kipwinger

I dunno guys, SY has generally (Raymond and ASP being the exceptions) stayed away from smallish, skill, players in favor of bigger guys with great athleticism at the top of the draft. Every year all the know-it-alls tell us that he's going to draft Zegras, or Eklund, or Savoie, or Rossi, or Benson, etc. and every single year he takes a big athletic dude. Seider, Edvinsson, Kasper, Danielson, Cossa, Wallinder. I don't think it's a guarantee that he'd have taken Stutzle. I could easily see him taking Byfield in that draft. We're all sleeping on him because Stutzle and Raymond have turned out really well, but in his draft year Byfield was regularly discussed as being the guy to take the top spot from Lafreniere.

I think Anton is climbing the ladder relative to expectations, but not relative to Albert. Albert was already a productive, full time, member of a top SHL team in his D+1 season. He was further along at the time and remains so. The comparable for Anton is Wallinder. He spend most of his D+1 year in the Allsvenskan and didn't really hit his stride until his D+2 year, which is what we're all hoping Anton J. will do. Both are big, fast, and athletic and both were drafted for their tools as much as anything else. Wallinder took many by surprise (myself especially) with the development of his offensive game, and if the summer showcase is any indication, Anton J. looks like he may have more in his offensive arsenal too. Albert was a more finished product who just needed to grow a bit, Anton (and Wallinder) both have the physical tools but needed to develop their skill a bit and demonstrate it against top competition.

Regarding my overall point: I wasn't worried about any of our prospects wanting out, I was thinking someone like Maatta, Holl, or Gostisbehere looking for more playing time elsewhere. As far as the bolded, I don't agree. I watched a lot of GR last year and thought AJ looked really really good. Still a bit small (which I hope he's worked on in the offseason) but otherwise I thought he was a really great prospect. He was given big responsibilities (more than Edvinsson), particularly against top competition, in the defensive zone, late in games, and on the PK and he really shined. His offense really picked up as he went along too. I don't think he's done developing, so another year in GR isn't going to hurt him, but he's a really good player. I see a lot of Dmitry Orlov or Nick Leddy in him. I don't think he'll see powerplay time, but I think he'll be a good even strength producer that can make defensive stops and push the pace and score a lot in transition.

I think the underrated part of the Petry deal is just how good the dude still is. He's still a play driver and for 2.2 million he's a steal. Plus, there are few guys in the league I'd rather have Edvinsson learning from.

I wonder of any of our defensemen will pull a Zadina and "bet on themselves" by bailing on a team where they'd have to earn a roster spot and go to a team where they get one by default? The blueline is pretty crowded these days.

We played by the same rules as everyone else. But you're making my point for me, competent management and great player development contribute to success WAY more than lottery picks.

Who cares? During those 40 years we made the playoffs 26 straight seasons and won the Cup four times. We also got to watch something like 40 billion different Hall of Famers play for the team. But I guess none of that means anything if we don't periodically have a chance to get moist over some twink like Connor Bedard eh?

Many people argue when the Red Wings rebuild really began. I'd argue the summer of 2013. That's the year management starting making their 1st round draft picks instead of trading them. We've made every 1st round pick since then. The Mantha draft. That's also more or less when it became obvious that even if we still lingered in the playoff hunt, even if we made it in we weren't a realistic Cup contender anymore. After the season of 2012 we never really had a chance. But I digress... Over the years the narrative started to change around the Red Wings. We went from "they'll be back again soon" to analytic dorks mocking the team. Some guys that came along in that era were good (Larkin, Hronek, Bertuzzi), some were flops (Cholo, Svech, Zadina). Some stayed, some went. Nobody thought the needle was moving in the right direction overall. Now we do. Did Steve Yzerman becoming the GM change that? Or did Moritz Seider? Debate.

I'm looking for the article now, but I recall reading somewhere that he was up to around 200 lbs now, and that his lower body strength in particular had developed a great deal. If that's true then he's made considerable headway on the two improvements the organization asked him to make (the other being to play less on the perimeter). I do think that he needs to show he can play a solid defensive game if he wants to play on a scoring line, but his defensive metrics already grade out at about league average. He seems to be responsive to coaching and IMO it's not surprising that the guy's offense plateaued a bit as he focused on playing a responsible game. But 14 goals as a rookie is still pretty impressive to me.

This is another instance in which I don't think we're seeing the same things. I saw Berggren making plays all over the ice that his linemates couldn't finish, not the other way around. At one point his linemates were Zadina and Veleno, there was no chance either of those dudes were finishing the plays he set up.

