krsmith17

No image showing up on my end?...

No way he continues his current pace (3.5 points per game), but I'd be happy if he can keep it around 2 PPG throughout the playoffs. He had a less than stellar regular season. He needs to make up for it with a monster playoffs.

F*** The Leafs!!!

Larkin's been snake bitten this season with a ridiculously low shooting percentage. I'd almost prefer that continue to finish off this season. We need to get these kids locked up on the cheap if at all possible...

I think you missed the point... I specifically said "hundreds of tickets", which is the equivalent to moving up a spot in the draft lottery... It still guarantees nothing, and the odds are still massively against you. I didn't say anything about it being likely. As a matter fact, I specifically described it in a previous post as "not likely". However, it did happen just last year... Colorado finished last by a country mile and still, three teams jumped ahead of them, sliding them all the way down to 4th...

I understand what you're saying, and I've been somewhat hoping we finish closer to the bottom as well, for this same reason. However, as I've mentioned before, what if we finish dead last, slide to 4th, and the teams 2nd, 3rd and 4th last, finish 1, 2 and 3? That is a real possibility, and I don't know about you, but I'd feel really foolish for hoping for all those losses if that were to happen. We're currently sitting 5th from the bottom and that could be the lucky number. I used the raffle ticket analogy before, and I firmly believe in that. There's always one sucker that will buy hundreds of tickets trying to increase their odds. It does increase their odds, but the odds are still against them winning. The same is the case with the draft lottery. I believe it's more about being in the right place at the right time. Last year Colorado was that sucker that bought the most tickets, while New Jersey and Philadelphia bought less and were the big winners. Maybe number 5 is the lucky number this year, and maybe (hopefully) number 1 slides to number 4 again...

I don't think it's that they need 8 defensemen down there. It's more so that they want to call the best defenseman up to Detroit, but don't want to lose their best defenseman down in Grand Rapids. It's a big weekend for them, with three games in three nights in the middle of a big playoff push. They likely want to call up Hicketts or Hronek, which would be a significant loss to GR. It makes perfect sense to me. Let them play the three games this weekend, play Ouellet tomorrow night against the Leafs and call one of the most up for the game Monday night in Montreal or Tuesday night at home against the Pens.

This. There will be a lot of pissed off Red Wings... I'm actually okay with it though...

I'd say Holland is 90% coming back. Blashill 50%. I wouldn't get my hopes up on either being "eliminated"...

*4th worst*

I don't think that would be enough of a jump for Arizona to consider moving Domi. I also don't think it makes a whole lot of sense from our perspective. Domi appears to be a decent top 6 forward, but nothing special. We have enough of those. We need to add some impact players, not more support players. I'm a huge fan of Van Riemsdyk, but he's going to cost way too much. Besides, we have our very own JVR already on the team. His name is Anthony Mantha. We need high end centers and defensemen, not more wingers. The only way I'd have interest in going after JVR is if we could move a winger for help elsewhere. The winger I'd like to move (you're not going to like this), is Athanasiou. Not necessarily because I want to move him, but I think he would bring the best return (other than my two untouchables; Larkin and Mantha). A trade I'd love to make, that I've wanted for a while, but probably won't ever happen, is Athanasiou, plus a pick of prospect for Trouba. Both are RFA's. Trouba has expressed interest in going back to Michigan in the past. Again, I doubt it happens, unless Trouba plays hard ball again. I doubt Cheveldayoff has much interest in moving him.

The Griffins have been rolling 7 D most games this season, so adding Sulak and losing Hicketts or Hronek shouldn't be that much of a blow to the team. It should also give Saarijarvi a boost in minutes, so that could be a positive as well.

Yup. This is best case scenario for these games down the stretch. Outplay the opponents and lose by a goal or two. Ideally the kids will score a few goals in each game as well. I want to see some more 3 and 4 point games from Larkin and Mantha...

Haha wouldn't be surprised... It'll likely be Hicketts, but it'd be cool to see Hronek for a few games too.

Craziest goal in the history of the NHL...

But what if finishing 17th gets you Dahlin? Unlikely sure, but possible. Like I've said time and time again, I'm all for finishing lower in the standings, but it really guarantees nothing. I think it's something like only 6 of the past 19 last place finishes have gotten the 1st overall pick, and only 1 (Toronto) in the past 3 years since the odds have been changed to give less weight to the last place finish... Last year New Jersey jumped 3 spots to number 1, Philadelphia jumped 11 spots to number 2, Dallas jumped 5 spots to number 3, and Colorado finished dead last and fell back 3 spots... Win or lose, I just want to see the kids get more of an opportunity down the stretch.

Yeah, I'd be hesitant in re-signing him after this news. It's unfortunate for Green and the Red Wings. I'm hoping Hicketts will get the call, but knowing the Red Wings they'll go with Ouellet and Witkowski...

Happy Birthday Prime!

I guess you're right. However, opinions (including mine) have changed a lot over the past several years on when a player should start playing full time in the NHL. The league is getting younger every year, and players seem to be ready a lot sooner. 6 years ago I thought Nyquist could use more time in Grand Rapids at the age of 23! 4 years ago I thought Jurco needed more development at the age of 21. Today I think Svechnikov is ready for full time at 21. I also think Rasmussen could be ready this year (or next year at the latest) at the age of 19 (20). Maybe it's a combination of the league changing, opinions changing and player pedigree. Nyquist was a 4th round pick, Jurco was an early 2nd round pick, Svechnikov was a mid 1st round pick and Rasmussen was a top 10 pick. I felt Mantha was ready at the same age as Svechnikov as well. I'll say it again though, my biggest issue with Jurco's development was never "he was brought up too early". It was that he was brought up too early AND played with scrubs on a checking line, rather than with skilled players on a scoring line. If Svechnikov remains on the 4th line with limited minutes, I'll be the first to say he'd be better off in Grand Rapids playing top line minutes and power-play time.

I said after Jurco's first half season in Detroit that he could use another half to full season in Grand Rapids. I said the same thing about Svechnikov at the beginning of this season. My biggest complaint with Jurco was that he was constantly in and out of the lineup, and when he did get in, he'd play on the 4th line with scrubs. I think the best thing for Svech going into next season (assuming he has a good summer / training camp / pre-season) is to be given a *top 9* spot in Detroit. Hopefully Blashill's recent comments about giving him more minutes actually happens. Ideally I'd like to see Svech and Frk moved up to the 3rd line with Nielsen.

Yeah, players drafted out of the CHL aren't eligible to play in the AHL until they are 20 years old. Rasmussen will only be 19 years old next season, so he would have to play one more season in the W, or make the Red Wings roster out of camp.