krsmith17

I think Mrazek has the potential to be an elite NHL goaltender, and I do believe he will be our clear number one at some point this season, possibly as early as Christmas. Like many have already pointed out though, it would be a huge mistake to trade Howard before next offseason unless some team blows us away with an offer we can't refuse (not going to happen...). The competition will be great for both goalies and we need the insurance in case one of them goes down with some sort of injury...

Ovechkin is one of those players that I've grown to like over the years. I didn't like him at all when he first came into the league, but I definitely respect his offensive game. And offensively, he is probably one of the best Russian players in the history of the game. However, if I had the choice between Ovechkin in his prime and Fedorov in his prime, I would pick Sergei every single time. There's more to the game than offense. Fedorov understood that, Ovechkin still hasn't figured it out.

I think it's obvious that both are very important to the success of a team, but if I were building a team from scratch, I would build around an elite center rather than an elite defenseman. In saying that, with the current makeup of our team, and taking into account the age of our core players and the prospects we have coming in the next few years, if we were putting a package together for one or the other, I would absolutely take the elite defenseman over the elite center. In the next few years we will have to replace Datsyuk at center and Kronwall on defense. I think we have center prospects that could potentially become elite, but I don't think we have any defense prospects with elite top pairing ability.

I'm hoping he will get 3rd line minutes with Sheahan and Jurco and a ton of power-play time, setting up along the left half board, unleashing that cannon every chance he gets. I'm thinking 20-25 goals, 40-45 points.

Love Zetterberg... That's the little boys' name...

He won't... Jurco is already better than Kopecky at the age of 22. People seem to forget how young he is and how un-Red-Wing-like it is for a 20 year old to crack the lineup. Jurco will be fine. I expect big things out of him this season under Blashill...

I don't think anyone said that he wants to be the next Kopecky, but why would you even compare the two? Their bio's are very similar in that they're both Tomas' from Slovakia, drafted in virtually the same position, by the same team, and also similar in stature, but that's where the similarities end. Jurco is a much more skilled player in my opinion, and I wouldn't be shocked if he cracks 400 points before he plays 600 games, while Kopecky still hasn't cracked 200 points...

I think his most comparable counterpart has already been mentioned, Matt Beleskey. I do however think that Abdelkader is a more skilled version of Beleskey. I also think Steve Ott from a few years ago would be a pretty good comparison... I agree with most here that believe somewhere in the $4M range for 4-5 years would be a good deal for both Abby and the Wings.

Great trade off in my opinion. I was never very high on Marshall, although I do admit never seeing him play a full game. So other than a few highlights and scouting reports, I didn't have much to base an opinion on... Either way, we essentially upgraded our prospect pool at the defense position with zero cost.

Sproul didn't put up the points he is capable of last season (although still not horrible numbers) but I expect him to come in rejuvenated and ready to prove himself under new head coach, Todd Nelson. For a defenseman that has played such an offensive minded game his entire career, and has never really had to concentrate on the defensive side of the puck, Sproul really isn't that bad in his own zone. He improved leaps and bounds last season in that area, and I expect him to continue to get better as long as he gets the ice time. nyquististhefuture, when did I ever say anything about Sproul being with the Wings or in the NHL? Yes, Sproul has a ton of upside, but it's more than that in my opinion. I still rank him as our most talented defensive prospect. He is not the most NHL ready because he still has some kinks to work out in his game, but how does he work on his game without seeing ice time? I didn't hate Blashill scratching him a few games last regular season to light a fire under him, and it worked. However, I was disappointed to see him scratched in the playoffs because I thought he was playing really well despite his numbers. I guess I do get why Blash did it though, defensive hockey wins in the playoffs... If we're talking raw talent, Sproul is the undisputed number one in my book. I'd put Hicketts at number two, but his lack of size may inhibit his ability to make it to the NHL. Bottom line, there has to be some sort of trade coming. I do believe there is such thing as too much depth, and we are certainly teetering on that right now...

There's got to be a trade coming...

I agree that this has likely lowered Sproul on the depth chart unless there is a trade on the way, which I see as a real possibility. I'd like to see us put a decent package together to make an upgrade on the back end. I know Kindl doesn't have much value, but maybe Kindl, Ouellet and another roster player (forward) could get us something... Sproul just has way too much upside to be sitting in Grand Rapids...

