The immediate future of the Detroit Red Wings dictated that Detroit general manager Ken Holland look to the long-term future of the franchise as Wednesday’s NHL trade deadline approached.
“I think everybody understands the enormity of the situation we’re in,… Holland acknowledged. “We’ve got a mountain to climb. It’s not only that we’re nine points back (from a playoff spot), we’ve got to climb over seven teams.…
To save you from doing the math at home, that works out to Detroit having a 0.5 per cent chance of qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
That reality dictated that Holland’s goal going into the deadline was a completely foreign objective for a team that’s made the playoffs 25 seasons in succession - he was a seller.
He became a futures trader.
Holland moved four players - the unhappy Tomas Jurco and three impending unrestricted free agents - Steve Ott, Brendan Smith and Thomas Vanek - stockpiling draft picks in order to begin the process of putting this forgettable season in the rear view mirror, and to begin the process of rebuilding the franchise.
“To this point in time it’s been a very disappointing season,… Holland said. “I expected more, I expected we’d be in the thick of things. I didn’t know if we’d be in the playoffs or not but I expected we’d be right in the thick of things.
They aren’t, and that’s why Holland changed his approach, finishing the day sitting with 11 selections in the 2017 NHL entry draft.
“I look upon this week as an opportunity to try and get as many picks, the best picks that I could, to give this organization an opportunity to do something that it really hasn’t had the opportunity to do in at least 10 or 15 years,… Holland said.
So, were the Wings winners or losers on deadline day?
We can’t say for sure, and likely won’t be able to say for years to come.
“When we get into the summertime, we’ll assess where we’re at,… Holland said. “Some good is going to come out of this year and I think it happened over the last 72 hours. It started with the trade of Jurco to Chicago up to a few hours ago.
“We’ve got 11 picks in 2017. We’ve got an extra second-round pick in 2018, which is looking like it should be a deeper draft than this year. I also think every draft, players come out of the second, third and fourth rounds.
“We’ve got more spins of the wheel. We’ve got four third round picks. We’re trying to compete, we’re trying to stay in the mix with the teams in our division.…
Holland can select 11 players at the June draft, or he could opt to package some of those extra picks to acquire a player or players who might help turn the franchise back into a playoff club.
“Maybe some of these picks somewhere down the road could factor into a future trade,… Holland said. “We’ve got four third-rounders, two seconds in 2018, a couple of sixths this year and a couple of sixths in 2018.
“We’ve got 11 draft picks this year and a number (nine) in 2018, so that was my thinking going into the trade deadline.…
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