The Big Story
Patrik Laine skates for first time since concussion – By: Scott Billeck: NHL.com
One of the NHL’s best rising stars is back on the ice after suffering a concussion a little less than two weeks ago in a game against the Sabres. It’s great to see him back out on the ice, I just hope this doesn’t disrupt his playing career. Laine’s a superb young talent and it’s going to be a lot of fun seeing him develop into a bonafide NHL star.
In Red Wings Land
The never-ending circus around this team never ends. I won’t go into too much detail regarding what Ken Holland said, but it’s just another example of the Wings’ inability to adapt to the current NHL.
Here are the two biggest takeaways, I think.
From the article:
“First off, this is a hard league to be 22 and we’re trying to be a playoff team, were trying to win games, last year and this year,” Holland told TSN Montreal 690 on Monday. “Most of these games in the NHL are decided by one goal on most nights, so if a young player lets a check go and the guy gets a scoring chance, it’s an opportunity, I guess, as a coach, to send a message to learn how to help your team win.”
And here’s another snapshot as well:
“Jeff Blashill and I talk about this quite often — Henrik Zetterberg is an example. He’s built up stock. It’s like you’re in a company,” Holland explained. “When you build up stock and you have an off night, all the stock you’ve built up allows you to have those nights when, as a veteran player, you maybe have an off night.
Oh boy. So in just two short paragraphs Ken Holland is not only wrong, a lot of guys in their early 20s are tearing the league up, but he’s not even making much sense in regards to the “stock” built up by veteran players. While remaining loyal to players who’ve done great things to your organization is important, we shouldn’t be making lineup choices based entirely on what players have previously done for the team. What we can realistically expect them to do next is far more important.
His presence on the roster along with Sproul, Ouellet, Jensen, Mantha and Larkin is encouraging. But it seems the Wings still have a ways to go before they get to an effective player management philosophy.
