krsmith17

Yeah, I don't think either will be elite, because I consider elite to be top 3-5 of their respective positions. I do think both Larkin and Mantha could / likely will be legit top line forwards though. Put Larkin in between two legit top line wingers, and he'd likely be a point per game player. Put Mantha on the wing with any legit top center, and he'd be a perennial 30+ goal scorer. Hell, he might even reach, or come close to that plateau on this team this season. I think we give them both another year to develop, give them another legit top end winger, and they're all of a sudden a very good top line in this league. But yeah, we definitely need to start hitting on some of these picks, especially now that we're getting more in quality and quantity of picks over the next 2-3 drafts...

Because despite how much some of us mock Holland and Blashill for constantly talking about "maintaining a winning culture", it is important. You don't not re-sign your best defenseman just because you want to be bad and improve your draft odds. As has been proven over the past few years, the worst of the worst can drop down in the draft, and the best of the worst can move way up in the draft. One thing that I actually really like about Holland is that he's not the type to completely tank. He'd rather remain somewhat competitive and hope that we either get lucky in the draft lottery like Philadelphia last year, or get lucky in the draft like countless teams do every year, drafting the best player (or top three) in the draft in the 7-15 range.

I'm not surprised to see him called up. Holland said he'd get a look at some point this season a couple weeks ago. I don't see Puempel as anything more than a career AHLer, maybe bottom 6 winger. I'd much prefer give the kid another look. Besides, he's a much better replacement for Tatar (now Nielsen) in my opinion. I wouldn't go as far as to say that I wouldn't expect to see Svech make the club out of camp next season, but I wouldn't really be surprised if he doesn't either. He's going to need a strong playoff run, long summer of training, and big training camp next fall to make it happen. It's definitely a possibiliy though.

I'm hoping it's just a down season for him, but it's been tough to watch (not that I've watched many Griffins games this year...). He showed a lot of promise in his rookie campaign, but really regressed this season. Sophomore slump? Let's hope so. I don't expect him to be anything more than a middle six winger at the NHL level though...

To be fair, if you gave any team in the league those 5 players, they would instantly be contenders. I don't necessarily think we need to add 5 top end players though. If we could add a top end forward, and a top end defenseman, along with the growth of the kids, we could be well on our way to becoming legit contenders within the next few seasons.

No.

I agree, and I'd be okay with another 3 year deal in the neighborhood of $5M per, but I'd prefer 2 years, or even better again, 1 year at a slightly higher cap hit. I know Green probably wouldn't go with a one year deal, but he should, seems how he f***ed us out of assets this year...

I don't think anyone is too upset with the return on Mrazek. Those that are upset with the trade are because they feel he shouldn't have been traded at all. A team trying to rebuild should have kept the much younger, higher potential goaltender. But hey, that's just my opinion. Yzerman traded the 30 year old Bishop because he wanted to go with the much younger Vasilevskiy. Smart move that payed off. I think both Mrazek and Howard are worth more than a 3rd round pick, but I would have been okay with selling low on Howard if it meant sticking with the youth movement. Oh Well, Howard is our guy going forward, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him re-up again after this contract...

Karlsson is available because Eugene Melnyk is a terrible owner. No other team in the league is dumb enough to offload a franchise defenseman, goalie or any position, in their prime. Sure there may be better goalies to be had for a price, but Howard is fine for now. This team isn't anywhere close to contending, so why spend assets for an insignificant upgrade in net? We need to be patient, draft and develop. Best case scenario, we're three years away from contending for a Cup. Hopefully Larsson or Petruzzelli is ready by then, or shortly after. If I'm Holland, I'm keeping Howard for another year, trade him at next year's deadline and shop for a cheap stop gap the following off-season, assuming Coreau or some other unknown doesn't emerge as the goalie of the future before then... Unfortunately, we just traded away the goalie that could have been that, but whatever. Keep Howard for now...

What does Karlsson have to do with a good goalie being available? Why would we trade for a goalie? Am I missing something?...

Link? I have my doubts... I'm sure they'll be given a shot, just like every other player every other year, but I've never heard anything definitive from Holland or Blashill about either being "up with Detroit this coming fall"... I highly doubt Rasmussen makes the team out of camp next year. He's likely another year away. Svechnikov has a shot (Holland did say he will get a look down the stretch), but even that's no guarantee.

