krsmith17

I hope we draft Alex Newhook next year. Fellow Newfie and my cousin trains him in the offseason. I met him this past summer, and he seems like a good young kid. Unreal talent too. Unfortunately he's a left-handed winger, but whatever. It would be 4-5 years before he'd sniff the NHL anyway...

I do like the new Jets jerseys a lot, but this one is a classic for sure. Yes you will! The old Jets jerseys were amazing. Top 3 all time for me (in no particular order); Red Wings, Jets (late 80's - early 90's), Oilers (80's - early 90's)... Another one I've always really liked, not so much for the logo, but the color scheme, is the old Colorado Rockies (late 70's) jerseys. I've also always really liked the old Hartford Whalers (blue early 90's) jerseys. I agree with you on the old Nordiques jerseys. I'm not a huge fan and I think they're way overrated. That top Manitoba Moose jersey is awful. I do really like that bottom one though.

This is a huge reason I'd have interest in him... We need to inject (draft / trade for) some right-handed forwards into this lineup...

I'd do it without hesitation. Doubt Carolina would though...

No, vets are not "guaranteed" a spot in the lineup, but they sure as hell are favored. How many times have we heard "tie goes to the vet" blah, blah, blah? Because experience. In this organization a kid has to play outstanding to get a shot. In some situations I can get behind this sort of philosophy, but in a rebuild on a team as old as the Red Wings are? No way. Tie should go to the younger player that actually has some sort of potential (even if that potential is limited). No one is saying that Hicketts or even Cholowski or Hronek are "the next big thing", or a "prime Bobby Orr"... All people are saying is that we desperately need to get younger, and give some of these kids a legit opportunity. Maybe things are finally going to start changing though. Holland has said all the right things in his season ending presser and other interviews about getting younger. Maybe management are finally starting to get it. The league is getting younger and the Wings need to follow suit. I think they will start to trend in that direction over the next couple years. I didn't agree with bringing in yet another 30+ player on a multi-year contract last off season, but fortunately, I don't think we're going to see any more of those signings any time soon.

Statistically, it's the most likely scenario... There's a 65.5% chance we move back to 6 (34.5%), 7 (26.7%), or 8 (4.3%)... There's only a 26.1% chance we move up to 3 (8.9%), 2 (8.7%), or 1 (8.5%), and an 8.4% chance we stay at 5... F*** the stats though! We're moving up into the top 3!

I think he gets it, he's just taking it to an extreme, in another attempt to get his point across. It's not going to work though because people see Daley as a good defenseman, on a good contract (which is true), and automatically think that it was a good signing for the Red Wings. It wasn't. We are a team that should be rebuilding, with the oldest defense in the league, and we add a player that makes us even older. It makes no sense. I would have been perfectly content if we signed Daley and moved another veteran in the process, but not to have 6 veterans on the team, 27+, with no room for any of the kids for the next couple years. Anyway, what's done is done. The contract was signed. Holland admitted that we need to get younger. So to do that, he's going to need to make room for at least one of the kids this year, and maybe two more the following season. Some veterans need to go, whether it's through trade, IR, or expiring contract.

Top 5 for D and F for me would be... Defense: Dahlin, Bouchard, Boqvist, Dobson, Hughes Forward: Svechnikov, Tkatchuk, Wahlstrom, Zadina, Veleno

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Well yeah. Maybe if he didn't allow that duster in the 2nd game by Paul LaDue (who?), he would have much better numbers, including 3 shutouts. Now that, I would consider "good" goaltending... How far do you think Fleury is going to carry the Golden Knights with a 0.977 SV% / 0.65 GAA? Definitely needs to step up his game a little in the 2nd round...

Fleury has been "okay"... 3 goals allowed on 130 shots, 0.977 save percentage, 0.65 goals against average, 2 shutouts in a 4 game sweep...

We're all hoping to get one of those top 2 picks on the 28th, but if we end up with the 3rd pick, I'd definitely shop it to a team in the 5-8 range. If we could get Bouchard with that top pick and trade up to also get Wahlstrom, that would be an amazing first round for us. And we'd still have another one or two picks in the 2nd round to hopefully get another big player. Larkin / Veleno also wouldn't be close to the calibre of Crosby / Malkin... A ton of teams have two top centers as good or better than what Larkin / Veleno project to be. We need a number one defenseman, a top 2 center and a couple high end right handed wingers added to the prospect pool. If we could get 2 of those 4 pieces, we'll be well on our way to rebuilding this team. This is a HUGE draft for this organization. Hopefully we get lucky in the lottery and on draft day...

If we end up with the number 2 pick, we have to take Svechnikov. If we end up with the number 3 pick, I'm okay with taking either of Zadina or Tkatchuk, but ideally I'd like to trade back a few spots in hopes we can still get one of the defensemen we like. I think it's way too wide open to project who will be available with our Vegas pick, or Ottawa's / our 2nd, but I'd like to use a couple of those picks to move up to the middle of the 1st, if a player we like drops.

