krsmith17

I guess this is assuming Holland is gone after this season?

I just wanted to show a little appreciation for Joe Hicketts, who we signed as a free agent last month (September 24th). He is extremely undersized at 5'8" 185lbs. so he may never make it to the NHL and he may be another Adam Almquist, very smart player, but can't put it all together because of a lack of stature... Anyway, he is currently playing his third season in the WHL for the Victoria Royals and is second in points for defenseman with 15 (4-11) points in his first 11 games. Also, an interested article... http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/113669/royals-hickets-doesnt-let-setbacks-block-nhl-dream/

... Or we can grab a beer together and fight the Leafs fans in the concourse... and talk about how much we miss Smitty...

Fair enough. My apologies for beating the dead horse.

Because this is a discussion board and I'm discussing what "I" would like to see done with this team. People discuss potential trades on here all the time. Trading for Trouba, Fowler, Duchene, etc. or trading away Nyquist, Tatar, Helm, Abdelkader, Nielsen, etc. None of those are any more likely to happen then what I'm suggesting. I know Ericsson isn't getting traded, but in my opinion, he should be. Matter of opinion I guess. To me, the value of that roster spot is just as, or more important to this team than the value of the cap space it would free up. If we could trade Ericsson (retaining $1.5M), along with a mid round pick / mid tier prospect, and fill that spot with Ouellet or Sproul (let's not get into this again), I think it's a net gain. I agree that Ericsson is better than people here give him credit for, but I don't think he's close to being a top 4.

I didn't say Mantha rejuvenated Zetterberg, I said that it's possible that he did. Zetterberg does elevate his teammates, but I also think he benefitted playing with Mantha. I'm sure you don't believe Hank would have put up 68 points between Sheahan and Abdelkader, do you? No, being deployed on the top line doesn't make him a 1st line caliber player, just like playing 16 minutes a night doesn't make him a bottom six caliber player. Yes, Mantha was sheltered, but again, that's more to do with team philosophy than the player in my opinion. I already admitted that he hasn't proven to be a top line winger, but I stand by the fact that he is and will be a legit top six winger.

Gotcha. So the $933K is correct?

Do you think Columbus called Toronto asking if they could have Clarkson? Probably not... Can Ericsson be traded? Yes. Should Ericsson be traded? Yes. Will Ericsson be traded while Ken Holland is GM? Not a chance.

Sure it is, but for a team that is notorious for bringing their prospects along slowly, I don't think minutes played is a great indicator. I guess to you minutes played is more important than production... in this instance, since it helps your argument. You know what else is a pretty reliable indicator of role on a team? Where he slotted in the lineup... Mantha played the majority of the season on the 1st line wing. Of course Larkin's production dropped after being demoted off Zetterberg's line. Did you expect his production to increase? The same thing would happen to most players going from a 19 year old rookie, top line, to sophomore, middle six. I would say our biggest drop off between any position is our top line center (Zetterberg) to our second line center (Nielsen). Larkin played mostly with Sheahan and Abby. Of course he had a rough season production wise.

Absolutely. When have I ever said or suggested otherwise?

Yeah, let's base everything on minutes played. Great indicator... As I said before, this team has never given rookies top six minutes and rightfully so, since most can't handle it right away. However, that doesn't mean that none of them are top six talents. How about we use another stat, like, I don't know, points per game?... Mantha ranked 57th in points per game among wingers, 114th among forwards. So my assertion that Mantha is a top six winger is simply... right.

Yes, anybody can be traded. This is a fact. You're right, no team is voluntarily going to want Ericsson. No GM's are calling Holland asking for Ericsson. But guess what? That's when a good GM gets creative, and calls other GM's to make a trade... As for the bolded, no I don't think Ericsson will get traded. Not with Ken Holland in charge anyway. However, if Holland were to get fired (never going to happen), or retire (my hope) and a new GM took over, there's not a question in my mind that priority number one would be to get rid of some of the terrible contracts on the books.

A grand total of 32 wingers played more than 18 minutes a night last season. Considering there were 60 top six wingers, those numbers are a little high. Besides, when have the Red Wings ever given rookies "top six minutes"? When did I ever say that I don't think Zetterberg is the best player on this team? I've stated many, MANY times that he is exactly that. That doesn't mean that he can turn any scrub into a top level talent. You're smoking something if you don't think Mantha is a top six winger on this team / in this league...

36 points in 60 games (23 goal, 49 point pace) is very good for a rookie. I think you're giving Zetterberg a little too much credit here. Maybe it could have been the young, talented Mantha that rejuvenated the 36 year old captain into having his best season in 3 years... Mantha has proven that he can "handle" top six minutes, but I'll admit, maybe at this point in his career (almost one full season...) he's not a legit top line winger yet, but he definitely is a legit top six winger, with the potential and likelihood to become a top line winger.

I've seen this $1.4M number a few times now. Where is it coming from? The number I'm getting is $933,333 remaining with 11 forwards (not including Franzen or Athanasiou), 8 defensemen and 2 goalies.

Datsyuk and Zetterberg were 6th and 7th round picks respectively, playing behind multiple future hall-of-famers. Different team, different time. Mantha has already proven he can handle the top line, and Andrei looks to be a number 1 / 2 overall pick, the kind of talent that plays top line within a year or two of being drafted. By the time Andrei is drafted (we probably won't get him) and he and Rasmussen make the team, all of the others will have between 2-4 years experience and will be in the primes of their career.

I know you're likely trolling with this post (at least I hope...), but (if you're not) you don't think Andrei Svechnikov or Mantha have top line potential? You don't think any of Larkin, Rasmussen or Athanasiou have top six potential? Also, both Svechnikov's will be wingers at the NHL level, so that "2nd line" doesn't have a center...

I'd say that's true in some drafts, but not all. There are no Crosby's or McDavid's (generational talents) coming up any time soon, but there will likely be another Matthews (tier below) in the next couple years. Rasmus Dahlin is being touted as the next Erik Karlsson. I'm not sure he'll be that good, but he and Andrei Svechnikov appear to be heads and shoulders above everyone else in next year's draft class. Ideally Larkin - Rasmussen will be our 1 - 2 punch down the middle, if all goes well with their development. Some combination of Mantha, Athanasiou, Svechnikov, Nyquist, Tatar, other, would round out the top 6 wingers...

Yeah, I hear you, but Grand Rapids is actually fairly weak at forward right now, so I'd be okay with adding another veteran like Booth.

I'm hoping he knows something no one else does about the status of Kronwall and / or Ericsson. That's the only way any of this makes any sense...

I could be wrong but the only vet that the Griffins lost was defenseman Nathan Paetsch. They still have Tangradi, Street, Lorito, Ford and Lashoff. But yeah, if Booth is willing to play in Grand Rapids, he would be a great addition.