Ryan Martin’s staying, thanks, at least in part, to his wife. This is great news. Sucks for Tampa Bay and Steve Yzerman, but so would have losing him from the Detroit perspective. As I said before, “[a] brain trust that formerly consisted of Holland, Nill, Bowman, Martin and Yzerman suddenly stops looking like an embarrassment of riches with yet another loss.”
We can now stop pretending to be sorry for the Wings front office excellence by downplaying the importance of Martin.
When you add up the fact that Ryan Martin would likely become the assistant GM in Tampa Bay with the fact that he’s no longer attending brain trust meetings, it’s hard not to conclude he’s gone. Even though it’s possible he is being kept out of the meetings only pending his decision, it doesn’t seem likely he’d turn down an assistant GM job. The Wings can offer him money, but not the control such a job would bring.
So, yeah. It seems likely. And it sucks. Having a guy as smart and as knowledgeable of the CBA as Martin on the staff has been huge for the Wings. Ken Holland is the best GM in the league, but Martin’s value to the team in the cap era is something we’re probably not going to fully appreciate until he’s gone. The fact that he’s likely headed out the door has me unsettled on the team’s future CBA/cap-related prospects. It is not a good thing.
And I admit I’m a little upset with Yzerman, in spite of myself. I know he needs good, smart people in his office, but ugh. Martin is the Wings’ good, smart guy. But such is business, I guess.
Missed this nice reminder of the business side of hockey last night due to being away from the computer. All the Yzerman/Illitch loyalty in the world doesn’t change the fact that Steve needs good people down there in Tampa Bay. So he’s going after one of the Wings’ best.
I hope the Illitches open the checkbook. But it might not matter. Martin’s supposedly close to Yzerman, which probably means he’s out. Which makes the summer of 2012 a little bleaker.
Make no mistake, losing Martin would be a big blow to the front office. The guy’s been a big part of the Wings’ post-Lockout success. A brain trust that formerly consisted of Holland, Nill, Bowman, Martin and Yzerman suddenly stops looking like an embarrassment of riches with yet another loss.
Here’s hoping Martin surprises us and stays.