Red Wing Frustrations

Submitted by United Football on
Ok Wings fans, when are the Wings ever going to truly rebuild? This rebuild on the fly bullshit has never been a long term solution. Hell look at Toronto, they threw in the towel and started an all out rebuild and 3 years later are one of the NHL's best. So what does old Kenny boy do now? It's even harder to have succes when we have numerous players signed for long contracts and big $ and are not even close to producing were they should. I'm as big a wings fan as they come but it's just hard to watch a bad hockey team with nothing but what seems to be bullshit on ice for the next 5 years or so. This organization does not seem to be evolving with the new NHL. And for the love of god can we please stop signing these useless end of career players! (Modano, Commadore, Wiess, Richards, Vanek, and Booth). Instead of giving these useless old goats ice time why not dip down and give some of these talented kids on Grand Rapids some ice time with the Wings( Russo, Svechnikov, Nosek,oh wait exposed Nosek to Vegas even though he was a good young talent, Coreau, and Bertuzzi. It's seems like the only thing this organization cares about is a cool new organ at LCA. And I know it's been said already but Kenny boy needs to go. We need a modern GM like mmmm I don't know....... Stevie Y? Their are shades of the Harbaugh madness coming to Michigan a few years back. I honestly think Stevie's heart in still in Detroit and if offered I would hope to come back to Detroit as our new GM. This would be a home run for the organization and not to mention the fans.If I'm not mistaken I believe this is Hollands last year under contract but I could be wrong. I think perhaps maybe a coaching change as well would be needed. I've been a Blashll fan since watching him coach Western Michigan but he doesn't seem to be able to motivate and out coach anybody. Who would be a perfect fit for the new coach? My pick, Gerard Gallant, another former Wing who did very well with Florida who never should have fired him, and is doing wonders in Vegas right now. How realistic is it that Stevie will come back? Who knows but I'm hoping the man who helped bring Stanley back to Detroit can come back home where he belongs. That's my only hope. Stevie's Lighting are the model of what a team built to win a cup looks like, the perfect culmination of speed, size, tough defense, goal scoring, and great goaltending. ( Side note, Andrie Vasilevskiy Tampa's goalie was drafted with a Red Wing first round pick that was traded away to get the great Kyle Quincy, that worked out real well.) So to all you Wings fans I say have hope even in times of bullshit and hope Stevie comes back. Stevie is our only hope. I pray Kenny boy will retire and be the new head of bathroom advertising at LCA, after all he knows a thing or two about taking a shit in the NHL and letting things drop to the bottom. Come home Stevie!!!!!!!

United Football

December 10th, 2017 at 2:57 AM ^

And I didn't even mention our rent a tough guy for a year program, ( Aaron Downy, Brad May, Jordan Tootoo, and Steve Ott. And then trade them for a bag of pucks and a couple water bottles.

rob f

December 10th, 2017 at 5:01 AM ^

but no need to hold your breath and turn blue while creating your never-ending wall of text.

As it is, I stopped reading about a quarter of the way through to brew some coffee before trying to read the rest of it.

Have a downvote to balance out the the upvote you gave yourself.

rob f

December 10th, 2017 at 8:32 AM ^

so the OP (and anyone else with Red Wing frustrations) can call and help give little "Kenny boy" and Blashill the boots they deserve: 1-800-733-9464; or locally for Detroiters 586-294-8060.

Even have the local address, it's 32476 Gratiot Ave. Walk in and let 'em have it! I'm sure they'll do anything they can to ease the frustration and pain caused by their product.

Blue 4 Life

December 10th, 2017 at 5:12 AM ^

Holland is an absolute moron. The Florida Panthers fired Gerrard Gallant like dummies and Holland had a chance to get rid of Blashitt and hire a real coach. Of course Holland drops the ball yet again. Why would he do anything right.

I admire the Wings loyalty to their own but at some point someone has to wake up and realize he's in way over his head. Stop the bleeding and fire the GM and coach the start over. This is getting stupid. 

coldnjl

December 10th, 2017 at 9:49 AM ^

I don't get the coach talk...you could have Bowman out their and we would still miss the playoffs. The coach adds minimal benefit to a shitty hockey team and only means a damn when you are either a fringe playoff team or a true championship contender. 

The Krusty Kra…

December 10th, 2017 at 11:37 AM ^

Is because Blashill is fucking oblivious, he thinks the guys have "bought in" on what he is preaching after they lose 10-1 at Montreal. Is his message to embarass this formerly proud organization? He refuses to give Athanisiou the playing time he deserves, which is what led to that contract standoff earlier this year. He also lost the locker room to Zetterberg early in his tenure which is why Nik Kronwall and Jonathan Ericcson are Top 6 defensemen when Kronwall is skating on one leg and Ericcson has been below replacement level for years. Your statement that Scotty would not make the postseason with this team is accurate but they damn sure would look better than they do.

