Jesusberg

I think this is the biggest reason Abby didn't receive any disciplinary action. He catches Barkov's head, but I don't think you can say he was targeting it at all. Contrary to some of the posts I've seen by Panthers fans around the net, I don't see Abdelkader leaving his feet or targeting Barkov. By the time he committed to the hit, Barkov had turned around and his head was down. As you said, I think the best way to describe it is as "unfortunate".

Athanasiou left before line rushes began https://twitter.com/AnsarKhanMLive/status/697107724836999168 Ansar Khan @AnsarKhanMLive #RedWings lines in practice: Abdelkader-Datsyuk-Zetterberg Tatar-Larkin-Richards Jurco-Andersson-Nyquist Helm-Glendening-Sheahan Pulkkinen Edit: I lied. Well, Ansar was a bit premature in his speculation. AA is back on the ice for line rushes, so... hopefully he's between Jurco and Nyquist instead. Also, does anyone know how to just post the image of a tweet? Like embedding it in a post? I feel like I'm brand new around here. *sigh*

Awful August is upon us and I've got the hockey itch already (the only cure is more hockey, by the way - not more cowbell). I think this is going to be a big year for several players down in Grand Rapids. In particular, I think some of the defenders are going to have to take some big steps forwards. Did something similar to this last season, and I was pretty much WAY off with my line combinations. That said, here we go... Forwards: Athanasiou-Larkin-Mantha Tangradi-Miele-Bertuzzi Tvrdon-Nosek-Zengerle Grant-Aubry-Hoggan Campbell/Frk/Nastasiuk (Two as #13-14 forwards, One in Toledo... perhaps more based on the GR signings like Hirschfeld and Zombo). First off, I know AA has been used as a center. I think Larkin is a smart choice there, and AA-Mantha can continue their chemistry. Heck, they could even put Miele there instead, but I think Larkin would work, too. For that second line, Miele-Bert showed some chemistry, if I'm not mistaken. Tangradi adds size and has shown he can score at the AHL level when healthy. Zengerle might not be a popular choice over Frk on that third line, but he was sixth in scoring among GRG forwards. Fourth line is pure grit, but I could see Hoggan being slotted somewhere higher in the lineup. I would love to see Nastasiuk push his way into the lineup at some point, but we'll see. Solid group of forwards, in my opinion, but they're going to be without the production of Pulkkinen, Ferraro and Callahan (assuming Landon and Mitch don't want to return/get picked up on waivers). Hopefully Larkin and Bertuzzi can jump right in and contribute, and AA and Mantha can stay healthy and rack up the points. Defense: Ouellet-Marchenko Lashoff-Jensen Paetsch-Sproul Czarnowczan/Nedomlel (One #7, One in Toledo) Gives the team three solid pairings. They could change some, but I think those are your six, main blueliners. First pairing is just solid, all around. Second pairing allows Jensen to roam around, and Lashoff looked good in GR to end the season. I think this year will be crucial for Sproul, so hopefully he gets paired with Paetsch and they can put up some points together. With Evans moving on to Texas, it might give Nedomlel a chance to get some time with GR. I think they like the offense that Czarnowczan can bring, but Nedomlel plays that heavy, gritty game that Evans did. I think it'll really depend on what the Griffins need at the time. Goalies: McCollum Coreau Paterson (In Toledo to start) Goaltending is pretty obvious, but I wonder if Paterson could make a push during his time in Toledo. He finished strong in Kitchener last season, so hopefully he can continue that trend. Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?

I'm basically nitpicking at this point, but I'd rather see: Tatar-Richards-Nyquist Helm-Athanasiou-Larkin (imagine the speed) or Tatar-Richards-Larkin Helm-Athanasiou-Nyquist Anything to get the guys going. I don't see what Blash sees with Helm-Richards together. If I remember correctly, Tatar-Richards showed some chemistry in the preseason, and they only went back to it for a short time during the regular season. Again, just some minor tweaks, but a couple options I'd prefer over what they're going with now.

