Jesusberg

These lines are basically what I'm expecting/hoping to see, assuming everyone is healthy at the start of the season. Seems to be some recent stuff out there suggesting Z's back is worse than people thought (he didn't practice the second half of the season - Blash says he doesn't think Z plays if it's that bad again). Not to mention, the cap situation is pretty tricky, even with Franzen heading to LTIR (Custance article on The Athletic). Seems like an "easy" out of the cap mess/roster crunch is Z starting on LTIR. If that happens, I can see Nielsen jumping up to 2C and Helm shifting to 3C between Vanek and AA.

He could go that route, or he could wear the same number as a former 50-goal scorer (in juniors), Kirk Maltby.

Minimum roster requirements for Vegas are 14F + 9D + 3G = 26 players. McPhee gets to select 30 in total. It's silly to think he won't use those four extra spots to select the best players available (regardless of their position) and try to flip them.

Right. The key is generating enough offense from various sources. Having a guy capable of scoring 30+ goals is gravy, but it's more important to generate offense throughout the lineup. To this point, the Penguins finished 3rd in goals scored last season (241), and had eight players score 10+ goals. If a team can hit around 230 goals, that's usually enough for a place in the top ten in the NHL. Red Wings are on pace for about 213ish as of today. The most we've seen recently is around the 260ish mark. Last year, the Stars finished 1st overall with 265, then 2nd place dropped to 248 for the Capitals. Somehow, the Rangers are on pace for roughly 340 goals right now, which I fully expect them to hit...

Right now, sure. He has him locked-up and there's no reason to shop him, anymore. As I said in a previous post, I can see something happening around the trade deadline. The Jets could struggle, someone could blow away Cheveldayoff with an offer, etc. I doubt much has changed for Trouba, though. I don't see Paul Maurice magically utilizing Trouba any differently, which is why he sat-out in the first place. Not that it'll have an impact on Cheveldayoff's mindset about moving him anytime soon, but I don't see Trouba playing out the full contract in Winnipeg. Right. Trouba himself came out and stated he's rescinded his trade request. He's returning to that locker room after sitting out for a month. Not much else he can say, really - going to play with these guys for the foreseeable future.

For DET, it doesn't. Think it benefits everyone but the Wings (and other teams who already made pitches). For Cheveldayoff, he has a young asset signed to a 2-year deal at a modest cap hit. Teams who were out on Trouba because of his rumored demand of 5.5M AAV might take a closer look now. With a bigger pool of suitors, the odds are Trouba will eventually find his way out of WPG. Either way, more suitors = more competition for Holland, whose offer(s) were already rejected by Cheveldayoff. Not sure he'll moved right away, but I wouldn't be shocked if one of those teams acquired him at the trade deadline. They'll have him for another season at 3M, and assuming Trouba likes the fit, they can sign him to an extension during the offseason that'll kick in for the 2018-19 season.

With Sproul playing well (still eating crow), I'm wondering what happens to the defense once Kronwall is healthy enough to return. Even though there's no timetable for him to jump back into the lineup, he's practicing with the team. IMO, Marchenko's struggled quite a bit (so has DeKeyser, but they're not scratching him), so I wonder if they'll play Sproul over Alexey. Also, missed this last night. Not surprised to see fans voice this opinion, but I didn't expect it from Roose:

Right. It makes the most sense. I can see how some people might be upset, considering how some of the other guys have played, though. Thing is, they're not going to handicap themselves on the PK just to get Ouellet/Sproul in the lineup. If Marchenko struggles (I think he's looked better recently, but no one's really looked good) and Kronwall proves he can skate, then maybe something different happens. For now, I think they're going to kind of ease Kronwall into the lineup, and determine what he's capable of handling.

There's not 100% confirmation, but it looks like Kronwall's could play tonight. The guys sitting for him might ruffle a few feathers, but at least they're not putting Kronwall on the top pair right away.

Considering the way DeKeyser's played, I wouldn't be shocked.

