Jesusberg

*sigh*... http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=778231

And it brought them to the Stanley Cup Finals last year. Time for some Red Wings to look pretty.

That's what stood out to me - "him and us". Seems pretty clear that the room was tired of Babcock - probably years of minor issues that built up. Guys going to Z or other leaders on the team with their issues. The majority of the players who have been asked about the coaching change mention, in one form or another, about how Blashill treats them with respect/builds good relationships. Seems like an indirect way of saying that Babcock s*** on some of the players during his time in Detroit. And for the record, I welcome the coaching change. I'm looking forward to seeing what Blashill does with this group. I'm hoping that he allows some of the younger guys to flex their muscles, offensively. I just know that some of the structure he uses is similar to Babs'. I'm just hesitant to get too excited, only to see more of the same.

Agree with these four. Watching Detroit hockey down the stretch last season was amazing. The victories are twice as sweet, and the losses twice as tough. Big fan of the youth movement/emerging stars, as well. In particular, I'm interested to see what becomes of Larkin, AA and Marchenko. Watching DeKeyser (not that he's a "star", but he's important to the team) step right in has been amazing, and I'm not sure I always fully appreciate how seamless his transition was. Also, it's nearly impossible to not get excited when Tatar scores. I'm sliiightly on the fence about getting excited about Blashill. There are some changes I'd like to see. If they don't happen it's going to be a bit of a letdown (I'm sure I sound spoiled here, but I want to see more risks from the defense). Maybe I'm just tired of the squabbles, but I'm not as interested in the goalie debate. Whoever claims the net claims it.

Cap Friendly uses 16 forwards, including Ferraro/Andersson and Miele. Hockey's Cap uses 15 forwards, including Ferraro/Andersson. General Fanager uses 14 forwards (no Ferraro), but it doesn't account for the $740,000 in carryover overage bonus money. Hockey's Cap likely has the most accurate number, IMO. Detroit has to pay that carryover money, as far as I know. Of course, Detroit's going to start the year with Datsyuk on LTIR, so... Either way, Hockey's Cap is likely only off by 815K (Andersson) or 600K (Ferraro), depending on who you think will eventually get sent down. That's just my take, anyway.

This. People either forget about this, or they're blinded by the "newness" of Petr. These are some save percentages he posted last season - usually a rough outing, followed by a very solid one: .840 - .971 .813 - .933 .857 - .962 .667 - .957 .765 - .977 .895 - 1.000Clearly, he's got the ability to bounce back after ugly games, but he's gotta work on his consistency. So yeah, I definitely agree. It's good to have another solid goalie while he develops... you know, like that Jimmy Howard guy.

I had his name next to Landeskog's, then deleted it, because he's 183lbs... which is ridiculous on my part. Definitely has a power forward vibe to his game.

I guess that's the point, right? I think that with fighting down, the term "power forward" has changed for some and become obsolete for others. Personally, I don't consider guys like Jagr or Franzen as power forwards. I do, however, have a bigger list than just Lucic. I think if he qualifies as today's power forward, then guys like Backes, Kreider and Landeskog need to be in the conversation. Perhaps with higher point totals, guys like Maroon, Kassian and Chris Stewart could enter the conversation, too. I mean, Lucic only had 3 majors last season, so it's not as if he's dropping them all the time. I don't really think that "fighting" needs to be of what makes a player a power forward - not anymore. It seems to me as if the 2015 version of the power forward is a guy who's over 210lbs, can pot 20ish goals, throw a fair number of hits and rack up some PIM's. The guys getting the high PIM's and fighting like Neely and Shanahan did are grinders now. People have either altered their definition of the power forward, or decided it shouldn't be used to describe players in the NHL, anymore.

Thew whole power forward thing drives me nuts sometimes. I think you can look at a guys like Ovechkin, Backes and Lucic (had an off-year, offensively) say that they've got the size, hitting and point totals to be "pure" power forwards. Guys like Bouma, Wingels and Beleskey have the hits, but their point totals are in the 30's. Are they power forwards, or just skilled grinder/complimentary wingers? Guys like Jagr, Franzen and Kopitar have the size, use their size to shield the puck well, but they don't throw the hits. Guys like Nick Foligno and Ryan Callahan throw hits and score a respectable number of points... not exactly the biggest guys, though. Again, skilled grinders? How would you classify them? Is Justin Abdelkader a power forward? What separates a skilled grinder from power forward in terms of point totals? What separates a big-bodied playmaker/sniper from a power forwards in terms of hits? I think it's subjective at this point - the "pure" power forward is a dying breed.