For me, it depends on what happens with Helm. He's 29 years old - I think he'll want to cash in. I can't see him wanting to take less than 3M, which I don't think the Wings should pay him. I'd really prefer to see some young talent mixed in the top-nine with the more established players. Helm's a mediocre 2W, better than/overpaid for a 4W, but an ideal 3C (which is already set with Riley). If I have to choose between paying Helm 3M and letting him bounce between the second and fourth lines, or Miller getting 1.5M and seeing some of the younger guys in the top-nine, I'd pick the latter. I know it's not that simple, but it's what I would prefer. The team's already overpaying a few guys. Helm runs the same risk, IMO.

While Buffalo probably seems like a good fit because of his ties to the area, it just doesn't seem plausible right now. Perhaps if Lehner would have been healthy all season and faltered, but he's only dressed for five games. I think they give some more time to a guy they moved a first-round pick for less than a year ago. I get that Jimmy's less likely to want to go to western Canada, but if the alternative is that he's stuck as the back-up in Detroit... I guess we'll see. As much as I want Holland to be progressive with the situation now, I'm not sure he moves Howard until next offseason, which is likely to hurt his value even more.

I just don't see it with Tangradi, to be honest. He's had opportunities with the Pens, Jets and Canadiens. I don't see him changing his game to suit a fourth-line role. He's one of those guys who produces (in the AHL) in a way that you'd wanna see him play on a third line, but he just doesn't have the timing/pace down. Think he's a career AHL'er, to be honest. If anything, I see Tomas Nosek as a possible replacement for Miller next season, should the Wings elect to let Drew go.

While I don't think anyone is clamoring for Howard's services right now, I see Winnipeg, Calgary and Carolina as possible destinations. I'm not 100% on the details of Howie's NTC, but I'm wondering if Kenny's free to move him during the offseason? At the very least, if management tells him Mrazek is their starter moving forward, it might push him to consider a trade. If they can't unload him to a team in the near future, I wonder if they can expose him at the expansion draft (when/if it happens). Again, his NTC might complicate matters, but we'll have to see how the league handles NTC/NMC.

Maybe Holland is hoping that if he moves Andersson enough, he'll get stuck on waivers... Like some kind of purgatory for fringe NHL'ers.

I was good with the 1A/1B situation at the beginning of the year, but now Mrazek's making me nervous. Obviously I'm happy that he's played so well, but his stock is rising every day. RFA or not, Mrazek is probably going to get himself a decent chunk of money. I just have a feeling there's going to be a lot of money committed to the goaltending heading into next season.

I almost hope he's claimed. If not just to save Kenny from himself this offseason. The timing's definitely peculiar, though. Safe bet is that they're calling up a defender, but that means he's being called up to sit. Not really Holland's M.O. Unless... the triumphant return of Brian Lashoff?

Suggesting Jurco is more because of his size, and because Helm has hands of stone. Jurco can't seem to adjust to the pace of the NHL. It's more that I'd rather see someone other than Helm in a top-six role.

I understand the way the league works now - you want a net-front presence on each line. At this point, I'd much rather try Jurco or Pulkkinen over Helm on that second line. Blashill was playing with the idea of Larkin/Datsyuk/Tatar taking turns as the NFP on that line. Try it with some of the others. Helm in the top-six drives me nuts.

I've never been shy about my dislike for Smith, but I think he's been much, much better this year. My biggest gripe with Smith was his inability to get the puck out of the defensive zone and make a proper outlet pass. I think he's improved there. Does he make plenty of bone-headed plays in the defensive zone? Absolutely. I question his hockey smarts, positioning and decision making in the defensive zone when it comes to actually playing defense. At this stage, he's hardly the Wings' biggest problem on the back end. I think his play, for the most part, has been a pleasant surprise this season.

