Detroit Red Wings: The Five contracts currently haunting the team
By Cory Mello
As Ken Holland becomes the new General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers, Steve Yzerman is now left with Holland’s former team, the Detroit Red Wings, who currently own the highest salary cap in the NHL.
After serving the Detroit Red Wings for 22 years, one can expect to have some amazing, and not so great signings within that tenure. Completely understandable right? In a demanding hockey market, and Original Six team such as the Detroit Red Wings, it’s more about what have you done lately versus what you have done in the past. With that being said, everyone should appreciate what he brought to the organization during his long-term tenure.
Despite what anyone’s opinion may be about Ken Holland, the man was successful. Under his leadership, the Wings’ won the Central Division (now in the Atlantic Division) 10 times, 4 Presidents Trophies (most points in the regular season), and 3 Stanley Cups to name just a few accolades. He will always be known as a successful GM and should be. Unfortunately, as successful as he was; the impact he once had was no longer present.
As mentioned above, it’s what has he done lately for the Wings? For a team with the highest salary in the entire league, and finishing 28th in the league is absolutely unacceptable. Over the last few seasons, Holland has signed soon to be mentioned players, to horrible contracts that have hindered the Wings’ from either signing other free agents, or trading for possible assets.
In this article, I will rank the five worst contracts on the current roster, based on performance and salary, in order from five through one. I will, however, not be including the likes of players on the LTIR such as; Henrik Zetterberg, and Johan Franzen. With that in mind, let’s delve into the five worst contracts on the current Detroit Red Wings roster.