Red Wings Fire GM Jeffrey Hendricks - jhendricks316's Blog

jhendricks316's Blog

Red Wings Fire GM Jeffrey Hendricks

Posted on May 17, 2016 at 02:44 PM.

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Editor's Note: I have not updated my OS Dynasty since January 2014 and I have played significantly fewer video games since. However, I have revived my NHL 14 Be a GM, and we begin with a recap of Hendricks' Red Wings tenure, as his contract with the team was not renewed.

Earlier this summer, the Detroit Red Wings announced that they would not renew the contract of General Manager Jeffrey Hendricks. This decision comes after three seasons with the team. In his first, his Wings won the President's Trophy, and eventually, the Stanley Cup. In the second, he broke Detroit's consecutive playoff streak, as the team fell below .500. In his final year, the team held 3rd in the Atlantic with a month to play, but sputtered late and took a Wild Card team to the Conference Final, losing to the Florida Panthers in 5 after upsetting Carolina and then Philadelphia. Both upsets took 5 games.

Hendricks reported initial shock about the firing. Though he only reached the wins goal set by his owner in the first season, he sincerely believed that all was forgiven by his team's playoff performances when they qualified. He always put his teams in a position to compete, and that is all you can ask a general manager to do. Key deadline acquisitions that fueled the Conference Finals run were Andrew Ladd, Marty Havlat, and Michael Frolik. Ladd finished the regular season with a career high in goals, and Havlat had six assists in two games in the pivotal Eastern Conference Semifinal.

With the firing, the Red Wings and their fans might not know what to make of the plans that Hendricks put in motion during his final season. He acquired Matt Duchene, Sean Couturier, Nick Bonino, Brad Marchand, Jesper Fast, and Braden Holtby while trading away Henrik Zetterberg, Jimmy Howard, other aging stars, picks, and prospects who he thought would never pan out. Hendricks had also been scheming with regards to Niklas Kronwall, but never got the chance to pull the trigger on a trade before his firing.

Hendricks' agent expressed his desire for a lengthier contract, even if this meant taking on a rebuilding project. Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, and San Jose offered four-year deals. All had under-performed in the previous season, regardless of whether or not the roster actually needed a lot of work. Tired of the Eastern Conference, Hendricks opted for San Jose.

He says it's a privilege and honor to work with Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, and Brent Burns, since any GM "would kill to have them as the backbone of their forward lineup." After the Patrick Marleau retirement announcement and the Joe Thornton trade before he arrived, Hendricks named Joe Pavelski the captain and Couture and Burns as his two alternates.

Knowing that defense failed him in Detroit, Hendricks hit the ground running and bolstered an already stout defense. He signed Dana Tyrell and Shawn Horcoff, two-way forwards who will bolster his 3rd and 4th lines, even though neither will play their natural position of center.

He re-signed Tomas Hertl, Matt Halischuk (traded to San Jose by Hendricks when he was in Detroit), Raffi Torres, and goalie Michael Hutchinson to ensure a respectable amount of continuity. He traded for the Hurricanes' Drayson Bowman and Johan Franzen. Dealing with Carolina was a frequent occurrence for Hendricks in Detroit, having sent Franzen there two season ago.

San Jose won their first pre-season game on Monday by a score of 6-4 over Phoenix, who won the Pacific Division last spring. Drayson Bowman recorded a hat trick and Franzen tallied 4 assists.