krsmith17

The notion that every player has to play a "200 foot game" infuriates me more than anything. We have a ton of two-way forwards that are great at both ends of the ice. Every team needs players that can sometimes cheat on offense. In saying that, Athanasiou is a player I'd like to see play a bit of a two-way game, because when he wants to, he can pickpocket as good as anyone in the league. I do think he's much better defensively than some are willing to give him credit for though. If Athanasiou tops out as a 35-45 point, middle 6 winger, that's still good for us, and more than worth his current $3M x 2 year contract. I still think he has 45-55 point, top 6 winger potential though. And if he's doing that on a line with a defensively responsible center, and not negatively impacting the team, I'm more than happy with that sort of production out of a 4th round draft pick.

Zetterberg will play this season. It may not be a full season, but I'd be shocked if he doesn't at least play a partial season.

Yeah, Blash isn't half as bad of a coach as most Red Wings fans claim. He's just had very little to work with thus far. I wouldn't mind if he were extended to see what he can do with the young core once some of the vets retire / move on.

I'd be shocked if either happened. Blashill will be extended.

I just got around to reading the article and noticed that Rasmussen (and Svechnikov) are the odd men out, which is kind of odd considering Custance has been saying for weeks that Ras is all but guaranteed a spot in the lineup. He then goes on to say... "There are a lot of interchangeable parts here at forward. Michael Rasmussen is likely to make the team and break in at left wing, similar to the way the team eased Larkin into the league. Trading Athanasiou, which is very much a possibility, would open more time on the wing for Rasmussen. The odd-man out, among the kids, appears to be Evgeny Svechnikov, who had a down season last year in the AHL but showed glimpses of being able to use his big body effectively at the NHL level. A few things could help Svechnikov get regular playing time: 1) Zadina isn’t NHL ready. 2) Zetterberg retires. 3) Athanasiou is traded. There’s a good chance at least one of those scenarios emerges by the start of the season." So essentially he expects either Zetterberg to end up on LTIR, Zadina to start in Grand Rapids or a trade to be made to make room for Rasmussen. I know it will never happen, but imagine if we could somehow trade Glendening and Helm (or waive Frk or Witkowski), and role those top three lines with Svechnikov - Rasmussen - Abdelkader as our "4th line'... Our defense would still be a train wreck, but at least we'd have a pretty potent offense...

Good one Buppy...

Bold prediction? I'll say. That'll never happen here on LGW...

If Zetterberg plays (I think he will), and assuming there are no trades or injuries prior to October 4th, I think Zadina will be sent down, not Frk.

I'd bet on it. Zetterberg playing that is. I like these lines, but barring a trade or injury I think Zadina will start in GR. I also don't see Hronek being the 7th defenseman. Unless there's an injury on defense, I see Hicketts as the number 7. Hronek is much better served playing big minutes in GR. Hronek passed Hicketts on the depth chart a long time ago. That doesn't mean he'll be on the opening night roster as the 7th defenseman though. Unless there's an injury, I fully expect Hronek to start in GR.

Rasmussen - Zetterberg - Nyquist Bertuzzi - Larkin - Mantha Athanasiou - Nielsen - Vanek Abdelkader - Helm - Glendening Frk / Witkowski DeKeyser - Green Ericsson - Daley Kronwall - Jensen Hicketts Howard Bernier Svechnikov, Zadina, Hronek, Cholowski all in GR until the inevitable injury bug hits...

Yeah, I heard that as well (although I disagree with them having him ahead of Svechnikov...), but I was more so talking about the consensus around the league / scouts, not Detroit specifically. If you want to be cautiously optimistic about Veleno that's completely fine, but I'm ecstatic with that pick. I was hoping we'd trade up into the middle of the first to grab him if he were still on the board in the 15-20 range. It turns out we didn't need to. I'm not sure why you'd be worried about a "lower body" injury from a year and a half ago when he's played great hockey and put up solid numbers for a solid year since then. There's nothing "off" with him falling, other than each team having one player ranked above him. Very talented young players fall in the draft every single year, only to go on to make several teams that passed on them, regret their decision. This is no exception. He will be a highly skilled top 6 center in a few years. Mark it.

From a player's perspective, they should want a short term deal (assuming they have confidence in themselves). I don't understand from a management / fan perspective though, why you would want them to sign a short term deal though? I get not wanting to go long term on Athanasiou, but Mantha and Larkin? Long term would have been / would be the best for both long term in my opinion.

That's one way to look at it... You certainly do have a penchant for spinning a positive into a negative... Only you would be "nervous" with us taking the 3rd-4th ranked prospect at 6, and the 10th-12th ranked prospect at 30...

Those people are idiots. There's zero chance he gets sent down to Grand Rapids. Zero.

I agree 100%, and said as much in my last post. Very smart move by Mantha and his agent, betting that he'll be worth much more in two years time (and he will). I'd like to know who the hell thinks this was an overpayment though? He took a big discount, especially considering Athanasiou just signed the same deal, only $300K less...

Current Red Wings Henrik Zetterberg Gustav Nyquist Niklas Kronwall Jimmy Howard Shawn Horcoff (Director of Player Development) Dan Cleary (Player Development Assistant) Ex Red Wings Valtteri Filppula Todd Bertuzzi Mike Commodore Randoms Ryan Whitney Ryan Malone Nicklas Backstrom Unknown Guy 1 Unknown Guy 2 Unknown Guy 3 Future Red Wings Erik Karlsson Side note: it's clear Zetterberg's career is done... Guy can't even stand up straight, hanging onto Malone for dear life...

I was hoping Mantha would sign a 7 year, $5.5M contract, and Larkin would sign an 8 year, $6.5M contract, taking them both through their prime years, and re-evaluate when they're 30. Unfortunately / fortunately, both feel they can get more after taking a short, bridge deal. I'm sure Holland would have liked to sign Mantha long(er) term, but he said months ago that he wanted a short term deal because he feels he has a lot left to prove. He's confident that over the next two year's he will drastically up his production, thus upping his salary. You gotta love the confidence. Same will likely be the case for Larkin. I'm not sure if you're serious or just f***ing around, but that's not why Athanasiou and Mantha signed short term deals. Athanasiou hasn't earned a contract any longer than two years yet, and Mantha wanted a short term deal. If Holland's sights are only on the short term and he doesn't give a f*** about the future, this team would be f***ed. Fortunately, that's not the case. If it were, he'd be trading futures to build a contender now, in hopes to go on one more Cup run. He's not though. He's rebuilding for the future, beyond the next two years.

For sure.

Yeah, a low-key elite scorer that will likely hit free agency after this season. Although maybe being from Connecticut, he might like to stay in Massachusetts...

Great signing. I would have preferred to sign him longer term, but I knew Mantha wanted a short term prove-it deal, which is great to see from a young player. He knows he has a lot more to give, and I expect him to show it this season. With that, we have $2.8M (plus Franzen's $3.9M) to sign Larkin. I'd love to see Larkin get 6-8 years at around $6M. I expect it to be shorter term as well though unfortunately.

I agree that they could likely do better than Nyquist, especially being a pending UFA, but I think they could do better than Pacioretty too, for the same reason. I'm just saying that I personally wouldn't pay much more than Nyquist to get Krug. Nothing against Krug, he's a very good defenseman, but he'll be 28 this year and a UFA in two years. Not the kind of player I think we should be giving up major assets for. If the Bruins don't want to re-sign him in two years, by all means, go after him then, but right now, stay the course.

I'm not the biggest Krug fan, but that trade would be amazing, and it makes a ton of sense for both sides.