krsmith17

Not to say that Larkin is on the same level as Eichel, but there's only 3 months in the difference between the two. It would be interesting to see where they would have been drafted if Eichel went in '14 and Larkin was going to go in '15... Would Eichel have gone before Ekblad? Reinhart? Would Larkin go before Hanifin? Strome?...

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. I love Franson's game and I think he is far and away our best option, whether that be free agency or trade target. No one else really interests me at all to be honest. Unfortunately, I don't see us landing him, so I won't ever get the opportunity to say "told ya so..." Haha.

I'd give Franson upwards of around $4.5-5M on a 3 year contract. I think that is the ballpark for salary, I just think he will likely be looking for more term... Franson would be an immediate upgrade to our top 4. I'd consider going $4.5 x 5 years...

I think Franson is underrated, due to him being a healthy scratch at times with Nashville. The Preds are loaded on the back end, so it was hard for him to crack a lineup that was hot before the trade took place. They struggled after the trade but it would be foolish to believe Franson had anything to do with that. He's a really good defenseman and in my opinion is exactly what this team needs. His value is at an all time low right now and it would be a great time to pick him up.

Yes, Jurco could have and should have been sent down last season. I think he should have started the season in Grand Rapids, even if we were short with the big club and we had to sign a vet. He simply wasn't ready. There's not a doubt in my mind that both Jurco and Pulkkinen would have benefitted from Tomas spending one more season in the minors. Make no mistake though, losing Nestrasil to Carolina last season was no huge loss, by any stretch. He will top out at 30 points, and those players are a dime a dozen. On Cleary, I honestly don't believe he will be on the 23 man roster in October. If he is offered another contract it will be based on a tryout. I'd love to see him stay with the organization, much like Draper and Maltby have, in some sort of training (strength and conditioning) role. I love Cleary, being a fellow Newfie, and I wish he had more left in the tank, but it's clear that he has given all he can as a player. He's done...

I really don't see what people see in Paul Martin... In my opinion Quincey > Martin Give me Cody Franson or stay the hell away from free agency.

I agree WingedWheel91, and I would absolutely trade Athanasiou for Dylan Strome, in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, it would cost a hell of a lot more than just Andreas and our 19th overall pick to get Strome. Likely a lot more than I'd be willing to give up... But don't underestimate the player that AA has become. He was a bit of a late bloomer and was an absolute steal in the 4th round of the 2012 draft. If there was a 2012 re-draft done in a few years time, I would be shocked if AA wouldn't go in the first round... He is one of our top prospects, and probably the most complete prospect outside of Larkin. He is big, he hits, he's lightning fast, unbelievable hands, decent shot. It would take a lot for me to trade him, but yes, I absolutely would for a player like Dylan Strome. Anyway, there's zero chance we trade up to top 5, so it's really a moot point... We haven't drafted in the top 10 since 1991, and we're likely (hopefully) not going to for another long time. But I think we have a few potentially elite players up front (Larkin, Athanasiou, Mantha), we have a potentially elite goalie (Mrazek), I think the only area we lack elite potential is on the back end. We have depth there, just not any future top pairing guys...

Wasn't sure where to put this, but Dylan Larkin is Hockey Future's 2015 NHL Prospect of the Year. http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/124547/hockeys-future-2015-nhl-prospect-of-the-year-larkin-parlays-strong-ncaa-season-into-first-pro-contract/

Exactly why I've been stressing I am not in favor of moving back in the draft. I want to move up to grab a top flight defenseman. I also agree and have said before that Werenski may not be available at 12, in which case I wouldn't make the trade with Dallas... Maybe try to make a trade with San Jose or Columbus?... Also, I wasn't saying that moving from 19th to 28th wouldn't be a huge deal for us, I was saying that moving from 12th to 19th might not be such a huge deal for Dallas if their number one guy is gone and they feel they can still get their number two guy at 19, while also adding assets...

Moving back 7 spots isn't a such a huge deal in such a deep draft. Obviously Kindl alone wouldn't get the trade done, and that's not what I said... I do think Kindl, Marchenko or Ouellet would peak Nill's interest, and we could add in another piece (Nastasiuk?) if it gets the deal done. Of course, I'm only interested in that move if Werenski is still available, which he may not be at that point... This is my favorite option because I believe Werenski has top pair potential, and that is what we are truly lacking in the pipeline. I'd rather add one player that projects to be a number 1-2 defenseman, then 2 players that project to be 4-5 defensemen... I would also like to explore trading our 1st round pick plus other assets for immediate help on defense. A player like Johnson would be a huge upgrade on the back end...

