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If E was 22 and was being paid league minimum, nobody would have a problem with him on our third pairing. Given he is 30+, being paid 4mil+, and is on our 1st pairing, he's under a microscope.

You're going to give yourself an ulcer. It seems like it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. "Ericsson is bad, therefore I only notice his mistakes." I've been as hard on him as anyone the last couple years, but he's been better. Note, much like the Lions following the Millen era, better does not mean good.

If we can trade AA for a potentially elite D-man, we do it in a heartbeat. If its Larkin or Mantha, we need to strongly consider it. Our organization has shown that it can draft young forwards late in the draft that can turn into top 6 players. All of Datsyuk, Z, Tatar, Nyquist, AA were low draft picks, and even Larkin/Mantha were not at the top of the draft. Name one D-man since Kronwall that we have drafted ANYWHERE was ended up a top pairing guy, let alone elite. We can't bank on UFA's because a young UFA D-man in his prime is not likely coming to Detroit, he is much more likely to go to a team that is on the verge of a cup. We may be there in a few years, but we arent yet.

If we traded a great young F for a great young Dman are we better? For the last 10 years or so the Preds have had the best BL corp and 1 of the top 3 G and they barely made the playoffs. It wasn't until they added high end F's that they became a great team. So does having only one good group work? I would say no. The Kings, Pens, and Blackhawks have all won multiple SC's over the last 10 years or so. All have had great F's and great Dmen. So do we have both? No. Do we have enough assets to make the trades required to have both? No. We have to draft and sign UFA's. If we had 6-8 young high end F's that would be different. But we are not there yet.

Tl;dr is all i look for

I think the real problem for us is that we lack players that other teams really covet. We have good assets and, in theory, we should be able to put together a package that could get us a Girard type. But, ultimately, market/trade value comes down to what GMs want and what they're willing to give up to get it. If a GM is going to give up a high-end D prospect, he's going to want something *Sexy*, an asset that many GMs covet. *A Real Good 1C* or *A Real Good 2C* or *A Jonathan Drouin*. GMs generally want Taylor Halls, not Nugent-Hopkinses. We could offer, say, Tatar and a 2nd and a prospect, but I don't think that really excites any GM, unless they're desperate. I imagine Ron Francis holds out for something better. "Well, I've got Lou offering me Marner for Hanifin. Can you offer me *A Mitch Marner*?" I guess we could counter with Athanasiou, but I'm not sure he's viewed as favorably as we'd like to think he is. To be clear, I'm not necessarily saying AA is inferior to Marner. Rather, I'm saying Marner has name recognition and draft pedigree that AA doesn't have. The HYPE! is stronger with Marner. The hope, I guess, is that we find a perfect fit. That the stars align and Holland('s successor) finds a way to trade pieces we don't need for a high-end D prospect that [insert GM] feels he doesn't need. But I'm not holding my breath. tl;dr Anthony DeAngelo and the 7th overall pick in a weak draft cost the Rangers a solid 1C in Derek Stepan. Trades are hard dumb.

The Avs are currently in a playoff spot. And they're 2 pts. behind us with 2 games in hand. They're not really a bottom feeder - like us, they're currently a bubble team.

I can't watch E. Its not that he's overpaid that bothers me, just that he is horrid. Wings are better off with anyone other than him at this point.

If you keep paying attention to the guy, you're not going to like it. Watch Z play. Dude keeps ******* up on every shift the last few weeks. No one seems to complain though because they aren't looking for issues in him.

That's what I thought so too at first but the OP wrote out like 3 paragraphs so it seems like he is serious.

Yeah, Ericsson has been much better this season, the past few weeks in particular. I honestly thought this was a joke thread, in the same way someone just made a thread "3 goal Howard"... Ericsson isn't a "great" defenseman by any stretch, but he's far from this team's biggest issue right now.

