krsmith17

I don't think the Kucherov's and Point's will be available in the 2nd and 3rd rounds much anymore. GM's are less hesitant in taking the small skilled players than they were even 5 years ago. We need to hit with an elite player with our 4th overall pick, and hopefully one of our three 2nd round picks can be an impact top six forward / top four defenseman. Or maybe even package a couple 2nd's to move up into the 1st, or take on another bad contract to acquire a 1st. And yeah, I'm really hoping Yzerman can pull off a Sergachev trade. Hell, I'd even be happy with another Fabbri trade...

I hear where you're coming from, but I don't think Krug should be that player, and certainly not at $8M x 8 years...

Right. Yzerman sux... Howard signed a 6 year contract at the age of 30 (same age as Markstrom now) at $5.3M per. At the time, the salary cap was $64.3M, meaning he took up 8.2% of the cap. Markstrom is rumored to be looking to sign a contract worth $6M per. The salary cap is currently at $81.5M, meaning he would take up 7.4% of the cap (significantly less than Howard). I would say Howard was well worth his contract, up until the last year or so, when the wheels fell off. I'd be all for signing Markstrom to a $6M contract for 4 years. If that's an "overpayment", Howard must have been overpaid (even more so) as well, which I'd also disagree with...

If Mantha comes in under $6M, long-term, it will be a fantastic contract. Bertuzzi at around $4-4.5M is around where I would have pegged him. Good depth signing. Probably a career AHLer at this point, but a good pro for the young Griffins to learn from.

Well in that case, I take it all back... Re-sign Howard. Give the man a raise...

Sure, but that's what free agency is... Besides, I wouldn't say $6M over 4 years would be a big overpayment for Marstrom, and AGAIN, there are a few cheaper options that I'd prefer.

I wouldn't say no chance. There are people that believe he's a top three talent in this draft. There have also been Raymond links to Ottawa (likely 5th though). I also wouldn't be quick to call Art an idiot for that selection. It wouldn't shock me at all if Yzerman went "off the board" and took Holtz. Best goal scorer in the draft, and to be honest, I wouldn't hate that pick at all.

I'm not arguing that we should sign Markstrom to $6M x 4 years. I'm arguing that we should sign virtually any goaltender over Howard, because he was that bad last season. You don't win 2 games out of 27 starts and get another contract. "Anybody but Howard"...

I finally got around to watching this... If you haven't watched, you haven't missed much... They did a mock draft and they all had the top three going Lafreniere, Byfield, Stutzle except Trev. He had Byfield dropping to Detroit. Ken Kal had the Wings taking Rossi, Art had the Wings taking Holtz, and Ken Daniels had the Wings taking Drysdale. I was surprised that there was no real conversation about Raymond (who may challenge for 3rd overall) or Perfetti (who has been heavily linked to Detroit)...

Oh, my bad. What's your take on Zadina? Surely you have a much better take than that dumbass CRL...

If Staal were bought out by the Rangers or Red Wings before next season, he would absolutely get signed by some NHL general manager. For that same reason, some NHL general manager will trade for him at next year's trade deadline. Marc it!

The funniest thing about this comment is that people think there's no way Staal could garner any interest at the trade deadline, because GM's never over value mediocre big defensive defensemen... Marc Staal at the age of 33 >>> Erik Gudbranson at the age of 27...

Yes. Also this. I know what it's like (rightfully so) to be on the other side of this conversation...

I'm well aware, but he is going to play, and I do think he could be a trade asset at next year's trade deadline. This is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I think with the change of scenery, Staal is going to have a bit of a resurgence next season. I'm not expecting him to put up huge numbers, but a decent shutdown defenseman, and quality penalty killer. He will be a top 4 defenseman (as scary as that is) on this team. We just acquired Staal. I highly doubt we're going after Alzner or any other bad defensive defenseman. If Yzerman makes another trade for another bad contract, I expect it to be for a forward (Eriksson).

Who knows?... Boredom...

