Come home Stevie.............

[The Zetterberg Era]

There are a few options I'd prefer to take over for Holland over Stevie. Wouldn't mind him coming back, but not pining for it by any means.

I want someone with a track record of drafting defenseman, or a young guy with a more progressive approach. Yzerman doesn't really provide either. Although I do like that he is a shrewd negotiatior, pretty much the antithesis of Holland in that regard.

I think if we could pull Fenton out of Nashville that would be interesting. That is the name I constantly say so I know it must annoy everyone at this point. But even I would want Holland to step aside and move upstairs for Fenton to get a shot. That would be the kind of hire where it was obvious they were searching for extremely high expectations again.

 

[Frk It]

I think if we could pull Fenton out of Nashville that would be interesting. That is the name I constantly say so I know it must annoy you. But even I would want Holland to step aside and move us stairs for Fenton to get a shot.

I'd be happy with Fenton too, so that's not annoying to me if you bring it up. Seems like a good candidate for this team. Another guy I like for similar reasons is Martin Madden in Anaheim.

 

[Bench]

Whoever the new guy is I hope it's an outsider who can bring fresh eyes to the situation. Holland and the tenured staff there are way too embedded and close to everything to make objective calls. An outsider could play the bad guy and shake things up without damaging relationships that span a decade or more.

 

[Stephen]

It would be a cool story to see Yzerman go back to Detroit to renovate the Red Wings, but I feel like there's a strong delineation between Yzerman the player and Yzerman the manager. It's not the same guy, basically.

 

[drwings40]

Ansar's opinion:

I don’t think Yzerman wants to return to Detroit, now or in the future. At least that’s what I’ve heard...
If Holland were to step down after next season or in the near future, I think there’s a greater chance the next GM would be Kris Draper rather than Yzerman.

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index..._on_steve_yzerman_exp.html#incart_river_index

Bolded part is interesting, but on the other hand it would not surprise me.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Ansar's opinion:

I don’t think Yzerman wants to return to Detroit, now or in the future. At least that’s what I’ve heard...
If Holland were to step down after next season or in the near future, I think there’s a greater chance the next GM would be Kris Draper rather than Yzerman.

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index..._on_steve_yzerman_exp.html#incart_river_index

Bolded part is interesting, but on the other hand it would not surprise me.

A big part of me wants Fischer if we stay in house. Of course that is with a qualifier I think if we stay totally in house that Holland is still likely the best option in that scenario. However, if Kenny changed his mind at the end of next year and did want to go upstairs, I hope we get a fresh view. I still want Holland as an advisor, but broken record I want a Fenton type, a guy with no connections to the Wings.

 

[Marky9er]

The guy I think becomes an NHL GM is Bill Zito, he's been an agent and he's been involved in the development side of things with CBJ....seems to have an impressive resume. I think he's a guy who will get some interview requests before long.

 

[TheMule93]

At this point anyone willing to do an actual rebuild would be better than holland

I'd prefer Yzerman not to come back because in the event that it doesn't go well for him, his name will forever be besmirched (even if only a little) in the minds of the fans

Id also not want Draper to be GM because ive seen him sitting next to Holland too many times, he's gotta be a Holland clone at this point. We'll see no change under him. I want an outsider with a fresh mindset.

 

[FlashyG]

I think Ryan Martin will be the next GM with Draper as the heir and assistant GM/ GM of Grand Rapids. Unless of course one of them gets hired elsewhere before Holland retires or steps down from the position.

The Wings wont hire from outside the organization.

 

[Frk It]

I'd really ideally like an external candidate as well.

Also hope that someone scoops up Ryan Martin off our hands. Almost rather keep Holland if that is my alternative, but we also shouldn't be that inclusive with our decisions. For the guy who is supposed to be our cap advisor, we have seen quite a few crap deals the last few years.

 

[Cursed Lemon]

I am perfectly okay with the prospect of Stevie being the Red Wings GM and making a mistake here and there.

Why? Because I know, I know for a fact, that Steve Yzerman has an unparalleled work ethic. I know that he would be doing everything in his power to compete and to win.

I do not "know" that about Ken Holland.

 

[Run the Jewels]

I'd really ideally like an external candidate as well.

Also hope that someone scoops up Ryan Martin off our hands. Almost rather keep Holland if that is my alternative, but we also shouldn't be that inclusive with our decisions. For the guy who is supposed to be our cap advisor, we have seen quite a few crap deals the last few years.

Yeah, this franchise has all the warning signs of turning inward and living in the past. That way they can have the people associated with leadership talk about how great the team used to be and everyone can feel good rather than make the hard choices required to become competitive. It reminds me a lot of the Hawks toward the end of Bill Wirtz's life. The Ilitches will never go cheap like Wirtz did, at least I don't expect that given the new arena and they are always willing to spend to the cap, even on guys who are nowhere near worth the salary they are being paid.

