kipwinger

Yep, it’s setting the tone for the series. This is going to be high tempo.

Pretty cool moment for Eric Staal there.

Furious, which makes me sad, which makes me hard, which makes me ashamed.

What a creative and surprising thing for you to say!

I don’t care about the cynics, if people don’t wanna watch because it’s Vegas and Florida then that’s in them. I’m absolutely pumped about this series. This is going to be a barn burner.

Kinda. Washes for the teams that acquired them. Vrana hasn't played as much as Mantha, but he's consistently produced when he's been on the ice and has significantly outplayed Mantha. It's pretty obvious Vrana is a better player, but that doesn't really matter to Detroit at the moment.

If Washington buys him out I'd take him back for 4 million (or less) x 3 years. He wasn't a fit for Laviolette's uptempo system, clearly, but he's had success in a defense-first sytem (Blashill) which isn't too different than what we have now. As a 3rd/4th line wing who will occasionally punch a face I'd do it.

So we are back to winning the trade again?

Darn, I was desperately seeking your approval. Maybe next time.

9. Dvorsky 17. Yager/Honzek/Barlow 41. Anton Wahlberg 42. Oscar Fisker Molgaard 43. Beau Akey

He's definitely a specialist, and probably not someone you want playing a ton of even strength minutes. But the Wings can't score, and Chiasson does that fairly well. Not a bad option to have coming out of the press box in my opinion.

He would genuinely help our powerplay a lot.

So what does everyone think about bringing back Chiasson as the 13th forward? Guy can still score goals and keep up. Thoughts?

Mazur was a full year older than James before he played in the NCAA because he was an overage draft pick. When Mazur was a 1st year draft eligible player he was passed over because his USHL production was terrible. Much worse than James at the same age. Obviously Mazur developed quite rapidly thereafter, but at the same age James was a MUCH better player. That's why this year is going to be a big one for Dylan James. He'll be going into this season the same age that Mazur was when he started at Denver, and ideally you'd like to see similar levels of production.

Not really sure it's an "either/or" type of thing. Teams need top of the lineup studs. They also need bottom six role players. A 12/15 goal, penalty killing, winger with some jam to his game will be an asset. Not to mention the fact that I'm excited about all kinds of "project" players in Detroit's pipeline. Two of which you mentioned. Both Cossa and Wallinder were considered "projects" on draft day. So were Buchelnikov and Lombardi. Sodorblom still is. No team fills out their roster with guys entirely drafted in the 1st round. None. So if that's the only thing that gets you excited you're probably in for some disappointment.

I'm expecting a big season out of Dylan James this coming season. He started and finished quite well in the NCAA this season, but during the middle of the year he sagged. In part this can be explained by A) his status as a freshman, B) he's on a very deep and veteran ND team, and C) he dealt with some injuries. It was hard for him to get the kind of ice time he needed to keep up his production. This is a prospect I really like long term as a middle six two-way guy in the mold of a Blake Coleman.

Depends on if we make a move for center in the offseason or not. Kasper has a long way to go winning faceoffs. During his one game he did not perform well on the dot and Copp (who played on his wing that game) ended up taking a bunch for Marco. If we run with Larkin-Copp-Kasper down the middle that only leaves Ras as a winger who can win faceoffs and ideally you wouldn't have him on your third line. However, if we make a move for a 2C we can flex both Ras and Copp to the wing and one of them could ride shotgun with Marco.

Yep, they were beaten before they stepped on the ice last night.

I was a big Jack Hughes detractor during his draft year so I'll answer for this one. Nobody said Hughes wasn't good. People (myself included) said he would struggle to acclimatize to the NHL because of how he played in junior hockey. He was very slight and relied on his elite skating to hang on to pucks for WAY longer than you can in the NHL. That's not gonna fly in the big leagues where your skating advantage isn't as great and everyone is bigger and stronger. Not surprisingly that's exactly what happened. I was also critical of the narrative around him. That he was a "generational" talent who was on another level than most other players. I still stand by that. He's an outstanding offensive player but A) he's sheltered at even strength (Hischier does the heavy lifting), and B) the playoffs exposed just how far he's got to go to beat top centers in the league. Right now he's a really really good scorer but he's absolutely NOT on some other level. I have the same criticisms of guys like Johnny Gaudreau or Quinn Hughes. Sure he scorers a ton, but when games get tight in the playoffs you'd rather have Mark Stone or Miro Heiskanen than either of those two (right now).

Totally clean. Textbook. Anybody complaining about that hit is a homer.

Agreed, I have no idea how to handicap this one. They're both playing so good. I guess I'd take Florida, by a hair. They just seem to get better and better. Last night's game was absolutely dominant. And I've got more faith in Bob than I do in Vegas' goaltending. But I think it's a really close, hard fought series. Florida in 6. BUT every game is going to be a nail biter.

Hell yeah!!! Rats everywhere!!! This final's gonna be really really good. Vagas and Florida are both ripping through teams. They're both good at pretty much everything. And Vegas has got some timely goaltending (out of nowhere). Also looking forward to seeing Eichel and Tkakuk go head to head. Both those guys are playing like beasts right now.

Tkachuk is so f*cking good. Oh c’mon, the rats are fun!

Why not? Lots of teams have 40 pts power wingers in their top six. Florida does in Bennett, Washington does in Tom Wilson. I think it can work.

Florida’s fans are going bonkers. Pretty good atmosphere for a team that’s not traditionally in this position.