krsmith17

I'm not arguing whether or not he's a good defenseman. I just don't think we should be trying to lure any of the big fish right now. Nor do I think any of the big fish would have any interest in signing with a bottom 5 team... We (LGW) had the same argument last offseason with Karlsson... First of all, I never said "I don't want him". I said I don't want him on the contract I expect he will be looking for (long term, high AAV). Secondly, we're rebuilding. How often do you see cellar dwellers going after top name UFA's? And how often do you see top name UFA's sign with cellar dwellers? It just doesn't make much sense for either side...

Thing is, I don't see this team being as "eye-bleedingly bad" as you do in the not too distant future, even without any major acquisitions. Krug would definitely help, but I don't see him being a piece when this team becomes truly competitive again. There are other ways to bolster this team's blue line than signing a soon to be past his prime, diminutive defenseman.

I'd rather just roll with... DeKeyser - Hronek Nemeth - Seider Cholowski - Bowey ... for another season, in which we're expected to be bad... once again... I think Krug would be worth that contract for the first 2-3 seasons. After that, when we should finally start to see this team emerge as a threat, he'll likely be on his way out... Roll with what we have for now. Maybe make a trade to upgrade the D, or a smaller free agent signing to add depth. I'm not interested in going after any of the big fish at this point in the rebuild.

For the duration of his contract? Doubtful. Realistically we're a couple years away from making the playoffs, and another couple away from becoming a legit contender. By that time Krug is in the final year(s) of his contract, a shell of what he is now, and making far too much money... Maybe. But knowing this team is a long ways away from being Cup contenders, maybe not... 2, maybe 3 more really good years (if he's lucky). After that, he may be a slightly better Daley... Too much for too long...

I like Krug. He's been a fantastic player for the Bruins, but would he be able to replicate that production with the Red Wings? Would he even want to come "home"? I'm not so sure to be honest... At 29 years old, how much does he have left in the tank? What kind of contract will he be looking for? If we could sign him to a "hometown discount", at around $5.5-6M for 4-5 years, then sure, but unfortunately, I think he'll be looking for a higher AAV and max term...

Yeah, ACL injuries are pretty common in the NHL these days. Having two is rough though. He was known for his speed earlier in his career, let's hope he hasn't lost too much of that with the injuries... Looking forward to see what he can bring tonight.

Way to use the most useless stat in an awful attempt to make a point... Our team is trash right now. Mantha is and has been one of our best players all season. He's a -8. Helm and Abdelkader are our only plus players. Does that mean they're the only two players on the team that have been "fine"? +/- is a joke of a stat. Yes, Athanasiou has been fine. He's generating offense as good or better than anyone on the team. For a team that sorely lacks offense, that's a good thing... Also, give me a break with the "he's on pace to finish at a -102" bulls***. It's not going to happen, so why even bring it up?

Here's to hoping Fabbri can be our Nyquist replacement (what we were hoping Hirose could be)... At least he got the number to look the part...

Good to see Fabbri get a look in the top six, but why the f*** is Perlini still stuck in the bottom six?

Surprised he didn't take his usual #15...

Athanasiou has been fine. He's been generating chances for himself and his linemates, and has 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) in the past 6 games. He and Mantha have always had chemistry. I'd like to see what they can do with another skilled winger on their line. Filppula has been playing well, with 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) in the past 6 games as well. However, AA is more important to this team's future, whether that's as a part of our core, or a key piece in a big trade. If we're trying to get a player moving in (even more of) a positive direction, it should be Athanasiou. Putting him on a line with one of our best players (Mantha), is the way to do that, not with scrubs line Hirose and Helm...

Put Perlini in the top six... Is Fabbri playing tonight? F*** it! Throw him up there too... Bertuzzi - Larkin - Perlini Fabbri - Athanasiou - Mantha Hirose - Filppula - Helm Abdelkader - Ehn / Nielsen - Erne Nemeth - Hronek Cholowski - Green Bowey - McIlrath

LOL Are you seriously saying that you would make that trade? LOL That trade would be Filip Forsberg for Martin Erat level bad...

Top prospect for a 30 year old, pending UFA... Sure, why not...

Makes sense from a Red Wings perspective, but I don't see how it makes much sense from the Caps perspective. Unless they're getting a higher end asset back, which I wouldn't be willing to do. Both Holtby and Howard are pending UFA's. I'm sure they'd just assume keep the better goalie, for insurance / possible playoff run, unless they're adding a quality asset. I'd be okay with letting Howard walk after this season, and signing Holtby, but again, only if we can sign him to a reasonable contract. I'm sure there will be several teams going after him though, and with the state the Red Wings are currently in / the s*** that Howard has gone through, I don't see him having much interest...

Holtby would be a good stopgap, while we're waiting for (hopefully) Larsson / Eliasson / Petruzzelli to emerge as a viable NHL starter. However, I wouldn't want to pay him too much for too long, and I have a feeling he'll either be staying in Washington or looking for big money that will bring him into retirement...

Why wasn't there a TRADE ALERT! thread created for Perlini? WHY @Dabura???

I'm not sure who this Bulju guy is that you keep mentioning, but hell no!...

Start with the 1st. Settle for a 2nd... Or this.

More accurate to be honest...

Mark it.

They will take Brandt Clarke 11th overall... I was also hoping we would have taken his brother, Graeme in the 3rd round last draft...

To be clear, the amount of full games I've watched Puljujarvi play in the past few years have been limited. I'm not pretending to know much outside of the scouting reports and articles I've read and clips I've seen. He's still only 21 years old, and is a former 4th overall pick though. The potential is definitely there. But in saying that, it is still just potential at this point, so maybe Athanasiou straight up is a bit rich. I'm sure Holland would love to have a player like AA on McDavid's wing, especially in exchange for a player that is demanding out...

I do. I think, assuming he comes back to North America, he will be a very good top six winger. He has all the tools, good skater, good hands, decent shot (right-handed), good vision... If he puts it all together, I think he'll be a better all-around player than Athanasiou...