krsmith17

I agree that Rasmussen probably won't make the team next season. We're in a tough spot with Ras, because he either has to play another season in juniors, or play in the NHL. Ideally we'd be able to send him to the AHL, but that isn't the case. My fear of him playing another season with Tri-City, is that he needs to start playing against tougher competition. If not, his development could come to a standstill. The same can be said for Svechnikov. He needs to be playing in the NHL in my opinion. I truly do believe that keeping prospects down too long can really hurt their development. Another year down in Grand Rapids could turn Svech into the next Jurco... We were this season / likely will be next season a cap ceiling team. We are this season / likely will be next season the oldest team in the league. This is a team going through a rebuild. That is not a recipe for success. We needs to get younger, not older. Bringing back Vanek would be terrible, especially if it's blocking a kid like Svechnikov. We need to shed some roster players. We shouldn't be looking to sign any UFA's, unless it's Tavares in my opinion. Ideally, I'd like to trade Nielsen to open up a spot for Rasmussen and Helm or Glendening to open up a spot for Turgeon. Svechnikov should stick with the team. We may even have to open up another spot if we get Andrei Svechnikov in the draft...

Let's Go Petr!

I wouldn't pick him at 2, but I'd definitely consider him anywhere outside of the top 3. Interesting to see Tkatchuk ahead of Svechnikov and Zadina on Craig's List... He also has Veleno at 27. I highly doubt he drops that low, but if he does, I'd be more than happy to snag him with our Vegas pick.

Yes, but it rarely happens. Lindros refused to play for Quebec back in '91, which led to the blockbuster trade with Philadelphia.

I wouldn't say 6'0", 194 lbs. is small. Not big, but not small either. Granted, I think he was 160 soaking wet when he was drafted. I didn't say you said you'd like it...

I'd be surprised if the Flyers don't make the playoffs. They have a 6 point cushion right now, granted the Panthers have 3 games in hand. But still, that's a lot of points to make up with only 10 / 13 games remaining. Mrazek has been bad. There's no question about that. I do think he'll get at least another couple starts this season though (depending how he plays in those games). They have one back-to-back today, in which he's expected to start, and one more on the 27th / 28th. I'd be shocked to see Lyon run the last 10 games straight. Mrazek will get one more win. I think he'll play that game against us on Tuesday. It would be pretty cool if he gets it in that game. I still think that 4th will turn into a 3rd. But unfortunately, that's probably all we'll get in this trade...

I still say, not re-signing Green would be a huge mistake. Kronwall, Jensen and Witkowski all have one year left, and Ericsson and Daley have two years left. None will be re-signed after their current contracts are up (maybe Jensen is brought back on the cheap) and all may be gone sooner than that, whether be trade or injury. There are no defensemen that MUST be called up next season. Hicketts is a bottom pairing defenseman that struggled this season. If we really want to make room for him, trade / waive Ouellet / Witkowski. I think Hronek needs another half to full season in GR. Give him a look at the end of the season when injuries inevitably happen. If he shows he's ready, he has Kronwall's full time spot the following season, including his power-play minutes. Saarijarvi, Cholowski and Sambrook are all at least a year and a half to two years away, which is when Ericsson and Daley will be gone. If we really need to make room for a kid before then, trade a middle pairing guy, not our best defenseman... I'd like to sign Green to another short term contract, but even a three year contract won't hurt this team in regards to holding prospects back. There seems to be a lot of people anti re-signing Green. Can someone please explain the negative effect signing Green could have on this team going forward? I can't think of any...

What if we finish 5th last this season, win the lottery and draft Dahlin, and next season we finish dead last by 20 points and draft 4th overall like Colorado did last year? Was it worth it? The lottery proves every year that tanking doesn't guarantee anything. I am standings watching right now, and hoping we improve our odds, but at the end of the day, I know it really doesn't matter a whole lot. The balls are going to fall how they're going to fall regardless where we sit in the standings. I say we sign Green, try to remain somewhat competitive, have another bottom 1/3 finish and hope the balls fall our way.

First paragraph bold - I completely agree. I do think / hope he'll be traded at next year's deadline. I just wouldn't rule out the possibiliy of bringing him back as a veteran stop gap. Say what you will about Howard, but he is solid and fairly consistent. Which is all you want from a goaltender during a rebuild. Second paragraph bold - I don't think Howard is ever going to win a Cup as the starter. If he does end up winning one, it'll likely be in a backup role. Underlined - Again, a lot can change in a year and a half. We're likely a few years out from being contenders again, but with a little luck in the draft (lottery), free agency, a few key trades, it could be much sooner than that.

Sure. I could "handle" a few of those guys as well. I'd be okay with trading Howard or letting him walk, but I don't think it's a must like you suggest. Varlamov or Talbot would be decent replacements and would provide much of the same, but neither are going to be significantly better for this team, or come here for cheaper. They may even be a little worse and / or cost a little more. I'm not saying we must re-sign Jimmy, just that letting him go isn't a must either. Let's see who actually is available and weigh or options when the time comes. A lot can happen in a year and a half.

