krsmith17

Gallant fired... The Time Is NOW Yzerman!!!

This is exactly why it's f***ing dumb to say so-and-so sucks at the age of 19-23. We don't have any elite talent on this team, and probably not currently in the organization, but we do have a lot of high end talent. Sure, times are tough right now, but there's a lot to be excited about for the future.

Jimmy Howard for Eric Comrie. The deal is not 1 for 1. We have to add multiple picks to make it even...

LOL Relax... Perlini hasn't been given a fair shake, and likely won't at this point, but I'd do that (similar trade) every single time.

*2nd line guy just entering his prime. No it's not. You must have missed where I said "I've been saying we should shop Athanasiou for well over a year now"... So no, not NOW. For well over a year... Sure, if Fabbri and another player fall awkwardly the exact same way, Fabbri may be more likely to have a reccuring knee injury. I don't think that necessarily makes Fabbri more "injury prone" or "susceptible to injury" though. Fabbri may play the next 5+ seasons without missing a single game. Or he might get injured tonight, something completely unrelated to the knee. If you think we have a lot of players in our system better than Fabbri coming up in 1-3 years, we'll be in great shape, and we won't need all those 2nd round picks... Why are you only counting goals? He's still producing points in those 13 games... He's been incredibly consistent since joining the Wings, and there's no reasonable reason to believe that will change...

Comrie >>> Howard

If Fabbri is a capable 2nd line winger (he is), and he gets pushed down to the 3rd line, because we have 6-7 players better than him, that's a really, really good thing... I've explained why I don't think Athanasiou has a future here (which we agree on). Explain why you don't think Fabbri has a future here... I must have been called a moron then... I've been saying we should shop Athanasiou for well over a year now. How is the Athanasiou situation at all like the Fabbri situation? Fabbri's knees are fine. They're completely healed. He's not any more susceptible to injury than any other professional hockey player. No we can't. You've already drafted a bunch of duds with those 2nd round picks...

Anybody know any good dating sites?

Let's hope, for his sake... I'm sure it'll be clear.

Nah. Bet: Eric Comrie provides more value to the Winnipeg Jets organization than Jimmy Howard does the Detroit Red Wings organization going forward.

The thing we disagree on is value. I'm not too hung up on 3rd line players. First of all, they're middle six, more than capable 2nd line wingers. Not just 3rd liners. Secondly, I think anyone would tell you that a middle six winger is more valuable than a 2nd round pick. I would trade Athanasiou for a 1st round pick because, like I said, he's a liability defensively. When he's not scoring, he's not of much value. Fabbri is more than capable defensively. Maybe you'd move Fabbri, and you don't see him as a viable option in our middle six going forward, because you were so vocally against the trade in the beginning... It's okay to admit you were wrong on that one. Fabbri has been fantastic, and there's no reason to think he won't be going forward. And don't use the injury concern as an excuse. Fabbri is no more likely to get injured than any other smallish, skilled winger.

Extend Bernier, if he has a good season. Extend Howard, despite his awful season.

No, what's ridiculous is advocating trading proven middle six wingers (Kapanen (hypothetical) and Fabbri) just entering their prime for draft picks. It's dumb. Trade Athanasiou for a late 1st, and "hope that young player actually plays in the NHL". I think you're actually getting the part about "hope", because a 2nd round pick is far from a guarantee, but what do you mean by "actually plays in the NHL. Isn't Athanasiou actually playing in the NHL? Don't get me wrong, if we could get a 1st round pick for Athanasiou, I'd pull the trigger, but only because I see him as a major liability defensively, and I don't see Yzerman keeping him around long-term. No one's getting carried away after 29 games, but Fabbri, as he is right now, is more valuable to this team (any team) than a 2nd round pick. What does him playing with these players have to do with anything? Again, do we not want to strive to be as good as (or better than) the Leafs? Kapanen (or similar player) should have plenty of high end talented players to play with in a few years. Now you're just using hyperbole... I'm not saying we don't need 2nd round (or later) picks. I'm saying proven players in their prime are always more valuable than these picks. But yes, I would trade a 2nd round pick straight up for Kapanen (or similar player) right now. I even advocated offer sheeting him last summer, in which the compensation would have been a 2nd round pick.

