krsmith17

I really hope he plays in Grand Rapids this season.

No way should a team that lacks goal scoring part with their best goal scorer... Mantha isn't going anywhere. Definitely not for Ristolainen. We have much bigger needs than another right-handed defenseman...

No.

Yeah, okay. Good talk.

What does this have to do with anything? Nah. It's already been discussed countless times and can't be proven right or wrong. So what's the point? Not exaggerating anything. Never even said anything about you specifically. Exactly my point. There's no way to determine whether or not these players would have been better or worse off under different circumstances. So what's the point in discussing it? I agree that neither would have likely been anything special. I do think that either or both Jurco and Sproul could have been regular NHLers under different circumstances though. You disagree, and that's fine.

How is it a non-existent fallacy? It's something we seen... It's nothing like unicorns or whatever you're talking about... We seen how some of our top prospects at the time were being utilized. A lot of fans felt they were being mismanaged. Other fans think because these coaches and managers are pros they can't make mistakes. I think it's foolish to blindly trust everything these guys do. I'm not saying Jurco or Sproul or whoever else would have been elite if it weren't for the way they were managed early on in Detroit, but I do think it's possible that they could have been regular NHLers, if a few things were handled differently. We'll never know for sure though, so whatever.

There's also absolutely nothing to suggest that anything like this didn't happen, or couldn't have happened. It's an opinion. One you disagree with. That doesn't make it wrong... If you believe that every decision ever made my management and coaching was in the best interest of player development, and no player has ever had their development stunted due to poor management or coaching, cool... I know a lot of people would disagree though, including me.

Must be because he's Todd's nephew because Draper has never scouted before...

I disagree with your first point. Wright is just one man with a voice. He may have the loudest voice, but there are plenty other voices at the table when they get together leading up to the draft. I'm sure he allows each individual scout to say their piece, and I'm sure there are times when a scout says, "we have to take this guy" and he and the general manager listen. I think, other than Larkin and the 2017 draft, where a couple players (Zadina and Veleno) fell to us, our drafting since 2014 has been average at best. I'm not going to list every selection and who we passed on, but there were quite a few misses over the years. Some more obvious than others. Regarding your second point, I highly doubt Draper has had as little to do with drafting over the past several years as you seem to think. He was assistant to Holland, and I'm sure Draper was in on scouting meetings and even done some scouting of his own. I'm not saying I love the move, but I don't hate it either. I'll reserve judgment until Draper proves to be incompetent. But like I said above, I'm sure, just like any good "director" of scouting, he will rely heavily on his area scouts and get plenty of input and opinions from everyone else within the organization.

Why? Serious question. Do we even know which players Wright and other scouts have been directly responsible for? Wright was the director of amateur scouting, but there are scouts designated to different areas across the globe. His first draft with the Red Wings was 2014. Larkin was our first selection in the Wright era. Not a bad start, but was he the man pushing hard for Larkin? Who knows... What has he done since then? Why don't you want Draper promoted into that role? Any reason specifically? Or you don't like it just because "old buys club", more promoting from within?... Everything I've seen and heard on Drapes is that he wants to draft speed and skill. Everything I've seen and heard on Wright is that he wants to draft size and character. Of course there's more to it than that, but I'd take the former over the latter...

0% chance Kronwall plays in Grand Rapids. 0.05% chance Hronek plays in Grand Rapids. Kronwall will either be in Detroit or retire. Hronek has played his last game in the AHL...

I'm a huge fan of this move for the Hawks... as a Wings fan... Watch Nylander have the same sort of resurgence as Strome though. He is still a highly skill prospect, with a ton of potential. This could still end up being a very good trade for Chicago.

1. Filip Zadina / Moritz Seider 2. Quinn Hughes / Trevor Zegras 3. Evan Bouchard / Dylan Cozens

Well, we very well could have 4 in the lineup in 2-3 years time... Seider, Hronek and maybe a couple of Bowey / Kaski / Lindstrom / Tuomisto / Regula / Barton... Of course we also have DeKeyser, Cholowski and McIsaac on the left side along with maybe Kotkansalo / Johansson...

Helene St. James is a f***ing ****... I'd take everything she says with a pound of salt. This is just her projection, and I'd take more credence in the projection of just about anyone here over hers... I'd be surprised if we have all of Helm, Abdelkader, Glendening, Ehn and de la Rose in the lineup. I'd also be surprised if we have none of Zadina, Veleno, Rasmussen, Cholowski or Kaski in the lineup.

In an ideal world we would have three pairs with a lefty / righty combo, but I don't think it's a must. Assuming one of Seider or Hronek could play on the left side, I think that could potentially be a very good top pair in a few years.

That wasn't an option... There's always one f***ing a**hole... If we're doing that though, Bouchard > Hughes... Fight me!

Hughes is a LHD prospect. To be honest, option 2 would be 3rd on my list. For me, it's a toss up between what we currently have in Zadina / Seider and what we could have had in Bouchard / Cozens. I'm very happy with our last two 6th overall picks. Just curious to see how others feel about it.

No thanks on Kreider. Yes please on Gusev.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if Trouba does end up going to arbitration, isn't it a max of a one or two year contract? Trouba to Detroit 2020...

Their roster, aside from signing Marner, should pretty much be set now, with 14 forwards, 7 defensemen and 2 goaltenders. So yeah, I think they'll be able to get a deal done with the remaining $9.5M. I'd love to see a team do this. Not the Wings though... Yeah, I hate to say it, but the moves Dubas has made this summer have been phenomenal. Assuming he gets Marner signed before training camp, he gets an A+. They lost Kadri and Marleau and picked up Kerfoot and Spezza, so that's a small hit to their offense. They lost Zaitsev and picked up Ceci and Barrie, so that should be a big boost to their defense. All while saving money to sign their RFA's...

So with the Ceci and Kerfoot signings, the Leafs now have approximately $4.5M plus $5.3M (LTIR Horton) in cap space... They traded Marleau and Zaitsev, without having to retain any salary on either contract, as well as Kadri, while picking up Barrie at 50% salary... If they can get Marner signed for around $9.5M, they will be able to squeeze in under the salary cap, while keeping everyone on their current roster... F***!

The player I was unexpectedly most impressed with is Ethan Phillips. Kid is small, at 5'9", 150lbs. but has a ton of skill. He has the hockey IQ, speed and hands. Bold prediction... Phillips becomes our version of Brayden Point... And I agree, Seider is going to be an absolute beast in a few years.