Red Wings

[jaadam4]

I love this write up CBS sports did about Ranking entertainment value of the first round playoffs matchups. They were harsh on Washington. Can’t imagine what they’d have said about us


7. New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals


The Presidents' Trophy winners are taking on what might be the worst NHL playoff team ever -- at least in the modern era. That would normally make this the least compelling matchup of the first round, but it is slightly elevated due to a few different factors. For starters, I have a morbid curiosity about how a team with a minus-37 goal differential will fare in the playoffs. Secondly, I'm not sure how many more times I'll get to see Alex Ovechkin in the postseason, so I need to cherish this opportunity. Finally, the Rangers are loaded up front, and an offensive explosion is never far away.

[maxw3ll]

Dal outworking Edm bad.

[maxw3ll]

Dal pulls goalie. 34-10 sog advantage and they need luck

[froot loops]

Tremendous job by Kenny Holland building the Oilers. First time they are in the finals in nearly 20 years. Bravo Kenny!

[Forsh]

Hope they win. I actually like Florida more ... but Canada needs a Cup it's been 31 years

[Blue Lagoon58]

Definitely pro-Edmonton here!

[Tom]

I will always hate the Oilers but if they win I’ll be happy for Holland and a couple of my cousins who are big fans.

[chemiclord]

Well, I mean, Holland built what he did in Edmonton off the back of thing he refused to do as the Wings were aging out (tear it down and full rebuild), so I dunno if this is particularly vindication of anything he did at the end of his tenure in Detroit.

[froot loops]

He actually didn't tear down anything in Edmonton.

[chemiclord]

True, but the core of that team was all built with some very high draft picks that were on the roster when Holland arrived. Holland stepped in midway through the process and made the moves to push them up the rest of the way.

Holland's Oilers aren't in the position they are in without the likes of McDavid, Draisaitl, or Bouchard, among others, who all came in the aftermath of a tear down.

[chemiclord]

Now, what I'll say is that the Oilers success does reinforce Holland's narrative that it takes about 10 years to work your way up from the bottom. Maybe someone like Holland gets Edmonton there a little bit sooner with smarter moves after the tear down (I'm loathe to call what happens in the NHL "tanking" in the sense that it is commonly used, but what Edmonton did from 2012-2015 is pretty fucking close), but yeah... it takes a lot of fucking time.

Which then begs the question I had for Holland since around 2012, when it was clear that the Wings as we knew them were done and they weren't going to have what it takes to get to the top without significant changes.

"Then what the fuck are you waiting for?"

[chemiclord]

Whelp, Canada's drought continues, despite the Oilers managing to make a series out of it.

[chemiclord]

Oh, and here go the Red Wings selling off players for "future considerations." The Wings are now 29th out of 32 teams in total payroll after trading away Walman for literally nothing.

Because, ya know, Chris Illitch is just too poor to field a competitive team, dontcha know?

Fucking miserly piece of shit. Can he just... go to hell tomorrow?

[froot loops]

We'll see some enough with the draft and the upcoming free agency. This moves looks like a way to create cap space to sign Gostisbehere, Raymond, Seider and someone to replace Kane if they don't re-sign Kane. But that would just be rerun of this year's team.

[chemiclord]

My point is that it's not like the Wings are lacking cap space right at this moment. And they literally got nothing in return. What? Was Chris I. afraid that if they didn't pull the trigger now they'd get negative dollars back next week or something?

This was a move to cut payroll because Chris Illitch is a fucking cheapskate. Nothing more.