kipwinger

I'm not sure if I'm following the conversation correctly, but it seems like some of you are suggesting that CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL ICE HOCKEY PLAYERS would be averse to living in the cold. Really?

Here's the article. It's part of a larger article about Johnson. Feel free to dig into it more at your own leisure. http://frozenroyalty.net/2010/01/20/dean-lombardi-jack-johnson-is-learning-his-craft-belatedly/

I like your attitude.

Well I definitely don't want to make it seem like Holland can't, and hasn't, made mistakes. We know he does. Particularly when it comes to player acquisition post 2005 lockout. But I'd agree with Rick in saying that despite his shortcomings, the draft is one area in which Holland has almost universally excelled.

You're a glutton for punishment eh?

If Holland's scouts are responsible for the picks he made as GM, then' he's responsible for the pics that happened when he was the head of scouting under other GMs. You know, guys like Fedorov, Osgood, Holmstrom, Lidstrom, Konstantinov, Primeau, Kozlov, Sillinger, Lapointe, Knuble, and McCarty. What a bum.

You should check out Dean Lombardi's thoughts on Red Berensen in his interview about Jack Johnson. I've got a lot of respect for Lombardi (obviously), and I'm not at all sure that "learning" under Red really does give these kids a leg up.

Well at least nobody can say KH is afraid to pull the trigger on a deal.

Carl Hagelin? I heard he stinks on the powerplay and he's a jitterbug. I can't remember where I heard it, but I did. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J0ZKwLCLXE

According to TSN hockey guru Darren Dreger, even if James Neal never takes a single shift for the Nashville Predators, he'll still be the third leading scorer in franchise history behind David Legwand and Steve Sullivan.

I'm totally fine with the Larkin pick. I think given our organizational needs that it was smart. That said, how bad does it suck that the earliest draft pick since 1991 comes in a year where the draft pool is this shallow? Larkin would probably have been a second rounder a year ago. Imagine trading down to get Mantha and then grabbing Larkin with your extra second instead of Bertuzzi.

It was probably a combination of wanting to look like they were "shaking things up" for the fan base, as well as some blowback from Neal being the dirtiest player on earth and making the team look bad. They basically sacrificed 15 goals a season to keep up appearances. And honestly, they had 15 goals a year to give. Their offense will still be one of the best in the league with Hornqvist instead of Neal.

Just more proof that we got the wrong Smith. Typical Holland

Cool, thanks.

I think the fact that his favorite team was the Maple Leafs is clear evidence that he's got terrible judgement and probably will be plagued by poor decision making his whole career. Hmmm...now that I think about it, does anybody know if Brendan Smith's favorite team growing up was the Maple Leafs? lol.

I thought "Helm with Hands" was supposed to be Athanasiou on account of his speed...and, er...hands.

For the record, I like the pick. But who's comparing him to Ryan Kesler?

Well they're closer to 12 than we are, that's for sure.

I wonder if any American team has more homegrown talent than Detroit does?

You had to know they were picking a center. I like Kempe as the sleeper pick, but this isn't surprising at all. Good choice.

Still going with Kempe, but only after Holland trades down.

Not a single person reported accurately either the Kesler trade or the Neal trade until it was announced officially. I have no faith that any of the reported asking prices that we've supposedly been dealing with over the years was accurate as well. Not that you're saying so, but there is not league wide conspiracy to ask more from the Red Wings. Likely the reason we don't trade much is because everyone knows that Holland hangs on to people he drafted AND our prospects are never highly thought of because they're always later round guys. If we had a spare Patrick Hornqvist lying around, I'm sure we could have had Neal too. We just never do. And if we did, Holland wouldn't EVER consider trading him.

I assume you're talking about the Legwand trade, since we haven't been trade raped recently other than that one. The reason we got hammered is because we were negotiating from a position of weakness and Poile knew it.

Depends on the package. If we lost any of our good young forwards I'd be pissed. That's a lot to give for a guy with as many check marks against him as Myers has. Smith, prospects, and picks (on the other hand) I'd be fine with. You've obviously not watched a lot of Myers if you think he's got the upside to be a #1. He's big. That's it. He doesn't play defense worth a damn. He's just got a big shot from the point and stands up to the forecheck well.

Big risk to take for a guy who's never produced any better than Matt Niskanen, plays half the defense, costs 5.5 million a year, and would require a significant package to acquire (per reports). Why not just spend a little more (maybe) on the guy who does everything better and keep all your trade assets?