Wheelchairsuperhero

Poor Draper. That awkward moment when you think Kal is going in for the handshake, but he's not.

Agreed on both fronts, I've actually liked what I've seen out of Saarijarvi in each game so far, aside from his leaving the games early. I will say it's easy to see why Zadina went so high, he's definitely got an impressive skill set and that shot comes off extremely quick.

Zadina is having a rough 1st period in game three right now. He's taken some big hits and isn't looking comfortable.

This is what's been a bummer for me. While he's been playing I thought he's looked good.

ow, my heart

I had no idea this wonderful thread existed.

This is amazing Careful with that language 'round these parts

I'M SO SAD

I'm a little more optimistic than this guy, but I don't think there's much question as to Zetterberg's impact on the team. I'M SO SAD

Larkin scoring in the stars and stripes showdown. All-Star game-esque final score, but fun to watch some hockey finally anyway.

If he's not mentally ill or legitimately suffering from life altering concussion symptoms, it's insanely comical. Rejected by girl, beat up by her boyfriend, demoted, suspended, fails to qualify for worker's comp. Fast forward post career, forced to take a leave of absence from his coaching position because of controversy involving trespassing, homeless. It's so catastrophic it doesn't sound real.

He was a point per game player last year. Only 20 players with a significant number of games even did that, so yeah I would consider him top 50, easily. You're right though it's your opinion, I just think most would disagree.

20th in points last year with 82 points and 11th in points the year prior with 74. What's a poor guy gotta do to be considered a star in your eyes, be handsome too?

Had to be sure we didn't have a Filip 'Dick' Zadina on the team. Fair, I like it.

is his middle name really Richard?

I'm with you, I don't think Mantha's skillset has been fully utilized up until this point. He's been largely playing a role he wasn't playing before coming to the NHL and I feel like because of it a lot of people are really underestimating his ability to be a sniper. I really feel like Rasmussen is more suited to being a net front guy, that's his game.

Like others have said I would really like to see him hit that 1k mark, but if he can't play he can't play and that's fine. This may just be me, but I've been surprised by every game he's played post back surgery, he's got that Dan Cleary level heart. Awesome captain, awesome career.

Are you for srs? For one, his contract is fine. Two, what good is having a "1D" when we'd have zero 1C's?

something something something hokage... something something ninjas.

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2018/07/22/detroit-red-wings-jeff-blashill-time-play-prospects/807049002/ Not sure if this was already posted somewhere but IMO Blashill is saying a lot of the right things in this article. Particularly about ties maybe going to young players now rather than veterans and the potential for Mantha to still be a trigger guy rather than net front presence. Still gotta put the words to practice but it's encouraging at least.

You're not understanding something simple, I'm not going to try elaborating anymore. You can continue on wondering why some people are soured on AA but not Larkin despite the glaringly obvious reasons, It's fine. I'm not down on AA by any means so I don't want to be sucked into some weird conversation that may make it seem otherwise.

I don't think "the guy I choose to let represent me in the most important negotiations of my life said that, not me" is a valid excuse by any means. Athanasiou was down to wriggle out as much money from the team as possible, despite still being largely unproven at the time (still). It's clear though that you probably won't view him in a negative light, even if he kicked you in the head. It's fine, he's not a bad dude by any means and I still really like him as a player. Comparing him to Larkin is dumb though, at least thus far.

You're probably right, Kenny should've just given AA whatever he demanded, that seems like smart GMing. I'm surprised this needs to be said, but Larkin =/= Athanasiou. One is talking about how he realizes a deal needs to be both beneficial for both himself and the team, the other tried using a KHL offer as leverage. I'll let you figure out why some folks were soured on one but not by the other.