Right. I agree that the team was in a better position to groom young defenders back then, and I think Holland basically panicked. They never had a ton of faith in Kindl/Smith, and probably felt as if they weren't progressing/able to fill-in the shoes of the veterans, and so Holland clung to the vets even tighter. Unless he finds the talent elsewhere, I don't think he's going to be able to fall-back on the Kronwalls and Ericssons, because Smith, Kindl, etc. never developed into the players the organization hoped they would. Pushing off of this idea, I don't think it's necessarily set in stone that the young guys won't receive a shot, but Wings' management has to be willing to let the young guys drown. There definitely has to be a shift in the thinking, but I almost think (maybe hope is more accurate) that Holland's hand is going to be forced. Yes, DeKeyser and Ericsson will still be here when 2020-21 comes around, but I don't really see that secondary wave of players after them. I don't think Green is going to stick around, and I'm not sold on the idea that management views Smith as a top-four defender. I wouldn't be shocked to see them part ways, unless they trust Smith and he puts together a solid season. I do see the similarities with Philly's group of defenders, with guys like Streit, Andy MacDonald and Nick Schultz "blocking" the way. Although, I think their young defensemen have a lot more upside than the Wings'.

Honestly, I'd like to see what Frk can (potentially) do with the Wings before I judge what he's capable of doing/not doing at the NHL level. Pulkkinen played 70 games for the Wings (78 if you include the eight in Minny). Frk's played two with the Hurricanes. I don't think he's necessarily a 15-20 goal guy, but I'd like to see him get some actual reps in before tossing him into the scrap pile. You can argue that they already did that, but then why claim him? More than anything, I think he was a victim of the numbers game, and they felt as if they'd get more out of Athanasiou. It's always good to have some insurance. I wasn't beat-up about losing him to Carolina, but I don't think it means he's hot garbage. It's pretty easy to claim a guy is s*** after he's been waived. Plenty of people were acting like it was a big deal, and harping on Holland for poor roster management after it happened. Crazy turnaround.

You're right about Russo, but the first two guys are a few years away, IMO. I know Hronek has some encouraging numbers, but it's his first year in the OHL. Once he's healthy, I'd like to see what Saarijarvi can do on a team that isn't a total dumpster fire. Either way, neither of them is waiver-eligible until the 2020-21 season. Kronwall and Ericsson are off the books by then. I'd like to see both of them add some size/strength, too. Yes, it means a lot less than it did in the past, but they still need to add some bulk to deal with puck battles, taking a hit, etc. I'm not saying they have to go crazy, but they both weigh around 165-170 lbs right now.

Yep. This WiiM article covers the cap recapture penalties: http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/2016/4/25/11487900/red-wings-cap-recapture-penalties-zetterberg-kronwall-and-franzens I'm assuming they'd get hit with the Summer '16 ($1,166,667 x 3 years), and not the Summer '17 ($2,125,000 x 2 years).

So just to add to this, someone asked the exact question in today's edition of Ansar Khan's mailbag (I swear, it wasn't me. Thankfully, my name's not Lenny. I'm sorry if you're reading this, Lenny.) Anyway, here's the link and Ansar's answer - https://goo.gl/ucU1mb Q: What happens to (Ryan) Sproul when Kronwall and Jurco come back? – Lenny A: Sproul will remain on the roster, no danger of being waived. The club has told him to get his own place in the area. Hard to predict when Kronwall is ready. He's been skating off and on and there's no telling when the knee will feel good enough to play. When he's cleared, the Red Wings won't need to make any moves because they have the roster spot and he's been on the cap while on short-term injured reserve. They'll carry 13 forwards and eight defensemen. Who sits out on D? I think it'll be an ongoing competition between Sproul, Marchenko and Ouellet. The problem arises when Jurco is ready, following off-season back surgery. He's projected to return in mid-November. If Kronwall is back when Jurco is ready and they have no other injuries, they'll need to trim a player. Andreas Athanasiou is waiver-exempt, but I think he's playing too well to be sent down. They might be forced to waived Ouellet.

