Red Wings

[chemiclord]

“Because why go through the trouble of a coaching search for a team that has no expectations to begin with? These are all throwaway seasons as it is... and by all accounts Blashill is good at handling development of younger players. So why not keep him until you're ready to take the next step?”

Sounds a lot like Stafford.

I mean... sure? That's a big part of the reason why I have no problem with letting Stafford go. With him or without him, the team's not going anywhere in the near future.

My issue is with the idiots that think Stafford is somehow holding this piece of shit franchise back.

[The King]

Well, he sure hasn’t led it to anything.

[JGSpartan]

They Lions haven't built a team capable of going anywhere meaningful in over 20 years. You can only carry one dimensional teams so far. Shit even when Barry WAS here they treated Offensive line like a throwaway position and that pissed him off.

The organization doesn't set the team up to win with ignoring foundational pieces or letting them go and blowing big money on mediocre free agents that set them up to fail.

Red Wings are doing the same shit ignoring defense although on a much smaller timeline. They were also victimized by large contracts to undeserving players. They just re-signed their own mediocre players to bigger deals than they deserved.

[gibby]

I was shocked to find out the red wings were still around. Are they still playing hockey?

[froot loops]

I thought Holland was bullshitting when he said a rebuild would take 10 years yet here we are 5 years in and the team is absolutely dreadful. In the News yesterday they said Rasmussen and Cholowski need to develop in the AHL and the NHL is no place to learn. Are we sure Kenny isn't still the general manager?

[jaadam4]

I was shocked to find out the red wings were still around. Are they still playing hockey?

They tank and then get f'ed by the lottery

Every

Single

Year.


It's complete bullshit.

[froot loops]

The lottery is BS, the lottery is to prevent teams from tanking and the Red Wings for all their ills of the last decade they did try to compete. But you should still be able to do something, the team shouldn't be this wretched. If Steve Yzerman needs the number 1 pick to rebuild then he isn't all he is cracked up to be as a GM. The franchise as currently constructed looks hopeless. All 4 teams are rebuilding and they are so far behind it isn't funny. The other day I tuned into the game a couple minutes late and they were already down 3-0.

[jaadam4]

Holland left the Wings in such a bad spot @ defense Stevie Y had to spend his first 2 picks as the Wings GM on dmen when there were better forwards available. Then the following year they had one of the worst Detroit teams ever in a draft that had 3 AMAZING NHL ready players and they fall to #4? I'm not sure what you're thinking The Captain can do but the NHL isn't as forgiving on timelines.

Holland and ownership hung on trying to chase glory when it was apparent to everyone else that they needed to rebuild. Yzerman is paying the price.

[chemiclord]

The Red Wings didn't need the #1 pick to build their last dynasty. They needed some fucking courage. The franchise literally thumbed their nose at Soviet Russia REPEATEDLY during their hey day. Now they're too scared to select players because those players MIGHT choose to play somewhere else.

[froot loops]

He has had two off-seasons and it isn't like they weren't trying to rebuild before they hired him. They are wretched and it looks like they have no hope.

[chemiclord]

I am sympathetic to the idea that Holland ran this team into the ground trying to maintain that idiotic playoff streak, because that's exactly what he did. Hell, didn't Franzen's contract JUST come off the books last season?

Yes, a lot of the draft is luck. Yes, hockey players tend not to be those you can just draft and thrust into the top flight. But for fuck's sake... you cannot tell me that some of them couldn't be an immediate upgrade to the trash currently in the NHL. Stop coddling the youngsters, bring 'em up, and let them learn at full speed. At least then you'd have an excuse for looking like shit.

[froot loops]

Franzen's contract hurt them but it wasn't a result of trying to keep the playoff streak alive, that was bad luck. It was contracts for guys like Helm, Abdelkader and Glendenning. Here's the thing though, by the mid 2010s they had started on the rebuild, it wasn't like they started when Yzerman was hired. It seems like the franchise is in worse shape than they were during the dead things era. They made a big deal about Dylan Larkin being named captain. Larkin is good but that's about it, he hasn't been a difference maker. It's bad and Yzerman's moves so far has been pretty Hollandesque.

[jaadam4]

Franzen's contract hurt them but it wasn't a result of trying to keep the playoff streak alive, that was bad luck. It was contracts for guys like Helm, Abdelkader and Glendenning. Here's the thing though, by the mid 2010s they had started on the rebuild, it wasn't like they started when Yzerman was hired. It seems like the franchise is in worse shape than they were during the dead things era. They made a big deal about Dylan Larkin being named captain. Larkin is good but that's about it, he hasn't been a difference maker. It's bad and Yzerman's moves so far has been pretty Hollandesque.

I would love to hear what you think Yzerman could do differently. Unless you win the lottery and find that generational talent at the #1 or #2 picks the NHL isn’t easy for quick turnarounds.

This isn’t the NFL where a QB can instantly turn a team around or the NBA where a rookie can put a team on their backs. It takes YEARS in the NHL because most kids aren’t ready for the men’s league.

On top of that the NHL doesn’t have free agency that allows premier talent to hit the open market because of all the free wheeling days it used to be. The only free agents that hit the market are 30 year olds looking for big money.

This isn’t a news flash. Everyone was screaming for years for Holland to quit holding onto the playoff streak. By mid 2010’s as you call them the Wings were still winning 40+ games a year.

It wasn’t until the 2016-17 season that they fell bellow .500 and Holland still kept passing on quality franchise defensemen for lottery ticket forwards that dropped in the draft. You’re in a dream world if you think anything could be different than what it is.

[froot loops]

I guess in your world GM Yzerman can do no wrong and if he doesn't have the #1 pick he has no chance. I haven't cared for any of his free agent signings, they have been Hollandesque. A waste of money.

[The King]

The lotto has completely screwed us, but so has the lack of development at the lower levels. I figured Yzerman was nothing but a patsy for the fans. He's proven to be exactly that.