kipwinger

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.

I don't have a "position" on Bertuzzi. All I've ever said is that I think a trade is likely given a few factors. You seem to be conflating my guess about Bertuzzi's future with some broader management strategy. If Bert wants to stay for a reasonable contract then SY should sign him. If he doesn't, trade him. I think the trade is more likely at this point. SY to front office personnel: Guys, Tyler Bertuzzi is asking for more than I think he's worth. I think I'll take trade calls on him. Front office personnel: Good, we've always hated Larkin and Hronek anyway. SY: What does one have to do with the other? Front office: Trade one you gotta trade em all bro.

I don't really have much interest in Boeser to be honest. He's a powerplay specialist who gets caved a 5on5 and is currently being massively overpaid. And as I've stated above, I'm not in favor of trading Bert just to do it. If he wants to sign what he's worth (up to this point) I'd sign him. I just get the feeling he's going to want to go to UFA and see if someone is willing to pay him more because UFAs always get paid more and he's betting on himself.

That's a ridiculous overpayment for Brock Boeser.

You're misrepresenting my position on Bertuzzi. I'm not advocating for SY trading Bertuzzi. If Bert wants to sign a reasonable contract in Detroit then we should sign him. I think SY WILL trade Bertuzzi though because (as I've stated) his real value is difficult to determine because of his injuries and there's not a lot of time to figure it out. Up to this point in his career Bert has not preformed better than Tomas Tatar had at the same age. So is Bert a 5.5 million a year guy? Totally. SY should sign him at 5.5mil long term. Will he sign for that? Doubtful. Is he better than that? Maybe, injuries have been a factor. Can you be sure of that before the TDL? Not likely because he's A) hurt and B) having a s***ty season. But again, you already know all this. You're smart. You're just bored and want to be oppositional because it's good sport for you. We've been in the bottom 10 in the league since drafting Rasmussen. The first year we aren't and you're suggesting we're flirting with "perpetual mediocrity". Again, you're not dumb so it's pretty clear you're doing what you always do, which is pick an absurd position and then see if you're clever enough to defend it in a debate. Ho hum.

Not sure if you've been paying attention but we ARE rebuilding. Have been for a few years. As a result of that rebuild our team is improving, and will continue to improve as a result of the billion very good prospects we still have coming. You seem to be (pretend) suggesting that we should stop rebuilding and start tanking again.

I think there's already a deal in place (for the most part). I think Larkin wants to be paid like a point per game 1C (9+ million), which he looked like all last year until he was injured. I think SY wants to pay him like an almost-point-per-game 1C (8-8.5 million). I think they've agree to play out most of the season to determine whether he's the former or the latter, at which point they sign the deal. I don't think there's any chance he walks.

This entire thread is proposed in bad faith. You absolutely wouldn't do what you're proposing if you were in charge. Also, nobody said the sky would fall if Larkin is traded. You're just bored.

I see a few problems with this. First, gutting your team and trading all of your better players for draft picks absolutely guts your organizational culture. Easiest way to become an Ottawa or Buffalo or Edmonton is to get rid of every guy who would KILL to win a Stanley Cup and replace them with 20 year olds (no matter how highly skilled the new guys are). Second, we don't have anything close to a 1C in our system. We'd have to tank for a few more years (and hope for lottery luck) just to get back to where we currently are. There's almost zero chance the owners are excited about having a losing franchise for even a day longer, let alone a few more years. Look at the crowds at the LCA right now. You think the Ilitch's want to go backward? No chance. Edit: Here's what I'd do to move this team into the next tier. 1. Trade for Chychrun provided it doesn't cost Kasper or Edvinsson (Zadina, Wallinder, 1st probably gets your close). 2. Sign Horvat in the offseason (his favorite team was the Red Wings growing up and he's an Ontario guy). 3. Sign Vrana long term (he's one of the most prolific 5on5 goal scorers in the league). 4. Trade Bertuzzi at the deadline to recoup assets for the Chychrun deal and free up cap for Horvat. That's it. That's how close we are to competing for Stanley Cups next year and beyond.

This is Berggren’s best game so far. He’s going to be sick AF in the very near future.

Which Kane are we talking about here?

Our offense is good enough to beat many teams most nights. And that's without Bert, Vrana, or Raymond playing at the upper end of their ability (or not playing at all). I thought we played Toronto even (or better) the other night, and I thought we generally dominated the play against Vegas last night. But our defense is still pedestrian. Better than the last couple years for sure, but not a defense that's going to shut the door. If you're not going to be a high octane offensive team you'd better have a stout defense. We don't. I realize the asking price makes all the difference in the world here, but I'd be calling on Chychrun right now and taking a REALLY hard look at the guy. Add him on the left size, and Edvinsson soon, and you'd finally have a competitive advantage at some position on the ice. For now put Walman with Seider and Chiarot with Oesterle and play or pairs: Walman-Seider (20 mins) Maatta-Hronek (22) Chiarot-Oesterle (18)

Give him Veleno's linemates and he's got more than 9 points on the season, I promise you that. He's turning into an absolute workhorse. I think he and Bertuzzi are going to look good together tonight.