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What does a Abdelkader have to do to be demoted to a lower line? Apparently single-handedly losing a game wasn’t enough.

LOL that was my friend on my account, not me I didn't want to date her anyway *****

must...resist...urge...to...go...full...s***poster... must...keep...lgw.com...family-friendly... must...maintain...winning...culture...

The natural progression: 1. Blame 3rd pairing Dman 2. Blame coach 3. Blame goalie 4. Blame GM <--- you are here 5. Blame star players <--- Toronto, Ottawa, and Dallas are here 6. Blame Franzen <---- The Dalai Lama and Jesus are here

If we had every single piece we needed to contend then the rebuild would be complete and we wouldn't be having this conversation. We've got a very good up and coming team, with lots of talent at all positions (maybe outside of goalie). And Holland was able to do so without a single top five pick. That's pretty good work. Next you'll give him credit for building the Canadian Olympic team. Yzerman has done a fine job. But his job was made 100 percent easier by the fact that Stamkos and Hedman were already on the team when took the job. It's also worth noting that people have criticized Holland for years for already having Yzerman, Fedorov, and Lidstrom on the team when he became GM, which is true. But at least he won with the team he inherited. Stevie is still a little light on Cup wins as a GM for people to gush over him the way they do.

Sweet. Hronek 's barely a ppg player in the AHL anyway. Needs more time.

We have plenty "young goalies", just none that are close yet. I would say that any of Larsson, Petruzzelli or Eliasson have as good a shot as any young goalie prospect to become a quality NHL starter. Projecting goalies is near impossible, but I would say the probability of at least one of those three panning out is fairly high. I don't know how there's anyone still questioning Larkin being a legit 1C. He's not elite, but he absolutely is a number one center in the league. He's among the top 20-30 centers in just about every category, despite having relatively weak linemates. Imagine what he'd be able to do with an elite winger like Kucherov or Pastrnak. Hopefully he'll have one over the next couple years in Zadina, or Hughes / Kakko. He's still only 22 years old. Give him another year or two to continue his development, and some help on his wings, and he'll be over a point per game player for sure. The biggest holes on this team right now in my opinion are top six right-handed sniper, 2nd line center, number one defenseman, and number one goalie. The top six right-handed sniper is not currently in the system, so we'll have to acquire one through the draft, free agency or trade. I don't think the number one defenseman is in the system, but teams have proven they can win without an elite, number one defenseman, as long as they have four or five really good defensemen. I think we should have three in the three that you mentioned, and maybe the other is in the system as well, or maybe we'll get one in the upcoming draft. I think Veleno will become our number two center, and like I mentioned above, I think one of the goalie prospects currently in the system will develop into a number one goaltender. Holland has done a fantastic job the past couple years acquiring picks for the future. We had four picks in the top 36 last year and hopefully we'll have a similar number after the trade deadline again this year. If we can acquire another one or two picks in the top 40, and get lucky in the draft lottery (both likely), I really like our chances of filling another couple of those holes.

https://mobile.twitter.com/maineicehockey/status/1094392597554941952 Not a 2018 pick but chase Pearson just got his 15th .... zadina also scored for Grand Rapids on a Ppl https://mobile.twitter.com/griffinshockey/status/1094404637849989120 Zadina’s goal

Someone might want to let the forwards know that the other team has scouted us and knows we're going to try to force the low-percentage pass nine times out of ten.

I have to mute the TV when the Horks score... their goal 'song' is so moronic.... dur de durrr for sure I just found myself yelling at the Wings with something close to anger... score a damned goal!!! Seriously....

Chicago scores. I blame Joe Abdelkader.

Oh, so manly, they are. PP is deadly with CHI... so.. not good

Hopefully Wings dads know where their children are, assuming Mickey and the tardy bus driver can find the arena....

zadina

Advise restraint, Dabs. I find explaining stuff to people usually ends up being a waste of my time. Bernie-YAY in nets... but it matters not if no one in a Wings sweater is interesting in playing today, as was the case yesterday in Buffalo. Good afternoon and LGRW!!!

I guess I just disagree with the "stale voice" premise as you're relating it to a GM. If I agreed that we needed a new GM, then Yzerman would be a legitimate option. But I don't agree we need a new GM. Our GM is doing a good job. I think you're reaching on this "stale voice" thing. But that's because I think everybody overstates this. First, GMs are not really responsible for strategic or tactical decisions which affect the game in real-time. Those COULD get stale if the were boring and/or increasingly ineffective over time. But that's on the coach. So maybe a coach's message could get stale, though I really doubt that too. Only in hockey is this even a thing people posit. Nobody says Nick Saban, or Bill Belichick, or Greg Popovich should get fired because their "voice is stale". It's mostly just nonsense, and to the extent it's true would only apply to coaches and not GMs. GMs are responsible for personnel decisions, and pretty much all GMs make the same kinds of decisions in the same kinds of scenarios. It's the reason why there is a general consensus on draft rankings. It's the reason there is a general consensus on the market value of free agents. Hell, Kyle Dubas is considered the "renegade" GM because he uses...analytics! That's how homogenized GM decision making is. I actually think longevity is an advantage for GMs. First, because there are unlikely to be scenarios which Ken Holland has not dealt with and navigated successfully in his 20+ years on the job. Second, because any process that takes a long time to complete is easier when you know as much about where you're coming from as where you're going.

Yeah, I mean, it's basically semantics. "Untouchable" = "I'd trade him for Rasmus Dahlin." Translation: He's not going anywhere, because no one's going to offer us that hypothetical deal that's too good to refuse. Mind you, I'm just talking about the here and now. Maybe five years from now things have changed so much that moving Larkin is a worthwhile discussion. Though, even then, we're talking about the captain of the team, who will still be in his 20s and who will still be on a good contract.

Mike Babcock is so good he turned Sidney Crosby, John Tavares, Patrice Bergeron, Ryan Getzlaf, Drew Doughty, Duncan Keith, Corey Perry, Rick Nash, Carey Price into Olympic champions. Tyronn Lue is the reason Lebron James is who he is.

Mike Babcock has quickly become the most overrated coach in modern hockey. He's won 1 stanley cup and gets paid 50 million for some atrocious contract and has barely put a dent in the playoff run for the Leafs. The Leafs won't win a cup under current dumb contract he's on. They'll probably re-sign him though. And anyone who says "well he won all those Gold medals for Canada". That's like crediting the USA coach for the Basketball team in the Olympics and ignoring the fact that those teams had Kobe, Shaq, Lebron James, etc on them.

Yah, I think he did contract Helmdeningitus. Not surprising with Blashill.

F

I can't wait to watch Tomas Jurco play

Probably pretty accurate. I just really hope Kronwall hangs them up after this season. He's had a great career, but he's definitely lost a step, and just not an effective top four defenseman anymore. We have a log jam on defense as it is, and need to make room for Hronek full time next season. Call it a career Nik.

Thanks, loo. I just need to dig deep into my Zetterberg-like, will tank, and find a way to tell myself that I'm fine. Probably an extra shot in my morning coffee will get me running on a couple of cylinders. For now, it's nap time until The Leafs - Habs game tonight.