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Come for the Red Wings. Stay for the s*** posting.

I'm in a crappy mood today and your posts legitimately crack me up. You sir are appreciated.

The Michigan Militia there has 13 years of higher education experience between them. They're likely discussing the engineering behind the foundation of the building and whether or not a tube structural system or a trussed system with X-bracing will be best for the build. Larkin on the other hand is practically a NEET who never got farther than algebra 101 and plays mini-sticks in his moms basement, or as he likes to call it "dungeon". It's no wonder he doesn't fit in.

Youre right. While the others are looking into the hole in the ground Larkin is staring into the horizon imagening his conquest of the city of Detroit and his future cups.

Larkin grew up a Leafs fan /thread

I'm just surprised by how many of those words got thru the filter tbh.

Look at this image. It speaks VOLUMES. DK, Abby, Miller, and Glendog all huddled together sharing stories, jokes, and general team-like camaraderie. Larkin alone. Disengaged. Excluded. Not one of the guys. Staring listlessly into the void. This is the social pariah you guys want to be captain...

unzip me daddy

Click bait

I disagree. If the league had the backbone to do a 30 team playoff, we'd win the Cup this season to prove everyone wrong.

I don't really understand how getting blown out every night and going on multiple 10 game losing streaks makes him a good coach for young players. Like if we were losing 3-1 or 4-2 and we saw improvement from younger players, I would be defending him. Honestly, for me, its not the losing, its HOW we're losing. So many games were pretty much over after the first period because we're down 3-0 or 4-0. At what point is getting blown out detrimental to the morale of young players learning to play at the NHL level? In regards to the topic, I think if we win the lottery, 5 years from now, Blashill will be gone and we'll be a playoff team. Heck, I'm thinking 2-3 years from now we'll be back in the playoffs if we win the lottery.

You're adjusting for the things that support your argument, but completely ignoring the things that would go against it. QoC definitely plays a factor, one that you're clearly not considering here. Larkin goes up against all the top centers and defensemen in the league every single night. Despite this, he still grades out to be a borderline 1st / 2nd line center. He's doing this on the league worst team, in every statistical category, with very little support. You're also only looking at one season, one that was very clearly a down season for the team and player. Larkin was ranked 21st amongst all centers in total points just one year ago. This season, the team was historically bad, so you can't really expect every player to grade out well. Some did. Most didn't. You're also only looking at total points, when defense has to be taken into account in any of these debates. Like I mentioned, Larkin went up against the leagues best every single night, so while it was tough to score against these players, it was even tougher to defend these players. Yet, Larkin did about as well as he could have, all things considered. You also have to consider age, and that Larkin is only now entering his prime years. No one knows how Larkin's career will play out, but to right him off as a middle six center at this point, is just plain dumb. At the same age, Datsyuk was a rookie, playing 3rd line center with a hall of fame winger, on a Stanley Cup champion team, and still only managed to put up 35 points in 70 games. Zetterberg was playing his 2nd season, on Datsyuk's wing, in which he put up 43 points in 61 games. I'm not saying that Larkin will be Datsyuk or Zetterberg, but I think he will be much closer to that level of player, when it's all said and done, than your average 2nd (or 3rd LOL) line center...

I do have a bit of problem with the whole 31st center in scoring thing. First off, you're not adjusting scoring for games played. Guys like Crosby actually fall outside of the top 31 centers, despite us all knowing Crosby is much better player than Larkin. When you adjust for games played Larkin isn't a top line center. Second, when you adjust Larkin's scoring to points per ice-time he falls to about 59-61. Barely a 2nd line center. Thus I suspect when Mackel says Larkin would be a 3rd line center on some teams he's not far from accurate. Third, Hudler was #8 in scoring among all forwards in 2014-15. Do you honestly believe Hudler was a top 10 forward in the league that year? Or was he just a good player who was afforded top minutes with good linemates? This is the flaw with arguing with totality of points. You've all just witnessed an atrocious season from the Red Wings. Mackel and I are here warning you that your beloved players who participated in this atrocious season aren't that good. Choose not to believe us if you like, but don't say we didn't warn you.

Thanks for the short analysis as I still have barely looked into Drysdale. When you mention Hughes and Makar my interest is piqued. Your last line is the way I think though, and if we don't get Laff I'd really like any one of those guys. Byfield obviously, Stutzle would be cool for the german factor and because I really like drafting guys who've already played in men's leagues. Rossi seems risky due to his skating/size, but he just seems so stinking talented and also appears to have some exceptional balance, which may make his size less of a factor.