Right is right, Mr. Patton.
And conversely, working hard and not getting blown out 50 times a year isn't some badge of honor to put in a trophy case. It's the absolute bare minimum for a professional franchise, narrowly avoiding getting one or more people fired.
Of course he's trying to make the playoffs next year. He's trying to make the playoffs right now, because we're not mathematically eliminated yet. That doesn't mean we'll be buyers this year and it doesn't mean we'll be buyers next year, if we're in the same situation. It's simple common sense and, yet, it's become such a tired and meaningless gripe about semantics.
There's this new thing teams do now called "rebuilding", but apparently Holland never got that memo.
Do you go on the Islanders message board and yell at them about doing it all wrong? Btw, Holland has not said we're done rebuilding. I dare you to find me the direct quote of that. Operative word is "direct", not your projected bias of generalized statements.
Are they going to be rebuilding while they make the playoffs? Are we back to this old debate? Rebuilding on the fly is total nonsense.
We're not rebuilding on the fly from the bottom of the standings and the Islanders are first in their division after being projected to do badly without JT. The point is projections are glorified guesstimates and wishful thinking. I wish it would rain meatballs tomorrow. It doesn't mean I don't plan on cooking dinner. Holland talked about "meaningful games" in March and April last year, too, and then collected his two 1st round picks.
So, what? Is this some kind of Trump-style 5d chess where he's saying and doing one thing, but actually secretly enacting a brilliant plan that will only come to fruition when we expect it the least?
Retooling <> rebuilding.
And I hate the word contend, because it's just as arbitrary. By the looks of it, the franchise is more concerned with the upcoming draft than anything else. 2020 will not be the year when we know what we have. It'll take longer than that.
2018 Vegas Golden Knights is the latest of a long list of underdogs that actually contended. The list of contenders who fell flat is much much longer. I don't care about labels. I want a cohesive team that's enjoyable to watch.
I don't see anybody moving picks now. I'd just keep the notion out there, let the season finish to see exactly where the picks end up, and then have more concrete discussions after the playoffs, to try and strike a deal either going into the draft, or as the first round took place, depending on your draft board and who was still there at 16 (or wherever the available pick ends up).
I mean, if Kenny can get Buffalo to cough up a 1st rounder for a reasonable deal right now - say, two seconds and a third - then more power to him. But I don't think Detroit has enough ammo before selling another player or two, and I'd be very surprised if Buffalo was willing to make any moves this early. Just brainstorming to be prepared more than anything.