President? But seriously, considering his age, upside, etc. I can't see Kenny moving him. There are some players out there I think are of equal or greater value, but I don't any as a realistic trade scenario.

Anything in the 4-4.5M range is perfect, IMO. Fair for him and works for the team. Like others have said, he does a little bit of everything. We don't really have anyone else like him right now. I'm iffy on the term, though. Given his style of play, I'm concerned about the wear and tear catching up with him. Four years is fine, but getting into that five/six years makes me a little nervous.

Actually, I think it just bumps Glendening up to the third line. Not necessarily the lines they'll go with, but Jurco's off the 2nd line, Ferraro's off the 4th: Larkin-Z-Abby Tatar-Richards-Nyquist Pulkkinen-Sheahan-Glendening Miller-Andersson-Helm Jurco, Ferraro

Like LeftWinger said, the post was made on October 4th. In my proposed lineup, Andersson and Cleary were scratches, but only because they hadn't waived Cleary at that point. It seemed as if they were leaning toward sending Larkin to Grand Rapids (in my opinion, anyway). With Franzen out again, I have no issue keeping Larkin with the team - he's certainly shown he can contribute. I still believe they have a few decisions to make when Helm and Datsyuk return, though.

I'd prefer to see Kindl in over Smith, but I'm biased - I've never been a big fan of Smith. If I'm being as objective as I can, I don't think having one play over the other will make that big of a difference. I think Kindl's done a good job getting back to break up plays, and I think Smith's provided an edge that Kindl doesn't. Both of them still make bone-headed decisions with the puck/have a difficult time getting the puck out of the defensive zone. I'm just happy DeKeyser's coming back ahead of schedule.

Helm-Glendening-Miller ALSO... Detroit Red Wings ‏@DetroitRedWings 3m3 minutes ago PP Units at practice: Abby-Nyquist-Franzen Zetterberg-Kronwall Tatar-Richards-Sheahan Pulky-Green No, he's not Ovechkin, but man oh man. Green has a right-handed shooter to pass the puck to on the power play.

...or maybe we won't have to wait a week. Dana Wakiji ‏@Dwakiji 4m4 minutes ago #RedWings Helm in white today and Ferraro in gray, meaning Helm could be ready to go. Lines used in practice: Ansar Khan ‏@AnsarKhanMLive 29s30 seconds agoView translation Lines: Abdelkader-Zetterberg-Larkin Tatar-Richards-Franzen Nyquist-Sheahan-Pulkkinen Helm-Glendening-Miller Jurco-Andersson-Ferraro xtras

I'm wondering about this myself. Furthermore, I'm wondering how he'll handle the situation if the Red Wings decide to send him down to Grand Rapids. They can waive Andersson when Helm returns, but what happens when Datsyuk is back? Knock on wood, the team is healthy when that happens. Is it worth it to expose Ferraro to waivers? Do they move Jurco or Pulkkinen? I don't see those moves as viable options. Larkin's been riding a "high" for about a year now. He's succeeded at every level and continued to climb the ladder. Yes, I'm curious as to how he'll handle a dry spell, but what about how he handles a "demotion"? I think he handles himself well, and he seems to be a mature kid - it'll be interesting to see how this pans out in the next 3-4 weeks.

It's driving me nuts, because I'm positive I've read it before. One of the guys from WiiM mentioned it on Twitter earlier, too. I feel like these two touch on it, especially the "clearly exceeds the fair market value of the services rendered" portion. Scouts (from what I've seen/heard) make less than six figures. I'm sure some make more than others, but not 950K.

This is what I'm referring to when I'm talking about cap circumvention. Cleary would be a consultant of some kind making 950K? That's almost as much as Mike Yeo (MIN) and more than Dave Cameron (OTT) make. Like robo says, there is something in the CBA about paying a similar wage to former players and non-players, or not paying recently retired players higher salaries. I can't find it at the moment. Might look around before the game.

Preeetty sure that's cap circumvention.