krsmith17

I don't see Veleno or Wilde dropping back that far. I wouldn't mind trading up to the middle of the first if someone we really like drops. But yeah, we should get at least a couple very good prospects in this draft. I just hope we manage to get a steal or two, ala Barzal / Boeser. Maybe Veleno could be that player this year...

One point gained by the Flyers or one point lost by the Panthers and the 4th becomes a 3rd. Florida play the Sabres at home tomorrow, and the Bruins in Boston on Sunday. I really hope the Flyers beat the Rangers tomorrow though, so we don't have to worry about the last game on Sunday (assuming Florida beat Buffalo)...

Yeah, pretty much what I've been saying. "Be careful what you wish for"... I've still been kind of hoping we fall in the standings to improve our odds, but I'm aware that in the end, it's all going to come down to where those lottery balls fall...

Yeah, but it's all for not if we beat the Islanders, which I could see happening... I have a feeling we're going to get a top 3 pick this year though... Here's to hoping.

I don't disagree. I'm not saying we should re-sign Howard at his current cap hit, I just don't think it would be detrimental if we did on a short term contract. The most we'd save by signing a UFA goalie would be around $1M. If we can do that, sure. For me though, a bigger priority would be to get rid of some of the actual bad contracts, namely Nielsen.

Unfortunately, I doubt the Habs will beat the Leafs, I doubt the Coyotes will beat the Ducks, and I think we'll end up beating the Islanders... But hey, there's a chance. I don't care what happens, I'm just anxiously awaiting the draft lottery on the 28th...

You were dead wrong about Franzen, and he was absolutely worth his contract. Under $4M for a 0.75 point per game player is a steal. Was he better than Hossa? No. But again, nothing to brag about there either. I don't think a single person ever thought Franzen was a better player than Hossa. Anyway, like I said, it's a pointless argument, so I'll leave it at that... Why don't we just retire every number from all 4 Cup teams? What about 25? He was a part of all 4 Cup teams? What about 17? He was vital to that '08 Cup. What about 20? 55?...

Hughes could possibly slip, maybe even outside of the top 10, but I'd be shocked if Bouchard slips, and wouldn't be surprised to see him go top 5. I agree. And yeah, I'd still take Svechnikov at 2, or if he happened to slip to 3, but I don't see that happening. A lot of people are pretty high on Zadina, but I don't think he's close to Svech.

For me it's Bouchard, and it's not even close.

Cholowski - Bouchard could be a solid future top pairing. If we happen to move up to 3rd overall, I'd like to see us trade back a couple spots for Bouchard. Then package our Vegas pick and the pick we acquired to move back, to move up to the middle of the 1st to take Veleno. Outside of getting Dahlin or Svechnikov, that would be my ideal 1st round...

https://www.nhl.com/news/rasmus-dahlin-draws-nhl-comparisons-to-victor-hedman/c-297657256 The more I see and hear about Bouchard, the more I want us to take him with our first pick. Being compared to Pietrangelo, who has been one of my favorite non-Wing players for quite some time. Yes please! Obviously the prize is Dahlin, but if we don't win the lottery, Bouchard is the player I'd be gunning for. I'd probably still take Svechnikov if we move up to 2, but I'd consider trading back in that spot. If we move up to 3, I'd move back a couple spots to take Bouchard, which would also give us another late 1st / early 2nd.

You're probably right. I'm assuming you're a 13 year old kid by the way you post, but that's probably not very accurate, is it?...

@ami, "Cindy"... Why do you feminize Crosby? Because he's the best in the world and for that reason, you don't like him? Pretty childish... "Tampons"... Again feminizing. How old are you? "Ovechkin is a piece of s***"... Why? That seems like a lot of hate to me... "Thornton and Pavelski are pieces of s***"... Again, why so much hatred? "Parise and Sutter are sisters"... Again with the feminizing... "Guppies, Quacks, Dives"... I get the first two (Sharks and Ducks), but who the hell are the "Dives"? What's with all the lame names? "Buttman"... Very clever... I assume you're one of the people that constantly says "Errorson" and used to refer to Franzen as "Francine", etc, etc... I don't know man. I just don't get it. But whatever. To each their own I guess... You come off as a very angry person. What makes you so sure we won't get Dahlin? Being negative just for the sake of being negative... You're right. Ownership doesn't give a f*** about this team...

Like who? I don't recall anyone (other than eva) making such claims. Granted, you've been around here longer than me, so maybe... But like kliq said, saying that Hudler wouldn't be a star, wasn't some shot in the dark, bold prediction... As for Franzen, you're blinded by your inexplicable hatred for him. He did not regress at all prior to his multiple concussions. He suffered his first concussion way back in 2013, and then several others at varying magnitudes in the following couple seasons, before finally calling it a career in 2015. Even after all of those concussions, he was still a very productive player. Was he consistent from game to game? No. Not many players in the NHL are. Was he consistent from season to season? Absolutely. 2007-08 - 43.4 point pace 2008-09 - 68.1 point pace 2009-10 - 63.8 point pace 2010-11 - 59.3 point pace 2011-12 - 59.6 point pace 2012-13 - 62.0 point pace 2013-14 - 62.2 point pace 2014-15 - 54.7 point pace I'm not sure why I'm bothering with this though. You're usually pretty good at admitting fault, but this is one thing you'll never admit to being wrong about... Oh well...

