kipwinger

Who was Smith partner last night? God help us if it was Quincey.

Hemsky's not a bad player. He's just a more experienced version of Nyquist...they play EXACTLY the same game. I personally don't think we need another guy like that. Actually, I don't think we need all the ones we've already got...let alone anymore of them. I want a shooter...with size...and speed. Not a playmaking Euro who wants to pass all the time.

I honestly can't wait until he gets back and starts dominating. There's a tendency (particularly around LGW) to just assume that there's no cause for his poor play, and that the only remedy is to move him. The guy has a 10 year track record of success in the NHL. He didn't just forget how to play hockey one day, and he isn't a flash in the pan either. He's been hurt...all year...and soon he'll be healthy. And then he'll be good.

How did Chicago tie it in the third?

Dammit, my stream went out. What happened in the shootout?

Henrik Zetterberg is ******* awesome!

I disagree. The fact that we would rather not move certain assets doesn't necessarily mean that we wouldn't be better off if we did. It's KH's reluctance to move any homegrown assets with potential that makes meaningful trades impossible. You'll obviously never make an impact trade if you immediately take all your prospects, high picks, and young talent off the table from the get go. Look at this Del Zotto trade. Holland would never EVER have made that trade. Del Zotto was a young, homegrown talent with upside. He's very much like Smith in that regard. If you're completely unwilling to make a move because a guy has potential then you're never going to get a return worth a damn. It's their potential that makes them valuable in the first place.

I definitely have noticed that. On the one hand we never make any of the s***ty trades we're rumored to be making, on the other hand we never make any good ones either. The closest we ever get is "the Red Wings are taking to GM whomever but nothing is imminent". At least this level of ambiguity allows me to dream of something better than lame-ass Ales Hemsky.

I think you're being a little harsh on Ferraro. He definitely wasn't an exciting pick when they took him, and he has struggled with injuries for much of his AHL career, but he really broke through last season and looked good. There was a lot of talk last season about him finally taking the next step in his development, particularly in terms of developing his two-way game. While nobody has ever spoke of him playing a top six role in Detroit, as of a year ago he was considered a lock for a future bottom six spot. Having said that, the rapid development of Sheahan and Glendening, along with Babs' man crush on the latter may mean that Ferraro has been leap frogged.

The Fourth Period is rumoring the Wings are interested in Hemsky (every single year this rumor surfaces) and Brad Boyes. I'll f*cking puke if either of these things happen.

By all accounts Bachman has the better all around game. Almquist has a nice shot, but he's pretty limited in every other regard. On a team with a stud defense, Almquist could probably play the roll of offensive d-man and PP point a la Torey Krug. But our team is already weak defensively, so I can't see him playing well for us.

I mean, superficially he seems like the kind of guy that would work for us. He's developed in a defense first system, he's got real good speed, and is producing well despite less offensively gifted linemates. Give him some shifts with our skill guys and it seems like he should flourish. One thing I really like about him is that he gets very little PP time. So almost all of his pretty impressive production has come 5-on-5, which would be a big help on our team. But I don't want to sit here and pretend that I know what guys the team should specifically target. I just know that year after year we all sit and speculate about all the big named targets and it never pans out. Maybe the under the radar moves are the more realistic option.

That's true, I did get a little carried away with the hypotheticals here. I'm just super frustrated that nothing is being done to improve this team right now. Better to fantasize I guess.

The other thing I'd be looking for is a guy who's trending upward, but who isn't established yet. A guy like Neal was for Dallas. If you're willing to part with a quality piece you can usually get guys like this and hopefully they were scouted well enough that they can really flourish in your system. Obviously you need to have quality scouts (which we supposedly do) but also you wouldn't need to give up nearly as much as an established guy. Following this line of though, one guy I've been interested in is Mikkel Boedker from Phoenix. He's defensively responsible, SUPER fast, young, and has pretty good size (6ft. 210 lbs.), and plays for a team that's not likely to push for a playoff spot. He's having a breakout year this year after moderate success in the past. This is the kind of under the radar move that could pay off huge in the future if the kid continues to develop upward. Plus, you certainly wouldn't need to give Nyquist and a 1st for him. I don't know if this guy's the answer, but it's the kind of move I'd be looking at if I were Holland. Let everyone else battle it out for E. Kane, Vanek, Moulson, etc. and we make a solid cap savy move that helps now and in the future.

