kipwinger

These teams are both so bad that they're each making the other look like the 85' Oilers

Berggren is so f*cking good. That dude is going to be a genuine star if he keeps progressing like he is. Edit: Fabbri was an absolute boss on that Suter goal. Such a try hard. Edit Edit: Rasmussen was an absolute boss on that Perron goal. Such a monster.

Jimmy Howard has no idea what words mean. He's used about six words incorrectly so far during the second intermission. Mix that in with his awkward pauses, coughing, stammering, and wheezing and you've got to wonder how anybody thought this was a good idea. edit: He said "exspecially" at least three times.

Todd got fired when he got that drunk driving arrest. Apparently now it’s a crime to party too hard. Thanks a lot Biden.

You're nuts. Our young players have consistently outperformed their draft positions and expectations. There is absolutely nothing wrong with our player development. The problems with this team are basically three fold: 1. We don't have a 2C (still) 2. Our defense is not great. Hronek broke out, Walman is better than we though, Seider regressed, and everyone else is mediocre at best. 3. We were missing roughly 80 goals from the lineup for most of the year. Add Bert, Vrana, and Fabbri to the lineup and we're solidly in the playoff picture. But there's no way you can point a finger at player development. Which drafted player has under performed? Not Edvinsson, Kasper, Mazur, Lombardi, Buium, Hanas, Berggren, Sodorblom, Wallinder, Buchelnikov, etc. Maybe Cossa? I guess. But that's hardly an indictment of the entire player development system. Our player development might be one of the best in the league (now).

Yup, weird start time because of the holiday I guess.

A couple of quibbles with this list, through mostly I agree with your assessments. I think Walman is playing himself into a new contract so I think he stays. Also, because I think Bert and Vrana are as good as gone Kubalik's offense is going to be needed, so I don't think they trade him (yet). He's still got term anyway. I'd also add Vrana, Ned, and Maatta to your list.

He's not getting traded because of that contract, but I also genuinely like him. I just think he's been used wrong. I just wish they'd give him the green light to start f*cking dudes up. I don't even care if he takes bad penalties (within reason). I just want to see the attitude of the team change. I want to see this team playing like they've got some balls, and Chiarot can contribute to that.

Ha, that's probably asking a bit too much from Philly. I really think Vrana and a mid-level prospect gets it done. Vrana + McIsaac maybe. I actually really like this idea more and more. I'd do: Walman-Seider Provorov-Hronek Maatta-Chiarot The only thing you're really risking is some money and a couple of guys that obviously don't have a future in Detroit.

He was really good tonight, made my earlier comments look foolish. #illdie4ujakewalman

Walman reminds me of Brendan Smith (except way smarter). He's athletic and competitive and if he plays within himself he can add a lot to a team's possession. But if he's on your team's top pair you're f*cked. Given that we don't have better options right now I'm not mad at it, but going forward I don't want him anywhere near our top pair.

I'm happy for Walman and all, he's certainly making a case for himself. But it's also not lost on me that our goals/against is completely out of control the last 10 games or so. Could be that this has more to do with Maatta being sick and breaking up the Hronek-Maatta pair, but it also could be that the Chiarot-Seider pair was better defensively than we were giving it credit for. In any event, I'm not completely sold on the Walman-Seider pair as an improved top pair.

Rumor has it that the Flyers are gauging the market for Ivan Provorov. His cap hit is pretty rough, and he's a bit of a mystery, but he's been good before. Wonder of something centered on Vrana could work. Take Provorov's full contract for two more years and they take Vrana?

Yeah, I really like what Maatta has done but I don't see him as some essential piece. If we can get a 2nd for him at the deadline I'd move him in a heartbeat. Walman, Chiarot, Edvinsson on the left side next season doesn't bother me at all. At the very least I'd like to see us pursue Horvat in the offseason. If we trade Bertuzzi then I'd like to see them go hard after Timo Meier too.

Everytime I catch myself imagining a trade for Chychrun I remember we've got Wallinder and Edvinsson...and Johansson and McIsaac and Buium. So yeah, we're probably gonna be fine at LD.

Good write up today on William Wallinder at Elite Prospects. He was highlighted as a prospect whose value is rising (Niederbach was highlighted as someone whose stock is falling). William Wallinder, D, Rögle (Detroit Red Wings) I've been reluctant to come around to William Wallinder's game, but his development keeps on trending in the right direction and bears recognition. The Red Wings prospect has ascended to the No. 1 role on Rögle as a 20-year-old and generated 20 points in 32 games in the process. He does everything for this team, a fact reflected in his every-situation usage. There's never been any denying Wallinder's skating. You just don't see many players with his 6-foot-4 frame who can move as he does. It was always a matter of whether these tools were enough to make him a viable NHL option in the face of questionable decision-making and the odd blunder. Now two-plus years removed from going to the Red Wings in the first round, Wallinder is making decisions with much more pace. He supports his teammates well and is constantly moving to improve his options and how quickly he gets to them when the puck lands on his stick. He always seems to be in the right place, at the right time. Wallinder rarely takes inefficient routes or holds onto the puck for too long now. Wallinder rarely travels inefficient routes or holds on to the puck on his stick for too long now. This has allowed him to seize on his offensive potential and act on his instincts – he's becoming a more intelligent, more engaged player. He's been effective in a power play role. The progression has been a little more mixed in the defensive zone. He's still a little on the lanky side and lacks the physical strength to clear the net front on occasion. Still, I've grown fond of his proactive reads and how aggressive he is along the boards. He doesn't shy away from the physical stuff. Another interesting, positive quirk of late, is just how far along Wallinder's backwards skating has come. He doesn't seem to lose so much as a step when he pivots to face oncoming attackers in space – he's almost as fast going backwards as he is forwards. He has the tools and the reach to be a strong rush defender in the NHL. I can see him stepping over and challenging for a spot on the Detroit blue line next season. His long-term projection is as a top-four defenceman at this point.

