krsmith17

Andy Pred, I think prior to this trade the Blues absolutely had the best back end, but I think the Preds own that now. Hard to compete with a back end of Weber, Franson, Josi, Jones and Ellis. Pietrangelo and Shattenkirk are awesome, and Bouwmeester and Jackman are solid. Preds definitely have a more potent blueline in my opinion.

Franson had more giveaways than any other defender on the Wings, but that is on an awful team in Toronto. He also had three times more takeaways than any defender on the Wings and a better giveaway to takeaway ratio than any Wings defender. Everyone keep trying to put down Franson, the Preds got another absolute steal on this one and they probably have the best back end in the entire league after this trade.

Yes, I'm eager to trade our prospects... Are you kidding me? You clearly haven't been around here much lately... I'm probably the one person that everyone thinks, "krsmith17, you can't hold on to every single prospect..."

Like, I've stated numerous times, I watch a LOT of Leafs games... unfortunately, due to my girlfriend being a Leafs fan... I wouldn't say 40 games so far this season would be a stretch at all. We're clearly not watching the same games, or the same player... He's the big number 4 guy on defense that hits everything and is a shot blocking machine right? He's also better at moving the puck than any other guy on our team, except for maybe Kronwall. He's a right handed shot and can quarterback a power-play. Yeah, I totally understand why we don't need that type of player. He isn't the BEST in his own zone but he's far from bad, and what offensive defenseman is also an amazing shut down defenseman, not named Shea Weber?... He would instantly be our 2nd or 3rd best defenseman, but yeah, he's definitely not worth Ouellet, a player that can barely crack our top 6 and tops out at a number 4 defenseman... Again, stop with the damn Babcock going to the Leafs... It's not going to happen, regardless if he re-signs with the Wings (which I think he will). We do have a 2nd round pick in this years draft, we lost the 2nd in the Legwand deal in last years draft... We don't have a 3rd this year, due to the trade to draft Turgeon...

Trading to a divisional opponent should not be an issue in this particular situation. The Wings and Leafs don't play each other any more this season, the Leafs have no chance in making the playoffs, and Franson is a UFA at the end of the season. The Leafs should and would have taken the best deal on the table, regardless of who they were helping out. Why shouldn't the prospect matter in this situation? The Leafs can't draft for s***, they should be after high end prospects before late first round draft picks. Ouellet should be worth more to a team like the Leafs than a 24ish overall pick from Nashville. And give it a rest with this Babcock speculation, it's bulls***, plain and simple. Yes, since the Wings didn't land Franson, they will get bounced earlier in the playoffs, and now Babcock will choose to go to the Leafs, who are in full rebuild mode, rather than stay with a team that has a tradition of winning, and is a year or two max away from contention once again... Give me a f***ing break...

Where is this "at any cost" coming from? Obviously I wouldn't have given up the farm for him, but we could have easily beaten out the Preds in that trade, without giving up too much. No, a first round pick isn't ideal but I think we could have given up a second and a better prospect and got the deal done. I just find it hilarious how people come on here saying, he isn't the player we needed. If he isn't the type of defenseman this team needs, then that player doesn't exist. Of all the players available (taking cost into account) he absolutely was the best fit for this team. But yeah, keep talking about Yandle... Not going to happen, nor should it...

Haha typical LGW. We didn't land him, so... we didn't even want him... Franson is garbage, not worth the asking price...

I'm pretty sure Richdg is the only one that seen the defensive prowess in DeKeyser's game... or at the very least, he was the first to tune into his ability... Everyone else, join the bandwagon...

I would have been okay with a 2nd and Ouellet going to Toronto for Franson, and I think that is a much better deal than they got with Nashville...

Euro_Twins, I'm pretty sure that's David Poile... Another trade won by the Predators GM... Guy is building something over there in Nashville.

