Detroit Red Wings fire GM Ken Holland
Easy, relax. This hasn't happened....yet. But let's just assume that 84-year old Mike Ilitch decides to fire his GM once the regular season is over since he isn't happy that the Red Wings missed the playoffs & more importantly realizes that the team is going nowhere unless drastic changes are made. The solution? He hires a brilliant hockey mind, none other than J.H. "Doc" Holliday to run his team.
So here is what i'd do on my first day on the job:
-I'd fire the entire scouting staff other than my European scout. Other than my European scout, the rest of the scouting staff have been an embarrassment over the past 25 years or so. Most of my non-European first-round picks have been major busts since Steve Yzerman was drafted in 1983. First-round picks such as Yves Racine, Joe Murphy, Brent Fedyk, Kory Kocur, Mike Sillinger, Curtis Bowen, Tom McCollum and Jesse Wallin slowed down the franchise's progress over years. Once again, the European scout saved their bacon & the entire scouting staff should send this guy half of what they were paid over the years. If it wasn't for this guy, the franchise would have battled it out with the likes of the NY Islanders & the Edmonton Oilers year after year over the past 20 years.
The first person i'd contact to revamp my scouting system would be Craig Button. Pierre McGuire would also get consideration.
So once i've fired nearly the entire scouting staff, i will then re-evaluate the job coach Mike Babcock and his staff have been doing. I'll probably hang on to Babcock since he has a year left on his contract. However, i might ask him to replace one or two of his assistant coaches in order to give the team a new face & a bit of life.
Looking at my UFA's, i'm not going to re-sign any of them. Time to get rid of the Alfredssons, Clearys, Bertuzzies, Legwands & Gustavssons. I'm running a hockey team, not a nursing home.
However, i'd try to re-sign defenceman Kyle Quincey. He's only 27 years old and has yet to hit his prime.
Since it's rebuilding time, i'll try to avoid the unrestricted free agent market. I will build my team from within, and my dangle a few 2nd to 4th round picks in order to trade for a couple of young prospects who can crack my lineup right away. I'll look at adding a defenceman & an enforcer. Unlike my predecessor, i will not put up with my young players getting pushed around by other teams' tough guys. One or two enforces added to the lineup will give my team some room out on the ice.
As for my top two stars Henrik Zetterberg & Pavel Datsyuk, i'll trade them for first-round picks & whatever i can get for them. They're getting up there in age & are starting to be injury-prone. The time to trade them is now.
I'll need to trade Johan Franzen. Too old & too expensive for my tastes. This guy will be owed nearly $19 million over the next 3 years and he's already approaching his mid-30's. If i can't trade him, i'll have to consider possibly buying him out. Same thing with Stephen Weiss, who's been a tremendous free agent bust & will be owed nearly $17 million in the next three years. I want him gone! Trade him for a roll of tape & a couple of hockey sticks, i don't care. But i want him gone!
I'll also need to upgrade my goaltending. Jimmy Howard will be my only remaining goaltender, so i'll have to find someone to compete with him at the #1 position. I might have to make a trade with Toronto for James Reimer. I may also consider trading away Howard for a prospect or a high pick in an upcoming draft. But this will only happen if i can get a bonafide #1 goalie. If i can get my hands on Reimer, i may then trade a low pick for Montreal's Dustin Tocharski, who is scheduled to once again be exiled in Hamilton next season. A Reimer-Tocharski duo would look good in Detroit.
I'll be quite aware that Mike Babcock will likely not be happy being lame-duck coach on a rebuilding team. If he gives me problems, i'll offer him an extra year on his contract, or try to trade him. Yes, trade him. It's been done before (remember Michel Bergeron?). Once i'm rid of Babcock, i'd hire a highly-regarded young coach with new ideas. I'd give this young coach a 2-year contract, and if i'm impressed with his work after the first year, i'll add 2 years to his current deal. One potential candidate would be Colorado's current assistant-coach, Andre Tourigny. I think he'd be a great fit with the young team i have in mind. I also would try to lure Montreal's Jean-Jacques Daigneault to take care of my team's young defence. I think he's been very impressive with the Montreal Canadiens over the past 2 seasons & everyone knows he's likely to be gone the minute coach Michel Therrien gets fired.
I'll also need to hire an assistant general manager who's good with numbers. The first guy i'll try to hire is Claude Loiselle. It'll be hard to pry him from the Maple Leafs, but i may have to offer him top money in order to make it happen.
With the plan i will have put into place, i'm confident that the Detroit Red Wings will be a team to watch out 4-5 years from now.
