krsmith17

Depends on your definition of success, but I'd consider Winnipeg and Minnesota to be successful in regards to relocation / expansion teams. Atlanta flamed out (pun) twice. I'm not sure if Kansas City would have much success, but I'd love to see those uniforms back / recreated. I think either Hartford or Quebec could come back and be successful as well.

I would definitely have to consider this. In the end, I probably wouldn't do it, if for no other reason than Karlsson's injury history. I also wouldn't want to trade that 1st round pick, for the off chance that it could end up being Dahlin. I'd much rather have Dahlin, Larkin / Mantha, and Nyquist / Tatar, than just Karlsson. Regardless, I think Ottawa would receive better offers if Karlsson were actually were to be shopped. I know you're probably not serious, but that would be an awful trade. Sure, we'd get that coveted number one, but it would completely wipe out any sort of offense we have. Karlsson is an unbelievable talent, but he can't do it by himself. If Tatar and a 37 year old Zetterberg are your only decent forwards, you're in big trouble...

Nope, wasn't serious at all. Maybe I should have added Draidaitl and / or McDavid to really show how sarcastic I was being... I've said countless times that Holland should be calling / making trades with the terrible GM's (Chiarelli being the worst), but no, I don't even think he's THAT dumb. But hey, if Larsson gets you Hall, and Strome gets you Eberle, a Green / Mrazek package should in theory get you a pretty decent return. However, I don't think two of them would come close to getting us Pulujarvi, let alone the other two pieces... I wouldn't trade them in a package though. I'd be happy to hold onto Mrazek and trade Green for a late 1st / early 2nd. That, I do think is somewhat realistic...

Those two players should easily get us Pulujarvi, Nurse and their 2019 first round draft pick...

I wouldn't consider 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists) nothing... I think Pittsburgh have been more than happy with Sheahan's play and production thus far. This was a good trade by both sides, and fortunately it's working out well for everyone involved (except Wilson)...

I've always loved those jerseys. Thing of beauty.

I think we played a very solid game the other night, so I don't want to take that away from them. However, I do believe Winnipeg may have been off their game that night. Maybe it was a case of playing down to their competition, the same way we did all the time 10 years ago. I do think we're capable of beating any team in this league (even Tampa), but that goes for any team. Such is parity. I agree though that this team's biggest issue is consistency, playing at a high level each and every night. That's on the coaching staff...

Like Rasmus Dahlin, who has the *potential* to be better than either of those guys... I'm not too confident in us landing Dahlin, but I think we have a much better shot at him, than we do Doughty Karlsson, or any other established elite defenseman. We just need the lottery balls to fall our way. We were ONE number off both the 1st and 2nd overall picks this past draft lottery, but still ended up dropping back two spots. Hopefully we get a little luckier this time around...

I hear ya, but I just don't think we'd necessarily have to trade Larkin or Mantha to get a deal done. A team like Nashville that is stacked at defense, can afford to give up a high end defense prospect. If they're looking to go on a run this season, they could look at a player like Nyquist / Tatar for added offensive depth, and be willing to trade a Fabbro. Teams that believe they have what it takes to win it all (I think Poile does with that group), will usually be willing to give up a small part of the future for the now. Of course it would take more than Nyquist / Tatar, but if we threw in a prospect and / or a pick, I believe that could be enough to get such a deal done. I agree that we probably wouldn't have much of a chance at Bean, just because Carolina aren't in the same position, with an opportunity to go on a deep playoff run. All I'm saying is, I do believe there are defensemen out there to be had, even if it takes overpaying, without giving up one of our big two. I'd trade literally anyone else with the exception of maybe Cholowski, including Athanasiou, Svechnikov, 2018 2nd round pick(s), 2019 1st round pick, etc. depending on the player. I doubt Holland is willing to move all of those pieces, which is why I believe he won't get a deal done. Bottom line, we need to upgrade our defense in a big way, and until we do that, we're going to be a mediocre to bad team... Where did I say that Holland isn't making phone calls? I believe him when he says he's "kicking tires", I'm just not convinced he's kicking the right tires, or willing to give up what it would take to get a deal done. I think Holland over values his players / prospects, even more so than some of us fans. How do you know there are "so many teams that need a 1D"? I guess the same way I know there are so many teams that are looking for offensive depth for a playoff run. Sure, there are a lot of teams looking for top pairing defensemen, but there are also teams that aren't, and would be willing to give up a highly touted defense prospect to add an offensive punch for a playoff run. There are always trading partners, it just takes balls to pull off the impactful trades. Unfortunately, that's something Holland has been lacking forever now...

The thing is, most players that are moved aren't usually known to be available. I don't think anyone expected Sergachev to be moved. Same goes for Jones. To be clear though, as I said, I'm talking about unestablished players (high end junior prospects or first year AHLers). And I wouldn't be willing to move Larkin or Mantha in such a deal. It's Holland's job to call around and find a deal that fits. We've needed an upgrade on our blue line for years now, but for whatever reason, he's unwilling to make a trade, and is content with the stop gap UFA's. He should be calling teams that have an abundance of defensemen / defensive prospects, such as Anaheim, Nashville, Winnipeg, Carolina, Philadelphia, etc. One player I mentioned I wanted for over a year was Shea Theodore. He was traded to Vegas for future considerations (aka to protect Vatanen, who was just traded...) Crazy stupid. Theodore is going to be a stud, and I would have overpaid for him prior to the expansion draft. Another player I really wanted to go after, prior to him blowing up, was Montour. No chance we get him now, but he could have been had a couple years ago. I'm also high / highish on Bean, Fabbro, among a few others. Sure, I'd like to get a Hanifin, but that's not even the type of player I'd be going after, because as you pointed out, he'd likely cost a lot more than any of us would be willing to give up. We'd be talking Larkin / Mantha, plus. No thanks!