What are you talking about? I specifically said I want Staal to play. We should all want Staal to play, and hopefully play reasonably well. GM's always overvalue "hard to play against defensive defensemen", especially come playoff time. He may have some trade value on his name alone. I don't think it's at all unreasonable to think that a playoff team could look at him, and say, he could be a good fit on our 3rd pairing, cost us next to nothing in cap space (assuming we retain), and only a mid round pick.

You keep saying this, but I have no idea why... Have you heard or read anything that would give you the impression that Yzerman isn't a fan of Cholowski? If you said Blashill, I'd understand it a bit, just from the way he's been utilized, but I don't get Yzerman not liking him...

And again, this is not the final roster, and until we see Cholowski and Lindstrom scratched or demoted, why are you complaining? I also think there's a possibility (maybe not likely) that Staal has more in the tank, and can prove to be a valuable trade asset at next year's trade deadline. We need a bounce back season for DeKeyser, and we need solid production from Nemeth and Staal to trade at the deadline. If that is Yzerman's plan, I'm all for it, and I'd be okay with Cholowski playing another half season in Grand Rapids (or wherever he plays this coming season). I think 2021-22 is when we'll really start to see some roster turnover. Some contracts have expired, some more will expire after this season, and more will be traded / bought out, with one less year remaining. I expect all of Rasmussen, Veleno, Cholowski to get looks next season, but all will be full time by the following season. I wouldn't say Yzerman is outright tanking. I don't think he ever wants to see a season like last season. But he knows where this team is at, and understands that we're still a few years away. Continue building, and stockpile prospects and draft picks.

I think you missed the part about him calling Zadina a bust on draft day. I absolutely think mackel is a troll, but I also think he truly believes in his heart of hearts that "Zadina is a bust", and will end up in Europe in a couple years... If this is an elaborate attempt to piss off myself and others here... Great job mackel! I don't buy it though, and I wouldn't give him the easy out. When he is inevitably proven wrong, he can just say "durr I was just f***ing with you"...

THIS! This is exactly what Yzerman should be doing with his cap space. Weaponize it to gain future assets. If he didn't do that, people would complain. He does that, and people still complain. We're still at least three months away from next season, and people are already complaining about the roster construction. What is Yzerman supposed to do with all of Holland's bad contracts? All he can do, is wait for them to expire, or trade (retain) or buyout in the final year. This was a great trade for the future of this team. I hope we see at least one or two more just like this. Let's add another s*** player like Eriksson or Steen or whoever...

There's nothing to be disappointed by his development thus far. He's right on track, or even further ahead of other 5th/6th overall picks in most years. I don't give a s*** how good or bad hockey media "made him out to be" pre-draft. He's been very good since an understandably slow start to his pro career, and will continue to get better. There's absolutely nothing as of yet, to come close to suggesting that he's a bust.

So you think it's reasonable to look at Zadina, and think Svechnikov or bust? That's the worst rationale I've heard yet... So if Svechnikov is a 90-100 point winger, and Zadina, picked 4 spots after him, is only a 70-80 point winger, it's reasonable to consider him a bust? The issue I have with mackel calling Zadina a bust, is that he was calling him a bust since the day we drafted him. Based on absolutely nothing. And he's too proud to admit he was wrong, so he's going to continue to run this into the ground. Zadina will be a legitimate top six winger, and that's not a bust at 6th overall, no matter how you want to spin it.

It's a one year contract, and we already acquired one 2nd round pick, with the potential of adding another mid round pick at next year's trade deadline. I think he will prove to be an upgrade over Ericsson / Daley, but even if he's not, it's still a worthwhile trade to acquire the asset(s). There's literally nothing to complain about, but here we are...

Why are you still trying to disguise your writing style? You're not fooling anyone. Everyone knows you're the same dumbass known as number9 / CRL...

Yeah, I think his numbers would definitely take a hit, due to lesser talent around him, but I also think it will inevitably decline in the not too distant future anyway. If Krug were 4 years younger, or we were 4 years further into this rebuild, I'd be all for signing Krug. Unfortunately, we're a minimum of three years away from being legit contenders (if everything goes right), and Krug likely only has about three really good years in him before he starts to decline. If we were to sign Krug to a 7-8 year contract, I could see the latter half of that contract looking really bad...