krsmith17

Dominator, we have no secondary scoring? You're kidding right? If not, you and I have a completely different definition of primary and secondary scoring in the NHL then... I believe primary scorers are top line guys that put up 55+ points in a season, and secondary scorers are middle 6 type guys that put up somewhere around 30-50ish points in a season... This season it looks like we won't have a single player that I would consider a primary scorer (Datsyuk would have been if he played a full season), and we have six players that I would consider secondary scorers (Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Nyquist, Tatar, Abdelkader and Larkin). I think you can also add Mantha and Athanasiou to that group next season. So going into next season, without any changes other than the veterans taking another step back and the kids likely taking another step forward, we still won't have any primary scorers, and around eight secondary scorers... Sure, any of Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Nyquist, Tatar, Larkin or Mantha could get there, but I doubt any of them top 65+ points, which is the type of players this team is missing in my opinion. I think both Larkin and Mantha have the potential to be annual 65+ point guys, but they're likely at least a couple years away from that yet... Anyway, the point is, secondary scoring is far from this teams issue, primary scoring is the major problem up front...

For all the people constantly b****ing about Sheahan, Nyquist, Tatar, Jurco, Pulkkinen, etc. (aka secondary scoring / depth players), they are not the issue. These players are not hurting our team, like some like to suggest, and Nyquist and Tatar do not "suck", like has been the narrative around here for the past couple months... Both are very good secondary scorers and while their production has dipped a little, they're both still making things happen offensively. Both are in the top 4 on the team in Pts/60, Corsi% and Fenwick%. Again, secondary scoring is far from the issue with this team, our issue like others have stated is primary scoring. Zetterberg and Datsyuk have clearly lost a step or two and Larkin, Mantha and Athanasiou are all too young and inexperienced to carry the load. They will get there in a couple years, and when they do, our depth should be very good and we'll be back to contenders. Our biggest need is clearly on the back end, and I'd be willing to trade some of our depth for help back there. Of course teams are going to ask for Larkin and Mantha, but they know damn well they're not going anywhere, and I don't think we would need to trade one of them to upgrade the defense. A package including one of Nyquist or Tatar and prospect(s), pick(s) should be enough to get it done.

I was being facetious. Both special team units have been horrendous... and it's not just the stats or rankings, the entire setup for both is just awful. Penalty killers are way too passive and the setup they use for the 5on3 with two high and one low is the dumbest thing ever... The power play entries with the multiple drop passes with everyone standing still at the blueline doesn't work, the formation is terrible, and their player usage is questionable at best...

Opposite Frank. Granato is responsible for the defense and penalty-kill, while Firschweiler is responsible for the offense and power-play. Neither have done a spectacular job...

Much rather see Firschweiler gone than Granato... Our special teams need major improvement though...

Larkin - Datsyuk - Mantha Nyquist - Zetterberg - Abdelkader Tatar - Athanasiou - Jurco Sheahan - Richards / Glendening - Helm

I absolutely love Trouba and I do think he has the potential to become a stud in a few years. In saying that, I would not offer sheet him and certainly not at $8M per. Like Buppy said, it would be a foolish move to offer sheet a player that right now, only has the potential to be that good, especially if the cost were our next 4 first round picks... I just hope Holland is calling Cheveldayoff to see if there can be a trade made to acquire him. We have a lot of nice pieces, it's time to move some to fill a huge need on the back end...

Yeah, for sure, any free agent signing is a good signing. If they make the big club, great, and if they just end up being depth signings for Grand Rapids, that's fine too. I still think Nosek has an outside shot of making the Wings as a bottom sixer, but regardless he was a great signing for the Griffins for the past couple seasons. I put Renouf in the same category, an outside shot at making the Wings some day as a bottom pairing guy, but I see him more as a Lashoff type of depth guy. And I'm completely okay with that, especially with Ouellet, Sproul and Jensen all being waiver eligible next season. I was hoping we'd take a run at Casey Nelson too, another college free agent out of Minnesota State, but he just signed with the Sabres. Oh well, can't sign 'em all... As for Saarijarvi, I mentioned in another thread that I don't see him making the Griffins this season unless there are some injuries on the back end in Detroit or Grand Rapids. The Griffs have been playing with the ideal lefty-righty combination all season, with Russo, Sproul and Jensen occupying the right side, and I don't see Saarijarvi taking any of them out of the lineup. So unless an injury occurs, I see Vili getting top pair minutes down in Toledo...

joesuff, I said RFA's, not UFA's. And despite what people think of Abdelkader's contract, the cap hit is very good for what he brings to this team, the term is just a little longer than some of us would have liked. Overall, it's not an awful contract, and shouldn't hamper us too much in the future. I expect most of us to be very pleased with DeKeyser's contract, and I don't see him signing for anything close to $6M...

