krsmith17

Yes, the draft is the way to get there, but you're not likely to land superstar talent in the 2nd round. Everyone was super excited to get Berggren in the 2nd round two years ago. He's a good prospect, but we'll be lucky if he ever becomes as good as Kapanen (middle six winger). I see him as a middle six winger, but if he's on our 3rd line in a few years, that's some great depth. He's played mostly on the Leafs 2nd line this season with Tavares and Nylander. The Leafs are a playoff team. But if he's on our 2nd line in a few years, we won't be a playoff team? Explain that logic... No one would be "overly excited" about Kapanen, but if we could get him relatively cheap, it could turn out to be another Fabbri type deal. But I'm sure you'd be okay with flipping Fabbri for picks as well...

Is the goal not to have a strong top 6 (like Toronto)? He's proven he can play and produce with those types of players. No, he's not anything "special", but he's a very good middle six winger. We don't have a single player in the organization like him (skilled right-handed winger). I'll never get your obsession with draft picks... Always take the sure thing, over a crapshoot draft pick. What picks would you expect to get in return for Kapanen? A 2nd round pick? And then what? Hope we pick a 17/18 year old kid that *might* be as good as Kapanen in 3-5 years? It doesn't make any sense to trade a skilled 23 year old player for draft picks.

I think "our top players having a s*** season" is mostly because "this team is depressing" (a complete and utter disaster). Larkin is / will be a legitimate 1C. Mantha is a legitimate 1W. Surround these players with other top tier talent, and we'll be in good shape. Yes. As good as some of our players / prospects may be, none of them are elite. We need an elite player(s). Alexis Lafreniere would speed this rebuild up significantly.

Kapanen is a really good young player. He'd be a huge addition to this team's top 6, and he's also a much needed right-handed winger. If we were able to acquire him, no way should we flip him for picks...

Are / will be All-Star caliber players...

Yeah, there's no way that can be accurate... Even if Ferraro / O'Neill did say it, no way Dubas would do it...

Nielsen to Ottawa for 2021 3rd round pick...

LOL Imagining thinking Yzerman could sell Howard... What team is going to give up assets in a trade for a 35 year old goaltender, having a historically bad season? I honestly don't think a team would bite on a conditional 7th at this point... Howard suuuuuuuucks....

I agree. I think Pickard could be that goalie, but adding another similar caliber goalie just entering his prime, would have been nice. Pickard and Comrie would have been a great tandem for the Griffs, also allowing for the inevitable injury to Bernier / Howard... I just don't trust any of the goalies below Pickard, and unfortunately that includes Larsson...

One bad move. Probably won't hurt the team too much... I didn't say you have no idea what we're talking about, you just have no idea how the conversation originally started. I am convinced though that you have no idea what you're talking about... Yeah, well, ya know, that's just, like, your opinion man...

You are aware that employees get *demoted* in other areas of business other than sport? Maybe that would have been a more apt analogy... He's 23 years old. He'll get there.

More hyperbole?... This organization badly needs goaltending depth. In my opinion, it was a mistake to let Comrie slip through waivers. No, that is not the reason this team sucks... However, if Bernier goes out long term, or continues coming down with the game day sickness, Grand Rapids could really suffer. I could care less. If I'm going to interject on a conversation, I'm probably going to have an idea what the conversation is about though... That's just me. You do you. Nah. Larkin is young, good, having a bad (to his standards) season. Howard is old, bad (used to be good), having a terrible (to any NHL standards) season...

An analogy about you firing an employee. One would thing in hockey that would mean either buying a player out, waiving a player, or trading a player. But you just meant the player sucks. Great analogy... His defensive game has improved this season. Maybe, just maybe, the general manager that knows all too well the importance of becoming a defensive responsible two-way center, told him to "concentrate on defense, and the offense will come". Maybe the offense is starting to come... Or maybe he just sucks....

You and your constant hyperbole... You jumped in the middle of our conversation. Maybe you should have a clue about what you're jumping into... Also, don't act like you don't read every single post on here... Sure, if that makes you happy... Sure, if that makes you happy...

I more or less agree with this. Maybe saying that Larkin has solidified himself as a legitimate 1C is a bit premature. However, he did play like a 1C last season. He's having a down year this season, but I don't see him not bouncing back. Like has been mentioned, his defensive game has drastically improved this season, and I'm sure that's by design. Like I mentioned in a previous post, if Larkin plateaus as a 50-55 point producer, I'll gladly admit I was wrong, and Larkin is merely a 2C. However, I see him hovering around the 70-80 point pace (beyond this season), while also being responsible defensively. That is a 1C. Given the right linemates, and added depth down the lineup (not a one line team), I think he could be over a point per game center through his prime. We'll see how it all plays out over the next few years... Yeah, I thought you meant we should buy Larkin out of his contract...

That was the impression I got from your analogy. Firing top guys for underperforming = trading top guys for underperforming... I'll repeat myself ONCE AGAIN... Larkin deserves to be scrutinized, to a certain degree. However, he doesn't "suck".. Far from it. Or, maybe he's doing exactly what Yzerman asked of him, and playing responsible defensively... He still played D last season, yes. But making more of a conscience effort to further improve his defensive game, one would think, his offensive numbers might suffer, at least in the beginning...

