kliq

I agree with both of you. I found the biggest issue in the early part of the season was chemistry. Like Jimmy said, our forwards looked great on paper, but for some reason we just seemed to have an inability to score. I remember the last few games I attended what I constantly noticed was missed passes, missed one timers, guys having the puck bounce over their stick etc. It was evident the talent was there, but there was just something missing. Hopefully our guys have adjusted to the new coach and gained some chemistry and we can really take off in the second half of the season.

I think the cap issue may have solved itself. Drew Miller is having an MRI for a lower body injury. http://kuklaskorner.com/tmr/comments/khan-miller-will-need-mri-for-lower-body-injury

Ya your right. Marchenko is 700,000, and Andersson is 815,000.

Buppy pretty much nailed this, but I want to add that you are again putting words in my mouth. I never said Kronwall has no trade value, what I said was that his trade value is not the same as Seth Jones.

What did you "debunk" lol. My point was that a 34 year old Kronwall and a 21 year old Jones do not have the same trade value. All you did was say a random thought. Telling me that Holland signed Kronwall to a 7 year deal does not counter anything that I said and has nothing to do with comparing trade value. I am actually not even sure what you are trying to get across with your point. Is it that the Kronwall's contract was a bad one? Is it that Kronwall is not in decline? Your lack of detail and random thoughts that have nothing to do with the original post are an example of why people call you a troll. None of the above. We had a winger who suffered from a brain injury and as a result had little trade value. They have both publicly stated that they wanted to be closer to home and that was the reason for their choice, to "blame" Holland for not signing them is ridiculous and putting unrealistic expectations on him.

lol! Why even try. If someone cant see the difference between trading for a 21 year old who isn't close to his peak or a 34 year old in decline, there is just no point.

Yep and when it comes to who the Wings draft, you know who has final say.....Ken Holland. A GM's job is to hire the right people, and gather as much info as they can from those people and ultimately make the right decision. If the Wings have a bad draft, you know who that falls on....Ken Holland. If the Wings have a great draft, you know who deserves credit....Ken Holland. Cant have it both ways. You cant praise all the guys he drafts, but then say he is "garbage".

I find it funny that you call a man garbage, but at the same time you drool over all of his draft choices. According to you, Larkin is elite, and Mantha, Svechnikov and AA are all already top 6 forwards, not to mention you said Mrazek is "the man". How can a GM who is such "garbage" do such a good job at drafting. There are many aspects of being a good GM, the biggest is to ultimately build a team that can win a Stanley Cup (something he has done multiple times). There are two ways to do this, through UFA and trades, and then complement the team via the draft, and to build a team via the draft and complement the team via UFA/trades. Holland has obviously taken the second route. If all of our prospects were junk, you very well may have a very good point, but when he have a prospect pool that has Larkin, Mantha, Svechnikov, Sproul and relatively young players like Mrazek, Tatar, Jurco, Pulkkinen, Nyquist, Sheahan, etc it is hard for me accept your point as having any validity. Holland doesn't make giant moves and definitely takes more of a conservative approach. But big moves don't necessarily equal success (see Philly).

Not a single person has said anything bad about Larkin. EVERYONE has said the kid is good, and has a bright future. What is baffling is that you are putting the kid at a level he is just not at YET. Myself and 90% of this board think he is going to be elite one day, but he is not at the level of a Seguin, Ovie, Crosby etc. as of January 8th, 2015. I would put money on it that if you asked Larkin himself, he would agree with this statement. Stop trying to create a narrative that the board are trying to downplay him, we are not, people are just annoyed at how over the top you are.

My point wasnt to dismiss Crosby's accomplishment, it was to dismiss 2006 being the "trap era" and a hard time to score goals. Crosby is obviously an elite offensive talent.

Sidney's rookie year was in 2006, this was the first year post lockout when a ton of rule changes were made to increase scoring. The "trap era" arguably ended in 2004. 2006 had the most goals per game in the last 20 years. http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/stats.html

Everything you just said is true. The Leafs are a very polarizing team, they are loved, and they are hated. What differentiates them from other teams is that everyone has a strong opinion of them. Thats why I compared them to the Cowboys.