Holland has been known to overpay for "top" UFA's on the open market, but he never overpays homegrown RFA's. There's no way Sheahan or Pulkkinen get more than $3M between them. Marchenko, DeKeyser and Mrazek will all get fair contracts as well. Sheahan - $1.25M - 1.75M Pulkkinen - $0.95M - 1.25M Marchenko - $0.95M - 1.25M DeKeyser and Mrazek are a little harder to judge because they are both cornerstones of this team, so it depends on term, but I have full confidence that they'll both be re-signed to very good deals.

Yeah, he's really dumb... probably dropped on his head as a child... Remember that play he made at the end of last season against the Habs? Remember that? What an idiot... Probably the dumbest hockey player ever... Seriously though, Smith is our best puck mover, and is constantly making offensive plays. The points haven't been coming the way they probably should, but I still think they will eventually... He makes great pinches and holds the zone as good as or better than anyone on the team, the only other guys that are capable of holding the zone on a consistent basis, are DeKeyser and Green. For every time he gets caught pinching trying to keep the play alive there are a dozen times he makes a great play to maintain offensive pressure. You would keep a 36 year old, declining Kronwall over a 28 year old, prime Smith? Cool. I wouldn't.

nyquististhefuture, I agree to an extent. I had the exact same mentality last year, and somewhat again this year. If there's a high end defenseman and a high end forward available when we pick, we obviously need to take the defenseman. However, for whatever reason, we've been sticking to picking forwards in the first round of late, and maybe it's just that the scouts are more confident in their ability to pick forwards, I don't know. But despite a glaring need on the back end for the past few seasons, they've elected to go with forwards with their first pick and may do it again this year. I'd be okay with that, as long as Holland can fill the need on the back end via trade. If he can package a forward(s) / prospect(s) / pick(s) together to land a high end defenseman, I'd rather he go that route, as long as the GM on the other side doesn't rape him... Look at Nashville and their ability to draft defensemen, but for whatever reason they're not great at drafting forwards, the exact opposite seems to hold true for us, at least as far as first rounders go...

Quincey gets blamed for two years ago by the exact same people that blame Smith for two years ago, and the same people that say this team sucks... If you can't see what Smith brings I don't know what to tell you, but there's not a single defenseman on this team that can skate and handle the puck the way he does. He's a very important element to a team that lacks foot speed on the back end. You can refuse to see it, and you can refuse the stats all you want, but Smith is a very good defenseman. I absolutely would protect Smith and DeKeyser and hopefully another top pair guy that we acquire via trade. Don't agree? Awesome. Who would you protect?...

I know, Smith sux... unfortunately the stats say otherwise... He is the best puck possession defenseman on the team, and one of the best in the entire league... Smith's mistakes get magnified for two reasons, 1 because defensemen that control the play as much as he does, are bound to get caught from time to time (he does far more good than he does bad), and 2 because the majority of the fan base haven't gotten over the player he was two years ago and still point out his mistakes as much as possible...

Like I've said before, I don't know a ton about any of these guys, other than articles, youtube clips, stats, so I don't have anything against Fabbro really, other than not like drafting out of the Canadian Junior A Leagues. The BCHL is a lower tier league and not known for a great development program. The only noteworthy defenseman I know that has come out of that league is Justin Schultz (there likely are others). In saying that, I wouldn't be disappointed with the pick, just would love to see one of the other three fall to us (don't see it happening)...

My tune has changed? From what? Sure, I was excited to see him finally producing, even if it were as an older player at the junior level, but here is exactly what I said in that thread... "I'm really starting to think Bertuzzi may have it in him to become more than a 4th line grinder. Chances are he'll never become a top 6 forward at the NHL level, but a really good bottom 6 guy is very likely."... Where you get "the second coming" from that is beyond me, but yeah, keep reaching... My tune hasn't changed one bit. I still think he has it in him to be a very good bottom 6 guy at the NHL level. You hated when we drafted him, and I get it, he was picked way before anyone projected him, but he has exceeded everyone's expectations, and is likely going to become a solid NHLer, which is all you can ever expect from a late second rounder. Who else could we have picked that was projected to go around there? The only player that I would take in hindsight is Anthony Duclair, but I'm sure you knew back then that he was going to become a 3rd round steal right?...

Did you not ready my last post? Bertuzzi, like Maltby was an older player in Junior when he finally started putting up big numbers. He put up 17, 22 and 35 points respectively in his first three seasons with Guelph, and then finally had his breakout season with 98 points as a 4th year, 20 year old... Not the same comparison at all... Also, like Son of a Wing mentioned, Bertuzzi was never expected to become a scorer, he was always expected to become a bottom 6 grinder / agitator, and that's likely what he'll become at the NHL level. An Andrew Shaw / Antoine Roussel type player, which is what you can usually expect with a late second round pick... Anyway, back to Jones. Maybe there is something to what you were saying about him not being a great pick. McKenzie had him ranked at #16 on his mid-season rankings, but Button just came out with his own yesterday and had him ranked at #35. I'm not sure of his reason to have him so much lower, but I'm still not convinced it's his offensive game. Regardless, I wouldn't mind taking a gamble on him if he were still available late in the first... My hope is still that one of the big name defensemen drop to us. Button has Chychrun, Sergachev, Bean and Fabbro all ranked from 9-12 respectively. Landing any one of the first three would be a great add...

