krsmith17

Where is @ChristopherReevesLegs? I hope he plays. F*** it, throw Witkowski and McIlrath out there and tell them to wreck havoc...

Great game for Mantha. He needs to play with that sort of energy and jump every game. Larkin's best game since the injury. Still doesn't seem 100% though. Bertuzzi is a dog, and great complementary winger to any line. Really like that Bert - Larkin - Mantha line. Athanasiou continues to impress. I just really wish he'd stop trying to go through defenders, and instead go around them (beat them wide). I can't count how many times he tries to split the D and immediately gets planted on his ass... Hirose has been very impressive in his first three games, and seems to be gaining more confidence every game. Looks like he could be a middle six winger (Nyquist-lite). I haven't been as impressed with Kuffner, but looks like he could be a solid bottom six, grinding winger. He's just a reminder that you should never give out long term, big money contracts to role players (Abdelkader). We have way too many bottom six (4th line) forwards... There shouldn't be any more than three of Glendening, Abdelkader, Helm (4th line), Kuffner, Ehn (press box), de la Rose, Puempel (waived / Grand Rapids) on the team next season. DeKeyser has been really impressive for the better part of this season. It would be nice if he were making a mil less, but he's a solid top 4 defenseman, which is all that should have ever been realistically expected of him. Bowey has been playing better every game since we acquired him. Really like his game. Physical, great skater, can move the puck well, and isn't afraid to jump up in the play. If he can clean up some of those turnovers, he could be a top 4 defenseman, or at worst a very good bottom pair defenseman.

Pretty sure you meant to quote Dab on this one, but I'll respond anyway. When you say that a player is going to be a bust, the day he's drafted, before he's ever played a pro game, your opinion has very little basis. Of course you're going to continue to try to support that dumb "opinion". He can become a 30 goal scorer and you'll probably still say he's a "bust", because reasons... You're right, Blashill probably wouldn't carve his 6th overall pick publically. But he also wouldn't go out of his way to talk about specific strengths in his games. Things like his defensive game and positioning, that contradict what you're saying are his weaknesses. Yes, we all realize he was in the Q last season. Do you realize a LOT can change in regards to a players development in one season? Also, he's been playing pro THIS season. Be honest, how many games have you watched him play this season? I've watched quite a few Griffins games and all 9 of his games with the Red Wings (two live). Zadina hasn't been dominant (yet), but he has shown glimpses of dominance. He will be a full-time NHLer next season. He will not be a bust...

... in Grand Rapids...

No, but in all fairness, @mackel did see Zadina play with the Mooseheads... so... he's right, everyone else is wrong. Zadina = bust...

No surprise here...

http://theqmjhl.ca/video-channels/highlights/veleno-gets-the-hat-trick-olympiques-0-voltigeurs-4

Yep, and McIsaac got a goal in a 3-2 loss.

Also, it's not only players from your team that dictate a player's value, it's player's around the league. I'm pretty sure the Islanders were willing to match the Leafs offer, but Tavares elected to leave the team that drafted him and sign with his hometown team. If Darren Farris sees Tavares as a comparable, he'd use him regardless if he were in Toronto or New York. I see Point and Rantanen as more comparable players than Tavares. Both are RFA's after this season, similar age, similar production, same position. I think that's why the Marner camp have decided to wait it out. Let's see what some other players around the league get this offseason, and go from there. Marner can ask for $12M all he wants, he's not going to get it. I can see him get around $9-10M though, and that was going to happen with or without the Tavares signing. I hope everything comes crumbling down in Leafs Nation, but Dubas definitely didn't screw the Leafs long term future by signing Tavares. You're never screwing over your team by signing an elite center.

I'm not so sure he's at his highest value though. He's currently on pace for 52 points this season, and I think he could be a 55-65 point player for the next few seasons. I wouldn't be in any major rush to trade him, unless a team is willing to overpay. I see him as a top six scoring threat for the next few seasons, so I guess that could be considered long(ish) term. I agree that he shouldn't be locked up long-term, but I'm against long-term contracts in general, with the exception being franchise type players. Athanasiou, as talented as he is, is not close to a franchise player.

I understand where you're coming from, I just think he will adapt.

I definitely think he is / will be. His will to be the best player he can be is off the charts. He will be the next captain of the Red Wings, and I think he will be very similar to Zetterberg in a lot of respects.

Nah, two very different players / circumstances in my opinion. Larkin has the speed, but he has much more in his tool bag in my opinion. His hockey IQ is much higher and his work ethic and determination will allow him to adapt if / when he loses that top end speed.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we must trade Athanasiou because he's due to regress. I think it's a few years before that would be an issue. I do think his name should be on the table for any potential trades involving a top pair defenseman though.

Which would make you wonder, how valuable will Athanasiou be beyond his prime years? His main asset right now is his speed. What happens when he loses a step or two? He will have to adapt his game to keep up the production. Will he be able / willing to do that? I'm not so sure. He may be our first 30 goal scorer in 10 years when we had four (Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Franzen and Hossa) hit that mark. I'd still consider trading him if it meant bringing in a young, top pair defenseman though...

Your wife sat on Holland's face? Sorry man...

I'm not taking anything away from Tampa or anyone else. That wasn't the point of my post. Just that the draft is a bit of a crapshoot beyond the first few picks. Maybe our lack of high end goalie prospects is more to do with developing, rather than drafting the right players. Paterson was one of the most highly regarded goaltenders in that draft. He didn't amount to s***. Mrazek was expected to be a stud. He was hot and cold before basically being dumped. Since leaving it's been much of the same, but he seems to finally be turning it around, having a better year than All-Star Jimmy Howard.

I've never understood this. Why is this even a thing? Because he was selected with the pick we traded away for Quincey? So what? There's no guarantee we would have taken Vasilevskiy with that pick. It's actually highly unlikely that we would have. We could have also had Matt Murray, Frederik Andersen or Connor Hellebuyck instead of Jake Paterson that same draft. Oh well... I'm more disappointed that we missed three times on Kucherov the year before. We came up completely empty with the Jurco, Ouellet and Sproul picks. But literally no one, including the Lightning expected Kuch to be half the player he's become.

Who would you sign?

Sure, if that's how it plays out. I'm certainly not going to blame the general manager, coach or team... Fortunately for us, we will be drafting ahead of 6th.

BUT WE WON THE LAST TWO!!! F*** Holland! F*** Blashill! F*** this team!

DeKeyser has stepped up his game, which is great to see, but he'll never be a quality top pair defenseman. There's a much better chance that one of Cholowski or Hronek evolve into that than DeKeyser in my opinion.

I'm high on Petruzzelli as well, but not so much on the other two you mentioned. Rybar was a great pickup, but he's already 25 years old. I don't expect much more out of him. I think at best he's is a mediocre NHL backup / AHL starter, or likely playing back over seas within a few years. Fulcher is still young and has room to grow, but I don't expect much out of him either. The two top goaltenders in our system in my opinion are Larsson and Eliasson. Most fans have heard of and are high on Larsson, but Eliasson seems to be flying a little under everyone's radar. It's still really early to say what we have in any of these guys, but I think between Petruzzelli, Larsson and Eliasson, we have the goaltender of the future already in the system. Whether he's 3 years or 5 years away, that's the biggest question...

Wasting money? We need a stop-gap goalie while we're waiting on one of the kids to emerge. Howard is the perfect candidate. What do you think Holland should do?

Howard for one year at $4M is an absolute steal. I'd be okay with a 2-3 year contract, but 1 year gives them even more flexibility going forward.