According to Custance, Torchetti will not be returning next season.

I don't think many are "down on Wahlstrom". I think anyone would be thrilled to have him in their organization, but if we're picking top 5, there will likely be better options available. If we fall back to 8, I'd consider taking him for sure, depending on who else is still on the board.

I agree. However, this team is nowhere close to the Edmonton model, nor did I say anything that would indicate that I'd like to see us model the Oilers... There's a huge difference between having a team full of kids and having the oldest team (and defense) in the league. There's a middle ground, and that's where I'd like to see the Red Wings. A defense that averaged over 30 years old, did not need a 34 year old "character" player to teach the young players... I asked this before, with no response, so I'll ask again. Which young players did Daley teach? The youngest defensemen on the roster were 27 years old. Not exactly young... Being better off does not equal wanting... I was one of the few that said I was still rooting for / wanting the Wings to win every game, despite knowing they'd be better off losing...

I never said I wanted to finish lower in the standings... I don't think a 34-36 year old that put up 16 points this year was the best solution to fix our piss poor defense. I think Hicketts or Sproul could have produced just as much or more, while not giving up a ton on the defense side. You disagree, which is fine. What about taking a flyer on a younger UFA defenseman like Murphy or Morrow? What about trading for a youngish defenseman? There are / were much better options to fixing this defense than signing a past his prime stop gap. But hey, what do I know... The "experts" disagree with me, so I'm obviously wrong... I'm becoming "known for inflated opinions of young players" because people like you only point out when others are wrong on their projections... What about all the times people have been right? What about Ouellet and Marchenko? Most people were really high on both and said they were future top 4 defensemen (or better in some cases). I said they both sucked and were bottom pair defensemen at best. I also said Jensen was better than both and people gave me s*** for that as well. It's kinda sad that you (and a few others here) get your rocks off by pointing out when people are wrong... But whatever, to each their own I guess...

He will definitely be joining the team, but will he crack the lineup? Hopefully, but there's no guarantee... There's already way too much of a log jam on the Griffins defense as it is, with Hicketts, McIlrath, Renouf, Russo, Sulak, Hronek, Lashoff and Saarijarvi... Lashoff was a healthy scratch for Sulak the other night. Hopefully Renouf or Russo will be a healthy scratch once Cholowski is up with the team... Rasmussen and the Americans will play the Silvertips starting on Friday. I'm kind of hoping they lose that series so Ras can play with the Griffins as well... While they're stacked on D, they could definitely use the help up front, after losing Lorito and Turgeon, and Bertuzzi not being sent down. Seeing what Rasmussen can do in the AHL playoffs could go a long way in determining whether or not he will make the Wings out of camp this fall.

Which is exactly what's wrong with this team...

If we trade a player like Helm, sure, why not... If we sign Vanek and bury Svechnikov on the 4th line, f*** that...

What would removing our "2nd best defenseman" have done? We would have finished lower in the standings? We would have been better off... One of the kids would have gotten an opportunity? We would have been better off... Says who? Me, obviously. It's my opinion that Hicketts should have made the team out of camp. He was one of our better defensemen in camp / preseason, and he was very solid in his 5 games this season. You're acting as if this is the first time a young player has ever been passed over by a vet despite being deserving of a spot... Yeah, that's totally my thing... I always gloat when I'm right... Just for the record before people try to spin this into something it's not. I don't think leaving Hicketts off the opening night roster was a huge deal. I don't think Hicketts will ever be anything more than a bottom pair defenseman. I just don't agree that signing Daley was beneficial to this team, short term or long term. No, it probably won't have any major negative impact either, but it wasn't necessary. I don't think it was a good fit for the way this team was / is set up.

There's no question Holland is saying all the right things. Now he needs to put those words into action. I'm hopeful, but he's disappointed me in the past... Cautiously optimistic...

Perspective is something I've spoke of though. I mentioned that management may have been unsure of Kronwall's health, as well as Green being in the last year his contract, and Daley playing a part in Ericsson's strong season. I still don't think the Red Wings today or in the future would have been any worse off, if we didn't sign Daley, Kronwall spent half the season on IR, we traded Green at the deadline, and Ericsson didn't have a resurgence. Having the vets healthy and playing well is only important to the team this year. It has no bearing on the team in the future. What matters for the future is getting the kids playing well, which is what should be management's main focus. You keep saying that the kids weren't held down in GR / the kids weren't ready for the NHL. Hicketts was held down, and he was ready this year. He'll be more than ready next year, and there still might not be room for him on the roster. Moves are going to have to be made. I just hope it's at the expense of a veteran, rather than a younger player. Holland has said it himself, our defense is old. We need to get younger. Now do something about it...

Kadri's a f***ing dirtbag...