Sounds like one more reason Winnipeg may decide to trade Trouba to get something for him while they can... Holland needs to be all over this. I know we'd likely have Kronwall on our list, but we need to trade for a top pairing guy before then (Trouba)... I'd personally leave Kronwall unprotected and go with Trouba, DeKeyser and Smith as our three protected defensemen...

I'm not sure how accurate those sites are, one I've never ever heard of... but I'd much rather take information on more reputable sources. Regardless, the stats are there to say otherwise. I'm sick of people bringing up the Kirk Maltby stats, how he was a 50 goal scorer in junior, blah, blah, blah... First off, that was 25 years ago, secondly, Maltby was in his 3rd season at that point. It's very common for players 19-20 years old to put up very good numbers in junior. He put up a measly 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in 61 games in his rookie year in junior, and that is what we're comparing here... Gauthier is also ranked 5-7 spots higher on most mock drafts that I've seen, maybe for good reason... In saying that, Gauthier's stats aren't that spectacular for a third year junior player, especially for the Q. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'd much rather draft players out of either the O or W over the Q...

Please point me toward a scouting report that says he is not an offensive player... I cannot find one, and even if there is one, most other reports say otherwise, as well as his stats.. He also put up 11 points (7 goals, 4 assists) in just 6 games in the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge last season, which ranked him number 2 in the entire tournament... I'm not buying that he isn't an offensive player, and the more I think about it, the less I believe he will be available when we pick...

I'll admit, I don't know a ton about Jones, other than the few articles I've read, few clips I've seen and his stat line, but what would give you the impression that he might not be able to put up the points? Or that he may never be anything more than a checker / depth guy? Everything I've read has been very positive, the clips I've seen have been impressive and his stats are very good for a junior rookie. He had 52 points (28 goals, 24 assists) in 63 games in his first year with the Knights, and just turned 18 years old last month. To compare, Dylan Strome for example, put up 39 points (10 goals, 29 assists) in 60 games in his rookie season, and then went on to put up 129 points (45 goals, 84 assists) in 68 games, and 111 points (37 goals, 74 assists) in 56 games the following two seasons... Strome is one of the most highly touted prospects in the Coyotes organization and will likely become a top line player and have a great career. Again, if there's something I'm missing or something you know that most don't, please enlighten me why you don't think he'll be anything more than a Darren McCarty type player... To me, he seems like he could be a perfect fit on a top line alongside Larkin in a few years...

I've said for the past couple drafts that we should try to draft a defenseman in the first round, but once again there doesn't seem to be any high end guys that will be available where I think we will end up picking. So unless one of two things happen, a player like Jake Bean or Mikhail Sergachev drops down to us (doubtful), or we trade up for a player like Jacob Chychrun or Olli Juolevi (not going to happen), we should probably take another forward... Of the forwards that will likely be available at or around where we pick, I really like Max Jones and Kieffer Bellows. In saying that, our biggest need still remains to be on the back end, but realistically no one we're going to draft in June will be ready for another couple years minimum anyway, so our best option is likely to package some players together in a trade for a top pair defenseman... I like some of our defense prospects, but I don't see any becoming a legit number one. Russo and Sproul probably have the highest ceilings but I don't really see either becoming anything more than 2nd pairing guys...

LeftWinger, you don't just trade off whichever player would garner the better return, you keep whichever player is more important to this team, and in my opinion it's Smith, and not even close. This team has been trying to get back to the speed and puck possession team it once was, and Smith brings exactly that. Marchenko is the complete opposite of that... I've never been all that high on Marchenko, and I've always said his ceiling is a third pairing, shut down guy. I see him as another Ericsson type player, that fans get so frustrated with, big body that rarely uses it, mediocre at everything, not outstanding at anything. I hope I'm wrong, but I've just never seen the potential in Alexey that others seem to see...

joesuff, yes Saarijarvi is eligible to play with the Griffins, and I've been expecting to hear him joining the team since Flint finished up this past weekend. However, I'm not sure if he would push anyone currently playing out of a spot. We've been playing with the ideal lefty-righty combination all season, with Russo, Sproul and Jensen occupying the right side, I don't see Saarijarvi taking any of them out of the lineup. So unless there's an injury or call-up to Detroit, I see Vili as either a 7th/8th defenseman in Grand Rapids or playing top minutes down in Toledo...

Great news, we have just fixed this mess... and we didn't even have to push Datsyuk out the door. The Red Wings have re-signed Eric Tangradi to a two-year contract extension.