krsmith17

I completely agree. The same can be said / will likely be the case for DeKeyser. Good bottom 4 defenseman, that is expected to play above his ability. Which is the reality when you have a very weak defense corps. I think Ericsson as a 4/5 defenseman at $2-2.5M, and DeKeyser as a 3/4 defenseman at $3.5-4M would be two reasonable contracts. This is exactly why I've said countless times, and still maintain that Ericsson should be traded. I know it will never happen with Holland as GM, but there would be interest around the league for a veteran, bottom pair defenseman like E, at $2.25M ($2M retained). Whatever, it's never going to happen, but Ericsson should NOT be bought out.

Mantha is a f***ing beast. He's going to be an elite winger in this league for a long time, in the mold of a Jamie Benn. Larkin has been good, but I wish he would start attacking the net. Too often he seems to skate around the perimeter, turn and throw a weak shot toward the net. Athanasiou has elite level skill, and can make something out of nothing, but he just needs to stop trying to do it all himself and use his line mates. I've never been that high on Svechnikov. He's off to a really rough start this season, but hopefully he turns it around quick. I still think he will be a top 6 winger, but probably not a legit top line winger. I wasn't happy with the Rasmussen pick, but he's impressed me since (in training camp / pre-season). He's not putting up the numbers I was hoping for so far this season in the W, but hopefully he ramps up the offensive here pretty soon. Either way, he seems to play a game that should translate well to the pro game. Hopefully he develops into a top 6 center. I absolutely loved the Smith pick, but to expect him to develop into anything more than a middle 6 winger is wishful thinking in my opinion. I see him as an Abdelkader type, with maybe a little more snarl. Can slot in anywhere in the lineup, but best suited as a 3rd line winger. Same goes for Bertuzzi. My bet is one becomes a 3rd line winger, the other, 4th line winger.

Yeah, I remember hoping we'd land him too...

As they should be. Lazar is also struggling, and coincidentally they've played the majority of their time together on the 3rd/4th line. I still think they'll have two very good young players in Bennett and Lazar. One player I'd love to have from the Flames though is Monahan. Love that kid. I'd also take Hamilton off their hands...

Thought for sure this was fake news... It is not... Crazy. Bennett straight up for Nielsen...

Seriously though, we should discuss buying out Ericsson. I'm kind of curious what peoples thoughts are on the possibility of Holland pulling the trigger...

Yeah, my bad... $550K.

Nyquist is actually a little bigger than Tatar, not the other way around. Nyquist is the better player in my opinion, and is being paid $5.5M less. The shorter term would actually be a positive to most teams. I think teams may be a little reluctant to trade for Tatar after signing that big contract. Both have value, but Nyquist would have a little more in my opinion. You're right though, I doubt Holland will ever trade either. Why else would he give every player and their dogs NTC's / NMC's... I believe Montour has top pair potential. I'm not sure we have any other defensemen with that sort of ceiling outside of Cholowski. Maybe Hronek gets there, but I see him as more of a top 4 defenseman. We need to trade for a young defenseman with high-end potential in the worst kind of way. We have the pieces, we just don't have the GM to pull it off...

I'd be shocked if the Rangers are actually in the market for a goaltender. Unless they're willing to move Lundqvist (which I doubt), I don't see it. Certainly not for a $4M goalie. Hammond might make a bit of sense, but I'd be a surprised if they're looking for a replacement for Lundqvist at this point. Sure, he's taken a step back, but he's still one of the better goaltenders in the league. I do agree though, it's too early to give up on Mrazek (again)... If we're trading a goalie, my hope is that it's Howard. He's been unreal when healthy, and assuming he can stay healthy, he could be a good trade chip for a team that should be re-building...

You're probably right, because Murray has the old school, bigger is better mentality. "Well, Bob we have a big burly Justin Abdelkader that might interest you"... Seriously though, I think Nyquist would fit well in the Ducks top 6. I don't think we'll ever know if Murray would have interest in Nyquist though, because Holland will never shop him...

Yes Please! I've wanted to make a trade for Montour for about 2 years now. This is the exact type of move Holland should be looking to make. Nyquist / Tatar and Ouellet for Montour and Bieksa. Get it done Kenny!

Who knew so many LGW characters were DBZ fans?... Never seen it. Zero interest...

Athanasiou? I wouldn't consider him a prospect... Top 3 what? Player on the team?

Griffins are playing a matinee game today. Starting now (11:00 am EST) for anyone interested in tuning in.

Abdelkader now has 9 points (2 goals, 7 assists) in 16 games. Keep it going Abby!

I agree that he's doing good. Just not killing it. And as of now, I wouldn't put him in the same class as some of the aforementioned. Hopefully he gets there.

Yeah, I agree. But you said "except Suzuki and Ras". Suzuki is killing it. So is Glass, among a few others. Rasmussen on the other hand, is not killing it. Not even close in my opinion. He's putting up points, but he needs to be producing at a much higher clip to be in the same conversation as some of these other guys.

Huh?

Any word on when Vilardi will be back? Yamamoto was sent back to the W today, before burning a year of his ELC. Foote is also a year younger than Cholowski. I think Foote is going to be a stud. Hopefully Cholowski is as good some day... Rasmussen isn't injured. Played tonight in the Canada / Russia series. WHL won 7-0. Ras had 2 assists. Cholowski also had an assist (Foote didn't make the score sheet).

I don't disagree. But that doesn't mean the guns that we have aren't top line calibre.

Mantha with 8 and 9 tonight.

Neither Svechnikov is / will be a center. Not a single one of them are / will be 1st liners?... That is a potent top 6, not middle 6. Mantha is a f***ing beast. I remember praying he'd drop to us. He did, then we traded the pick. Then he dropped to us again. It all worked out in the end.

Way too early, but can't help but love the sound of Nando Eggenberger...

Get Frk off the 4th line. He produces with competent line mates. His lack of defense or being "one dimensional" is completely overstated as well. When he broke into the AHL, that was very true, but he has improved leaps and bounds in that area of his game over the past 4 years (this past year in particular). The guy is 6th on the team in scoring (4th in goals), despite playing a fair chunk on the 4th line with Glendening and Wilson.