kliq

I actually don't have an issue with Blashill being hard on the kids. Vets are what they are, it's very hard to take a player close to 30+ and change the stupid little things that they do (not that you shouldnt still try). When you have a 20 year old kid, they are like clay and you can mold them quite easily into the best player possible, so when that when they get older they do all of those small things that coaches harp on all the time. This doesn't mean I love Blashill or think his overall system is any good, but you will rarely see kids be treated the exact same as a vet by any NHL coach.

I actually heard an interview on 97.1 yesterday where Blashill spoke about Larkin, his exact words (well close to exact) about him now playing center were "Larkin has the potential to become an elite 2 way center". Nothing about him being a power forward.

That's right it was the Islanders, my bad. Didn't the same thing happen the other way around? We had a kid that they signed after not signing a ELC with us?

Didnt Russo not sign an entry level contract? I dont think the Ducks discarded him.

Well we'd beat Blues, they are the one team worse then us in the playoffs

After 1st place, the odds are pretty tight. Chances of 1st overall pick is: Worst Team - 17.9% 2nd Worst - 12.1% Las Vegas - 10.3% 3rd Worst - 10.3% 4th Worst - 8.5% (where we sit) 5th Worst - 7.6% Source - http://www.tankathon.com/nhl

Stan Bowman gets way to much credit for Chicago. Sure he has a done a good job since he got there, but I'm pretty sure the acquisitions of Keith, Seabrook, Kane, and Toews were all Rick Dudley's work. Pretty good core he got to start with.

Oh ya he did. I have absolutely zero recollection of that lol.

sure lol

So 5 games into the Vanek trade and Vanek has 1 goal, 0 assists, and is (-6)......and Florida is 0-5. Obviously the 0-5 part is not on Vanek and the team seems like its struggling in general, but I think based on how low Vanek's value was at the deadline, and how's he's doing now, unless he starts to tear it up we may be able to sign him on the cheap again this off-season. If we trade one of Tatar/Nyquist, I am fine with that.

Maybe Blashill benching him is slowly starting to make more sense.

Your thinking of '09. In '08 they went through Nashville, Colorado, Dallas, and Pittsburgh. 2009 they faced Chicago in the 3rd round.

Nothing, you are 100% right. Its people being over the top.

I don't by in to the whole "they are professionals" argument" either. A lot of these players are in their early 20's straight out of high school. Sure they are professional athletes, but they are still kids.

Look at last night's game, that is a perfect example of what Goose and Tatar are capable of playing like. In Blashills system though, its hard for anyone not named Z to play like that consistently.

Just got back from the game, and I have to say this was the best they have looked in person at least all season! That first line was playing great!

Your doing it again. When has Holland ever expressed interest in trading Larkin, Mantha, AA, Mrazek or DD? Not knowing who is going to be here is not a Wings thing, its a fan thing. We have a core, you just don't like it. Not surprised its not a lot, your posting shows this. Not even going to argue about Edmonton/Colorado, the proof is right there with how pathetic of a franchise Edmonton was pre McDavid, and how pathetic Colorado is right now.

This is just not true. There is a huge difference between not having a core, and not having a core that you are a fan of. The young core of the Wings is Larkin, Mantha, AA, DD, and Mrazek, you don't just like it. Do they need more? Of course, but like I have said a million times, add Patrick and Trouba and we are looking very good. A fully admit that it is a lot harder said then done, but that would be my goal if I were Holland. In terms of elite talent, no doubt we are a basement team, as far as overall talent, that's not true. The key is having a good mix. Look at Colorado, they are littered with "elite" talent, look at Edmonton pre McDavid, littered with elite talent, but both were/are garbage. The key to being a good team in the NHL in 2017 is having elite talent (which we dont have) surrounded by good secondary talent (we do have), being coached by a good coaching staff (we dont have). Out of curiosity Frank, how many games have you actually watched this season?

Actually didnt see either of those. Nice!

If anything, I would choose to trade Howard and retain salary. I hate buyouts because the caphit goes double the term.

It stopped after he was suspended against TB in the playoffs 2 years ago.

I dont buy this. Every player has a ceiling and a floor, and pretty much every player we have is closer to their floor then their ceiling. Not by any stretch am I saying we are contenders or anything, but this team is too talented to be playing this poorly. Eichel and Matthews should even be spoken of in the same breathe as McDavid, this is why Eichel is being referred to as overrated. The gap between these two players is tremendous. As far as the other two go, who knows if Patrick is going to be at their level, way too early to tell. I see Colorado or Arizona getting him anyways, but if we get lucky and get that 1st pick, that could fill a huge hole for us and give us some flexibility with Larkin and AA as trade bait for a 1A d-man.

Well Kronwall is playing on broken knees, Sheahan is in his "prime". I think most people give Kronwall a pass.

Why do you want to buyout everybody, that is going to hurt us for years. We need to just eat the contracts, or trade them. If we buyout Howard that is 4 more years of a caphit instead of 2. It's not like there is some giant UFA this summer that we need that Howard is preventing us from getting. If we we're talking 2 years from now and we could sign Jonathan Tavares but need to buyout Howard, then sure buyout Howard, but until we NEED the cap space to sign a UFA or sign a Mantha/AA/Larkin, or to even trade for a 1A d-man a buyout makes no sense and just keeps us down longer.

I guess that makes sense. If Larkin, AA, and Mantha are pretty much playing 82 games, why put more wear and tear on their bodies. They are not going to get any better at this point by playing in the AHL.