Blue 4 Life

December 10th, 2017 at 5:15 AM ^

I was on my phone and didn't make it all the way down your post about Gallant. I completely agree on that one. FL was so dumb for firing him. He was really good there.

misterzolo

December 10th, 2017 at 10:14 AM ^

But your points are not lost. In regards to giving kids from GR time: none of the names you named, other than Bertuzzi, have a spot on the main roster due to over signing. And none of them would really help, with one exception (you didn’t name him), Joe Hicketts. Hicketts would instantly be better than any defenseman on the roster not named Mike Green. One of Holland’s worst traits over the last three years, when it’s been most crucial, is his inability to draft. Svechnikov may be a bust. Check his GR numbers right now. Not good for a first rounder over 20 years old. Dennis Cholowski (1st rd 2016) is coming along, but he’ll never be the type of player that you draft in round 1. Michael Rasmussen (1st round 2017) is having a decent season in the WHL, but he didn’t get invited to Canada’s WJC team. That’s why this team is where it is. There is no talent in the pipeline when they need immediate help.

The best (or worst) part about all this? The team isn’t even at rock bottom yet. Goes back to the rebuild on the fly thing. They need to sell off as many assets as possible, so long as they can get assets back for them. Tatar, Nyquist, Green and even Zetterberg. The goalies would have been easy to move a few weeks ago, Mrazek was even mentioned as an option for Edmonton last night by Elliote Friedman on Hockey Night in Canada. And Jimmy Howard had a great start to the year. But he’s been absurdly bad of late, coming off 4 goals on 8 shots yesterday.

They need to pick high in this upcoming draft, which may be better than the 2015 (McDavid) and 2016 (Matthews) drafts. Baby Lidstrom will go first, his name is Rasmus Dahlin and he’s considered a better D prospect than Oliver Ekman-Larson, Victor Hedman and Erik Karlsson. Swedish scouts literally compare his offensive prowess to Lidstrom. He can change a franchise. The best forward happens to be Svechnikov’s younger brother Andrei, who plays for the OHL’s Barrie Colts. He’s a dazzler that can score. Just about as good of a forward prospect as any of the current best forwards in the NHL were at 17. Keith Tkachuk’s younger son Brady, who plays at BU, rounds out the top three.

The Wings need to get one of those kids. But don’t expect Ken Holland do get them there. As for Steve Yzerman, look at the top of the NHL standings. Would you leave Tampa, knowing you built a team that’s going to compete for years? I wouldn’t. Not for the Wings dumpster fire. Holland has shown no sign he’s stepping aside. And Yzerman has had issues with the Ilitch kids in the past. I doubt he leaves Tampa, at least right now.

teldar

December 10th, 2017 at 10:54 AM ^

He got kneed in the hear and was out with either a concussion or a significant medical injury for a long time. He still isn't completely recovered and isn't playing that well. I'm sure that he'll come back and do much better once he's feeling up to speed, which is obviously not yet.

misterzolo

December 10th, 2017 at 2:03 PM ^

That’s a big enough sample to see what he offers. While it is early to give up on him, you know a lot about prospects at that stage. Kyle Connor (one of our guys) in Winnipeg and Matthew Barzal of the Islanders are comparable players to him. Both taken a few picks before. Look at their numbers this year, in the NHL.



Trust me when I tell you, they likely don’t have much in Svech. Not a future top 6 forward, which is what they needed in that slot.

goblueram

December 10th, 2017 at 11:42 AM ^

So assuming drafting is the problem (I don't disagree), how much are we missing Jim Nill? Not that Dallas has shown anything promising, but seems like the Wings decline coincides with his departure.

Unrelated - I used to play on a team with his kid who then ended up playing for Sparty while I ended up in the beer leagues.

mmjoy

December 10th, 2017 at 10:32 AM ^

But I actually really liked Vanek. He had great vision and made some great plays, just was on his downslope. Averaged almost a point a game for the Wings.

93Grad

December 10th, 2017 at 11:09 AM ^

They should have done a true rebuild starting five years ago. Holland stupidly and stubbornly clinged to a meaningless playoff streak as some sort of sign that the team was healthy and competitive when it was anything but. Now they have some of the worst contract in the league and the exact opposite approach you need in the front office to build a true Cup contender.

BOX House

December 10th, 2017 at 11:14 AM ^

I like the Gerard Gallant suggestion, though I don't really care who the coach is this year. Holland's gotta go, Stevie Y needs to come home, and we need to continue losing the rest of the year.

