krsmith17

Hey now, I plan on coaching my kids minor hockey. Who knows where I end up from there... I'm not saying I'd definitely be a better coach than Mike Babcock, but don't be shocked to see me surpass him in NHL wins one of these days...

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This alone, is a big reason I think this team will see vast improvement from this season to next (when Seider makes the team full time).

Probably not the best timing for this comment... Seider was on the ice for two short-handed goals against today, as well as several other short-handed opportunities that Pickard had to come up big on... The first goal, he just got beat wide, almost like the player caught him off guard with his speed down the wing. The second goal, was just a terrible giveaway in the neutral zone on the attempted breakout... just sayin'...

"god tier"... You're right. He's not overrated at all... Maybe true, but I'd want the coach fired too if we had a roster as stacked as the Leafs, but unable to get past the 1st round... If the Leafs drop in the 1st round again this season, Babs will either be fired or killed...

Babcock is probably in the mix for top 3 coaches in the league... because he's THAT overrated... I'm not, nor have I ever said that I think Blashill is a better coach than Babcock. He's probably not. That doesn't change the fact that a coaches voice getting tuned out after some time is a real thing. Which is probably what's currently happening with Blashill as well. I still wouldn't want Babcock back over Blashill though. Babcock is an arrogant prick, and always thinks he's the smartest person in the room (he's not)... He also values grit and try-hards over skill. Wings fans wanted him gone toward the end of his tenure, and now Leafs fans want him gone (possibly getting toward the end of his tenure). He will always have work in the NHL though, for two reasons 1) past accomplishments (mostly International) and 2) old boys club...

I pretty much agree with everything you said, except the bolded... Babcock is the most overrated coach in hockey. It's not even close. Ask any Leafs fan... Blashill isn't doing s*** with this roster, but even Scotty Bowman wouldn't do much better. Babcock actually has a top team on paper, but can't get them to perform up to the level they should be playing with. Blash is definitely on the hot seat, but so is Babs... I wouldn't be surprised if Yzerman rides Blashill to (hopefully) a top lottery pick, but I also wouldn't be that surprised if this level of play keeps up (getting smoked every game), he gets canned before Christmas...

Nope, but he definitely would first chance he gets.

Very important. Just ask Cholowski and Svechnikov... Blashill mustn't have realized we're playing the Rangers tonight. Or has no idea he played in New York. When it does click, I'm sure he'll be healthy scratched...

I was just a fetus in 1985, but I think I know the answer...

Red Wings finally win the Draft lottery... Fans: "F*** Yeah! We've finally won the draft lottery. There is a hockey god"... "Lafreniere is elite. He will singlehandedly turn this team around"... "2021 Playoffs, here we come"... Yzerman: "With the 1st overall pick, the Detroit Red Wings select, from Mannheim of the DEL, Tim Stutzle"... Everyone: "WTF?"... "First Seider 20 spots too high, and now this bum ahead of Lafreniere and Byfield???" "What is this guys obsession with German players?"... "Fire Yzerman!"... Moritz Seider becomes an elite, number one defenseman (best player in his draft class)... Tim Stutzle become an elite, number one center (best player in his draft class)... Everyone: "WTF?"... "Yzerman is a f***ing genius"... "All hail Yzerman!"...

I'm not generally a fan that wants players that can *only* fight. I much prefer skill over grit. However, I tend to agree with you here. We simply don't have the horses to play a skilled game right now. We're not going to win many games. Might as well be entertained in these losses... Add some players that can muck it up, and stand up for the little talent we do have on the roster. I don't want Larkin and Mantha fighting. McIlrath is called up. Call BriseBois and trade Saarijarvi for Witkowski. F*** it! Bring in all the heavyweights...

This is not a "told ya so" moment at all... Up until this recent stretch here, Blashill has gotten as much as you could reasonably expect from the roster he's been given. He's made some terrible personnel decisions over his tenure, every coach does (in the eyes of fans), but Babcock would have been even worse. You even said yourself, Babcock would probably still have Abdelkader and Glendening in the top six. Babcock is highly overrated. Blashill is highly underrated (especially by Wings fans). At least until he's let go after this season and is immediately hired and does well with another NHL team. Blashill is not the problem with this team. Unfortunately for him, like mentioned, he'll likely be the one to take the fall though. If this continues, rightfully so.

Not everyone - not including myself... I'm not going to say that Athanasiou's struggles are all due to him being switched back to wing, but he's played really well for stretches at center. Why change it? Especially when we clearly don't have any other capable 2C's on the team currently. I wouldn't mind seeing... Bertuzzi - Larkin - Perlini Hirose - Athanasiou - Mantha

I would think, even with Athanasiou's horrid start, he should have more, or at least similar to Puljujarvi, shouldn't he? A player that has proven capable of scoring 30+ goals in the NHL vs a player that was once a top prospect, but has since done jack s*** at the NHL level...

Why though? I don't even think Hughes was high on our list (probably should have been). If Zadina didn't drop to us, we would have likely taken Bouchard. Also, if we had drafted Hughes and Vancouver had drafted Zadina, I'd be willing to bet Zadina would be tearing it up on a line with Eliasson, and Hughes would be playing (likely very well) in Grand Rapids. I'm not going to spend too much energy being pissed about not drafting Hughes over Zadina when we don't even know how it will play out yet. If we're going to be pissed about passing over a player that Vancouver ended up drafting, it's Svechnikov instead of Boeser...

They're both still very young (19). They're both ahead in their development in terms of the league their peers are playing in. Zadina started in the AHL last season, only because he was technically on loan by Pardubice to Halifax. Veleno started in the AHL this season, only because of the exceptional status. Otherwise, both would have played an extra season each in the Q, would have dominated, and fans would be salivating over them. Instead, they've been fast tracked and have (not at all surprisingly) struggled out of the gate, and fans are already turning on them. This isn't directed at you. It's every fan that is calling Zadina a bust. It's f***ing dumb. Anybody watching the Griffins games can see that both have been playing well, considering the circumstances. Struggling at times, but glimpses of greatness. Both Zadina and Veleno will be fine. Neither will end up being Jurco or Sheahan...

Based on what? They're the same age, same draft, and Zadina is out producing Veleno...

Sorry. I thought we were competing to see who could come up with the dumbest comp...

When has Zadina gotten "butt slammed" in the AHL?

Moritz Seider = Jonathan Ericsson

The bold I agree with... Adam Erne = Mitch Callahan Christoffer Ehn = Cory Emmerton Jacob de la Rose = Joakim Andersson Joe Hicketts = Xavier Ouellet Alex Biega = Adam Almquist

I'm not sure if I'd trade Athanasiou straight up for Puljujarvi, but maybe. Definitely worth considering. But yeah, Puljujarvi is and has been a player I've been interested in acquiring for some time now. He's a very skilled player that just couldn't put it all together in Edmonton. Maybe a change of scenery and a team that could slot him in the top six immediately would get him back on track. Over a point per game (20 points in 18 games) in the Liiga, as a 21 year old isn't anything to scoff at. He could definitely be a useful piece to this team's rebuild.

Erne suck. Ehn sucks. de la Rose sucks. Biega sucks. Hicketts sucks. None of these guys (maybe Erne, 4th line winger) crack the roster of any of the 16 playoff teams. They're awful. Perlini is actually half decent (size, speed, skill). Put him with some skilled players and he'd produce.