krsmith17

Nasty = Nastasiuk, I can only assume...

I don't want Stewart. He is massively overpaid in my opinion... With everyone healthy (hopefully on Saturday against Philadelphia) we "should" have a decent lineup... Nyquist - Zetterberg - Franzen Tatar - Dastyuk - Jurco Helm - Weiss - Sheahan Miller - Glendening - Abdelkader Andersson / Cleary Nestrasil is sent down and clears Kronwall - Ericsson DeKeyser - Smith Quincey - Kindl (Ouellet) Lashoff

I don't think anyone is saying he's worthless... I'll speak for myself and say that he definitely is not worth that deal in my books.

Yeah, whatever happened to the stats on Howard anyway? LOL 1.77 GGA and 0.937 SV%, not too shabby through 5 games. Obviously those numbers won't stay like that all year, and when he does have an off game all the haters will be sure to show up again to point it out. But I expect his numbers to be much better than last season, somewhere around 2.50 GGA and 0.915 SV%. As for the defense, Smith and DeKeyser have been great, as expected. Kronwall has made a few plays that make you shake your head, but that is mostly due to what we've grown to expect from him on a nightly basis. Ericsson has made a bunch of bone headed plays but I still think he's getting more heat than he deserves, but hey, I didn't expect any less from LGW. Quincey has picked up from where he left off after the second half of last season and is playing great defensively. None of our d are producing enough but a lot of them are still growing and I think we'll see a lot more from our younger guys very soon. Oh yeah, and Kindl, it's a great night when he goes unnoticed, which hasn't happened much this season. I still think he needs to be packaged in a trade...

But that's the thing. He definitely is not a top 2 defenseman. No way...

joesuffP, there is a reason most of our prospects don't get into the lineup until his age... So that they are good and ready for the big leagues, and so they don't nose dive like Myers has. Myers clearly wasn't ready when he was rushed into the league as a 19 year old rookie, and how his play is suffering from it. Why do people think he is on the block in Buffalo? They're in rebuild mode and they have a 24 year old "stud" defenseman, why move him? He should be what they're trying to build around, shouldn't he? No, because Buffalo realize that he is what he is now and they're trying to get what they can for him before his value decreases any more than it already has. Ken Holland would be smart to stay away from this one, especially if a player like Larkin would be involved. Everyone that is always clamoring to get the next big thing (Mantha) up to the NHL as soon as possible, this is what can happen to a kid, if he's rushed, plain and simple. Be careful what you wish for. Holland and co. know what they're doing, they've been doing it the right way for a looooong time.

You don't draft a guy as high as Larkin and then turn around and trade him without seeing what he can do, especially for a mediocre defenseman, when we already have plenty of talent down in GR. Sure, Larkin could be a bust, but he could also be a big time player. Larkin could turn out to be the next Reggie Savage (drafted 15th overall in 1988) or he could turn out to be the next Joe Sakic (drafted 15th overall in 1987). I think he will be more like a Ryan O'Reilly in Colorado. Would I trade away O'Reilly, Kindl, plus a first for an average skill, massive size defenseman? Hell no! There is a very good reason Holland is not willing to let this kid go, his upside is just too high for the return he would be getting. DON'T DO IT KENNY!

You're only looking at one side of it. Yeah, it sucks when a pick doesn't work out as planned, especially when it's a first rounder but to not even wait and see what he will become is what is dumb in my opinion. I think every player should stay in the system for at least a year after they've been drafted. I'm just happy that the GM of the Detroit Red Wings doesn't have the quick trigger finger that most fans do. You said you have to find out if they're good, but how do you find out if he's good after just 3 games of college hockey? Yeah, you're right, and what if we decided to trade Mantha after his draft year?... These guys are just kids, you never know if they're going to be studs or duds until they play in your system for a year or so. Why chance that unless you are getting a sure thing in return. And Myers is definitely not a sure thing...

It looks like it's going to be another few weeks yet... Although Mantha says he's "hoping that next week will be the green light", Ryan Martin thinks he is still another four weeks away... http://www.mlive.com/griffins/index.ssf/2014/10/anthony_mantha_update_top_pros.html Also, Nosek will be out indefinitely due to an off ice hand injury, opening a box... http://www.mlive.com/griffins/index.ssf/2014/10/griffins_lose_forward_tomas_no.html

Larkin is one of the few prospects that we have that should be absolutely off limits in my opinion. He is a smart two-way center that has speed to burn. He's 3-5 years away from the NHL but by then we'll be in desperate need for a replacement for one or both of Datsyuk and Zetterberg. He is our only center that projects to be a number one. As much as I love Sheahan, he tops out at a number 2, Helm tops out at a number 3 and Glendening tops out at a number 4. I love Athanasiou, but I don't see him becoming a number 1, number 2 maybe, and same goes for Janmark and Nosek. We're definitely going to need a number one center in a few years and Larkin could be that guy. And people want to trade him away for a project defenseman?... when we have as many promising prospects clawing at the door, not to mention our defense has been a strong point for our team so far this season... Why would you trade away our highest pick since Martin Lapointe, before seeing what he can do over the next few seasons? It makes no sense at all... And in what world is Tyler Myers worth 3 first rounders? No, Kindl didn't pan out quite as well as we would have liked but he is still a former first round pick. And like previously mentioned, Larkin was our highest pick since 1991 and you want to trade him away, not even 4 months later? Plus add in another 1st round pick to sweeten the pot? C'mon, Myers is not worth that trade, and I'm glade we have a GM that is as smart as Ken Holland and not as impatient as most fans. He knows he has a special player in Larkin and he isn't willing to throw him away after just a few months...

LeftWinger, I'm happy to hear that you have "toned it down tremendously" but the fact that you admit that if one of those players that you "hate" (Holland, Franzen, Cleary, Quincey, Ericsson, Kindl, Howard) play great for an extended period of time and then have a bad game or shift, you're ready to rip them to shreds, is a little troublesome to me... Franzen will be fine, he will continue to play 60-70 games and average a little under a point per game. Cleary will be gone after this season. Quincey has been one of our best defenders so far this season, so how about giving the guy some credit. Ericsson is off to a rough start but he will be fine. I'm not a fan of Kindl but he has been better than I expected. Howard has been great in his first few games but is still awful at handling the puck.

Babcock just confirmed that Datsyuk is playing tonight.

What is your obsession with having 4 scoring lines? It just doesn't work in the NHL. That lineup 'might' be able to work under the cap for a season, or two 'tops', but what happens when half of those guys are due for a raise? That is why every team needs to have a solid shutdown line, which we do. Having our second line as our forth would never work in this league... Also, I'd love to have Semin on this team but how the hell did you get him from Carolina, without giving up any of our big name forwards?...

Datsyuk is skating again today at the Bell Centre. Same line combinations as yesterday's practice. Will have a better idea if he will play tonight, after practice.

That's exactly what it isn't with Weiss. They've said numerous times that they're going to bring him along slowly. I agree he needs to get in some games as soon as possible but it definitely isn't a sink or swim situation. They're going to be patient with him. The guy just needs to get his confidence back up. That's just not going to happen playing third line minutes with non offensive linemates. He also needs to play the position he has played his whole career - center...

Hasn't Chris Ilitch slowly been taken over for his old man? Wouldn't you think that the ownership of the Wings, Tigers and Little Caesars would be handed down to him and the rest of their children? I doubt Mike or Marian want any of it to leave the family name.

No, not at all. I made it seem like they're a team that beat Boston a lot more often than not. Which refuted your original point... Winning Games > Winning Fights.

Yeah, it must suck being the Habs going up against a juggernaut like the big bad Bruins... they definitely need to change their game plan against them, I mean they've only gone 3-1 the last two regular seasons against them, beat them in their only game so far this season and beat them in 7 games in last years playoffs... something definitely needs to change in Montreal... Let Lucic act like the little ***** he is, and let the Habs and fans have the last laugh. Love It!

dat's sick - I agree that Nestrasil has looked good, but I think that is mostly relative to what we all expected from him. He came out of nowhere at the end of last season and made his way onto the roster this season, in my opinion, only because he would have to go through waivers. He has been strong on the puck and very poised for a relatively young player, but I still think Weiss is the much better option. It will take him a few games to get the pace back in his game, but that's why Babcock is bringing him along slowly. He played 8:03 in his first game back, maybe next game he plays a little better and plays 10 minutes, and then 12, and so on until he's up around 18-20 minutes a night. Weiss will get his game back and he will contribute, so why not get him in going sooner rather than later?

I don't mind those lines but if you're going to break up the kid line by taking Jurco off and inserting Nyquist, why not send Jurco down to the minors and put Weiss in the lineup... I'd rather Helm - Weiss - Nestrasil to be honest. This coming from the biggest Jurco fan there is. He needs more time in GR in my opinion... Yeah, or scratch Nestrasil but I think sooner or later (once everyone is healthy) one of Nestrasil or Jurco will have to be sent down, and I'd prefer it be Jurco. Also, power-play units are: Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Helm Kronwall - Nyquist Nestrasil - Sheahan - Jurco DeKeyser - Tatar

I agree E_T. But it looks like Franzen isn't ready to go. He wasn't at practice today. Also looks like Weiss will be back to a healthy scratch once again. Lines at practice today were Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Abdelkader Nyquist - Sheahan - Tatar Nestrasil - Helm - Jurco Miller - Glendening - Anderson

Datsyuk skating on line with Zetterberg and Abdelkader, a good sign - Ansar Khan

I don't think Yandle is "exactly" what we need. Exactly what we need would be a right handed Yandle. To me, the closest thing to that is John Carlson in Washington or Kris Letang in Pittsburgh. Are either of these guys available / affordable? I doubt it. But maybe Carlson's teammate Mike Green is. Green is playing on their third pairing, making over 6M and is a UFA after this season. I'm not sure exactly what it would cost us but being a UFA would bring down his price a little. He has 5 (2-3) points in 4 games so far this season. Another option could be Brent Burns in San Jose, who is making a little less, just under 6M, but is signed for the next 3 seasons. He has 7 (1-6) points in 6 games so far this season. I think Burns would cost a little more than Green so maybe Green is the better option. Or maybe our best option is to call up one of the kids. Either way, I do think we need to replace Kindl, but I don't think Myers should be our guy.

I think the DeKeyser - Smith second pairing is really solid and a decent comparison to a Kronwall - Staurt second pairing. The problem is that a Kronwall - Ericsson first pairing does not compare at all to a Lidstrom - Rafalski first pairing...

I would hate if the Wings traded Larkin away at this point, without seeing what he can do over the next couple years. Especially for a project such as Myers when we have so many other capable options down in GR. Luckily I really don't see Holland moving him.