Detractors of Ken Holland among the Detroit Red Wings faithful criticized him during his tenure as general manager for being too attached to the past and overly loyal to veteran players who’d moved beyond their best before date. This critique was not without merit. Yet here we are, barely a week into the Steve Yzerman era as GM of the Red Wings, and what’s the first move many of these same folks want Stevie Y to make? Bring Pavel Datsyuk back into the fold. Hypocrisy much? The same romanticism that’s convinced many that all Yzerman needs to do to fix all that ails the Red Wings is to show up and snap his fingers, also appears to be of the belief that the Magic Man can wave his wand of a hockey stick and abra cadabra, the Wings will once again be a playoff team. First of all, it should be noted that there is some merit to the Datsyuk to Detroit rumors, though most of the fire is being stoked on Datsyuk’s side of the equation. Datsyuk lunched with a member of Detroit’s front office in Europe during the current season and broached the subject of him making a return to the Wings. That person advised the remainder of the Detroit braintrust of Datsyuk’s desire upon his return home. An NHL executive familiar with the talks suggested that the chances of Datsyuk playing for the Red Wings next season were about one percent. A Datsyuk return doesn’t make sense in the grand scheme of things for the Wings. While this team still faces many obstacles to getting back to status as a quality NHL team, depth at center isn’t an issue. Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou looked set to be 1-2 down the middle going forward. Like it or not, the Wings are going to be contractually saddled with Frans Nielsen’s fading skills for several more years, so you can pencil him in at No. 3. As for the fourth line, there are numerous options. Luke Glendening can play there, or if they want Glendening as a winger up higher in the forward equation, Christoffer Ehn is a perfectly serviceable No. 4 center. It’s time to take of the Red Wings-colored glasses and stop viewing age-old highlights of Datsyuk. He’s going to be 41 on July 20. In three KHL seasons since leaving Detroit, Datsyuk averaged 10 goals and 25 assists. A KHL source indicated that Datsyuk’s team, SKA St. Petersburg, did not want him back next season. Over his final six seasons with the Wings, Datsyuk played as many as 70 games once. He was frequently injured. Dan Millstein, Datsyuk’s agent, indicated that his client would make a decision on his future in the next couple of weeks. His NHL rights belong to the Arizona Coyotes until July 1, but Datsyuk has indicated that he’d only come back to the NHL to play for Detroit.
Yzerman retired as a player in 2006. If he's serious about restoring this franchise to the glory days, then signing any of his ex-teammates should never be an option. Bringing back Datsyuk as this stage of Detroit’s rebuild makes no sense whatsoever.
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