krsmith17

It's going to be tough for him to crack that lineup for sure... This may not be popular with a lot of people but I'd bump Miller out. I know, it's not likely to happen but I wouldn't mind seeing something like this... Abdelkader - Zetterberg - Nyquist Larkin - Datsyuk - Pulkkinen Tatar - Richards - Jurco Sheahan - Glendening - Helm I'm not anti-Miller by any stretch but he is very replaceable in the lineup and I'm hoping they lean toward not bringing him back after this season.\ He is one of our top penalty killers but plenty or guys can kill penalties. Glendening, Helm, Sheahan, Abdelkader, Richards, Larkin...

V.T.? Hmmm... Vesa Toskala? I doubt he'll be able to teach Mrazek a whole lot, unless it's learning how to let in shots from behind the oppositions goal line... Or maybe you're talking about Vladislav Tretiak... Do you really think a 63 year old that hasn't played professionally in over 30 years would be able to teach Mrazek to play in today's game? I doubt he'd have a whole lot to offer to be honest... Jim Bedard seems to be doing just fine with Mrazek.

Dickie, here's a quote directly from Blashill... "It is ultimately being in elite shape so he can skate nonstop in a game. He is somebody who is going to be an effective player when he is able to go full-out at all times. That is what we have tried to work on with him." Now, you can read that quote and think that he's not in "elite shape", doesn't "skate nonstop in games", or "go full-out at all times" because he's "lazy", or you can read that quote and think that maybe, just maybe, it has absolutely nothing to do with his work-ethic, and has everything to do with getting back into game shape after suffering a back injury that saw him miss time at the end of last season, bothered him through the offseason, and likely was still lingering through training camp and into this season... Post #76 of this thread you said, "Speaking as someone who has back issues, they don't go away...", but yet you believe it is an "unwillingness to put forth necessary effort", not a nagging back injury?... Jurco has an elite skillset, and from everything I've seen from him from his time in Saint John, to Grand Rapids, to Detroit he has shown great work-ethic and determination. He will be fine.

Jimmy, I don't think Buppy was trying to single you out, because you're clearly not the only one s***ing on Pulkkinen, he/she just happened to respond to your comment and then began a little debate... That's what I took from it anyway. Regardless, I haven't been overly impressed with Pulkkinen either, but there's no denying he's been doing what he's here to do, and I don't think he has been nearly as bad as some make him out to be... Unfortunately, he has now been labeled by LGW, and as we all know, it is nearly impossible to shake that label. Fans need someone to blame, and I guess for whatever reason, Pulkkinen seems to be an easy target. He's not the only one, look no further than Howard, or Ericsson, or Kindl, or Smith, or Jurco, or Cleary, etc...

I'll say it again, and you can try to refute it all you want, doesn't change the fact that Howard is a good goaltender and he is very tradable. There are a handful of teams that would love to have a goalie like Howard, whether or not Winnipeg is one of them, I'm not sure, but he is an upgrade over anything they have right now... Regardless, I think it would be a mistake to trade Howard at this point, unless we are getting an above average backup in return. I think we should wait until at least this offseason to move Jimmy...

This is a Byfuglien thread but you certainly cannot be talking about Byff, if you're talking about them wanting Mrazek, Mantha or Svechnikov... Sure, they may want them, but realistically they know they'll never get that sort of return in a trade for a pending UFA... If Byfuglien is traded before the deadline, he will go for a roster player and a mid level prospect or pick. No one is giving up top players or top prospects for a guy that can bolt a few months later. So no, Winnipeg will not get a Mrazek type goaltender, nor will they get a Nyquist type player, or Mantha / Svechnikov type prospect... Not going to happen...

If who wants Mrazek? Winnipeg? If the question is, would I trade Mrazek for Byfuglien... the answer is Hell No! As I said earlier in the thread, I'm not that high on Byfuglien so I wouldn't give up much for him, let alone one of the top young goaltenders in the entire league... Would I trade Mrazek for a young elite offensive defenseman like Klingberg or Faulk? I'd definitely consider it...