@LeftWinger Rourke didn't accomplish much after that (1 goal, 5 points in 55 NHL games). Great accomplishment for your boy Hague nonetheless.

S*** man, I didn't even bother to check the numbers because I think the whole premise of judging their goal totals, rather than point totals was dumb to begin with... But you're right, more wrong numbers from Richdg. Does he really try that hard to support his argument with incorrect information, or is he dyslexic?... Not surprisingly, the goal scoring winger has the best goals per game, while the two centers are about even. However Vilardi's assists per game are MUCH higher at 1.26 vs Rasmussen at 0.66. Almost double... Rich, no one is going to take you seriously with these arguments, especially if you can't provide accurate information. One number f***ed up and it would slide, but 3 our of 6 (all of which improved your stance) is a little hard to believe it was just a f*** up... What site do you use for these stats? If you're using anything other than the actual CHL (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) websites, or eliteprospects, that's your first mistake...

I'll ignore the nonsense about Green being below average... But let's just say we don't re-sign him? Who's taking his spot? We don't have a single defenseman in the system ready to take over that role. Free agency? Carlson isn't going to be available. Who else is there?

Why are you judging them only on goals per game? Why not points per game? Because it's clear that Vilardi is far and away the best point producer. Rasmussen - 1.29 points per game (24th in the WHL) Tippett - 1.42 points per game (12th in the OHL) Vilardi - 1.87 points per game (2nd in the OHL) I can understand judging pure goal scoring wingers (like Tippett) on goals per game, but centers should always be judged more on assists and total points, not goals... Vilardi is and has been the better player at the junior level, and I think he will be at the pro level as well. I hope I'm wrong... I'm really rooting for Big Ras, but his production thus far at the junior level has been pretty underwhelming. I was hoping he'd finish this season at, or close to 2 points per game. Unfortunately, he's nowhere close to that...

https://wingsnation.com/2018/02/28/tavares-to-the-wings/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

I disagree. I'd take Green over any of the latter three any day.

I'd be completely okay with this, and wouldn't be surprised if he gets this or something close. Larkin isn't going to be looking for Toews / Kane money and he's not going to get it. Certainly not from Holland. I don't think we should lowball him, but Larkin isn't going anywhere. I'm not worried in the least about that. He'll be a career Wing, likely the captain in a few years. I'd prefer 8 years, I'd be okay with 5-6 years, I think 2-3 years would be a huge mistake. Same goes for Mantha. I wouldn't sign him to anything less than 4-5.

What's your point? Do you think Malkin is a number 2 center just because he's slotted behind Crosby? Do you think there were 4 defensemen on that Caps team better than Green? Not even close. He was their 2nd (3rd at worst) best defenseman. He's better than Niskanen (in my opinion) and way better than Alzner, Orpik and Schmidt. Green finished that season on the "3rd pair" with 45 points, 2nd behind Carlson. He's a top 62 defenseman in the league, which makes him a top 2. Like I said, he's a top 3 defenseman on any team, top 2 on most, and number one on ours. Why would we let him walk? Are there better players available in free agency? I doubt it. Are there better players knocking on the door from Grand Rapids? No.

Absolutely. I'm not saying he would accept a long term, cap friendly deal. All I'm saying is that from Holland's perspective, it would be very wise to try your hardest to lock him up to such a deal. Eichel is massively overpaid in my opinion. I hope Larkin isn't looking for anything close to $10M, max term. Eichel also has 43 more points in 25 less games than Larkin. $7M would be the max I would be comfortable going with Larkin, but even that, I'd be hesitant this early in his career. One team overpaying doesn't set the market price. There are plenty other comparables throughout the league on fair contracts.

In my opinion, Larkin's ceiling is a top 10 center, while his floor is a top 50 center. He likely ends up somewhere in between. If we can somehow lock him up long term at $5-6M, it's a no brainer for me. Worst case scenario, we're paying our 2C $5.5M for 8 years (we're currently paying our 3C $5.25M for another 4 seasons...). Best case scenario, we're paying our 1C $5.5M for 8 years (well below the average for top centers). Like has been mentioned, giving Larkin a long term contract shouldn't be much of a risk. His work ethic and determination is what sets him apart. He's not going to get paid and take the foot off the gas like others have. He's our future captain, and very likely top line center. Pay him as such. I can see a bridge deal really biting us in the ass with a player like Larkin.

Rasmus Dahlin.

Lidstrom is way better than Potvin.