krsmith17

Jurco for a 3rd, Smith for a 2nd and a 3rd, Vanek for a 3rd, Ott for a 6th, Sheahan for a 3rd, Mrazek for a 3rd, Tatar for a 1st, 2nd and 3rd... I'm pretty sure that was someone else within the organization that pulled those trades though. It couldn't have been Holland. Holland is an idiot. Maybe Draper?

I've always been a big fan of Bertuzzi, but even watching him in Guelph and Grand Rapids, I never really thought he'd be anything more than a bottom six agitator at the NHL level. I thought he might be a 20-30 point player that can play a solid two-way game. He's far exceeded my expectations (and I think everyone elses) thus far. He's currently on pace for 46 points, and the way he plays, that number or higher may be very attainable. He plays hard every single shift, every single game, goes to the dirty areas, and won't back down from anyone. These are all things most of us knew before he ever played a game in Detroit. What most of us have been pleasantly surprised by is the level of skill and hockey IQ he has. Such a smart, cerebral player. At this point, I think he could be a 40-50 point middle six player that can play up and down the lineup in all situations. Great pick at 58th overall, and great trade by Kenny, nabbing Mantha and Bertuzzi for the 18th overall pick (Mueller). Too bad Mantha didn't have the same compete level as Bert, he'd be a perennial 30+ goal scorer for sure...

The most salary you can retain is 50%. Everything else is obviously accurate though... 1) Finish bottom 5, while being somewhat competitive (lose 27 one-goal games...) and win the Hughes lottery. 2) Trade Nyquist to Nashville for Dante Fabbro. 3) Trade Howard (retain salary) to whichever team suffers a significant goaltender injury after Christmas for a 2nd round pick. 4) Trade Daley or Ericsson (retain salary) to whoever will take them for a mid (3rd or 4th) round draft pick. 5) Trade Vanek (if he will waive his NTC) to a contending team for a 3rd round pick.

Yeah, Fabbro is still a player I'd like to target. The Preds are stacked on D, and would likely give him up for an upgrade up front. Maybe Nyquist and the Islanders 2019 2nd round pick for Fabbro and the Panthers 3rd round pick... I'd be open to trading Mantha for an upgrade on the back end, but not for Klefbom. He's a solid defenseman, I just don't see him moving the needle all that much. But man, Mantha would score 40 in his sleep on McDavid's wing...

Hell No! Why would we trade for a 31 year old 2nd pair defenseman? We're rebuilding. With Green, Daley, Ericsson, Kronwall, DeKeyser and Jensen on the team, why add another veteran? Just because he's from Michigan? We need to be shipping out guys like Martinez to acquire draft picks, not the other way around.

Kid is going to be a stud.

Should've been a penalty (slash on the hands) in my opinion...

*claimed off waivers (from MTL).

Howard is still proving to be a reliable starter. He's giving the team a chance to win pretty much every game. Aside from those two games against Toronto and Montreal, he's been great, behind a very young, inexperienced defense. If he can keep up his current level of play, and stay healthy, I'd be okay with re-signing him to a similar cap-hit, as long as it's short term (1-2 years). It just blows my mind that so many people are against bringing Jimmy back. Who's going to replace him? None of the kids are close to ready, and none of the free agents will be much of an upgrade, if it all. Howard should be a perfect stop-gap until one of the kids (hopefully) emerge as a legitimate NHL quality goaltender. So far, Bernier has disappointed. I still think he has a lot left to prove, but he needs to do that before I'd consider handing the reins to him...

Hey now, DeKeyser's not back yet... Maybe this weekend... Imagine when we get all our good forwards back... Imagine how good we'd be if we could get fully healthy... Bring on the Cup!

Also, don't forget how he always tries to put words in your mouth and spin the conversation to fit his argument...

Megan is playing tomorrow night.

Their reason better start with J and end with ack Hughes...

Could have kept Hicketts and played Witkowski up front, or ya know, called up an actual prospect like Holmstrom... Not that I think Holmstrom has much of a future with the Wings, but it would be nice to give him a look. Oh well...

For sure. Real bummer that Svech is *likely* out for the season... I'm not sure how he fits in going forward after missing a full season of hockey. Hoping for a speedy recovery.

I agree. Puempel and Holmstrom should be first in line to be called up. Wouldn't be surprised if Ehn is called back up though, or maybe even Turgeon. I know a lot of people want to see Zadina, but I'd personally rather see him continue to develop in GR. Maybe call him up for 9 games after the trade deadline, if he's dominating in the American League. I'd like to see him close to a point per game before he gets the call to play in Detroit. I'm not sure if it would have made a difference to the situation we're in now. I think if Svechnikov were healthy, we probably wouldn't wouldn't have claimed de la Rose. But yeah, it would be nice if we had Svechnikov to call up for the game tomorrow night...

I agree that he did look decent in that one game, but that may have had more to do with being amped to play his old team than the position he was playing that night. I still think he's better suited as a forward than a defenseman, but it's whatever...

I can't agree with ya there. Witkowski's skill is limited, and he's most effective (if you can call it that) running around hitting everything that moves. If we're going to dress that sort of player, I'd prefer him to be a 4th line checker than a bottom pair defenseman...

Why? Wouldn't it be better to put Witkowski on the wing, rather than defense, especially considering he's a better forward than defenseman...

Hughes

Meh, pretty average if you ask me...

It may be the ginger ales talking, but the Wings will win tonight. I can feel it... Go Wings!