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You really consider Kronwall a stay at home guy? Never thought of him that way myself

Because I care about you guys and I can't bare to see you disappointed?

Nowhere are you being "realistic" frank. You don't like the makeup of the team so you don't want to see them do well to give yourself satisfaction. You genuinely seem sad that the team is doing well. And that's a joke.

This team needs more TRUCULENCE!!! Without TRUCULENCE, we're going nowhere...

Cuz he's Rick Zombo, b*t*h!

If we continue on the same track and keep at a similar pace for the remainder of the regular season (which I fully expect), we will finish, top 3 in the East, and that is dramatic improvement compared to what was expected of this team prior to the season by analysts and even much of the fan base. Even if we do happen to get bounced in the first or second round this season, I definitely won't take that to be a failure of a season. This is a very young and inexperienced team, compared to what we're used to. These kids are only going to improve over the next few seasons, and gaining experience, even if it is the bitter taste of defeat, will only help along their development. I wouldn't be surprised if this team makes some noise in the playoffs this year, but fully expect them to be a legit threat next season, and win a Cup within 3-5 years.

You are obviously starting your time frame with 2008 & 2009, which we won the cup and then lost in game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. Outside of winning the cup, there is literally no direction to go then down from your starting point. 2010 & 2011 & 2012 we did decline from the cup winning/finalists teams, I fully admit this (shocker, when there is one direction to go in). In those years we got 102, 104, 102 points respectfully. 2012 playoffs was arguably our low, but it was also a tough time to be a GM in the NHL with the uncertainty of the salary cup around the corner. I for one am glad Holland didnt put himself in the type of position Phily is in right now (not good, and right up to the cap) 2013, IMO the very beginning of the upwards swing, specifically in the playoffs. We did finish 7th seed BUT we did it without Lidstrom, upset Anaheim and almost Chicago in the playoffs. This was the first year we really started to showcase our young players. 2014, to me was the breakout. I know the simplistic way of looking at it was "you got 8th seed". BUT it was the first year the youth movement was in full effect. With Nyquist, Tatar, Sheahan, Smith, Jurco, DD all playing big roles. This all being done with our studs D&Z injured for a large part of the season. Boston (the #1 seed) showed to be too much, but at the end of the day they were better. 2015, we take it to the next level. We are currently sitting 2nd in the conference, and 5th in the entire NHL. I dont see how this year can be a part of this fictional gradual decline. It truthfully feels like you are watching a different team. Yes we declined from back to back finals from 2010-2012, but now we are back on an upswing. The narrative in your post would indicate that we have not improved at all since 2010 which is just wrong.

If avoiding disappointment is the name of the game, why be a sports fan at all? You would avoid so much disappointment.

What a horrible attitude to have. lol Can't say I'm surprised...

Andreas Athanasiou to be back in a week, per Blashill. http://kuklaskorner.com/tmr/comments/prospect-news-on-janmark-kadeikin-paterson-and-griffins-great-skate-notes

I don't need to make a case for how bad Tyler Myers is. His stats already do that for me. He's apparently class president of the Brendan Smith school of puck moving defensemen.

Jarnkrok + 2nd?

And if this is the case, no way Holland makes that deal.

I'd have put Semin in a musical due to his mad bongo skills. Bully in an 80's teen angst movie - Dion Phaneuf. He just has that face that screams "I'm a ******" even without the dirty Sanchez-like mustache.

Athanasiou definitely has top6 c potential.

Thanks buffalo!

So proud of my Godson!

Because one offensive defenseman isn't enough?

Perhaps I misread some of your comments about hanging onto homegrown talent/waiting to sign guys until the off-season. My mistake. Edit: You were talking about not moving Smith for a rental - must've been what I was thinking of.

Positive surprises

I suppose it fits nicely in the TANK thread. lol

Maybe but they really don't deserve either one. I mean this would be their 4? Top 5 pick in a row not even the pens were that bad

I'd like to see the devils get mcdavid.. but don't mind who gets him. Just please not Toronto! O:)

Kinda harsh, don't you think? Darcy Regier drove the franchise into the ground. Tim Murray's job is to get out from under Regier's mess, which everyone in Buffalo knows and accepts is going to take years, even if they land McDavid. They've got to start somewhere, though, and McDavid/Eichel is as good as it gets. And it's not just McDavid/Eichel. Girgensons is a future 1C and, I believe, one of the few young NHLers who has a shot at being somewhere in the neighborhood of Datsyuk-good. Getting McDavid/Eichel means Girgensons, a future 1C, won't have to be a 1C, which gives them a Datsyuk-Zetterberg one-two punch situation at center. They also have the likes of Reinhart and Ristolainen and Zadorov and McCabe, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they moved Myers (and, say, Stewart) for O'Reilly. "How you like them apples?" Murray asks, sheepishly. And, holy hell, the man's only been on the job for, what, a season and a half? He's just getting started, and, frankly, that's kind of a scary thought. I mean, I get it. We're the Wings, we do things the right way, f*** the Sabres and their shameless tank job. But, remember, there was a time when we were the Dead Things and it looked like the Cup would never return to Detroit. What started the turnaround? We sucked hard in the 1982-83 season, which allowed us to pick fourth overall in the draft, which allowed us to pick Steve Yzerman (though, only because the guy we really wanted - Pat friggin' LaFontaine - had already been picked). That gave us a true franchise player that we could build around, and that's what we did. We got lucky with Fedorov (fourth round, 74th overall). We got lucky with Lidstrom (third round, 53rd overall). We stole some Russians. We got Scotty Bowman. We brought in some outside help. Finally, 14 years after Yzerman was drafted (and not long after we'd considered flipping him for Yashin), we won a Cup. And then we won a couple more. And then we won another one. Which is incredibly impressive. But, the flipside of that is we were a perennial Cup favorite for two straight decades and we only (I know, "only") came away with four Cups. We've only won one in the cap era. All those years with Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Lidstrom, and we only won one Cup. Point being...actually, I don't remember. I went off on a tangent there.

100th anniversary for the NHL and 50th anniversary of the Leafs cup drought. Perfect!