krsmith17

That's precisely why he shouldn't wait until the deadline. Prices are always that much steeper leading up to the deadline. Work the phones now Kenny...

I wouldn't mind going after Petry. We wouldn't have to give up a ton to get him. I would think something along the lines of Kindl, mid level prospect (Backman) and a mid round draft pick... I'd be okay with that.

Pretty exciting night for Mrazek, playing the night his boyhood idol gets his jersey retired. I don't think he's ever had the opportunity to meet Hasek, so maybe he will get to shake his hand and have a few words with the future hall-of-famer before tonight's game. Maybe that handshake will energize Mrazek to channel his countryman and pull off a huge victory tonight, and many more over the next several weeks... 4-0 Wings! Zetterberg, Abdelkader, Tatar & Pulkkinen!

Exactly Euro_Twins. Those of you clamoring for Howard to be traded now, it simply is not going to happen. Howard isn't going anywhere any time soon. If anything, Mrazek would be the one that Holland would trade at this point. If I HAD to trade one right now, I would think long and hard, before ultimately keeping the proven goaltender and trading the very good prospect. I would do so, knowing I may regret it, but you cannot put all your faith into a goalie with just 20 NHL games under his belt. Lucky for us, we still have plenty of time to sort this out. If all goes well, maybe after a couple seasons of Mrazek backing up and another season or so of shared duty, we can then shop Howard, although I still wouldn't be shocked if Holland opted to keep his veteran goaltender...

Hossa vs Franzen debate? Awesome! It's been way too long since this has been discussed... Hossa is the better player in every facet of the game, even taking his cap hit into account, he is the better bang for your buck. Hindsight is 20/20, no one could have predicted that Franzen would have dropped off as much as he has. It was a reasonable decision for Holland to make, based on Franzen's recent success. It turned out to be the wrong decision, but like so many people have pointed out, it's not like Holland never tried to sign Hossa, he was offered a contract, he decided to continue chasing his Cup He was successful, winning it twice, good for him. It's done. It was 6 years ago. Get Over It!!!

I know the difference between the AHL and the NHL is pretty significant for any position, especially for a goaltender. But McCollum has been playing great down in Grand Rapids so far this season, he actually has better numbers than Mrazek. I'm not saying McCollum would hold his own at the NHL level or even that he would play well, but some are acting like there's no chance and that he is doomed for failure. And why? Because he had a terrible outing 4 years ago in a blowout game against the Blues that they already had lost?... Give me a break. I hope McCollum gets a chance to start a game and gets the W, if for no other reason but to keep his confidence up with the Griffs, and of course to prove the naysayers wrong.....

I frequent hockeysfuture quite often for articles but as far as their stats and bios go, I think they're terrible. hockeydb is great for NHL players info but I have found it to be very sketchy when it comes to minor leaguers and European players. griffinscentral is another good spot for articles but I find it to be very amateur, and considering they haven't updated Landon's profile picture from his days with the Red Deer Rebels, I think it's a safe bet that they haven't updated his bio either... redwingscentral was by far the best for all Red Wings prospects related info. I miss them... Either way, I'll trust the two official team sites over any of the others. Also, I can't imagine Bob Kaser not knowing the information on any of Griffins players that he deals with on a daily basis. No worries. It's not that big a deal, I was just curious to know where you were getting the information. Either way, I do believe Ferraro still has the potential to be a decent grinder at the NHL level. I hope he makes it someday.

Again, I'm not sure where you're getting this information... It certainly wasn't the Griffins official website, they have him listed at 185lbs. and the Red Wings official website have him listed at 186lbs. And I'm sure I heard Bob Kaser say he is around 190lbs. a few nights ago, while I was watching the Griffins game. I'm not 100% sure which game it was, but I think it may have been the game against Milwaukee last Friday when Ferraro scored two goals...

There seems to be a lot of concern over Howard's injury for so many fans that thought we should trade Howard and role with Mrazek as our starter... I think Mrazek will be fine, but I hope Howard is ready to go within the next 4 weeks... This is going to be a crucial month of hockey for the Wings.

