kliq

I dont believe that for a second. All reports said that Holland was willing to trade anybody except Larkin, I would put money on it that if the Jets offered Trouba for Mantha 1 for 1, Holland would do it in a second.

It's funny how when the Wings play a good game its like crickets around here.

With our D tonight being Green/Marchenko/Sproul & E/DD/Smith......is this the first time we have had 3 Right handed D-men and 3 left handed d-men in years?

I'm very happy to see Sproul finally in! Ott in for AA just annoys me unless AA has an injury which I doubt.

Well we're not going to take out the guy who leads our team in game winning goals in one goal games! How's that for a major league stat! In all seriousness, I feel that guys like Miller or Ott can have a role, but IMO it should be healthy scratches that play when there is an injury. Similar to Cleary 2 years ago. I hate seeing a young guy like Sproul just sit in the press box, but its better then trying to clear him through waivers.

You may be right. His caphit is 5.25 million (we're not talking Toews money here), so it really comes down to what the market is in 3-5 years. Who knows what the cap will be at that point, who knows what the going rate is for a 3C will be at that point. If I had to guess I would probably agree, but to pretend like the worst case scenario is a given is just playing to an extreme.

To be fair, he didn't say Nielsen wouldn't slow down, he said: "Nielsen will be fine. There's no reason he cannot play out his contract and contribute every year. His health history is fantastic". The implication here is that he will be a contributing member of this team until his contract is over. Not that he will stay at the exact level he is at today.

I hope you are wrong, but I agree with this sentiment. Once Quick comes back, they would be in trouble with the cap.

I'm not too worried about Vanek for this season, the guy is playing for his next contract. Sign him to a multi-year deal, that's when I would start to worry.

It all comes down to the question "is Hollands offer more valuable to the Jets then the offers being made by the other 28 teams". Not that every team is going to put in an offer, but the Jets are going to see what is out there and wait unless Holland throws an offer they cannot refuse at them right now (ie. Larkin) which I wouldn't even do 1 for 1. With that being said, if too much time passes and Detroit's offer is the best one, then they may accept it. It wont be now though. Chevy is currently swinging for the fences, we need to wait until he's willing to accept a double.

If it happened every game I would 100% agree with you. I'm saying that I dont believe 1 game or 4 games prove that they are a lower tier team because it's too small of a sample size. In the 4 games they played this season, they had two games where their defense was dominated, a game where they looked amazing, and a game where their goalie stole one. You could tell three different narratives from the games they have played so far. My comment has nothing to do with if they are or are not a lower tier team, my comment was based on how a person can reach a conclusion on one game. I would say the same thing if someone said they were amazing because of the Ottawa game.

I agree with your first narrative, disagree with your second. Obviously the previous poster is is getting way to ahead of themselves, but so are you. I dont care if the Wings are 4-0, 3-1, 2-2, 1-3, or 0-4.......4 games into an 82 game season proves nothing. Please understand, I am not saying you are wrong, you may very well end up being right, what I am saying is that nothing is "proven" yet.

So true. I always sit in an aisle seat, otherwise I have no room.

It doesn't matter how good a GM is, Winnipeg is trying to prove a point that they wont be pushed around by players. They already hold a reputation that players dont want to play there. There are going to hold out until they get the right deal, as if they give in, this could happen again and again. The best thing we can hope for is that they play like crap, and then the teams starts to feel the pressure to make the move. Trouba is going to be good, but if trading him can be the difference between making the playoffs or not, I can see them making a move.

I agree with kickazz....if LA wants Howie, do it straight up for Budaj. Don't get greedy and ask for more, just getting rid of that cap hit is a HUGE win for us. This is nothing against Howard, I actually really like him as a goalie. Its just cap management.

The asking price by the Jets was Larkin plus another forward. No way the above offer gets it done. I wish it would, but no way.

HA!!!! Come on, these predictions are supposed to be somewhat possible. This is like saying Drew Miller is going to win the Art Ross.

Do GM's usually go to the games themselves? Or do they usually send scouts? I only ask because if they usually send scouts, this is pretty big!

