There is caring about the long term health of the franchise and then there is being an *******.
I get wanting the best odds... but even if they were to win out (which they won't) but even if they were, they've got damn good odds at a top 5 pick.
If the people decrying the tank cared about the long term health of the franchise, they wouldn't have been trying to run Howard out of town on a rail for a bag of pucks. That's the one thing about the "tank" commanders I dislike. It isn't somehow more forward thinking to want to lose every game. It is lazy and pinning your hopes on a lottery. I mean, yes, try to get the best odds you can... but losing to get 100 ping pong balls instead of 90 or 95 should not be the end goal. I like what they're doing with Hirose and Kuffner and showing Zadina and Rasmussen what they need to do to be future players. The Wings need to develop a plan that doesn't rely on getting a #1OA pick. If it happens, fantastic, but if you rely on winning the lottery or winning a top 3 pick, that's not a foundation I want to be building my team on. Control what you can control and let getting Hughes instead of Turcotte or Byram just happen.
Yeah, I think I lean towards this. As a fan, I want to see the Wings win. It sucks to lose, especially this much. But for the good of the team, I'm not even sure the win/loss matters right now. This team is going to lose a lot of games regardless, and they are going to be picking pretty high in the lotto. What I want to see is the Wings working hard out there. They're going to screw up, they're just going to get flat outplayed some nights because the talent level isn't there, but they can't throw in the towel on the season. And the same goes for management. You might lose, but you can't give up. Especially if we're working kids into the lineup and want them to be worth anything. If they learn to just pack it in when the chips are down, they are never going to be the sort of player we want around - regardless of talent level.