krsmith17

I don't think you're giving enough credit to the impact an elite player like Matthews could have on a team. Do you think outside of him their roster is THAT much better than ours? I don't. I do agree though that this team is in need of an overhaul at the top. I think it's time to move on from Holland and co. I know most, if not every Wings fan wants to get rid of Blashill, but if we could get rid of only one, general manager or head coach, Holland would be gone.

The forwards aren't that different outside of their one stud... I think Larkin is better than anyone on that team (besides Matthews). Mantha and Athanasiou are close to Nylander and Marner. Kadri and Van Riemsdyk are much better than Nyquist and Tatar. Hyman and Komarov are similar to Abdelkader and Helm. Marleau is similar to Zetterberg. Bozak to Nielsen. Brown to Frk. Martin to Glendening. And Moore to Booth. The defense isn't really close. We have Green, but he likely won't be a Wing much longer. They have two guys in Rielly and Gardiner that we don't have anything close to. To answer the question though, if we added a Matthews to this team, I think we would be a playoff contender, and potentially a Cup contender within a few years, IF we could get something figured out with the defense. The Leafs were doing a good job rebuilding before they landed Matthews, but he's clearly what put them over the top and into future contenders. If we could get lucky and land a stud like Dahlin in next year's draft, I think we could have the same quick turnaround. The pieces are there, we just need that one (or two) elite player(s).

No, he's not injured. He missed the first 19 games of the season, but has played the last 11 games, scoring 4 goals (7 points).

The bolded I completely agree with. However, I don't think anyone could argue that Howard has had a much longer leash than Mrazek. That's my issue with the way this organization operates. In a season that we're clearly not making the playoffs (nor should that be the goal), we should be doing everything we can to get the young goalie going. If for no other reason than to get a better idea of what he is. And no, I don't think it's clear at this point. If the organization has already given up on him, I understand giving Howard the bulk of the starts, but I just think it's still too early to give up on a young goalie, that has struggled at times, and been brilliant at times. If we trade Mrazek, I could see him continuing to struggle, and moving back to Czech Republic in a year or two, but I could also see it turning into a similar situation as Philadelphia trading Bobrovsky. Maybe not quite to that extent, but a Mrazek trade could come back to haunt the Red Wings. Likely it ends up somewhere in the middle though... I wouldn't dare say that he's been mishandled though... Obviously that can't be the case with the great Detroit Red Wing organization...

Cholowski was just released from Team Canada...

That's fine, but we shouldn't be trading low on any of these players either. Retaining half of a players salary and trading him for a 3rd round pick would be the type of deal you make just to get rid of the player. I know some do just want to get rid of Mrazek, but I think that would be a mistake. I agree that that's probably what Holland is thinking, and if that is what he's thinking, I also agree that getting something, anything for him now is the best course of action. I just disagree with that line of thinking. I do still think Mrazek could be a quality goaltender in this league. I'm with chaps in that I do want to keep him, but at the same time, I'd like to see him given a fresh slate with another team, to see if he can turn things around (I think he could). Unfortunately, if we're not careful, we could find ourselves in the same situation with Athanasiou down the road...

F*** that! I don't want to trade Mrazek at all, but if that's the return, no way...

... I guess no one here has ever attended one of the Red Wings viewing parties?...

For sure. We need Cholowski to develop into a top pair defenseman, and Rasmussen to develop into a number one center, as well as whoever we take in next year's draft to develop into a top tier player (hopefully elite). Unfortunately, I don't have much faith in Svechnikov developing into anything more than a middle six winger at this point. Hopefully he gets out of whatever funk he's in... Imagine, we could have taken Boeser with that pick. A Mantha - Larkin - Boeser top line would have been nice for the next 10+ years...

WHY?!?!?!

This may be the best game the Wings have played all season, and everyone said f*** it and went to bed...

Yeah, that's pretty ridiculous. It is a little annoying that we're the only team "without an actual human operator" though... I vote this be our new mascot...

Depth isn't an issue. We shouldn't sign any more bottom 4 defensemen, which is what De Haan and Cole are. Holy f***ing over payment... I probably wouldn't give up that sort of package in the position we're in now for prime Lidstrom... I'd love to get Carlson, but I'm not sure if I'd be comfortable with that money and term, unless we can offload some other big contracts. You're right, that would be a pretty good defense corps, but it's next to impossible to have that sort of turnover in one offseason, especially if Holland is still GM.

