DickieDunn

Yeah Yakupov seems destined to either heading back to Russia or an NHL career as one of those guys who never put it all together. From what I've read he seems to be pretty uncoachable.

Somebody told him that a guy was giving away cupcakes in the crowd and he wanted a snack. He had plenty of time between shifts to eat a few.

Pull was projected to be a a secondary scorer if he improved his defense and skating. He has, so he should get there. That doesn't mean he'll be more, although it is possible. My point about him is that unless he turns into a 30 goal guy he's going to be viewed as a second tier prospect, because that's what he is. Therefore he isn't close to off limits. I'm not saying trade him for a bag of pucks, but you're if you think they should turn down a deal that will help them to keep Pulkinnen. As far as prospects in general, or established players for that matter, Zetterberg and Datsyuk are the only players off limits. Some would take an insane deal, but if moving Kronwall and Mantha would bring a Norris caliber D, or Tatar, Sproul, and Larkin a 30+ goal power forward in his prime, I'd pull the trigger. And no, I don't watch many Griffins games unfortunately, but I know that success in the minors guarantees nothing.

He sucks so much his nickname is Dyson. It is known.

Slapshot or not he's still projected as more of a PP specialist. That's not untouchable.

So why the %@$# is he "untouchable?"

Him going the Pronger route is far more likely than a buy out. One, he still gets paid that way, i he retires he gets nothing. Two, someone who plays for a team as long as Franzen has generally is willing to help the team out,a t least as long as it doesn't screw him over by doing so.

Regardless of what fans think of him, the reality is that Pulkinnen is a second tier prospect who is most likely still viewed as a guy who is far from a sure fire NHL player and who needs to prove that he can do more than shoot the puck at the NHL level. I know the feeling around here is that he's going to be some kind of second coming of Brett Hull and score 50 goals a year, but he's far more likely to top out as a 20-25 goal PP specialist playing on the 3rd line.

Your depth chart isn't likely to be Babcock's depth chart.

So what's the over/under on his career goals? 1000?

Pulkinnen is being severely over rated here.

He'd be 3rd pair d here. Kindl and a 3rd or mid level prospect. Detroit has a bunch of guys coming up in the next 2 years that are likely to be NHL players and no room for them as it is.

That might actually work

Petty isn't as good as Smith. Moving out Smith and Kindl for Petry and Ouellet makes the team worse. Bad trade.

Jurco made the team because they needed a big winger who uses his size.

Why would you trade Smith without bringing a significant asset back?

That guy is a tool

Who out of Zetterberg, Tatar, Nyquist, Franzen, and Jurco do you think he'd play better than? Those are the guys, other than Helm and Abdelkader who are playing a banging role that Pulk can't, that have been on the wing in the top 6, depending on if Zetterberg is at center or not.

If they can't get offense from the players they have then it's a systems problem or the defense needs upgrades. It's not the forwards.

Unless they send Jurco down, it's not going to happen. There's no room for him. Further, it's not they guys most will suggest moving out of the top 3 lines that are the problem, for the most part it's the top players who aren't scoring. Most teams go through stretches where they don't score. It happens. There's no reason to try to force a rookie into the lineup thinking that's the magic cure.

The announcement said it was due to health reasons, and that he doesn't want media or purchase requests about the site. So no, nobody can help him run it. I'm hoping that he's not selling it because he wants to restart it once his health issues are over. I know that it takes a lot of work, and it was mostly him doing it all.

Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Franzen, Tatar, and Nyquist are better than Perron. Weiss may be once he gets a scoring role again, and Sheahan is turning into a better player as the season progresses. Abdelkader and Helm both play specific roles, and Jurco needs to stay on a scoring line. There is no room for Perron, or a winger of similar ability. They need a winger with size who uses it and can score, or an upgrade in the top 4 D. Anything else is just trading to make a trade, which is usually counter productive.

a first rounder for a second line winger seems like a lot

Per Adrian Dater on twitter O'Reilly being offered around the league for a good D-man. Florida and Winnipeg. Pondering, Toronto and Montreal too

Throwing the bank at Boychuk is a terrible idea.NJ has no need to trade any of their younger players so I doubt Larsson is available except for a stupid price like Jurco and Sproul. When the deadline hits there are a couple Devils that might help for a playoff run though.