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Photo by Carlos Osorio / AP

“Big” Drew McCarthy then chipped in, only moderating Costa’s comments somewhat: “Ken Holland makes his exit unceremoniously from the city of Detroit. Without fanfare. Without a send off. There will be no Ken Holland parade. There will not be a Ken Holland day. But, Jim, I think a lot of people have significantly more fond memories of Ken Holland than you do. You give him zero credit for the Cups?”

Costa: “I can’t give him zero, but I can’t look at him as the visionary that created that dynasty. Again, he inherited a team with Yzerman, Fedorov, Lidstrom. They were able to out and sign Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille. Dominik Hasek demanded a trade to Detroit. Everything fell in Ken Holland’s lap. I mean, it would be hard to screw that up, right? But then when those guys retired and the salary cap was put in, they said, ‘Ken Holland, part of the being the GM is signing free agents, trading for players.’ What happened? I think we saw who Ken Holland really is as a general manager. When Jimmy Devellano is not there. When Jim Nill is not there. When Hakan Andersson the (Swedish) scout is gone, what happens? What happens to Ken Holland. You realize he’s not doing great.”

“He was the steward of Gondor. He was handed a kingdom but wasn’t maybe a king.”

McCarthy said he’s offered Oilers fans condolences on the amount of no-trade contracts coming Edmonton’s way. But he said that many Detroit fans would be offended by Costa’s anti-Holland rant. “Ken Holland was a great steward,” McCarthy said. “He was the steward of Gondor. He was handed a kingdom but wasn’t maybe a king. I think there’s a place where we can appreciate the goodness of Ken Holland’s tenure without elevating him to God-like status, while still recognizing that the deals he made in the last decade are what put this franchise in the rebuilding mode they are today…. Do you feel like it’s a somber day. Like they just lost this hockey genius? Like, ‘Oh no Edmonton is going to build up a dynasty now.”? No. That’s the true test of this. Is there any sadness in Hockey Town to lose out on Ken Holland’s brain? No.”