kipwinger

Don't get ahead of yourself. I think Callahan DOES deserve a shot at making the roster, and I think he'd be a cheaper alternative to Ott or Miller, but given the Wings offseason signings and preference for veterans he'll most likely be waived and sent to GR. Which I'm fine with. Sucks for him, sucks for the team (maybe) but he's also a 4th liner so I'm not going to get worked up about it. Callahan, for one, will not be contributing to our logjam at forward.

Probably for the same reason it took Nyquist, Ouellet, and Howard so long to get their shots.

Oh Jesus, are you really falling back on semantics? OK fine. He's been good in the AHL. Now what?

Solid offense, defense, and special teams ability at the next highest level in North American hockey.Also, he's cheap and the salary cap exists.

I can't stand that they're playing AA on the wing. This kid needs the puck on his stick more often. He's too dangerous to play the wing. I really hope that's the long term plan for him.

WWE Legend Jim Ross calls hypothetical scenarios in which famous hockey players come out of the crowd to help Team Europe overcome Team Canada. Amazing! Skip to 4:45 to here Good Ol' JR call the returns. http://www.tsn.ca/radio/toronto-1050/ross-wwe-s-jim-ross-calls-world-cup-final-1.574714

Been calling for it for a while. He can get hit by pucks just as well as Miller or Ott. The only difference is he might score once in a while.

If Callahan doesn't get a roster spot over Ott or Miller I'll ******* puke.

Lol. Nice try. Every single year haha.

Nah, I wouldn't sweeten the pot too much. Just a little to make the cap situation work and/or deal with our log jam at forward and defense. Basically throw in someone to sweeten the deal rather than lose them later on waivers. I also agree that the value of getting Fowler is basically the same as getting Trouba. But all things being equal I think we would rather have a righty. Not that its a deal breaker.

Well, I'm not sure about that, but I think it would be a solid move. I'm less blown away by Trouba than most are, but I could handle losing Nyquist plus a middling piece to get him. Then again, it would all depend on what his contract demands are. I don't think, at this point, that he's a 5 million dollar defenseman. And definitely not a 6 million dollar guy. If he'd sign a reasonable bridge deal to play for us, something like 4.5 million x 4 years, I'd feel really good about it. Then, if he develops into the stud he's heralded to be, then give him big money as an FA when he's 26. Completely reasonable. If he wants big money now, as an RFA, and after not really proving much to this point, then I don't want him.

Ugh. I really hate to get into the trade for Trouba hype, but this just makes too much sense to me. We need a young righty defenseman. The Jets want an established left shooting defenseman, and the Ducks want(ed?) a left wing PP specialist? To Detroit: Trouba To Winnipeg: Fowler To Anaheim: Nyquist+

I couldn't answer that question. I've never dug into Silfverbergs numbers or seen him play much in the same way I have for Nyquist and Tatar. If I find some time this week I'll give it a look and let you know.

He would have been the 1D on most NHL teams between 2009 and 2014. Sure there were some better 1D in the league, but not that many. I'd say he was somewhere between the 10th and 15th best defenseman in the league over that period. He wasn't elite, no, but neither are a lot of 1D.

Except that Sweden didn't expressly choose worse players like the US did. Lombardi even said so. Nobody thinks Abby is better than Kessel, including the people who picked him. He's worse, but tougher, and that apparently is what Lombardi's dumb ass wanted. Sweden presumably chose their best, and Nyquist wasn't one of them. Though admittedly, he probably would have made Team Europe.

Tatar and Nyquist are pretty much the same player. I mean one of them wasn't good enough to play for Sweden's national team, and the other just roasted that same Swedish team for two goals. Pretty much dead even to me lol.

Nah, they'll be better than they were a year ago; provided they get the roster and usage issues sorted out. We're a little weak on defense, but our forward corps and goalie situation are in good shape. I'd expect bounce back seasons from Tatar, Nyquist, Green (although he wasn't bad), a step forward from Larkin and AA, and about the same from Z, Abby, Neilsein, and Vanek. I'm really curious about whether getting Helm back in the middle will help, and how Sheahan will look on the wing though.

Agreed. It's fashionable to paint Kronwall as a career #2 guy who was in above his head, but that definitely wasn't the case. His defense, point production, and powerplay contributions easily made him a legit #1 for a few years there. If you can man the powerplay, play 20+ minutes a night, and score 40+ points a season you're a legit top defenseman. Was he as good as Doughty, or Keith, or Subban? No, but that doesn't mean he wasn't a top guy.

Nyquist, Ouellet/Sproul, 1st. That's all I offer. And I don't think the Jets want forwards, so I doubt they do it.

Posting this here, because it's related to international hockey, although it isn't from the World Cup. Check out this MASSIVE hit from the Swedish league. Unreal. AND totally legal. http://www2.tsn.ca/bardown/Story.aspx?SHL%2bdefenceman%2bdelivers%2bearth%2bshattering%2bhit%252c%2bthen%2btalks%2bsmack&id=590104

Serious question. In what sense do you think they're equals?

The last time the wings won the Cup our best players were Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Holmstrom, Kronwall, Samuelson, Hudler, and Filppula. Then again we did have Stuart and Rafalski. I guess their North American-ness was really the glue that held that squad together. Edit: Shiiiiiiiit I forgot. If it weren't for Dallas Drake's grit we wouldn't have won that Cup. I take it back. We need more North Americans pronto!

4-1. GRIT!!!!!!

John Cooper is also a fairly viable alternative to Tortorella. He's currently assistant coach for Team NA for some reason.

My ideal lineup with the guys we have: Z-Neilsen-Vanek Tatar-Larkin-Abby Nyquist-AA-Mantha Glendening-Helm-Sheahan Jurco Frk Callahan or Bertuzzi as first call ups if a fourth liner gets hurt. Jurco and Frk draw in with Mantha if he struggles and/or there's an injury to a top 9 winger and either Mantha or Nyquist need to move up.