kliq

Really? Most teams do it right? I wont even bring up the joke that was the Oilers pre McDavid as you even mention that, but I have a hard time believing that most teams do it right. How many top picks over the last decade have teams like Arizona, Columbus, Carolina, Calgary, Atlanta/Winnipeg, Buffalo, Colorado, Dallas, Florida, Minny, NYI, Toronto etc. had and not done anything more then what the Wings have accomplished (post 2009). Have any of these teams even made the 3rd round in the last decade? Other then Arizona, I don't think so. Sure Dallas is doing well now (but not via top 5 picks), and Florida appears to be better, but none of these other teams have done anything of significance. My point stands, for every Chicago, Pittsburgh, and LA out there, there are teams that have not only failed, but been bad for a long long time. Tanking generally fails. Also, saying that all the cup winners/losers have a top 5 pick on their roster is not exactly a super bold statement either. Most teams have a top 5 pick on their roster as over a 10 year period their are literally 50 of them in the league. Even we have a top 5 pick on our roster in Vanek.

Considering only 4 teams have won a cup since 2009, not exactly a bold statement to make. Obviously top picks were huge for Chicago & Pittsburgh and LA got a high pick in DD, but Boston pretty much did it without a top pick. They had Seguin but he wasn't a big contributor, and they got him from a dumb trade by the Leafs anyways, not tanking. Not to mention we did it in 2008, but I'm guessing you are going to say that is two far back.

What he said. You are essentially saying that tanking = cup which is just not true. I feel like a broken record, but for every Pittsburgh/Chicago/LA, there are probably another 10 that tanked and just continued to suck. The other issue i have with tanking, is if those lottery picks or even top 5 picks become flops, you are right back to where you started except you have even less and you have established a losing culture. Anyone here who is a Lions fan can attest to that. You are completely relying on a couple kids and are hoping they end up being the next Crosby/Ovie/McDavid, when fact of the matter is half of the top 5 picks do not become franchise guys. Also, if we were to dump a lot of our vets, I could still see us being a non lottery team.

No it doesn't, we're average. Saying we stink is just hyperbole. Go to the league standings, we rank in a 4 way tie for 11th place. We look great some games, we look bad some games. We win 6 in a row, we lose 5 in a row. We are an average middle of the pack team with a ceiling of probably 2nd or 3rd in our division, and a floor of probably missing the playoffs from anywhere between 1 - 10 points. We are not a contender, we are not a lottery team.

Why is this under "game day threads"

Traditionally when they call a guy up, if he scores they typically keep him up. He scores 5 goals in 10 games, I cant see him going back down for a guy like Ott or Miller.

Hmmmmm, so you took Marchenko out for E, and Glendenning out for Jurco. I cant say I dislike that. I guess I never thought of Abby/Helm on the 4th line because it just seems like way too much money for a line that low, but if we are rolling 4 lines out somewhat evenly that could work. I like these lines. I dont mind E in the third pairing, but I like the idea of having Marchenko in because I like having a righty/lefty in each pair. Though I admit he really hasn't impressed this year. Come on man.....that's just hyperbole. Vanek maybe, but unless Jurco scores 30 goals this year, that isn't happening.

Mrazek will start again and of course he should, I am sure it will be soon as its not like Jimmy is going to play every game. Right now Jimmy is hot, and we are a team that needs every point we can get. With Howard playing 1.22 GAA hockey, I say you start him until he comes back down to earth, obviously that number is not sustainable, it will happen. The reason why we need to let Jimmy play, especially if he is playing good, and even more so if he continues to pay good is because it is better for us as it just increases his trade value. 6 months ago we were talking about "will a team take Howard without retaining salary for a low round pick" imagine if his value could raise to a point where a team wont just take all of his salary, but they will actually give us something of value in return. Jimmy and Mrazek playing great is best case scenario for us.

He's 23, one year older then Mantha. I'm not saying he is a future all star, but I wouldn't give up on him yet.

The kid needs to learn some accountability. Its not a good message to send that if he plays bad he get rewarded with more starts. Its no different then what Montreal did with Price when they had Halak and look how that turned out.

I'm not the best with lines, but if it was up to me I would do some combination of the following players based on chemistry. I think most will admit that with this lineup we have a pretty strong team even without "a superstar". This could be the best 4th line in the league. Zetterberg - Larkin - Mantha Tatar - Nielsen - Abby Vanek - AA - Nyquist Sheahan - Helm - Glenndening DD - Green Marchenko - Kronwall Sproul - Smith Healthy Scratches - E, Jurco, XO, (Ott/Miller Sent down)

According to RotoWorld: http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/nhl/3695/tomas-jurco Tomas Jurco (back) has suffered a minor setback. Jurco has been trying to come back from an injury he sustained over the summer. Even with that setback, he might be able to return in a couple weeks. Nov 11 - 3:27 PM Once he returns I think the Wings can send him down to the AHL on a temporary basis without putting him through waivers if its deemed a "conditioning assignment".

Got to love the "accurate" reporting in regards to the cap lol.

I figured he would get the call. Hopefully he plays well enough that they have no choice but to keep him up when AA and Vanek are back.

Most employees THINK that they know more then their boss and that they are more intelligent and can do a better job, but until they are in that exact position that their boss is in and understand all the variables and different factors that go into the position, they really dont fully understand, I find that often, employees typically have a very one dimensional way of looking at things, and I think fans often times have the exact same approach.

