Kukla's Korner Hockey
Holland Always Thinking Ahead
by Paul on 01/28/09 at 06:39 PM ET
Comments (0)
from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,
Keeping everyone happy could get problematic for Holland down the road, but it is a challenge that every GM around the league faces. The primary goal will be to avoid expensive mistakes – the kinds of contracts that can’t be traded, almost the moment the ink dries on the document.
The quality that sets Holland apart from the rank-and-file NHL general manager is that he’s thinking a little faster and a little farther out than others in his peer group. At the moment, you cannot find one contract on his list that looks bad in hindsight – even the deals he awarded to his supplementary players, such as Kris Draper or Kirk Maltby.
“Players only get so many years to make their money,” said Holland. “You want to make sure they feel good about their contracts and they feel good when they walk into the locker room. What we’ve been able to do since I became the general manager in 1997 and started with Steve (Yzerman). There were other people in the league making more than Steve. Steve wanted to take less so he could be surrounded by teammates.
Holland was also on the Fan590 about an hour ago, talking the Zetterberg contract and how he will deal with future signings. Listen here...
added 8:06pm, from Scott Burnside of ESPN,
...by getting Zetterberg to sign on for the long haul without breaking the bank, Holland has once again positioned himself to keep the Red Wings in the hunt—today, tomorrow and beyond.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: henrik+zetterberg,
ken+holland
Comments
Be the first to comment.
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Most Recent Blog Posts
Video- Florida Panthers Down 4-0 To Start The 3rd, Win 5-4 In SO
Video- Don Cherry In His Own Words
About Kukla's Korner Hockey
Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.
From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.
Email Paul anytime at pk@kuklaskorner.com