krsmith17

Cool. Not even close to the same player. Nestrasil sucked. Always did.

"It's about the process". "Do good things, and good things happen". Sound familiar? No, it's not just about scoring goals. That is obviously the end goal, but it's about bettering your chances, which naturally increases goal scoring. I understand that power-plays are more complex than just having left and right shots, but you're reacting as if I'm suggesting we throw Glendening and Witkowski out there... I'm not. Frk has demonstrated that he is more than capable to play in these few preseason games, so let's see how he does in the regular season. Virtually everyone has been impressed with Frk except you. Hell, Blashill (the one that matters) has been very impressed with him, saying he has been "really, really good". He also said "he's got a big body and a weapon of a shot. I can't say enough about his work ethic. Tons of work ethic and perseverance. The way he's played so far, he can make our team better. He can provide some scoring but also provide forecheck pressure and backcheck pressure." I'm not "offended" that you don't see the same thing I do with Frk. You're the one that got on me just because I think Frk has looked really good, and think he deserves a legit shot as a 3rd line winger / power-play triggerman. Reserve judgement until you see it, that's fine, but don't assume that Frk is the same player he was this time last year. He's not. He's improved leaps and bounds in all areas of his game since then. He's looked great in the preseason and I hope it continues into the regular season.

Yeah, 13th/14th forward. Frk would be on my opening day roster, and Svechnikov would be first call up for an injury in the top 9.

They don't need to be plugs, but yes, typically teams have 3 players (2 forwards, 1 defenseman) healthy scratched every game, assuming they're filling out the 23-man roster limit.

I never suggested this... Like I said, ideally teams prefer to go with 14 forwards and 7 defensemen. Booth and Witkowski would be my 13th and 14th forwards... Frk is nothing like Pulkkinen other than their shot...

Again, I don't think anyone is suggesting that we sign either Booth or Parenteau to play regularly above any of the kids. The only way they should be signed is as a depth forward (regular healthy scratch) playing a scattered game in a pinch (game day injury type situations). If we only had 6 defensemen on the active roster, I'd be completely fine with signing Dennis Wideman to a PTO and giving him a one year contract as a depth defenseman. Players on the active roster have to sit every night. We're not going to call up Svechnikov to sit, nor are we going to call him up to sit Sheahan or whoever else. Booth is the exact type of player you want as your 13th forward in my opinion. Hell, I would have even been okay with Miller coming back, strictly as the 13th forward, and I'm sure you know how I feel about Miller as a hockey player...

Cholowski was assigned to Prince George of the WHL today. It was expected sooner or later, but I would have liked to see him play another game or two. Oh well, hopefully he dominates the W this season and helps the Griffins this spring.

Absolutely nothing. He's a top 4 defenseman. You must have misread something I said...

I don't see a "need" for Parenteau or Booth either... I'm not even saying that we necessarily SHOULD sign either of them, just that I'd be okay with it if Booth were signed as a depth forward. Neither would (should) be signed to play in the top 9, like Daley is to play in the top 4.

IF Green is traded, it would be because we're out of playoff contention. In which case, it would be wise to give players like Hicketts, McIlrath or whoever else a look, not rely on a 34 year old veteran to eat big minutes.

Sheahan would have to be traded before the season starts if we sign Athanasiou, unless a player goes on LTIR. Green won't be traded until the deadline, if at all. HUGE difference. Like I said, "I know, I know, Sproul sucks...".

Athanasiou isn't signed yet, and although I think (hope) he will be in the coming weeks, there's no guarantee. Also, if / when he does sign, we will have to make another move, likely trading Sheahan (to Pittsburgh), which would once again put us back to 11 forwards. I think Frk should / will make the team, bringing us up to 12 forwards. I think Svechnikov should / will start the season in Grand Rapids, as the first injury call-up. Bertuzzi is out for the first few weeks and will likely return to Grand Rapids, if nothing more than for a conditioning stint. I'd be completely okay with signing Booth or Parenteau (preferably Booth) as a depth 12th / 13th forward for injury insurance. If Kronwall spends most of the season on LTIR, the Daley signing works out. If we're completely healthy and waive Sproul (I know, I know, Sproul sucks...), it's a bad signing in my opinion. My ideal lineup would look something like... Tatar - Zetterberg - Nyquist Abdelkader - Larkin - Mantha Athanasiou - Nielsen - Frk Helm - Sheahan - Glendening Booth / Witkowski This only works though if Kronwall (or someone else) goes on LTIR. If / when we want to recall Bertuzzi, assuming everyone else remains healthy (doubtful), we could then waive one of Booth / Witkowski.

I was more pissed about the players we passed over (Vilardi / Liljegren) than I was actually taking Rasmussen, but I'll be more than willing to eat crow if he turns out to be a stud. I'll admit he has looked very good in these pre-season games, which is great, but it's still early in his development. I'm still not sure if he can become a legit 1C, which is what you should expect from a top 10 pick, but a 2C wouldn't be the worst thing. Really rooting for this kid. Still a boom or bust in my eyes...

