Wings Standings Tracker: Officially Bottom 5

[Frk It]

It's been blatantly obvious to everyone who follows the Red Wings that the defense is the biggest issue. So I don't understand why people make every excuse in the book for Ken Holland doing absolutely nothing to improve the defense. There have been dozens of d-men traded, from top pairing guys like Bouwmeester and Burns to puck moving offensive d-men like Leddy, Hamilton, Yandle, hell we had a chance to get Justin Schultz as a free agent out of college and people were like "nope, not interested". He sucked in Edmonton while they were rebuilding but he's been great in Pittsburgh.

I simply don't understand the people who were totally cool with whiffing on every available d-man of need but don't understand the need to rebuild when your roster is bereft of talent. How do you say you don't want to rebuild yet have no problem with missing out on every single d-man who has been available to improve the roster so - you know - you aren't put in a position where you are forced to go through a long, drawn out rebuild?

I want to trade for Jake Bean.

 

[Invictus12]

It's been blatantly obvious to everyone who follows the Red Wings that the defense is the biggest issue. So I don't understand why people make every excuse in the book for Ken Holland doing absolutely nothing to improve the defense. There have been dozens of d-men traded, from top pairing guys like Bouwmeester and Burns to puck moving offensive d-men like Leddy, Hamilton, Yandle, hell we had a chance to get Justin Schultz as a free agent out of college and people were like "nope, not interested". He sucked in Edmonton while they were rebuilding but he's been great in Pittsburgh.

I simply don't understand the people who were totally cool with whiffing on every available d-man of need but don't understand the need to rebuild when your roster is bereft of talent. How do you say you don't want to rebuild yet have no problem with missing out on every single d-man who has been available to improve the roster so - you know - you aren't put in a position where you are forced to go through a long, drawn out rebuild?

Maybe, just maybe, we currently don't have anyone on the team that either has or yet to have established a pedigree that would enable a trade for a top defenseman. Also, Holland has been in this game for a while and unlike the fans who want to push the panic button for every time a player doesn't perform to the best of expectations, he probably understands that players don't necessarily just project in a perfect line upwards until they are 30 and then all down hill from there. Hell, take Teemu Selanne, an many like him.

Nyquist and Tatar are way under performing this season. It's still a long way before we know exactly what we have in Larkin but there's lots of potential. Mantha and Athanasiou are making splashes this year but next year they might be having huge slumps and I can predict here and now that half the boards is going to call for their heads if that happens. Hell, it seems like Ericsson's name is rarely mentioned on this board this season and he's been the whipping for how many years prior???

Maybe the problem isn't Holland. Maybe the problem is that most of folks on this board have no patience for anything what so ever.

Hell, go to the trade board and see how hard it is for folks to agree on any trade there. What makes anyone think that it's easier to make moves as a GM if folks on here can't even ****ing do it hypothetically without name calling an what not?

 

[Run the Jewels]

Maybe, just maybe, we currently don't have anyone on the team that either has or yet to have established a pedigree that would enable a trade for a top defenseman. Also, Holland has been in this game for a while and unlike the fans who want to push the panic button for every time a player doesn't perform to the best of expectations, he probably understands that players don't necessarily just project in a perfect line upwards until they are 30 and then all down hill from there. Hell, take Teemu Selanne, an many like him.

Nyquist and Tatar are way under performing this season. It's still a long way before we know exactly what we have in Larkin but there's lots of potential. Mantha and Athanasiou are making splashes this year but next year they might be having huge slumps and I can predict here and now that half the boards is going to call for their heads if that happens. Hell, it seems like Ericsson's name is rarely mentioned on this board this season and he's been the whipping for how many years prior???

Maybe the problem isn't Holland. Maybe the problem is that most of folks on this board have no patience for anything what so ever.

Hell, go to the trade board and see how hard it is for folks to agree on any trade there. What makes anyone think that it's easier to make moves as a GM if folks on here can't even ****ing do it hypothetically without name calling an what not?

The Red Wings have made the fewest trades in the league since 2006 and it's by a huge margin. Like not even close. So somehow all those other teams were able to do laps around the Red Wings and make trades. That makes it really tough IMO to give Holland a pass and say "gee Kenny, I totally get that it's really hard to make hockey trades!"

Like I said, if you were against a rebuild you have to come up with some way to replenish talent. So why on earth would you be opposed to any and all trades that would go towards replenishing all that lost talent? It simply makes no sense. You can make up whatever excuses you want but the facts are simple. There are three ways to improve:

1. Draft elite talent near the top of the draft
2. Trade to acquire elite talent
3. Get lucky and draft and develop elite talent outside of the top of the draft

The Red Wings have kept most of their draft picks and have traded down to acquire more draft picks and it hasn't resulted in a single elite player being drafted in the past 18 years. We have made the fewest trades in the league over the past 10 years.

How on earth is this "rebuild on the fly" gonna happen? Magic pixie dust?