Mlotek
Registered User
Would only consider that true if he found a suitable replacement for Lidstrom. Unlike the Rafalski retirement which came out of the blue, the Lidstrom retirement was inevitable for years.I'm fine with trading Vanek, Smith, Green, Jurco and etc...
I just don't want to see a "Shanaplan" here. I want Wings, as a team, put their best foot forward and try to win games. I want to see Ken Holland sign the Greens, OTTs, Booths, and Daleys of the world so they can win more games than not... and have assets to trade off for free picks.
I don't consider that a tank. I consider that smart asset management. And I consider that a GM giving the team players to help them succeed. Lets face it, Barkovs, McDavids, Eckblads of the world are not hitting free agency. So we can go ahead and spend the cap. Those players are not ever going to be available for free.
That's what I would call a natural tank. Ken Holland is trying to build a competitive team, but the young guns don't have the *it* factor to drive the team to gloryland. But Kenny is giving them the players to help support them if they do ever learn how to drive the bus.
Ken didn't find a suitable top pairing replacement, the signing of Green was closest thing and that was YEARS after Lidstrom's retirement.
Even with Lidstrom, the team was barely squeaking into playoffs on OTLs.