I've heard Yzerman probably wouldn't want to work for Chris Ilitch and that's unfortunate as he's the one guy who has built his career outside of Detroit and could probably break through the echo chamber and put an end to the slide into complete irrelevance.

I would fully expect Holland to push for Ryan Martin to replace him. That way Holland can continue to exert influence and everyone can tell themselves how great they were from 97 to 08.

 

[Fynn]

What I prefer is that the Wings clean house and start from scratch, no former players, no one who is currently with the organization, no one with any Red Wing ties. But I'm expecting that when Holland finally is replaced, he'll stay with the organization and one of his yes men, Ryan Martin, Draper or someone like that will be named GM.

I like what Steve Yzerman has done as GM. He's taken risks, let older guys go, made trades. But he still is without a Cup.

 

[obey86]

What I prefer is that the Wings clean house and start from scratch, no former players, no one who is currently with the organization, no one with any Red Wing ties. But I'm expecting that when Holland finally is replaced, he'll stay with the organization and one of his yes men, Ryan Martin, Draper or someone like that will be named GM.

I like what Steve Yzerman has done as GM. He's taken risks, let older guys go, made trades. But he still is without a Cup.

I like a lot of what Yzerman has done too, but if Ken Holland had Bishop, Hedman, Stamkos, Kucherov, Palat, and Johnson on the roster all in their primes and somehow managed to miss the playoffs.......fans here would immediately want him run out of town.

 

[TKB]

Yeah, this franchise has all the warning signs of turning inward and living in the past. That way they can have the people associated with leadership talk about how great the team used to be and everyone can feel good rather than make the hard choices required to become competitive. It reminds me a lot of the Hawks toward the end of Bill Wirtz's life. The Ilitches will never go cheap like Wirtz did, at least I don't expect that given the new arena and they are always willing to spend to the cap, even on guys who are nowhere near worth the salary they are being paid.

I've heard Yzerman probably wouldn't want to work for Chris Ilitch and that's unfortunate as he's the one guy who has built his career outside of Detroit and could probably break through the echo chamber and put an end to the slide into complete irrelevance.

I would fully expect Holland to push for Ryan Martin to replace him. That way Holland can continue to exert influence and everyone can tell themselves how great they were from 97 to 08.

This is interesting, where did you hear or read this?

Not just from an Yzerman perspective, but I have been curious about Chris I's reputation or even management style. it is just FTR it is just a curious question because I don't have any thoughts (even read much about him) one him one way or the other.

 

[Heaton]

This is interesting, where did you hear or read this?

Not just from an Yzerman perspective, but I have been curious about Chris I's reputation or even management style. it is just FTR it is just a curious question because I don't have any thoughts (even read much about him) one him one way or the other.

Just a guess, but if we're to believe some of the poster's opinions around here, Chris Ilitch may not be all that concerned with doing what it takes to win, so Yzerman would rather play for an owner who is willing to take some risks to try and win cups, even if it means missing the playoffs and having to sell at the deadline a bit more than you would like.

But it could be for some other reason all together. All I know is Chris Ilitch needs to prove to me that he actually does care about winning because so far he doesn't seem interested in being like his father, he seems content to be more of an owner in the vein of the Ford's (meaning, we can suck, as long as we make money, winning is optional and not necessary).

 

[Heaton]

I like a lot of what Yzerman has done too, but if Ken Holland had Bishop, Hedman, Stamkos, Kucherov, Palat, and Johnson on the roster all in their primes and somehow managed to miss the playoffs.......fans here would immediately want him run out of town.

Except Stamkos was injured, TJ was injured, Bishop was injured. Huge disappointing season for sure, but people pointed to the Wings injuries like they were equal to the Bolts injuries. Darren Helm (unsurprisingly) missing a bunch of games doesn't equate to Stamkos missing a bunch of games.

No excuses for Yzerman, they obviously dropped the ball, but the Bolts are much better positioned than the Wings are and Yzerman is much more willing to do what it takes for deep playoff runs and doesn't seem to settle just for making the playoffs like Holland does.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Except Stamkos was injured, TJ was injured, Bishop was injured. Huge disappointing season for sure, but people pointed to the Wings injuries like they were equal to the Bolts injuries. Darren Helm (unsurprisingly) missing a bunch of games doesn't equate to Stamkos missing a bunch of games.

No excuses for Yzerman, they obviously dropped the ball, but the Bolts are much better positioned than the Wings are and Yzerman is much more willing to do what it takes for deep playoff runs and doesn't seem to settle just for making the playoffs like Holland does.

I don't think any of those guys are as good at driving winning hockey as Zetterberg and Datsyuk were when they missed the season three years ago. Yet we haven't had a contender since 2009 in some posts around here....

