Datsyerberger

Sadly, at this point all Souray is basically just a pylon with a big slapper. Like MAB without the ability to skate.

If it were at the rumored $2.5m I'd consider it. Would give us good firepower for 1 year and then open us up for a FA option again next year with a hopefully stronger FA group.

You'll see.. though it's not a huge concern. Biggest one is his incredibly lazy d-zone play.

The ones he does take tend to come at very frustrating times.

Wiz pinches worse than Rafalski, tends to be lazier in the D zone, particularly with positioning (as opposed to Raffi, who had decent positioning and good skating [when he wasn't injured] but didn't have the tools to do much in most situations). He's about as bad one the giveaways (worse on passes, though doesn't cough up the puck physically as much due to his size/strength). He also takes way more lazy/dumb penalties. Not much more of a shot blocker, either. Like I said, though, agree with the rest. Just don't expect Wiz to be much of a savior defensively.

Not at all. Agree with the rest, though.

Assistant coaches are almost always on the head coach's suggestions/recommendations/call in the NHL. Assistant selections are all about who the head coach feels has good chemistry with him and his style and feels can help him out with what needs done. GMs usually play little in assistant coach selection other than "can I afford this guy?" and "does this guy have a history I can live with"? HC makes the selections, GM signs off on it.

You're absolutely right. The reality is that guys trying to make a solid career for themselves love working for 'cock.

Won't happen because it's very likely that Nashville takes Weber to arbitration to prevent scenarios just like the above if he's not signed before the 1st. Of course, he'll likely be signed before the 1st anyhow.

2 '***** and a Boughner, you say?

Indeed. Though honestly I feel that way about almost every defender in the ISS top 30 as well.

Murphy or Mayfield is a crapshoot for me but I can understand your choice there.However, Musil is huge, smart, strong, and has way more offense than Mayfield. If he's the best available at the Wings pick I definitely want him ahead of Mayfield. Brodin.. Brodin is interesting. He's a 17 year old d-man that anchored a SEL championship team.. on the defensive side on the puck. Will need to bulk up, but Lidstrom-style D zone play? Hmmm. I just can't see a scenario that leaves us with multiple options less desirable than Mayfield. Mayfield is either very late first (depending on which d-men are left at that point and team needs), or early-mid 2nd, just because of the looks of things.

I'm not certain, either. However, a lot of d-men have risen in the ranks and a lot of the top 20 are looking for forwards. For example, here are the d-men in the ISS top 30: #02 Larsson #05 Hamilton #08 R. Murphy #10 Klefbom #12 Siemens #14 Beaulieu #18 C. Murphy #19 Brodin #21 Oleksiak #26 Musil And here's some from CSS: NA skaters that aren't in there: (For reference: Hamilton 4, Beaulieu 5, Murphy 9, Siemens 10) #12 Morrow #24 Mayfield #25 C. Murphy Some good, high-ranked d-men are going to drop to the Wings level with that amount of selection available. The ISS top 10 + Morrow is 11. There are no way 11 d-men are getting picked in the top 24. Depending on who is still available, there are a lot of solid options before Mayfield ever becomes an option. Let's say these are the ones that could potentially fall to the Wings: Connor Murphy Brodin Oleksiak Musil Morrow Klefbom? At least 2 of those probably will just due to the good amount of high ranked D. Are there any one of those that you'd really consider taking behind Mayfield, though? Edit: Most mocks seem to have about 8 d-men on average being taken ahead of the Wings pick. That leaves us a lot of options; I'd say 3 solid options on average that I'd take ahead of Mayfield.

A little more on Joe Morrow: "Joe Morrow is just solid in every department. He plays the man very well and he’s strong defensively, smart passer, jumps into the play and he’s steady in all 3 zones. He’s also very smart." Knocks on him: not much of a physical guy, but he's not soft either, and I think it's acknowledged he could probably pick up his physical game more. However, comparisons seem to be a player similar to Duncan Keith (not necessarily in skill-level, obviously), perhaps with not quite as good skating, and more willingness to drop the gloves. Once again, I love his size/bulk for his age. Edit: a little more on him. Seems his physical game has picked up some. He doesn't hit people all over the place but he's not shy about it either. Willing to play the body as necessary. Hits fairly well. From a poster on HF that watches Portland a lot:

Interesting that both of those have Joseph Morrow falling to Detroit at 24. I'd like that. Good offense, and while he's not tall, 197 lbs at 6' at his age is ******* bulky as hell. He's gonna be one stocky dude when he's fully grown. Suppose he has another inch.. 6' or 6'1", 215-220 lbs? That kid is gonna be one strong dude. Also seems to be a guy that likes a good bit of the fisticuffs. Skill set could suggest a large (muscle mass), well-rounded two-way d-man with a taste for the occasional scrap. Personally, I'd be fine with Mayfield at 24th if there's nothing else incredibly interesting still available. However, if Morrow is still available at 24th I'd take him ahead of Mayfield in a heartbeat.

