he's always said he's building a long term project, and he has the leash to do it because he's steve freaking yzerman.
kenny holland said rebuilds take ten years. to me, the rebuild STARTED in yzerman's first year. kenny left this team with one of the worst teams in modern nhl history and a terrible farm system. that team had larkin, bertuzzi, mantha, and hronek.
to me the rebuild began in 19-20, which puts us on course for being a contender in 2029! whoo hoo were ahead of schedule! maybe.