News Article: Holland on this season

[The Zermanator]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/red-wings-gm-says-season-disappointing/

Highlights:

"It was a very disappointing season," Detroit general manager Ken Holland said Friday night in a telephone interview. "We had higher hopes."

If Datsyuk goes back to Russia and he counts against the Red Wings' cap, Holland acknowledged it would put the franchisee in a tough spot.

"But I'll deal with it," Holland said. "That's my job."

"We're all accountable for sputtering down the stretch for a second straight year," Holland said. "I'm accountable and so are Blashill and the players. I don't know how you would break up the percentages, but we didn't get the job done as a team and we'll spend time asking questions as an organization to find solutions and make changes."

Encouraging to hear him be so candid and off-script compared to the last several seasons. I need to see some action behind those words before I'm convinced though.

EDIT: I'll include Holland's end of season presser up here so people don't have to search for it.

Click to read more...

 

[Christien]

I need to see some action behind those words before I'm convinced though.

That's what I'm sayin.

 

[Laser Rayzor]

Was really expecting the standard "if we got some bounces" and "we like our team" shtick so you're right this is encouraging. Hopefully he can make some moves to help the team long term rather than just desperately trying to maintain da streak. However given some of his moves in recent years I don't have much faith that he'll do a complete 180 and put the streak on the back burner overnight.

Should be an interesting offseason nonetheless.

 

[RedWingsfan55]

Last two years? Try the last what? 5 or 6 years.

Same **** different day with holland. Next year will be business as usual. Talk is cheap.

 

[Dotter]

Was really expecting the standard "if we got some bounces" and "we like our team" shtick so you're right this is encouraging. Hopefully he can make some moves to help the team long term rather than just desperately trying to maintain da streak. However given some of his moves in recent years I don't have much faith that he'll do a complete 180 and put the streak on the back burner overnight.

Should be an interesting offseason nonetheless.

Actually his words sound to me like the club is on the verge to embrace a tank.

The stars are align for a tank with Datsyk's 7.5 million cap hit on the books. And a 5 million dollar backup goalie.

Hate to say it, but time to tank

 

[Flowah]

Seriously, it's the first time I can remember Holland didn't blame injuries or bounces. He seems to realize the team needs a change. I'm sort of optimistic now. Maybe he'll wrangle some real trades that deal out non-core players for people who can actually help. Get after it, Kenny.

 

[hot dog]

I agree with everyone. Holland never talks openly like this. I think he knows the water under his seat is heating up and he needs to do something other than stay the course.

 

[Kyleftlx]

I think there's a lot of reason to understand why he's finally looking at it the way he is looking at it. Nyquist and Tatar continued progressing into 2014-15, and Mrazek really stepped up in the playoffs to help the team push Tampa to 7. While the team struggled down the stretch in 2014-15, the playoff series with Tampa really showed that they still could contend. He added Green + Richards to potentially give them more depth and offensive firepower to maybe push them forward in 2016, and then he watched the team take a step back in some major areas.

You can definitely argue that the team showed signs of this the past couple of years, especially when you mention the 5v5 scoring, but I think Holland really did expect guys like Nyquist and Tatar to be the Red Wings version of Kucherov/Palat, and I would imagine he thought Sheahan was due for a strong year after what he did last season, as well as a guy like Brendan Smith really making that leap into every day defenseman territory after giving him the bridge deal. I don't think he expected the team to regress as hard as it did in 2016 despite knowing that the top guys are a year older.

I think this was an eye opening year because there wasn't a slew of injuries (2014), there wasn't a year of young guys breaking out but not being able to lead the pack past the Lightning (2015), it was a year where the team really was set to compete, as the two major offseason signings showed, and now they're exactly where they were a year ago - except a year older and with even more money tied into players that haven't made a significant difference (Green, specifically - not saying he's bad, just saying he's another body signed for a lot of money and not performing up to that salary).

This is the year where he has no legitimate excuses to fall back on.
This is the year where he has to get creative in figuring out a way to fix the problem, or wash away 25 years of success, and more than that, washing away 4 years of "rebuilding on the fly" nonsense.

 

[Frk It]

For once I actually like his comments.

Still don't think he'll do anything about it though.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Honestly and I know Holland is unpopular but I wasn't expecting him to say something different than this. There was no other reason to give here. This wasn't a team ravaged by injuries and there was disappointment across the board.

I understand putting it that way, also so you don't look like Wilson a couple years ago where you say changes are coming and signal it to all GMs. But there is still a part of me that wishes he didn't even put the after evaluations there. Could have just said this is flat out unacceptable and there will be changes. There needs to be and I think he knows that. Instead of looking for a percentage breakdown or whatever else is cute. Start pounding the pavement and making calls.

I expect exit meetings are going to be a little different than they have been in years past for the guys.

 

[Frk It]

Honestly and I know Holland is unpopular but I wasn't expecting him to say something different than this. There was no other reason to give here. This wasn't a team ravaged by injuries and there was disappointment across the board.

