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I disagree somewhat. It's hard to build chemistry with 20 players who've never played together before. Salary cap or not, that's just not supposed to happen so easily. Their ability to come together as a team has been impressive.

There are a number of reasons why I'm not gung-ho about a fourth line of Helm, Abby, Glendening. Even if we're not paying any mind to cap hits or trade value, I'd still have other concerns. I think Helm and Abby are at their best when they're slotted as complementary wingers on scoring lines. They don't really produce their own offense and they're not actually all that great defensively, so I feel like putting them together on a dedicated checking line is just kind of a waste -- for them and the team and the organization. The Abby-Nielsen-Helm line was helpful in that it freed up the top two lines a bit, I guess -- but overall I'd say the line was a drain on the team's offense and scoring. Swap out Nielsen for Glendening and you're probably just getting an inferior version of that line. "But they'd be the fourth line, so they'd only be getting ten minutes," you might say. To which I say: doubtful. Highly doubtful. I dunno that Rasmussen-Nielsen-Svechnikov would only get ten minutes a night, but I wouldn't expect them to get way more minutes than Abby-Glendening-Helm. (And Rasmussen and Svechnikov are both rookies, so I wouldn't necessarily have a problem with that.) So, even if Rasmussen and Svechnikov are playing on the third line and Helm and Abby are playing on the fourth line, Helm and Abby are probably still taking a healthy bite out of those kids' playing time. And if the bottom six is Rasmussen-Nielsen-Svechnikov / Abby-Glendening-Helm, that means Athanasiou is on one of the top two lines (assuming he's still around), which, frankly, I'm not down with. Based on what he showed this season, I'd fully expect him to be a drag on Larkin and Mantha or Zetterberg and Nyquist. So...I'd be ok with one of Helm and Abby on the fourth line with Glendening. But both of them? I'm not sure that it would be this really formidable, super-overqualified fourth line. To me, what makes Helm and Abby valuable is their ability to work with much more skilled players. If you take away those skilled players, you take away their main strength, and you're left with what I'd expect to be a thoroughly mediocre fourth line that can throw its weight around on the forecheck, yes, but spends most of its time chasing the puck on the defensive side of the ice. I'd expect it to hurt the team more than it would help the team, especially if some of the kids we're trusting to hold their own in scoring line roles are overwhelmed. Putting kids in roles that are too demanding can stunt their development just as much as severely limiting their ice time and responsibilities can. Don't get me wrong -- I definitely get where you're coming from and I don't fully disagree. I guess what it comes down to is that, IMO, Larkin and Mantha are the only young forwards who've shown that they absolutely need to be playing big minutes straight out of the gate next season. Frk, Bertuzzi, Svechnikov, Rasmussen, Athanasiou? Not so much. Maybe Bertuzzi, but his success might've just been The Zetterberg Effect. Haven't thought too hard about what I'd ideally like to see on opening night. Maybe something like this: Abdelkader Larkin Mantha Bertuzzi Zetterberg Nyquist Rasmussen Nielsen Helm Svechnikov Athanasiou Glendening Even with everything I've said, I wouldn't complain if they went with your combinations. It's looking like we're in for another season of wheel-spinning, regardless of how the lines and pairings are arranged, so I'm not too invested in 2018-19 roster management at the moment. My hope is that next summer will usher in a new-look forward group with new faces, new energy, new possibilities.

I used to watch Pope play here in West Kelowna when he was in the BCHL. He was leagues ahead of all other players on the ice. He then left for the college route and looks like he has continued to impress. He is certainly worth keeping an eye on. He could really surprise a lot of people.

LOL I always know when ur around. The DBZ ads give you away.

Vegas even being in the playoffs is a huge joke let alone winning the Cup. That would be like John Scott making the All Star Game and then getting MVP.

Agree with Kronwall and Howard. Nyquist will get us a first rounder back. You're undervaluing Nyquist. At the TDL, there will be a playoff team who will be looking to make a run and will want to add offense without adding term. A first round pick is what a 2nd line forward will get you. She's a 6 at best.

I hope Kronwall has a strong, healthy final season. He will likely retire after this season. There's no way he should be offered another contract, and he definitely won't sign with another team. I'd consider offering Howard another short, 2-3 year contract at a slightly lesser cap hit, depending on who else is available. We're going to need a stop gap goaltender before Larsson, Petruzzelli, or Fulcher are ready to make the jump. Nyquist should be traded at next year's deadline. He should garner a decent return. Not as high as Tatar because he'll be a pending UFA, but you'd have to think he'd get us a 2nd round pick, at minimum. Like every free agent class, most of these players will re-up with their current clubs. The few that may become available, probably won't end up in Detroit. And honestly I'm okay with that. We need to continue to draft and develop. Just remember that the players listed were draft 2nd overall, 15th, undrafted, 9th, 3rd, 22nd, 2nd, 7th, 5th, 6th, 12th, 6th, 12th, 4th, 22nd, 216th, undrafted, 108th, 61st, 39th, 152nd, 2nd, undrafted. It's very likely we could have another very high (top 5) pick next year, and hopefully get that franchise player we so desperately need. That to go along with Larkin, Mantha, Rasmussen, Cholowski, *Bouchard*, Hronek, etc. should be a very good core of players. I'm not sure we'll get Hughes next year, but piggy backing off my last point, I think we'll have a really good chance. We'll have a shot at the number one, and likely a top 5 pick, so regardless, we should be getting a very good player in what is expected to be another very good, top heavy draft. I'm definitely aboard the 2019 HYPE train though. Fortunately, I don't expect this to be a long rebuild. With a bit of luck and some shrewd moves by our GM, I think we could be right back in the mix in the next 2-3 years...