krsmith17

Rasmussen was not the best player available two years ago. Svechnikov was not the best player available four years ago. There were higher regarded right-handed forwards available in both drafts.

I've mentioned this several times, so I didn't think I needed to explain (again) in detail, but what I meant was high-end forwards. Not one in the entire organization. In my opinion, we need to add a Zadina type right-handed sniper.

I have no problem with these signings, but it's becoming laughable that virtually every player that man drafts, signs, trades for is left-handed. Of course he shouldn't pass over more talented players in the draft just because of handedness. And he shouldn't not sign the top free agents just because they're left-handed. But in my opinion, he should be actively trying to pursue some right-handed forwards via trade.

I'm just happy they're both lefties, because f*** righties...

I'll be at the game tonight! F*** the Tank! No Larkin sucks, but looking forward to see the rest of the boys! GO WINGS!!!

Thanks man! I seen a game at Amalie a few years ago. Never been to BB&T yet though. Looking forward to it!

Both games in FL, Saturday and Sunday. So HYPED to see Zadina. Just hope Larkin is healthy, along with the rest of the young guns (Mantha, Athanasiou, Bertuzzi, Hronek, etc). Would love to see Cholo too, but I don't see that unless another defenseman or two go down...

Maybe, if you consider a "successful rebuild", never winning a Cup... The Sharks have never been "on top" before or after not bottoming out... They also have two top 10 (lottery) picks that they've drafted, to go along with the two top 5 picks they've traded for. I think the Wings could get back to the playoffs with the players currently in the system. Maybe they could even get to the Conference / Cup Final if everything went right. But I wouldn't bet on them winning another Cup without adding another couple elite players (top 10 picks). That's just my opinion though...

F***! Larkin better be good to go this weekend...

Name a team in the modern NHL that has successfully rebuilt without bottoming out. It's easy enough to say that it can be done, but until a team actually pulls it off, I think hitting the bottom is necessary. The Wings got lucky once in the pre-cap era, they tried it again in the post-cap era and failed. Whether by design or not, they're doing it right this time.

I'm all for a trade back, depending on the return, and I agree, Byram looks like he could be the real deal. He looks like he could be a Morgan Rielly type defenseman in a few years.

You really think that trading away a 2nd and 3rd round pick is emptying the cupboard? So we must have gotten a massive haul from San Jose then hey?... I didn't like some of the trades made to keep the streak alive, but we didn't get into "this mess" by trading away a couple picks and mediocre prospects. We got in this mess because it's the natural cycle of professional sports. Like you said, you can't stay at the top forever. When you lose franchise cornerstones like Lidstrom, Zetterberg and Datsyuk, you're bound to regress. And yes, I think bottoming out is necessary to get back on top. I don't necessarily think you need multiple 1st overall picks, but I do think you need multiple top 10 picks. Name a team that has gone from the bottom to the top in the modern NHL without completely bottoming out for at least a few seasons. It hasn't been done. We have a solid young core, but we're going to need another couple minimum to complete this rebuild.

I agree. The return was solid, but I would have preferred to keep Jensen and move one of the other defensemen. I still think DeKeyser is a solid top 4 defenseman though, given the proper usage and defense partner. And Kronwall has earned the right to retire a Red Wing. I hope that comes after this season... One of Daley or Ericsson should be gone after this season, whether that's via trade or buy-out. Doubt it happens though...

Jensen has had real gud advanced stats all season. He's a very underrated player. Always has been. I still like the trade though. We got good value for a player that won't be the same player he is now, when we're through the rebuild. I'm still hopeful Bowey can turn it around in Detroit. He was a very promising young prospect just a couple years ago. Things went south in Washington, but the potential is still there. I've seen flashes of it. If he can just clean up his defensive game (turnovers in particular), he could be a good NHL defenseman.

Agree completely. I'm okay with Holland seeing us through this rebuild, but I'd also be okay with Yzerman taking over. Same goes for Blashill. I'd be completely okay with extending him beyond this season, and I think we will. The people that are constantly complaining about Holland and Blashill, don't really understand how a rebuild works. They think it should be seamless, the way we "retooled" from the Yzerman, Fedorov era to the Zetterberg, Datsyuk era. We got extremely lucky back then, and it rarely ever works that way. This rebuild is not going to happen over night, and the faster people realize this, the easier it'll be.

We're not going to be a contender for the next 3-5 years. How does it make any sense to hold on to a soon-to-be 30 year old, who won't be good beyond that time frame? It doesn't. Trade him and gain assets that will hopefully be able to help us in the future. If we want to add a veteran depth winger in 3-5 years when we are a legit contender, by all means, do it then. But that veteran player will not be Nyquist. He will be past his prime. Trading a 2nd and 3rd round pick when we become competitive again will not "empty the cupboard". This whole debate is ridiculous. This team is not in a position to compete, which means they shouldn't be in a position to extend mediocre players beyond their prime to long term extensions...

I agree that Yzerman wouldn't do all of this, but I do think he would look to shake things up a little, to make it "his team"... once again. It's not very often a new GM steps in and keeps the exact same team intact without making any trades. I do think he'd be pretty quick to trade / buy out at least a player or two.

If he's been buried behind Hughes and Turcotte, why do you have Zagras ranked 3rd and Turcotte outside of your top 7? Something about Turcotte's game you don't like?

Daley sucks... Been one of the worst defensemen on the team in the past year or so. I'd probably put Ericsson ahead of Daley...

Where is all the HYPE??? Did we not just lose our last game EIGHT to ONE??? We're not going to out-tank Ottawa (Colorado), but we will finish in the bottom 3. Regardless where we finish though, we will win the "Jack" Pot in the Draft Lottery...

Still Cozens for me.

How is it clear that Detroit had a "need for two rookies this season"? They had enough players that could have filled the 14 forward slots, and had Rasmussen start in Grand Rapids. If Rasmussen was AHL eligible, I think it was highly likely he would have started down there. He might have gotten a taste of the NHL at some point, but probably similar to Zadina, 9 game stint to slide his ELC. You mentioned that Rasmussen "looked totally dominant" down in GR... Did you actually watch those games? Or are you just basing that on his stats? I watched 2 of the 3 games he played, and he looked good, but far from dominant in my opinion. By the way, Ras and Zadina have the exact same points per game in the AHL, and most seem to think Zadina isn't / wasn't ready. Neither had a great showing in training camp / pre-season. I think if the option were there, they both would have been in GR.

Ehn is at best a 4th line forward. Rasmussen should be a top six forward. So yes, playing Ehn in Detroit over Rasmussen, while he got big minutes in Grand Rapids, would have probably been the best thing for his development (if that were an option).

So what if you do think the latter has more value than the former? You still don't make the trade because you don't "know" for sure? Like I said, so many dumb GM's... Why are they all making trades for these unknown "mystery boxes"... F***ing idiots...

Sure, he could have been sent back to junior, but that probably wasn't the best thing for his development. He could not be sent down to GR, and that's the point. Do you think if he was AHL eligible he would be playing in the NHL regardless?