The Lightning have had a lot of bad luck. Most of it brought on themselves by terribly selecting Drouin over Jones. But still one of these guys isn't being held to the same standard being attached to Holland. He certainly had a team every bit the equal of the Lightning contender wise for several more years than is being credited almost daily around here.

 

[Frk It]

I like a lot of what Yzerman has done too, but if Ken Holland had Bishop, Hedman, Stamkos, Kucherov, Palat, and Johnson on the roster all in their primes and somehow managed to miss the playoffs.......fans here would immediately want him run out of town.

Having elite players but not the results is frustrating.

Having neither elite players or results is more frustrating.

 

[Bench]

Having elite players but not the results is frustrating.

Having neither elite players or results is more frustrating.

These discussions are a playground of roll safe memes. "No expectations of management if you don't acquire elite players." *points to head*

Oh geez, if only we knew who to blame for the Wings failing to bring in elite talent. There must be a guy in charge of drafting, trades, and free agent signings. Has he had like over 5 years to help restock the team at both center and defense? That feels like a reasonable amount of time to see results, I guess.

Look, professional sports is cutthroat. It's not made for people who want participation ribbons. There are 30 teams (now 31!) looking for an advantage every season and if you don't keep up it's time for the next man up. The Wings have been remarkably patient with both Holland and their players.

 

[Heaton]

The Lightning have had a lot of bad luck. Most of it brought on themselves by terribly selecting Drouin over Jones. But still one of these guys isn't being held to the same standard being attached to Holland. He certainly had a team every bit the equal of the Lightning contender wise for several more years than is being credited almost daily around here.

Thems the breaks. The GM of the Detroit Red Wings is going to be held to a higher standard than the GM of another team that we don't root for. Especially when the GM of the Wings has been touted as the best GM ever for years.

Like I've said before, I don't want Yzerman back as GM, I don't think Yzerman is the best GM in the league, but I like how Yzerman handles business in the cap world a hell of a lot better than I do Holland. Ever since Holland's pre-cap elite players have retired or gotten old, he's been incapable of replacing them in any shape or form. Holland has not proven he knows how to build a team in the capped NHL, Yzerman has at least built something albeit a bit disappointing.

 

[Jaromir Blogger]

Oh geez, if only we knew who to blame for the Wings failing to bring in elite talent. There must be a guy in charge of drafting, trades, and free agent signings. Has he had like over 5 years to help restock the team at both center and defense? That feels like a reasonable amount of time to see results, I guess.

Exactly. The mental gymnastics some people do to try to defend Holland have reached a ridiculous point. The team keeps getting worse, he's done almost nothing to stop the decline and there's no one who looks even remotely like a savior on the horizon. What more is there to say?

 

[Run the Jewels]

This is interesting, where did you hear or read this?

Not just from an Yzerman perspective, but I have been curious about Chris I's reputation or even management style. it is just FTR it is just a curious question because I don't have any thoughts (even read much about him) one him one way or the other.

It's a rumor that has been floating around. I can't say whether or not there's anything of substance, only that I've heard it from multiple people. It could be nothing, would obviously love for it to be totally false.

 

[obey86]

Except Stamkos was injured, TJ was injured, Bishop was injured. Huge disappointing season for sure, but people pointed to the Wings injuries like they were equal to the Bolts injuries. Darren Helm (unsurprisingly) missing a bunch of games doesn't equate to Stamkos missing a bunch of games.

No excuses for Yzerman, they obviously dropped the ball, but the Bolts are much better positioned than the Wings are and Yzerman is much more willing to do what it takes for deep playoff runs and doesn't seem to settle just for making the playoffs like Holland does.

Boo hoo.

The Red Wings made the playoffs a few years ago (13-14) when Zetterberg missed ~40 games, Datsyuk missed ~40 games, and Franzen missed ~30 games.

In 2010-2011 the Penguins made the playoffs with Crosby, Malkin and Steal playing 41, 43 and 42 games.

Why is it so hard for people around here to simply admit that Yzerman failed badly this year without always making a whole bunch of excuses?

 

[obey86]

Having elite players but not the results is frustrating.

Having neither elite players or results is more frustrating.

Yeah, because Yzerman deserves credit for acquiring Stamkos and Hedman He wasn't even the GM yet.

Fact of the matter is, with the elite players he acquired (Bishop and Kucherov) the team wasn't good enough.

And i'd argue it's much more frustrating to have no results when you actually have the players on paper. No one thought the Red Wings would do anything this year...they fell near expectations. The Lightning were expected to be cup contenders and didn't even make the playoffs. It's much more frustrating to waste a supposed cup contender's prime contending years because the GM couldn't even piece together a playoff team.