The goal is to have optimal passing AND shooting lanes, which in turn gives you better scoring opportunities, which in theory would boost scoring... No one would claim that Frk would have the same effect on the power-play as a player like Ovechkin, but it's not unreasonable to think his shot could boost our power-play. Imagine me saying the same thing about Eaves a few years ago. You would have had the exact same lame argument. But guess what? Eaves is Dallas being used the same way I'm suggesting we use Frk, and it's working out quite well for them. Frk has a deadly shot, and it would only take a couple times of unloading that cannon before teams would start to take notice. Nothing is going to change, unless we change our power-play set up, but it looks like we have somewhat early in the pre-season. If we stick with a power-play that revolves around shooters on both sides of the ice, I think Frk would be well served as one of our triggermen. Pulkkinen is smaller, weaker on the puck and a weaker skater. That's why he didn't make it here. I think the only legitimate comparison between the two, is their shot, other than that, they're completely different players. But speaking of Pulkkinen, he's scored two power-play goals with Vegas in two games in the exact same spot. Waiting on the left half boards for teammates to find him and unleash the shot. I realize it's just pre-season, and time and space will be cut in half in the regular season, but I think Frk would be capable in finding that time and space. Give him a shot. I'm not saying Frk is the answer to our power-play woes, I'm just saying that he could help. I think he would. You don't. You're probably right. It's likely that players, coaches, and analysts are wrong...

Ideally we'd like to go with 14 forwards and 7 defensemen. We currently have 11 forwards (Zetterberg, Nielsen, Nyquist, Tatar, Larkin, Mantha, Abdelkader, Helm, Sheahan, Glendening, Witkowski), and 8 defensemen (Daley, Green, DeKeyser, Jensen, Kronwall, Ericsson, Ouellet, Sproul), with others knocking on the door. We need to sign / call up 3 forwards (Athanasiou, Frk, Svechnikov, Bertuzzi (injured), Booth, Parenteau). With the Daley signing, we need to waive a defenseman (Ouellet, Sproul), with no room for any players to "earn a spot" (Hicketts, Cholowski, McIlrath), unless there are injuries (Kronwall, Ericsson?) If Holland were capable in making the "tough decisions" and trading / waiving a player, and going with the 7 best defensemen, I'd be okay with the Daley signing. But because we know a younger player will suffer, that's why I never liked the signing. There's no question Daley makes our defense better, but for a team that needs to rebuild and go with a youth movement, that's the only reason I think it was a bad signing for us.

Fear the LCA!

Mantha! Boys driving the net.

Rasmussen!

Really like those top two lines. Awesome to see Sproul is ready to go. Hopefully he's 100% and can earn a spot in the lineup (doubtful)... Excited to see if what Hicketts can do again tonight.

Fair enough. As of right now, I'd have a hard time passing on Svechnikov, but I guess I see your angle in trading down. Hopefully we barely miss the playoffs and win the draft lottery (1st overall)...

Having both right-handed and left-handed shooters on their off wings in the offensive zone opens up better passing / shooting options to create scoring chances, especially on the power-play. That is a fact. Not exaggerated at all. I agree that we have issues maintaining offensive zone pressure, but I think a bigger issue than that is our ability to effectively setup an umbrella with triggermen on both sides of the ice. The most effective power-plays in the league revolve around triggermen on their off wings. The Wings power-play has a strong (right) side and teams know this, and set up their penalty kill to press harder on that side. Vanek was rarely used properly on the power-play in my opinion. He spent a lot of time down low and in front of the net, when he should have been positioned on the left half board. There's no point in having right-handed shooters on our power-play if we don't utilize them properly. If we could use the same setup as we did last game against Boston, with shooters opened up on both sides of the ice, I think our power would improve in a big way. You can say what you like about Frk being borderline or below average, and I agree for the most part, but when you say that there is "absolutely nothing even remotely close to special about him, I strongly disagree. He has a very "special" shot. Many (coaches, players) have said that it is the hardest shot they've ever seen. His issue was always accuracy, and that has drastically improved over the past year. You don't think Frk or any right-handed shooters would improve a bottom 5 power-play. I strongly disagree, assuming they would be used properly...

Where are you getting your stats? He didn't put up close to those numbers last year, unless you're talking points per game... 55 points (32 goals, 23 assists) in 50 games. I hope you're right and he has a HUGE breakout year.

We have left-handed shooters. To run a successful power-play, you need options on both sides of the ice. Something we've lacked for years. Frk has a cannon of a shot, and if utilized properly (the way he was tonight), there's not a doubt in my mind, he would improve our power-play. Whether that's by getting shots through (scoring goals), or just opening up more space for other players on the ice. If he can score some goals on that left side, opponents will have to respect the shot and have tighter coverage on that side of the ice, opening up more space on the right side. He's not a one trick pony like Pulkkinen either. Frk can set up plays, skate, play physical. The guy deserves a shot.

I think everyone would be thrilled if he puts up anything close to those type of numbers. Unfortunately, I think that's a tad unrealistic. I see him putting up 35-40 goals, 70-80 points.

This so much.