Howard has a NTC up until the final season of his contract (2018-19) but can supply a 10 team no-trade list up until then. I would think if Howard is relegated to a backup role in Detroit behind Mrazek over the next year or two, he would be more than willing to help himself and the team out in a trade to a team that he could win back the starting role. There are always going to be teams that need an upgrade in goaltending, whether or not the team believes Howard is their guy, and are willing to give up the assets to get him is another question. I think three Western Canadian (Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary) teams would be a good fit, but would all three be on Jimmy's no-trade list? I think if you dig deep enough there's always a trading partner and no player is truly untradeable...

Turns out he got the assist on it. The puck was already over the line before Ferraro got a stick on it. Marchand's goal...

Ekblad is from Windsor. You know who is from Michigan though? Jacob Trouba... DeKeyser - Trouba top pair... Hell yes!

I think Turgeon actually has the potential to be a really good third line center some day. He reminds me a lot of Sheahan actually. Big, solid two way center, that plays a very sound defensive game (complete opposite of his old man...) From what I've seen, he's got some decent wheels too. He's off to a great start this season in Portland, which is to be expected as a 19 year old still playing junior hockey. Would have liked to keep Ferraro around or at the very least down in Grand Rapids, but good luck in Boston. Hopefully he can lock down a full time roster spot.

Last I seen, he was playing on the second line with Spezza and Eaves... Thankfully, we don't have any worries of Janmark winning the Calder...

Jurco named AHL Player of the Week with 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 3 games. http://theahl.com/griffins-jurco-named-ccm-ahl-player-of-the-week-p200393

Frank, 4th line grinders are a dime a dozen, especially those that have yet to skate a single minute in an NHL game... People really need to stop with this "work-ethic" bulls*** on Jurco. There is absolutely nothing that would indicate that he isn't willing to work hard. Blashill said he needs to be able to skate harder? Key word there is "able". I'm sure he is more than willing to put in the work, but his back really hasn't allowed him to work-out or play to his full potential this season, as well as the latter half of last season. Let's hope his back is healing and he can put all this behind him. The issues he's been having with his back, that is why he's struggled to get into games, that is why he was sent down on a conditioning stint, not because he has a "poor work ethic"... You cannot send a waiver eligible player down on a conditioning stint, to "get it together and get his work ethic going" or to work on "some flaws"...

Frank, you would seriously rather Tyler Biggs over Tomas Jurco? Seriously? Jurco is 10 times better than Biggs could ever dream to be... At least we would have a 4th line player with some 3rd line upside? You're right, we don't have that with Jurco, instead we have a 3rd line player with 1st/2nd line upside... Big? They're virtually the exact same size? Biggs - 6'2", 205 lbs. Jurco - 6'1", 203 lbs. Is it that you believe that extra inch and 2 lbs. really makes the difference, or is it just that you would rather the rough and tough North American kid over the skilled, soft Euro kid?...

Great post PVD. That's precisely how I feel about the whole situation as well. Jurco was mishandled in that he was struggling to stay in the lineup in his sophomore season, and still being waiver exempt, he should have been sent down, but he wasn't. How anyone thinks that he was better served as a 12th/13th forward for the Wings rather than a top line forward for the Griffins is beyond me... But like you said, just because he was mishandled and has struggled to crack the lineup, doesn't mean he can't / won't overcome that. He definitely will, he's still very young. At the very least, Jurco will be a very good 3rd line guy, though I still believe he has top line potential at the NHL level. But whether Jurco develops into that top line power-forward that we all want him to become, or he turns out to be that 3rd line forward that some seem to think he'll become, that's up to him, and he will get paid accordingly. There is one fact though, Jurco is much more valuable to the Red Wings going forward than he would be in a trade today. So people saying we should trade him or even worse, waive him it's not going to happen, nor should it...

Buppy, I'm not making excuses. I'm just calling it as I see it. I have to ask though, where are you getting your information from? There's not much correlation between what you're saying and what I'm seeing. Not saying your information isn't correct but it's not at all what I'm getting. Maybe my information is off... Also, are you using a total ice time for all three seasons? Because he only played 725 minutes last season and your numbers aren't adding up. If you are totaling all three seasons that's not accurate to what I'm arguing at all. My point is, he played with good linemates in his rookie season, but didn't nearly as much in year two, which is what I illustrated in my previous post. By the way, he has been just as "moderately productive" as any of those 4th liners despite not being that type of player / comfortable in that type of role. Jurco always seems to be the first to get demoted or scratched despite hardly ever being close to the worst player on any given night. I'm assuming it's because he's the kid. It's easier to sit the kid than one of the veterans... Those people that would argue that the quality in the CHL is as good or better than the NCAA... would be wrong. College hockey is a much more structured game than that of the run and gun style in the CHL, in particular the QMJHL (which is where Jurco played).

