krsmith17

He's above average dealing with RFA's, and below average dealing with UFA's. I just don't get the idea that he should have given in to Athanasiou's demands just because he has with UFA'...

Don't worry, when Athanasiou is a veteran and becomes a UFA, Holland (if he's still the GM) will be right there with his bag of cash, ready to overpay... and people will still complain. He gets his RFA's signed to very fair contracts, and people still complain... By the way chaps, this isn't necessarily directed at you.

It's apples (RFA) and oranges (UFA). Holland can (and does) get blamed for a lot, but his dealings with RFA's has been great, and that includes with Athanasiou. AA was offered a fair contract, and he finally wised up and took the deal. I hated the Witkowski signing, but it had absolutely nothing to do with AA not being signed. Holland had a number in mind, and he didn't come far off that number. Good on him. Good signing.

Likely going to need to make a trade (Sheahan) or waive a player (Witkowski or Booth)... I'll be right there with you, pitch fork in hand...

I doubt it, but hopefully he's in the lineup as early as Sunday... Also, it better be a 4th liner coming out of the lineup, not Frk...

I have a feeling Mantha is going to have a huge game tonight.

Same lines (possibly (hopefully) Booth in for Witkowski) same D pairings, with Mrazek starting.

Yeah, he better come out like a man possessed after all this bulls***. I'd be okay with shopping him. If we could get a young top 3 defenseman, or a defense prospect with top 2 potential, I'd pull the trigger for sure. If it's Sheahan, he will be traded, not waived. I'd be okay with that, depending on the return. Ideally, waiving one Booth or (preferably) Witkowski, would be enough to get cap compliant though. Looks like this may get done really soon, if it's not already. Today?

Our lines after Christmas... Nyquist - Zetterberg - Mantha Tatar - Larkin - Athanasiou Svechnikov - Nielsen - Frk Bertuzzi - Helm - Abdelkader ... Just don't look at the defense...

They both play both wings. Most wingers can play either side of the ice these days anyway. Why are the Coyotes getting him? Yeah, Dahlin is definitely my number one choice.

He's going to look great in the Winged Wheel...

Red Wings assign Svechnikov to Griffins. He'll make his season debut tomorrow night against the IceHogs. Bertuzzi is still a week or two away.

You sound so serious, but.....

Any official word on who's starting tonight? EDIT: Never mind. McElhinney it is.

Just about every team in the league has top 2-3 defensemen (even us). What a lot of teams lack is the elite number one. I'll admit to knowing very little about Santini, but what about his game convinces you that he'll be a top 2-3 defenseman? His numbers are very underwhelming... I was very skeptical about Butcher, but he's off to an unbelievable start, exceeding everyone's expectations. Can he keep it up over 82 games, season after season though? We'll see.

Nah, around $26-27... Not to mention McElhinney sucks...

Miller, Coors, Bud, whatever...

Like every Wings vs Leafs game, I have a case of beer on this one. Wings win 4-3. Mantha, Zetterberg, Frk, Tatar.

No way I'd want Lamoriello. I really don't want Draper, although that's probably who it ends up being. Martin could be a decent choice I guess. I'd love to have Yzerman back, but I don't see that happening. I'd also like Nill, but for the same reason as Yzerman, I doubt that happens. No thanks on Fedorov. Around the league, I have no idea who / if any other contracts are up after this season. I'd love to have Poile, but that's not going to happen... I just want a GM that isn't afraid to shake things up. Someone that is willing to make a trade to upgrade the team. That someone is no longer Holland...

No way Holland would do that... And why would he? Glendening has 2 goals so far this season, on pace for 27. Marner has 1 goal. F***ing scrub...

It's been reported as a "neck strain". I haven't heard much on it since the injury a few weeks ago. Not sure when he's due back...

Not the first I've heard this, but I couldn't disagree more. Little Caesars is amaz-balls.

I'd trade Ericsson (retain around $1.5M) along with a mid round pick, for a late(r) round pick. Call up Hicketts. In my opinion, that improves this defense now, without hurting us too much in the future. I do think there are teams out there that would be interested in Ericsson at that price, because like you said, "he's not a scrub, he's just overpaid". He has been playing on our "top pair" the past two games, so maybe we're just trying to up his trade value? wishful thinking...

Usually yes. But I've only watched two periods of one game so far this season... Partly because I've been busy, partly because Svechnikov and Bertuzzi are injured, leaving Hicketts and Sproul the only two I'm interested in, and to a lesser extent Holmstrom... Hopefully Svech and Bert will be back soon, and Hronek can solidify a spot on the back end.