krsmith17

Don't bring logic into this...

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Green hangs them up after this season. He'll be 35 with a young family, and health hasn't exactly been kind to him the past few seasons. I'd be fine with that. Roll with this next season... DeKeyser - Hronek Nemeth - Seider Cholowski - Bowey

I'll say one last thing and then I'll drop it... Yes we're rebuilding, but that shouldn't matter. The Devils bought low on a premium asset. Even if it doesn't work out for Gusev in New Jersey, I'll bet that trade works out for the Devils. Worst case scenario, he doesn't live up to expectations, and is a decent middle six winger. They trade him at next year's trade deadline for what they gave up to acquire him. Best case scenario, he exceeds expectations, and is a top line scoring winger that they can either extend long term, or trade for a much higher return than they gave up to acquire him. This was a great trade for New Jersey and would have been a great trade for any team, whether they were a Cup contender or rebuilding team. That's it. I'm done...

That's even worse... If it were broadcasted on TV I'd be able to record it, and watch when I get home. I can't (not putting in the effort to) record a streamed broadcast...

Again with the straw man... I never said anything about that conversion rate making Gusev a top 10 player in the league... But yeah, I am the one that came up with all those hockey league scoring conversions...

I'll be out tonight, so I selfishly hope this one isn't being broadcasted... If I can't watch, none of you a**holes should be able to watch...

Comprehension is hard... For the 5th time... Gusev would have been ranked in the top 20-30 in points IF he had scored 50 points last season. I am not talking about other intangibles he may or may not bring to the table. We were talking about points. That's it. By the way, based on the KHL to NHL point conversion, Gusev would have put up 80 points in 82 NHL games last season, so "50 points" is on the low-end of what we could expect from him. Every argument or "difference of opinion" you have with someone, you always back yourself into a corner and start strawmanning to nth degree... I never once said he would be "amazing in the NHL". The only argument I've ever made, is that taking a gamble on an elite KHL player costing only a 2nd round pick, is a no-brainer for everyone, except you apparently... He's signed for 2 years. If he's not going to stick around, and you would know that before the two years is up, you trade him, for likely a MUCH higher return than what you traded away to acquire him. Again, never said anything about "AA and the forward group remaining untouched"... I've actually advocated trading Athanasiou in the past. Keep up...

I was referring to point production, since that's what we were talking about... IF Gusev potted 50 points last season, he would have ranked 20-30 at his position. Same would apply for this season, and next. I'm not sure why that's so difficult for you to grasp... I never said or implied that I would take Gusev over Kakko... I was just pointing out how dumb your "0 NHL games" argument is. Great players playing in the top European leagues usually translate well to the NHL. Sure, there's a chance he doesn't, and he's just a 20-30 point, 3rd line winger. But there's also a chance he becomes a 70 point top line winger. Most likely, he'll end up somewhere in the middle. That should be well worth a 2nd round pick to any team. In what world is a 27 year old too old to acquire by NHL standards? Assuming he pans out, and doesn't endure any major injuries, he will still be an effective player into his mid 30's. That's potentially 8 years of top line production that you don't want because 2nd round picks are apparently gold... I wasn't aware we could acquire Batherson for a 2nd round pick... We sure missed the boat on that one didn't we... We get it. Athanasiou is going to be traded in the next few years... He'll be expendable because we have sooo many players coming that will be so much better than him... Why are you just considering the top 6 though? Why not top 9? Contending teams roll three scoring lines, and that's what we need to strive for. If all those players you mention become as good or better than AA, we will have the best forward core in the entire league...

Ok, so if he's a RW, he would be ranked 26th... Still top 20-30 at his position. I'm sure there are also 20-30 you would easily pick over Kaapo Kakko as well, since he too has 0 NHL games under his belt...

Again, it doesn't matter if there are 10 teams in the league or 50, a player that put up 50 points last season would have been the 21st ranked LW. FACT. When did I say points don't matter? I'm saying that's all we have to base it on at this point. I'm not a "Gusev expert". Which is my point... We know very little about the player, other than a few highlights and scouting reports because it's his first taste of hockey in North America. What we do know is that he produced phenomenal numbers in the KHL, and has continued to do so in the NHL, albeit in a small sample of preseason games. However, there's no reason to believe he's going to all of a sudden regress... The bolded... First thing you've said that has made sense regarding Gusev...

