dirtygames.ca

As a rule, I’m not one to hate on Ken Holland. All those shiny rings, fond memories and the diamonds he keeps finding in the rough make it very difficult to do that.

Today, however, I’ll make a brief, 300-word exception to that rule:

Jason Williams?!?!?!

Was the need to replace Mikael Samuelsson really that great? How badly, really, would the Red Wings have missed having a forward who enjoys shooting the puck, though not necessarily in the direction of the net? How desperately, all things considered, do we need someone who is not a defenceman to act like one at the point on the power-play?

How badly does Mike Babcock need a new whipping boy?

Pretty badly, I guess:

“I’m excited to get back,” Williams said in a phone interview today from London, Ont. “I always enjoyed my time in Detroit, met some great people there and to be able to re-sign is nice. Not many people get traded away and brought back.”

Do you know why not many people get traded away and brought back? Because usually they are traded for a reason.

Williams’ best season as a pro was with the Wings in 2005-06, when he scored 21 goals, 37 assists and 58 points.

Indeed. And I would be prepared to bet that if he sees enough ice time this season, he will come close to those numbers again. It’s not exceedingly difficult to put up 58 points when you refuse to enter the defensive zone and end up being used predominantly with the man advantage.

As I said above, I try to make it a rule to trust Ken Holland. I started doing it in 1994, and it’s worked out okay, give or take a few first-round bumps along the way.

So perhaps this is part of a master plan. Perhaps Babcock really does need someone inconsequential he can yell at and scream at and (pretty please!) beat over the head with blunt objects when things don’t go so well.

But did it have to be this guy? Was there no other player with a modicum of offensive talent, a penchant for wanting far more credit than he deserves and a complete lack of anything else to be found on that free agent garbage pile?

If Jason Williams is considered a last-minute addition for another run at a Stanley Cup … then somewhere Dallas Drake is shaking his head and wondering why he retired.

Sigh. Maybe we can play him with Datsyuk for 30 games, get him on pace for a 70-point season and then deal him for … something.