krsmith17

They think he's too right handed.

... or the third option which is to trade them... A team that is rebuilding should not have the oldest team in the league. Shed some dead weight and make room for some of the younger players to actually have an opportunity to "earn" a spot.

I don't think he will either. I'd trade up for him.

I'd be okay with Kovalchuk as long as it's short term. I'd prefer Vanek over Kovalchuk if it comes down to Kovalchuk at $6M per for 2 years or Vanek at $2.5M for 1 year. I'd also be okay with Frk walking if we get either. I'd prefer a lower cap hit for Green, but I'd be okay with $6M for 1 year, and flip him at the deadline. Imagine having Nyquist, Vanek, Green and Howard all on expiring contracts to trade at the deadline. Assuming they all have reasonably good seasons, stay healthy, they'd fetch a pretty solid return for sure. Backup position is whatever. Give it to McCollum for all I care... I think it's pretty much a done deal that Bylsma will be an assistant next season. Hopefully he can do something to spark the offense / power-play.

I think we'll take one of Bouchard or Dobson with the 6th overall, and I'm fine with either, although still leaning slightly toward Bouchard. The Hawks and Oilers could very likely be looking to move their picks (8 and 10 respectively) for immediate help. Hawks window is closing and the Oilers management are feeling the pressure to turn things around. Holland needs to be all over that. Athanasiou, 2018 1st round pick (VGK), 2019 2nd round pick (NYI). Bouchard and Wahlstrom. I really want to snag Bokk if he drops. I have a feeling he could be this year's huge sleeper pick. I could see him being the next Pastrnak, late 1st round steal. I think they're very similar players as well. Supremely skilled, great hands, quick release. I'd also like to see us to take a chance on Merkley if he drops to the 2nd round. He's one of the most talented kids in the entire draft, but will likely slip because of attitude issues. So yeah, no chance Detroit takes him...

One thing I don't think you're taking into consideration is where the team was when that philosophy made sense, vs where they are now, or should be... I'm fine with all of that when you're a team trying to compete for a playoff spot. When you're a team that is rebuilding, the "tie" should go to the kid. That's just my opinion. If a 21-23 year old plays as well as a 31-33 year old, I'd keep the young player with potential and upside every time over the older player that is past his prime, *in a rebuild*.

Yes, Hicketts "got his taste" and put up 3 points in 5 games and finished the season leading all Red Wings with a +2. Small sample size, and I don't expect him to come close to that sort of production over the course of a season, but he absolutely did "earn" a spot with that play. Never did I act as if they "snubbed a bonafide NHL player"... It doesn't matter how many times I say this isn't about Hicketts or I'm not even that high on him, you're still going to try your damnedest to make this about something it isn't. That's what you do...

I don't think there's much of a chance Zadina falls all the way to 6, but Tkatchuk could definitely be there. I'd still pick Wahlstrom over Tkatchuk or Kotkaniemi if we're going forward, but I'd still lean defense first. I really hope Holland is doing everything he can to get us another top 10 pick in this draft. Things could get interesting...

Is it September 19th yet?

Anyone hear of or ever purchase the "Recrutes NHL Draft Guide"?

I'm aware of that. Just saying I'm not "taking over", just voicing my opinion. Is it June 22nd yet? Is it October yet?

Some players are more suited for the NHL than AHL. I think Hicketts is one of those players. He had an abysmal year in Grand Rapids, there's no denying that. But when he played in Detroit, he played very well (better than some of the "vets"). I don't want this to turn into a debate about Hicketts though, because that's not what I intended. Again, I'm not that high on Hicketts. If he makes it, great, if not, oh well. Just give him (and other young players) the opportunity. My point is, if we're serious about rebuilding, "tie goes to the vet" needs to be gone. It should now be "tie goes to the kid". If Hicketts (or any young player) proves he can play as good (or better than) Ericsson (or any vet), he should get the spot. Get younger and shed cap space. There's a bit of a difference between an 18 year old and 21 year old making the team though. Again, this isn't necessarily about Hicketts. I just want the young players to be given more of an opportunity. Rasmussen, Svechnikov, Hronek, Cholowski and Hicketts should be given every opportunity to make the team out of camp. They should all have to earn it, but by earn it, that should just mean being one of the 12 best forwards / 6 best defensemen. I don't think that's been the case in the past. Hopefully that mind set is starting to change.

I'm not taking over. Swede can speak for him/herself, I just agree with him/her, and disagree with you on this one.

Yes. I'm the only person that thinks Hicketts "earned a spot" out of camp last season.

