Red Wings GM Ken Holland appeared on 97.1 the Ticket this morning, speaking on the Stoney and Riger show regarding the Red Wings’ free agent signings:
USA Today’s Kevin Allen also weighed in on the first day of free agency:
Update: CBS Detroit’s Will Burtchfield took note of some of Holland’s remarks:
“I’m gonna do what I believe is right in the rebuild of a franchise. I’m not gonna cut corners,” Holland said. “I think it’s important to have blockers, these veteran guys. I think it’s important to try to have your young players get opportunity and play with veteran players, but at the same time they gotta be challenged and they gotta compete on an everyday basis. I don’t believe in entitlement, and I think if we entitle our young players they’re not gonna fully develop.”
It all goes back to maintaining the competitive culture the Wings have come to be known for.
“You can’t go to the rink and know that before the game even starts that you have no chance of being involved in any kind of a hockey game. It’s a negative environment, the kids lose their confidence and go backwards,” he said.
Stoney was easy on Holland today. strange. He usually pushes his buttons.
“I don’t believe in entitlement”
Actions say otherwise, the veteran players sure seem to reap the benefits of entitlement.
“You can’t go to the rink and know that before the game even starts that you have no chance of being involved in any kind of a hockey game. It’s a negative environment, the kids lose their confidence and go backwards,”
Isn’t that environment being foster with the “blockers”? These kids have to out play the veterans not by a little bit but by miles. Then the first mistake they make they’re nailed to the bench or scratched. A guy like Helm can go out there and throw 2 or 3 pucks up the middle in the D zone to the other team and never miss a shift. I can’t stand that Holland tries to sell it as a fair competition.
Well said @Steve1306. I can’t stand watching vets that make millions of dollars have bad shifts, bad games, and extended cold spells while our kids are left to grow stale.
I don’t care what the fancy stats say, if you are “rebuilding on the fly” you need to see what more of the kids can do at the pro level, playing with and against pro-level players…
Having Blashill manage playing time might end up problematic for the young guys.
He creates a puzzle wanting them to earn more time, an impossibility sitting on the bench!
Also, he somewhat excessively criticizes young players publicly, a sin unto itself, while nothing much said about underperforming vets.