krsmith17

There are a ton of trades that we could make to improve this team. Despite what some people think / say, we do have a lot of quality pieces. Unfortunately though, Holland isn't willing / able to make any trades... Prove me wrong Kenny...

I love Athanasiou. He has game breaking speed, can create his own opportunities from nothing, and is capable of scoring some highlight reel goals. In saying that, I don't see him ever being a "star" in the NHL. I see him as a good top 6 forward that has the potential to be a 60 point player. I'd obviously prefer to keep AA, but if he can fetch us a top 2 defenseman, I'd definitely pull the trigger.

No way Athanasiou gets sent down. He's waiver eligible and would have to go through waivers. He would 100% be claimed, and management knows that. Say what you will about the way this team has been managed of late, no chance they do that. He could be traded, but Holland has already said that he's not trading any of the young guys unless it's a "hockey trade", bringing back a player of similar age and quality. If that were to be a 19-22 year old defenseman with a ton of upside, I don't think that would be the worst thing.

They could but won't, and shouldn't in my opinion. Trade him and retain salary. Better to have a million or so of his contract on the books for another three seasons, rather than six...

Why would all 3 need to go on LTIR? We only need to free up another $1-2M. If one of Kronwall or Ericsson start the season on LTIR, we'll be under the cap.

Larkin had a rough sophomore season, which is very common, especially for such a young player. People need to remember that he came into the league as an 19 year old. He'll be 21 next week. He had a rough start to the season, but started to come on at the end of it. In the last 20 games he had 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists). I expect him to have another big year this season, similar to his rookie season. I'm not worried about him and I think he should stay at center.

Exactly what I said. I'm hoping Holland knows and probably has known for quite some time that one of Kronwall or Ericsson is doubtful to start the season. Yeah, I was thinking it was a max of $975k, but that sounds about right. But like you said, it's a moot point. No way Holland waives Ericsson. No way he trades him either, but that's the route I'd go. Trade him to a team like New Jersey or Buffalo, along with Ottawa's 2018 2nd round pick in exchange for one of their mid round picks. Retain some salary as well if that's what it takes. But again, no way Holland does it...

Yeah, there's absolutely no rush on Athanasiou's contract. Wouldn't be surprised if it's another month or so before the deal gets done.

Good news.

We are $3,021,212 over the salary cap now, but once Franzen ($3,954,545) is placed on LTIR we will have $933,333. Athanasiou will likely get between $1.5-2M, so another move will need to be made before the start of the season, whether that's LTIR, trade or waiving a player.

You're garbage...

That's not true at all. Top 5-10 draft pick defensemen go straight to the NHL, but most defensemen drafted in the late first and later, usually spend at least some time in the AHL. Player - Draft Rank - Games in AHL Keith - 54 - 154 Suter - 7 - 63 Seabrook - 14 - 3 Burns - 20 - 74 Weber - 49 - 46 Byfuglien - 245 - 124 McDonaugh - 12 - 38 Subban - 43 - 77 Doughty - 2 - 0 Pietrangelo - 4 - 1 Karlsson - 15 - 12 Carlson - 27 - 48 Josi - 38 - 74 Hedman - 2 - 0 Ekman-Larsson - 6 - 35 Fowler - 12 - 0 Faulk 37 - 43 Larsson - 4 - 67 Hamilton - 9 - 0 Rielly - 5 - 14 Jones - 4 - 0 Ekblad - 1 - 0 Hanifin - 5 - 0 Werenski - 8 - 7

This. Or Jake Bean, or Dante Fabbro, or Travis Sanheim... None of these guys would cost a ton, and all would instantly become our top defense prospect. I'm hopeful that one of Cholowski, Hronek or Saarijarvi can become a top pair defenseman, but I'm not confident any of them will reach that ceiling. I'm really looking forward to see what kind of season Cholowski has this year in Prince George. Hopefully he has a breakout year. Also going to be interesting to see how Hronek and Saarijarvi handle their first year pro. Hronek looked good in his short stint. Hopefully they both rack up points with the Griffs this year.

