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Never been so amped for a draft. And the closer we get, the less confident I am on who are pick will be. Really hope that we trade a 2nd rounder and our 30th and move up somewhere in the first round. Our success with 2nd rounders hasn’t been great and with all the ammo we have there isn’t much stopping us from moving up and grabbing someone we love.

This. Obviously Bouchard has the on ice skills too, but his off ice confidence when he was interviewed is his quality that sticks out most for me.. especially for how young he is. He didn't sound nervous at all and thinks he can make a difference in the NHL next year. He's full of confidence.

So what I learned from this: Draper will be the next GM. Really impressed with him. Draper doesn't know how many picks he has in the top 100. He kept saying 7, but he actually has 8 (which is AWESOME, BTW) There was one player the Wings interviewed that Draper REALLY likes, but he won't say who it was. The drafting of Rasmussen was as much about the interview process than anything else. They really liked his poise and answers. This will be the year to watch the draft (if you don't already), lot of fluidity, lots of stuff will happen with the 1st 5 or 10 picks. Should make for good TV. Cleary is BAAA-AAACCCKKK as Player Development Assistant. "Overripe" is a thing of the past. I am really excited about our draft this year!

I just don't know why Kovalchuk would have any interest in leaving Russia to finally make a return to the NHL, only to sign with a basement team like the Wings... Maybe he hasn't had any access to North American sports news in the past 5+ years, and he still thinks we're an annual Cup contender... Seriously though, I think we have a better shot at Tavares than we do Kovalchuk. He's at the tail end of his career, and likely wants a legit shot at a Cup. At least with Tavares, he's still fairly young, coming from the Island to Detroit would actually be an upgrade, and he'd be THE guy here, and likely future captain once Zetterberg retires. Don't get me wrong, I don't think we're getting either. I think Tavares re-signs in New York and Kovalchuk signs in Vegas, San Jose or LA...

Yea I’d prolly do that trade as well. I’m extremely high on Zadina personally. I see him as a 40 goal scorer one day. Of course that’s my opinion but every post on here is opinion lol. And AA being traded wouldn’t be the worst thing. I don’t like his work ethic. He tends to float at times and rely on his speed.

I don’t see it costing a ton at all. Montreal wants their C and doesn’t want to waste the 3rd on him. I think giving them the 6th and our 30th for 3rd would be more than adequate. They get their man and an extra pick and we get a potential super star.

No, you're absolutely right. Hicketts wasn't held back. He never proved anything in training camp / pre-season. He didn't have the best performance of all defensemen on the team... Nope. 4 assists, 10 shots on goal, 4 blocked shots and 13 hits in 4 games averaging 19 minutes a night... He played extremely well. Exactly what management wanted to see. Not a single person watching those games (except of course for Buppy and CRL) thought there was any way Hicketts could possibly be sent down after that showing. They had to make room for this kid, right? Wrong. He was sent back down and struggled big time. Probably because he was disinterested and felt he should be in Detroit. Should he have been? Yes. Was that the right attitude? Not at all. You can say, that was pre-season and he was playing against weaker competition and regular season is a different beast, etc. All true, but everyone else also played against the same weaker competition, but yet Hicketts was one of the most impactful players on the ice in each of the 4 games he played. Fast forward to January 22nd when he finally got the call to play in his first NHL game in New Jersey. He played 15 minutes that night, was a +1, and played very well, despite not putting up any points. I was in Detroit watching that game on the big screen at the MotorCity Casino Hotel Viewing Party with hundreds of Wings fans. I remember everyone saying how good Hicketts looked and how he was there to stay. Even Larry Murphy said after the game how much he loved Hicketts' game and that he should have been up long before that night. I was pretty excited to see him play live the following night against the Flyers, my first game at the LCA. He was sent back down that following morning... They inserted Ouellet back in (who is clearly a better player...) He didn't get called up again for another 2 months on March 27th against the Pens. He yet again played extremely well, putting up 2 assists, 6 blocked shots, 1 hit, in nearly 18 minutes, playing on both specialty teams. He played the following 3 games, before getting sent down for the last 2 games of the season. He played 5 games last season, leading the entire team with a +5. He put up 3 assist, 2 shots on goal, 12 blocked shots and 9 hits. The only negative on his stat line is the 5 giveaways and only 1 takeaway. He averaged over 17 minutes a night, playing on both specialty teams units. Of course I got dragged back into this. And you're right, I am going to say this isn't about Hicketts once again, because it's not. If Hicketts got traded tomorrow, I wouldn't give a s***. But when we have a 21 year old that has proven every opportunity he has gotten that he belongs on the team, has outplayed players on the team, he should be on the team. Period. Again, I don't see Hicketts ever being anything more than a bottom pairing defenseman. However, we have several bottom pairing defensemen on this team as bad or worse than Hicketts. That's my issue.

