Jesusberg

Per Elliotte Friedman, a few days back: http://www.fantasysp.com/player/nhl/Anthony_Mantha/3701970/according-to-hnics-elliotte-friedman-the-sabres-requested Not sure if anything has changed since, or if McKenzie is just discussing information from a few days back.

So... this is popping back up again. I really don't want to see this trade, especially since the rumored asking price is Mantha, a 1st, and something else. No thank-you.

-Again, no they weren't. If anything, Ericsson was the worst on the ice last night. -We would most definitely miss Ericsson. He had a rough game, but he's most definitely our best PK guy. No one in the prospect system is going to replace his positioning and size. He may not throw big checks, but he muscles guys around in front and behind the net better than anyone on this team right now. -Kindl is replaceable by Ouellet, but if Quincey can play like he did last night, why would you replace him right now? The team still needs to find out what they've got in Smith and, to a lesser extent, DeKeyser. I dislike Quincey as much as anyone else, but if he's going to be a solid minute eater, you don't move him out until you've got guys who can play at a consistent level night in and night out. Right now, when one guy struggles, you swap them. This team has three top 4 guys, and two fringe #5's. You don't just throw two rookies into that situation.

I hope he signs a contract after the hockey season wraps up, then looks at the beat writers and says, "Are you happy? Now leave me alone."

Quincey was solid, and that's an accurate way to describe his game last night. Smith and Kronwall were good, DeKeyser was great. There are varying degrees of positive play. You balance out the positive things that players do with any gaffes they make. Smith and Kronner made some real solid plays, and maybe made one or two small mistakes., DeKeyser looked great all around, IMO, and didn't make any noticeable errors. You know who else didn't make any noticeable errors? KFQ, because if he DID... if he did, you better believe LGW would be all over that. So yes, he looked solid. He didn't stand out with anything special, but he didn't make any big mistakes, either. Solid.

Honestly, I think if there's any issue with Weiss and management, it might be over him not being as upfront about his injury as he could have been. If I recall, there were a few comments from management about not knowing the full extent of Weiss' issues. He may have some issues fitting into the system, I don't know. It honestly might not be an issue, but I think not being open about being hurt wasn't a good way to start things off in Detroit.

To be fair, I wouldn't want to put a lipstick wearing pig on their line, either. Like I said in my previous post, I hate Abdelkader there. What I'm pointing out is that people going on about him being in the top 6 - the idea of the top 6 is being weeded out all over. Given the current roster, I'd much rather see something along the lines of: Z-Datsyuk-Jurco Mule-Weiss-Nyquist Tatar-Sheahan-Abdelkader Miller-Helm-Glendening I think that works the same way - using Jurco as a puck-retrieval/net presence guy. You're still rolling three scoring lines, and keeping pairings that have been proven to work in the past. Problem is, Babcock won't trust Jurco in that situation, and Holland doesn't want to foot the bill next season after his numbers (in theory) blow up. For the record, I think the team falling out of contender status has more to do with hanging onto assets that aren't of value anymore, and not filling in voids on the blueline. I believe that misusing Abdelkader is an issue, but hardly the most pressing one.

As much as most of us can't stand Abdelkader being in the top 6, I really think it's a total shift in the NHL in general. Teams are rolling out top 9's now. Look around at the lines for other teams. Anaheim uses Matt Beleskey on their 2nd line, and they used Pat Maroon on their top line last season. Los Angeles has Tanner Pearson on the 2nd, while Justin Williams (who won the Conn Smythe) is on their 3rd line. Chicago's rolling out a Saad-Shaw-Kane line. Is Abdelkader better or worse than some of those guys? I don't know, and I don't like him on that line, flat out. I do know that there's a shift in how teams are rolling out scoring lines. Teams aren't top heavy anymore - they're trying to run three balanced scoring lines. For better or worse, Abs is going to stay in that top 9 somewhere. Detroit's going to utilize guys like he and Helm to fill in spots on line where they battle for pucks and play in front of the net.

Hope all you want, but Holland's so stuck on asset management that I doubt he waives Kindl or Lashoff.

What I find funny about this situation is that the one guy Weiss kind of clicked with during the preseason was Nestrasil. Obviously didn't put up the numbers, but I thought they had some bright spots. I think a big part of this, not that it has to do with Weiss specifically, has to do with the Kid Line playing so well. You can send those guys out to be a 2nd line. Honestly, even when Datsyuk returns, I wouldn't be surprised to see Mule-Weiss/Helm-Gus get some sheltered minutes. The Kid line has been a huge positive this preseason, in my eyes. Edit: Oh, and as of right now, Smith-DeKeyser is still a pairing. That's also good... right?

Tatar sat because they misjudged his level of talent, the level of talent of their veterans and possibly because they didn't like some of his comments prior to the season. I don't think much had to do with motivation. If you wanna get some snu-snu from your lady friend, you don't take her to McDonald's, you go to The Keg.

I agree that Smith as the high defender could spell trouble, but the right side half boards... he could pull off what DeKeyser did the other night with Nestrasil. I think Smith has the offensive instincts to play well in that position, but we'll see what happens.

I can see him being taken by a team that either A) Has two or more waiver eligible defenders or B) A team that experiences some serious injuries on the back end. I just want it to happen... WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GET LEDDY AND BOYCHUK, ISLANDERS!? I trusted you to do the right thing, Garth Snow.

I refuse to get my hopes up.

Or their job is to work the PK, throw hits and forecheck. Having those guys on the PK gives the guys on the higher lines a break, and on this team they need it.

Eh, I could be in the minority here, but I think this team's forwards are a strong point. The biggest need in my eyes is on the back end, having guys who can play big minutes and get the puck up ice. Nestrasil had a heck of a camp, but if it means getting Ouellet up here permanently, I'd risk him on waivers. While it might not be popular, I'd even take him here over Jurco - I really think they need to bolster the blueline more than anything else. As it stands, I'm happy Jurco is here, and I'm happy for Nestrasil... but a Datsyuk return and Alfredsson signing could change that. They need to shed a combination of Andersson and Kindl/Lashoff, difficult as it may be.

The roster moves have pissed people off so much that they're experiencing hallucinations involving talking dogs. Way to go, Kenny.

I feel like this was probably Babcock's "one vote".

Which is what I really don't understand. I get that DeKeyser looked good on the Nestrasil goal, but when was Smith even given the opportunity during the preseason? They're using the 1-3-1 formation on the PP, but you can slot Mule in front on the 1st and Nestrasil/Sheahan in front on the 2nd. Smith and DeKeyser could work point and the right half boards... but I suppose Helm is a better option... for some reason. Between this and the comments made by Babcock earlier about Holland getting two votes, I swear some of the decisions made by these two are to spite each other. It just makes zero sense at times. Zero.

Bull****. Pure BS.

I had a feeling they'd go with an extra forward on both PP units. Once Datsyuk's back, I imagine Nyquist gets bumped down a unit. Oh well... hoping Ouellet is still on the team come 5 o'clock.

No, Mindfly really was that bad. Seriously.

He'll be here. 95% of us will be pissed off. He'll play an 11th game and LGW will go into meltdown mode. His Twitter handle is something along the lines of "The X-Man" or something. Not sure if that factors in or not.

So basically, not much has changed around these parts The days of arguing with Eva... oh, how I miss them. I was a rookie back then.

I understand hanging onto your assets, but keeping Nestrasil on the bench means one of Jurco/Ouellet starting the season in GR. Maybe I was premature in my excitement about the DeKeyser-Smith pairing. Can't see Babs going Kindl-Quincey now... ugh.