A couple of thoughts on Todd Nelson’s departure

Grand Rapids Griffins coach Todd Nelson’s decision to move on after three years as the Griffins’ bench boss wasn’t surprising, but it did leave some fans scratching their heads.

At 49, Nelson told the Grand Rapids media that he “had to go” back to the NHL to further his hopes of landing a head coaching job in the NHL at some point in the future, and as Nelson had won a pair of Calder Cup championships, there really was nothing more for Nelson to prove at the AHL level.

More than a few Wings fans were dissatisfied with Nelson’s move not because he chose to move onward and upward, but because he didn’t end up flanking Jeff Blashill’s shoulder as the person filling the assistant coach’s spot vacated by John Torchetti. That means that Wings fans are angry (though it takes nothing more than a sneeze from the management group to piss off a Wings fan these days).

As far as I can tell:

1. The Red Wings appear to have gone in a different direction in terms of their coaching search, and if I were to hazard a guess, coach Blashill is probably going to hire an NCAA coach to fill the void.

2. It also appears that the Red Wings wanted Nelson to stay on as their AHL coach, if only for one more season, and that’s understandable as Nelson did an admirable job in Grand Rapids, mentoring the next generation of Red Wings prospects.

3. It’s also possible, if not probable, that Nelson felt that he needed to join a different organization to stretch his professional legs and head out on his own. It can be argued that Nelson is more likely to be perceived to have earned a coaching spot on his own merits outside the Wings’ organization, too…

4. And, of course, there’s something to be said for Jim Nill and the Stars pouncing when a star AHL coach was made available by another team…

5. Along those lines, I suppose it is possible to fault Red Wings GM Ken Holland for affording both an AHL and NHL coach (see: Mike Babcock) the opportunity to speak with other teams regarding positions while still under contract to the Wings. It’s a part of Holland’s loyalty to “company men” that I don’t really understand, but he still extends the privilege to both players and front office personnel…

And in almost every case, Holland has lost personnel, which I suppose is the cost of doing business in such a manner…

6. In my personal opinion, however, I don’t really blame Holland for Nelson’s departure. As far as I’m concerned, as soon as Nelson was granted permission to speak to other teams, he was gone, and I believe that Nelson probably felt that joining another organization was in his best interest.

The Red Wings and Griffins lost a good man in Nelson, and I’m disappointed that he chose to leave, but I cannot begrudge him the desire to become a head coach in the NHL, especially given that he’s nearing 50 years of age…

And while I’m not thrilled with the organization’s deference to the “company man,” I don’t begrudge the coach or GM for affording Nelson the opportunity to stake out on his own if the team wasn’t going to promote him as an assistant coach. That’s only fair to Nelson given his aspirations.

I wish Nelson the best of luck in his new position, and I can’t say enough about his accessibility to and candor with the media.

Nelson gave a superb interview to the Grand Rapids Press’s Peter J. Wallner yesterday, and I was intrigued when WOOD TV’s Larry Figurski suggested that Jim Paek might be a possible head coaching candidate in addition to Griffins assistants Ben Simon and Bruce Ramsay, as well as Toledo Walleye coach Dan Watson.

As the Wings search for a new head coach in GR and an assistant at the NHL level, all of the candidates to coach the Griffins are excellent, but Paek is a step ahead as he helped the South Korean hockey team qualify for the PyeongChang Olympics.

We’ll see what happens over the course of this month.

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, when MLive hired me to work their SlapShots blog, and I joined Kukla's Korner in 2011 as The Malik Report. I'm starting The Malik Report as a stand-alone site, hoping that having my readers fund the website is indeed the way to go to build a better community and create better content.

12 thoughts on “A couple of thoughts on Todd Nelson’s departure”

  1. “It’s a part of Holland’s loyalty to “company men” that I don’t really understand, but he still extends the privilege to both players and front office personnel…”

    George,
    I have no trouble at all with this approach. As an employer I prefer to have employees with ambition. More often then not, employees with ambition want to do good work (for promotions), want to learn (self improvement) and will not stagnate (have self motivation). These traits in employees should result in a less stressful business operation (but not always).

    Each of those characteristics comes with some drawbacks and risks. The risk of all of them put together is that employee will want to also look to other places of work for the aspects of their career they need to improve on.

    No one job place offers everything an employee needs. I give a lot of credit to KH for recognizing he can not offer everything to an employee and allowing them to seek those things when they feel It Is Their Time to Move On. IMO it would be terrible to work for someone who is so dogmatic they would hold an employee to the absolute letter of their agreement.