It wouldn't likely be a one for one trade. Nyquist + 1st, or something like that.

That's certainly PART of the issue, and admittedly it's not insignificant. But injuries have given everyone on this forum the youth movement that they wanted, and you see how Babs uses them. That shouldn't be ignored or downplayed any more than Holland's dumb a** personnel moves of the last couple years. Based on his use of them so far, it's pretty obvious that according to Babs the depth chart is something like this: Top End Guys: Dats, Z, Kronwall, Franzen, Alfie, Ericsson "Reliable Vets": Cleary, Bert, Quincey, Miller, Eaves, Abby, Helm Responsible Youth: Nyquist, Glendening, Andersson, "Irresponsible" Youth: Tatar, Kindl, Smith New Wave Youth: Jurco, Sheahan Lastly: Sammy What makes anybody think that Babs is just pining for a youth movement. Cut the dead wood and guys like Glendening, Andersson, and Nyquist get more ice time. Not the guys who are actually creating momentum for us.

Not necessarily true. Bobby Ryan was traded for a guy with Nyquist-like NHL numbers, a boom or bust prospect (like Frk for us), and a first. There are a ton of variables at play in the trade market, but Nyquist and a 1st would definitely be a really good starting point (as I said before) for a quality trade.

Agreed 3000%

Dude, you always say this and it's getting old. Because one could easily argue that if you want to watch people get punched so much why don't you go watch boxing or MMA. I'm not here to try and convince you that fighting is dumb, or bad, or whatever. It wouldn't work even if I tried. But please stop with the "if you don't like it don't watch" argument, because it's not a very good one and is basically the adult equivalent of taking your ball and going home.

Yeah, but you can't simply say "a guy's up and playing well in the NHL and therefore don't trade him". If you never traded a guy who was playing well, you'd never get anything of value. You have to consider the possibility of trading a Nyquist, Tatar, Smith, Sheahan, Jurco (one of them, not multiple) if you want something of value. Nobody is going to give you a Wheeler, Ladd, Kane, etc. for unproven potential. You need to include guys that have shown they can play well in the NHL and then sweeten the pot with picks or prospects. Which begs the question, "if a guy is playing well in the NHL then why trade him"? Which is the Ken Holland school of thought. You trade him because the guy you get back fills a need better, or because you're bleeding prospects and don't have room for them all, or the upside on the return is greater than what's going out. There's a ton of reasons to part with quality talent.

I don't think it would land us Wheeler, but it would be a good starting point. Add a decent prospect, Pulkkinen or Jarnkrok and that might do it. Then again, I don't know if Winnipeg is looking for offense or defense. If they wanted defense I'd do Smith, 1st, and Marcheko for Wheeler, but that's just me.

I mean, I REALLY like Jurco. Especially in combination with Sheahan, but I'd entertain it. But I'd need a BIG return to move Jurco AND a guy like Nyquist or Smith. I look at it this way, the Sens got Ryan for a package which was essentially Ottawa's versions of Nyquist, Frk, and a 1st. I don't think we need anyone as good as Ryan, so a combination of Nyquist and a 1st, or Smith and a 1st should get us the return we need.

Yeah, I agree. I keep (foolishly) hoping to wake up and hop online and see the headline "Red Wings trade for..." but to no avail. Honestly, there are a ton of things wrong with this team right now, but one of the biggest is our GM's stubborn refusal to make any moves whatsoever. There's not a lot you can do with the dead weight, but given how bad we're playing you have to at least entertain the idea of moving some young pieces for things we need. If I'm Holland I put the word out that our 1st, Nyquist, Smith, and any prospects not named Mantha or Sproul are moveable (in some combination) for a top six winger with size. Just to see what kind of offers we'd get.

Well Schenn was Toronto's version of Smith, and while I would gladly move Smith for a guy like JVR imagine how apes*** everyone around here would go...well until they saw him play anyway.

And to think, Philly traded him for Schenn because they weren't willing to wait out a concussion. The Flyers have to be one of the poorest run franchises in the league. The only thing that keeps Holmgren from being named amongst all the other worst GMs in the league has been the amount of money they've spent and the two buyouts that saved them from the cap hell that Bryzgalov and Briere had them in.