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Do we have proof that Blashill has "halted the progress of basically every young or prime player on our team except Larkin"? (Why doesn't Blashill get credit for Larkin becoming a legit 1C?) Seems to me the young talent is developing well and slowly taking over. Seems to me Blashill has been able to get a rebuilding team that's devoid of top-tier talent to a point where they can play any team close, often losing by one measly goal. I think that's pretty impressive. I think Blashill's unfairly maligned. I think you have to look at what he's working with and recognize what he's being asked to do. When you view things in context, I think it's hard to make a really strong case for moving on from him. The most damning argument against him is probably "Joel Quenneville could be available." But Quenneville won his Cups with Cup-worthy teams. Who's Blashill's Kane? Who's Blashill's Keith?

Truth be told I learned about her from here...In fact it was Kipwinger who brought her to my attention

Blashill isn't a playoff coach like Babcock. He isn't a regular season coach like Bruce Boudreau. He's a developmental coach. His wins and losses are irrelevant. What matters is how the kids progress. Although I would like to see more out of Mantha. I think he did a great job with Bert, Larkin, AA, and Jensen. I see Cholowski and Hronek getting better. Jury's still out on Moose, tho.

I'm just saying it's the point I'd expect that panel to make. It's all so predictable. Canadian mainstream hockey media tends to be big on size and toughness and physicality and they have a vested interest in building up the Hughes-Kakko battle to be closer than it is. Drama --> More people paying attention to the draft --> More people paying attention to what talking heads say about the draft. Kakko is a very, very good hockey player. Physically, he's probably the most NHL-ready player in this draft class. But Hughes is still universally regarded as the #1 guy in this draft class, and for good reason. He's played against everyone that he can legally play against -- including top college teams -- and he's dominated everyone. The size/injury thing is way overblowm, IMO.

Here's my quick conspiracy take on this trade: Detroit has every intention of giving Nyquist his money come July. His mission in SJ, which by waiving his NTC, he chose to accept, is to bring Karlsson back with him. His reward will be the 5 yr $5.5M contract. That's it. Lol, the guy on trade centre just said Detroit is listening to offers on vet D, Stefan Kronwall....

3rd round pick becomes a 2nd rounder if Sharks make it to finals same year or if Nyquist resigns with them.

Totally believable coming from CNN.

I noticed you didn't mention having to look up who Lisa Ann was tho.

Damn you've got jaded haven't you. All good, everyone whose been posting here has gone through that phase at some point. I think for me that was during the Swedish Mafia conspiracy 3 years ago. Fans have situational ups and downs towards players. It's never going to change. Larkin may be good today but in a few years if he's not living up to expectations and on his last year of contract; fans may very well want him gone for a nice return. And so may the GM depending on who it is. It's not a LGW thing. It's a sports thing. Red wings, twitter, facebook, instagram has the same s*** LGW posters say about players. 6 years is a hell of a long time in pro sports. Not even a players prime lasts that long. But also look at the roster between 1985 and 1991. Complete revamp of a roster. Between 2002 and 2008. Two completely different teams that won the cup. 02 was “long ago” when that 08 team won. For starters half the 02 guys were retired or about to retire.

I think Blashill’s decision making and overall coaching of an NHL team has improved somewhat this year, as evidenced by what you said. And not Quenneville nor anyone else is going to come in here and really do that much better with this team of players. It was a rough start, and I’m not sure he was the best fit for a transitioning team, but no one can deny that he was dealt a rough hand of players. But in turn the players were dealt a rough hand with a rookie coach cutting his teeth in a league that’s never been more competitive. I’m not surprised they’re thinking of extending him. I’m not wildly upset either at this point. If we can sign an impact player or two in UFA (longshot as it may be...) and land an impact guy in the draft this year and Blashill struggles the next couple years, he’ll obviously be gone. I’m okay waiting for that. Or perhaps he’ll find success. I’m more and more open-minded to the idea.

Zactly my point. Fans are fickle. And stop making me feel old.

The Mark Stone trade puts some perspective on this, I think...

Kind of is tho. "Six years ago, when Nyquist was 23, fans wanted him on the roster. Now that he's 29 and the team is in a different place, people want him traded. Fickle fans amirite??" A younger player like Mantha would be a better example. It was only two or three years ago that he was The Next Big Thing, and now it's starting to look like he's probably just the next Nyquist/Tatar and the knives will be out for him soon.

Brian Burke and Nick Kypreos have concerns about a player because he's smallish and "lacks toughness"? Well, spank my ass and call me Charlie! I do believe I've seen everything now!

Oh he’s talking about that lol. yeah back then we also made the playoffs and had two elite centers playing for us. but let’s leave those deets out cuz fickle clan.

To be fair, "only a short time ago" was, like, six years ago. When he was, like, 23.

Veleno is a smelly name

Italians are smelly

Was it Ottawa? It was Ottawa.

You must not know him. His 401k has a billion dollars. Well if Yzerman did that trade then hooray. But if Holland did then lolz.

Sometimes it’s a good exercise to flip things around. Imagine if Detroit traded a 1st round pick for Nyquist.

The worst part is I'm up for being pissed off but Holland really isn't giving me much to work with here.

We don't know that. I didn't say helping the tank is a key consideration. I'm just saying losing Nyquist helps the cause. No one's taking Ericsson. It's possible Daley gets moved today. I like how we're not acknowledging that moving Nyquist and Jensen makes room for some kids. "Yeah, well, that's great and all, BUT WHAT ABOUT ERICSSON AND DALEY HUH?!" C'mon, man. And Holland got two picks for him. What's the problem?

Our GM decided he didn't want to give a 29-year-old winger a new $5M x 5 contract and so he traded him for market value and opened up a roster spot and some cap space (assuming Nyquist is in fact gone for good). Also, this helps the tank. I'm not seeing the problem here. "Should've gotten a 1st" isn't really an argument.

You can't trade Nyquist for a first to a team that doesn't have their first. The Sharks do not have first rounder that isn't already wrapped up in conditions for the next few years. Doubt you can trade a pick that you may not have. If there's no real talk about Nyquist being traded and we can get a second rounder plus conditional pick for a guy who had to waive his no trade -- I think Holland did just fine. Maybe the Sharks were the only team biting.