I'd be open to signing Howard for another short, two year contract after next year. Why not? Who else are we going to go with? There likely won't be any better options available. Jimmy is a steady veteran that isn't going to win or lose any games on his own. The perfect stop gap before one of the kids (Larsson or Petruzzelli) are ready.

Imagine what their fans are saying about the Red Wings... Arizona lose in regulation. Vancouver currently tied with San Jose in the 2nd... Go Canucks!

I wouldn't say Abdelkader's biggest contribution is fighting (he's only had 7 fights in the past 3 seasons), but it is nice that he is willing and able to stand up for his teammates from time to time. He's good for 16+ minutes a night, plays the 2nd most special teams of any player (next to Larkin). He's a good penalty killer, decent on the power-play as a net front guy, plays physically and is a good leader. 30-40 points is about what we can expect from Abdelkader, and I don't think that's too bad for a 3rd line winger. He is a little overpaid in dollars and term, but I don't think it's that bad. Every team has bad contracts, but the worst contract on this team is Nielsen in my opinion. I hated that contract ever since it was signed...

I was going to mention this, but couldn't remember what team it was.

Buffalo beats Chicago 5-3 and Edmonton beats Florida 4-2 this afternoon. Crazy. Montreal, Ottawa, Arizona and Vancouver are all playing tonight as well. Go Teams!

I hear ya man. I'm in the same boat. I still don't miss a game. Like you, I honestly don't remember the last time I've missed a game. 5+ years for sure. But rooting for losses just feels dirty. My mindset during games is for the kids (Larkin, Mantha, Athanasiou, Bertuzzi, Svechnikov) to do well, and the vets (aside from Zetterberg) to do poorly, as stupid as that may sound... I hope we lose 4-3 / 5-4 every game, with the kids getting all the goals... I agree with this. I'd like to see a system implemented in which teams benefit from winning, not losing. How that would work, I have no idea... Maybe the team with the best record post trade deadline that misses the playoffs gets the first overall pick, and so on. No more draft lottery. It would definitely prevent teams from tanking and trading off a bunch of players every trade deadline. It would make the trade deadline a lot less interesting and free agency a lot more interesting. Teams would probably wait until after the season to trade off any players, and any players that were traded at the deadline would probably cost double. Either way, I hate rooting for losses...

Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver all have at least 2 ROW's over us. Arizona and Buffal each have one less ROW than us. If either are going to pass us in the standings though, chances are, at least one of those wins will be ROW. We have the second tie breaker over Arizona, but Buffalo holds the better head-to-head record against us, with one game remaining.

I agree, but if we're picking at 2 or 3, I'd hate that pick. Even if we're picking at, 6 or 7, I wouldn't really like that pick. This is a huge draft for this organization. They need to hit a grand slam with this top pick, and another homerun or two with their five other picks in the first three rounds...

2 big points for the Sens tonight. They jump ahead of us. Do what you do Wings. Ericsson doing everything he can to help the tank...

If the team picking at 2 truly did want Andrei, they wouldn't trade the pick for Evgeny... And from our perspective, why would we trade up for Svechnikov when he's not even the consensus number 2 pick? There's not a significant differece between Svechnikov and Zadina and some scouts even have Zadina ranked higher. I think the biggest draw from the Red Wings perspective (at least the fans) in drafting Svech is having the brothers play together. Like I said, it's not a bad trade, but I wouldn't make it, and I don't think the Red Wings would either. The only way I'm trading up in this draft is if it's for Dahlin, and no one is trading that pick. Otherwise, I'd rather trade back. If we're picking 4 or 5, I'd be open to trading back a few spots, depending on the return.

Yeah, I'm aware of this, I just don't agree with it. I liked the way we used to draft one every second year. We don't have anyone guaranteed to take over as the starter in the near future, but we have two VERY promising prospects in Larsson and Peruzzelli, along with three others with an outside chance in Van Pottelberghe, Machovsky and Fulcher. I just think we have a much bigger need in every other area. Goaltending doesn't concern me nearly as much as the lack of high end centers and defensemen. I also see drafting right shooting wingers as a bigger need over goaltenders. Would I hate it if we used one of our 6th round picks on a goalie? No, but I wouldn't pick one before the 4th round. That we agree on.

Ottawa's next win puts us at 4. Vancouver need 2 wins to jump ahead of us. We have the worst record in the league over the past 10 games. Vancouver have the next worst. We need them to start winning some games. Arizona and Buffalo have been playing well. Hopefully they keep it up. Last year the lottery bumped us down two spots in the draft. I really think we're going to jump up this year.

We don't need a goalie, certainly not in the first two rounds. IF we take a goalie in this draft, which I personally wouldn't, I hope it's not until the 4th round or later.