krsmith17

I don't understand why a game in hand is assumed to be a win?... I could understand such an assumption for the race to the top, but race to the bottom I would assume a loss, or at the very best one point per game. Either way, these last two wins have been fun, but I'd be completely fine with no more fun until April 9th...

What makes you think I have anything against Swedes? Love(d) Lidstrom, Holmstrom, Zetterberg, Franzen, Kronwall, Nyquist, etc. Ehn and de la Rose however, are plugs... Rasmussen should be playing with skilled players, not borderline NHLers. Just my opinion...

What does it take to get Rasmussen some real linemates? How long does he need to be stuck with the two Swedish plugs?

I'm saying hypothetically, they end up exactly like those players. I take the 80-90ish point center AND the 60-70ish point defenseman over the 90-100ish point winger.

Now you're just talkin' outta your ass...

What if your scouts project Jack Hughes to be a Patrick Kane, Dylan Cozens to be a Jack Eichel and Bowen Byram to be a Morgan Rielly?...

Yes. No.

And I'll say it every year until we land that number one overall pick... We WILL pick top 5 this year though. Guaranf***ingteed!

I don't disagree, and if when we do, I would will be doing cartwheels...

Veleno is one of the best players in the QMJHL. He has the 2nd best points per game in the entire league, and he's putting up these points in his draft +1 season. It's not like he's an overager. Maxime Comtois, the only player in the league ahead of him, is a full year older. I agree that he needs to prove it at the next level, but he hasn't yet had that opportunity. He looked very impressive in training camp last fall, and I'm sure he'll look even better this fall. He has an outside chance to start next season in Detroit, but he will likely start in Grand Rapids. Regardless where he starts, I'm sure he will continue to impress.

I agree with you, but it's also entirely possible, admittedly unlikely, that Hughes ends up a Nugent-Hopkins, and Zegras and Byram end up a Dubois and Sergachev. I'd take the latter in that situation, as I'm sure you would as well. Again, not saying this is the likely scenario, and I agree that Hughes is the closest thing to a sure fire superstar, but no matter how much scouting has improved, the draft is still a bit of a crap shoot, and two top 10 picks could be a homerun.

That's fair. However, it's more likely that the Aves are picking 1st overall and we're picking 3rd overall (or later) anyway. So imagine if the balls did fall our way, making that trade, picking whoever we would have picked 3rd overall, and also picking up another stud in the top 10. I agree that Hughes is our best chance at a franchise changing player, but maybe there's a Petersson to be had in the 3-5 range. Maybe there's another stud to be had in the 8-12 range. I'm not necessarily saying that I'd pull the trigger on such a trade, but you'd at least have to think about it, wouldn't you? I know kip is really high on Zegras, and I've been really high on Cozens for the past year or so. Byram looks like he could be an absolute stud. Like kip said, adding two of those pieces could put us closer to Cup contention than Hughes alone...

I'm excited every year for the draft, because I'm a draft nerd... I'm more excited for this year's draft lottery for that reason though. April 9th baby!

I'd probably lean toward keeping the number one pick too, only because of the unknown, who would be available at 3 and 10. We'd be guaranteed two really good players though. It would be an enticing offer for sure...

If we win the draft lottery and the Aves end up with pick 3 and pick 10, would anyone consider trading the number 1 overall for their two top 10 picks? eg: Would you trade Jack Hughes for Trevor Zegras / Dylan Cozens and Bowen Byram?

Nah, I don't think height matters as much in the modern NHL, but being THAT small will definitely scare a few teams away. He's basically the same size, and style of player as DeBrincat though. I think any team would be thrilled to get a DeBrincat in the top half of the first round.

Size. 5'7", 160lbs soaking wet. Could be the next DeBrincat. Doubt he drops outside the 1st round though. Likely a mid 1st rounder.

Hard to argue this. Larkin is the far superior all around player, but Athanasiou is the better goal scorer in my opinion. Ideally Larkin is a 30 goal, 55 assist player, and Athanasiou a 35 goal, 30 assist player. Larkin currently has one more goal (27) in the same number of games (66), while averaging over 5 minutes more per game. Larkin plays against the oppositions best every night, but he's also played with better linemates all season, while AA is stuck with scrubs most nights. With Athanasiou finally getting more ice time, in a top six role, with better linemates, I think he'll finish ahead of Larkin for most goals on the season. Hopefully they both eclipse the 30 goal plateau.

My bad. That was supposed to say... I'd say Mantha has as good a chance to hit 30 NEXT year as Ovechkin has to hit 50 this year... But yes, even that I'm kind of kidding about. Just giving Jonas a hard time for saying Ovechkin was GUARANTEED to hit 50 or 60 or whatever he said, when he was on pace for 77 or whatever it was. Like I said a couple months ago, he has a "good chance" to hit 50, but nothing is guaranteed.

I'd say Mantha has as good a chance to hit 30 this year as Ovechkin has to hit 50 this year...

I think you're confusing "high-end" with elite... MacKinnon, Point, Wheeler, Marner, Bergeron, Pastrnak, Scheifele, Eichel, Panarin, Lindholm, Giroux, Stone, Kessel, DeBrincat, Atkinson, Zibanejad, Krejci, Pavelski, Boeser, Arvidsson, Reinhart, Johansen, Barzal, Forsberg, Perron, Tuch, Palmieri, Oshie, Marchessault, Trocheck, Konecny, Johnson, Kapanen... just to name a few. Some of those guys I'd consider elite, some I would consider high-end, but ALL would significantly help our team... which is the point. There are a ton of high-end right shot forwards in the league, and more coming every year. The fact that we haven't had a single one in the past decade is kind of crazy isn't it?

I don't think there's anything to it. I doubt the Wings have any bias for or against left / right shooters. I just wish they would make it somewhat of a priority to add one or two high end right-handed wingers in the next couple years. I don't think a team can't win with a left-handed heavy forward group, I just think it makes it much easier to make plays in the offensive zone with a balanced attack from both sides of the ice.

No, that wasn't my *only* complaint about those guys being drafted, but it was a complaint since long before they were drafted. And it still hasn't been addressed. Like I said, I don't care how we acquire a high-end right-handed winger (sniper), I just think it needs to happen, hopefully sooner than later...