In Red Wings Land
Red Wings’ Ken Holland not retiring type, talks Steve Yzerman rumors – Mlive
Yesterday was the Wings’ locker room cleanout day so we got the usual barrage of GM-speak about what went wrong. Maybe I’m just being sappy but it feels like Ken is a lot more wistful in this one than he has been in years past. I remember a lot of doubletalk lies about the rebuild process. It may be that things have gotten to the point where he can’t possibly sell things so hard being behind that and maybe I’m just reaching into reading between lines for my own sanity’s sake, but it does just kind of feel like a manager who recognizes the end is coming sooner or later.
Still, he gave us this wonderful tautology:
“Let me just put it this way, I’m going to manage the Detroit Red Wings until I’m not managing the Detroit Red Wings,”
Hey, it’s not like being forced to rebuild made him NOT Ken Holland anymore.
Elsewhere in the collected quotes:
Ken Holland says Dylan Larkin certainly is equipped to be the next Captain of the Red Wings, But he’s not prepared to make that announcement today.
— Jennifer Hammond (@HammerFox2) April 8, 2019
I just love this one because it’s obvious they’re not naming him captain on the day the team breaks up for the 2018-19 season. Larkin will have the C before the Wings break camp to start the 2019-20 campaign and looking back on how things have evolved since last summer, I’m real happy with the way the timeline has played out in this regard.
#RedWings Holland said de la Rose had his procedure and can come off blood thinners in July. But he is cleared to train and expected to be fine by camp.
— Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) April 8, 2019
Not sure I want JDLR back, but I’m very happy to see he should be fine.
And Finally:
For the third straight year, Jeff Blashill will serve as head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team at #IIHFWorlds.
He’ll be joined by assistant coaches Dan Bylsma, John Hynes and Kevin Reiter.
Details → https://t.co/r1RpdwEq8q pic.twitter.com/gKQ3nx5CDi
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) April 8, 2019
Well somebody thinks he’s good with kids. Then again, USA Hockey isn’t really a great authority when it comes to decision-making. The objective truth, as always, remains somewhere in the middle of the extremes.
Around the League
NHL playoffs 2019: Ranking teams 1-16 based on Stanley Cup chances – USA Today
#1 is obvious and you can argue a lot about where anybody behind that should rank. Overall just two of the Eastern teams are outside of the top ten and I think that makes a lot of sense because the West was trash this year.