Keep em coming (or going)...

Just curious, which defenseman are you referring to?...

This. And This. We're not getting any of Doughty, Karlsson or Ekman-Larsson. Not a chance. Sure, if they did hit free agency, I'm sure Holland (if he's still here) would go all in on any of the aforementioned, but there's no way any of Los Angeles, Ottawa, or even Arizona let these studs walk for nothing. If they can't afford them (they'll find a way), they'd trade them next season, rather than let them walk in the offseason. If there's one thing Ken Holland has always done as general manager, it's throw big money at the top UFA's, unfortunately, none will hit free agency, so the only chance we'd have at any of them, is trade, and that has been a major weakness for Holland. I've said it several times, but if we're trading for a defenseman, I'd rather go after high end potential, rather than an established high end defenseman. They're way too costly. Young un-established defensemen could be attainable if we had a GM willing to make some moves to upgrade this team...

??? When did I say this?...

I agree that Tkachuk may not be there yet, but he's just 19 years old. I'm just saying he has all the qualities to become a great power-forward, and I certainly see him developing that way rather than just an agitator. I disagree on Perry. He was considered to be one of the best power-forwards in the league a few years ago. I completely agree on Bertuzzi. But to be clear, I don't think he will ever be a power forward, I was talking about his uncle when describing the power-forward. Bert will likely be a bottom 6 agitator type, in the mold of Maltby.

Trying to be positive? That's not what I read... Anyway, I understand being down on this team, but I still don't think we're as far away as some may think, even with this 7 game losing streak. If we get a couple top end players (Dahlin / Svechnikov and whoever else) to go along with our couple high end players (Larkin, Mantha), I think we'll be in decent shape going forward. Depth isn't an issue.

There's nothing wrong with our depth, we just need a couple elite players at the top. Dahlin would be a start for sure.

I disagree with pretty much all of this... Lucic is a dirt bag. Is he not a power forward? What about Perry? Is he not a power forward because he likes to get under people's skin? I disagree that a power forward must be a great fighter and abide "the code". In my opinion, a power forward is a big, strong forward, that is hard to knock off the puck, goes hard to the net, digs in the corners, plays physically, fights when called upon, and produces points. All things that describe a young Matt Tkatchuk... Anyway, regardless how people want to categorize his style of play, I'd love to have him on this team. Most Wings fans are excited for Tyler Bertuzzi, well imagine a much bigger, stronger, tougher, more skilled version of that...

Beat me to it amato. I think Anaheim wins this trade. Although I've never been a big fan of Vatanen, so take that for what it's worth...

We have an hour to put a claim in on him...

You seem to be describing a Marchand or Gallagher type. I don't see Tkatchuk as that type of player at all. We're talking about a 19 year old kid here, that's still developing and growing. He's already 6'2", 200lbs. and will likely be around 220lbs when he's done filling out. He's already been in 3 fights, and held his own in all 3. He has way too much skill to ever become an enforcer, but I don't think he'll be a dirty rat that hacks and slashes and cowers in the corner like you described either. He will likely play on the edge and back it up, very similarly to his old man in my opinion. Do you really think Tkatchuk planned to jab Witkowski after he stepped off the ice, knowing that he couldn't come back on or it would be a 10 game suspension? I really don't believe that much planning went into it. He probably didn't want to fight Witkowski, being a prototypical enforcer that is in the NHL for the sole purpose to fight, but I'm sure he would have. Cramarossa and McNabb are both tough guys, and I'm sure he'll fight many more, if he wants to continue to play with an edge. You may not consider Tkatchuk to be a power-forward now (I do), but give it a year or two, and I think he will be known around the league as one of the better power-forwards in the NHL... Love him or hate him, his style of play is very effective, and I'd love to have him on this team. Red Wings fans hated Chelios / Bertuzzi when they were in Chicago / Vancouver, but both quickly became fan favorites when they arrived in Detroit. I think Tkatchuk could be similar to Bertuzzi pre Moore incident. * I'd also like to point out that I was way off on the total fights for Keith Tkatchuk... I said he had 18 fights... He actually had 51! No idea where I got the previous number...

Again, it depends on ones definition of what a power forward is in today's game. To me, all of the players I mentioned (Getzlaf, Benn, Nash and Wheeler) are power-forwards of the modern era, and in their prime were much better players than Lucic or Simmonds. Benn and Wheeler are probably my two favorite non Wings players.

Hopefully Edmonton.

So do you draw the line at Ovechkin and Franzen? If so, I'd somewhat agree. I do believe the other 4 I mentioned are / were legit power-forwards in this league though. If not, that's like saying guys like Ovechkin and Crosby (40-50) aren't goal scorers because it confuses the definition of what a goal scorer was branded in the 90's (60-70), with guys like Hull, Lemieux, Jagr, Selanne, and Bure. Who would you consider a true power-forward in today's game? Lucic? Simmonds? The league has changed and moved away from fighting (whether we like it or not), so I think the standard should change as well. Whether that's how many goals you need to score to be considered a goal scorer, how many assists you need to be considered a play maker, or how many fights you need to be considered a power forward...