That was my beef with the whole Mantha discussion late last year. He was given an opportunity early and looked phenomenal on the PP last year, and then he got demoted to the 4th line in a pointless role.
That was strange. I remember our PP was doing great with him.
So...why isn't he doing this with Larkin now? Or with Tatar? Or with Sheahan? Or with Nyquist?
You'll buy any of the snake oil Kenny sends your way.
The Mantha shot was nothing more than Kenny getting cranky about the fans actually calling him on his BS, just like he did with the Nyquist situation. He's not used to it and loses his composure when anyone of the media cloaks their criticisms in what "the fans are saying."
And when kenny listens to the fans he signs players to those stupid big deals.
Posters here fancy themselves they know a great deal about hockey but do not understand the basic of the game.
This was in general.
Now an answer to you.
You do not deal the same with every player. They are different and you have to do different things. Some are lazy and need a kick in the ass, some need to get encouraged to get the confidence, some need to get pissed off, and some need to just let be alone.
I read about Mantha that there were some questions about his work ethics. It was devellano who bashed Mantha, not Holland.
And it is not Only Holland . Devellano, Ilitch, the coach have their words too.
And then there is economics, which people do not understand. You have a team, but you have to make money too.