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Abdelkader needs to EARN top line minutes. Not be given them.

Slow-motion free fall.

There are eight teams below the Wings in the standings, but only three points across that spread. Chicago is the only team with more games played than Detroit. The standings could look very different come the first of January.

I feel like there isn't much of a connection between size and concussions. I suspect it's more about the type of game you play and the situations you tend to put yourself in. Aaron Ekblad and Auston Matthews are big men and each of them has already suffered multiple concussions. Hughes is the same size as Brayden Point, FWIW.

When it comes to the Wings, I don't really differentiate between LW and RW anymore, because the Wings themselves don't really differentiate between the two. And I think the Wings are kind of ahead of the curve on this point. Because, for all intents and purposes, LW = RW = LW in today's game. I'd like to see the Wings add a couple high-end RH shooters, but I'm not gonna say Frk is our only RW just because he shoots right. I'd like to see us add Mark Stone at a not-insane price (meaning trade and/or UFA), but I don't see us getting him for anything less than an insane price. I don't think the fact that he shoots right means we should be significantly more interested than we otherwise would be. But that's all kind of beside the point, which is that we're not as deep on the wing as many Wings fans would like to believe we are. On this, you and I seem to agree. We also seem to agree re: the D and G depth charts. I say it a lot and I'll say it again: A team is only as deep as its top talent allows it to be.

Would have been more timely if he tweeted it.

Over a week old, but good draft rankings are hard to come by and DobberProspects is one of the better resources out there: 2019 NHL Draft Rankings - WJC Mini Version (December 2018) [DobberProspects] Draft HYPE!

How about be daring and change up Abbs and Bert?

...All of which makes the thought of us landing a guy like Hughes or Kakko that much more HYPE!tastic.

That bit about Seguin interests me: Seguin has put up 11 goals and 32 points in 38 games. His shooting % is currently 7.5, which is well below his career average of 11.1. The piece says an average Seguin season would translate to four extra goals (give or take). That would put him at 15 goals and 36 points (give or take). This interests me because of Larkin's current stats line: 16 goals and 37 points in 39 games played. Larkin's current S% is 11 (Seguin's career average), which is well above his career average of 9.3. You probably see where I'm going with this. At the halfway point of this season, a possibly-slightly-overachieving 22-year-old Dylan Larkin is giving the Wings the kind of production you might expect from Tyler Seguin. Now, I'm not suggesting Larkin has established himself as a Seguin-caliber centerman. Even if Larkin finishes this season with, say, 80 points, I'd want to see him do it again next season. Then I might feel comfortable saying we have our elite(ish) 1C. But my point is this: Larkin is doing well enough this season that it doesn't feel like a huge stretch to imagine him as an elite(ish) 1C at age 25. His contract is looking pretty good right now, no?

Happy Holidays to all my democrat friends out there. To all the normal people Merry Christmas!!! And happy new year.

What every NHL exec thinks but doesn't say. (***cough***devellano***cough)