kipwinger

Or maybe, just maybe, playing with a veteran is better for young players than you're willing to admit. Hence why young players seem to like it, and why NHL coaches keep doing it.

It's a curse actually.

Well they didn't say the same things about Abdelkader or Helm so I'm guessing there's something to it.

I think he was required to change it to this softer version upon moving to Tampa.

Why would anyone make that trade? If you called and offered the 1st overall to me, then I'd already know you didn't want the consensus top guy, and that person would then fall to me if you chose to pick someone else instead. And if you took the top player anyway, despite not wanting him, then my consolation prize would be the player I thought I was getting all along. Trading back only works if you're skipping a few spots.

Not for nothing, but both AA and Larkin has spoken (many times) about how much playing with an over-the-hill Vanek improved their offensive games. And both AA and Larkin were better players than Vanek.

With the recent waivers of Baertschi, Sprong, and Ho-Sang I'm guessing the market for Jesse Puljujarvi is shriveling up faster than his NHL career.

Michael Rasmussen is such a badass. Can't wait till he chokeslams a guy in an actual game. He's basically the Braun Strowman of the AHL now. I want him to be our version of Tom Wilson.

Did Svechnikov pot 15 despite noticeable lapses in his defensive play, then come to camp out of shape, get bumped down the roster, and then eventually offered around the league because he needed a "change of scenery"? Because in that case, no I wouldn't want him either.

FWIW:

Wouldn't he actually have to be a good player to count as a "threat"? Or will any right handed shooter do? He currently scores about as often as Luke Glendening.

What else is Vancouver going to throw in to make that trade work though? I mean, if we're trading the demonstrably better player I want a quality return.

I think it's fair value. Faulk is good, but expendable, and Bokk is a solid prospect but not an elite one. Edmundson is just a cap dump to make it work.

AND he's a right shot. I'm sure you'd be beside yourself lol. No, I wouldn't. He's another pissy pants loser who can't earn a spot on a wide open roster.

Sportsnet is rumoring that Jake Virtanen is going to be moved by Vancouver for another "change of scenery" player. I'm assuming that all of you who were in favor of trading for Jesse Puljujarvi are chomping at the bit for this guy right?

I'm a little annoyed that bum Hronek only had 5 shots on goal tonight. What a b*tch! Loved his goal though. That's the future of the Wings right there. Rasmussen winning a key faceoff and Hronek putting a laser on net.

The kid's going to be awesome, they just were in a tough spot in terms of his development last year. In two years that kid will be squating like 600 lbs, he'll be impossible to move, his mitts and passing are already nice, and he's a super intense guy. He's going to be a monster to deal with. He'll be Martin Hanzel with better scoring. Yikes.

Based on his history of being a good faceoff guy throughout his career. Even Larkin wasn't good at faceoffs as a 19 year old in the NHL, so I'm not really concerned with his rookie stats. He's always shown a willingness and commitment to the finer points of being a center. For the 3rd time, I'm only bringing up Vilardi because you seemed to think he's the "better player" and never had serious questions about his game despite him being pretty slow. And the reason I'm focusing on the "slow" thing is because it's the only part of your rationale that makes sense to me. If I'm understanding your sentiments correctly you seem to think Rasmussen is better suited for the wings because A) he's too slow to be a good center, and B) he's got some qualities that would make him a good winger like a net front presence and ability to win board battles. I'm having a hard time understanding this logic because: Rasmussen isn't really slow. You haven't had similar concerns about other slow players' ability to play center in the NHL. There are tons of good centers who aren't especially fast. And, lots of centers have qualities that would make them good wingers. That doesn't mean they shouldn't be centers. Larkin, for instance, was a great winger his rookie season. A much better one than Rasmussen has been FWIW. Thank god the coaching staff and GM preferred to keep him at his natural position.

He has a number of qualities which would make him a great center too. He's defensively responsible, good in the face-off circle, protects the puck well, and is a great passer. He'll get his net front looks on the PP anyway, so no worries there. He's also been a center for the majority of his life, so there's no learning curve. I bring up Vilardi because he's slower than Rasmussen, and you liked him ,and you never once questioned his ability to be an NHL center in all the lauding you did of him. So I was just curious why you didn't have the same "slow footed" worries about him as you do about Ras, but it sounds like you're suggesting that you might have those same worries now so no need to go further down that rabbit hole.

I'm not saying you need to agree with them. I'm just asking why you don't. If they don't think his foot speed will stop him from being an NHL center, and they clearly don't or they wouldn't be projecting him there, then I'm wondering why you do? Surely you have a rationale? I'm also doubly confused because as I recall you were really high on Gabe Vilardi in the same NHL draft that we took Rasmussen, and he's no great skater, but I've never heard you suggest he would have been anything over than a center because of his speed.

Done.

I'm not really following your logic here. Yzerman had no problem saying that he saw AA as a long term winger despite the fact that Athanasiou was drafted as a center, played center in the AHL, and played reasonably well as a center last year. Why would he treat Rasmussen any differently? Unless he genuinely doesn't see Rasmussen as a winger down the line. And if that's the case, why do you think you and Steve Yzerman don't agree on his suitability to play center? What do you think you're seeing that Yzerman and Blashill don't?

Ok, ill accept your premise for a second. But if Rasmussen's skill set is so obviously conducive to playing on the wing, why do you think both Yzerman and Blashill see Rasmussen as a center?

Off this were true you wouldn't hear NHL coaches constantly talking about how young centers need to "slow the game down". Often their speed is greater than their ability to process how the play is developing.

Speed is generally a more valuable asset to a winger than a center in most NHL systems. For instance, look how much more AA uses his speed as a winger. Very few centers consistently get breakaways, wingers do pretty regularly. AA certainly had more breakaway goals off the wing. Look at some of the better Wings centers just in recent memory. None of Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Glendening, or Nielsen are especially fast. Filppula is probably the best skating center we have had in the modern era until Larkin came along. And that's just our team. None of Toews, Getzlaf, Spezza, Malkin, Tavares, Thornton, Johansen, or Pavelski seem to have suffered as a result of not being especially fast skaters. And all of that is a little beside the point because Rasmussen is actually a pretty good skater, especially for his size. I think his skating is probably roughly as good as a many of the non Wings mentioned above. Hardly a liability.