Way too many greats to choose from, so I'm going to make two teams... And still there are a lot of pretty good players left out... Brendan Shanahan - Steve Yzerman - Brett Hull Vyacheslav Kozlov - Igor Larionov - Sergei Fedorov Henrik Zetterberg - Pavel Datsyuk - Tomas Holmstrom Bob Probert - Kris Draper - Dino Ciccarelli Ray Sheppard - Darren McCarty Nicklas Lidstrom - Vladimir Konstantinov Paul Coffey - Chris Chelios Matthew Schneider - Brian Rafalski Niklas Kronwall Dominik Hasek Chris Osgood Ted Lindsay - Alex Delvecchio - Gordie Howe Syd Howe - Sid Abel - Norm Ullman Frank Mahovlich - Marcel Dionne - Mickey Redmond Gerard Gallant - Dale McCourt - John Ogrodnick Jimmy Carson - Nick Libett Red Kelly - Marcel Pronovost Mark Howe - Reed Larson Willie Huber - Larry Murphy Gary Bergman Terry Sawchuk Glenn Hall

Absolutely. Athanasiou is unreal. For anyone that doubts this kids talent, I'd highly recommend catching a couple Griffs games. I think Mantha will be a good pro, and still has the potential to be a stud, but there's no question that Athansiou has had the much smoother transition from junior to pro, and right now is the more dominant player. I've been pretty impressed with both Nosek and surprisingly Tvrdon as well...

... Was a great game... Still lots of time left though... Athanasiou looks amazing as expected. He hasn't missed a step after the injury. He looks even faster in the past couple games (if that's even possible...) And just like that Athanasiou scores a goal on a beauty pass by Mantha.

I'm watching it online, great game so far. No, not every team plays every team... unfortunate for me, I don't get to see the Griffins live at all here in St. John's... I'm not sure exactly how the schedule works though. I know that the Marlies (who are also in the Western Conference with the Griffins) play here in St. John's (that is an Eastern Conference team) a few times a year. I'm not sure why the Griffins NEVER make the trip out here...

They do have a lot. You're missing the ones they're wearing tonight too... They're wearing all blue with slight white and red stripes at the bottom and the arms with the Griffin logo... My favorite in order that you have listed would be... 1, 6, 5, 4, 2, 3...

I don't think there is anything funny about Andersson getting a center spot anywhere on this team over anyone... Cleary > Andersson all day everyday...

I liked the pick when we drafted him back in 2012, and I really liked the move from defense to forward. He hasn't really developed the way I was hoping, but it sounds like he is really working on his skillset and trying to develop his all-around game. Going to Western Michigan, under Andy Murray seems to be helping his game, especially since he has to learn to use his hands, not his fists in college hockey. He is trying to develop into a McCarty type of player. Will he ever be as good as McCarty? I doubt it, but he is still only 21 years old. I'd still love for this kid to make our 4th line someday, if he can develop into a shutdown, penalty killer with some grit and nastiness...

Interesting article... http://www.mlive.com/broncos/index.ssf/2015/02/western_michigan_defenseman_mi.html

Hardy Harr Harr, the old eye ball test. Hilarious. Fact is, you can see things you would never see on any stat sheet just by watching the games. What a concept... I would trust the eye ball test over any amount of stats you can throw at me any day... If you truly believed Glendening was on the cusp of an offensive breakout, I wouldn't say that you are "WRONG" and try to do everything I could to "prove" that you were wrong... I could care less if you agree with me, but you always have to be "right"... It's quite funny actually. There is no one in their right mind that would say that there is no way that Smith would have as many or more points than either Ericsson or Quincey if he were in their situations... He absolutely would. He played great, much better than Ericsson and Quincey while being paired with Kronwall and DeKeyser. So why the hell would you think that he wouldn't keep up that same great play over time? I'm not sure if you caught that first period or if you're waiting to review the stat sheet after the game, but despite the entire team playing like s***, Smith was one of the better defenders in that period, along with DeKeyser. Ericsson got corkscrewed into the ice a couple times and Quincey made a great drop pass to Malkin in the defensive zone. If that were Smith making those plays, he would be crucified...