Saw it posted in another thread and agree with the idea of there being such a thing as "too much" depth. Quincey's pretty much gone next season, but the Wings will still have six defensemen signed at the NHL level. They'll have the four defensive prospects we already discuss having to pass through waivers (XO, Marchenko, Jensen and Sproul), plus Russo chomping at the bit for one job in the NHL? Unless they're treating this season as a "one last shot" scenario for Kindl and Smith, with the intention of moving the one who impresses the least? Internal competition is one thing; this is a clogged drain. Plus, I think the defense core in Detroit is solid enough that one of those young guys should step in ASAP. Jump into a good situation on the bottom pair and learn from there. In particular, I don't think Marchenko has anything left to prove at the AHL level.

Sure, but if I'm pulling an argument out of my a** by using one year of Abdelkader, then throwing out Kesler's "prime" numbers during his strongest years kind of skew the comparison, too. IMO, Kesler's a player on the decline - I'll be shocked if he puts up 50+ points this season. He plays a physical game, and that generally catches up with guys who are 30+ years old. If an argument is to be made about players not being paid based on potential (maybe you agree with this, maybe not), then a guy being paid based off of his prime years (the last of which was 2010-11) is kind of ridiculous too, no?. If you look at Kesler in his past three seasons (which is what I'm doing here) as a 40-50 point guy, then they're absolutely comparable. Is Kesler earning 2.8M more (if Abdelkader gets 4M) for playing on the PK? Kesler plays harder minutes (more defensive zone starts) and is a better defensive player. What I mentioned were points, hits and some of the underlying stats (G/60, P/60, Corsi For, etc). Again, when you look at Kesler's past three seasons, he's a 40-50 point player. I believe he's on the decline.

Not because he's from Michigan, but I'm sure it factors in for management, along with the other aspects of Abby's game that were mentioned. For what he brings, 4 million is pretty much the norm. He and Kesler are comparable in several ways - scoring, hitting, some "fancy stats". Kesler's going to be making 6.8 million starting in 2016-17. Beleskey is another guy who I think is comparable to Abdelkader. He's getting 3.8M for five seasons after scoring 20+ goals once. If Abdelkader can replicate his 2014-15 season, he's going to get around 4 million.

Most of what I've read cites the Islanders having a lot of defensive depth/Russo knowing that the Isles have 4-5 guys they think are ahead of him at this point. He also missed half a season the previous year due to academic issues.

Enhh. I've always liked Sproul, but it seems as if his defensive game isn't coming around the way it should. He was scratched something like 21 games by Blashill last season - 11 in the playoffs. If he's already in his dog house... Granted, I do think there needs to be some kind of trade to improve the defense. I'd like to see an upgrade in the top-four. With Detroit's cap situation, it would pretty much have to be an equal amount of cap (if not more, depending on Franzen's situation) coming back the other way. Cap sites have them anywhere from 964K-1.5M over the cap right now. General Fanager has them 300K or so under, but they don't account for bonus money.

With the Russo signing, I'm thinking Sproul gets bumped down. Doubt he'll get sent to Toledo, but he's going to have to fight for ice time, likely as the seventh defender. Not sure I like his chances against Marchenko, Jensen and/or Russo. Wonder if DET moves someone once training camp is over, or if someone snatches Lashoff off waivers (if they're really, really banged up on defense). Ouellet-Marchenko Lashoff-Jensen Paetsch-Russo Sproul Possibly? Solid group, either way. Can really balance out the minutes with those six guys.

Yup. It's always great to get a "free" pick. Solid track record with Lashoff, DeKeyser and Hicketts. Even if you don't see Lashoff as a good pickup, he's a serviceable defender. Russo was drafted, unlike the others, but still... free. I like free. Has to be a bit of a kick in the pants for a guy like Sproul, though. Not that Sproul has stepped up, but this most likely leaves him as the 7th defender in GR.

Bingo. A lot of us DRW fans have been infatuated with the idea of the hometown discount thing for years now. When you look at some of the names around the league making 4M or more - Umberger, Burrows, Laich, Bickell, Pouliot, etc., Abdelkader at 4M doesn't look so bad. At the same time, when you look at those types of players, their game definitely begins to wear them down over time. I would be careful about the term of the deal, but as you mentioned, Abby brings a different element to this team. Generally, that's why those types of physical and/or two-way forwards make around the 4M range. Not only Sheahan, but Larkin and Athanasiou (who you mention in your next post), as well. If I have to pick between the two, I'd also pick Abdelkader. Detroit's got speedy centermen in the prospect pool, rugged wingers... not so much. Considering how much Kenny lurves his vets, I wonder if they'd keep Miller around. He's been a very serviceable fourth-line guy, and he's kept up his defensive play over the years. Andersson should already be gone, IMO. Detroit doesn't really have to force anything up front next season. One of the forwards (Larkin would be my guess) down in GR will have to really convince them to make room. Only Frk and Tvrdon have to pass through waivers for the 2016-17 season, and I doubt either forward pushes Holland to drop a guy like Miller. Totally different story on defense, with XO, Marchenko, Jensen and Sproul having to pass through waivers, though.