Who's making excuses? I'm certainly not... All I'm saying is that Nyquist went 8 games in which he put 24 shots on goal, and had countless grade A scoring opportunities. Should he have scored on at least a couple of them? Absolutely. Nyquist would say the same. Just because snake bitten is "just another cliche" doesn't make it untrue. Which brings me to the bolded part... Yes they do... All the time. Nyquist went 8 games without a goal. Even Ovechkin has gone 10 games without a goal. Besides, Nyquist isn't even remotely close to "the best goal scorers in the league", so he shouldn't be held to the same standard. Nyquist can score goals, but he's always been more of a playmaker anyway. Nyquist is currently tied for 2nd on the team with 8 goals, and Larkin is leading the team with 23 points. Neither are close to being the problem with this team...

I haven't seen anyone suggest that hoping to draft Dahlin should be our strategy... So if Polie feels they have a good shot at winning the Cup this year (he should), and wants to add some offensive depth for a run, you don't think he'd be willing to trade Fabbro, when they're already stacked on D with Subban, Josi, Ekholm, Ellis and Emelin? Or is it that you don't think Tatar or Nyquist would be enough? If it's not, a pick and / or prospect should be. Most everyone is expecting a late 1st or early 2nd (late 2nd at worst) for Green. I don't think that's at all unrealistic.

Yup, this exactly. Larkin has been snake bitten, and he's not the only one. Nyquist went on a streak of about 6-8 games where he could have had one or two every game, but had nothing to show for it. For the most part, outside of a few games, I actually think we've played well. Even the 6-1 loss to St. Louis, I think we were the better team for the majority of that game. But again, we couldn't bury our chances, and seemingly every shot the Blues took found the back of our net. And no, I'm not saying if it were for a few bounces going our way, we'd be a playoff team, but I don't think we've been quite as bad as our record indicates either. But yeah, I'm quite content with the "process" if it gets us a top pick in next year's draft. Isn't that what most fans want at this point anyway? I know the same old clichés from coaches and players can get annoying, but like others have mentioned, what do you expect them to say? That's why hockey interviews are so boring. The reporters / beat writers ask the same boring questions, and the coaches / players respond with the same boring answers. It's rare to hear an interview (pre-game / post-game) where a coach / player goes off script and says something interesting, unless your name is John Tortorella...

We don't have 5 "s*** defensemen", we have 5 defensemen that are currently playing a spot or two above their talent level. If we get ourselves a true number one, everyone slides down a spot, which would eliminate that. One high end defenseman would completely revamp this defense corps and team. I know, easier said than done, but something needs to be done to fix this defense going forward. No single player in the pipeline appears to be that sort of player (maybe Cholowski gets there), so we need to either draft one (Dahlin), or trade for one with the potential to get there...

I'm with you on the bolded. I've been a Mrazek supporter, but never really bashed Howard, and certainly never hoped he'd fail. I've always hoped both would play at a high level. As a fan, why wouldn't you? I've never understood why some people hope certain players on the team they cheer for to fail. As for the "neither being long term options" and "Mrazek never being a regular starter", I'll agree that it may appear that way right now, but that can still change. I still have hope that Mrazek can turn it around. It is beginning to look a little bleak, but if he can manage to get in some consecutive games, and get back to a split, or maybe even steal back the starter, if he could get that confidence and swagger back, I think he could be a legitimate starter in this league. I don't think he'll ever be elite, like some of us once thought, but I still think he has it in him to be a very good goaltender. We'll see.

I think Hronek could become a solid 2nd pairing (number 3) defenseman as well. I like him a lot. I also agree that we have the depth, but lack the top end talent. As for your first question, I would say yes for both Bean and Fabbro. Second question, I'm not sure why the timeline is significant, but I think both would be ready in a year and a half to two years for sure. I'm not so sure Nyquist could get us a first round pick. If he could, I'd explore that option as well, and that's coming from one of Nyquist's biggest supporters.

Prince George as a team are -12, whereas Calgary are -22. Regardless, I wouldn't put too much stock into +/-, especially at the junior level. The fact that they're putting up similar numbers (Bean - 1.08 Pts/G / Cholowski - 0.89 Pts/G) , and that I'm so high on Cholowski, is exactly the reason I'd like to go after such a player. One future potential top 2 defenseman isn't enough. I'd like to see us trade for one. Who that is, doesn't matter to me...

