krsmith17

I hope we get a better return than that for Nyquist...

Nyquist isn't on the top line because any team that would be trading for him, would want him as a depth winger, and they want to see if he can still produce without Larkin, with schmucks like Nielsen and Vanek...

Michigan kid. We'll use one of our three 5th round picks on him.

The thing is, our skilled players, the one's that we're building around, our future, don't generally dump and chase as you're suggesting. The players that can successfully exit and enter the zone (Larkin, Athanasiou, Mantha, Nyquist) rarely dump the puck in, unless it's at the end of a shift and they're looking for a change. For the most part, the rest of the players can't really weave through traffic, so the right thing to do is dump and chase. Give it another year or two, when we start to see more talented kids coming into the lineup (*Hughes*, Veleno, Zadina, Berggren, etc) and they'll be playing more of a puck possession game, regardless who the coach is.

I agree, but both de la Rose and Ehn should be expendable and can be waived, sent to the minors / claimed by another team. Vanek should be gone. Both Zadina and Veleno should be pushing for roster spots, but the way this organization operates, they could both be in Grand Rapids. Maybe even Rasmussen as well. Svechnikov has to make the 23-man roster, or be exposed to waivers. Larkin, Mantha, Athanasiou, Bertuzzi, Nielsen, Abdelkader, Helm, Glendening and Svechnikov should be the only "guaranteed" spots (assuming there are no trades). That would leave 5 spots up front for Rasmussen, Zadina, Veleno, de la Rose, Ehn, Frk (if re-signed), Holmstrom and Turgeon to fight for. I'd love to see the first three be regulars next season, and any of the other five as the extra forwards...

You're dumb. Don't encourage him... I guess I am enabling him though... Must. stop. feeding. the. troll....

Yeah, he's still waiver exempt this season. Could be a conditioning stint, or he could play the remainder of the season in GR, which is what I'd prefer to see. I'd like to see him get top six minutes / power-play time on a contender, and go on another playoff run in Grand Rapids, than get bottom six minutes with de la Rose and Abdelkader on a losing team in Detroit. Which is also the reason I'd like to see Rasmussen sent down to junior and eventually back up with GR as well... You really are that clueless about NHL rules (and everything hockey related) aren't you? None of Bertuzzi, Larkin or Athanasiou are waiver exempt, and even if they were, why would we send them down to play in the AHL?

In a heartbeat...

The only thing that changed from the 2016 (Matthews) draft to the 2019 (Hughes) draft, as far as I know, is the last place team went from having a 20% chance at 1st overall to an 18.5% chance. And that was only due to the added team (Vegas) in 2018. I think in 2014 the odds were something like 25% for the last place team getting the number one pick.

Svechnikov has been skating on his own for the past couple weeks, and skated with the team today during the morning skate. Hopefully he'll be ready to go soon. The Griffins could have an extremely talented team for a playoff run with Zadina, Frk, Svechnikov, Rasmussen, Hronek and Cholowski, as well as veterans Terry, Puempel, Megan and Camper...

Yeah, it's amazing how terrible Ottawa have been this season, especially knowing they don't own their 1st round pick. I think they're really going to regret taking Tkatchuk last year, despite how well he's been playing. Those head to head matchups between two fellow tankers are what we need more of. One of those s*** teams are guaranteed 2 points, with the potential for a 3 point game. I don't want to lose the rest of the games this season, and I'll be cheering for them to win every game, but I'll be cheering just as hard for Ottawa, Los Angeles, New Jersey and Edmonton to win... But yeah, I am hoping Holland can trade some key pieces to help our 2019 draft in acquiring picks, and bettering our draft position.

Even if he's not re-signed by Monday (on paper), it is possible that there is some sort of handshake deal in place. But yes, I agree, if Holland can't come to terms with Jensen (or any of the other pending UFA's), they should be shopped. I think we're more or less on the same page. I don't want all of Nyquist, Jensen and Howard traded no matter the return, just get rid of them for the sake of getting rid of them... However, with the amount of chatter, reliable sources saying that there is a lot of interest in all three, if we can get a good to great return, I'd trade all three. Holland has been playing all of this perfectly (so far). He's talking terms and contract with the player's agents, to get a feel whether or not they want to come back, and if they do, how much / how long? If any of them want to test free agency, trade them. I think if a team offers a 1st or a 2nd, plus for Nyquist, you have to take it. Same goes for Jensen and Howard, if a team offers a 2nd, plus for either, take it. Making these trades gives us plenty of ammo in the upcoming draft as well as increases our lottery odds. All can be replaced within the organization or through trade / free agency. Who knows, they might even come back after their Cup run.

