kipwinger

Kenny's pretty conservative, and I can't think of a single scenario in which he moved up. I think it's far more likely that he stands pat and takes multiple picks in the 2nd. I guess I was alluding to the fact that if a bunch of players are rising, then that means that a bunch of players are falling and we might be in a position to scoop one or two of them up in the 2nd. I'd be blown away if Ken Holland moved up in the draft TBH.

Yup, happens all the time. But I'm actually way more interested in what happens at the end of the first round and beginning of the 2nd. Looking at Craig Button's draft rankings that just dropped this morning and a bunch of big names are falling. He's got Dach, Krebs, and Newhook all way down the board compared to their early season rankings. If good players continue to slide, it could make our 2nd round picks a lot more interesting.

The top 5 to 10 players in this draft seems especially deep to me. Like, you could legitimately get game changing talent in that range. And at the end of the day that's what really matters. I don't tend to get too hung up on the top picks because the odds are so drastically against it. But as I've said elsewhere, missing out on the next Patrick Kane (Hughes) is a lot easier to stomach if you land the next Nicklas Backstrom (Zegras) or Tyler Seguin (Cozens) three picks later.

Marner is an RFA, he can ask for whatever he wants, he can even sit out for a portion of the season (ask Nylander). Nevertheless, he's not getting 12 million dollars. So I don't think it's that big a concern.

How's that now?

I actually think he'll maintain his value because of HOW he scores. He's basically immune from changes in shot volume and shooting percentage (things that tend to get worse as you get older) because so much of his offense is generated from breakaways. And while he may not get quite as many, he's still 300 percent faster than pretty much everyone so he'll get plenty. Grabner still does. Aside from Ovechkin, the guys who I worry about are the ones who rely on shot volume to produce lots of points. Because as your physical attributes diminish and you cant do what you used to be able to do you get less ice time and your shot volume goes down. If you don't need much ice time and only need one shot to score one goal then it's less of an issue.

Well, don't get too far ahead of yourself because AA's corsi has actually improved pretty significantly since the move to center. So while I think it's a bad metric for capturing what makes him so dangerous offensively, there's a very real possibility that he'll have "2nd line center types metrics" by the end of the season. Hard to say until the last game is played though. And just as a point of clarity, I wasn't saying that AA played "like Grabner". I was saying that they both have the ability to contribute significantly to team offense without needing sustained possession to do so. Pavel Bure did the same thing, but it would be equally questionable to say AA "plays like Bure".

Seriously, Mike Babcock is complaining his team isn't "deep enough" because one of his two 50 point defensemen from the last two years is hurt and all Kyle Dubas did was go out and get a top pair defenseman from a Stanley Cup winning team to augment their depth. Try winning games with Trevor Daley the ghost of Niklas Kronwall you f*cking pu**y.

For the moment, yes. Also, ascribing our current bottom five status to Blashill's coaching completely ignores the long downward trajectory we've been on since about 2013. Tends to happen when your players get older and you don't have many 1st round picks. But that's seeing the forest AND the trees, someone most fans (including you apparently) aren't capable of. I'm still up in the air about him, but I'm not ready to condemn a guy based on poor performance when he's had a league worst defense, league worst center depth, and few quality prime age players since his tenure began. If I wanted a guy who loses with superstar level talent I'd hire Mike Babcock.

If he turns out to be the next Claude Giroux or Nicklas Backstrom like I think he will then I may very well propose.

Thanks babe.

Na, we're going to be awesome in two years. Count it. Kids continue to develop in a system they know and have bought into. Old, useless veterans are phased out and more young talent is brought up. And we nab some high end draft picks this year and next. Next year we surprise people and almost make the playoffs. UFA's see we're a team in the rise and sign up in the offseason. The following year we're in contention.

Well he's insinuated that the Maples Leafs aren't deep enough to overcome injuries to Jake Gardiner and (rookie) Travis Dermott even though Morgan Reilly is having a Norris caliber season and Dubas traded for Jake Muzzin at the deadline. Speaking of Muzzin, despite already being a top pairing defenseman on a Stanley Cup winning team Uncle Mike is currently playing him less than Nikita Zaitsev and Ron Hainsey. But don't think his idiotic usage extends only to defensemen. Zach Hyman is getting more icetime than all of William Nylander, Patrick Marleau, Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson, and Nazim Kadri even though all of them are significantly more productive forwards by most objective measures. Then there's the more general stuff like his constant line juggling and giving guys icetime because they work hard despite their skill level (I call this the Dan Cleary treatment). Also, I'm not sure that I'd call Tampa the gold standard. They've been stacked for a number of years now and can't get over the hump. At some point you're supposed to win with your superstar team. I'm genuinely not sure they'll beat Washington this year. To me they're still too little and don't score enough in the trenches. They should have traded for Wayne Simmonds or Brian Boyle or someone. They remind me of the 95 Wings.

I'll wade into the middle of this debate only to say that with AA corsi matters a whole lot less because of his breakaway ability. Corsi is a function of shots on goal, and it's a good measure of possession and a good predictor of success for most players (generally speaking). In one very important respect AA isn't like most players. He gets lots of breakaways. If you get two or three shots on goal a game, and your line is badly out shot, but you get two breakaways and bury them your possession metrics will suck, but you'll be super valuable in a limited role (kinda like Michael Grabner). AA's value isn't in driving possession. AA's value is in being able to generate offense when your team DOESN'T HAVE possession.

It's no secret that I think Mike Babcock absolutely sucks, but beyond that, one would have to think that maybe he's out of touch with modern hockey if he can't win with that roster? I mean, isn't his hallmark that he wins big games when his team is heads and tails better than their competition?

Here's a fun thought, Babcock and Dubas are feuding (surprise surprise). If Mike gets fired, how many people want him back?

I'm actually pretty happy with this. I've liked how good the kids have developed, how fast we play, and how competitive we are each night. I'd love to see what Blash will do with a decent roster.

Missed the game tonight, was Athanasiou still at center? Saw him listed as a wing for tonight's game in one of the recaps I read.

The difference for me is that I don't think Hughes is a Matthews like prospect. You do. I think it's more likely that he's a Clayton Keller type than an Auston Matthews type.

For those with subscriptions to the Athletic, Max Bultman just dropped a profile on Joe Veleno. Not much by way of hockey, but if you're into the human interest part of fandom then you may like it. https://theathletic.com/863082/2019/03/19/in-drummondville-the-red-wings-future-is-in-a-playoff-push/

I'd take it a few steps further. Because this is an unusually deep draft in the top ten picks, I'd make the trade and then consider trading back again for more picks. Also, I'd trade the first overall pick for the 3rd overall and 10th overall pretty much every year sight unseen. And if you look at the recent track record of drafts you'd almost always be better off for it. Yeah you'd miss McDavid and Matthews, but look at the list of guys you'd have your pick of. You'd have a WAY better team after like 5 years.

I'd take the trade. Zegras and Byram together puts us closer to Cup contention than Hughes alone. That would be a HUGE draft for us.

I was hoping they'd sign Pearson. I don't expect he'll be anything more than a depth center, but he does have good size and apparently he loved to hit and grind so maybe he could end up being our next Luke Glendening. I'll be really curious to see how he does with the Griffs.

Let's compile a list, because I'm genuinely interested in how many "High-end, right shot" forwards have been in the league over the last 10 years. I'll start. Ovechkin Stamkos Laine Seguin ...

Missed this one. Zadina looked good eh?