You have to admit Lefty, it would be quite funny if Vanek has a monster season proving you right, but does it on a line with Helm and Nyquist

Ill be honest, I wrote my post very quickly without even thinking about LH/RD, that is a good point. I would be just as open to trading Marchenko and keeping XO like you have. I would obviously love to get rid of E and keep Smith instead, however I cant picture a scenario where E is moved. Smith is a very good possession player, the metrics show it, and anyone that watches him can see it. Last night I was very impressed with him and his ability to move the puck. If he just had that finishing touch he would be a very very good hockey player. My other worry about him is that he will be offered a contract from another team that we will not be able to match due to our cap restraints. In an ideal world, I really like those pairings you have. Get it done Kenny! I dont think anyone is disputing this. All reports indicate that Holland is willing to move anyone not named Larkin for Trouba. If Winnipeg asks for Larkin plus some, Holland should hang up the phone. Wow.....even more reason to not take these "articles" seriously. If you want to be considered a respected sports writer, at least have your facts right.

I read the article, the tone sound more like a message board rant then a professionally written article. Either way, one thing I do agree with is we need to figure out which of the kids are a part of our long term plans, and which one's are not as there are only so many spots. We essentially have 7 spots for next year, and I would assume that Kronwall, DD, Green, and unless he is picked in the expansion draft E are locks. Then you have 3 spots for Sproul, XO, Marchenko, and Russo. I agree that Smith likely walks away in UFA similar to KFQ. I cant see Holland trading him at the deadline unless we are out of it which I really doubt will be the case. What I would like is either a 100% healthy Kronwall (doubtful), or him going on LTIR, but LTIR can be tricky. You can't just put Kronwall on it, it has to be deemed by league doctors that he is not fit to play in the NHL due to injury. If they say his knees are fine, there is nothing the Wings can do. Personally, I would like to see this next season: Trouba - DD Green - Marchenko Sproul - Russo Bench - E In this scenario XO is involved in the Trouba trade, Smith is as well or walks away, Kronwall is on LTIR. I would also love to see E gone in the expansion draft, but I dont see it happening. lol, my exact thoughts.

Just got back from the game, great way to kick off the final year at JLA! The PP was definitely looking good tonight. Obviously Green is not going to score like this every game, but this is what we have needed since Lidstrom retired, a PP QB that has a shot from the point. I thought Zetterberg looked pretty good, not sure how it came off on TV, but he was getting into the corners, battling for the puck and winning those battles. While he has definitely slowed down, he still has something left in the tank. Good move switching him to the Wing. That outlet pass to Helm was awesome. Vanek was also very impressive. I was not a huge fan of the signing as I wanted to Mantha or AA in that spot, but if he continues to play like this I'll have to give Holland credit for this one. I'll give some props to Lefty as well, you wanted this signing and have talked it up for months now.... so far so good! Even E looked good. Ill take what he gave us tonight out of a third pairing guy anyday. Offensively Sheahan didn't look great, made a few blunders. I would like to see him on the fourth line for Miller, and AA in that spot.

Again, it does matter but not for the reason you think it does. Back then unrestricted free agency was essentially a slew of stars, and a team like Detroit could pretty much sign anyone they wanted to replace a departed player because there was no cap and they could pretty much outbid anyone. Best example of this is when LaPointe left, Holland signed Hull and Robitaille. A player like Abby leaves and you have 30 teams with almost equal chances (due to the cap) all trying to sign a very small group of above average players (ie. Nielson, Okposo, Backes etc.) Much much much higher probability of replacing LaPointe in 2002 then replacing Abby in 2016.

In theory a guy like Suter sounds great. But he is signed to a $7,538,461 caphit until 2025 and he is already 31. That contract scares me. I would rather for all in for a guy like Trouba and give Winnipeg anything but Larkin.

I was joking, though I do believe Qunicey was underrated around here. Either way, 2 games in is a bit early to assess a true regression. This could be true, or it could just be the fact that its 2 games into the season.