NHL.com’s Nicholas J. Cotsonika spoke with Red Wings GM Ken Holland regarding his team’s trade deadline outlook, and Holland insisted that his team will not “clear the decks” in search of a total rebuild:
“Am I open to making deals that I think are going to be better for us long term? Yeah,” general manager Ken Holland said before a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday. “But it’s got to make sense. We’re not a farm team.”
The Red Wings probably will miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight year after making them for 25 straight seasons. They are 24-25-9. With 57 points, they’re seven behind the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes in the race for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
Holland has not changed his philosophy. He does not want to tear down the roster to rebuild. He wants to win as much as possible while rebuilding on the fly through drafting and developing.
Clearing out contracts?
“Great to move somebody out,” Holland said. “At the end of the day, if you don’t have somebody to move in, you’ve got to go out and find somebody to move back in.”
Giving roster spots to young players?
“They’ve got to be ready,” Holland said.