I hope so too, but I can tell you that the player I saw last night didn't look rusty. He looked like he didn't give a sh*t and wasn't interested to trying. I'm sure GR's coach Ben Simon is under very strict rules on how to deal with Vrana, otherwise he should have been glued to the bench. It was bad. I also forgot to mention that Chase Pearson looked awesome last night. Two years ago he had a really good season. Then last year he kinda sucked. Then he was away from the team for "personal reasons" to start this season. But he looked really good last night. He's big, fast, and busts his ass on every shift.

I went to the Griffins game tonight and here are my thoughts: Cross Hanas and Pontus Andreasson were the two best GR forwards. Hanas is bigger and faster than he is listed and his skill genuinely pops. My only knock on him is that he tries to do too much and doesn’t use his teammates well (yet). Andreasson is a really really nifty playmaker who just needs to get thicker. Jared McIsaac and Albert Johansson were the best defensive pair. They played in all key situations and had all the hardest matchups. Both are really adept at moving the puck and while their offense wasn’t otherworldly they both contribute to moving the play in the right direction. Ned was good but had to do very very little tonight. Edvinsson had an awesome sequence where he cross checked some dude that was running around wildly and put him on the ice. Dude’s teammate didn’t like it and came after Edvinsson who cross checked him down to the ice, drew a penalty, and then laughed at both of them as he skated away. Vrana looked like he didn’t want to be there, didn’t give a sh*t, and had no interest in trying. He was SO lazy. He didn’t support guys in battles, he cherry picked and blew the zone on almost every shift, and I don’t think I saw him skate hard once. He did have one shot though were he looked like his old self, took a wrister that was literally off his stick so fast your eyes couldn’t keep up. I think he’s as good as gone. He made it VERY clear tonight that he has no interest in trying to restart his career in GR.

I read one article that said he'd gained an inch and 10 lbs, since being drafted. If he's still growing, along with his vision and creativity, I can definitely see him sticking down the middle at higher levels.

I don't think that's necessarily the case. At the deadline all sorts of players get traded exclusively because it's needed to make the cap situation work. Washington couldn't have traded Richard Panik for a handful of beans a few years ago, but he gets thrown in to the Mantha trade (and Leddy trade) and he's on another team. Or remember Red Wings' legend Joe Vitale? Thrown into the Datyuk trade? Gonna go out on a limb and say he wasn't worth a lot mid-season either. But at the deadline he's got value simply in terms of balancing the ledger.

I always forget about Zito. He's definitely a member of my "guys who were under scouted because of the pandemic and therefore available when they shouldn't have been" list along with Mazur, Lombardi, and Buchelnikov.

He's outscoring other top 2022 CHL picks, including: Matt Savoie, Connor Geekie, Nathan Gaucher, Reid Schaefer, David Goyette (a favorite of mine last year), Owen Beck, Luca Del Bel Belluz, and Matthew Poitras. The only CHL forwards faring as well or better than Lombardi are Shane Wright (in the NHL), Jagger Firkus (two more points than Lombardi), and Christian Kyrou (tied with Lombardi). So we got a 1st-2nd round talent in the 4th. If this kid can just grow a little bit he's a steal (still needs to learn how to play defense though).

Good thinking. Any team that's not likely to win in the playoffs should immediately trade any/all pending free agents (provided they were signed by the previous GM). First rate thinking buddy. Apparently there is no next year, or the year after that. If you're not winning this year then you should tear it all down eh? Start another rebuild before your first one is even complete? If Larkin isn't anything special then why would we get anything of value in return for him? And what makes you think a mid to late round pick is likely to be better than him and not another Mantha, Svech, Zadina, Cholowski, or Rasmussen? And if those picks don't pan out after 5 or 6 years and it looks like we'll "get rolled" in the playoffs do we trade Seider and Raymond and start all over again?

You got me. I have an opinion on Bertuzzi's future (which doesn't apply to EVERY pending UFA) based on my own subjective interpretation of the situation. Guilty as charged. When you have time could you please provide us with the datasets and mathematical formulas you've used to objectively determine that the correct course of action is to get rid of anyone signed or drafted by Holland? I feel like we could all learn a little from the cold, hard, facts you've used to arrive at your "trade everyone" position.