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I've been singing AlJo's praises for a while...IMHO he's becoming our version of former NHL'er Niklas Hjalmarsson.

Seems like the Wings brass likes Ben with ASP. I do think having the veteran there to mentor the young gun is the right call. But I also don't think those two guys should be playing in any high-leverage situations. Enter Albert Johansson with his absolutely stellar play lately. It's starting to be clear to me that whichever defenseman we trade for is going to become Albert's regular partner. I've seen Logan Stanley's name out there, Braden Schneider too. I'd love either of those guys with Albert on a more shutdown-type pair, and leave the sheltered minutes for Ben and ASP. I can't say I hate it. Edvinsson-Seider (Two-way, 25 mins a night) Johansson-Schneider/Stanley/Other (shutdown/hard minutes, 18-20 mins a night) Chiarot-ASP (offensive zone starts, PK/PP duties, and low leverage situations, 15(ish) mins a night) Bernard-Docker (press box most nights)

I've been waiting to post, but most of the dust has settled now. Drew Petzing - New OC. Spent 3 years on a terrible Cardinals team, and did terribly. However, he's young, best friends with former OC Ben Johnson, and his style fits us, just like Ben Johnson did. Basic: he's a heavy run guy, favoring multiple, even triple, TE packages. Old school MCDC style football. Rumored to be wanted by his best friend Ben Johnson, so unsurprisingly the Lions made him an offer he couldn't refuse the moment the bears season ended Further: we also managed to nab Kafka from the Giants. A college phenom, who also struggled with a struggling giants roster. He's a pass concept guy who should have gotten an OC job elsewhere, but chose us in an assistant role... My assumption is Petzing will run the offense in a heavy run scheme, but allow Kafka to call passing plays. And if Petzing fudges up at all, Kafka can step into play calling, so Dan doesn't have to, like last years morton disaster... Looking at the roster: Lions are $5 mil over the cap. Goffs $69 mil payout will certainly be restructured down to something like $50 mil. So that solves that. Perssonel wise, we have to continue rebuilding what brought us to the forefront: our bread n butter: the Oline. Losing Zeitler and Ragnow was huge, and thinking rookies could replace them was the first serious misstep I've seen brad and Dan make. Rumor has it we are aiming to select Alabama's left tackle early, and Georgia tech's QB late for a backup role. All picks in between SHOULD be additional Olinemen OR linebackers or DBs. I will be insanely furious if we spend any draft capital on a skill position again like last year.