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I changed my vote to better. For now. Last year almost everyone on the team regressed which is an extreme outlier for a team full of youngsters who are projected to get better. I think part of their regression was due to poor coaching. This year we still have the same youngsters and many of them are entering their prime. With the change in coaching staff and Blashill gaining some insight, they should be better. Datsyuk was good on paper but when it came down to it he wasn't here for the first few months and if you guys recall he didn't find his mojo for a few months (remember how LGW were bashing him in november and december?) additionally he didn't really show up in the playoffs. So realistically Datsyuk aka The Magic Man was only really here between January and April. I think Nielsen is Datsyuk's replacement with the added element that he'll probably actually play most of the season. So he'll be an "upgrade" in terms of long term reliability to an older, injured Datsyuk. I take back what I said about Vanek being Richard's replacement. I no longer consider him Richard's replacement, but rather Johan Franzen's replacement. The two are similar in that neither is as fast in their current phase of hockey while both are supposed to be goal scorers around the net in close quarters and PP specialists net front presence. I don't think Larkin is going to have a "sophomore slump" , I actually think he'll be better. I actually can't recall if any of our rookies have even gone through sophomore slumps. Tatar went from scoring 17 to 29 goals in his second year and Nyquist maintained his 27-28 goal range in his second year. If anything they had a "junior" slump. Lastly, and I think this is the main reason why I switched to better.. is Petr Mrazek. After his first legitimate 82 game season he showed us flashes of what we see consistently from Carey Prices hightlights. Mrazek went through a pretty s***ty slump after having a Vezina like performance for 2-3 months. First goalie to stop 15 shots on goal by Alexander Ovechkin, (arguably the best goal scorer in NHL history) in a single game speaks volumes to his potential Imo. Mrazek is now one year more experienced, and if he can maintain his consistency HE will be the sole reason this team wins out games. He was our Carey Price from November- January. He needs to be our Carey Price from October - April. The rest will follow suit. So I think they'll be better than the 2016 Red Wings and as good as the 2015 Red Wings. But not as good as 2013 Red Wings that took Chicago to game 7. Dipset.

I was always hoping for the headline, "Ruutu to Tootoo Scores Two!"

Dude those are just words. You had a solid 8hrs of rest and now you're voting better. That's all there is to it.

Trade jimmy....

Yeah but we shouldn't even have been 3-1, that Chicago team was breaking records that season and we were without Lidstrom for the first time. It's cause our vets were still solid but they declined** bad in 2015 and even worse in 2016

Nielson did outscore Datsyuk, but only by 3 pts (52 vs 49) even though he played in 81 games, compared to Datsyuks 66. I personally think the trade off between last years Datsyuk and next years Nielson will be a wash. That being said, I also voted that the team will be better this season, but by how much depends on whether or not they swing a trade for a Defenseman. Currently Id say 'slightly' better (as in 2-6 pts better). But if they can get a legit Defenseman (top 2 pairing, not necessarily an elite D-man), Id bump that prediction up to 6-10 pts better. I think that Blashill being in year 2 (and having an improved coaching staff) will help a lot. I know some of you (myself included) were down on him at times last season, but I have not given up hope that he can be a top coach in this league. I just cant see the entire team struggling to produce like it did last season. I haven't checked the numbers, but I think that of our top 10 most important players, damn all of them had their worst seasons (outside of rookie years). I expect Nyquist, Tatar, and Sheahan to all top their point totals from last year. If one/more of them are traded for a Defenseman, then I expect some combination of AA/Mantha to produce at a similar rate as those guys did last season (but our D would be better in that situation). I expect Kronwall to be much better this year. I think he was embarrassed by his play, particularly 'post knee injury', and I expect to see him come into the season with a chip on his shoulder. Yes hes 35, but there are plenty of players who are productive at that age. Besides, he managed a measly 3 goals and was -21 last season (which was last on the team by a decent margin)...if he doesn't perform better this year, then honestly he needs to retire. Zetterberg I'm more torn on...he looked really bad at times last season, and clearly is not a top line (or even 2nd line) guy at this point in his career. I personally think think he got worn out...he has 20 pts the first 23 games of the season, and only 9 pts the last 20 games of the season. If he were to play on the 3rd line/have his minutes limited to 15-16 per game (he was at 19:20 last year) he could be far more consistent and still have some gas in the tank for the playoffs. For the goalies - thats a toss up....I can see Mrazek being a stud all year, or being inconsistent again. If im betting, I go with the first option, but I am also an optimist at heart lol.

100k less? Is philly looking for cap relief?

