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Everyone, stop taking the bait.

Underrated post. And I agree, Nyquist regression is probably one of the worse ones in the NHL. He went from a top 3 forward to one that’s debatable at being on top 6. Add in the fact that he’s being used as a possible comparable to AA who is a newbie to NHL (this should never be the case). Always preferred Nyquist over Tatar, but both of them took a major s*** since 2015 or 2016 or whatever. 27/28 goal scorers to barely hitting 20 goals now. And they ain’t getting any better. Maybe he doesn’t work well under Blashill’s system compared to Babcock, but that’s not excuse especially since other players adapted just fine (Z, Dats before he left, Helm, etc)

The difference is that AA was like one year into his NHL career, hadn't proven anything, was offered a fair deal and balked at it. Larkin has been in the year for 3 years, has proven himself, and isn't asking for a ridiculous amount, nor is Holland coming in low. A deal hasn't been reached yet because they are working on a long term contract, greater money management and planning is required, cap hits, AAV, salary, term, bonuses, etc. Totally different situation here. They really aren't even comparable. 6 X 6 is a great deal IMO. Just think what guys of Larkin's caliber will be making in years 4-6 of that contract. He's a future 1C and likely team captain. 6 mil is beyond a bargain.

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2018/07/22/detroit-red-wings-jeff-blashill-time-play-prospects/807049002/ Not sure if this was already posted somewhere but IMO Blashill is saying a lot of the right things in this article. Particularly about ties maybe going to young players now rather than veterans and the potential for Mantha to still be a trigger guy rather than net front presence. Still gotta put the words to practice but it's encouraging at least.

I thought you were speaking for him. But it looks like yer boy has backed off on his comments so my job is done. The offense is atrocious but fans focus on the defense being bad. Probably because offense has some “promising names” unfortunately those names haven’t translated to any actual results overall, displayed by us having the 4th worst offense in the league and 8th worse PP percent. Nyquist “rounded out” his game the last couple of years but his offense is absolute s*** now. Went from a 30 goal scorer to barely hitting 20. At this point, I’d much rather he be that 30 goal scorer again and us have the 2nd best PP we did back in 2015 or whatever. That’s why the Zadina over Bouchard pick was so important. We need defense, but we need offense that actually translates with Larkin.

Respect the pro-cess.

Dude Larkin isn't holding out, He's just not resigned yet. AA trained over in Switzerland last year that's a hold out.

It's popular this summer

Whenever I'm in Canada and I hear someone say aboot instead of about

Hard to say why Nyquist could never get back to his near 30 goal form. Maybe the NHL just figured him out? The Wings have lost a significant amount of offense since his first two seasons. Datsyuk, Franzen, Alfie... and then they were getting better production from the Defense and Z could really drive the whole offense. Gus used to make a killing on the PP too and now the PP is consistently one of the worst in the NHL. I guess it’s all relative to the state of the team. If Blashill can figure out how to get this team to score goals it will make everyone look a lot better

It's not that you're not privy to the situation. It's more like you came up with the narrative that he doesn't want to be coached because you were frustrated when I challenged you over Nyquist v AA and started making personal attacks on AA lol. But to educate you on the matter. Blashill has clearly stated why he's benched AA. It's not like a murder mystery like you're trying to make it out to be. The reasons are all apparent and have been in post-game interviews as well. https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2018/02/13/red-wings-jeff-blashill-explains-benching-andreas-athanasiou/336056002/ If after reading direct evidence from the coach as to the reasons of his benching, you still think it's unclear and think he's unwilling to be coached or think it's some blackbox then not sure what to tell you lol. It's just a second year NHL player having ups and downs and got benched and is learning.