Because wing is our biggest strength, and we need to upgrade our defense. I love Tatar, but he would be a great trading chip in a package for a defenseman. However, we all know he won't be traded, Nyquist won't be traded, no one will be traded, because Holland is unwilling / incapable of making trades...

Cholowski was 2 in training camp. I love that number for a defenseman. He would have some big shoes to fill with that number though...

I think there's a middle ground for both Tippett and Rasmussen. You and LeftWinger are the two extremes for both. I doubt either will be bad NHLers, and it's highly likely that neither will be "great" NHLers. I think Tippett has a higher ceiling, and I would have preferred him over Rasmussen (though Vilardi was who I wanted), but I hope Rasmussen exceeds expectations. Not sure what you were getting at, but okay...

True, but not every player should be defense first. We need some more offense first wingers. I'm hoping we allow Mantha to play his game, and do what he does best, score goals.

A little higher than I would have liked but 4 years is good. Good deal for both sides.

I think you're misunderstanding what I'm getting at... I'm okay with trading Tatar, Nyquist, and just about any other player on the team (aside from Larkin and Mantha). What I'm not okay with, is trading Tatar and / or Nyquist for draft picks. Those are not the type of assets you move for picks, when they're clearly worth much more than that. I also don't believe that just because they went to arbitration Tatar is done in Detroit after this season. I think it's possible that he and Holland could come to an agreement on an extension at some point this season. I also think it's possible that Tatar could be traded in a package for a top pair defenseman. Which is why you don't trade him for crap shoot draft picks. It's really irritating that some people still believe there are "untradeable contracts". The term does not exist in hockey. ANY player "can" be traded, and it's been proven time and time again. Helm and Ericsson absolutely could be traded if we needed to free up cap space and / or had a GM capable of making such trades. If we're in desperate need to free up cap space next season, I'd much rather trade Ericsson (retain salary) and a 2nd for a 5th, then trade Tatar for a 2nd... just an example. The underlined part, I completely agree with. Which is why I've been advocating for months now that we package some combination of Tatar, Nyquist, Athanasiou, Svechnikov, Ouellet, Sproul, Jensen, Hronek, Saarijarvi, picks, etc. for a top pair defenseman and / or top 6 center. And one last time, don't trade any of the aforementioned players with value for draft picks. If we need to clear cap space, there are plenty other ways to do it.

Absolutely. Hence why Canada is FAR superior to the U.S. in everything, including hockey... kidding...

Not only is it the offseason, it's prime off-season... Nothing happens in late July - August... Maybe Quebec is a more fair comparison to Michigan? Quebec has a population of 8.2M. Huberdeau - Bergeron - Drouin Mantha - Perrault - Marchessault Perron - Stastny - Pominville Ribeiro - Brassard - Burrows Vermette - Duclaire Vlasic - Letang Demers - Chabot Despres - Savard Beauchemin Crawford Fleury Luongo

True, but that's not a very accurate comparison either. Canada also has about 1/10th the population of the U.S. There's not a huge difference between the population of Ontario (13.6M) and Michigan (9.93M).

Haha I think Ontario's 2nd team would beat Michigan's team...

I agree. Which is the main reason I'm hoping Holland moves up or out of the organization after this season.

I'm confused. Aren't you doing just that with Adams? Looking at his great stats in college and massive size and assuming he could develop into a top line winger? I think Adams could be a steal too. Not many 6th rounders become NHLers, and I think he could develop into a decent bottom 6 guy, if we're lucky. I just think it's a tad unrealistic to think he could become a top 6 forward. Sure, he could (I hope he does), but that's very unlikely. I think Rasmussen will be a reliable two-way center. I have my doubts that he'll ever become anything more than a middle 6 center, although I hope he becomes a stud number one in the mold of a Getzlaf...