Right handed shot defenseman with decent size and mobility. Over a point per game in his final year of NCAA. I like it. Also, the highly touted Mike Reilly, that a lot of Wings fans wanted to sign, who eventually signed with the Wild, finished with one more point than Russo. Russo was selected 95th overall by the Islanders in the 2011 draft while Reilly was selected 98th overall by the Blue Jackets the same year... I like this signing a lot...

Jurco is going into just his second full season, at the age of 22... Compare him to highly touted prospect, Pulkkinen, who is going into his first full season at the age of 23 (which is the norm in Detroit). Also Tatar and Nyquist are both going into just their third full seasons and are 24 and 25 respectively. Jurco will be fine, and he certainly isn't "running out of time"... His stick trick videos are cool and all, but that is far from his game. He is a very talented player that will work his way into a top six role within the next year or two.

I like the Athanasiou - Mantha combo too, and as much as I would love to see Larkin slotted in between those two for the best line in the league (potentially), I'd prefer to spread out our top players over the top two lines. I believe Larkin will help Mantha just as well as anyone, and having a vet like Miele on the other wing could form a great line. I'd prefer to see Athanasiou center his own line, and him and Bertuzzi have shown some chemistry as well. Yeah, Bertuzzi did show great chemistry with Miele, but Zengerle was a huge part of that as well, so I think that trio has the potential to be very dangerous as well. I agree that Tangradi wasn't likely brought in to be a healthy scratch, but in my lineup he would be. There's not a single player in the top six that I would take out for him. Maybe he's a better option than Frk in the bottom six, but like you, I like that all Czech/Slovak line. I also think Nastasiuk should be in the lineup on opening night.

I picked Nyquist in a similar poll a few years ago and my opinion hasn't changed since then. I believe that Nyquist is definitely the better all around player, and as much as I love both players, I'd choose Nyquist over Tatar every single time.

I agree, Mrazek is definitely the type of goalie that thrives under pressure, and is at his best when he faces a ton of rubber.

I think our top 5 probably looks something like... 1.) Larkin 2.) Athanasiou 3.) Mantha 4.) Svechnikov 5.) Bertuzzi Kind of scary that not a single one of our top 5 prospects is a defenseman... I still believe Sproul is the defense prospect with the highest potential, I just really hope he gets there. I don't see any of our other defense prospects becoming anything more than a 4/5.

I have no idea what the lines will look like but I'd like to see something like... Miele - Larkin - Mantha Bertuzzi - Athanasiou - Zengerle Tvrdon - Nosek - Frk Hoggan - Aubry - Nastasiuk Tangradi - Grant Completely agree with everything else (defense and goaltending).

GMRwings1983, not a single player on our 4th line (or on our team) is nearly as slow, soft, or offensively inept as Andersson...

Andersson is slow, non physical, weak on the puck and lacks any offensive ability. He is decent at faceoffs, but we have more than enough center depth. Also, don't forget that Blashill used Ferraro at center at times in Grand Rapids the past few seasons, so that can't even be used as a plus for him. He's good on the PK, but both Ferraro and Callahan would be much better because of their speed alone...

I thought it was pretty obvious that I was speaking slightly tongue in cheek when I mentioned all of those "plugs", and went on to mention that Cleary 3 years from now would be better... The point was and still remains that Andersson is the worst player on the roster and once everyone is healthy, he should be the player waived... The guy is the definition of a plug. Every single player in the organization brings more to the table than Joakim Andersson...

2015 Landon Ferraro, 2015 Mitch Callahan, 2014 Andrej Nestrasil, 2013 Cory Emmerton, 2012 Jan Mursak, 2018 Dan Cleary are all >>> Any Joakim Andersson... Joakim Andersson f*cking blows and I will be extremely disappointed if he is not the odd man out once everyone is healthy and a player needs to be waived...

Great video! Awesome collection!

I don't think he will make the opening night roster unless we have a few injuries up front, but I do think he makes the 23 man roster regardless. With Pav out for sure, and Franzen very likely, I think he will be one of the 14 forwards to be named to the team the first week of October. I think / hope Andersson will be the odd man out...