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If every other team in the league would offer him $2.25-3M, they would have by now with an offer sheet. Like has been mentioned, RFA's (especially ones without arbitration) have very little leverage. You can't crack because a young player is demanding more money. It sets a bad precedent in future negotiations. I think Athanasiou would far exceed any contract he ends up signing, but that's the way bridge contracts should work. Winnipeg didn't cave last year with Trouba, and they ended up agreeing on a 2 year deal. AA would be smart to do the same. Trouba ended up missing the first quarter of the season. Hopefully that isn't the case with Athanasiou...

I don't think this has anything to do with the cap situation, I think it's about not creating a precedent in regards to RFA's. We only have around $966,000 to spend and Holland has offered AA I believe 1-9-2.1mil meaning he obviously will make a move once he gets AA signed. I see where you are coming from with the first sentence, but what makes you put him at 2.25-3mil? I am not even arguing you, just wondering what your comparable's are.

This does seem like a long shot, but who knows... Was he close with Nielsen? That also could help us out, if that were true. Orig 6, Close to T.O. so can be around friends + family. Brand new arena (Islanders still don't even have an arena), There's definitely some attractions. If he were looking to win right away, though, he would probably look elsewhere

Zetterberg on faceoff violation crackdown: "Brutal. Makes no sense. It's slowing down the game. It's almost mocking the game."

Tonight vs Chicago... Street - Sheahan - Frk Svechnikov - Rasmussen - Booth Lorito - Holmstrom - Ford Esposito - Elson - Witkowski Ericsson - Jensen Cholowski - Hronek Sulak - Green Mrazek Coreau I'm thinking we'll see a little more of a star studded lineup (aka most regulars) Saturday for the home opener...

3 on 3 was implemented last year? Hmm. Maybe I did know that, but I must have forgot. Whoops! Hey, if the playoff streak can end, this losing streak when going to games can end too. Just hope it doesn't take 26 years. lol

https://streamable.com/45pfi Credit to Kalamazoo-to-Cali over at Winging It In Motown. tl;dl Pierre was confident Stamkos would re-sign with the Bolts. He doesn't feel that confidence re: Tavares and the Isles. He feels that the Wings and Sabres could, hypothetically, be the biggest players. Not sure I agree with him. And, I mean, it's Pierre, so...yeah. But it's something. I guess. Dahlin/Svechnikov + Tavares? A fan can dream.

Holland could do it. We do have to re-sign Mantha/Larkin (lets say 5-6 million total) and JT would likely want around 10, that means we need 16mil in cap space. Green is a UFA (6mil), Howard can be traded with 1 year left (5.3 mil), Weiss's cap hit drops (1mil). That right there is 12.3 million. I'm sure we can clear 3.7 mil if we needed to. In this type of situation, I'd be fine buying out a player like E, or if Kronwall goes LTIR......problem solved. Abby/Helm/Glendening would not screw us from getting JT like some may think.

I think Holland should give AA Hudler and Brunner's phone numbers. He is a still a 3rd liner at this point, only played one full season so far. Its a fair offer, sign it, round out your game, and cash in 2 years from now when you have proven you are worth more. If he was going to KHL he would have signed by now. He knows the Wings cant pay him that amount.

Eh, we don't know what Tavares would want. Maybe it'd be all about money. Maybe us landing Dahlin/Svechnikov on top of the pretty decent stable of forwards we already have would make him think, "If you add me to this mix, this could be a solid team for the next 5+ years." Ultimately, it's all speculation and conjecture. Which would I rather have? Tough call, but I'd probably go with the kid. If we want to re-establish ourselves as a perennial contender, we're going to need a new nucleus of young franchise players. Dahlin/Svechnikov would be a big step in that direction.

No Lol more hockey players need to attend college. They don't even know how to use MS paint...

I don't really think people should be pissed at Holland or Athanasiou for this situation. Holland's one remaining strength is his ability to sign his RFA's to cap friendly deals. It shouldn't be any different with a player like AA. Athanasiou thinks he's worth more than the current offer, and he likely is, but as an RFA, he has to realize that he has little to no leverage. He's not going to the KHL. I doubt he ever even gave it any serious thought. It was an empty threat and Holland knows that. I think Athanasiou will come back with his tail between his legs, and accept the current offer, or something very similar in the near future. I just hope that when he does, he comes in motivated as ever and puts together a great season, works on his defensive game, while continuing to dominate offensively...

AA made the threat of walking to the KHL and played his hand. The problem for his camp was that NHL teams, owners and GM's don't buy into the " i'm going to leave for Russia" threat because they know that the last place a young north american kid wants to spend his winter is Russia. At first I blamed Holland for this situation but he knows he has all the leverage. If AA really liked that Russian money that much he would've signed a contract there and bought a nice little condo in some obscure Russian city. The longer he sits the worst it gets for future negotiations.

To be honest, I'd compare him to a young Kronwall. He's a nice bit smaller than Kronner at just 5'8", but he's a built like a brick wall, and loves to hit everything that moves. Everyone is bigger than him, but he doesn't care if they're an inch taller, or a foot taller, he's throwing everything he has at them, and usually knocks them down, or at least off the puck. He's a smooth skater, and very good all around, defensively and offensively. He's great at blocking shots and winning puck battles (despite his size), and he has a good first pass, and always gets his shot through on the point. I'd say his best qualities are his will and determination and his hockey IQ. Very smart player.

3 on 3 was implemented in the 2015-16 season. Two years ago.

I expect a big season out of Nyquist. He will still be an overpaid, soft Euro to most on here though, even if he puts up 30 goals, 60 points...

Gustav Snipequist

Nyquist again on the power-play. Ties it at 5. 4 points for Nyquist and 2 assists for Hicketts!

Snipe! That's, what, Nyquist's fourth point on the night?

Agreed. I just saw an opportunity to take a cheap shot at our D situation and I took it.

I take the positive from that. Very encouraging. DeKeyser and Daley should probably be better. Ouellet hasn't had a great game, but most know I'm not that high on him anyway. Russo and Renouf are borderline NHLers. I don't think there's any doubt that Hicketts will be an NHLer, it's just a matter of how good an NHL defenseman he becomes. Probably tops out as a very good bottom pairing defenseman, but I don't think top 4 is out of the question...

Add that to the burn book hun.

He's not comparing the positions, he's comparing the situation between the two players. He clarified that in his post that you quoted. Go troll somewhere else.

Mantha is a beast. I think he's going to do some serious damage this season. I don't think Larkin is that thin. 190lbs. isn't bad for a 21 year old. He should be pushing 200lbs. by the time he's Mantha's age, if not sooner. Any bigger than that, it would likely affect his speed. His first full season (hopefully) as our 2C, there will definitely be some growing pains, but I think he'll be able to handle it.

I'll be at the game tonight vs the Pens. My stepson got us some great tickets near the ice on the end where the Wings shoot twice. If you guys find a stream, look for me in the upper left hand corner of the arena. I'll be the guy wearing red in a sea of black and yellow lol