krsmith17

Fabbri should never be a top line center on any team, at least not until he proves that he can be a center in the NHL. The faceoff percentage is being vastly overstated though. Yes faceoffs matter, but they don't matter nearly as much as kip is making it seem. A 45% center can win a faceoff against a 55% center on any given draw. It's still basically a coin flip. What happens after a faceoff win or loss is what matters much more, and that's where Fabbri would fall short to Larkin, as well as any other 1C in the league. Larkin was just under a point per game center the season before. The team last season was historically bad. That's not on Larkin. You can't assume a downward trend because of one down season. I guarantee Larkin will outpace his points from this past season, next season. He will also out produce Fabbri while playing against tougher competition every night. Assuming both are healthy, Fabbri will not play a bigger role on this team next season (or any season) than Larkin. Sorry man, but I really can't believe this is even a discussion, much less a debate.

Larkin is this team's best center, and it's not even close. Fabbri has not played any significant amount of time at center in his NHL career, and you think it's smart to thrust him into the 1C slot, ahead of Larkin? This makes zero sense to me. I'm all for trying Fabbri at center, but I'm not sure if I want him as our 2C, let alone 1C. Ideally Fabbri slots in as the 3C, behind Larkin and Namestnikov (or Filppula). People complain about Larkin as our 1C. Fabbri would get eaten alive as a 1C. Larkin is the rising star on this team, not Fabbri. Don't get me wrong, I like Fabbri, but he's a middle six winger, maybe a middle six center. He's not, and likely never will be a 1C. Larkin is not at all trending downward... This, I agree with. Everything else, not so much.

Nice! Not sure how I missed this... Thanks! Hronek with a goal and an assist so far. Our old friend Andrej Nestrasil with a couple primary assists as well...

I'm bored. I miss hockey. There's not even any SHL games to watch this week... What do people think Yzerman should do with the remaining $9.5M (+$6M Zetterberg LTIR) in cap space? Sign another free agent? Offer sheet? Trade for a bad contract? Nothing? A Hoffman signing would be a great add. He should easily net a late 1st round pick at next year's trade deadline. I know it's a pipe dream, but I'd still love to see a Sergachev offer sheet. I'd take on a bad contract, but I'd be holding out for a 1st round pick at minimum. The number of teams that need to shed varying amounts of cap space is staggering...

Yeah, I'm not sure what is worse, Fabbri as the 1C over Larkin, or Staal as the 1D over literally anyone else. I do like that line of Bertuzzi - Larkin - Ryan though. Everything else is kind of WTF?

So you're saying that the Fabbri contract affected the Bertuzzi contract, and caused him to sign below market value?

Larkin and Mantha are the only current roster players under contract beyond next season (2021-22). Both should outperform their respective contracts over the next 3-4 seasons. Great deals. This team should get very young, very quick. With a ton of players on ELC's and bridge contracts over the next several years, it's a prime opportunity to pursue some big name free agents, and get back in contention.

Yeah, my bad. I had a quick look at cap friendly, and seen $3.3M. Didn't realize that was his last contract... $5.7M would make much more sense lol. Still a very good contract. Anything sub $6M and I was going to be happy. 4 years is decent term. I would have preferred a little longer, but with all the injuries, it makes sense.

$3.3M AAV Shocked by this contract. Unreal value for the Red Wings.

Hard to imagine McIsaac making it, after losing out on so much of the crucial development years... Surgery on both shoulders over the past year and a bit...

I'm sure Yzerman would do it. Unfortunately I don't think Mantha would.

I don't really disagree with any of this. He hasn't proven he can be a 75+ point player, over 82 games, but he has proven he can be a 75+ point pace player. If he can stay healthy, he definitely has that sort of upside. That's why you work on a long-term contract now, before he goes out and proves it next season, and earns an extra mil or two long-term. I'd bet on him now, and hope it pays off. Giving Mantha another half season to prove himself could come back to bite us. Yes.

Are you saying that Bertuzzi is more than a complimentary winger? Do you think he can create his own offense with regularity? Mantha has definitely had his fair share of injuries, but there's no reason to believe they will persist. No recurring injuries. He just needs to stop breaking hands / wrists in fights. I don't think Mantha is any more "inconsistent" than most other goal scorers. In fact, he proved to be very consistent (when healthy) over the past season and a half. When Mantha is healthy, he's one of the most dominant wingers in the league. He can single-handedly take over games. Good point. Holmstrom was drafted in the 10th round and Cleary was picked up off waivers... Hyman was an undrafted free agent signing, and Hornqvist was a 7th round pick (Mr. Irrelevant)... I'm not saying Bertuzzi type players are "easy to find", but they're definitely much easier to find than Mantha type players. I agree. And both should be a part of this team's core going forward. We'll have to agree to disagree on this...

Bertuzzi is a very good complimentary winger that can be effective up and down the lineup. There's a difference between being effective and productive though. Bertuzzi will never be a line driver that can produce offense on his own. He needs to play with good players to put up points, which is fine. Mantha on the other hand, is a line driving winger that can produce offense on his own. Of course they're going to produce pretty evenly playing on the same line, but make no mistake, most of the offense on that line is flowing through Larkin and Mantha. Bertuzzi is there to grind, retrieve pucks, and score some dirty goals, which he's very good at. I love Bert, he's a heart and soul player that works like a dog every shift of every game. I don't think you should ever overpay for those types of players though, especially term. I'm not saying he's Abdelkader, but there are definitely similarities in their game and situation they've been put in. Both are / were 3rd line wingers, on a contending team, but can / could play up the lineup effectively. Similar to Hyman in Toronto. No one would suggest that Hyman is a top three forward on that team, but he's very effective in his role on the top line. He will never be paid like a top line player, despite playing on the top line. If all goes well, in a few years, is Bertuzzi better than any of Mantha, Zadina, Berggren, Raymond, etc? I don't think so. Those are the types of players that you lock up to big money, long-term contracts in my opinion, not the complimentary players.

Again, not everyone. Just the literal pieces of s***. Anyway, I'm done. Continue talking hockey until you inevitably get banned again.

LOL says the guy that get banned on a regular basis. Can't wait to see what dumb name you'll come up with next.

Only to literal pieces of s***.

You suggested that someone or maybe everyone (except you) thinks that Yzerman is the only GM lowballing players, so it kind of does matter. Great point... Who is getting Hoffman?

Hey everyone, this new guy is pretty smart. I'm not sure if he came up with this all on his own, but it's some pretty profound s***... Has anyone else come to the realization that Yzerman is building a defensive core on skating AND mobility? Next he's going to tell us that Yzerman values skill and hockey IQ...

Who said Yzerman is the only GM lowballing players?

I'd be okay with this, but even more than calling agents with low ball offers, I hope Yzerman is calling other general managers offering to take on bad contracts in return for 1st round picks. There are teams that still need to shed salary to sign cheaper players / fill out their roster.

No Nielsen buyout...

Thanks for the info! So the Raymond and Berggren games are still going ahead are they?