kipwinger

No it wouldn't. It would cost about as much as LA paid for Dubios (a comparable player to Thomas). LA gave a young center, a 29 year old cap dump, a mid level prospect, and a 2nd. In Red Wings terms that's something like Veleno/Berggren/Rasmussen, Fabbri/Maatta/Gostisbehere, Sodorblom/Johansson/Hanas, and a 2nd. Obviously the actual trade would be slightly different. For instance, if you upgrade the pick to a 1st then you probably don't have to give as much on the prospect. Or if you give a better prospect maybe you don't give a pick at all. But the value is right.

Here's a rumor that I'm starting on my own: While the entire world is thinking that General Manager SY is targeting Lindolm or Pettersson, the wily old devil will actually go back to the St. Louis well one more time and nab Robert Thomas at the deadline to round out this lineup. On the back of this trade the Red Wings will make the conference finals.

How'd that work out for them? About as good as it did for us when we gifted Bertuzzi prime minutes?

Let's not get carried away. Veleno wouldn't be doing this with Compher's usage. He's good BECAUSE he's in the bottom six, not in spite of it. This is one of the many things analytics nerds have gotten wrong over the years. They think because someone plays good in a lesser role that they can replicate the same results in a greater role. That's obviously false. Brendan Smith (for example) had good underlying metrics in Detroit because he was sheltered on the 3rd line. The second he was asked to play higher in the lineup his results cratered.

Says the guy who never misses an opportunity to talk about him. It's only "rent free" if he's not CONSTANTLY being referenced. It's not really all that complicated. He sucks now for the same reason Mantha sucks now. Because once they moved on from Detroit their ice time dropped and they weren't getting prime powerplay minutes. Bert is never gonna score as much as he did in Detroit again unless he goes to a bottom feeder, just like his look-alike Zadina did. Hell, he wouldn't wouldn't even be on our top powerplay unit this year if he was still on the team. If Raymond isn't good enough to play on our top unit Bert certainly isn't.

He just needed to learn how to play a more straight forward game. In junior he was always trying to deke and dangle and that's not his game. He's a big, strong, fast dude and he needs to play like that. He's been working in that direction for a few years and now it's playing off. The Sprong play is a great example. Two years ago Veleno would have tried to handle that puck and carry around behind the net. Now he just fires it home. His game is simpler but more effective when he plays straight ahead.

That's a little extreme but I think he's closer to the best players in the world than he is to the next few tiers below that. I said at the beginning of the summer that he's probably a top 12-15 NHL center and I'll stick by that. It's amazing how quickly perceptions of the guy changed the minute he had an actually talented team around him.

We talking about 2002 Todd Bertuzzi? Or that other dude who only has 1 point in 5 games playing with Matthews and Marner?

It's not a mystery, it tends to happen when you stop sucking and start scoring goals.

Nailed it!

Duuuurrrrrrrr…Dylan Larkin isn’t a top line center.

Scored a beaut last night too.

After watching how this team (centers in particular) plays stylistically - relentless puck pursuit, speed through the neutral zone, fighting and winning puck battles for every loose puck, and total commitment defensively - is there any doubt Marco Kasper is going to be fine?

I can see Sprong, Goatisbehere, and Fischer being re-signed and the others would get so little in return I’m sure SY is willing to eat the cost so as not to mess with his team’s chemistry.

If we're playing THIS good at the trade deadline we aren't selling anyone. Perron is absolutely indispensable on that top powerplay unit. His brain generates so many scoring chances on the man advantage. Might see one of the three goalies get traded but I don't see any roster players moving if we keep this up. This team is playing really well and the success seems to entirely be the sum of their parts.

I really want the hatty for Joe. duuuuurrrrrrrrr…Dylan Larkin isn’t a top line center.

I missed the first two periods. I see the score and the shots are inverse. Did we get outplayed or did they get a bunch of powerplays and not convert?

Pretty awesome to be making GDTs for a Red Wings season I'm actually excited about. This will be a fun game. Columbus is a very very beatable team but they've got enough individual skill to really test our defensive systems if we aren't sharp. Plus it's a first look at Fantilli, who somehow fell to 3rd overall in a draft that still makes no sense to me. I'll update with the lineup when it's posted. LGW!!

You expect Kane to score like that playing a half seasons after coming off major surgery and no training? Optimistic.

My point is that you’re talking about a guy in his mid thirties, who didn’t score a point per game last year, who had surgery in the offseason, and didn’t participate in training camp or played competitive hockey at all this season (and isn’t expected to for months). At this point you’re just paying for his name. Compared to a 23-24 year old player coming off a respectable rookie season who (given aging curves) is more likely to to improve this year than regress.

At this stage of his career is Kane really THAT MUCH better than Berggren offensively?

In a vacuum I agree. I think that line would kill. But if your third line is Sprong-Veleno-Kane then either Fabbri and Perron move to the 4th with whomever as center (bumping Fischer and Kostin out of the lineup) or you move on from Fabs and DP. Both of those dudes are pretty beloved in the locker room. In theory neither of those things would matter THAT much, but it's starting to seem like we're catching lightening in a bottle here and I'd be really nervous about changing the chemistry of the team (unless we falter at some point).

The rumor mill is hot and heavy with talk of Patrick Kane "keeping an eye" on the Red Wings as we're starting strong. After seeing how fast and aggressive and strong our team is playing, and how all-in our team is on defense, is anyone else thinking maybe he'd be a bad fit? Even if his hip surgery was wildly successful and he's back to something close to a top end player, isn't his style of play all wrong for a team like what we're seeing on the ice?

Most SHL teams have a strong incentive not to invest in North American talent unless the player is going to be around a while. In that league each team is only allowed a few non-Swedish players so they use those spots wisely, rarely taking a North American skater unless they're willing to sign a couple year deal. Many people don't know this because during the pandemic guys like Rasmussen, Veleno, Seider, Zadina, all played in Euro leagues. That was the exception and I think in most of those cases the leagues waived those contract limits in order to showcase their leagues using really high end NHL prospects.

Yep, I definitely liked Dvoraky. Still do, just maybe not as much as Nate and ASP lol