It's all up to conjecture -- Red Wings GM Ken Holland's self-designated "mulligan", his do-over he'd like to have, if only such things were possible.
He made reference to the mulligan when I interviewed him over a year ago. The question was simple, posed to the former goaltender Holland.
If you could "have one back," like a goalie would after a bad goal, what would it be, in your general manager career?
He paused briefly before answering -- sort of.
"Well, there are a lot of things," Holland began. "But there's one mulligan I'd like to do over."
OK -- was it a trade or a free agent signing?
"I'll just leave it at that."
Well, nuts.
I bring this up now because the NHL just began its annual summer free agent frenzy. Already the Red Wings are 1-1, losing defenseman Mathieu Schneider to Anaheim, and gaining blueliner Brian Rafalski (Dearborn native) from New Jersey.
It's my belief, though not substantiated, that Holland's "do-over" involves one of two people, and both huge, hulking free agent defensemen he signed: Uwe Krupp, or Derian Hatcher.
Krupp was snatched away from the rival Colorado Avalanche following the Red Wings' second straight Stanley Cup, in the summer of 1998. He was 33 years old at the time, and was considered a top flight defenseman. This was back in the day when money was no object -- no salary cap, no "level" playing field. And the Red Wings threw a ton of cap-less money at Krupp. And he slipped on his new sweater as the flashbulbs went off.
Krupp played 22 games in 1998-99, before hurting his back. Then he didn't play the next season. Or the season after that.
You gotta be kidding. Never did someone do so little....
Meanwhile, news came to light that while trying to recuperate from his injury, Krupp had been involved in dog sled racing. As a driver. The Red Wings got a little cranky. How could you portend to not be able to play hockey, they wondered, yet be able to crouch behind a dog sled and race?
It was, for the most part, a legitimate query the Red Wings had. And it eventually got played out in the courts. Krupp wanted his contract with the Red Wings upheld. The Red Wings wanted to, essentially, have their signing of Krupp annulled.
Then, prior to the 2001-02 season, Krupp and the Red Wings each extended olive branches out to the other. Krupp wanted to play hockey again. The Red Wings reluctantly let him.
That season, Krupp appeared in eight games. Then he whined that he wanted to play in the playoffs, too. Scotty Bowman inserted him into two postseason games, but he was so ineffective he was scratched for the rest of the run, which ended with a Red Wings Stanley Cup. Yet if you look closely, there's Krupp in the on-ice team photo after the Cup was won, wearing his championship baseball cap. My guess is nobody was big enough to get him to leave.
Krupp's career was over a couple seasons later after a handful of games with the Atlanta Thrashers. The Red Wings got rooked.
Hatcher was signed in July, 2003 -- a 31-year-old behemoth from Sterling Heights, and to that point, a career-long Dallas Star.
Like this bubble, Hatcher's knee soon went "pop"
"This is one of the biggest signings I've ever announced," owner Mike Ilitch said as once more the cameras flashed while a new defenseman tried his Red Wings duds out for size.
Fifteen games into his Red Wings career, Hatcher blew out a knee. He recovered in time for the playoffs, and played in 12 games. Then came the lockout, and when it was resolved, Hatcher had signed with Philadelphia. The Red Wings got rooked again.
So I'd say it's either Krupp or Hatcher that Holland refers to as his mulligan. And going beyond that, I'd lay some cash on it being Krupp. The Red Wings probably overpaid for him, not as much so for the much more accredited Hatcher.
The Wings signed Rafalski to a five-year, $30 million contract. It's a substantial commitment to a defenseman who'll turn 34 this September, and who might be a level below Schneider, the man he essentially replaces. Will Brian Rafalski turn into a satisfying case, or another mulligan?
Time will tell. It always does. It never speaks in riddles or with cryptic secrecy.
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