Absolutely. You're finally getting it...

Sure, but you're not getting 3-4 cracks at it from this one hypothetical trade. If you're suggesting we trade Kapanen (hypothetical), Fabbri and Athanasiou for three 2nd round picks, to "increase our odds of drafting a star in the 2nd round", you're out to lunch altogether. Sure, we *might* get one player as good as one of those three players, but what's the point? If you want to add more picks, we need to trade away older rental pieces, not young pieces, that could potentially be a part of this team's core. Maybe we should trade Bertuzzi and Hronek. Imagine how many 2nd round picks we could get trading those two players... Again, no one is saying he's anything special, but he's a hell of a lot more valuable than a 2nd round pick. And again, if Kapanen is on our 3rd line in 2 years time, that's a great 3rd line winger. Fabbri absolutely is a legit middle six winger. Nyquist was / is also a legit middle six winger. Every team needs those type players. Are you though? Kapanen was on a 46 point pace last season, and is currently on a 50 point pace this season. He's 23 years old. I'm sure he'll hit 40-50+ points throughout his prime. That's solid middle six production. A lot better than you can hope for from a 2nd round pick...

2014: I never thought we should move Howard. 2017: I thought (still think) we should have protected Mrazek over Howard. 2020: I think Howard should retire.

Veleno - middle six center Rasmussen - middle six center / winger Svechnikov - looking more and more like a bust, but could still be a decent 3rd line winger. Smith - bottom six winger Turgeon - nothing special, but could be a decent 4th line center. Pearson - see: Turgeon Hirose - career AHLer Kuffner - career AHLer Seider - top pair defenseman Cholowski - bottom four defenseman Lindstrom - see: Marchenko Hicketts - career AHLer

Cholowski has definitely been disappointing the past several months, but he's still young. I think he was thrown into the NHL too early. He may never be a top four defenseman, but I think he still has NHL potential. But then again, he may end up being Brendan Smith 2.0... One thing I definitely disagree with though, is this... ... the bold in particular. He's still showing a lot of poise with the puck, including when he's being pressured. The offensive awareness is there, but like with Larkin, I think management are stressing the importance of defense first. Unfortunately, I still haven't seen enough improvement in his defensive game. Maybe he gets there, but maybe not... I'd definitely by okay with a trade, depending on the return. It would likely have to be part of a package, but maybe Athanasiou and Cholowski plus a pick could garner a nice return?...

I did read your post and you said " Yzerman has no intention of selling Howard". He doesn't because he can't... It's been a while since anyone has mentioned trading Howard. He has zero value. At this point, we just have to ride out the rest of this season, and let him walk (likely retire) this summer.

"But yeah, I doubt it"... I don't think any team would have any interest in Nielsen at $2.625M, especially giving up an asset. Maybe if they could acquire an asset, a team might bite. But like I said, I wouldn't trade him, giving up much of anything in assets. If it comes to that, which it likely would, I'd just buy him out. I really do think Yzerman will pull the trigger on a buyout this summer...

I'd be okay with keeping Abdelkader around as an overpaid 4th line grinder for the next few seasons, but yeah, if we can trade him, I'd do it. Nielsen needs to go. Hopefully this summer. Yeah, that was the original point, but I'd just shop Nielsen at 50% and hope some team takes him. But yeah, I doubt it. If a trade can't be made (without giving up too much), I'd buy him out this summer.

I disagree. If Nielsen were bought out this summer, I don't think he'd find a team willing to sign him above league minimum. And even then, I think he'd be hard pressed to find a job. He's fallen off significantly, and he'll only continue to decline. There will be better, younger free agents available, not to mention every team has players in their system as good or better than Nielsen. Abdelkader, I agree with you on. I think he can still be a capable 4th line winger, and at around $1-1.5M, I can see a handful of teams being interested, including Detroit. Unfortunately, he's making about $3M too much right now...

I'd be completely okay with retaining 50%.

Any of the 30 other teams in the league would welcome the addition of a young middle six winger capable of 50 points.