Congratulations...? Obesity Rate United States - 36.2% Canada 29.4% Yeah, if he were able to keep those numbers around there, he could probably hack it in the AHL. Those are career best numbers for him at the age of 32 though... Probably not going to see much improvement from him. He's since been demoted to Toledo, and has put up slightly s***tier numbers down there. Eric Comrie in Manitoba: 2.38 GAA, 0.918 SV% Seems pretty decent to me, and he's still only 24 years old, which is relatively young for a goalie... I don't give a s*** if you keep up with any of my other conversations, but if you're going to interject with your dumb "Larkin sucks" bulls***, at least have some idea what the conversation was before you got involved. Nope. He's having a down year offensively. That, we agree on. Everything else, over the top negativity. Larkin is 23. Howard is 35. Not even close to being the same situation. But you know that...

Yeah, I don't think this team is missing any sort of locker room presence or any other intangibles per se. I think the biggest thing this team is lacking, is talent.

So you have a problem with people saying that expendable, replacement level, unremarkable players suck, but you don't have a problem with people (person) saying that our number one center sucks? The Cory Emmerton's, Joakim Andersson's, Christoffer Ehn's of the world are really, really good hockey players. However, they're really, really bad NHL players. Like you said, they're replacement level. For that reason, two of them had short NHL careers. I'll bet the third won't last much longer. Relatively speaking, they suck. Same goes for Nielsen and Howard. Both are great hockey players. They were both really good NHL players. However, both are way past their prime, and now are really bad NHL players. Relatively speaking, they suck now. Larkin, on the other hand, is a great hockey player, and really, really good NHL player, just entering the prime of his career. He does not suck...

Yeah, Canadians are really lazy... says the American... I never said "it doesn't count". I wasn't using being drunk as an excuse for what I said. I was using being drunk as an excuse for not remember saying it... I fully admit it was mistake on my part. A mistake that you repeated... The Bergeron / Staal argument is basically how this all started with myself and mackel. mackel said Larkin is basically Jordan Stall, who is a borderline 2C/3C... Catch up... No, you're talking about expectations. Literally no one is saying that Larkin isn't having a bad season. Yeah, saying that a borderline NHLer and a backup goaltender with a 4.10 GAA and an 0.880 SV% suck is really dumb... But saying that our number one center that is having a down season offensively makes all the sense...

I've stated why I believe Larkin is having a down season. It's not my fault you refuse to acknowledge or accept it as valid reasons... This is the worst iteration of the Red Wings any of us have ever witnessed. They're historically bad. If you want to place the blame on Larkin, go for it. I think you'll be hard pressed to find anyone that agrees with you on that though. His offensive stats have not been 1C caliber this season. No one is arguing that. That does not mean he isn't / won't be a legitimate 1C. He's working his ass off defensively, and it's showing. LOL you do that... Yeah, that's exactly the same thing... Let's relate your analogy back to the NHL... How often does a rebuilding team trade their number one center, just entering the prime of his career, because he's having a down season? I guarantee Jeff Blashill and Steve Yzerman are looking beyond Larkin's sub par offensive stats. They're looking at the big picture. They know how bad this team is / was supposed to be this season. They see his defensive game evolving. I'm sure Yzerman remembers conversations with Scotty Bowman 30 years ago, about how he needs to be a more defensively responsible center. Yzerman learned to sacrifice offense for defense. I'm not saying Larkin is the same caliber player as a young Yzerman, but I'm sure he's learning a few things from the man himself. AGAIN, no one is saying that Larkin is having a good season offensively. He's not. In saying that, he could still easily top 60 points this season. You must have missed @Dabura post yesterday... I'll quote some of it here... Datsyuk was 23 years old for his his whole rookie season. He put up 35 points in 70 games. The next season, he put up 51 points in 64 games, as a 24-year-old. Season after that, he put up 68 points in 75 games, as a 25-year-old. Season after that, he exploded: 87 points in 75 games, as a 26-year-old. Zetterberg was 22 for his whole rookie season. He put up 44 points in 79 games. The next season, he put up 43 points in 61 games, as a 23-year-old. Season after that, he exploded: 85 points in 77 games, as a 24-year-old. I'll also add that Datsyuk and Zetterberg played most of their career on one of / if not the best teams in the entire league. Larkin is currently playing on THE worst team in the entire league, and it's not even like they're really underachieving. They were supposed to be bad. That is not the fault of Larkin. Does he need to be better? Sure. Does he deserve the blame for this awful season? No.

Finally a valid point to add to the discussion... If Larkin plateaus as a 50-55 point center, I will agree that he is a 2C. I see Larkin as more of a 65-75 point center, potentially better if / when we're a legit contender, and that absolutely is a 1C.

Why does it bother you so much that I think Veleno will be a better center than Rasmussen? I truly don't get it. You think Rasmussen is going to be better. Cool.

No, you're right. Players should never have down year's. In fact, no players ever have down year's and bounce back... So, let's get back to the original topic, shall we? Was Larkin a 1C last year? Yes. Is he a 1C this year? Yes. Would Bergeron have elite numbers without elite wingers? No. This has been proven throughout his career. Does Larkin need elite wingers to be effective? No. Does Larkin need elite wingers to be elite? Yeah, probably. Because Larkin isn't elite. Again, not the same defensive responsibility, but keep telling yourself it's the same thing. Larkin is heating up. He's a better all around player than Bertuzzi and Fabbri, and will likely end the season with more points than either. Sounds like you have it all figured out. All from your Twitter source... This is THE dumbest thing you've spewed yet. If the team were winning, you wouldn't care about how great or poor Larkin was playing... So you're not looking at the individual player, you're looking at the team, and picking one underperforming player, and placing the blame on him. Cool.