Teemu Pulkkinen gets claimed by Minnesota, what could’ve been done differently?

By now as a Red Wings fan, you already know about the players that have been put on waivers and those who have already been claimed. It isn’t an overly long list but it is a list that is frustrating nonetheless. Teemu Pulkkinen is one of those players and he was claimed off of waivers by the Minnesota Wild. The inability to embrace youth may end up being Ken Holland’s downfall. In reality though, what could he have done differently?

The Red Wings and Pulkkinen never seemed like a particularly good fit. This isn’t to say that the Wings are averse to good players, they way he was handled just never seemed like they were going to work everything out. After two great years with the Griffins, the supposed log jam they had at forward was going to clear up. 

The team signed veteran after veteran to deals that shouldn’t have been signed. The Wings don’t have anyone to blame but themselves. They have given Ken Holland the benefit of the doubt for a very long time. His current system breed mediocrity and has been consistently underwhelming in the modern era. 

So what can they do differently? Pretty much everything. They have allowed sub-par management to bankrupt at least part of their future. Frk and Pulkkinen are not end of the world players but a death from a thousand cuts approach is showing that the Wings are heading down a very dangerous path. Andreas Athanasiou made the team, his role has yet to be defined though, is he going to be the 13th forward on a team that is icing both Drew Miller and Steve Ott?

The team could’ve done a bunch differently. This isn’t about that though, this is about ensuring legacies remain intact. The next guy is going to have to clean this up and Holland isn’t going to be around to see it through. Why should he care? Pulkkinen is just another player to him. A foolish approach and a potentially damaging thought when evaluating in the modern game.