I don't recall many fans ever being that big on Hudler, other than a select few (eva). It's a bit of a stretch to say you're the only one that called Huds never leading this team... As for Franzen, there's not a question in my mind that if he remained healthy, he would have remained a 50-60 point player for at least another couple seasons. He'd likely still be a somewhat productive player at the age of 38. You weren't "right" about Franzen, unless you're saying you knew he would suffer multiple concussions... You were "right" about Hudler, like countless other Red Wings fans. You happened to be "right" about Franzen due to unfortunate (to most...) circumstances. Not really much to brag about. Though, anyone that brags about being right on the internet irk the s*** out of me anyway... But whatever...

Ideally I'd like him at a lesser cap hit, sure. But really, what do we need the cap space for right now? I'd bring Howard back at a similar cap hit (maybe a little less) for another 2-3 years. Who else will be available as a 2-3 year stop gap at a lesser price? Talbot? Mason? Elliott? Neuvirth? Sure, I'd consider any, but they would all likely cost around the same, maybe slightly less, but would also be a lateral move at best. Seems like making a change, just for the sake of making a change. I'm okay with moving on from Howard, but it's not a "must" like so many make it seem.

I'm not a huge Howard fan, but he definitely doesn't "suck". I'd like to trade him at next year's deadline, if the return is worth it, but I'd be open to re-signing him again next offseason as well. This team is rebuilding. We don't need a goaltender that will steal games and carry us, we just need a stop gap for a couple years before one of Larsson or Petruzzelli (hopefully) emerges as the next starter. Howard is a solid, but not spectacular goaltender, and a good veteran locker room guy. If we sign another veteran in free agency, I'd be okay with that as well, but don't act like bringing Howard back would be some monumental mistake... It wouldn't.

How can you hate so many teams and so many players? I don't get it... For me, the team I hate the most (the Hawks) are out, which is great, as long as they don't win the draft lottery. The only other teams I do not want to see win it this year, are the Pens and Leafs. F*** No! to the Pens because the thought of a team (besides the Wings) making a three-peat makes me sick, and F*** No! to the Leafs because I would never hear the end of it... I want Vegas bounced first round, because like others mentioned, we need that pick to be as high as possible. I'd like to see Philly go deep, in hopes that they can somehow make the ECF and Mrazek win 6 games, to turn that 3rd (assuming they make the playoffs) into a 2nd. Highly unlikely, but I'll be rooting for them for sure. The only team I really like in the East is Tampa, in the West, I love Winnipeg and like Nashville as well. I'm hoping for a Lightning vs Jets final. Would be an epic series in my opinion. We really need to get lucky on draft lottery day, which is April 28th. I'll be in Alberta visiting my sister and brother-in-law at the end of the month. He's a huge Habs fan, so I'm hoping Detroit move up to 1 and Montreal drop back 2 or 3 spots...

Bouchard at 27? That must be a mistake...

No. Yes.

Meh, it's only a couple games. Both should be with the Wings full time to start next season. I say we should have sent them down a couple weeks ago to improve our lottery odds... Hopefully they can help the Griffins win another Calder Cup. I'm assuming Bertuzzi and Coreau will be sent down in the next week as well.

Fedorov and... no idea... The only one that I see close to that is Sid Abel, who scored 58 points in 93 playoff games with the Red Wings.

Again, I completely disagree. We're deepest in goal and on the wings. There's no question about it. And like I said, I'd argue that adding some right-handed wingers is more important than goalies at this point. We have two potential starters in the pipeline (Larsson / Petruzzelli) and another one or two with an outside chance (Fulcher / Van Pottelberghe). We only need one of those guys to pan out. Imagine if we had 4 or 5 potential top six centers, or 6 or 7 potential top three defensemen. We don't have close to that. I'm not in any way saying we're loaded in goal, and I'm well aware that none of these guys are close, but whoever we could potentially draft this year wouldn't be any closer. Like I said, I'm okay with drafting one in the later rounds, but drafting another goaltender should be far from a priority.

As it stands right now, we could end up as low as 9th overall. That is exactly where we picked last year, and Holland (in my opinion) managed to screw up that pick, passing on Vilardi. I know this is a deeper top 10 than last year, but it is possible if we end up in the 6-9 range, he could drop the ball (again)... I really hope we end up with a top 2 pick, because I don't think there's any way he screws up either of those picks...