Hotel Putingrad

December 10th, 2017 at 11:24 AM ^

Holland and Blashill are both lame ducks at the moment, and Yzerman recently downsized from a house to a condo in Tampa. Unless there's been some back channel communication going on between Ilitch and Vinik it's hard to see who blinks first. As bad as the Red Wings' cap situation is, there are thunder clouds on the horizon for Tampa too. They're going to struggle to fit Kucherov's next deal in alongside Stamkos and Hedman. They're all in for the Cup this year, but if they don't at least make the Finals again, it's not hard to see Stevie take a long look at his options around the league. I just feel bad for Zetterberg and the fans. There's going to be a lot more games like yesterday's this year, and you've got dead men walking in the coach and GM roles. So how do you keep hope for the future?

goblueram

December 10th, 2017 at 11:39 AM ^

Vanek was not a bad signing at all. I'd separate him from the others you listed. But ultimately the writing is on the wall for Kenny Holland. Get rid of him, and build around the young talent base of Mantha, Athanasiou, Larkin.

yossarians tree

December 10th, 2017 at 11:44 AM ^

The Wings definitely need to tank this season and get the number one pick. Then fire Holland and Blashill before they are allowed to fuck up the draft. Is Jimmy Devellano still pulling strings in the organization? Because I have doubts that Chris Ilitch will know what to do.

Navy Wolverine

December 10th, 2017 at 8:36 PM ^

Only problem is that finishing last in the league does not guarantee the top pick. I think it only ensures you about an 18% chance of getting the top pick and only a 50% chance of picking in the top 3 (the worst team picks no lower than 4th).

Right now the Red Wings have the 6th worst record in the league (and dropping rapidly) which would only give them a about a 23% chance of picking in the top 3. They actually would have higher chance (60%) of falling back to 7th or 8th.

So I guess it takes luck to be able to draft the elite talent. Only Gary Bettman could come up with this shit.

http://www.tankathon.com/nhl/pick_odds

  

The Krusty Kra…

December 10th, 2017 at 11:45 AM ^

But it was Scotty and Jimmy Devellano that put together the skeleton of the Stanley Cup winning teams between 97 and 02, and then the remaining core pieces (read: Lidstrom) helped win in 2008 with a few assists from scouting extraordinare Hakan Andersson in terms of Pavel/ZBerg. Since the turn of the decade, Holland has actively shit the bed nearly every season except for a few moves:

  • 2012: Holland traded a first round pick for Kyle Quincey
  • 2013: Holland signs Stephen Weiss, who no one inside the Panthers organization had ever heard of
  • 2014: Holland trades Calle Jarnkrok AND Patrick Eaves for an aging David Legwand, who did nothing
  • 2015: Holland trades Mattias Janmark for Erik Cole
  • 2016: He trades Pavel Datsyuk's dead cap space to Arziona, Coyotes select Jakob Chycurn, who has been a fantastic NHL defenseman at a young age, Dennis Cholowski will play four years at St Cloud St and be lucky to make the NHL

I can only wait for what terrible move he makes next. Chris Illitch needs to sack up and fire Holland or sell the team to an owner who cares as much as his dad did when he was alive.

1201 S. Main St.

December 10th, 2017 at 12:00 PM ^

Was fine at the time.  It was assumed the Wings had a shot to land Stamkos after they had cleared cap space by trading Datsyuk's contract.  That said, the way he used the cap space after Stamkos resigned with Tampa was terrible.  The Wings could be in a great cap situation, but they aren't and Holland is soley to blame.

1201 S. Main St.

December 10th, 2017 at 11:58 AM ^

Seriously?  What the hell is with "Kenny boy"?  Are you and your droogs done ranting about the WIngs now?  Btw, you're about 2 years late on the "Ken Holland should be fired" wagon.  Poor draft picks and prioritizing the streak over actually competing for the Cup is a huge reason why they are stuck where they are now.  Unlike you, I don't see a reason Yzerman would come back.  He has built a great team in Tampa, don't know why he would give that up right now.  He could have been the GM years ago had Holland agreed to take the promotion and give the reigns to Yzerman.  Holland has made poor draft picks and treated young talent like pieces of shit in public.  Calling out Mantha the last two years and the bullshit that went on with AA.  Holland and Blashill need to go, but they needed to go at least a year ago.  Watch, don't watch, I don't give a shit, but that garbage you typed seemed nothing more than a guy who drank too much, watched a shitty Wings game and then vented while playing Singing in the Rain in the background, Georgie Boy.

United Football

December 10th, 2017 at 1:38 PM ^

It was a poorly written rant to be fair but didn't have a drop of alcohol, it was just a few hours after my own hockey game. And yes the mantha AA public stuff is complete bullshit.