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Some juicey drama unfolding with NYR... Calvin De Haan is reportedly very unhappy with how hes been treated in NY, and, according to himself, is prepared to unload about it once the season ends. For reference, De Haan was with the Avs until the Rags traded for him at the TDL. The Rags played him in 3 games after being acquired (2 of which were shutout wins, and De Haan had zero goals scored against him in all 3 games) and then healthy scratched him for the remainder of the season. So essentially, they ripped him from a cup contender, didnt use him at all, and now the Rags have missed the playoffs. Couple this with the other rumors: >all the trouba drama that finally resulted in them trading their captain mid season >Chytill mutually agreed to be traded, indicating the players lack of wanting to remain on the team >Kakko also traded, and has mostly thrived since joining Seattle, unlike his time in NYR... >rumors swirling about bad blood between GM Drury and assistant captain Chris Kreider.. >Lavy won them the pres trophy last year (year 1) but now has missed the playoffs the very next year... this doesnt happen often >they circumvented Barclay Goodrows NTC by waiving him, and SJS agreeing to claim him, which Goodrow was publicly angry about Will be interesting to see what unfolds. Hoping that De Haan and guys like Trouba trauma dump on us this offseason.

Been saying it for SEASONS with an S now... but we are again stuck in the mushy middle. Worse, we are not even inching into wild card spots... now we will pick outside of the top 10 instead of top 3 or top 5 (again). Its all so tiresome. The problem is the team literally has no direction. Are we a rebuilder? Are we a potential contender? SY seems to not know (or worse, not care). I have absolutely zero confidence in his ability to do anything of significance this offseason. In fact, I would probably be happiest if he cuts his losses and sheds contracts instead of "loading up" for another failed season... The roster situation is not good. We can shed Kane, Smith, and Petry this summer... but still we will not be able to make a reasonable pass at a significant impact player (like Marner). Its eerily similar to the late Holland era. Directionless. Handcuffed by bloated contracts. Poor on ice product. After Xmas Despicable Me got fired... Todd comes in and seemingly saves the season... and then all the wheels on the bus fall off (again). If SY hasnt read the tea leaves, and realized the problem is his roster, and not his coach, by this point, we are so epicly fuqqed... for a while... This team needs radical, and wholesale change. I think SY is one of the very few sports managers who likely has a leash long enough to admit that to his boss and not lose his job. Does he have the humility to actually do it? We will see. When I say radical change, i mean major moves. 1. Larkin has to go He's captained a group that continually falls short and dissapoints year after year. He's approaching 30... This isnt a playing days yzerman who wins scoring titles and wins cups late in life... This is a very mediocre run of the mill 1C at best. Illitch and SY have chained us to this poor excuse for a "leader" with his most recent contract, and hes a "hometown" jersey seller... so i doubt the org will have the nuts to move on from him... but again (and we toldyaso) everyone in the room knows we are not delivering a cup while he remains as the teams leader and focal point. I would regain a lot of faith in this org if they nutted up and sat Larkin down this summer and asked him where he wants to be traded. We love you. We appreciate all youve done. But its time for you to go run shotgun to a mackinnon while we retool. 2. Buyouts - Gus, Vlad, and Holl If we have to watch these three skate out onto Lil C ice this fall I will continue to punish u ppl with Lions threads. Bc that is all I will care about. SY - admit your mistake and send them packing - them remaining rostered will scream of hubris (and poor management). 3. Trade - Rasmussen Its been a fun experiment. But he is not the product advertised, or even particularly good at being the alternative player we tried to develop him into. Not trading him now - while he still has youth and value - will become another regreted toldyaso so moment in 2-3 years time. 4. Re-sign - no one Sorry Kaner. You're old and poor definsively. Go relax in your glory years on the next suckers roster. Further, the last thing this team needs is more plugs. Shedding would help more than adding. --------------------------------------------- Imagine this scenario: >larkin agrees to a trade, and we send him to his boyhood fan team the tronna leafs. In exchange we acquire the rights to negotiate with Mitch Marner. Leafs get a solid player with term, and we get a verified superstar they can no longer afford. >Ras is sent away for a solid young RHD. >We buyout the losers Unfortunately I dont think SY has a big enough peepee for any of this and will likely just add more crap ass players to the roster... honestly i wouldnt be mad if we went back to marc staal-esque moves and took on cap for picks. But its not likely. -------------------------------------------- Lastly, I wanna make one more point about the deadhorse walman and fabbri trades, that I thought about the other day... Its generally accepted at this point that SY was trying to clear cap for Stamkos, but - as reported - pizzabro didnt get back to him in time to approve the signing and we lost the player. No big deal. Im not mad about losing out on stammer. He's been mostly pizz poor for Nash. However, HOW DA FUQ did you not get approval from ur boss for this move months prior? Did SY literally not start checking who was available in FA until day of??? And why TF are you giving away picks and solid young players to clear space BEFORE getting approval to sign the player you want to do this for??? Im sorry fellow fans - but I really think SY has been a different manager since returning to Detroit. The hunger and dilligence are gone. Hes in retirement mode in a position he knows he can half ass and not be fired from. And hes built a nepotistic office of all his old buddies that are doing the same thing. 7 years. The savior is 7 years in and has not saved us from, nor accomplished, anything. Therefore my radical move #5 is fire yzerman. We are rapidly approaching that conversation and reality.