yeah he was so awful in years 4 and 5
should have just waived him after year 4 where he was barely over PPG and only 13th in the league in points
hell even two years ago he put up 66 points which was 23rd in the league
I didn't say he was awful in years 4 and 5. I said he should've been signed to a reasonable contract, instead of the monstrosity they inked him to, and that the organization should've acted sensibly, relative to their competitive status.
The run was over after 2012. Not strictly because of an erosion of talent, but because the franchise fundamentally changed their philosophical approach.
For years and years, Illitch opened the purse strings, and bought whatever toys he wanted, with no cap limit, and we were spoiled. Then the cap came in, and things got more challenging, but it was still definitely a scenario of, "We're approaching every season with the goal of winning a Cup." They signed free agents, made deadline deals, the whole nine yards.
After winning in 2008 (and choking it away in 2009), they lost back to back second round matchups to San Jose. On the one hand, it was (at least to me) obvious that the Sharks were bigger and faster than Detroit throughout the entirety of each of those series, but you could still chalk it up to a bad matchup, and say that the team was still very much in contention, with a tweak or two to the roster.
Then they lost to Nashville in the first round. The Nashville Friggin' Predators. That team who had, until recently, been the Wings' personal whipping boy, both in the regular season and the playoffs. And they lost IN THE FIRST ROUND.
Now I'm not saying that Detroit should NEVER lose that early. That's ridiculous, and they had even done so on multiple occasions, in prior seasons, both on their way up to championships and on their way down. But the key here is that now a trend had developed, clearly indicating that the existing roster needed at least some noticeable help, in order to extend their window of contention.
And that summer they did nothing tangible to change things.
It was at that moment that I knew the run was over, simply because the actions of the franchise had made it clear that their priorities had shifted.
And that's certainly not the end of the world, but it means that you need to be consistent in your philosophy. So while you certainly don't have to blow it up, at a minimum, there's no more spending picks for minor deadline band-aids, and no more bringing back ancient re-treads on the third and fourth lines. You gradually inject some youth, and let the chips fall where they may.
But as we all know, that's not what happened, either.
So we have the worst of both worlds, where the team no longer has a chance to win anything substantial, but are still caught in several bad contracts, and are delaying the true evaluation of their youth, so they can't truly rebuild yet.
Bringing it back to Zetterberg specifically, Holland should have:
1) Never been dumb enough to sign ANYBODY to a 12 year deal, recapture rule or not. Gretzky in his prime doesn't deserve a 12 year deal, because even HE would be half the guy you signed by those later years. 12 years is simply out of bounds in professional sports.
2) Made up his mind on what this franchise was in the years of 2012-2014. He had one foot in the past, and one in the present, with no clear direction for the future. Guys like Hank (and Pavel) were kinda hung out to try, getting no help to get another ring, but also not even being considered to be traded to a real contender.
3) Depending on the answer to #2, if your run is over, and you still have value to an asset - particularly after the Chicago series, when hindsight confirms it as an uptick in value at best, and a fluke at worst - you get PROACTIVE. Even if you don't actually trade a guy like Hank, you SHOP him. Last I checked, phone calls are cheap, but - to our knowledge - it was never even on the table to see what you could get for a Henrik Zetterberg. WHY? If a franchise is so beholden to its veterans that it can't even gauge their value in a deal, then something has gone horribly horribly wrong.
Sports is fundamentally entertainment, and if there's one thing fans are universally entertained by, it's winning. So if your degree of success has measurably declined, why wouldn't you at least CONDISDER all your options, rather than bury your head in the sand, continue to eat bad contracts, and hide behind mediocrity disguised as a playoff streak? Either they're really that naive as to think this roster has had a chance during the last few years, or worse, they're that lazy, to just close the door on any meaningful play, in favor of some easy dollars for a couple of homes games in the first round before tee times.
I could be the only person on this island, and that's fine. Everybody has a right to their own opinion, and to disagree with mine as much as they like. But the entire lack of identity and direction of this franchise, for AT LEAST FOUR YEARS, is downright embarrassing. I'm fine with struggling, and even losing, if it seems to be part of a bigger plan that makes sense. But I'm definitely not fine with what seems like a combination of needless blunders and mailing it in for several years in a row. I desperately hope that this summer is different, and some tangible changes are made, because it feels like the franchise is avoiding a true rebuild at all costs, but in favor of slowly withering away until the eventual outcome is the same, only with an additional few years of wasted opportunity.