Just got back from the game, nice game boys! If I had to pick before the game started, the three players that would account for the goal that would put the game away in the third period. I dont care how many guesses you gave me, I would NEVER have picked Ott by E and Marchenko lol. Not sure if it came across on TV, but one of the coolest moments of the game was after Miller made that second baseman like save, he got a standing ovation from the fans. Cool moment to be a part of.

We can take salary back as long as the salary is expiring after this season, or the player we are getting is a player we need (ie. if we traded Howard for Fowler). Now that trade would obviously never happen, but I think you get the point.

I agree McDavid is the next big thing, but 29 is still very young and unless he gets hurt I dont see Crosby slowing down. The guys that regress in their early 30's are usually players who play a very gritty style (ie. Todd Bertuzzi) as they cant physically be dominate like they once were. The guys that just have that elite level hockey sense (ie. Mario, Gretzky, Crosby etc.) can play well into their 30's. I still remember in 2003 when Mario was 38 scoring 91 points in 67 games. As annoying as he may be lol, Crosby is going to go down as an all time great.

Debating with you Frank is never boring lol, you are the only person who I end up debating/discussing 6 topics simultaneously with. I changed your numbering in the quote to make it easier to respond 1) As far as Suter/Parise/re-building at that time, it is hindsight. I dont remember anyone wanting a re-build at that time. I dont even think Yzerman would have started a re-build if he took over. In 2012 you still had an elite D & Z (or at least that was the perception) and with guys like them still in their prime you need to go for it. The best comparable I can give is If Duncan Keith were to retire at the end of the year, you think Chicago would unload Toews and Kane and re-build, of course not. I realize they are younger and its not the best example, but I think you get my point. Its much easier to point something out 4 years later. 2) When it comes to evaluating players, you are very transparent with your thoughts. The best examples I can give are Eichel and Chychrun (not even going to bring up McDavid, kid is on a different level). I have heard you say more positive things about Chychrun while he was in the OHL then Mrazek during his entire tenure here. This is what I mean by you being hard on Mrazek. The kid is 24 and has all the potential in the world, yet when talking about this team in the future you never say anything positive about him which I don't get. You make ALOT of comments like (I am paraphrasing here) "We have no potential superstars other then Larkin" which is a dig at Mrazek. He's not there yet, but he has all the tools to get there. I dont believe this is similar to Nyquist/Tatar. AA would be a better comparable to them. 3) Babs was/is a good coach, but I dont see how anyone can be labeled the best coach in hockey other then Joel Quenneville. Sure he has Toews, Kane, Keith, and Seabrook, but with a seemingly revolving door of a roster, winning three cups in 6 years is damn impressive, and this is coming from someone who hates Chicago. The only thing Babs has over Q is international success, but Q never got the chance. Had he been given the chance I'm sure he would have done just as well. Not saying Babs didn't deserve the spot, but I think its safe to say that he got the job because of his strong working relationship with Yzerman. If Stan Bowman was in charge of Team Canada, we would probably be saying how Q has won gold and not Babs. Either way, both are great coaches. 4) The Oilers have been a joke for the last 10 years and I have no respect for what the old regime did for the team. The fact that they had as many first overall/top 5 picks and couldn't even sneak into the playoffs with all that talent was simply laughable. Even the McDavid pick, they were not attempting to tank that year, they were expecting to be good but simply sucked. Now they finally look good being led by Chiarelli, McLellan, and McDavid but I cant respect anything that old regime did. Had they picked third the year they picked McDavid, I think they still suck in 2016. McDavid changed everything.

By "some" you mean "one", 95% of the posts in this thread wish it was Mantha. I only noticed one person say otherwise. Rather then be upset that its not Mantha, at least look at the bright side, Holland is bringing up some youth and they are benching Miller. This is a step in the right direction.

I dont disagree with anything you are saying. My point was more so an evaluation of Howard over his entire career. i only bring up his caphit now because people make it sound like he is one of the highest paid goalies in the league.

Oh ok, I see how it could read that way. No I dont think management screwed him at all, they gave him every chance to succeed.

No argument on the treatment of Cujo, he definitely got a raw deal. Much worse then Howard. What did Howard "bring on to himself"? Howard is an average starting goaltender, who is paid like an average starting goaltender. According to sportstrac, he is the 17th highest paid goalie in the league. http://www.spotrac.com/nhl/contracts/goaltender/ Sure he lost him job to Mrazek, but that is because Mrazek is the future and Howard has had injury issues. Howard still has the skill set to be a decent starter in this league. When healthy, he has shown that. If Howard was the highest paid goalie in the league, or even top 10 I would get the extreme negativity towards him. However, in reality he has played exactly to his level of skill....average. I am not sure why fans expected him to become Lundqvist or Quick, he is not that. He has played over the last 7 years here in Detroit just like he is paid, an average/slightly above average starting goalie. When I say Howard gets a raw deal, what I mean is that fans expect more out of him then he is paid, or able to provide. It would be like getting upset with Nyquist for not get 90 points. He is simply not a 90 point player, nor is he paid like a 90 point player.

I like this move! Sure I'd rather see Mantha here but it doesn't negate the fact that I like it. At the end of the day we have all been clamoring for Holland to inject some youth into this team and move out some of the vets (ie. Miller/Ott) and this is a step in the right direction.

We all know your thoughts on this topic Dicke. I dont see the need to re-visit this convo every single thread. This is a thread about Jeff Blashill, you dont need to bring it up again for the 1000th time. In other breaking news, Lefty doesnt like Franzen and Bill/shocky/Jonus dont like Drew Miller. You don't need to act condescending just because someone has a difference of opinion. Especially when you are wrong.