What does there being 31 teams in the league have to do with anything? Or 4 wingers on the top two lines?... If Gusev had scored 50 points last season, he would have been the 21st ranked LW or 26th ranked RW. He plays both, not sure what he will be listed as, so yeah, that would make him a top 20-30 player at his position. I suppose you're going to say there's more to being a top player than just points? That maybe would have been an acceptable argument if you had ever seen Gusev play a game before determining his worth, or lack thereof... IF he's a 40-50 point producer (good chance he will be at least that), a 2nd and 3rd round pick will end up being an absolute steal for New Jersey...

Big game for Bowey. Love it! I think he will be a solid bottom pairing defenseman. Can skate, play physical and contribute offensively.

There are more top line wingers in the league that put up 50 points than 3rd line wingers. If Gusev put up 50 points he would be a top 20-30 player at his position every season. But yeah, not worth a 2nd round pick because he would make us marginally better in a season "we need to lose"... Pearson didn't score a hat trick in preseason, he scored a hat trick in a prospects tournament. Big difference. I like him too, but no one ever talks about him because he's a bottom six prospect. I think he could be a solid 4th line center in a couple years. That's not something that fans generally spend a whole lot of time talking about...

Mantha is going to score 35+ this season. Mark it.

40-50 points isn't anything to scoff at. That's borderline 1st / 2nd line winger production... You said it would be dumb to trade a 2nd round pick for him... Sure, it's only preseason, but he's been great so far. That, on top of his resume from the KHL, and there's no reason to think he won't be a very good top six winger. That's definitely worth a 2nd round pick, and the 2nd and 3rd the Devils gave up to get him.

We still need elite talent. This is shaping up to be one of the deepest drafts we've seen in years, maybe ever... I'd bet anything we draft in the top 10, and likely even top 5 in next year's draft. Yzerman is going to want to turn things around fairly quickly, but it's not going to happen over night (in one season)...

How so? I would say that last year's roster including Nyquist, Vanek, Rasmussen, Ericsson, Jensen was as good or better on paper than this year's roster including Filppula, Hirose, Kuffner, Erne, Nemeth, Bowey... I said "another" top pick which would imply top sixish, not necessarily a lottery pick.

I wouldn't mind seeing something like this for the better part of this season... Bertuzzi - Larkin - Mantha Hirose - Filppula - Athanasiou Erne - Nielsen - Kuffner Abdelkader - Glendening - Helm Ehn / de la Rose DeKeyser - Green Nemeth - Hronek Daley - Bowey Ericsson Howard Bernier Terry - Veleno - Zadina Svechnikov - Rasmussen - Puempel Smith - Turgeon - MacLeod Pope - Pearson - Lukosevicius Elson / Ford Cholowski - Seider Hicketts - Kaski Lashoff / McIlrath - Lindstrom Saarijarvi Larsson Pickard It would certainly be a painful season in Detroit, but a fun season in Grand Rapids, while our top prospects continue to develop and gain chemistry in a winning environment. I would definitely watch a lot of Griffins games if they dressed a roster close to this. It would also ensure another top pick in next year's draft...

As well as Filppula, Abdelkader, Glendening, Green, Daley and Bernier for Rasmussen, Svechnikov, Turgeon, Pearson, Cholowski, Bowey and Larsson... Bertuzzi - Larkin - Mantha Athanasiou - Veleno - Zadina Hirose - Rasmussen - Svechnikov Turgeon - Pearson - Erne Glendening / Kuffner DeKeyser - Hronek Nemeth - Seider Cholowski - Bowey Hicketts Larsson Howards ...

Why the f*** are they showing graphics and replays during game play? F***ing amateur hour...

Why does he keep saying Andrei Athanasiou?...

Seriously? He sounds aaawwful...

Who's the clown calling the game with Ken?

I'm f***ing amped about this game tonight! If I can't watch, I will break s***...

F*** that noise... What about the omission of Seider?