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I just can't believe Snow made it to 2018 with a job. That alone is a huge accomplishment

Right. Would probably cost a bit more than #6 + #30/31 (in this hypothetical scenario), but yeah. I'd say Svechnikov is widely considered the #2 player in this draft class -- BUT, there's no shortage of people who feel Zadina is the superior player, and it does seem like the people who love him really, really love him. He is, perhaps, the more viscerally exciting player; he gets people's HYPE! juices flowing maybe a little more than Svechnikov does. I wouldn't say "Svechnikov wouldn't fill an organization hole. Zadina would." But I guess I can see where the Wings are coming from, maybe. Svechnikov is kinda-sorta like Mantha, Pacioretty -- kind of low-key dominant. Zadina? He's more of an Oshie, Pastrnak, Hall. High-octane. Gritty, hard-nosed, aggressive, flashy. Absolutely lethal shooter. Can stickhandle in a phone booth. Surprisingly good two-way game for someone with his sniper skillz. *shrug*

Being of Mediterranean descent and being somewhat olive complected, can you imagine the hassles Chelios would get at airports if he sported a playoff beard. I think there might be a pretty good reason why he never did. The closest Stevie ever came. Found this on Google and couldn't stop laughing. George Parros and Sidney Crosby love child.

Agreed. It's not that a team HAS to be balanced to be successful or that well balanced teams WILL BE MORE successful, but when you lack a RH-LH balance on ur roster, its a weakness that has to be compensated for. Some teams have enough overall talent to overcome it, some don't. I just think that more balance = less weakness/compensation.

Yeah, I had already read most of those articles, including Custance' Athletic article. The one I hadn't seen was the last Kahn article, so thanks for that. I still don't see it happening and I still hope it doesn't happen, unless it's very cheap (which it won't be)... One thing that confused the hell out of me though... In what world is Zadina the player we so badly need but Svechnikov isn't? I don't get that. Isn't Svech regarded to be the better player at virtually every aspect of the game?

If you're Bergevin, and you want Kotkaniemi, are you really going to take him at 3? I think that could be too much of a reach there. It actually makes the most sense for him to trade #3 to Holland for #6 and #30 and still get (can we call him Coke Can?) at #6 without looking like an amateur.

My understanding is that the talk is based on reporting by Craig Custance and Khan : Red Wings open to moving down from No. 6 slot, plus draft combine tidbits [Craig Custance, The Athletic, 5/30] Paywalls r dumb. Red Wing willing to trade No. 6 pick in NHL draft: report [NHL.com, 5/30] The Detroit Red Wings are willing to trade the No. 6 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, general manager Ken Holland told The Athletic on Wednesday. "I'm open to possibly move," Holland said. [ . . . . ] "I've started to talk to some teams about a lot," Holland said. "As you work your way toward Dallas at the draft, draft movement possibilities, I think at this stage in the game, everybody is kicking tires as to what might be out there." [ . . . . ] "If somebody on your list starts to slide, then you start to work the phone," Holland said. "We like a lot of players in that range, in that 30-35 range. We think there's some pretty good players. Do you package two of those picks and try to move up? Possibly, if somebody high on our lists starts to slide and starts to fall." Detroit Red Wings trying to move up in draft [Ansar Khan, MLive.com, 6/2] The Detroit Red Wings have the sixth pick in the June 22 draft, their highest selection since 1990. But it might not be high enough to suit them. A couple of the players they covet, right wing Filip Zadina and defenseman Evan Bouchard, might be off the board. That's why the Red Wings are trying to move up the draft, to as high as No. 3, a league source said. Will Detroit Red Wings make pitch for Ilya Kovalchuk? [Ansar Khan, MLive.com, 6/4] Red Wings will try to move up in draft Q: Do the Wings plan to look for a lot of trade-up opportunities at the draft and use extra picks to move up? – Tom A: They will try. They would like to move up to No. 3 for a shot at right wing Filip Zadina or No. 4 or 5 to get defenseman Evan Bouchard. If they do trade up or down it would happen during the draft on June 21 and of course depend on what transpires ahead of them. What would it take to move up? At minimum, in addition to swapping the No. 6 pick, the Red Wings surely would need to relinquish their other first-round selection (30 or 31, depending on whether Vegas wins the Stanley Cup) or one of their second-round picks (No. 33 or 36). ___________ Bonus: Petrella's Pre-Lottery Look at the Red Wings' Options [Clark Rasmussen, DetroitHockey.Net, 4/20] For what it’s worth, the Wings seem to be leaning Zadina, who The Athletic named as the one guy they’d go off-script to grab, if given the chance. More on that later. [ . . . . ] Craig Custance had a really great article on The Athletic a few weeks ago. In it, he identified a pool of eight players that, even in the worst-case scenario where the Wings move down to 8th, one or more will be available for selection. They are the same eight players listed above (before discussing Wahlstrom and Veleno). Custance also mentions that Svechnikov and Tkachuk don’t fit any organizational need. And then there’s this tidbit: “The Red Wings like both players but the crucial need is on defense and it would be hard to pass on a potential top pair defenseman for another winger in the system. The one exception would be Filip Zadina. The organization is well aware they need a game-breaker to compete with the best teams in what’s becoming a one-goal league. Zadina is that guy.” ___________ A couple of days ago I said I doubt the Wings are truly serious about moving up to 3. But where's there smoke, there's usually fire -- and there does seem to be smoke here. Maybe Holland feels it might not actually take a king's ransom to move up to 3. "In what world would it not cost a king's ransom?" Maybe no one's willing to pay out the ass for that pick and so Bergevin could be willing to settle for a smaller return. If Bergevin wants a player he fully expects to be available at 6, then he should trade back. He can tell GMs he won't trade the pick for anything less than a king's ransom, but if he wants to get something (anything?) out of the situation, he might have to settle for a return that we might actually be ok with paying. Let's say Bergevin wants Kotkaniemi. He could get Kotkaniemi + a king's ransom...but maybe he couldn't actually get that ransom, because maybe no one's actually willing to pay that price. So he could be looking at two options: A) Kotkaniemi or B) Kotkaniemi + pretty good haul.

I think Eastern Europe literally just means Russia. Vakurov also manages HK Sochi.

Caps win 6-2. Lead series 3-1. I think Vegas sneaks in another win at home in game 5, and the Caps win it all in 6. Rewatching the 98 Finals highlights against the Caps, I am reminded what a beast Doug Brown(ov) was in that series. Game tying goal in Game 2, two goals in game 4. If there was one non-HOF guy on that roster that I could have on this team now, it would be Doug Brown, hands down. The expression on his face on the game tying goal in game 2 was priceless. With Dougie, every goal was like his first.