Don't worry, we'll be in the running for the Lafreniere sweepstakes regardless, but getting younger should be the priority in my opinion. Keeping Cholowski and Hronek down, and keeping Kronwall and Ericsson / Daley around probably increases our odds, but I'd take the development of two young kids already in the system over a slightly (5-10%) better chance at drafting number one overall a year and a half from now.

In my opinion, both Cholowski and Hronek need to be on the roster full time next season. With Green, DeKeyser, Daley and Ericsson still under contract, talks of Kronwall coming back for another season, talks of Jensen being re-signed, there are no vacant roster spots. Ideally, I'd like to see Kronwall retire, Jensen re-signed and one of Ericsson or Daley traded, waived or bought out. Next season go into the season with... Cholowski - Green DeKeyser - Jensen Ericsson - Hronek

Don't worry about it. Scott... err Jonas isn't all there... Just another one of his lame attempts to troll. Dude's 40+ and has nothing better to be doing...

Well prior to January 26th he was very streaky. He would put up a couple points in a game and then go pointless for up to 10 games. So if you count that as the "halfway" / turning point... First half... 35GP, 10G, 10A, 20PTS, -17, 2.1 S/G, 0.57 PTS/G Second half... 8GP, 5G, 4A, 9PTS, +7, 3.0 S/G, 1.13 PTS/G

According to Khan, Red Wings considering sending Rasmussen back to the W (Tri-City), which would make him eligible for AHL playoffs with the Griffins. Edit: I would assume he would have to remain in junior until they are eliminated from the playoffs. Tri-City are currently in a Wild Card spot.

I read it as, he doesn't think the Caps would be willing to pay a high price (eg 1st round pick, 2nd round pick, high-end prospect, plus) for Panarin, Stone, Duchene. Maybe they'd be more likely to pay a lower price (2nd round pick, plus) for Nyquist. I tend to agree, and if I were a GM, I'd be hesitant in giving up a massive package at the deadline for one player. You never know how these trades will pan out. The player could get injured or just not mesh well with the team. I think it's likely that whoever trades for Nyquist could get a better bang for their buck than if they had traded for one of the top names on the list.

No, nothing is stopping Jensen from testing free agency, but that's a conversation Holland would need to have with him now, before the deadline. Figure out if he wants to stay in Detroit, and what kind of contract he'd be willing to sign. If they can't agree on terms, then yeah, I'd trade him for a 3rd round pick. If he's willing to re-sign a short (2-3 years), relatively cheap (<$2.5M), I wouldn't trade him unless a team is willing to give us a 2nd (or better).

Zadina (AHL) - 43GP, 15G, 14A, 29PTS, -10, 2.30 S/G, 0.67 PTS/G Hronek (AHL) - 28GP, 7G, 16A, 23PTS, +4, 2.68 S/G, 0.82 PTS/G Veleno (QMJHL) - 47GP, 38G, 51A, 89PTS, +51, 52.3 FO%, 4.36 S/G, 1.89 PTS/G (2nd in the Q) McIsaac (QMJHL) - 42GP, 14G, 38A, 52PTS, +25, 3.21 S/G, 1.24 PTS/G (1st in the Q among D) Regula (OHL) - 54GP, 8G, 24A, 32PTS, +28, 2.00 S/G, 0.59 PTS/G Pearson (NCAA) - 28GP, 15G, 10A, 25PTS, +15, 54.6 FO%, 3.04 S/G, 0.89 PTS/G

I was never a fan of the Daley signing. We didn't need him two years ago, we didn't need him this year, and we should get rid of him by next year... Yeah, I agree. Holland isn't going to sell low, and nor should he... All three of Nyquist, Jensen and Howard should be able to get a 2nd plus, if not, don't trade them... unless they've already said they're testing free agency...

So you think clearing the zone with "passes to the other team" is Blashill's coaching strategy? Not a lack of talent / skill in the lineup? That's absurd... If our players aren't good enough to play a puck possession game (most of them aren't), it would be terrible coaching to force that on them (round peg, square hole). A good coach will change his systems / strategies based on the players in his lineup. Blashill has done this. I'd be interested to see what Blash could do with some skill throughout the lineup, beyond 2 or 3 players. This.

If he's not able to be traded at this year's deadline, hopefully he'll be bought out this summer...