Jesusberg

I guess I'd have to beg to differ with a people when it comes to this. I really think Pulu is the real deal and showed that this previous year. If he can avoid injury, I think he'll come out just as strong and continue to impress. I'm big on Jarnkrok too, but I think his all-around game is sometimes a little overhyped. Discussing it with other members on Hockey's Future who see him, he'll really have to add more muscle to be effective over here. I guess that's my main concern with him. Like I said, I enjoy both players, but I feel like Pulu just has more skill. He wasn't downgraded by me. The writer there before me might have ranked him an 8.0, but I don't agree with that. I think he's a 7.5 (second line player, with the potential for first line. He WAS a 7.0 on my last list with HF, so I took his season into account by raising him. Do you really think the entire list is s*** because I don't think Pulkkinen is a lock to be a first line center? Perhaps I could have given him the C instead of D, but his issues with his skating and injuries worry me slightly. If you're going to argue that Pulu should be higher because he put up great numbers, how can you argue that Almqvist should be way higher as well? By all standards, Almqvist's season was a disappointment from a statistical standpoint, even when considering he was moving from SuperElit to Elitserien. I still feel he has merit, which is why I moved him up to 15 FROM 18 (other writer's old ranking). As far as Ferraro and Marshall in the top 10, I still feel Ferraro has the skill to put things together, even though he's had attitude issues. If he falters in Grand Rapids, then obviously he's going to slide right down the list, but I feel like Red Wings management must see something in him to offer him a contract despite his struggles. Admittedly, I'm taking a bit of a risk with Marshall, but I really like his ability and I think he's going to surprise a lot of people.

Keep in mind that the ratings for the players are more important than their placement on the list. A guy who is a 7.0C just has a higher likeliness is meeting his potential than a guy who's 7.0D, even though they're virtually similar in possible skill. More than anything, Hockey's Future takes potential/raw skill into account. I think Ferraro, even with all of his struggles projects as a second line player. I'm not a big fan of his, but he's still got raw skill... just seems like injury and attitude issues hold him back. With XO and Sproul, I'm actually a pretty big fan of Sproul, but he's also more of a raw project. XO has great skating ability and vision right now, whereas Sproul has some essential things (skating, primarily) to work out. I personally feel like Sproul could turn into the better, more complete player, but he'll have to add weight and fight for it. So as of right now I think XO is a safer bet to meet his potential, though Sproul might have a slightly higher ceiling. As far as Mursak goes, it's more about how Hockey's Future rates than anything else. He was at #3 with the old writer, which based on their criteria was way too high for him. 7.0 is a second line player, 6.0 is a third line player. I'm a huge Mursak fan (which, I think is evident with older posts I've made) but I really think he's a future third line guy, with lots of speed. He could progress into a second line player, but I'm not sure he'll find his hands. I'm pretty comfortable rating him the 6.5B I gave him, as I think he'll be a skilled 3rd line guy, who could fill in on a second line if necessary. With Emmerton, I probably could have put Nestrasil in front of him. I think Emmerton could surprise some people. While he hasn't stood out at the AHL, he does play the Red Wings style of hockey and he could actually work in their system. He's a 7.0, but I also graded him D in terms of meeting that potential. He could have been knocked down to a 6.5C though, effectively moving him down to 18th. A lot of the guys are so close in skill/potential that the slightest letter grade can shift them up and down the list quite a bit. Nature of the rating system.

Agreed. You can really tell that he's focused his attention completely to hockey now. The partying and the attitude issues seem to have gone out the window. Good on him.

I picked Z, because you guys are all meanies and conspiring against his magnificent beard.

Sure, but having Damian Rhodes between the pipes would have softened that blow

Howard's regular season was questionable to say the least. He seemed to struggle mentally, and Nabokov almost coming to the team seemed to really shake him too. Once he got past all that, he was a new man in the post-season. He was poised and he seemed to be truly focused. The guy's a work horse and when he's on his game he's more than worth his contract. I expect him to bounce back next season. And no, I'm not a Howard slappy. In fact, I was one of his biggest doubters when he was transitioning from the AHL. He's always seemed to have consistency issues, but if he's a guy who has mediocre regular seasons and strong playoffs, that's good in my books.

I think they left out guys like Giroux and Sharp because they've switched from right wing to center at different times, though Zetterberg has gone from left wing to center, so... I also agreed that Z should be rated higher, which makes their "Underrated two-way player who delivers in crunch time" comment pretty ironic, lol

1) Who is your favorite Detroit Red Wing player overall to wear the Red Wings Logo? Yzerman overall, but I have to mention Zetterberg as my current favorite and right behind Stevie. 2) Who was your favorite Detroit Red Wing player that joined the red wings? (Non drafted by Wings, could be threw Trade / FA / Waiver etc...) Dan Cleary 3) Which current player would you dream of them joining the Wings? Drew Doughty 4) Which are the players that really "hurt / bugged" you when they left the Red Wings to join another team? Shanny. It seemed like the ship was sinking and he just ran off to New York. I've always kinda felt that way about it. 5) Is there a player that you never wanted him on the team ... but eventually joined the team? Chelios for sure, but learned to love the guy.

I read it somewhere else, but I completely agree with the idea that even if Florida is terrible, they could have a few over-achievers and move them at the trade deadline for picks. The guys who do really well they can keep, and the guys who are movable assets will receive some kind of return. It's actually pretty bright, IF it works out.

