Revisiting “Trust But Verify”

I had a post with a big hypothetical scenario half-finished but I’m scrapping it in favor of being more to the point.

Over at Winging it in Motown today, Graham Hathway has a bit comparing the Red Wings’ situation going into the summer of 2014 to that of 2012. It made me realize that what I was trying to say was tied to something I said at the end of July 1, 2012.

I trust Ken Holland to make the right moves for the team. That said, I don’t blindly believe everything he does is perfect. I question these moves and I want to see how they’ll work out.

Trust, but verify.

When Ken Holland signed Jordin Tootoo and Mikael Samuelsson and Jonas Gustavsson, I thought it was a little weird but I trusted that Holland had a plan. Having seen how things worked out, though, I’ve come to a conclusion.

I don’t trust Ken Holland anymore.

Okay, that might be a dramatic way of putting it but the point stands.

In 2012, I was willing to look at those signings and put aside my own misgivings. Flash-forward to this year’s trade deadline and my immediate dislike of the trade that brought David Legwand to Detroit. Though some will probably attribute the Red Wings making the playoffs and extending their streak of doing so to Legwand’s acquisition, I still argue it wasn’t worth it.

I’m not saying that Holland should be fired. I’m not even saying that he’s a bad GM. It’s not like he’s out to ruin the team, as some seemingly think.

He’s just burned through the faith I’ve previously had in him. My initial analysis is no longer geared towards “How awesome is this thing that Kenny did?” but rather “How could this end up going bad?”

Every good deal has a downside. Even bad trades can be justified. Eventually you should see both sides.

It’s just odd going into a summer without that faith to fall back on.