jkutswings
hot piss hockey
- Jul 10, 2014
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But that's not what he did. Nobody forced him to rush out and sign Abdelkader to 7 years before his current deal was even close to expiring. Nobody demanded that he give Helm 5 years. Nobody held him hostage to overpay Nielsen.We have different opinions on what the "wrong thing" is then. If Holland had traded big to land instant help and went after big-name FAs like Alzner etc. and we were still this bad, that would be the wrong thing in my eyes. Staying patient and letting the chips fall where they may is a very reasonable rebuild strategy imo. If it lands you just outside the playoff picture several years in a row you need to change that strategy, but that hasn't even happened once to us yet.
Staying patient and letting the chips fall where they may would be a combination of letting the kids play, and things like the Vanek contract. Those are moves that are easy to get out of, if they don't work. Instead, he spent years desperately clinging to the role of '1st round cannon fodder' by signing long-term deals to veterans.
Now maybe last year was the start of real changes. But let's not pretend that the roster has been constructed in the vein of, 'staying patient, and whatever happens, happens'. Holland did everything he possibly could to artificially maintain a token streak, and the aftermath of that approach is a significant element to the mess they're in today.