I understand putting it that way, also so you don't look like Wilson a couple years ago where you say changes are coming and signal it to all GMs. But there is still a part of me that wishes he didn't even put the after evaluations there. Could have just said this is flat out unacceptable and there will be changes. There needs to be and I think he knows that. Instead of looking for a percentage breakdown or whatever else is cute. Start pounding the pavement and making calls.

I expect exit meetings are going to be a little different than they have been in years past for the guys.

He should have said there will be changes... Do you actually think he will make significant changes?

Prepare to be disappointed, man.

 

[Heaton]

He should have said there will be changes... Do you actually think he will make significant changes?

Prepare to be disappointed, man.

Agreed. Holland is not going to make any changes.

 

[SoupGuru]

I think there's a lot of reason to understand why he's finally looking at it the way he is looking at it. Nyquist and Tatar continued progressing into 2014-15, and Mrazek really stepped up in the playoffs to help the team push Tampa to 7. While the team struggled down the stretch in 2014-15, the playoff series with Tampa really showed that they still could contend. He added Green + Richards to potentially give them more depth and offensive firepower to maybe push them forward in 2016, and then he watched the team take a step back in some major areas.

You can definitely argue that the team showed signs of this the past couple of years, especially when you mention the 5v5 scoring, but I think Holland really did expect guys like Nyquist and Tatar to be the Red Wings version of Kucherov/Palat, and I would imagine he thought Sheahan was due for a strong year after what he did last season, as well as a guy like Brendan Smith really making that leap into every day defenseman territory after giving him the bridge deal. I don't think he expected the team to regress as hard as it did in 2016 despite knowing that the top guys are a year older.

I think this was an eye opening year because there wasn't a slew of injuries (2014), there wasn't a year of young guys breaking out but not being able to lead the pack past the Lightning (2015), it was a year where the team really was set to compete, as the two major offseason signings showed, and now they're exactly where they were a year ago - except a year older and with even more money tied into players that haven't made a significant difference (Green, specifically - not saying he's bad, just saying he's another body signed for a lot of money and not performing up to that salary).

This is the year where he has no legitimate excuses to fall back on.
This is the year where he has to get creative in figuring out a way to fix the problem, or wash away 25 years of success, and more than that, washing away 4 years of "rebuilding on the fly" nonsense.

I think you've got it. We were all pretty optimistic at the beginning of the season. Looking at the trajectory of the team, you had reason to believe that good things were going to happen. The only perceivable unknown was Blashill but maybe the fresh voice was going to change things in a positive way like so many thought.

 

[PelagicJoe]

I hope KH doesn't sit there with his thumb up his butt like he has been. We need try something new, because most of this roster is not working.

 

[Tatar]

Agreed. Holland is not going to make any changes.

Don't bet on it

 

[The Zermanator]

He should have said there will be changes... Do you actually think he will make significant changes?

Prepare to be disappointed, man.

Agreed. Holland is not going to make any changes.

At least he seems to be looking at the team a little more realistically, that's a step in the right direction. Now that he's talked the talk, it's time to walk the walk. Simple as that. If he's up to the task, great. If not, well then maybe that's one of the changes he's mentioned.

 

[Ezekial]

At least he seems to be looking at the team a little more realistically, that's a step in the right direction. Now that he's talked the talk, it's time to walk the walk. Simple as that. If he's up to the task, great. If not, well then maybe that's one of the changes he's mentioned.

This is how I feel as well, it was good to finally hear, and maybe it will actually make a difference - now just do it Kenny

 

[white galaxy*]

how are players and blash responsible for holland constructing an obviously weak roster going into the season that everyone of us except holland knew was weak ?????

hollands on a trip far from reality if he had high hopes for that roster

everyone of us knew the d was lame and had too many small soft forwards ,
but in hollands mind it was a roster ready to rock

and ya kenny blash n players butchered up 4 mil
down the drain on franzens cap hit

no they didnt , it was only holland . and hollands solely responsible for the lame season

another example of his bad performance was signing of out of gas richards to a bunch of already soft forwards

i also see it as hollands fault for letting blash bring in a rookie pp coach up to the bigs , 2 rookie coaches is too many . a sharper gm would have signed a short term pp coach with nhl experience til blash got feet wet

hollands on an ego trip

and nobody could have known the help larkin would bring , larkin saved the streak .
and holland was seeing this team as something good without larkins numbers

 

[aar000n]

I am so sick of the tank argument.

 

[joe89]

Seriously, it's the first time I can remember Holland didn't blame injuries or bounces. He seems to realize the team needs a change. I'm sort of optimistic now. Maybe he'll wrangle some real trades that deal out non-core players for people who can actually help. Get after it, Kenny.

I echo this.

For the record, I'm not sure how to break down the percentages of fault either. Many leading players had down years, but it's hard to say how much is coaching and how much is bad luck or simply a decline of the player. And how much the construction of the team affected.