IF he is willing to sign a year deal, it could be more strategic for Kovy to sign with a team like the Wings then a team he thinks is a contender. With that being said, I dont think he's coming to Detroit. I think he's negotiating with as many teams as possible in order to up his value. The argument for coming to Detroit would be that they are not likely making the playoffs, meaning that at the TDL he could be traded to a legit contender. For a UFA, best case scenario is signing with a legit contender (but that's easier said then done), 2nd best scenario is signing with a bad team that can trade you at the TDL, worst case is signing with a fringe team that may be a playoff team, but not good enough to do any damage, and not bad enough to trade you (think us in 2014). At least by signing with Detroit, he has a high chance of being traded to a legit contender come TDL, especially if its 1 year with a modified NTC.

Galchenyuk > Domi imo. Not by a ton, but I'd rather have him if I had to pick between the two. Wonder if Arizona will actually play him at center?

first off: thanks for starting this thread KRS - good idea 2nd - I hate both Domi and HowmuchwoodcouldGalchenyukChucK equally 3rd - I hate Bergevin and the Habs ownership because they are butt-rogering that great franchise so I hope Alex scores 30 in Arizona and wins the Selke 4rd - Habs were already one of the weakest teams up the middle in the League before this trade so maybe this means they really are taking the Finn 3rd exciting stuff !

Yeah, I didn't know that either. What makes you think it was Kotkaniemi? Any reason? Or just a gut feeling? I'm hoping we take Bouchard at 6 and move up to acquire another top 10 pick to take Wahlstrom or Kotkaniemi. The Hawks and Oilers will be looking for immediate help, so unless they think whoever will be available at 8 and 10 can make the team and make an impact right away, they may be open to trading those picks...

Yeah, "overripe" only makes sense when you're a contender.

I forgot to mention that like E, Dahlin was originally a Centerman. Something I didn't know previously. I hope it is Bouchard, but I have a feeling it was Kotkaniemi. What i hope happens is they draft Bouchard at 6, and trade up a few spots from 30 and draft one of a few good centers who falls into the 20's. If they have to give up 36, that would be okay with me.

And too Czech.

They think he's too right handed.

... or the third option which is to trade them... A team that is rebuilding should not have the oldest team in the league. Shed some dead weight and make room for some of the younger players to actually have an opportunity to "earn" a spot.

Coke can yummy, And then i'll see you, Apple fritter, Chill out skis, Sorry harvey. Got it.

One thing I don't think you're taking into consideration is where the team was when that philosophy made sense, vs where they are now, or should be... I'm fine with all of that when you're a team trying to compete for a playoff spot. When you're a team that is rebuilding, the "tie" should go to the kid. That's just my opinion. If a 21-23 year old plays as well as a 31-33 year old, I'd keep the young player with potential and upside every time over the older player that is past his prime, *in a rebuild*.

So the kid is clearly an idiot. Don't need anymore "dumb" hockey players on this team. And yes, THIS IS SARCASM!!! Great, another name I can't pronounce. Cant't wait for the Kotkaniemi-Athanasiou-Abdelkader-Cholowski-Saarajarvi Powerplay.

Awful situation, and if the allegations are true Hoffman's GF is just horrible, but I don't get why people are mad at the Sens. What one player's GF does to another players wife on social media is not something that can be controlled by the team, and I'm pretty sure you can't reprimand a player for something his GF does.