Uhhh. Okay, I personally agree with you about Connolly. I like Connolly. However, I'd rather us a (scoring) winger than a (playmaking) center. We have the latter in droves; the former, not so much. I think a team who needs a good center more will be more willing to pay Connolly. I wouldn't mind taking him for the right price... however, aforementioned needy teams will likely pay him more. Now to the bolded: lololololol no, not even close. Many people here were fans of Hossa beforehand, self included. And he was certainly not a defensive bum before he came here. Hossa was recognized as one of the best backchecking wingers in the league and had a solid record of Selke votes before ever coming to the Wings. On top of that, he's far more offensively skilled and consistent than Zherdev, and a much harder worker. Zherdev has major attitude and commitment issues. They're very different... I suggest you do more research. We won't get Wiz for 3.75. Actually, at this point I don't think we'll get him at all; last I read Montreal was rumored to be focusing on re-signing him and Markov. In any case, if he goes FA he'll get more than that and I'm not sure I'd want him anyhow (good offense, but he's got a lot of baggage). But even with baggage, if there's one thing that GMs pay for consistently, it's offense, particularly offense from the blueline. He'll get more than he probably should. Also, just because he's from Michigan doesn't mean he likes it and wants to come back. I'm from Florida and haven't missed a day apart from it. Not everyone likes where they come from. A Babchuk and Ericsson pairing WOULD cause everyone to gauge their eyes out. I'm all for bringing Babchuk in for the right price and I don't mind Ericsson, either. However, aside from them both preferring the right side of the ice (afaik), a pairing of those two would be brutal. Kronwall - Babchuk, Lidstrom - Ericsson, Stuart - Kindl? That's better. In regards to negativity.. well, personally, I'd rather be realistic and be happy when my expectations are exceeded than be foolishly optimistic and face likely disappointment.

I agree with you 100% and have actually looked into those numbers before (And regarding the teams discussed, it doesn't change the ratios much). I think it also says something about the expected potential of a market when an arena is built to a certain capacity. As an example of such, 2 years after the Bolts won the cup (damned lockout), they were 2nd in overall league attendance, then dropped just a touch the next year, and were still 8th 3 years later (when the team had already been sucking horribly and the owners were blowing it up). Meanwhile, the Ducks weren't running even close to max attendance their 2 years after the cup (their top was 2 years later, 15th in the league), and within 3 years they had dropped back down to the 20s. What's ultimately more important than any of the above is ticket revenue (which factors tickets sold + ticket pricing, the best measure of demand), but since Drake specifically brought up the Ducks attendance being way better than the Bolts and he was so utterly wrong about such, I felt it needed addressing. I don't think people will ever truly respect the expansion markets that are actually good if people operate under assumption all the time (as was clearly the case there).

Yea, I believe that's the guy. Under-aged drunk driving, even. Oops.

Except that CSS provides ranking lists for both NA and international skaters, and saying simply "CSS" instead of "CSS north american skaters" is an intentional obfuscation of the facts. Keep in mind that particular list also leaves out goalies, both international and NA. Meanwhile, here's your wording. You discuss how some people project him in the early 20s, then use the CSS NA skaters only list to make it sound like "the price is right" for Mayfield in the region of the Wings pick. Sorry, but...

Actually, 6m would be a 1st, a 2nd, and a 3rd. I'd trade those assets for a year of Burns and a chance to have him on the team/possibly re-sign him. But uh, Burns isn't RFA this offseason (and he's UFA next). Here's what I saw when I read the cap numbers of that roster: Just being honest.

Yea.. I hate when under achieving wingers are traded instead of top line centers, too, and wh-- wait, what?

Wow, that sucks. Well, at least you got to see them win before they poofed.

The trade is a steal value-wise but it's not a fit for the Wings cap or roster wise at all. Philly wouldn't go for it at all in any case, don't need cheap depth on the wings.