kipwinger

I'm talking about a pattern of bitching that reaches back multiple seasons. I'm talking about people complaining about the refs when penalties aren't even being called. I'm talking about people who think specific refs "don't like" the Wings. Looks back through old GDTs if you think our fans don't constantly cry about the officiating. Maybe you're a good one pal, but there are a lot of cry babies wearing the Winged Wheel when it comes to the refs. So much so that we get called out for it pretty regularly on social media.

I guarantee you I've never claimed some sort of idiotic referee bias against Detroit because we're lower in the standings than some other team. Guaranteed.

Crazy idea in modern America I know.

Or we could, ya know, hold ourselves to a higher standard instead of racing the fans of Phoenix and Florida to the bottom?

There were no calls at all for like two periods. So I"m not sure what "bad calls" people were bitching about in the first period.

No, I think bad calls happen to every team pretty much all season long. It's what happens when you have humans reffing a super fast sport. I definitely DON'T think there's some sort of reffing bias against Detroit.

I sure hope not. Seems crazy to whine about a game we're winning against a team we have no business beating.

Are we officially the whiny fanbase? I never thought we were, but it's beginning to seem like we are.

Excellent game so far. Gotta love the fact that we're staying with these guys with two of our best out of the lineup.

November, 2018 had the third highest amount of goals scored in the entire history of the NHL. If you're bored you're probably not paying attention. Or does goal scoring make for boring games now?

Another guy to watch is Alex Newhook. He's playing in the BCHL and absolutely murdering it. I've seen him projected in the 10-12 range because he's in a weaker league but scouting reports all seem to agree he's got dynamic offensive upside. Might be a sleeper if we don't end up with a top pick.

Kyrou might not be that much of a stretch to be honest. He's kind of a boom or bust prospect and he's already 20. However, I'd look to move Jimmy at the deadline. If a Cup contender loses a goalie right around then they'll pay more than a bottom dweller will now. Howard probably fetches a 2nd round pick and mid level prospect at the deadline, which is perfect because we'll be losing one of our 2nd rounders when we trade Mantha, Glendening, and a 2nd for Nylander (and thus propel our team into contention).

He's doesn't have any right, but he doesn't has some say. Any team looking to give up the kind of assets that a guy like Nylander will fetch is surely going to contact his agent and see if he has an interest in the team and if he's willing to sign a deal with them. If he says no, then why part with a package like that for a guy who doesn't want to be there?

Whelp, got that one dead wrong didn't I? Yeesh.

Big fan of the lines for tonight's game. The top two are producing and shouldn't be messed with. Ras-Glen-Bert seems like they'd have decent offense and would be miserable to play against. And Vanek-De La Rose-Frk should end up playing very little, but may provide a reasonable amount of offensive pressure in a limited role. At the very least it's starting to look like fans are getting what they wanted for years when we complained about not wanting/needing a "shutdown line". These are four lines with decent offensive potential. Edit: Also, Ericsson is a healthy scratch again. For those who never thought that would ever happen.

I think it makes a lot of sense for both teams. I don't know how Toronto would fit Panarin's cap hit or if Columbus could take on salary though.

I don't know man. Werenski is a really good player, but so is Nylander. Dude put up back to back 61 point seasons at 20 and 21 years old. I don't think Columbus would trade Werenski, as they'd just be filling on hole and creating another. But I could see trying to build a package around Panarin. They're going to lose him anyway and Nylander would immediately become the Blue Jackets' best winger.

Only if the Leafs' counter offer was reasonable. By many accounts they've been lowballing him because they're up against the cap and also don't have money to sign him to a fair price this year and then do the same for Marner and Gardiner next off season. There's also term to consider. God only knows what's going on there. As far as him living up to the money, I'm not so sure. If we take the age old maxim that you get a million bucks for every 10 points you put up (basically what Larkin got), that would make him worth about 6 million in his age 20 and 21 seasons. So the question is whether Nylander hit his ceiling at 21, or whether he'll improve on that in a significant way. I don't think it's unreasonable to think that riding shotgun for Mathews or Tavares would net Nylander another 15-20 points or more as he moves into his prime.

I'd argue that market disequilibrium works out for the teams just as often as it works out for the players. Roman Josi has outperformed his contract for years. Off the top of my head Pacioretty, Letang, Klingberg, too. Tons of guys are on contracts that were signed before the reached the ceilings that everybody knew they were going to reach. I don't see many teams rushing to make up that gap. You can argue that Nylander isn't worth 8 million (which is a starting ask and not what anybody thinks he'll actually get), but it seems odd to argue that a hockey player's value should be determined by the quality of the games they've played without giving much weight to the quality of the games they will play in the future. Also, the economics of an NHL contract are not the same as the economics for most jobs anyway. Most jobs don't have salary caps. Most jobs are open ended and don't end after a finite period of time followed by a free agency period. Hell, most workers aren't "retired" at 40 because they can no longer physically do their jobs. As a result of these (and other factors), almost no player is getting paid exactly what they're worth at any given moment. Instead, the hope is that they'll provide fair value over the life of the contract.

Wait, why does the AHL have a bunch of day games going on today?

Didn't say they were. I was asking. You seemed to have a pretty strong opinion in favor of management against the worker and I asked if that applied to labor disputes as well? I assumed that if you felt like they weren't "one and the same" that you'd explain why.

Do you have this same "Athletetes are a bunch of rich babies who need to be crushed" attitude when it comes to lockouts as well?

To be honest, I don't even really need Hughes. I'll take Dylan Cozens and the best defender available for the 1st rounder we'll get for Nyquist over any of the other options above. Edit: Or Kirby Dach. I might like him better than Cozens. But if we draft in the top 4 we're looking really good here.

Can't wait to see AA riding shotgun for Veleno. Yeesh.

I would too. Did you see Osgood's scarf during the pre-game? I'd be afraid he'd double cross me a la Chris Jericho.