What's everyone's thoughts on Berggren's season? I saw an article in Detroit Hockey Now that said he "needed to be better" or some such thing. I thought it was an odd take considering he was A) a rookie, B) banished to the bottom six with a bunch of puds, and C) still ended the season fifth on the team in goals and ninth in points. I'd also point out that management gave him the directive to play less on the perimeter and if you look back at his highlight package on youtube you'll see that quite a few of his goals were scored in and around the crease. All in all I thought it was a pretty solid rookie season, but it seems like there are a least a few voices out there saying otherwise. Your thoughts?

I'm wrong about things all the time, but it's fun to guess. Look, I'm not going to throw a fit if the Wings sign Kane. He's a legend and it would be fun. I just don't see it making sense is all.

Kane specifically chose NYR, not because they were the best team, but because that's where he wanted to play. He has 3 Cups, loads of money, and total flexibility. He's not signing anywhere he doesn't want to play. He's not Tomas Tatar, he can afford (both figuratively and literally) to be selective. If he doesn't get the offer he wants he'll retire.

If you're wanting a high(ish) end offensive guy who doesn't really play defense that well my pick would be Tommy Novak out of Nashville. I've had my eye on him for a while. Could be a sneaky good acquisition that would allow us to flex Copp to the wing so that he could be another power guy in the top six.

Nobody is suggesting the Tkachuk brothers. I'd take Jake Debrusk (as an example). I don't like the idea of Kane for a few reasons: One, he almost certainly doesn't want to play here so we'd have to pay A LOT to change his mind. Recall that the only trade he was willing to entertain out of Chicago was to NYC. That's it. Two, at this point in his career he's probably not better than Debrincat, but is better than Raymond. So either you play all three of those midgets in the top six (and lose every board battle you have) or Raymond sees his ice time diminish...which is obviously not ideal for his development. Three, it's not even like you could flip him at the deadline for quality draft picks. He was so picky about his landing spot last year that Chicago lost all leverage and only got conditional 2nd round pick and a 4th. He has less trade value than most rentals and he's not going to put us over the top and/or sign longer term...so what's the point?

This is...not ideal. I'll be curious how the Wings handle it. It's bad press for sure. Almost every article I've read has "Red Wings' Daniel Sprong" at the tippy top. Then again, it happened in the offseason and outside of the hockey sphere, so maybe they'll conclude that it's a him-problem. Personally I don't really care if he got into a scrap with another dude while they were obviously drunk, not the end of the world, but I can envision a scenario where the organization doesn't like it very much.

NHL Network ranked the Top 20 centers in the NHL (see: https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-current-players-ranked-top-20-centers/c-345506390) Larkin was 19th on the list. Here's a list of players ahead of him who I think he's better than (at this point in their careers): Malkin Kopitar Stutzle Aho Hischier Hintz Petterson

No thanks on Kane. I think we need a youngish power winger that can play at the top of the lineup. Someone who plays like Rasmussen, but with a little bit more offense. That's really my only quibble with the long term outlook of the roster. We've got top centers, defense, goalies, and a couple of higher end wings. I just want to see us get that power element. Maybe Ras gets there, and Kostin and Sodorblom still could, but I'd like to see a legit 20 goal/50 pts top line power guy.

He's eligible for the AHL after his season in the WHL concludes from what I understand. He's about to drop 100 points in the WHL and then look really good in GR. Watch.

I'm REALLY liking Nate Danielson as the summer wears on. I think this kid is going to be a stud. I think he's about to completely run over the WHL and make his way to GR at the end of their season and not look out of place (Kinda like Mazur but at an earlier age). We got a good one here.

Fake news. You said Maatta-Holl would be a good third pair, not Chiarot-Holl. You said Chiarot would "disappoint". Not surprised you're trying to steal my takes though.

Bro, go back a page. It's not YOUR hot take if I've already said it.

Ken Daniels said the same thing on the Winged Wheel Podcast. Kostin's goal share (On-Ice GF%) was amongst the best in Edmonton a year ago. It'll be interesting to see what he does with a few more minutes of ice time and some newfound confidence. FWIW Compher and Sprong also have really good possession numbers and goal shares. I wouldn't hate a Kostin-Compher-Sprong line.

Even if he's adequately "recovered" he still missed an entire offseason of training/conditioning/development. If you broke your leg and it took six weeks to heal you'd technically be "recovered" but I doubt you'd be out running 10Ks immediately afterward. Personally I'd prefer he start in GR and stay there until he's up to game speed. Once he's dominating, call him up. I don't see any reason to rush it considering we've got seven NHL caliber defensemen on the roster without him.

I definitely don't think he's a bad player. I just don't think he's a superstar either. I'm perfectly happy to talk about him in the same way I'd talk about Toews or Kopitar, but it just feels like he gets more love than that. Maybe I'm overblowing it though.