I never take much stock in +/-, and certainly not for a player on a team as terrible as Flint was last season. They finished 3rd last in the league, with a 0.338 win percentage a -95 goal differential... Also when you consider only one player on the entire team had a positive +/- rating with a +2, and the worst was a -45, it puts Vili's -15 somewhat in perspective... Saarijarvi had a great year in junior and I expect him to improve on those numbers next season in Mississauga, but whether or not his game and lack of size (5'9, 165lbs.) will translate to the NHL is the question...

the 2nd year of the Coreau deal is a 1 way

I'm over abundantly an optimist, so my vote doesn't count but I think we'll be better....

Interesting to see "better" winning.

Need to get him signed fast.

Dit Clapper, Eddie Shore, Toe Blake, Gordie Howe!!!

I'd be surprised if either Hickets or Sarijaarvi play 50 games in the NHL. Small defensemen almost never make it. For every Krug there are dozens of Almquists

Yeah I'm glad he was pretty bad for those two months (February/March). It will bring his price down a bit. If he had continued his Vezina like performance from January then we would have ended up having to offer him like $7 million a year, something we can't afford and worst case scenario could have lost him to someone else. I assume hell get somewhere around $4.5-5 million now.

KIRE FOLLAND

Krug's 5'9"so Hicketts is even smaller. I know there are short guys. St. Louis was 5'8", Gerbe, etc. But there's few of them for a reason. though, and even less among Dmen. It's the same reason why a player of Hicketts calibre went undrafted. I've been impressed with him, but I still consider him a long shot.

Take off the Miller fan boy glasses being the best pker and shot blocker in the history of the NHL only gets you into the top 5.

https://twitter.com/otterN9NE/status/749295237395275776 It seems Otter is contiplating wearing either #29 or....are you sitting down? The jinxed #90. We have to flood his twitter time line telling him NOT to choose #90!!! Don't choose #90 Otter....please!

Neither. I'm starting to think Fowler is overrated.

And yet people say X is better than Y because... and post nothing but advanced stats with no context as their proof.

Hahaha this is the most pointless conversation / debate ever! Not a single person supporting analytics has said that the only thing you need to judge a player is stats, but yet people that are against all of these advanced stats keep coming back and saying that you can't judge a player solely on stats... Well no s***, that's why we've said over and over again that watching is very important as well... But make no mistake, all of these stats are used to aid hockey professionals, from scouts to coaches to broadcasters to writers and so on... Obviously there are things that these stats cannot tell you, like potential, work ethic, determination, stick handling, shooting and play-making ability, and that is why it's great that most of us are fortunate enough to be able to watch the games... However, some of these things like quality of teammates and opponents, whether a player is sheltered or not, etc, etc that people are claiming cannot be tracked through these advanced stats are flat out wrong. These are the exact types of things that are tracked through advanced stats. I guarantee a blind person that has never watched a hockey game in his / her life, but has access to all of these advanced stats, would be able to give a better analysis on who is the top 10 players at each position than someone that only relies on watching the games... You know why? Bias. Every single person here, has a bias for or against certain players, and unless you're willing to dig deeper and rely on some of these stats to broaden your perception, you will continue to be in the dark... Great post by the way ToastyWing. How did you come up with so much info? Was it through stats? Or are you recalling all of this information from all the games you've watched over the years? nyquististhefuture, you're right, Hakan Andersson didn't use advanced stats when he drafted these guys, and still doesn't because most of these stats are still foreign to developmental leagues, especially in Europe. I doubt many amateur scouts use the advanced stats, but you can bet your a** every single pro scout uses at least some of them... They'd be fools not to. And as much as I love Hakan for the amazing players he's brought the Wings, for every Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Datsyuk we've been fortunate enough to have, there has been a lot more Motkov, Wikstrom, Petrasek, etc. that have been complete busts. And there's no denying that he hasn't had a pick that looks like a future hall of famer since those guys, back when he was one of the few scouts that was willing to take gambles on these European kids...

I dunno why you guys bother with all the numbers and stuff when you've got two infallible, live action stat-taking, intangible-measuring, highlight-reel making machines locked up in your skull. Flowcharts and spreadsheets? BAH! These babies see in full technicolor and they wants to see a new shiny defenseman!!!

I don't think Dekeyser wants to leave, but who knows. I think he just wants negotiations sped up or maybe wants a short term deal so he'll get paid next season. Would probly be fine with a 5x5 deal.. I don't think he's hit his prime yet. I just hope we get him a top 2 caliber long term d partner to grow into his prime with.

The great thing is Subban's going to sell the s*** out of NHL hockey to the people of Nashville and in the States. I think it's a match made in heaven. They're going to adore him there. He's going to become what he deserves to be, which is one of The Names in pro sports. For anyone who doesn't like Subban... P.K. Subban donating $10 million to Montreal's Children's Hospital P.K. Subban lights up Chris Neil P.K. Subban crushes Brad Marchand P.K. Subban...destroys I mean, c'mon.