marcaractac

Buddy I'm not making any argument here, I'm simply stating some facts. But in all fairness, for every time he wins, he also manages to completely f*** over his team with an awful gaffe. That trait of his dates all the way back to the world juniors. I'll always be thankful to his ass for scoring the cup clincher for us in 2008 though.

Been to 5 finals, played in 3 of them. Won one (2009), lost two (2008, Vegas' first year).

Not with a ~.822 save percentage in the finals he isn't

My only issue with drafting a goalie so early is the holes we have down the middle and LHD. If we had a blue chip center prospect and a blue chip LHD prospect in addition to what we have right now, taking the goalie at 6 wouldn't bother me. But center and defense are much more difficult positions to fill than between the pipes. There are young goalies available via trade all the time, and are much cheaper to acquire than a top six center or top 4 dman. Obviously it's gonna come down to who Yzerman thinks is the best available at #6. But would taking a goalie at 6 if guys like Eklund or Hughes are still on the board be the wise move? I personally do not think so. As far as all this bickering about drafting goalies in the last 25 years goes, it's like this: the man responsible for that lack of success is no longer here. Therefore, the last 25 years is no longer an applicable example of Yzerman's capability of drafting and developing goalies. I do think Yzerman addresses the lack of goalie depth in this draft. But none of us know how he will go about it. All these mock drafts are more meaningless than they have ever been before based on the circumstances around this draft. When mock drafts have the Wings taking the goalie at 6, it's based on their prospect pool; it's not based on some leak from Wings management. Maybe Jesper is the guy. maybe it's Cossa. It's just as likely that it is neither.

This I agree with. Zadina should have probably gone at about where Ras went in his own draft. I really hope you're right about the whole 25g35a thing. I think he'll be more of a 15-20 goal, 20 assist player. More of a really good role player than a core guy. I also expect him to score more of his points on the pp than 5v5. I hope you're right in this case. It would certainly soften the blow of not taking a guy like Necas instead.

Yeah Ras and disney.com worked together at the end of every practice on face offs. Veleno did the same once he got the call up. Re-signing Glenny is a must, even if just to teach our young centers faceoffs.

In the end, all I'm saying is that I wish the pick was used on a guy like Necas instead, who will likely become a ppg center. Who is already at worst a legit 2C.

Once again, one can disagree with the pick and still find positives in the player we got. Is that so difficult to understand? Not once did I say Ras is garbage, or useless, or anything even close. I've only ever said better players were available.

Ahh yes, throw out the insults cause you can't handle a little sarcasm. Cry me a river.

Yeah I can def see him being a big contributer on the PK as well. No debate there. I wanna see him as a middle 6 winger, forechecking beast. Being on wing would allow him to do a lot more of that stuff.

But it's LGW, you either have to think a player is great or useless. It seems there is no in between.

Ras will do real good on the pp for us. But he won't be a top 2C.

Congrats on your opinion.

Seider is low key pretty skilled. Not flashy, but gets it done. I'd say his only real weakness is his clapper. But that will come in time. I also must once again stress that I'm not saying Ras is a bad player who won't be important. I'm simply stating the case of why he was (and still is) the wrong pick in that draft. His skill level is why I also think he'll be a more effective winger (like Homer) than a center. He doesn't have the skill level to be a 2C. But he can 100% be a beast on wing.

The first top 10 pick in a rebuild. Better draft a guy for his size! Thankfully Yzerman has more sense. And once again with your black or white bulls***. Being a waste of a top 10 pick != player blows. It simply means we could have gotten a much better player. If the right choice is made, we'd already be set down the middle for years to come.

He was literally our first top 10 pick in decades... And I guess sarcasm is too much for you to understand. Noted.

Is everything black and white in your world or what? Seider was drafted because he was the complete package. Size, skill, skating, attitude. Seider will score more in the NHL than Ras... as a dman. Bookmark this comment if need be. Still waiting to see what is so special about Ras to justify his draft position. He was literally drafted because of his size and net front presence. There were far better players left on the table here. This is a fact. But yes, enjoy your large 3C or middle 6 winger, because he certainly doesn't have the skill to be the top 6 center we need. And I say this as a fan of the guy. If you want a special player with size, yes, you have to draft high. Ras is not a special player though. Seider is a special player. Byfield is a special player. Ras is complementary. Oh look, we finally agree on something!

Yeah! Let's keep using top 10 draft picks to draft based on size!! That'll show the league!

Fair enough. It's allergy season and I haven't been sleeping, in my defense haha. While teams have won without elite centers, it's always the teams with them that keep making deep playoff runs. While getting a high end 1C is unlikely, I don't think it is unlikely to find a really good play making center that can give us a 1A 1B scenario. If we aren;t gonna have that elite top center in the league, we need really good depth down the middle. I think finding a Susuki/Necas type would be lovely. Then we can have Ras on the wing which I feel he is far more effective as. Ras would be great to have to fill in down the middle when need be, but I like the idea of having him on the wing and forechecking and causing havoc in front of the net. If we have the depth to have Veleno as the 3C over Ras, the team would be much better off for it, as we'd get more scoring out of the third line in that case.

You said you think Veleno would push Johnson out of the 2C role in time if we acquired him. I more or less said I hope we can do better than that as a 2C if we wanna be legit, perennial contenders. Do not see what doesn't make sense here. We need continued growth and development from what we do have AND the addition of a legitimate top 6 center. You're stuck in this idea that I'm saying we need a top 10 center here, because I used Point as an example. When in fact, I'm saying a Veleno/Cirelli type of 2C is fine if you have a guy like Point as your 1C. Larkin is not that, nor ever will be (nor is he expected to be). We simply need a better 2C than Veleno/Cirelli if Larkin is the top guy. If this still doesn't make sense to you, let's just leave it be.

I don't see what is odd about thinking we need something better than Veleno as a complement to Larkin as a top 6 center. If we already had a top 10 center? Sure, Veleno would likely be fine. I just don't think a Larkin/Veleno combo down the middle is enough to cut it. It also hasn't been uncommon in recent years to see quality centers available in the 6-12 range.

There is this thing called the draft

I'd rather see Yzerman obtain a Point-level center.

I mean yes, the entire point of taking the contract is to get an asset from it. That goes without saying. I'd have no issues with 3 years of Johnson at 5 mil per what so ever. His decrease in production is more to do with Tampa's depth chart than anything. He is very much a capable middle 6 center who I am betting can still score at a 0.5 ppg pace. His fourth line position is a reflection of how strong a roster Tampa has then how capable he is. Their center depth is insane. If we got Johnson, I'd have no concern about Veleno passing him on the depth chart in time. My concern would be not having a better center in the system for that role.

Bad contract for Tampa as they have to get rid of money. Would be a lovely contract for Detroit, having a capable, cup winning center in the lineup.