Quick Hits: Jeff Blashill’s Job Security, GM Meeting Debrief

Around the NHL

NHL General Managers’ Meeting Recap - By: Calvin: Die By The Blade

In case you don’t feel like looking up the results of the NHL GM meeting individually for each topic that was on the table, our frenemies and Die By The Blade have everything you could possibly look for in a nice, concise article. Want to know some possibly rule changes for next season? The status of the NHL participating in the next two Winter Olymipcs? Next season’s salary cap? They’ve got it all right here.

In Red Wings Land

Ask Ansar: On Jeff Blashill's job security and Red Wings need for call-ups - By: Ansar Khan: MLive

Some questions and answers from Ansar Khan, most notably on the prospects of Jeff Blashill returning for next season. As we head towards the end of another underwhelming season under Blashill’s watch, I think this is a conversation that definitely should get started rather soon.

From the article:

I think Holland will evaluate after the season, but it doesn’t look good for Blashill, who has two years remaining on his contract.

Too many players have regressed, a list that includes Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar for the second year in a row as well as Riley Sheahan, Danny DeKeyser, Justin Abdelkader, Luke Glendening, Dylan Larkin and Petr Mrazek.

Some players are going to take a step back every year on every team, but this list is too long. And the list of players who’ve improved from last season is too short (Henrik Zetterberg, Anthony Mantha, Jimmy Howard).

Khan goes on to say that the players should shoulder a lot of the blame, as they should, but coaching is not least among this team’s struggles. In all facets of the game; special teams, even strength and even tactical decisions (like burning your coach’s challenge and losing your timeout, only to have it bite you at the end of the game) the coaching staff is regularly outclassed.

There’s also some other good tidbits on our glut of young defensemen and bringing back our recently-traded UFAs in here as well.