It doesn't mean we can't, but where would we upgrade on defense? Let's assume they're going to carry 7 defensemen, considering we have 14 forwards, meaning one needs to be moved out. I don't see the team moving Lidstrom, Kronwall or Stuart. Ericsson was just signed, as were White and Commodore. So let's say Kindl gets "upgraded", which means Commodore gets bumped down to healthy scratch. So I'd say we're definitely more "set" at defense, given the circumstances surrounding each defender. I'm not saying it's not possible, but upgrading the forward position while moving out Hudler/Filppula seems much more likely to me.

I tweeted Commie to see if the team may have asked him to stop using it. I doubt it's something that would even come up yet, but figured it's worth a shot to ask. Never know.

And a pretty good deal to boot. If he continues to play at this level, or even gets better, 1.7 per for all he brings is a steal.

Detroit's easy to root for? Apparently, they haven't been to LGW during dry spells. Amirite?

I thought I heard that as well. Usually if a guy wants out he'll say something like, "Well ideally I'd like to come back, so we'll see. There are a lot of options on the market. But I'd love to stay here." Getting back to the actual spending, my gut feeling tells me that Holland is going to keep this space because of A) the stronger crop of free agents next season and B) he might be a bit worried with what Bettman does to the cap next season with the possible CBA overhaul. If he lands a big forward/defender this offseason, then I'll be pretty shocked. At this point it kind of feels like he's just being cautious considering everything that's coming up next season. Could see a lot of other teams scrambling.

You're not. I mentioned it earlier in the thread, but apparently Howard needs to be pushed, even though he's shown he's a very capable goalie and has shown strong mental growth.

Yeah, I didn't mean expendable. I just meant that I see them keeping Stuart because they like him and he's a reliable top 4 guy. As far as Ericsson, Holland's style isn't a sign and trade, and I doubt someone would want him for 3.25 million anyway. I just figured based on the different situations around the d-men, they wouldn't be likely to be moved. If we could land Weber or Doughty, nearly anyone would be expendable IMO.

I think there's almost certainly no way Kenny shakes up the blue-line now unless a trade for someone serious presents itself. I don't think he'd be actively pursuing someone, but if say things fell apart with Doughty and Los Angeles. Only scenario I could see. Bringing in some kind of "upgrade", but at defense the only guy who could move out would be Kindl. Everyone else on defense just doesn't seem feasible as someone to move out. If anything, I could see them trying to get a depth forward to take Huds/Flip's spot, but not a defender.

Err, I think he means where would we put said defenseman? Lidstrom, Kronwall, Stuart, White, Ericsson, Commodore, Kindl... then Smith, Janik & Exelby as serviceable defenders as well. We're pretty much set there. Even if they wanted to "upgrade" at defense, who do they move out? The only potential guy I could see moving out would be Kindl, and then Commodore becomes a healthy scratch. It's much more likely to move out a forward now, (Huds, Flip) and move that "upgraded" forward into their spot.

$20 says his source was this topic.

I know wrestling is fake and all, but there is no amount of money that I wouldn't pay to see "Stone Cold" Steve Austin walk into the draft one year and give a stunner to Bettman. I would watch the youtube video of that over 1,000 times. As has been said, it's pretty ridiculous at this point. I'm all for parity and the survival of the NHL, but they're going to take away the advantages of being a good team. Bigger market teams aren't going to be rewarded for being successful and having owners who are willing to spend. What's the point? I'm all quality drafting and getting the most out of your players, but this is getting a bit ridiculous.

It's not just potential when he's shown actual growth at the NHL level. Jimmy Howard isn't an AHL player anymore. He looked more poised and focused in this playoffs than ever before. It's about hanging onto a younger guy who can play for years to come over a guy who'll be gone in a couple seasons. If the "internal" competition were a younger guy, then by all means. If I thought Vokoun would be THAT much better than Howard, then sure... but I doubt he would be a huge upgrade. Which I agree with, but how many top goaltenders can you really say don't get rattled? I would argue for Miller and maybe Rinne off the top of my head. Goaltending is a touchy position, and there's a reason they say goaltenders are usually headcases. Generally speaking, goalies tend to have poor seasons all the time... then they can bounce back, or fall off the map. Thomas had a crap season, Luongo's a headcase... Price fell off too. Not to mention guys like Fleury, Kipper, Bryz, etc. Goalies naturally go through ups and downs.

No, the team doesn't owe him anything, but if you look at him as an investment, it makes a lot more sense. Almost getting Nabby threw him right off his game, then he followed it up by having a very solid post-season. Would you rather have a solid 35 year-old goalie for 1-2 seasons, or have a 27 year-old who's continuing to improve? His regular season was certainly a drop-off, but to me he showed a lot of confidence and focus in the playoffs. Why jeopardize that for a 35 year-old who has played all of 11 games in the post-season and only won 3 of them. I'll take the goalie entering his prime.

Saw this and was going to post it... but I assumed eventually someone would be like, "wtf, omg Holland!?"... wouldn't have been a bad move for 1.5 million, but the last time we went to bring in a competing goalie (Nabby) it really seemed to rattle Howard. Probably for the best in terms of Howard's future in Detroit.

Yes, and that topic wasn't on the first page of topics, so I created a new one. It's also interesting to see an owner reiterate what some of the speculation has proposed. It adds something to the rumors surrounding the realignment, and gives an idea of how the Central will potentially pan out.

Nor do I, lol. Although, I think Emery is probably the "strongest" goalie out there in the FA market based on talent. At this point I wouldn't mind a trade for a solid back-up.