  2. I enjoyed your perspective on Todd Nelson leaving … helped me understand his logic as well and the Wings. Wish him all the best, and Paek would be an interesting pick!

  3. I seem to remember Mr. Paek left under nearly the same circumstances that Mr. Nelson just did. He paid his dues and waited for a promotion that he expected from Mr. CountryClub.

    They must have parted under better terms than I imagined if he still trusts our establishment for another shot.

    I do like his demeanor… and he knows the system… and he is a club member…

  4. We know Blashill isn’t working here. Clearly we’re not giving him an extension. So someone explain the harm in letting Blashill go one year early, give Nelson a 1-year audition, and then make an informed decision at that time?

    Instead we bring back the guy who we know is NOT the solution and allow the guy who might be to walk away without a look.

    But yeah, loyalty. That’s what guys like Stamkos, Tavares, Karlsson are really impressed with…

    1. This:
      “Instead we bring back the guy who we know is NOT the solution and allow the guy who might be to walk away without a look.”
      Already shows that you have no interest in discussing this:
      “So someone explain the harm in letting Blashill go one year early, give Nelson a 1-year audition, and then make an informed decision at that time?:
      So why do you post the question as if you want to discuss this notion when you have already formed your opinion? [oh, right, to be argumentative]

      “But yeah, loyalty. That’s what guys like Stamkos, Tavares, Karlsson are really impressed with…”
      No one has said this. No one has made this claim. All that has been said on the matter is that if any of those guys would be interested in Detroit at this time it would be because KH values loyalty. Oh, sorry, you weren’t really be literal there were you? Sigh.

      1. “But yeah, loyalty. That’s what guys like Stamkos, Tavares, Karlsson are really impressed with…”

        Hmmm Stamkos took a very extremely team friendly deal to stay in Tampa. Hmmm pretty sure loyalty played a big role in that.

        Tavares and Karlsson have both expressed the want to stay with their respective teams and that they love the team and city that drafted them. If the owners of these teams want and can afford them back. I bet they stay and a large part of that is loyalty.

        Now KH can be loyal to a fault i.e. Cleary, Miller, Helm etc etc yet, I’m sure players are very much drawn to the stability of belonging to a team that’s loyal to it’s players. My point is there is nothing wrong with being loyal and the average human that’s not self centered will appreciate some loyalty. Don’t portray it like it’s this horrible team that these guys don’t care about. They give their blood, sweat, tears and lives to these teams and any team that shows appreciation and loyalty for those sacrifices will have a far larger advantage of signing those guys over teams that don’t.

        1. Tavares and Karlsson would indeed like to stay, I think. But Ottawa’s owner is a douche and Tavares would probably like to know where he is playing.

          In fact, Karlsson is a good example of how a lack of loyalty is a HORRIBLE thing to have.

        2. I’ll even add to this:

          A GM that isn’t going to tank has gotta sound better to a player that wants to win now (or in the near future) than a GM who says…yeah, we’re tearing it down to the floorboards.

          1. I would love to work for the person who keeps things positive. Oh…..I have…..

            If someone would like working for the person who is negative all the time, please, I’d like to know why and what are the benefits?

  5. What I don’t understand the new GR Coach will be an Internal Wings Candidate (as per Martin who is responsible for the GR Coach hiring)

    The Wings Asst Coach will not be internal but external Collegiate Coach.

    So the GR Coach will never receive a Wings Coaching promotion (as long as Blashill is around)

    Nelson has a huge advantage of knowing and coaching Wings prospects

    I suspect some of Nelson’s coached players will end up in Dallas.

    These scenarios sound fishy to me and plain dumb.

  6. Even George said he doesn’t quite understand why Kenny shows so much loyalty. The most common comeback over the years has been…this loyal atmosphere is a reason why players sign here. Yet we have Stamkos not even answering the phone, and pretty much any marquee UFA going elsewhere. So this loyalty isn’t really benefiting us. So perhaps we could put winning ahead of loyalty? Even if it hurts feelings once in awhile.

    1. Notice how I said loyal to a fault??? Based on the deal he signed in Tampa, Stamkos wasn’t going anywhere. He was drafted there…loyalty. I’m all for putting aside loyalty at least stupid loyalty. I hated the matinee of Cleary, Ericsson, Abby etc etc. That’s when loyalty becomes a fault and probably pushes UFA’s away because they see a team putting loyalty above winning, when it should be an equal balance.

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