Mmm... I think there might be another scenario. Like with any leadership in an organization, there people who have the talent, ability, and disposition but might also just flat out be the wrong person at that time.
That is - being an electric, charismatic, and visionary business leader in a startup culture is critical for attracting talent and building investors, developing brand, etc but those things typically coincide with ambition, big picture thinking, etc. etc. which may not be the best leader for a Fortune 500 Company that is service oriented and looking to improve in quality and delivery through supply line logistics. Does it make that guy a bad leader? No, it makes him a bad fit.
Kenny showed really a steady, strong, and careful hand in finding serviceable veterans to reasonable deals to complement a core of talented players. He was consistent, reliable, and often built a team and familial atmosphere that most established and aging vets appreciated, and he took care of the Detroit Family (for good or for bad), by giving their guys an extra year or a little more money. That kind of stuff went far to attracting the massive parade of veterans looking for that last deal to come and play for a solid, professional org. He was the right guy to keep the ship going exactly for the fact he was risk adverse and favored the veteran and was congenial. He was patient, risk adverse, and let the opportunities come to him.
He was entirely the wrong guy when it core was aging and falling down, to make the big bold, imaginative moves we needed to rebuild on the fly. He couldn't sell big name free agents in their prime (post-cap) on coming here and struck out a number of times. He struggled to keep up with the mounting deficit of talent and just couldn't think of the moves, or execute them. His patient, steady, and often risk adverse method worked against him in a big way, often signing players he knew to contracts too big than they were worth, and chosing aging veterans to plug holes because that's all he could attract and felt comfortable with. Again, still a good GM, just the wrong GM for this job. The situation did not play to his strengths of patient, loyalty, etc. etc. and often made it worse.
One of the things I feel so good about with Yzerman - is literally his hallmark, the thing he's known for, is making big moves. For good or for bad, Yzerman makes bold moves and he built a team up (yes yes, they had Stamkos and Hedman in the bag at that point), but he built a team and has proven he can architect a champion which that really wasn't Kenny's skill set. Yzerman is bold, efficient, and decisive. He is willing to walk from players who aren't part of the plans and doesn't let it drag of, he isn't afraid to move the best player in regardless of age - too old or too young - and has shown those same chops in Detroit so far.