Options... Keep our 1st round pick (19th overall) Draft - Brandon Carlo OR Oliver Kylington (19) Trade back to get 2 later picks To TBL - 1st round pick (19th overall) To DET - 1st round pick (28th overall), 2nd round pick (44th overall) Draft - Jeremy Roy (28), Nicolas Meloche OR Matthew Spencer (44) Trade up to get a higher pick To DAL - 1st round pick (19th overall), Kindl, Ouellet and/or Marchenko. To DET - 1st round pick (12th overall) Draft - Zack Werenski (12) Only if Werenski is still available Trade to get immediate help on the back end To COL - 1st round pick (19th overall), Kindl, Ouellet and/or Marchenko, roster forward. To DET - Erik Johnson

Love It!!! I'm assuming Granato will take over the forwards and power-play and Chelios will take over the defense and penalty-kill? It would only make sense to have the forward take over the offense and the defenseman take over the defense... wouldn't it?...

Right you are. I was thinking we had our 2nd and were without our 3rd this year, but that's next year... I'd still like to move up if possible, but I do agree with most, we will likely trade down to grab a later 1st and a 2nd or two 2nd's...

I still think we should trade up, rather than trading back. We have a ton of depth at all positions, what we lack is elite talent. We're obviously not getting anywhere near the top 5, and likely not even within the top 10. However, if Zach Werenski is still available at 12, I would give Nill a call and see if he wants to make a trade. I would offer up a package of something like our 2015 1st round pick (19th overall), 2016 2nd round pick, Xavier Ouellet for their 2015 1st round pick (12th overall). I would then select Werenski in the 1st round and Matthew Spencer in the 2nd round.

If Jurco stayed in Grand Rapids like he probably should have, he would have led the team and potentially the entire league in scoring this past year. He was scoring at a point per game pace before his last recall and he was only starting to heat up. Jurco will be fine. He will easily double his scoring from this past season and I wouldn't be shocked if he went well beyond that.

I don't think there's much doubt that Blashill will be the next head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, but it may take a bit more time to hear an announcement. I doubt we'll hear anything this week, let alone today... "There is the NHL combine and he has some other business to tend to," Blashill said in a phone interview about the Red Wings general manager, "so I don't expect anything here in the near future." Asked if he expected a decision by the end of the week, Blashill said, "no."

The thing that has impressed me above all else with Larkin's game is his patience with the puck. The way he can control the speed of the play is unbelievable. He seems to be the complete package; size, speed, hands, shot, defense, work ethic, etc...

Jurco did disappoint last season, but he was also forced into a role he has never played in his entire career. He was expected to be a grinder, when he simply isn't that type of player. Jurco is a future top 6 winger. It's absolutely crazy how quick fans are willing to give up on a player. The kid is still only 22 years old and should have spent another season in Grand Rapids. If he did, he would have been just as, or even more highly regarded than Pulkkinen or Athanasiou. Jurco has a ton of skill, it's only a matter of time before he breaks out. Jurco is probably one of the most relieved guys on the team, that Babcock is gone, along with Weiss and Smith. I have full confidence that Blashill will get Jurco going, and producing at a much higher clip than he did this past season.

There's no question that Markstrom stole game 5 as well as playing a pretty big part in the entire series. That was one of many HUGE saves that he made last night. That one on Sproul, another one on Bertuzzi, one on Larkin, and several others. There was also a fair amount of luck on their side, with us hitting what had to be 4 or 5 posts, a couple in the last couple minutes alone... It's been a great run so far, I hope they can win the next two and have another shot at the Calder Cup. Odds are against them but it's definitely doable...

Utica had no business winning that one. Going to be a tough battle to win two straight on the road. If there's a team that can get it done it's these Griffins though...

I have no idea what their individual face off percentages are on the year, but Aubry has to be well below 50%... He's awful in the dots. LARKIN!

We're definitely not watching the same game. It is all Griffins. Markstrom is standing on his head and also getting very lucky. The Griffs could easily have 3-4 goals in this game... .... Another HUGE save on Bertuzzi...

I disagree. He should have had the paddle down on that 2nd goal, before it got to the front of the net. No doubt, Sanguinetti had a nice shot on the 3rd goal but it was very stoppable. Bottom line, the Griffins were the better team in the first, yet it's a two goal deficit. That's on the goalie in my opinion...

McCollum doesn't look good...

Zengerle ties it up.