krsmith17

Someone should photoshop this. Cholo's baby face on Jeff Bridges' (Lobowski) body...

I'm really looking forward to see how Cholowski transitions from the W to the A next season. I have high hopes for this kid...

Of course not. I don't think anyone suggested he would or could be. I'm assuming this was in response to what chaps said above? I think you may have misunderstood what he was saying (or am I?) What I took from what he said is that Mrazek would not receive a qualifying offer, and then after becoming a UFA, he could then negotiate a lower salary contract with us (or any other team). I think this is the most likely scenario after this season. If we don't plan on qualifying him this summer, I hope we trade him at the deadline. I agree with Dabura, there's no way both Howard and Mrazek get traded at the deadline (or in the offseason). All signs point to us trading Petr and going with Jimmy, but if we receive a quality offer for Howard, it would be wise to at least consider it. I've always been a fan of Howard (still am), but if a team gives us a juicy offer, I'd be okay with trading him and riding Mrazek (Coreau backup) for the remainder of this season. That would also be a great way to figure out what we're going to do with Petr going forward. I realize it may be unlikely, but I'm still pulling for him to return to form from a couple years ago...

To me, the uncertainty of where everyone after Dahlin could land, along with the depth of this draft, means that some very good players are bound to fall to the middle of the first round. If we don't get a top 2-3 pick, I'm completely okay with picking anywhere from 4-10. If we end up with the 5th overall pick, it would be very smart to try to move back a few spots to pick up another late 1st / early 2nd, and hopefully still get one of the few players you really like in that's range. Either way, I don't think you'll find too many upset Wings fans after Holland (if he's still the GM) makes his selection this year, unless he goes way off the board...

Of course. Everyone has a different opinion, so naturally some people will be happy, and some won't, and that goes with any fan base and every decision their team makes. Some don't care much for the draft, and just put their trust in the organization to make the right selection. Others are draft nerds, and do a ton of research, and would like their team to take specific players based on that research. Some may go over the top when the player they want isn't picked (especially when they're still available), but I guess the emotion is all part of being a die hard fan...

Yeah, the only reason I would have wanted Radulov in the position this team is in now, is if we could have signed him to a short term (1-2 years) contract, to flip him at the deadline for assets, similarly to Vanek last year. I wish Daley was on a year or two shorter contract as well, so we could have moved him at this year's deadline. The more moveable assets the better in a year with such a stacked draft class. Green is a very nice piece to have at our disposal, but I do wish we had a few more pending UFA's this year, to garner even more picks for the 2018 draft...

Another potential landing spot for Green? Let the bidding war begin...

I hope we trade Green to the Leafs (no lottery protection) and they free fall out of a playoff position, and win the draft lottery...

It's very possible that we could have 4 picks in the top 35 or so in this year's draft. We'll get a top 10, maybe top 5, hopefully top 3, praying for #1... along with a late first for Green (28-31), and two early 2nd's, our own (34-39), as well as Ottawa's from the Smith trade (34-39). That's not even including the possibility of trading other pieces. MORE PICKS PLEASE MR. HOLLAND!!!

100% agree with this ^

Nyquist would bring back a better return than Tatar in my opinion. There's no way I'd trade both our goalies and count on Coreau. Everything else is somewhat believable, except for the fact that Holland won't do any of it...

You mean Ericsson won't be moved because Holland wouldn't move him, or because no one would want him? The former, I'd agree with, the latter, I'm not so sure. I know most would laugh at this, but I think Ericsson could be a good add for a contending team looking to go on a deep playoff run. I believe he's a solid top 4 defenseman, and would be a very good bottom pair, shutdown defender on a deep blueline. I agree though, no way Ericsson gets moved... I also agree that Nyquist / Tatar could be an off-season move, but I wouldn't be surprised if teams called on one or both at the deadline. Whether or not Holland would be open to moving them is a completely different question... Both are solid middle 6 wingers that could bring an added offensive punch to a team looking for depth on the wing.

You want to trade Howard AND Mrazek? There's a lot of people on one side or the other, but why wouldn't we sell both? That doesn't make much sense to me...

