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Exactly. My point was never that Lafreniere will likely be a center in the NHL. It's much more likely that he's a winger. However, it is not as difficult (or dumb) as kipwinger seems to think, to transition from wing to center. A player like Lafreniere, with a high, high hockey IQ and all the raw tools, could seamlessly make the transition, if he and the team that drafts him see fit. I agree. He is a good enough player that it wouldn't matter. He's going to be an impact player no matter where he is on the ice. However, there's a reason most elite players with his talent and skill set play the center position. It's the position that has the most impact on the game (outside of the goaltender). Would Crosby and McDavid be elite wingers? Absolutely. Would they have as much impact on the game on the wing? I don't think so. Would Hall be an elite center if he had made the switch 10 years ago? I think so. Would he have more of an impact on the game at center? I think so. I find it odd that Lafreniere has never played any / much center at this point in his young career. He plays the game like a center. Maybe he just doesn't like it. Maybe he prefers the wing. Who knows... Regardless, at this point, I think he's likely to remain on the wing... but I also think he'd be better suited at center...

I don't how closely you've watched, but the last 6 months have been tastefully peppered with media coverage alluding to Larkin being named captain. It's already done IMO. We're just waiting for the announcement. I'm pretty stoked on it though. Larkin I think will make a great C. I'm excited to watch this kid develop into a modern Yzerman.

Yes, but I have a great way to surprise the fans with the announcement. Because we all know that when The Wings call a press conference, the reason it's called leaks out and nobody is surprised. So this is how Steve should do it: Cal the presser to announce Kronwall's retirement. Go through all the motions of the legit announcement and have the speech from both Steve and Nik, have the regular questions from the press, talk about his future, new position on the team, etc, etc...then after all that when Kornwall asks "are the anymore questions?" have him then end with "Again, I really enjoyed playing for this team my entire career, my family has enjoyed being here and we really love all the fans. I've played with some great players, some great leaders and some great Captains. Speaking of which, it is my honor to introduce your newest Captain of The Detroit Red Wings, Dylan Larkin!"

Only because Yzerman already signed on to be our GM. We needed a new worst kept secret

I disagree with all of this. Fight me.

Naw, that's fair. I basically agree with you. I guess what I'm saying is that supplementing a core of "Larkin, et al." probably isn't quite the approach Yzerman has in mind at this time. I don't actually know the mind of Steve Yzerman, but my rough impression is that he wants to wait just a bit longer before he makes any big moves. That he wants to get a better sense of what we have in the system. Next summer could be the true start of the Yzerman era, with Mantha and Bertuzzi and Athanasiou all needing new deals and with Yzerman possibly having a s***-ton of cap space to work with. It's still sort of early days tho. Larkin turned 23 a week ago. Mantha (turns 25 in Sep), Bertuzzi (turns 25 in Feb), and Athanasiou (turned 25 yesterday) are several years younger than Tomas Tatar, who's doing quite well for himself as a Canadien. Hronek (turns 21 in Nov), Cholowski (turns 22 in Feb), Rasmussen (turns 21 in Apr), Zadina (turns 20 in Nov), and Veleno (turns 20 in Jan) are very young. Hronek is going to make the team out of camp and the other four are right there on the bubble. In Hronek, we may have a 21/22-year-old top-pairing NHL defenseman. In Seider (turns 19 in Apr), we may have an 18/19-year-old top-four NHL defenseman. All of which is to say...Larkin, Mantha, Bertuzzi, Athanasiou isn't much of a core, *BUT* internal reinforcements are coming and the team as we know it could look radically different by the end of the 2019-20 season, even without bringing in any really good players from outside the organization. So, I'm down with Yzerman looking to make some shot-in-the-arm moves, but I don't feel like there needs to be a serious sense of urgency on that front. Not until next summer, at the earliest. Or perhaps the 2020 trade deadline... Not sure I follow the logic here. Why not just say we're planning on being done with the rebuild within the next couple of years? We don't have to commit to or renounce Larkin, Mantha, Bertuzzi, Athanasiou as our core right now. Personally, I want to see what a team featuring Larkin, Mantha, Bertuzzi, Athanasiou, Hronek, Cholowski, Rasmussen, Zadina, Veleno, and Seider looks like. I want to see if we'll be adding Lafreniere/Byfield/Raymond/Holtz/Lundell to the mix. I want to see what trade opportunities present themselves. We've gotta give the rebuild at least another season. We've gotta let some things unfold.

So I got this article on the score app. Larkin is so well spoken, and has such a good attitude. He needs to be made captain before the season starts. Larkin ready for Red Wings captaincy, knows it's out of his control

I am not a fan of creating a hole to fill another, especially when it comes to acquiring a player already in his prime and nearing 30. I am perfectly fine with letting our "core" grow and learn to lose and win together, much like we did in the early 90's. The ONE exception I would make (which I've mentioned a few times) but I know he is not available, I would trade from our "core" to acquire Werenski, within reason of course. I honestly do not know why he hasn't sign yet. They have over $15M in cap space, he should've been sign weeks ago.

Worst kept secret in hockey.

Yeah, Larkin will be captain. It's just a matter of when it'll be made official. In training camp? Opening night? There's not a single other player on the team that would make sense. It will 100% be Larkin.

A lot of people proposing we trade for guys or sign shattenkirk or blah blah blah. Some of these scenarios are nice in theory but it only gets us back to where we were at the end of our streak. We need to be patient until we get some legit talent. Seider may be just that we wont know for a couple years. But we cant be trying to rush something just for the sake of an 8th seed first round exit.

Are you this big a tool in real life? Or is it all just an online persona, to escape how miserable you really are?

Reading all of this about that QMJHL kid is making me dizzy If we're fortunate enough to land the 1st overall pick, and we take him - I'd just assume let him pick where he wants to play - be it wing, or center...Chances are if he's been a winger for much of his hockey career - then I'd just assume let him play that position since that's where he appears most comfortable, and that's where he's gonna thrive.

I think a tournament among the weaker teams would be a ton of fun and more revenue and all, but it shouldn’t determine the draft order. That said, that any more than the bottom 8 are in the draft lottery needs to change.