What makes you think Ken Holland is going to give Mrazek $5M dollars on his next deal? Generally speaking, young, back-up goaltenders entering their prime have been given anywhere from 1.0-3.0M. The only goaltenders in Petr's age range who have bucked that trend lately are Bobrovsky and Holtby, who I don't see as comparable at this stage. I think the MOST he'll be given somewhere in the 2.5M range over a couple seasons, perhaps lower if he signs for less term. Don't think we'll be looking at bigger money until 2018-19 or 2019-20.

Just read an article on this the other day. Obviously, we don't know exactly when the draft will occur, or what the rules will be, but I still think it's fun to speculate. One big issue (which is addressed in the article I read, kind of...) is how NMC/NTC will be treated. Can teams expose their players with clauses, or do they have to be protected? That would make a big difference in who I would protect, personally. If teams have to protect guys with NMC/NTC, then Detroit would have to keep Howard, which means that if they're going to keep Mrazek, they'd elect to go with the 2G, 3D & 7F option. Personally, I think guys with NMC make sense to protect, but not NTC. You're not really trading a guy, so much as you're making him available to be picked up (kind of like waivers). Another issue they may run into is, what if a team has more than the allotted number of players with NTC/NMC? For example., Detroit has Kronwall, Green and Ericsson with NTC. Right now, that would expose DeKeyser if they elected to protect 3D. What if they give DD a NTC in his next contract, though? They'd be exposing at least one defender with a NTC. I guess we'll see, though.

Exactly my train of thought on this one. I almost feel like Petr needs to look better during training camp/preseason to get the first starts, but ultimately they're going to split the first 20 games pretty evenly. Basically, I think Howard starts the first game or two of the year, but Mrazek is going to be given a chance very early and run with it. As long as Petr or Howie don't play themselves out of starts, it's going to be a balanced schedule for both guys, IMO.

My only issue with that top-six is breaking up the AA-Mantha combo. I think they showed some real chemistry, and it'll go a long way in pushing Mantha to a better season. The thought of a healthy, productive AA-Mantha duo is fantastic. Didn't Miele-Bert mesh well together in the post-season, too? Also, I don't think they brought in Tangradi as a healthy scratch. His .65 point per game last season would place him in fourth among GRG skaters last year. I definitely think he's being brought in as a big bodied, top-six forward. And as much as I'd like Frk in the lineup (I love that Slovak/Czech line, on paper) he really seems to have an uphill battle making it to GR. I'm not quite sure what it is, but he can't seem to stick. Consistency issues/not battling, perhaps? I saw that, and a guy named Derek Docken. I honestly don't know much about either player, but Czarnowczan showed some offensive flair last year, and Nedomlel is DET property and capable of playing a physical game. I'm sure they signed Docken and Spinell for a reason, but I feel like the other two guys will see more ice time for sure.

Didn't even notice that Pleiness tweeted about it yesterday. Savage has been on the defensive for the past few hours over it. I actually feel bad for the diggers sometimes - we tend to remember when they swing and miss, more than when they're right about something.

Pleiness is fairly reliable, in my experience. Brendan Savage is actually the beat writer who disputed the rumor that Jurco was going to sign this deal. He said that a "source" was insisting that Jurco and the Wings were very far apart as of yesterday.

This and this. Sharp is essentially taking Cole's spot in Dallas' top-six group. Cody Eakin serves as their third-line centerman. I don't really follow Dallas, but I'm guessing that they're hoping for Nichushkin and Ritchie to step up. They have a pretty potent offense as it is, so if either of those two prospects can contribute, they'll be good to go up front.

Considering the situation Detroit is in cap wise, if he signs for 1.5M or so, then I'll be annoyed about 575K of dead money sitting there because of a "promise". If he signs for 925K or less, then whatever - it comes off the books. I won't be upset about the financials in the deal, but what kind of message does it send to the younger guys in GR about getting a spot in the lineup? Don't get me wrong, I'm all about earning a spot and creating competition - I want these kids to earn it. I took the wrong approach with Backman when he was moved (admittedly). I don't think Frk or Nastasiuk "deserve" a spot, but I do think they deserve the opportunity to earn it. It has to be a little deflating, mentally, for some of these kids to see a guy given a spot out of loyalty, when they constantly hear "the best players will play". If they can't outplay Cleary for a spot in GR, then so be it, but at this point it feels like the guy has been gifted a lot of stuff.