I don't know what I'd give up specifically, but like I said, some sort of package including a top 6 forward. Maybe Tatar, and a mid tier prospect / pick would get it done. I'm not "calling for Holland's head", I just wish he was more willing to make trades. And yes, I believe the types of trades for a rebuilding team should be geared more toward the future, aka prospects / picks. Here you thought I wanted an established NHL player when I've said plain as can be over and over and over again that we should be looking to trade for high end prospects, not high end players. For someone as active on here as you, you'd think you'd be more aware of this. Myself and Dabura as well as others have talked about this several times. "Some fairy tale junior"... What the f*** does that even mean? It's called targeting prospects to help the rebuild. Teams do it all the time. Right, I forgot, us "armchair GM's" aren't supposed to voice our opinions though... It's not like the players I've mentioned are highly touted by NHL scouts / analysts. What do they know anyway?... I don't have "grass is greener" syndrome at all. I just believe in exploring options outside the organization. Something that is completely foreign to Holland. Never mind, I forgot about the Wilson trade. That was a big acquisition... Cholowski has 25 points in 28 games actually, but you're right, he is doing just fine. Never said he wasn't. I still think (hope) he will be a solid 2/3 defenseman in a few years. But outside of him, I don't see a single defenseman in our organization becoming anything more than a 4/5. That's a problem. A problem I would like the team to address. Fabbro is playing in the NCAA, a much tougher league than the WHL. Which is why Cholowski struggled, only putting up 12 points in 36 games last year. In comparison, Fabbro has 12 points in 18 games (half) this season. Granted, he's 8 months older than Cholowski was, but still, it's a much tougher league as an 18-19 year old. And yes, I would give up a Nyquist / Tatar, plus a mid tier prospect / pick in a heart beat for Fabbro. You can disagree. That's fine. "LOL", "lol", "lol"...

You think trading for Bean would be a weak trade? I disagree. Our best defense prospect is Cholowski. He's much better than Cholo in my opinion. Will he be elite? Not likely. Will he be a top pair defenseman? The potential is definitely there. It wouldn't cost a ton, and these are exactly the type of low risk, high reward trades I'd be looking to make. Bean is probably a poor example though, because like I've said before, Carolina wouldn't be a great trading partner right now, being outside of playoff contention. But a similar prospect, such a Fabbro, could likely be had for a top 6 forward and a prospect / pick. I'd do that in a heartbeat and Nashville would likely be willing to give up a high end defense prospect because they're already stacked there, in exchange for added offensive punch for a playoff run. Anyway, I'd love to have Karlsson, but I wouldn't trade for him.

I'm not contradicting myself at all, you just haven't been paying attention. Myself along with a few others have discussed ad nauseam about trading for players that would be included in the future rebuild. I've mentioned players like Bean, Fabbro, Sanheim, among others. aka non-established players that you wouldn't have to mortgage the future for. These are the sort of low-key trades I'd like to see Holland make. Not trading for an elite defenseman that would cost every high end player they've developed over the past several years, with the possibility of having nothing to show for it in a year and a half...

Green should garner a late 1st / early 2nd, so if we're able to get a team to give up a late 1st for Green, that's the minimum we should have going into next year's draft. Ideally we pick up another 2nd and / or 3rd along the way as well. We really need as many swings at bat as we can next summer, with it being such a deep draft. Hicketts will probably make the team next season, but I'd be shocked if Cholowski starts the season in Detroit. He'll likely see at least half a season (if not more) in Grand Rapids. I'm also starting to think Kronwall may have it in him to finish out his final season... No way would I trade Larkin AND Mantha, even if Karlsson weren't a pending UFA. How are we winning by adding Karlsson and having absolutely no supporting cast? Our defense would still be weaker than Ottawa's is now, and we'd be much, MUCH worse up front. The Sens have come close in recent years, but adding Karlsson and subtracting two of our best young forwards would literally be taking one (big) step forward and two steps back. Makes no sense to me. Wait until free agency. Don't f*** your entire team for one player.

I'd love to have a shot at Karlsson, but if I'm Ken Holland, I'm taking that shot if he hits free agency, not via trade. I just don't see a scenario where trading one (or two) of our top young forwards, high end prospect(s) and multiple first round picks for one elite defenseman works out in our favor. I'd much rather put all of my eggs in the Dahlin basket, than go broke on Karlsson. As of right now, we have a legit shot at winning the draft lottery to draft a player that could be just as good or better than Karlsson. Even if we don't win the lottery and end up with a top 3-5 pick, I'd rather overpay to move up a few spots, then drastically overpay for a pending UFA, that by all accounts will test the open market. Sure, we could trade for Karlsson and offer him max term and max salary, but I'm not sure I'd want to do that with any 29 year old. Those sort of contracts are best reserved for the 24-26 year old elite players. I'm sure a 29 year old Karlsson will be worth $12+M, but what about 34-37 year old Karlsson? Maybe, but probably not. If we're going all in for a Cup in those first few years of that contract, trading away your best young players and picks is not a recipe for success. Counting on signing the best player (Tavares) to hit free agency, probably ever isn't either. I want Holland to make trades, but not for the elite of the elite, especially for a team that is rebuilding. Regardless, Karlsson isn't coming here, and quite frankly, I'm completely okay with that.