I'm not "changing my tune" at all actually. I stand by that statement. And as much as you believe that stats alone can prove that my opinion is "wrong", there's no way to prove that he isn't better than either of those players, unless he gets put back in the situation where he is paired with one of Kronwall or DeKeyser. And once again, you avoid my main and only question... Smith was a much much better looking player while paired with either of those players, was he not? Both Ericsson and Quincey have an identical 3 goals and 10 assists, while Smith has 3 goals and 6 assists... Do you honestly believe that there is no way Smith would have an extra 4 measly assists if he were on the 1st or 2nd pair in either of their spots? Or that either of them would have 4 less assists if they were playing on the 3rd pairing, playing with scrubs? Give me a ******* break Kip...

Kip, I'll be the first to admit I know very little about any of these new fancy stats like corsi and fenwick. I have no idea what those numbers you provided signify nor do I really care to be honest. Stats are fun, but I prefer to go by the old fashion eyeball test... I was just agreeing with what newfy said, assuming he didn't just make up those stats... Are you saying what he said, is false information or was Smith's fancy stats just that much better last year than this year? That I would have a very difficult time believing considering how much he has improved over the past year... I haven't strayed from my original argument, and that is that Smith has proven to be a very capable top 4 defenseman when given the opportunity. Do you have any fancy stats to disprove that, or are you willing to admit that he looked very good when paired with Kronwall and DeKeyser in the past. That is and has been my main point, the same point that you have avoided responding to since this whole thing started. Anyway, I do agree that this Smith debate is getting to be too much and I also agree that there isn't much point in it. I believe he is a top 4 defenseman, you don't. Who cares? I never once said he was a superstar, but he is underrated and underappreciated by a lot of fans in my opinion. Much like Ericsson was before he turned his game around. I'm fully confident that Smith will have the same turnaround, and will prove many of the naysayers wrong... Smith with a two point night against the Pens tonight...

I say "I know, I know, stats..." because you like to continue to point out his 9 points in 47 games... What about all those advanced stats that newfy mentioned? No comment on any of that?

I disagree. It has more to do with his partner than it does his minutes. Like I've said over and over and over and over again. Smith HAS looked good in a top 4 role, paired with DeKeyser, hell, even a top 2 role, paired with Kronwall... He can and has produced when given the opportunity. Yes, he would produce more being paired with DeKeyser, and no the pair would not be much worse, if at all, then it currently is... He is a top 4 defenseman and he would be with a number of other teams in this league, and that is my opinion...

No, I'm not suggesting that our top 4 is sooo good that he can't break into it. I'm suggesting that as it stands right now, our top 4 is set in stone, because Mike Babcock has it set in stone. I think Smith is better than both Ericsson and Quincey, and when given the opportunity he has shown that he is capable in being a top 4 defender on this team. Do you think it's just coincidence that Smith has looked his best when in the top 4, paired with Kronwall and DeKeyser? Why do you have this notion that an opinion must be supported by facts? An opinion, is just that... an opinion. I don't need facts to back up that I believe Smith is a top 4 defenseman. Is it really that hard to believe that he could be better than his stats show? I mean, any time he is given the opportunity with a legitimate partner he has done quite well. The little power-play time he gets, and I'm not talking about when Babcock throws him out with our 4th line power-play unit at the end of games when the game is already out of reach, I'm talking about the few times he has been put out there on the second unit, and they were actually able to set something up, he has looked great. Give me a break, Weiss has had ONE good game (3 points against Florida) since being demoted. It's not like he's been lighting the league on fire on the 3rd line with Sheahan and Glendening, just like Smith can't be expected to light the league on fire on the 3rd pairing with Kindl, Lashoff, Ouellet, Marchenko, etc... Other than that one game against the Panthers, Weiss has 2 points and a -5 in his past 14 games. This isn't a knock on Weiss, I think he should have better line mates, just like Smith should have a better defense partner... Smith hasn't earned ANYTHING because he hasn't been given the opportunity to prove himself. It's not easy to produce offense from the third pairing when you're paired with scrubs and you're expected to play a shut-down role, something Smith is only recently learning to do.

Jesusberg, I love those first group pairings. That would probably be my number one choice if we did have those 6 defensemen. Kronwall and Ericsson are a staple at this point, Smith and DeKeyser have looked great together in the past and I think Quincey and Franson would look great together as well.