No, Smith and Kindl aren't as bad as many make them out to be, but the defense prospects aren't as good as some make them out to be either. Those that think that any of these kids are going to step right in and be an upgrade every night and never make mistakes, are in for a rude awakening... We need a major upgrade on the backend for our future d-core. We don't have a single top pairing defensive prospect. We have a s*** ton of top line forwards though...

.... And Helm was a prototypical 4th liner entering the league. None of the other guys aside from Abdelkader were/are close to that, including Jurco. How do you think Nuquist would have fared if he were expected to play a 4th line grinding role when he entered the league?

Buppy, I'm wrong? Where exactly are you getting this data that he spent all of this TOI with one the top scorers? Here's the data I've seen... In 2013-14 he spent 66.8% of his TOI centered by Sheahan and 57.1% with Tatar on the other wing. That was a very good half a season for the 20 year old Jurco, putting up 15 points (8 goals, 7 assists) in just 36 games. In 2014-15 he spent 31.2% with Miller on the other wing, 31.1% with Sheahan at center and the other 28.1% with Glendening at center... As far as I know, none of those three were our top scorers... And because of all that time spent on the 4th line, he struggled, only putting up 18 points (3 goals, 15 assists) in 63 games. So far this season he has been with Tatar for 36.7%, Pulkkinen for 34.4% and Richards at center for 35.9%. Those are some decent linemates and to me, he looked good in the 4 games he played (aside from the game against Carolina). Yes, Jurco did have a poor year last year, but even Pavel Datsyuk would struggle to put up points on a line with Glendening and Miller the majority of the season... He absolutely was mishandled as a prospect. He needed more time in the American League and that was very evident in his play. Jurco will be fine, but people need to stop acting as if he's a bust at the age of 22, when given very little opportunity to prove anything at the NHL level. The kids got it, it's only a matter of time before he breaks out.

Not a huge loss by any stretch, but this should have been Andersson. However, if it were I bet Boston wouldn't have claimed him anyway...

Jacksoni, that was on a more serious note? Really? First of all, he's on a conditioning stint, so the max he can stay down there is 2 weeks, so there's no "as long as it takes, he's still young" bulls*** that you're spewing. Yeah, we should definitely "add him to the endless list of failures"... Unreal...

Did I say anything that would indicate that I think you are wishing for Jurco to fail? No. All I'm saying is that you and a few others here are skeptical of what Jurco can and eventually will bring to the Red Wings. And as I've stated time and time again, there is nothing to indicate that he will not eventually be a really good NHL player.

Dickie, Blashill doesn't hate him, his back will be fine, he has been doing everything asked of him, including taking the opportunity presented to him to go down to GR, and the skill level absolutely is there. You don't think that confidence should be on that list?... There are certain skill sets that may or may not translate from the AHL to the NHL, Pulkkinen's being one of them, Jurco's, not at all. Jurco will be fine. Serious question, have you ever seen the kid play a game in Grand Rapids? He is dominant. He plays the type of North South game that will translate to the NHL. It's only a matter of time...

Exactly PVD, people that are skeptical of Jurco, keep saying that he has had his opportunities, but he really hasn't. His first stint when he played those 36 games was the only time he was given a real opportunity to succeed, and he did so, beyond expectations. Since then, he has played a scattered game in the top 9, and if he didn't immediately produce he was either demoted to the 4th line or healthy scratched. What 21-22 year old can remain confident and continue to play at an ultra high level in that situation? Not many. Comparing him to Larkin? Seriously? A better comparison would be the countless other prospects that we've had that couldn't get it done at the NHL level until they were 22-24, don't ya think? Larkin is a very special player and rare case, especially for Red Wings prospects. There's no question he was mishandled as a prospect, but I also don't think there's any question that Blashill will get him back on track. I'm just happy they seem to have learned from there mistakes with Jurco and are not doing the same with Mantha. This conditioning stint will be great for his confidence, and I believe once he gets back up he will take his opportunity and run with it.