What battle? As I said, I'm not that high on Svechnikov. I just disagree with you that he "sucks", and doesn't deserve an opportunity to prove himself...

Well sorry bud, you're wrong.

You did compare Zadina to Yzerman... "sure fire 1st liner with Yzerman level ceiling". Exactly, no one knew Yzerman was going to be Yzerman. Just like no one knows what Zadina, Tkatchuk, Wahlstrom, Bouchard, Dobson, Hughes, etc are going to be. That's my point. Zadina could become a star, similar to Laine. He could also become an average player, similar to many of the players I mentioned previously taken 3rd overall, or a Puljujarvi. He may not ever be as good as Mantha. I'd say the chances of him being as good, or even a little better are fairly high (not guaranteed), but to me, it's still not worth giving up a player that already projects (despite what you say) as a top line scoring winger, plus 3 other high end assets. Let's just say Zadina becomes an 80-90 point elite, top line winger, Mantha becomes a 60-70 point top line winger, Cholowski becomes a 20-30 point top 4 defenseman, Bokk becomes a 40-50 point 2nd line winger, and Miller becomes a 20-30 point top 4 defenseman. I'd say that's somewhat realistic. Who wins the trade? Or you could say, what if Zadina becomes a 100+ point generational, top line winger, Mantha tops out as a 50 point average, 2nd line winger, Cholowski tops out as a 20 point bottom pair defenseman, and we draft two busts... Not very realistic. Anyway, I don't want to trade up into the top 5. It rarely works out, and usually benefits the team trading back. I'm betting when we look back on what could have been in a couple years, most will say this would have been (because it's not going to happen) a bad trade. EDIT: Just to clarify, I'm not saying I necessarily think Zadina will be an 80-90 point player, just that it is a possibility. A possibility that most are banking on. I actually think it's just as likely that he becomes a 70ish point player, which is still great, just not worth a massive overpayment...

I'm not as high on Svechnikov as some. Never have been. But he definitely doesn't suck. I've said before that I'd be open to trading him, and I would. But if he's still with the organization on opening night, he should be with the Wings, not the Griffins. If we're serious about rebuilding this team, we need to give the "kids" every opportunity to make the team, whether we think they're top 6 forwards / top 3 defensemen, or bottom 6 forwards / bottom 3 defensemen. I don't see Hicketts as anything more than a bottom pairing defenseman. I don't see Turgeon as anything more than a 4th (maybe 3rd) line center. I'd still like to see them both given an opportunity over some of the vets on this team. Also, I don't think it's fair to compare Svechnikov to Larkin. Svechnikov's progression as a mid-late round pick is much more the norm than Larkin's progression.

We're now comparing Zadina to Yzerman? Seriously? I thought Laine was a bit of a stretch, but we're now comparing him to one of the top 10 forwards of all time? Okay... No, the top 7-10 are not "surefire NHL 1st line / 1st d pairing players". Not even close. Any one of them could bust (relative to expectations). They're kids. Anything can happen. Mantha is slow? LOL do you even watch Red Wings games? Mantha is anything but slow... I'd love to have Zadina, but I wouldn't trade that sort of package for him. I'd much rather keep our 6th overall, and use those assets (minus Mantha) to trade up for another top 10 pick. If there were a Zadina equivalent center or defenseman available at 3, I'd consider it, but I'm not massively overpaying for another winger (elite or not).

So, are you saying that Hicketts didn't outplay the guys you mentioned last year in training camp / pre-season and eventually regular season? He absolutely did, yet he didn't get the call until that one game in January, immediately got sent down (after playing well), and then 4 consecutive games in March / April. I'm not saying Hicketts is going to be great. I don't even think he'll be anything more than a bottom pairing defenseman. But to say "all he has to do is outplay player x, y, and z" is just not accurate, and I think you know that. Like it or not, for good or bad, this organization has always valued veterans over the kids. "Tie goes to the vet". That's not even true though. We've seen young players not only "tie", but outplay older players, and still get sent down. If Holland truly is embracing the rebuild (like he's said he is), the kids should get the nod ahead of some of the vets. Hopefully that's the case over the next few years. We'll see what happens...

All is pretty much what one would expect, except for Svechnikov... I get that he has to "earn a spot", but it sounds like he's already inked in on the Griffins roster. Is this what Khan has gotten from Holland, or is it just Khan's predictions? If it's the former, that's unfortunate... He will outplay several players on the roster, and still be sent down, much like Hicketts did last year. Because f*** the youth movement...

It's so true it hurts...

Not surprised. Tavares isn't going anywhere.