I do think we'll end up getting a good return for Green, I just doubt it'll be that good. Some team will definitely overpay though. Foote would be an amazing add for this team. Future top pair Cholowski - Foote? With a few shrewd moves, this team could be built back up again fairly quickly. It's just going to take some gumption to make it happen. Can Holland do it? I'm not so sure. I'd love to see him pull off another successful rebuild on the fly though...

Jesus... I had to fact check you on that one... Crazy!

I agree, and it is very doable. At the very least I'd like to see us with two 1st's and three 2nd's. I'd be shopping Green (1st / more if we're lucky), Tatar (2nd / maybe a 1st if we're lucky), Ouellet (4th), Booth (6th), along with anyone else that teams may be interested in. I'd also take high end prospects in place of picks for the former two...

I think he would bring back a decent return, but I highly doubt Holland would move him, unless it's overpayment. I know you've been giving chaps a hard time about not giving Mrazek another game after coming off a shutout (probably mostly because of how pro-Mrazek / anti-Howard he is), but both Osgood and Eliot (two former NHL goaltenders that know their s***), have both advocated giving Mrazek the game after each of his two shutouts this season. They said they were surprised to see Howard get the next game after having a day off in between. No one is saying that Mrazek should be handed anything on a platter, or that Howard isn't the clear cut starter, but giving Petr another game after a shutout, wouldn't be the worst thing, whether you're trying to up his value to trade him at the deadline, or just trying to figure out what to do with him after this season. I'm okay with moving on from Mrazek (or Howard), but if we are, I'd just like to get the best return possible for him. I don't think you're getting that playing a couple times a month.

Pronman of The Athletic compiled a list of what he believes to be the top 50 NHL prospects. Casey Mittelstadt was ranked number one on the list. Gabriel Vilardi, a player a lot of Wings fans (myself included) wanted us to draft last summer, was ranked number 8 on the list. Timothy Liljegren, another player a lot of Wings fans wanted us to draft, was ranked number 13 on the list. Owen Tippett, a player LeftWinger wanted us to draft, was ranked number 18 on the list. Not a single Red Wing made the list. Rasmussen was an "honorable mention"... I'm sure the injury had a bit to do with Rasmussen not cracking the top 50, but many other players that made the cut missed time due to injury as well. I know lists like this mean very little to how any of these players will turn out (Pulkkinen was in the top 20 or something a few years ago), but it is still a little disappointing to see our top draft pick (9th overall) in over two decades not even crack a top 50 list...

No, he's not a scout, he's a draft analyst. I'd put him in the same category (maybe slightly below) Bob McKenzie and Craig Button. Those three along with ISS are basically the only draft lists that I give much credence to.

Bouchard keeps climbing the ranks. I'd love to land him if we end up outside the top 5. Surprised to see Merkley drop so far back.

I'm hopeful that Green brings a big return, but no way he'd get us a 1st and Foote. I'd be more than happy with just Foote. Nyquist or Tatar to a team like Pittsburgh or Nashville makes sense.

He's 3rd on the team in overall points with 29, 1st in goals with 15, 2nd in power-play points with 9, tied for 1st in power-play goals with 6, tied for 2nd in game winning goals with 2... All this in his sophomore season. No, he doesn't look totally engaged every game, and certainly not every shift, but he's producing and playing well. If you're expecting more hustle out of the big man, you haven't been paying attention to his game. He's never going to be the type of player to be all out for 18+ minutes a night, he never has been. Most pure goal scorers aren't. I don't really think the criticism is warranted, but I do believe he has more to offer. He'll get there. I expect a big second half out of him, topping 30 goals, and even bigger season next year.

For sure. I didn't expect anyone to take this list to mean much of anything really. It's just one man's opinion. It is interesting to see outsiders opinions of the organization and our players / prospects though. It sucks that not a single Wings prospect made his top 50 list, but as I alluded to in the original post, take it for what it's worth (not a whole lot)... I don't think it's what Vilardi has done this year, but more of his body of work over the past couple seasons. I still would have preferred to have taken him over Rasmussen, but I'm all aboard the Big Ras hype train now. I hope he surprises everyone, including Corey Pronman and becomes a Ryan Getzlaf type of beast centerman.

Thanks! I remember reading that one from last year. Not the Larkin one from the previous year though.

Mantha would have also been older / further along in his development in 2016 than Rasmussen is now. Do you have a link to the full list? Just curious to have a look at some of the other names there.