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I wouldn't say I'm necessarily "done" with Athanasiou, but I'd definitely be shopping him (which I think they are). If there's a decent enough return, I'd move him. I wouldn't want to sell low on him though. Ouellet should be traded before the draft for a late round pick. If there's no takers, waive him before the season starts. I'd rather keep Jensen as a low cost, bottom pairing defenseman. Possibly shop him at the deadline.

His older brother is easily the most exciting player to watch that I've seen in the last few seasons. I knew you'd appreciate good entertainment. If he's got half the same attitude I want it. Matt repeatedly targeted Doughty even after big scrums. The cojones are with the Tkachuk boys

I'm not opposed to trading Jensen, but I do feel (just based on the eyeball test, boys) that his agility, lateral movement and ability to use it to avoid being hemmed into the d zone are really underrated around here. Jensen's replaceable, sure, but what he brings is something Detroit doesn't have a lot of. I still remember the pure frustration in recent memory of watching the Wings utterly fail to leave their own zone.

Athanasiou's got Mrazek syndrome Jensen's a righty, so I can see why the teams trying to offload him, don't need any of those

Its good. Its always good to have healthy competition. Even if we don't make the playoffs or win anything of note, that doesnt change the fact that holding players accountable is a good thing.

The Tkachuk gene alone makes him more valuable than most players. Keith literally bred a family of mother f***ers. I want in on that.

*drinks water nervously*

Let's fix this for you: Zetterberg, Abdelkader, Nielsen, Nyquist, Helm, Glendening, Kronwall, Ericsson, DeKeyser, Daley, Howard. * Green is unsigned Bertuzzi, Mantha, and Larkin have already pushed vets out of playing time. Svechnikov and Rasmussen should vie for some top 9 minutes. Witkowski has already been relegated to our extra forward/defensemen. Frk hasn't shown he belongs in the top 9 outside of some powerplay duty. Turgeon has health issues right now. Booth is no longer on the team. They've already said that Ouellet will not be with the team. So we are drafting Hughes, huh? Yes, Hicketts, Hronek, Cholowski, Sulak, and possibly our #6 pick (maybe Bouchard, Wahlstrom, etc) will be competing for a spot in the lineup, maybe 2. If you're going to share your usual b****ing and moaning, at least have your facts straight and understand the whole picture. I'm not apologizing for Holland, but I'm also choosing to understand that more open competition for playing time is a good thing in a rebuild. Yes, Holland has saddled this team with bad contracts (Abdelkader, Nielsen, Helm primarily) but he hasn't done anything yet this offseason outside of what you assume he will.

LUKE WITKOWSKI 1ST LINE WINGER LET'S GO JAGR IGINLA BILL RANFORD RAY WHITNEY PTO RECLAMATION PROJECTS LET'S GO LET'S MAKE SURE WE HAVE A REAL GOOD SUMMER HERE LET'S GO

I'm done with Athanasiou, there's no reason to put up with strain and friction from a player when the team is bad. If he doesn't have the personality we want to build around, trade him for someone who does. Both Ouellet and Jensen should be moved before or at the deadline this coming season, barring a huge uptick in the teams performance of course.

"THERE'S NO PLACE FOR IT IN TODAY'S GAME, THESE ARROGANT CELEBRATIONS BY THAT RUSSIAN FELLA, HOW THE HECK DO YOU SAY HIS NAME RON?" "Kooz-net-sov" "THAT'S WHAT I SAID YA DUMMY"

Obviously I'd like to see a Caps win tonight. Both because I want to see Ovechkin lift the Cup, and because I want Don Cherry to die of a hate induced heart attack on the same night.

My office is next door to the Capitals Arena and I'll be outside in the sea of humanity watching the game on the big outdoor screens for the remainder of the series. I'll try to get some pics and vids if the Caps clinch.

How I read that article was you want your spot from last year EARN it. You want that spot then BEAT the guy who has it now. Basically compete compete compete vs yeah the spot is mine and people mailing in the effort. Only time will tell I guess whether this is good or bad.

I didn't take this as a negative at all. We hear this every year, but I think it's finally starting to become more of a reality, which is a good thing. We didn't make the playoffs last season (far from it). Would you rather hear that the exact same roster is back again, regardless of performance? I'd like to think that they will assemble the best roster possible, giving a lot of hungry kids every opportunity to make it. I'm hopeful that we'll see 4 or 5 new players from the start of the season, but I'm not going to hold my breath. Hopefully Holland will be very aggressive at the draft and trade a few players to make room for some of the kids. If he does that, the direction will be very clear. Youth. They're saying all the right things, now do it!

I’m not the biggest Blashill fan by any means, but I didn’t take this interview as we don’t know where we’re going. IMO, it was more of Blashill saying that if players who have appeared in the top 6/on the power play want to stay there on a more permanent basis, they have to work hard (Bertuzzi and AA for example). And if guys like Rasmussen/Svechnokov want those spots, they have a chance to earn them in camp/preseason. There are obviously guys like Larkin, Mantha, and Zetterberg who will be in those spots for sure; I don’t think every single spot on the roster is up for grabs. But I like that they’re keeping an open mind about some spots in the top 6/power play (especially defense on the power play), rather than already having it decided. Even more so if we don’t have an assistant coach for the power play yet.

I don't like anyone who has letters in their name that they don't pronounce. They can't be trusted.

https://www.nhl.com/redwings/news/wings-blashill-its-a-wide-open-roster-more-than-ever-before/c-298952646 Blashill: "The roster is more wide open than ever before" I know some of you will see this as great news. I hate this. A wide open roster is a team that doesn't know where it's going. Congratulations, we're now a s***ty re-builder like the rest of the s*** teams in league. You got what you wanted, The magical fun of not making the playoffs. But damn those high draft picks are cool amirite?

Not goofin, but I'm also not as serious about the draft as most people. Matt Tkachuk is my favorite non-Wing at the moment, so I figure hell lets take Brady. I hear he's just as nasty if not nastier than Matt. Whats got you down on him?

1. True statement. Those teams were more balanced RH-LH than the team is now. 2. Downey + McCarty + Samuelsson + Maltby + Rafalski + Chelios = 6 RH. Frk + Glendening + Witkowski + Green + Jensen = 5 RH. 6 > 5. My statement was correct. 3. Again, this is a true statement. One can argue the importance that handedness had to do with it, but that doesn't make what I said "wrong". I was simply making an observation and stating that observation. Nowhere did I say that we had more success BECAUSE we had a more balanced right to left ratio during those seasons. FACT: Only 35% of NHLers are RH, yet 15 of the top 25 NHL scorers of all time (60%) were right handed. FACT: 7 of the top 10 scorers (70%) among Dmen in 2018 were righties, including the top 3. 6 of the top 12 forwards in scoring were RH (50%) in 2018. You can argue that this is all coincidence if you want to, but I disagree.

I'm changing my vote to Tkachuk

The inscription reads: “Give me your left-hand shooters, your off-handed, your huddled masses yearning to play on the wrong side of the PP.”

Here's a fun fact. In the 2004 entry draft the first player selected by the Wings was Franzen. 3rd round. 97th overall. This year they'll pick 7 times before selection 97 and their 8th pick is at 98. How can you not be excited about that? Edit: spelling