krsmith17

I said several times, no way to know for sure at this point. Right now, I'd take Zadina over Hughes, but that could change pretty quick. So who's the better prospect? I have no idea...

Not sure if serious... In my opinion, no it was not okay to pick Rasmussen at 9 in 2017. I believe they reached when better players were still on the board. That has nothing to do with what happened in 2018 though...

I'm well aware of the rankings. It still means absolutely nothing at this point. Is it possible that Quinn Hughes becomes a better player than Filip Zadina in 3+ years from now? Absolutely. Is it possible that Filip Zadina becomes a better prospect than Quinn Hughes in 3+ years from now? Absolutely.

I wanted Bouchard over Hughes last year (before Zadina dropped to us), and I still think he'll be the better defenseman of that draft, but who knows... No one knew for sure back then, and no one knows for sure now. Still way too early. It's all personal projections and guess work at this point. But yeah, I guess that's why it's so mind boggling that someone is so adamant that a 19 year old kid is undoubtedly going to be a bust...

Key word there, "maybe". You can't say with any more certainty now that Hughes would have been a better pick, than saying Zadina was the better pick last June. I still say Zadina has a better chance at being a top line winger, than Hughes has at being a top pair defenseman, but we'll see...

Yeah, F*** Boston! As long as they don't win, I don't care who wins. Despite knowing that Boston vs St. Louis would likely be a better series, I want to see Carolina and San Jose in the Finals...

That's because you're dumb... You never draft for need that high in the draft. To do so, would be dumb... Zadina was the consensus best player available at 3, 4, 5 AND 6. To pass on him would have been dumb... Like Neo said... Really good players "fall three spots" (or more) every single year in the draft. It's very common... You're literally the only person that thinks Zadina is a "one-dimensional winger". Every scout, hockey analyst, even coaches and our (previous) GM, have gone out of their way to speak highly on his "two-way" game. Zadina is a shoot first winger, which is something we're lacking, but he can also set up plays and is responsible defensively. Again, you do NOT draft for need that high in the draft EVER, unless you value two prospect (one forward and one defenseman) exactly the same, which is rarely the case. If the Red Wings brass were not that high on Zadina, they could have (would have) traded back and taken a defenseman. That clearly wasn't the case, and for good reason. Same thing this upcoming draft. Byram likely won't be available at 6, and York, Harley, Broberg or Soderstrom would be a reach. If the Red Wings aren't that high on Cozens, Dach, Krebs, Turcotte, Zegras, Caufield or Podkolzin, they may opt to trade back for one of the defenseman. That most certainly will not happen though, as one of those forwards available will assuredly be much higher on their list than any of the aforementioned defensemen...

So dumb...

Yes, there are a few... Filip Larsson is at the top of that list, but there's also Jesper Eliasson and Keith Petruzzelli that could amount to something. Goalies are voodoo, but Larsson has as good a chance to become an NHL starter as any goaltender prospect.

You're going to look so dumb when Zadina pots 30 in a few years...

I get that, but it's far from "worst case scenario"... For the record, in that scenario, I take Byram.

How is that worst case?? Seems like best case scenario to me... You have your choice between the best defenseman in the draft, arguably the best center in the draft (outside of Hughes), and the best goal scoring winger in the draft....

I wouldn't be surprised either, and I wouldn't hate it. He wouldn't be my first choice, but if he could become anything close to DeBrincat, it would be a huge get for us.

I'm the opposite. I'd trade Athanasiou looong before I'd trade Mantha.

I'd be quite okay if it plays out like this... No way Byram falls to 6, and Cozens is in my top three (probably number one) outside of Hughes, Kakko and Byram...

This. Goal scoring shouldn't be an issue going forward. And unless Byram miraculously slips to us at 6, we'll be getting another high end forward in this year's draft.

Sharks advancing benefits the Wings, so that's who I'm going for... 2020 conditional 3rd becomes a 2nd if San Jose make the Stanley Cup Finals (or Nyquist re-signs)...

Dylan McIlrath - 2 years, 700K AAV (2-way contract)

What the f*** man? Why would you want to trade for Lucic? The only way I'm taking that albatross contract is if Holland eats half his cap hit. Even then, he'd have to throw in a pick and / or prospect. I'm all for taking on Callahan's contract, but not just to move up 8 spots in the draft. Make that the Islander's 2nd round pick instead of ours, and it would be a good trade for both sides. I wouldn't hate this trade, but also wouldn't mind seeing what Svech can do in training camp / preseason before shipping him out. You know how I feel about the Karlsson signing. F*** that noise. Datsyuk is reportedly signing with his hometown team. I'm all for re-signing Witkowski to be the 13th forward / 7th defenseman.

In this case, yes, I would. Maybe throw in a pick to offset the risk, but I wouldn't even need that to pull the trigger. I was advocating hard to go after Shea Theodore a few years ago, and I see Bouchard becoming a similar (maybe even better) defenseman as Theodore. Would you trade Athanasiou straight up for Theodore? I would, without thinking twice. And I'd do the same for Bouchard.

What about LeftWinger?

Replace the offense we're losing in trading Athanasiou by offer sheeting Kapanen... Kasperi Kapanen Offer Sheet - $4.2M Compensation - 2nd Round Pick

I don't think offense will be an issue going forward. We have Larkin, Mantha, Bertuzzi, Veleno, Zadina, and whoever we pick 6th overall again this year (we won't be getting Byram). That should be a solid top 6. Also, having defensemen that can push offense like Hronek, Cholowski and Bouchard should be a solid top 3... I like Athanasiou, but I don't see him as a full-time center, and top 3 defensemen >>> top 6 wingers.

I'd do both.