Here is what Hockey's Future writes about him: http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/kerby-rychel/ Talent Analysis Rychel has solid, upper-end quality hands and has come a long way since first being drafted. His skating, once a liability, has improved; allowing him to let his tactical and technical ability show. Consistency was an issue early in his career. While he still has defensive lapses at times his two-way play is much-improved. Like his father, former NHLer Warren Rychel, he has a bit of pugnaciousness and plays with an edge. Future Rychel attended training camp with the Blue Jackets and began the 2014-15 season with AHL affiliate Springfield before being recalled at the end of November and making his NHL debut against the Nashville Predators. Showing the playmaking skills for which he was noted in junior hockey as well playing with a physical edge, he is one of the more promising forwards in the Columbus organization. Long-term he projects to being an effective two-way player that makes those around him better with the ability to score the occasional goal.

The thing about the Cowboys, is they are a huge attraction even when they stink. That's why they are considered by some as "America's Team". The Blackhawks are not that, if anything the Hawks would be comparable to the Pats, they are the team that is just on top. Once they drop off, they wont sustain the same level of popularity. So the question is, what NHL team has a loyal fan base and attracts ratings regardless (to a degree) of how they are playing. My guess would be either the Wings or Rangers. I don't see it being anyone outside of original 6, and I don't think its Hawks or Bruins. If anything, I would say that now a days in the its more player based. The media tends to promote players rather then teams. For example, if Pittsburgh faces Washington in the playoffs, you are going to be hearing more "Crosby vs Ovie" then "Pitts vs Wash" Its easier in Canada where its clearly the Leafs. I cant turn on anything hockey related without seeing something Leafs.

Considering Jimmy was a legit all star last year, and made the Olympic team in 2012. it wouldn't be a joke.

I have to say, I see red flags. When I read things like "repeatedly asked for a trade before the season began" to me it screams entitled 21 year old wanting things handed to him. I could be wrong, but it worries me. I believe that 9 out of 10 times if you work hard enough and show you should be playing at the pro level, you will.

The problem with your evaluation, is that in 2015 almost every team hovers around .500. You make it sound like this is exclusive to Detroit. This is what you call parity from a salary cap. Just look at the records of the top teams in the east, and for the sake of winning % throw OTL into the losses category. Florida - 22-16 Montreal - 22-18 Detroit - 19-20 Boston - 20-17 Ottawa - 18-20 Tampa - 19-20 Washington - 28-10 (obvious outlier) NYI - 21-18 NYR - 21-18 NJ - 20-19 Pittsburgh - 19-19

I dont know anything about this story, so my comments are my opinion of him prior to this. I dont think there is anything "thug like" about Evander Kane, I view him in the same stratosphere as Johnny Manziel and Patrick Kane. Arrogant, Douchey....sure, but "thug" doesn't fit him.

My vote would be for the Mike Ilitch Arena.

I doubt they will do this, they are already naming the new bridge after him. I just cant see a bridge and an arena named after the same person. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordie_Howe_International_Bridge *edit* I should have read your entire post lol.

Ill post response in that thread.

I think Stamkos is a great player, and for the right price I would definitely take him. But I have a feeling the guy is going to be way overpaid, and if you look at his stats he has not been the same player since he broke his leg in 2014 and he is showing signs of a decline as a goal scorer. He could easily bounce back, but if he is getting a 7 year deal at 10.5 mil/year, that scares me. 2009 - .29 GPG 2010 - .62 GPG 2011 - .55 GPG 2012 - .73 GPG 2013 - .60 GPG 2014 - .68 GPG 2015 - .52 GPG 2016 - .34 GPG

Excellent post! Its frustrating when people say Holland didn't prepare for the loss off Lidstrom, because you just cant. His best replacement at the time was Kronwall. With that being said, if I remember correctly he did try making a play for Weber, but either Weber or Nashville were not interested (around the time Weber signed the offer sheet with Philly), and we all know how hard he tried with Suter, Elite d-men are elite for a reason, they are not easy to find. In the days of the cap and long term contracts with top players usually resigning with their existing teams, its even harder.

Holy crap! The Griffins have won 11 in a row! Or am I reading something wrong lol. http://theahl.com/stats/statdisplay.php?type=standings

I agree with 1,3, and 4. 2 I am undecided. The only part I think you are wrong with is the assertion that we are "ok". We are the 7th best team in the NHL, I think it is fair to say we are good.