I have been watching. Did you see the game yesterday? Ken and Mik spent a good 2 minutes talking about Ericsson's improvement. Talking about how he wasn't very good the last few seasons but has done better so far. That's why it's kind of ironic you posted this thread right after a game where they were praising Ericsson. Anyways he won't sit. The org sees him in a different light than we do. He's a big guy that plays tough minutes against opponents he shouldn't be playing. The org still believes in having big stay at home type players surrounded by mobile defensemen. His likelihood of getting benched is probably one in one thousand.

He's actually been decent.

they deserved the loss.

he's not great, but he hasn't been that bad either. He's just another overpaid player on ateam full of them

A number of things spring to mind. 1) Smith's early foray was a perfect illustration of the Lidstrom effect. Apart from Chelios he made everyone look better. Ian White? Check. Dandenault? Check. Same with Brendan Smith. If Smith had been a few years older and could have had more time alongside Lidstrom he would have looked a 2-3 D-man for that time...particularly as.... 2) Smith's problem has never been a lack of heart or skill but rather passing and decision making. No coincidence that by far his best performances were alongside d-men who could pass well and who were both experienced and smart. Lidstrom. Kronwall. Green.The first two benefited from his skating, the latter from his slightly more abrasive edge. 3) Smith was never the sharpest tool in the box, on or off the ice. Seems like a nice lad, but doesn't look likely to trouble Mensa. 4) Smith was also hampered by crucial developmental years being under the pre-blash coaching debacle in Grand Rapids - did anyone really improve under Curt Fraser? Several declined. 5) Smith, as at NYR, was always twice the player in the playoffs. We all saw those performances and saw what he could bring if he could replicate that in the regular season - a solid top 4 guy. NYR fell into the same trap. On the Wings, a team now largely lacking in smart D-men, and too weak on the back line to shelter him, not to mention playoff outsiders, there really wasn't much merit in keeping him. for a player who had stalled, couldn't find the right partner and who only flourished at the time of the season that his regular season play didn't merit, the trade was a great one for the wings, and many at the time said exactly that. A shame that his initial flourish alongside his old college mate declined so quickly. On Jurco, that injury seemed to destroy his confidence and effectiveness. I suspect Babs' attempts to turn him into a power forward rather than a decent sized 3rd line skill player didn't help, but he has been worse every year since his NHL debut season. By the time he left us he looked so lost. For his last spell with us he was at least a more than PPG player at AHL level. Now he's not even that. Not seen a young player have such a solid upward trajectory until 22 have such a consistent downward one since then. For him to have dropped off his early promise so much can't just be on DRW despite Bab's questionable usage.

While I don't think it's even close to a primary reason, I'm also really glad that's Frk is on the team. Had Nosek not been claimed by Vegas, and Bertuzzi not hurt, there's no way Frk gets a shot and proves he can play NHL. I really think he helps make our PP a little more effective, and his 5 on 5 play has been a pleasant surprise.

Kids + Goaltending + Daley + Positive atmosphere Many prominent players have commented how bad and low the dressing room got last year. It looks like they're actually having fun.

I would say it's a combination of all of those things, but for me, the biggest reason is probably the growth of the "kids" (Larkin, Mantha and Athanasiou). I'd also add in the growth of our young coach. I know many are really hard on Blash and get frustrated with his constant line shuffling (I do too), but I think he's a much better coach this season, and better than most would like to give him credit for. But yeah, Mantha showing that he could be an elite power forward in this league, and Larkin showing that he could be a very good 1C, have to be the two biggest reasons for optimism, and the reason we're seeing the growth from this team this season.

Smart and lucky aren't the same thing.

Na, hez literally always sucked. He played well with Lidstrom one time in 2000 whatever and fans stroked themselves for 5 years about it. Dude is garbage, and those who supported him are conveniently hiding now.

Mantha didn't score any points last night, trade him!

Fun fact: Matthews / Nylander / Marner - combined 44 points in 54 games. Larkin / Mantha / Athanasiou - combined 43 points in 47 games. The kids are alright.

Give them their 8 year deals now.