 

[JPE123]

I imagine Kenny is feeling some pressure. Last thing he needs is a unexciting team heading into a new stadium year. But we have some real issues with declining players with big contracts besides just Dats. He going to have to be masterful to pull this off. Kronwall, Big E and Zetter declined pretty fast this year. I do put a lot of Z's problems on Blashill though. Simply moronic playing Z over 20 minutes a game down the stretch night after night.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

He should have said there will be changes... Do you actually think he will make significant changes?

Prepare to be disappointed, man.

Agreed. Holland is not going to make any changes.

The flat cap certainly isn't going to help his cause. But I have to believe some changes are coming. I thought they were set up well to make moves starting last off-season. Of course I thought the cap would continue to escalate. But he has to do something. Last season at the JLA, new building opening.

His D-man cannot play the system his new coach wants to play. He needs to go find those players for him or Blashill is going to be out of a job and he is going to be forced upstairs. Since it seems Holland has no desire at this point to move on up the chain of command, I think action is likely.

Will it be enough? Honestly at this point I doubt he could do anything major enough to win either of you over. But there will be some change in my opinion, curious if it is enough to even impress those that are not the most ardent Holland detractors. As someone that defends him often, there are things he must do moving forward. My confidence in him is completely shaken at this point. There are things that I think are out of his hands, but he has to find a way to construct a better team. The D is terrible, it cannot remain the same or I am joining your ranks in terms of the time has come to think of what we do with the Holland exit plan from the GM seat. The rebuild on the fly is waning pretty hard right now. He must find a way to make meaningful changes to this roster or a fresh set of eyes to do it for him while he gives advice but not the final call is looking him right in the face.

To be fair to both of you, though I know Heaton you have been harder on him for a while, but still the anger is something that has built up overtime. Not just an agenda that appeared out of nothingness, so to be clear I completely understand the total mistrust. You have been asking for meaningful change for a long time. It is something he must find a way to do, or we have reached the point where he can no longer be the final decision maker with the franchise. That is a sad day but it happens to the best of them. I was willing to be a little more patient than most, but it has run out. What we are icing is unacceptable, there must be moves to improve this roster, as he said on the tough part of the Datsyuk situation it is his job. He must find a way, or prepare to step aside into an advisory role.

 

[Dotter]

Seriously, it's the first time I can remember Holland didn't blame injuries or bounces. He seems to realize the team needs a change. I'm sort of optimistic now. Maybe he'll wrangle some real trades that deal out non-core players for people who can actually help. Get after it, Kenny.

Trade for the sake of trading makes no sense. The type of player Wings need isn't available for trade, atleast not for anything you (or Kenny) are willing to trade (Larkin+1sts). Wings need a legit #1 dman or a top scoring powerforward.

The other stuff is trading just to make a trade because its fun and exciting for the fans, but does nothing to address the true need of the team.

 

[Flowah]

Trade for the sake of trading makes no sense. The type of player Wings need isn't available for trade, atleast not for anything you (or Kenny) are willing to trade (Larkin+1sts). Wings need a legit #1 dman or a top scoring powerforward.

The other stuff is trading just to make a trade because its fun and exciting for the fans, but does nothing to address the true need of the team.

They're not trades for the sake of trades. They should be trades to ship players who aren't part of the future out for pieces that could be. We've got a lot of players who could fit that bill.

 

[Heaton]

The flat cap certainly isn't going to help his cause. But I have to believe some changes are coming.

There's 'changes' every year. But we're obviously talking about 'sweeping' changes. Holland will not do that. He'll find a way to keep the band together because even though we sputtered down the stretch we still made the playoffs and with a few bounces 'anything' can happen. So he'll 'kick the tires' on some UFAs, he might even land some veteran on a 1 year deal (Eric Staal?). He'll 'kick the tires' on some trades, but 'this is a hard league to trade in' and 'the prices were too high', and we'll again get some bubble team that continues to disappoint while seeing glimmers of hope in some young players who will just end up struggling at the wrong times.

To be fair to both of you, though I know Heaton you have been harder on him for a while, but still the anger is something that has built up overtime. Not just an agenda that appeared out of nothingness, so to be clear I completely understand the total mistrust. You have been asking for meaningful change for a long time. It is something he must find a way to do, or we have reached the point where he can no longer be the final decision maker with the franchise. That is a sad day but it happens to the best of them. I was willing to be a little more patient than most, but it has run out. What we are icing is unacceptable, there must be moves to improve this roster, as he said on the tough part of the Datsyuk situation it is his job. He must find a way, or prepare to step aside into an advisory role.

To me, Holland is the least proactive GM in the entire league. Lidstrom retiring soon? Might be a good time to bring up Smith and let him baby sit him to gain some experience? Nah, let's get a veteran there because 'anything can happen' in the playoffs. Datsyuk and Z retiring? Might be a good time to set the table for the future? Nah, let's saddle the team with a bunch of long term contracts to depth players hindering the possibility to open up room for real difference makers.

Changes won't be made because changes can't be made. Holland had to swallow his pride with Weiss, he won't do it for home grown Michigan boys. We're in cap hell right now with no escape. Missing the playoffs will be 100% on roster construction.

This team isn't underachieving, they're not getting out worked, they just don't have the talent.