krsmith17

Seider will be up this season. Raymond and others next season. Larkin probably doesn't care too much about the upcoming drafts. You know who does care about the upcoming drafts? Yzerman.

Mediocre too strong a word for you? My apologies. He's a good, not great 2C, that will be MASSIVELY overpaid in both term and dollars. Do not want. You're getting worse than BarkBurger for misinterpreting / misrepresenting... No, Larkin probably isn't "excited" per se about how good this team will be in 5 years. However, I can guarantee he knows and understands the plan going forward. Completely agree. It wouldn't surprise me though if Vrana is then flipped ala Mantha mid-season for more futures.

I'm sure the players know as well as anyone the "Yzerplan". The "bone(s)" Yzerman is going to throw is top prospects. I'm sure Larkin and co. are very excited to see what Seider, Raymond, etc have to offer over the next few seasons.

No one is disputing whether or not Yzerman can afford Danault. Anyone that has had a single glance at capfriendly, knows he can "afford" 5 Danault's... The dispute is whether or not adding a Danault *long-term* would be smart. I don't think it would. We'll se what Yzerman does again in free agency. Continue what he's been doing the past two seasons, or completely stray from what he's been doing and saying... Larkin won't be traded. He's the captain and best player on the team. Zadina is still only 21 years old. Vrana may be traded this season. Same goes for Bertuzzi. This team will not suck for much longer, but acquiring mediocre talent isn't the way we're getting out of it. We have a lot of good to great prospects coming, and a ton of draft capital.

You're right. Yzerman won't be dealing with the same cap issues Dubas is dealing with. Because he's smart. He's not going to sign average players to bad contracts (like you're suggesting)... Magical? You think Danault is the only option out there? Wennberg, Granlund, Haula are all UFA's. Hell Krejci may be willing to come on a high cap, short-term contract. Then there's the trade route. Johnson and Johansen could be trade options that would bring back significant assets. Yzerman has been doing a great job staying away from long-term contracts. Larkin is the only Red Wings player under contract beyond this season. He's not going to change that for Phillip Danault...

No, it wasn't. Not at all. Yes, and yes he will. Leddy is a top three defenseman on an expiring contract. Danault is one of the better available centers in free agency, and will command a long-term high cap contract. I'm not sure how you think the two are at all similar. They're not. At all... This is not how Yzerman has operated thus far. I'm not sure why anyone would think this is how he will operate going forward...

Yes. Adding Leddy doesn't change anything in regards to the rebuild timeline. Yes. Signing mediocre players to bad contracts is never a good thing. The only time it makes a little sense, is when you feel you're a piece or two away from having a legitimate shot at a Cup... I have never once said the Leddy acquisition was bad. A rebuilding team should never sign mediocre players to long-term contracts. By trying to expedite the rebuild, you further extend the rebuild... Try to keep up... Yeah, a $6M 3C is definitely "good 4 future"... Ken Holland is not here anymore. Stop advocating for Ken Holland moves. Yzerman likely will acquire another stop-gap center (if Namestnikov is taken in the expansion), similar to Namestnikov. No one is saying hand the 2C spot over to Veleno or Rasmussen, but it's only a matter of time before Veleno takes it over...

Yes, you build your team through the draft. That's your best chance to acquire elite talent. Yes, drafting high has been working (so far) as of late. Seider and Raymond both look like studs. We need more top 5ish picks. Adding Leddy doesn't mean that Yzerman has shifted focus. He's still saying all the right things. Even more clear now? Based on what? *Rumors* that Yzerman is in on certain players?

I want one of Eklund, McTavish or Hughes, in that order...

Well yeah... I would consider most middle six forwards / middle pair defensemen "average"... Did you think I ever thought Veleno = future superstar? Those two contracts, especially Hyman's, are going to look REALLY bad in a few years (or less)... Yzerman isn't touching either.

Just because we have ample cap space, doesn't mean we should blow it, and sign average players to bad contracts. Danault at $6M x 5 wouldn't be great value in year's 1, 2, and 3, and could be Frans Nielsen level bad in year's 4 and 5. Moderately improve our team in the short-term (lessening our lottery odds), and making our team worse in the long-term. Makes zero sense...

Cholowski is no longer waiver exempt, so they won't take him with the intention to waive him.

I'd be okay with Danault short-term, but I assume he's looking for something 5+ years. Fixed, Both are likely looking for long-term contracts, and neither are likely to be worth the AAV they will command in year's 1 and 2, let alone 5 and 6... Both are going to get grossly overpaid. Fortunately, Yzerman isn't going to be the dumb GM that does it.

mackel isn't trolling. He truly thinks Zadina sucks. Or at least he did, and now he won't admit he was (may be) wrong. I compared Veleno to Danault long before this recent run by the Habs / "one of the best individual shutdown center runs in recent playoff history"... Despite what you may think, their games are very similar. Veleno has up to this point, been a better point producer than Danault at the same age. Danault is a 40-50 point 2C that can go head-to-head against the leagues best. I don't see any reason to doubt Veleno could become just that in a few years.

LOL you're worse than mackel, when someone mentions Zadina... Veleno really strikes a nerve with you... If I said something similar about your boy Ras...

For me it's a toss up between Namestnikov or Stecher. I wouldn't put Cholowski in that same group though. He, unlike the other two, still has potential, regardless how likely you think it is he hits that potential... Who is high as balls / bending over backwards for Stecher? He's a solid depth defenseman, but hardly worth getting upset over if we lose in the expansion draft. Very replaceable. I'd prefer to lose Namestnikov, but I wouldn't be too upset if we lose Stecher.

We already have a Phillip Danault... His name is Joe Veleno...

AND New Jersey #4OA... Shouldn't be that hard... NJD trade around Subban, LAK trade around Bertuzzi, and VAN trade around Eriksson... 1. BUF - Owen Power 2. SEA - Matthew Beniers 3. ANA - Simon Edvinsson 4. DET - William Eklund 5. CBJ - Mason McTavish 6. DET - Luke Hughes 7. SJS - Brandt Clarke 8. DET - Dylan Guenther 9. DET - Jesper Wallstedt Game's easy...

AND Los Angeles #8OA...

Here's to hoping this is the way it plays out on Friday...

Found it funny that Erne "liked" this Tweet...

I'm nervous we're going to lose Cholowski, and then Carolina and Tampa are sitting there with Bean and Foote exposed...

I'd buy out Nielsen, regardless who Seattle takes.

And add Hugo Alnefelt in the process...