I agree gcom007. I'm actually a huge fan of Weber despite what he did to Zetterberg. I'm sure Hank is over it, so I think it's time for fans to get over it...

I honestly think he can still make the NHL, after all, he is only 23 years old. Where is this 175lbs. coming from? I was watching the game the other night and I'm sure they had him listed at 190lbs. which really isn't that bad at all, considering Miller is what? 180lbs. soaking wet... He has the speed and tenacity to make the NHL as a 4th line penalty killer. He also has a pretty underrated wrist shot, and is willing to go to the dirty areas to score goals, a lot of them coming at the timely variety. I'm not sure on this, but I would think he leads the Griffins in game winning goals this year. He's a pretty decent player, unfortunately, I don't see him ever making the Wings team, but he could be a great pick-up for a team next season...

I agree completely. Thankfully though, we will win the majority of our upcoming games leading up to the trade deadline, including sweeping our California trip at the end of February... Prompting Holland to go out and make a trade, one that will be a bit of a head scratcher and have some fans calling for his head. The newly acquired Red Wing will go on to play out of his mind, leading the team to it's first Presidents' Trophy since '08, and into the playoffs for the 24th consecutive season, winning their 12th Stanley Cup.......

I'm of the opinion that a team can change drastically from one minor tweak, which is all I think we need. We don't need any major shake-ups and I'm sure you would agree on that, but we do have one glaring need, and we all know what that is. If we can upgrade our blueline, I think our team would look much different. I don't know what is going on with Ericsson again lately but he has single-handedly lost us a few games, and that has to change as well, or he needs to be demoted... I think if we can add more offense to our defense we can compete with any of the top teams in the league. I'm still on the Mike Green train, although unfortunately, I think that's very unlikely to happen... Of course, we're going to need to be healthy as well, and that includes getting Howard back as soon as possible.

I agree, we do need to stop making the excuses and prove we are a top team again. But until we start falling in the standings, I think we're doing okay. We are a playoff team, despite our recent struggles. In the next week, we will win 3 out of 4 games, beating one or both of Nashville and St. Louis, who are both great teams, the other two against Buffalo, we'll see...

Kip, what's up with all the doom and gloom lately? We are just a few points away from the top teams in the league. You compare a month of playing good hockey to a game of bad hockey, which also came right after the dreaded west coast trip. I know, we haven't exactly been lighting the league on fire lately, but I think it's also very clear that none of our players are playing at their highest level right now. Most of our goals against in the past few games have been on horrible giveaways, right in front of our net (Ericsson). I'm confident they (he) will get that cleaned up. Overall, I don't think we have been that bad, just not finding ways to win games. We've been falling behind early in a ton of games lately, and like Babcock says, "catch-up hockey is losing hockey"... I do still think we're a key piece or two away from being a legitimate contender, whether we get that piece(s), is up to Holland.

What does that translate into for us? Not getting him. There's no way Holland gives up the roster players / prospects / picks necessary to land Yandle, and personally, I'm okay with that. I don't want to give up the assets for a Yandle type player anyway. I think it would cost us something along the lines of Smith, Tatar/Jurco, Ouellet/Marchenko and a pick... Way too much in my opinion... I still think a Petry type player is our best bet to go after. Immediate improvement on our backend, without having to give up the assets to cripple us in the future.

Jesusberg, as much as I love Smith, at this point, I see him as a good second paining guy, and to be honest, I don't really like him paired with Kronwall. The truth is, and I think we can all agree on this, we don't have another true top pairing guy to pair with Kronwall. Ericsson has been a turnover machine lately. I still think he is very good without the puck as a shutdown guy, but he has gone back to his old ways, in that every time he touches the puck, Red Wings fans everywhere cringe. He has made a ton of bone-headed plays of late, but I think he is going through a rough time right now, he will get through it. I would rather keep them together for the time being, and hope that Ericsson turns the corner again and goes back to his steady self. I would have DeKeyser and Smith as the second pair (they compliment each other really well), leaving Quincey and Ouellet as the third pair. I think the key is balance, and that leaves a offensive (Kronwall, Smith, Ouellet) and defensive (Ericsson, DeKeyser, Quincey) defenseman on each pair. Of course, we still need to make a trade for that right handed offensive defenseman, but until then, this is what I would like to see...

