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Sure. I don't really disagree with any of this. I'm just saying "If he's truly That Player, why am I not seeing him doing galaxy brain things?" strikes me as kind of a nitpicky take. I would say he *is* displaying a worthy-of-6th-overall hockey brain. Even if he's not, he's still putting up points and being defensively responsible and showing well in the possession metrics -- and he's doing all this as a just-turned-20 kid on a horribad team that can't do anything right. All this while being a smallish guy who doesn't skate like the wind. He'll continue to get stronger, his skating will continue to improve, the NHL game will continue to slow down for him. I'm expecting really good things from him. bruh c'mon

really good first 40 of Germany, Seider played more than 25 min and the US scored only one goal(PP) with him on the ice. He made his presence felt.

Honestly, It's very hard not to want Byfield. As Mickey would say the kid seems like a legit thoroughbred. I'm still on the Lafreniere train but tbh if we picked 2nd and had the choice taken away from us I wouldn't be mad. I have this fear we fall to 4th and take Askarov though, reaaaaaally dreading it.

I think there’s nothing wrong with the bertuzzi larkin mantha line and the numbers are just down cause again , we’re s*** as a whole . If we’re fortunate to add lafraniere id have no problem putting him with larkin but if veleno makes it they have undeniable chemistry and id put them both together and keep the #1 line intact for now but again , no big deal if hes put with larkin or the 2nd line

Sign the best winger in free agency?who the hell wants to come here now? You think taylor hall will come here ?You always pick the best player available at your position and right now lafraniere is the #1 pick ,id have to check alot of the teams rosters but larkin would be #1 on alot of teams and a very good center at #2. Everyone was going nuts for larkin last season after putting up a point a game , now we’re gonna write him off cause the team for the most part is complete s*** and his numbers will obviously go down? Obviously when we start adding our #1pick +zadina full time and one year under his belt , veleno ,svechnikov etc.... his numbers will be good again . Larkin is a #1 center and a top #2c on an elite team , which we’re not at the moment but doesnt mean we won’t be good if veleno progresses and stays as a C having larkin veleno rasmussen as our 1-3 center’s would be pretty good imo

Anyone watching USA - GER right now. I see Germany are up 3-2 and Seider assisted on the tying goal. Has our boy made himself a Zegras-Turcotte-Caufield sandwich yet?

Yup, we're basically in agreement on all points. My thoughts on Lafreniere are more for those who maybe don't feel the same way or don't know what to think. "With Lafreniere and Byfield being more or less equally talented, we should go for position of need and take Byfield" is a solid argument if you accept that Lafreniere and Byfield are in fact more or less equally talented. Personally, I'm increasingly convinced they're not. "Byfield is significantly younger, so that's a knock against Lafreniere" is a solid argument if you ignore the fact that Byfield is bigger, stronger, faster than his peers (i.e. Byfield's physical advantages "artificially boost" Byfield as much as if not more than Lafreniere's age "artificially boosts" Lafreniere). "We're not going to win a Cup with Larkin as our 1C and the kind of 1C we need doesn't exactly grow on trees, so we need to take advantage of this opportunity to get one" is a solid argument if you accept that Lafreniere wouldn't make Larkin a much better centerman.

I think we're pretty much in agreement. I just don't agree (with others) that Larkin needs to be pushed down to 2C. Larkin is a more than capable 1C with the right wingers and with depth throughout the lineup. I think the people that want to take the lesser player because of position, are the same people that think only centers can drive offense. Lafreniere can drive offense from the wing, as good or better than most centers, and would make everyone around him that much better. Yeah, Lafreniere is That Good, and he absolutely does have The It Factor. That's why he will go number one overall, guaranteed, by whoever wins the draft lottery.

I think in some people's minds the thought of getting a Scheifele/MacKinnon who can push Larkin down to 2C is a couldn't-script-it-any-better, made-for-Hollywood outcome for this otherwise dreadful season. The idea of passing on that cosmic handout for a winger is a hard sell for some. And that's fair. My counterargument, of course, is that Lafreniere is simply That Good. The more I see of him, the more he reminds me of Crosby. He's not particularly big, he's not particularly fast, but he's smarter than everyone and more skilled than everyone and he plays a heavier, grittier game than you would expect from "a pure scorer." He 100% has the "it factor"; every time he touches the puck anywhere on the ice, you know there's a very real possibility that you're about 5-15 seconds away from seeing his team score. Could Byfield end up being the better NHLer? Of course. Does the thought of a 1-2-3 punch of "Scheifele"/"MacKinnon"--Larkin--Veleno/Rasmussen get me hard af? Of course. (Veleno looked really good yesterday, btw.) But, like, if what we're looking for is a gamechanging, gamebreaking miracle worker...and we're picking 1st overall...I think we have to pick Lafreniere, because I think he's the guy who's most likely to become That Player.

U take Lafren Zadina will also get us a good return in a few years

Yup, he might be better for a few more seasons. But then again, he might not. Which is my whole point. This team isn't winning anything in the next few seasons with a 32+ year old average goaltender. They might win in the next few seasons with a 24ish year old goaltender though. When you're a team in the position the Wings are currently in, you need to make decisions based on the future, not the now. Howard sucks, because he's old. Bernier sucks, because he's getting old, and was never great to begin with. Comrie sucks, because he's young and isn't finished developing. He might always suck, but he might not... Anyway, I'm done with this. Agree to disagree.

Classic

Merry Christmas to all my favorite guys, hope you had a great day! xoox, loooooooo

He's a Saint. Not a Messiah.

Thanks, I think? Sportsnet has a "5 predictions for 2020" article... their prediction is we win the lotto and take Byfield over LaFrenchFry... for the exact reasons I've been putting out there.

>Barrett Hayton Literally who? Veleno, Lafraniere and McIsaac for team Canada. Berggren and Eliasson(G) representing Sweden. Seider for ze Germans.