Cherry picked article. Glad CRL dragged you back in. Time to have some fun again. Rest of the article states the following: In Athanasiou’s first two NHL seasons, his shooting percentages were 17 and 15, but that dropped to 9.4 in 2017-18 as he registered 16 goals. It’s fair to say that over a full season he should be at least a 20-goal scorer with the possibility for more. Remember, too, that the 23-year-old missed training camp and the first 10 games in 2017 due to a contract dispute and that often leads to an underwhelming season. Now he’s locked in with a two-year, $6 million deal so should get off to a better start. On top of that, only three of his 33 points came on the power play despite averaging 1:44 PP minutes per game, so there could be an uptick there as well. The crux of Athanasiou’s breakout candidacy is in how much ice time the Red Wings (or an acquiring team) give him. If his goals come up as expected, can his assists and ice time rise to a level that allows him to have a true breakout PLAYER 5on5 Points/60 Average TOI/game Dylan Larkin 2.27 19:51 Anthony Mantha 1.88 17:18 Andreas Athanasiou 1.81 15:19 Martin Frk 1.69 10:17 Henrik Zetterberg 1.65 19:30 Gustav Nyquist 1.59 17:51 Look at that AA better than Nyquist on 5 on 5. @Neomaxizoomdweebie Inaccurate, your boy thinks AA is unwilling to be coached. That's a pretty hefty accusation for an NHL player. Not the same as "things to work on"

You're probably right, Kenny should've just given AA whatever he demanded, that seems like smart GMing. I'm surprised this needs to be said, but Larkin =/= Athanasiou. One is talking about how he realizes a deal needs to be both beneficial for both himself and the team, the other tried using a KHL offer as leverage. I'll let you figure out why some folks were soured on one but not by the other.

Except Canadian hockey players at the draft, during free agency, or approaching the end of their contracts.

I think that's considered more of a public service.

I have absolutely no problem with attaining defensemen through Free Agency and I certainly have no problem with Trevor Daley or Mike Green. (BOTH of whom were signed without giving up assets. BOTH of whom I LIKE.) I won't discuss the shortcomings/strengths of either of these players because it's been done so ad nauseam, but I think most of us (at least the smart ones) can attest to the fact that these guys are not our current, nor future TOP GUY defensemen. They're veteran placeholders. They're good at what they do and service the needs of the team. Without them we've got even bigger holes on the back end. Granted, I, like many other LGWers (and hockey fans in general) do have a penchant for latching onto (debatable) HYPE! defensemen and over-valuing and over-evaluating their worth. We covet them like we might covet our neighbor's wife. We put together CRAZY trade packages or suggest things like OFFER SHEETING them. We know we can't have them but we NEED them. ...and that's the thing. We do need them. Unlike our neighbor's wife, these guys should be attainable. We just have to make the right move. ...and sure, I know that there's plenty of other factors including other suitors, wanting to play somewhere else, a better chance to win, etc. all those things factor in ... ...but for every Bogo, Wiz, Pitkanen ... there is a Yandle or Niskanen or Bouwmeester or an example for today and not yesteryear... say... Trouba... That if we went out and got right now, RIGHT FREAKING NOW, would be a much bigger, impactful, etc player for this team both now and in the future than Mike Green or Trevor Daley or whatever stop gap vet you wanna put in there. Also. Speaking of overrated. Drake. *sheesh*

You wish you were part of Canada, or more canada was a part of you? But canada is bigger so I think you could be the 11th province. However we don't want you guys. Everyone likes canada

What did I state as fact? I haven't once stated Faulk hitting free agency as fact. "I think he will". No, Larkin and Mantha being career Red Wings is not a fact, but I'd bet on it. You wouldn't? None of what you're saying changes the fact that RFA and UFA are completely different. The whole world recognizes this EXCEPT you, JM. LOL now I'm comparing Faulk to Doughty, Karlsson and Burns am I? Go crawl back under your bridge. It's safer down there...

The only D I give up Mantha and the 2019 1st (Lottery Pick) for is PK Subban. ...anyhow... This is, IMO, why Larkin is going nowhere and will be the next Captain of this team. https://mynhltraderumors.com/nhl-rumors-detroit-red-wings-and-the-nashville-predators/2018/07/15/

As a hockey fan I greatly appreciate this...we clearly have enough trouble brewing in this country and simply don't need todays vile politics making its way into our sport. Again, Thank you.