kipwinger

I'd imagine coke is SUPER common in the NHL. I recall hearing an interview with Jarrett Stoll a few years ago after he retired and he insinuated that a whole bunch of the LA Kings team that won those two cups were no strangers to coke. That said, I also think its probably generational too. Substance use rates amongst "zennials" are down compared to previous generations so maybe it's less common now than it was. I can imagine back in Bob Probert's day they were doing lines off the goalie's pads during intermission.

I HATE those helmets, and the silver ones the Kings wear as well. They're so f*cking tacky.

Look at Seattle, their handling of Shane Wright at the beginning of the season was idiotic. I understand that sending him back to a league he just dominated isn't ideal, but bringing him up then sitting him then scratching him then sending him down just wasted a year of his development IMO. You'd have been better off sending him to play in Sweden for a year. See my comment above too, but wouldn't it be better to send some of these Canadian kids to play in Europe for a year if they're too good for the CHL and not good enough for the NHL. Think about Rasmussen in his D+1 year. He should have been playing in the SHL (if he was willing). We saw during COVID that North American players can go over there for a year (on a limited basis obviously).

With the goalie pulled Eichel scores one off another players skate. 3-2 And that's the final. Really really good game. One of the best we've played all year long.

Aaaaaand Bertuzzi is hurt again. Isn't he supposed to be one of the gritty ones? #trade

Kubalik with a powerplay goal, 2-1 Wings Veleno! 3-1

What's everyone's thoughts on "over rippening" prospects? Under Holland that was the de facto strategy, with guys like Tatar and Nyquist staying in the AHL until they were 22-23. Fans were pretty sour about it that at the time. But if you look at the developmental paths of Zadina, Veleno, Berggren, and McIsaac (all drafted in the same year) it almost seems like the additional wait time has really been beneficial for the latter three. We've seen similar things play out around the league with high draft picks coming straight to the NHL and floundering. So my question is, unless you've got a McDavid or Crosby on your hands is it better to give them a few years elsewhere before bringing them to the NHL?

The dudes from the Winged Wheel Pod are reporting that Larkin's initial ask was 9.5-9.7 and Yzerman's initial offer was 8.4 million. There's no reason to think this thing doesn't get done at 9-9.1 million. Makes you wonder if this isn't all a big ploy to influence future negotiations. Like, if SY is willing to hardball his captain over 500K then if you're a young guy or a depth guy you're going to think twice about pushing too hard. Anyway, take it for what it's worth. That podcast is rightfully criticized around here (and it should be) but they do seem pretty plugged into the organization. Not hard to imagine that they have a source.

Who cares about Bedard? Like McDavid and Matthews before him he'll end up going to some team everyone hates and then languish there forever because putting a top prospect into a turd organization doesn't change that it's a turd organization. A few times a month we'll all watch some highlights package and think "boy that Conor Bedard sure is fancy" and then we'll go back to watching better hockey.

Solid comparison as well. Stylistically he's like Zetterberg except bigger, faster, and meaner. Poor us for having such sh*t prospects lol. I just read an article the other day suggesting that the "Yzerplan" may be off the rails because we only had 1 player at the World Junior Championships. LOL. Nevermind that three of our top prospects (Kasper, Edvinsson, Buchelnikov) were eligible but not allowed to play for various reasons. Oh, and then there's the fact that we've got another 10+ quality prospects tearing up their respective leagues at young ages. The sky is falling because we only had Red Savage at the World Juniors. Boohoo. He already ragdolls grown men in the SHL on a more or less game by game basis. I think he WILL get stronger, obviously, as he matures but he's already more than strong enough to play in the NHL. I see a lot of Ryan Kessler in him with respect to his physical attributes. He's big, fast, strong, and mean. I think the only question is whether he's a 50-60 point center or a 70-80 point center. The lower end may be more likely, but I don't think the upper end is off the table at all.

He's not flashy at all, and so he flies under the radar. You can score a point per game in the NHL as a centerman and nobody will care if you don't look like Jack Hughes while you do it. But there are a TON of really good NHL centers that look an awful lot like Marco Kasper. He reminds me a lot of Jonathan Toews. Just a big, powerful, heady, workhorse with really good passing and okay goal scoring. Probably not going to blow you away in the skill department but is someone who will be on the scoresheet every night because he does all the heavy lifting for the skill guys. Also see a lot of Ryan O'Reilly in his game. No frills but very effective. I'd say he's already got the skating, passing, and physicality of an NHL player. If he can continue to develop a wrist shot (the way Larkin did) then he's definitely got a shot at 1C.

I've been sleeping on this bit of news, but Marco Kasper tied Lucas Raymond's D+1 scoring rate with a dominant 3 point night this week. One thing I've noticed about Kasper, aside from what a hardcase he is, is that his playmaking is really really good. His passing is an under the radar part of his game that he didn't really show in his draft year. We really got a good one here.

What are you even talking about?! This team is about to go super saiyan. Guys were selling their souls tonight and their 48 year old ex-KHL goalie blew it for them. On three separate occasions I saw the hearts of Fabbri, Rasmussen, and Ben Chiarot nearly explode after working themselves to near death. I saw Berggren emerging as a genuine star. But that goddamn turd goalie let us down man. But it's always darkest right before the dawn. Like the Cleveland Indians in the classic "Major League" franchise, this ragtag group of misfits is about to turn this season around. Jakub Vrana is about to come back like Rick "Wildthing" Vaughn dude!!!! I can wait to see the looks on all your faces.

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.