I don't think there's any chance Holland makes a trade for a goaltender. If Howard is out for a couple weeks, I think Mrazek is more than capable in shouldering the load with McCollum as back-up until Jimmy gets back. Especially considering the only other back to back for the remainder of this month is next weekend. Mrazek can start on Saturday night vs the Preds, and we can see what McCollum has in him on Sunday night vs the Sabres. If Howard is going to be out for an extended period of time (more than a month), Holland could opt to sign a goalie to a contract, such as Thomas, Vokoun, Khabibulin, Giguire, etc. (I'm pretty sure these guys are all free agents?...). Anyhow, let's hope Howard is back soon and continues his All-Star calibre season.

I have no problem with tough players, and I would actually like to have a player on our forth line that can throw 'em when needed. However, he has to be a hockey player first, not a pure goon that can barely skate without one iota of hockey IQ... I hate staged fights, and guys that fight every single game, because they know that's all they can do to remain in the National Hockey League. However, the Weber on Zetterberg incident, or Cowen on Datsyuk incident, or Lucic on DeKeyser incident, or any handful of others, I like having a guy that can step in and let the opposition know, if you're going to run our guys, there will be someone to answer to. I loved when Ericsson went after Nolan for the hit on Helm. I'm not anti-fighting by any means, I'm just anti-players-like-McGrattan, that can't play hockey.

I'm confused about one thing when it comes to frankgrimes and GMRwings1983 and whoever else there is that dies for fighting and goons that don't have a clue how to actually play hockey... You're all very aware of the fact that Holland wants nothing to do with guys like McGrattan, a "player" like that will never be employed by the Detroit Red Wings, so why are you still fans of such "weak", "pussified" team?... I'm not telling you you shouldn't be a Red Wings fan, but I'm just curious as to why you are?...

I do think a change of scenery would do Yakupov a world of good, and he can still turn his young career around, but he just doesn't fit into our team's plans. I wouldn't give up Jurco alone for Yakupov, let alone Jurco and Sproul. If Edmonton are shopping Yak, I would assume they are going to be asking much more than he's worth right now. Maybe another first and top prospect, or maybe they look for veteran help on the back end or down the middle... Either way, as intriguing as a former fist overall pick (just 2 1/2 years ago) is, I'd pass for sure. Unless of course they take Kindl and Andersson......

Dickie, I've asked you this one time before, and it's a serious question. Do you watch Griffins games? I watch a lot and I can tell you that his stats are not just because of his slap shot. He is not a flash in the pan, he is the real deal. Why would you want to trade that? Other than a right handed, offensive defenseman, what is the teams biggest need? A right handed, right wing sniper, that loves to shoot the puck. But yeah, I get it, we should trade the ONE we have in the entire system.....

I've said numerous times how much I'd love to have Franson on this team. But like you said, no way he is traded to Detroit.

If we're going to look at Barrie in Colorado, why not go for a home run with Erik Johnson. That's a player I'd love to have. I know, I know, you were trying to keep it realistic. No way Kenny goes after any of the big fish. And probably for good reason. The asking price would be insane for someone like Johnson. Definitely a hell of a lot more than I'd want to give up in a trade...

I think it's pretty clear why he is on my "untouchable list". I think he's the real deal. In fact, in a couple years from now, I expect him to surpass Tatar, but that's just my opinion. I don't get why it's so hard to understand why he should be untouchable. He brings something no one else does in our entire system. Same reason why Sproul is untouchable, he brings a completely different element than any of our other defenders in our system. You don't have to agree, but that's my take on why he should be "untouchable". I just hope Holland shares the same opinion, and holds on to him...