Richdg

FM, Mantha is a sniper with skill that will drop the gloves once in a while. he is not a banger at this point in time. nastasiak will bang and has grown already.

I hope 1 of them is, but that is a 3rd pair thing. We need both to turn out long term so we can bring back some balance.

Interesting, but means little if you don't put the puck in the net, and keep the other team from doing the same. Things we have struggled with for several years. How many times the past 4-5 seasons have we been on the PP and found ourselves screaming at the TV "shoot the puck". happens all the time. But the possession numbers look great. The thing about puck possession is how do you use it. are you running it as a defensive system or an offensive one. yes if your team has the puck/ball/ etc.... the other team in theory doesn't have it and can't score. But if you have the puck 60% of the time and fail to score, while the other team scores 3 with their 40%, you loose.

Howard isn't going anywhere and this is key, he is a better g than Miller is at this point in their careers. Miller playing on a better team sucked in the PO's. Howard had much better numbers vs the NHL's best team. Howard is not the issue. Our sucky D and yes his injuries were the issues this year.

So as dabura's links show: 1. Kronwall isn't a number 1 or 2, he is a second pair guy at best, and 2. Dekeyser is our best defensive Dman. I think I remember someone posting that on this forum before. Hmmmmm...... alfie was not a major producer this year. he was subpar and is declining very fast. if the choice is mantha or alfie, give me mantha ever time now!

PVD you showed my point perfectly. I said drafting/developing. You showed that since 2000-earlier tbh, we have not developed a single RHed dman. not one. Now we have a couple that may turn out in Sproul and marchenko. So maybe 1/2 over 15 years. That is not very good at all.

BTW, after the Sharks got dumped the rumors are starting to focus on 2 guys being moved: pavalski and burns. Burns = Buf. Big, tough, Rhed shot, but keeps moving between D and F. Cheaper than Buf though.....

Alfie: please retire. Your legs are gone, your back is sore, and you are not worth 5 million per season, or 1 million per season. Go back to Sweden and play there. We are not a SC contender right now and tbh you would only hold us back for another year. You have been a great player for a long time. HOF is ready to take you in. retire and enjoy the rest of your life.

Guys please get back on track. There is no secret what we need. We lack size and grit. yes we have added some more size the past couple of years, but when we have done so it has been more euro guys than NA guys. Like it or not but most euros are not gritty/tough players. Franzen anyone? yes he is 6-3/225 pounds. Classic power forward build. But does he play that why? No. Now none of us know what guys will turn into 3-5 years from now. we don't even know which ones will ever play in Detroit. That is always the trouble with prospects. we need the size and grit now, not 3 years from now. Sitting and waiting for it to come while we have the need is a bad idea.

Spector had a little thing up a couple of days ago about rumors Franzen could be traded. First thought: LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Any GM that trades for Franzen should be fired on the spot! That then lead me to Snow and the NYI. They need some D and more O. how about franzen and Kindl for martin! perfect!

Some need to slow down and read. We are talking about gritty forwards. talking about the D men that Holland has finally started to pick up the last few years doesn't help your point. Adding in Bodin, melen, janmark adds to my euro point.

in 2-3 years, sure. More talent the better. Mrasek still has one more year he can play and should, in GR. At tha point Howard is down to his final 4 years. At some point a transition could very well happen. GREAT! For us.

Agreed guys. Holland used to talk about needing 1 big forward per line. That was why he brought Bert back the second time. he knew what was needed, and that was while we were still a team in the west. Now in the more rugged east it might be 2 big F's per line. Yes he has started drafting bigger F's the past few years, but most of them have been Euro's: Tvardon, nestrasil, Jurco, etc..... Last year he finally grabbed mantha-more sniper than gritty and nastasiuk who is fairly gritty. But those guys are still down the road a bit.

I like Mitch C, but he isn't big enough-he is smaller than Datsyuk, and only has average AHL speed. Yes he works hard-easy to cheer for guys like that, be he is a 3rd liner at best. Not to mention he is a RFA and could walk this summer. He has to clear waivers to go down and I just don't see where there is room for him baring a trade. He is to deep on the depth chart.

No team will be letting anyone go. Simmons will cost more than either hanzel or martin.

If and it is a big one, this is babs last year, does 1 more season really change anything?

True. But that was after not taking/developing any for several years. None of which have made it yet and we have no idea if any ever will. We hope they do, but there are no sure things.

Horn would be good. But Holland seems to like to overpay Nash........... But and this is important, he is also like Hommer in the fact he is limited other than in front of the net. My personnel preferences are Martin and Hanzel. Nice AHL player but he isn't even as good as Glendening. About the same size as well-a little small.

Pretty clear that Blashill is our next coach. Just thinking out load a second...... how much is a HC worth in trade? Babs to Tor for.........

QC is very small population wise. Now Bettmen dt say anything about relocation. Their best beat is to get someone to buy the Panthers and move them. east to east thing. I am just not sure a city with less than 800,000 in its metro area can maintain a team. hell Grand rapids has 1.4 million. WE WANT A TEAM! That would be stressful however.

No.

Several things. 1. Gritty doesn't mean fighting. I think far to many of you re equating the 2. Eller for example was the Habs leader hitter at F. 2. True none of these guys are superstars. We can't afford a guy like Lucic or Perry. We could offer Nyquist, tatar, Smith, and our 1st and both teams would laugh and say no. We need to find the guys that have some additional upside that hasn't been fully developed yet. Greening for example has scored 17 in a season before. Could he get to 23-25 playing on a top line? Maybe. I personally believe that Martin could get 20 playing on a top line. Not to mention those guys would keep guys like Datsyuk freer by clearing out the D. 3. cap hits. You have to have some cheaper vets on a team. Guys that are role players. No team can afford to have a top 6 of Lucic, Getzlef, perry, Ovie, Crosby, and Malkin. No matter how good that top 6 would be, everyone else would have to be making the league minimum to even field a full roster. Building a line with Z-Dat-Kassian with Kass making 2.5 is the way to go. 2 expensive stars and a cheaper role player.

Not having RHed players is in fact an issue. But it is/was not the only one. BTW, who is responsible for putting the roster together? maybe he should draft, sign, trade for more RHers........

No to mention all of those goalies play on better teams vs lesser competition.

PO numbers through last night, Howard is 4th in save % at .931 and 4th in GAA at 2.05. How do some of the "better" goalies rate? Lets look: Miller .897 and 2.70 nemmi .884 and 3.74 price .916 2.28 Lundquist .923 and 2.08 Seems to me that "average" Howard out played all of those guys. Be very careful what you wish for in life......