The issues arises once Jurco returns, which looks like it could happen around the second week of November. I can't find it right now, but I think one of the guys from WiiM mentioned Jurco's cap hit being a problem. With the LTIR relief, having Jurco instead of AA on the roster leaves them with around 305K. I'm not sure what the issue is, to be honest. Maybe it has something to do with how the cap is calculated on a daily basis, or maybe they were incorrect, and that's why I can't find it anymore. Either way, if they're going to carry eight defensemen instead of 14 forwards, they'll either have to send AA down to Grand Rapids, or waive one of Ouellet/Sproul. Or they could waive Jurco. Who knows at this point?

"The 30 NHL Clubs must submit their Protection List by 5:00 P.M. ET on Saturday, June 17, 2017. The Las Vegas team must submit their Expansion Draft Selections by 5:00 P.M. ET on June 20 and the announcement of their selections will be released on made on June 21." https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-expansion-draft-rules/c-281010592 I'm waiting for that "Quick Protect" option to become available on CapFriendly's expansion tool. I could guess at which players each team will protect, but I think other team's fans will paint a much clearer picture with their choices, especially once CF collects enough protection selections/data.

I'm sure they'll look for established players for the reasons you mentioned (leadership and needing to reach the cap floor), but I've got to believe there are better options than Z and Kronwall. The only reason I consider protecting Z and not Kronner his cap recapture penalty hits harder than Kronwall's. For that reason, I think Holland won't be as worried about protecting Kronwall. Worst case scenario, LV selects Kronwall, he retires and the Wings pay $2,125,000 for two seasons. If anything, I can see Kenny protecting both of them out of loyalty (which I'm sure is something people would be thrilled with). Right, and I think it depends what else is out there for Vegas. They have to hit the cap floor, either way. You have to think that Z and Kronwall will be among the less desirable options out there, but who knows? It's more about avoiding that cap recapture penalty than anything. Same applies for Sproul/XO/Marchenko. We value those players, but compared to some of the other young players who will be exposed, they're probably not as appealing as we believe. I can see Vegas targeting established players, then players with the most potential, and then looking for leftover vets with cap hits to to meet the cap floor. Honestly, I can see them taking Mike Green if Holland leaves him exposed. He's got history with George McPhee, and will have one year left at 6M. Without knowing what LV is thinking/who else they're going to select, I think Green might be the most likely candidate.

Not that I think Vegas is going to take a 37-year-old, earning 6M+ for four more seasons, but it's probably something management will consider when they select their protected players. The "recapture pool" for 2017-18 sits at $11,983,336, so the Wings would wind up facing a cap penalty of $2,995,834 in each of the four remaining years on his contract if he refused to play/retired. I wonder if the NHL would threaten to penalize the Wings if Z came out and said something like that. Otherwise, what's stopping other teams/players from doing something similar? Daly's already said teams that don't follow the rules could lose draft picks/players. I wonder if they'd view it as some sort of circumvention. Honestly, the league kind of tweaks and makes up their own rules as they go along, so I wouldn't be shocked. Either way, I'm hoping for something along the lines of: Forwards: Nielsen (NMC), Nyquist, Tatar, Mantha, Athanasiou & two of Abdelkader/Helm/Zetterberg Defensemen: DeKeyser, Ouellet & Sproul Goaltender: Mrazek

The Athanasiou goal really halted Carolina's momentum (obviously). I was worried when Stalberg hit Green and Ott took the offsetting penalty. Feels like the Wings tend to fall apart in situations like that, but they pushed through. Impressed with this team right now.

He can spit it back out at a later date. There's no handbook on eating crow, AFAIK.

That one was long overdue. Awesome.

Looks like Vanek might survive without Nyqust, lol

Surprisingly, Skinner-Rask-Stempniak has been one of the better lines in the league, offensively. Have to think it has more to do with the other two guys (and Skinner's out), but still... Agree about Aho, though.