see him go. The second thing he said was that Illitch fired Murray on a Friday afternoon, and Murray came out and told McLean he was fired also. Monday morning 8 AM Illitch called McLean and said you were fired Friday afternoon. And McLean said yeah I know. Ilitch said you still have one year left on your deal. If you don't get another job by then, I'll give you another job. Illitch is the problem. He treats these guys like family and hates to see any of them go! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nevermind 363 Report post Posted October 31, 2013 I don't think Ilitch is the reason that Mikael Samuelsson is still on the team. 1 Hockeymom1960 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DeGraa55 Report post Posted October 31, 2013 This has been a known issue for the tigers for awhile..but I'm not sure if he is as involved with the wings as he used to be. I also have a hard time believing he wants franzen and Sammy around. But I could see him being attached to like cleary. 1 wingfanatic4alltime reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Crymson Report post Posted October 31, 2013 First off, it's Ilitch, not Illitch. Second, you're referring to management rather than players; it is usual for owners to involve themselves with the former, but not the latter. Third, Ilitch is nearly 90 years old and is not nearly as involved with his sports teams as he was 20 years ago. In other words, I think your theory holds no merit. 2 RedWingsRox and Shaman reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Playmaker Report post Posted October 31, 2013 From all appearances, Mr. Ilitch is not physically or cognitively all there. It's pretty clear he does not run the day to day operations of either the Tigers or the Red Wings. Christopher Ilitch has been in that role for quite some time. That said, there is no way you can look at the Prince Fielder situation with the Tigers and not think that what Mike Ilitch wants, he gets. He may not be all there, but I don't think its out of the realm of possibility to believe he's still very strong willed and opinionated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cusimano_brothers 1,655 Report post Posted October 31, 2013 And, that security guard: At the end of the day, they were two of the smartest firings...EVER!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sleepwalker 512 Report post Posted October 31, 2013 And, that security guard: "I hypnotize you with my teeth" *bonus points to anyone who actually gets the reference* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kipwinger 8,521 Report post Posted October 31, 2013 Today I got to listen to a lot of Red Wings talk on Vancouver's team 1040 Doug McLean talked about his time in Detroit as assistant GM to Brian Murray. He said it was an amazing organization to be a part of. He said his first day on the job was the day after Fedorov defected. Amazing times for sure. But he said two things of significance relevant to the way Holland does business. McLean and Murray were called down to the Fox theater to see Mike Illitch. The security guard said to them, " you're going up to the 10th floor to see Mr. Ilitch. If you come back down, you will be a changed person for the rest of your life." McLean said that he and Murray we're about to trade Jimmy Carson for Paul Coffey and Ilitch really grilled them about it. Illitch loved Carson and did not want to see him go. The second thing he said was that Illitch fired Murray on a Friday afternoon, and Murray came out and told McLean he was fired also. Monday morning 8 AM Illitch called McLean and said you were fired Friday afternoon. And McLean said yeah I know. Ilitch said you still have one year left on your deal. If you don't get another job by then, I'll give you another job. Illitch is the problem. He treats these guys like family and hates to see any of them go! My favorite part of this post. "IF you come back down you'll be changed...". Is there something going on I don't know about? Do people frequently NOT come back down? Returning from your meeting with the boss, changed or unchanged, shouldn't be something that's up in the air ya know? 1 55fan reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ogreslayer 1,069 Report post Posted October 31, 2013 My favorite part of this post. "IF you come back down you'll be changed...". Is there something going on I don't know about? Do people frequently NOT come back down? Returning from your meeting with the boss, changed or unchanged, shouldn't be something that's up in the air ya know? Maybe that's a hint to the fact that Mr. Ilitch is a vampire or something. "IF you come back down....mwaaaa haaaa haaaa..." 1 kipwinger reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GoWings1905 2,694 Report post Posted October 31, 2013 From all appearances, Mr. Ilitch is not physically or cognitively all there. It's pretty clear he does not run the day to day operations of either the Tigers or the Red Wings. Christopher Ilitch has been in that role for quite some time. That said, there is no way you can look at the Prince Fielder situation with the Tigers and not think that what Mike Ilitch wants, he gets. He may not be all there, but I don't think its out of the realm of possibility to believe he's still very strong willed and opinionated. Too bad Mr. I got his way with Prince. Sorry, still bitter about that contract. I agree though that his influence has diminished due to health. I think he's basically there as a blank check for the Tigers to win a World Series. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T.Low 1,011 Report post Posted November 1, 2013 My favorite part of this post. "IF you come back down you'll be changed...". Is there something going on I don't know about? Do people frequently NOT come back down? Returning from your meeting with the boss, changed or unchanged, shouldn't be something that's up in the air ya know? Doug McLean gives good phone interviews. Dude is hilarious. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joshy207 156 Report post Posted November 1, 2013 I think the whole "loyalty" thing stems from Ilitch and is reinforced by Holland, who is a product of that loyalty. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites