krsmith17

For sure. If Drysdale is the best player available, wherever we end up, you take him. For me though, I'd only consider him at four. I'm still hoping for a top three pick, and if we end up on that side of the coin, it's Lafreniere, Byfield, Stutzle for me.

Yeah, just saying it would be an option, depending on how the rest of our d-prospects pan out, and / or if we add in free agency / (other) trade(s)... I think one of Bowey, Lindstrom or Tuomisto could be a viable option on the bottom pair, right side, and I'd prefer one of them, than wasting a Hronek or Seider down there. In my opinion, our two biggest needs are, a high-end left-handed defenseman and a high-end right-handed scoring forward. The way this draft is looking, we won't be filling either of those holes. We'll likely end up with either a high-end left-handed forward (Lafreniere, Byfield or Stutzle) or a high-end right-handed defenseman (Drysdale). I'd be more than happy with any of those players, but it may make other players already in the organization expendable in the next few years time, which is fine.

There's definitely a reality where Drysdale could go as high as two or three, but I don't see any team reaching for Sanderson in the top five. But then again, I didn't see any team "reaching" for Seider in the top seven last year, and here we are... No, I still don't think he drops to three, but definitely not four or five.

What happened last night?!?! I'd be okay with Drysdale, because he seems like he could legitimately be a Makar / Hughes level defenseman as early as 2021. And I'm always of the mindset that you take BPA, regardless of position, organizational strengths / weaknesses, but RHD is literally the only position I feel somewhat comfortable in saying, we're set for the next 10+ years... But then think about how highly coveted top tier right-handed defensemen are, and we could then trade Hronek in a couple years time for a pretty significant return... I want Lafreniere above anyone else (obviously), but I think I'm going to be okay with whoever Yzerman picks... Trust the Yzerplan...

See edit. So, basically what I said, without the optimism... Ok. Good. That is why it is so important that we're on the right side of the coin flip... heads (top three pick), tails (4th pick)...

Third and fourth? WTF? I'm even more confused... Ok, so let's say on Friday two of those placeholder picks are drawn, and it comes out like this... 1. "placeholder" 2. DET 3. "placeholder" We will know that number one and three pick is up for grabs, for two of the losers in the "play-in" round...?

Good question, and with multiple players now having Covid, and the States still being effed, I think there's a good chance we don't see playoffs this season...

Bob's final rankings... https://www.tsn.ca/bob-mckenzie-s-final-ranking-lafreniere-the-surest-thing-in-most-uncertain-draft-year-1.1488272?tsn-amp&__twitter_impression=true Stutzel ahead of Byfield...

So in that case, what would happen if one of the top three picks goes to one of the play-in teams? Would we know before the play-in games start, which one of the top three picks will eventually go to the winner of the second draft lottery?

We ARE getting number one this year though... This is our year... We're due... Yeah, I'd be a little annoyed with Pittsburgh or Chicago as well, but no team would piss me off as much as Toronto...

The only two I'd be truly mad about, are 2 and 3. I'd be more than okay with Winnipeg getting a top three pick. I've always liked the Western Canadian teams, for the most part. Edmonton and Winnipeg in particular. Of course, the only thing that should matter to any of us, is getting that top pick. The only team I'll be pissed about getting a top three pick, regardless where we land, is Toronto...

I have no idea. My understanding, which could be completely wrong, is that if one top three spot goes to one of the play-in teams, we'll know which of the two bottom seven teams are in the top three, but we won't know the order of the top three, until after the play-in round is complete. Once that round is complete, there will be another draft lottery to determine which of the eight teams eliminated gets the remaining top three spot, and then the order of the top three will be drawn... Again, I could be completely off base, since I haven't been paying close attention, but that was my understanding... Either way, the whole thing is way too convoluted, and could have / should have been made much easier...

Yup, Wings, Kings and Ducks in the top three pushing the Sens two picks to four and five is ideal. That's just for teams outside the "play-in" / playoffs, because I don't want to wait for the "second lottery" to see where we land in the top three... What a stupid f***ing gimmicky format...

I hear ya, and I'm right there with ya. Just saying that "most likely" is inaccurate. Like I said in a previous post, f*** odds and math, we're due for a bit of luck in this draft. May the hockey gods be on our side...

It's not though... 1st - 18.5% 2nd - 16.5% 3rd - 14.4% 4th - 50.6% Picking 4th is still the most likely spot we land, but since picking top three, or dropping to four is basically a coin flip, I choose to believe that we'll land in the top three... Fingers crossed for one, but I'd be more than okay with two as well. Three would be disappointing, and four would be a huge kick to the nuts... I'm hoping the top five ends up being... 1. Wings 2. Ducks 3. Kings 4. Sens 5. Sens (via Sharks)

Yeah, you're likely right, but with the cap situation for both teams, I'd love to see it... The Wings will have approximately $40M in cap space going into the offseason, depending on where the ceiling ends up for next season. After they sign their big name RFA's (Mantha, Bertuzzi, Fabbri), they should still have around $25M to work with, to sign five more players and a goalie. The Bolts on the other hand, will only have about $5M going into the offseason, with only 15 players signed, needing to sign Cirelli and Sergachev, along with six more players.

Would be a great future top pairing. Yzerman needs to sack up and throw an offer sheet at his old buddy BriseBois, to acquire Sergachev (again)...

Jack Quinn is the player I wish we owned a second 1st round pick for... If he somehow gets to 20, I hope Yzerman explores trading up to get him. I'd say there's no way he falls all the way to 32, but then remember Veleno was a top 15 talent that fell to 30... But yeah, it'll never happen. We get all night and day leading up to the 2nd round of the draft to discuss who the Wings should take...

I agree with your overall sentiment here, but I disagree that Bowey has no future and no real trade value. Bowey is a decent bottom pairing defenseman that can chip in offensively. 17 points in 53 games from the back end, on a team that severely lacked offense, is solid production. I won't be too upset if we let him walk, but I'm on the side of maybe we should extend him for another season or two, to see if he can continue to build off of last season. If he can learn to clean up his defensive game, he could be a solid defenseman. To be fair, Bowey is 25 and Hronek is only 22, but I do think both have room for growth.

F*** the haters, and their "odds" and "mathematics"... We're getting Lafreniere. 1st overall or bust *******!!!

I think there's a reasonable chance that Stutzle could be available at 4. I really want Lafreniere though...

Sure. Fair enough.

I'd argue that Hronek showed signs of becoming that top 2-3 defenseman in 2018-19, and solidified that in 2019-20. 3ish seasons. Johansson has already completed his draft +1 season, so in 2-3 seasons, I would expect him to be well on his way to prove that he can be that top 2-3 defenseman. If not, he's probably another average defenseman that doesn't move the needle...

I assume you're talking about Johansson. Hakan has compared him to Hronek (better skater, not quite as good a shot), and they were virtually the exact same size on draft day. It's nothing for a player to gain 15lbs. of bulk in one season. If Johansson (or any of these guys) are going to develop into a top 2-3 defensemen, I expect them to show that in the next 2-3 seasons. Yzerman traded a spare part, a player that he knew would never make the NHL for a warm body. So yeah, maybe we could trade Biega for an ECHL player... aka zero value. The "Comrie incident" was different in that it was a position of weakness. In this case, Biega fills a position of strength, arguably the only strength in the organization. Biega is also 32 years old. Comrie is 24. Biega sucks. Comrie probably sucks, but would have been worth holding onto to find out...

If it takes them 5 years, I don't think we can count on them being anything more than bottom pairing defensemen... I'm hoping at least one will be ready to step in, in 2-3 years... I agree. Don't sleep on Tuomisto either though... Biega has zero value. Being claimed off waivers doesn't change that. He still wouldn't garner anything in a trade. Bowey might get us a mid to late pick under the right circumstances.