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For every Carey Price there is a Rick DiPietro. You DO NOT use a 4th overall pick to fill a hole that can easily be filled in free agency. You use a 4th overall pick to draft players that are never available in free agency. That is all.

Agreed...a different route....ANY ROUTE! Just to change it up. I think we'll be OK without his annual 2 wins

If we're going to call all the skater options elite, why not also call the goaltender option elite? https://www.tsn.ca/yaroslav-askarov-goaltender-1.1470370 Admittedly, I'm not a goalie person; I don't know goalies, it's all Greek to me. (@chaps80 is probably the resident authority at the moment.) However, virtually everyone seems to agree that Askarov is arguably the best first-year draft-eligible goalie we've seen in a number of years. To me, that puts Askarov in the conversation re: who we ought to take with our first pick. I don't think it's unreasonable to say Askarov is as good a goalie prospect as each of the realistic skater options is a defenseman/centerman/winger prospect. Goalies are voodoo, so, yeah, choosing one of the skaters would be safer. But a wise man once said safe is death.

Thank god we have that rigged draft lotto to prevent teams from tanking... https://www.nhl.com/news/blackhawks-crawford-ruled-unfit-to-play/c-317401792

Pre-Vernon/Osgood they had the great Bobblin' Bob Essensa and Tim Cheveldae. lol

I don't mind AA's on ice contributions one way or another. He's one dimensional, he's a possession black hole, he barely tries, and will never, ever, ever, win a puck battle, he's not especially useful on the powerplay, and he's the ultimate passenger. He hurts your team in a million ways, but he does score. All of which would be fine if he was like Michael Grabner and was content to sign 3-4 million dollar contracts and play on a team's 3rd line permanently. But I'm afraid he values himself a little more than that. So good riddance. Plus, he went to the Oilers and was almost immediately relegated to the 3rd line because he blows there too.

I don't think there will be any compliance buyouts, which could actually play in our favor, assuming Yzerman (Illitch) is willing to take on a bad contract to gain assets... I'd still consider using a regular buyout on Nielsen though. And yeah, I'd be okay with bring Gagner back on a 1-2 year deal. He can still play, and is an upgrade over several players in our bottom six. Oh, and he's a right-handed shot... Howard should NOT be re-signed, but I wouldn't be terribly upset if he were. I'd rather go a different route via free agency or trade, but this team is a ways away yet, with or without Howard.

Just say NO to Howard...we have a ton of cash and can get a better quality UFA goalie.

1. If Nielsen is bought out, the team will need another Center. 2. Gagner would be a cheap 1 year signing. 3. Teams are looking for veteran depth at the TDL, and Gagner would easily get a 3rd round pick. 4. Aren't you the one who always wants to trade everyone for draft picks, including depth players for late round picks? Thats not true. His fat butt fills the entire net. Not me. It gonna happen.

How does it feel to be schooled in Wings goalie history by Chaps? Smartass.

If the team is gonna spend money on a goalie, may as well get one who can stop pucks. Howard is the equivalent of an empty net at this point.

This is what I don't get though... Why take such a risk with such a pivotal decision for the organization? This will be our highest pick since Keith Primeau, back in the 1990 draft. We can't afford to mess this up. Askarov has a ton of potential. No one is arguing that. But in my opinion, he's also more likely to bust than Stutzle or Raymond. And even if all three hit their max ceiling, I think either of the forwards would be more valuable to this organization, than the goaltender. Again though, that's just my opinion on the impact of each position in general.

Again, nevermind hindsight. Nevermind the players I mentioned. Whoever we draft, we're hoping will be the best player on our team. Better than Larkin. Better than Mantha. Better than Zadina. Better than Seider. If you had to choose, would you want that player to be a player or a goalie? For me, and this just comes down to personal preference, I'd pick the player every time. I would never build a team around a goaltender, no matter how highly touted. Yeah, obviously we have to pick the right player, but again, in my opinion, there will be at least a couple players available at 4, that will end up being more valuable to their team than Askarov will be to his. I just don't value goaltending as much as some I guess... It's obviously much harder to find elite players (non-goalies) outside of the top 5-10 of any draft. Logic says we should use those picks on players... There are almost always number one calibre goaltenders available beyond the first couple rounds. Again, logic... And like I said, I just hope Yzerman doesn't...

I can understand why youd be hesitant but i do think hes the real deal and can totally see yzerman pick him at 4 or trade back and taking him ... im all for lucas raymond but i wouldnt be flipping s*** unlike if it was rossi (sorry dont want a smurf who’ll be tossed around in the playoffs)or a perfetti(if we take him its only cause his buddies told him to ) lIke i said our division is extremely tough and someone else might even add lafraniere so i can totally see yzerman thinking we have to build a strong d core and a top goalie to fight back Hopefully we add more assets to move up ,unless yzerman goes nuts and trades mantha for a top 10 pick and take askarov .... im sure loads of wings fans would love that lol

After watching a few games of his I'd describe his skating as clunky, It's not even the speed I don't like but the stride and overall mechanics. Can it be remedied over time? Maybe, I'm just not sure how likely that is as I'm not good at projecting what these young guys will look like in 5 years, I simply don't have the experience. So I take it at face value. Other than that I'd say he plays a smart, methodical game. But my worry is how he translates that to the NHL pace. Like you said he can slow the game down, it seems to be the primary way he plays, but I'm just not confident he'll be able to do it in the bigs. So if I'm going to take a small center I'd much rather have Rossi, who I think varies the pace of his game much better while also being considerably stronger on his feet despite being smaller. What I do love about Perfetti is his wristshot, his release is niiiiiiiice. Much prefer it over any of the others outside of Holtz. But still, just too many "ifs" for me for 4th overall. I could be wrong of course, lots of people who know way more than me seem to really like him. But outside of his production and shot I don't see a lot to be excited about.

Yzerman should absolutely be taking on a bad contract or two, but it's not going to be any more than one, or two tops, and I think you're expectations are too high on a lot of those returns. I'd be good with any of Eriksson (VAN), Steen (STL), or Ladd (NYI) along with a 1st, for any of Ehn, Erne, Perlini, Biega, late round pick, etc. It might cost a bit more to take Ladd, but you're not going to get two 1st's and a prospect. I also don't think Tampa will be giving up any prospects, let alone a top prospect like Foote, to get rid of Johnson. Johnson may be slightly over paid, but he's still a valuable player, and should garner some interest, without having to attach a valuable asset, even with the Nemeth for Coburn swap.

This is great news for Detroit. I was hoping it would dip to around $78-80M next season, but I'll take a flat cap for the next three. This is a prime opportunity for Yzerman to acquire some major assets (prospects / picks) from teams like Toronto, Tampa, St. Louis, etc...