krsmith17

It has nothing to do with number of games played, and everything to do with topping out as a 25-35 point, career 4th line center. I love Draper, but Veleno becoming Draper 2.0 would be a MASSIVE disappointment in my opinion...

If Veleno tops out as a Draper caliber player, he wouldn't be considered a bust, but he would definitely be considered a disappointment. To me, Veleno still has a 2C ceiling and 3C floor. He is still only 20 years old playing against men, and playing well despite not putting up monster points... *yet*. He had another nice assist in today's game, and he's looking more and more comfortable.

He will. He won't.

Yeah, Seattle won't be getting a single player as good / young as Larkin, Mantha or Hronek. Their best player will probably be Bertuzzi or Fabbri tier. Teams aren't going to make trades giving up multiple high end players / prospects again.

Yeah, it's not great. I wasn't a fan of the '17 Centennial Classic jerseys though until I seen them in person. I bought one of those, and it's one of my favorite jerseys... These are pretty f***ing blah though. Zero creativity.

It definitely is a team stat, but Hanafin has been amongst the worst +/- players in all but one of his five NHL seasons, on two different teams. I'm not sure exactly how he's deployed, but I don't think he ever gets the toughest minutes. He's always had a Slavin or Brodie ahead of him to eat big minutes against the oppositions best. I like Hanafin, but not enough to give up what it would likely take to get him. I also really like the way this team's defense is shaping up for the future. Hronek, Seider, Johansson and Wallinder all have the potential to be legit top four defensemen. Any trade for a Hanafin caliber / aged player would likely cost one of those pieces, plus. I'd rather hold on to what we have for now, and make a trade or free agent acquisition like Hanafin in a couple years when we're actually ready to be competitive.

J20 Nationell season put on hold for at least a couple months due to Covid outbreak. Niederbach is currently sitting 2nd in points with 35 (13 goals, 22 assists) in just 19 games.

Zadina scored an early power-play goal, and then took a hit to the head, and had to be helped off the ice. Did not finish the game. Hopefully it's nothing too serious, but another Red Wings prospect that cannot catch a break...

Zadina will play his first regular season game of the season today at 1:00pm EST, after missing the first two games due to injury / Covid shut down.

Wow... I can't believe it took me this long to realize this is the village idiot, back pretending to be another user... I should have known no one else is dumb enough to think Fabbri is better than Larkin...

$3M. What's your point? Again, what's your point? I'm not expecting a big return on any of these players. Call me crazy, but I just think the younger, cheaper, better player (Gagner), might garner more interest than the older, more expensive, s***tier player (Filppula)... Both will be NHLers on the 2020-21 Detroit Red Wings, and my bet is on Gagner outperforming Filppula. Like mentioned right at the beginning of this conversation, Helene is a hack. Everyone has bad takes, but hers are the worst... But yeah, none of us know as much as her about the game of hockey or the Red Wings, because she's a "professional"...

It's a numbers game. I'm not going to pretend to know the situation with Gagner in Toronto or Edmonton, but those were both deeper rosters than the current Red Wings. Gagner passed through waivers, because of the high cap hit ($3.15M) at the time. If Filppula were waived this season, he too would go unclaimed, because of his high cap hit. I disagree. Filppula making nearly 4 times more and being 5 years older than Gagner, makes him a much less desirable trade target. Again, neither is ideal. The biggest argument here isn't even Gagner over Filppula. It's Fabbri over Larkin. That's what's asinine... Sure. Go ahead and scoff at Ryan or Gagner in the top six. I still say both are better options than Filppula. Agree to disagree.

I don't mind this lineup. I've suggested something similar in the past. I have no issue with experimenting with Larkin and Mantha on separate lines though. We do have more depth for sure, but those are the only two players on this team, that can drive a line on a consistent basis. I'd like to hear your reasoning as to why Fabbri "belongs on the wing". We haven't seen enough of him at center to know whether or not he can hack it down the middle. I see no harm in trying him there, and Yzerman tends to agree. I actually see a lot of similarities between Fabbri and Kerfoot in Toronto. Kerfoot is a very solid 3C, which I think Fabbri could be

Sure, you could absolutely say the same about Filppula. All three are pending UFA's, but I personally have more confidence in Ryan (33) or Gagner (31) fetching a better return at the deadline over Filppula (36). People are scoffing at Filppula on Larkin's wing, not that he's in the lineup. Although he wouldn't be playing regularly if I were Blashill, and he probably wouldn't even be on the team if I were Yzerman... I'll bet on Ryan outproducing (assuming healthy) both Filppula and Gagner. He is new, and far and away the most skilled player of the three. I disagree. I think Gagner is a much better player than Filppula at this point in their respective careers. He also fills a bigger need, being that highly coveted right-handed shot. I wouldn't be shocked if all three are gone after this season, but if we're bringing any of them back, it will likely be Ryan or Gagner. Filppula is guaranteed to be gone, and likely retired after this coming season.

I agree, which is why Larkin and Mantha probably won't be split up. Even if they are though, they will still see a lot of shifts together, and Mantha will still be utilized more than any other winger. I'd slot Ryan up the lineup for many reasons... To balance the lines, because he's a much needed right-handed shot in the top six / on the power-play, and because we need to up his trade value before the deadline. What better way to do that than to put him on a line with our best center? I'm not saying it's perfectly fine. It's certainly not ideal, but with limited options, that's what I'd roll. I'm sure many would disagree. The same reasons I'd slot Ryan up the lineup, apply to Gagner as well. I also think Gagner is a much better player at this point in his career (5 years younger) than Filppula, despite how he was managed in other organizations.

As a group, relative to the rest of the league, yeah, they're well below average. But some would say Larkin "sucks". Those people are dumb. I also don't think Fabbri or Namestnikov "suck". They're average middle six forwards. I don't think it really matters if the person putting Fabbri above Larkin is a fan, a reporter, or a coach, that sort of roster (mis)management is going to get major backlash. Again, it makes zero sense. Larkin is better than Fabbri at every facet of the game. No, I don't think that looks unreasonable, but I still wouldn't have Filppula in the top six. Here's what I'd like to see... Bertuzzi - Larkin - Ryan Gagner - Fabbri - Mantha Svechnikov - Namestnikov - Zadina Erne / Filppula / Nielsen - Glendening - Helm Nemeth - Hronek DeKeyser - Merrill Staal / Cholowski - Stecher I don't think anyone sees Larkin as a superstar, but he's far and away our best center.

2C? No, probably not. Is that the bar for "sucks" though? I think all three could be reasonably good 3C's. Veleno is our future 2C, so I'm not too worried about one of Fabbri or Nemestnikov playing 2C for a season or two before JV is ready.

Any night Robby Fabbri is getting more ice time than Dylan Larkin, it's bad line management by the coach. What? Post a quote of Yzerman saying that Fabbri will be our number one center next season, and I'm sure you'll shut up everyone that's disagreeing with you. He's never said anything close to that... I wouldn't necessarily say that. I think Fabbri, Namestnikov, and Filppula could be decent middle six centers. I would however say that all of our options at center after Larkin, are nowhere close to the level of player as Larkin.

Nah. Doesn't make any sense... I have a better idea. Try the guy that's never played any significant center at the NHL level there. What's the worst that could happen?