DickieDunn

They can still be called out, and if he'd spent his first two years calling them out, maybe they wouldn't still be doing the crap they're doing.

This game could be 4-3/4-4 or something. Both goalies are outstanding.

Because where a player is drafted is irrelevant to how they develop. Being drafted in the first round just means scouts feel you have the potential to be good. Lots of players never hit their potential. In fact, a lot of players who are drafted int he bottom 3rd of the first round never turn out as good as Smith or Sheahan. Or are you saying they should have traded him after 2 or 3 years?

Sheahan could have been a 40 point player if he ever remembered he was big and not smaller than Jiri Hudler.

The last 2 games are why I questioned it and said I wanted to see them play better over a longer sample of games.

Ever play hockey, or any sport? If you have to think about what you're going to do, you're too late. The decisions have to be instantaneous. That's why coaches and scouts talk about instinctual players. They see something develop and know what to do. When you make a player go against his instincts, it slows him down and he makes bad plays.

was he going to eat it? Baby, the OTHER other white meat!

A lot of what makes a pro player go is confidence. When an offensive defenseman is given no PP time, plays on the PK, and is told to do the things he doesn't do well instead of what he does do well, that's going to hurt his confidence. Babcock was trying to prove what a great coach he was by molding Smith into an all around defenseman, and I think it destroyed any confidence he had in himself, and he started overthinking everything. When you have to think before you do it in pro sports, you're going to be behind the play every time. I don't think he was ever going to be a top pair D, but I think he could have been better had he been allowed to play his game the way he was used to and work on the defensive side also, instead of being forced to concentrate only on the defensive side.

You don't think he has the potential to be a top line winger?

Execpt they have a potential replacement for Mantha in Svechnikov, and it's easier to find those types of wingers than d-men in the draft. The Preds failure was no offense. Larkin, AA, Svech, and the rest of the players they have without Mantha mean that the Wings won't have that issue.

You're going to give yourself an ulcer. It seems like it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. "Ericsson is bad, therefore I only notice his mistakes." I've been as hard on him as anyone the last couple years, but he's been better. Note, much like the Lions following the Millen era, better does not mean good.

On another note, they need to dress 12 forwards. I know Booth isn't anything special, but there's no need to wear out your forwards by double shifting them, and it screws up chemistry and flow.

they deserved the loss.

he's not great, but he hasn't been that bad either. He's just another overpaid player on ateam full of them

Fleetwood Mac's best album

The team hasn't given much reason to be optimistic the last few years. Maybe I'm just turning into a crusty old man, but I'll believe they're better when they can prove it over at least half a season.

Larkin and Mantha are in a multi-way tie at 31 in scoring league wide. Howard is #3 in save% and #4 in GAA for goalies playing in 10+ games. I'd say they are top 50 players in the league. They're still sitting out of the playoffs right now,and still one bad stretch away from being one of the worst teams in the East, and it's still fairly early int he season. If they improve to the point where they're top 3 in the division by more than an eyelash by the middle of January, I'll start believing a little bit. Until then, I'll stay skeptical.

I think that if Jurco was allowed to be an offensive player from day 1 he would be at least a 3rd line scorer. Coaching destroyed any confidence he had But we'll never know.

I'm not convinced they are. The first quarter of the season last year they weren't looking that bad either. Then the wheels came off a bit. Event his year, they'd probably be out of the playoffs right now. They're tied with Ottawa for 3rd int he division/8th in the conference, but the Sens have played 2 fewer games. Buffalo and Florida are the only East teams that are definitively worse, and Edmonton and Arizona in the west. Every other team is within 4 points, and some of them have a game or two in hand. I want to see more offense from the D and I want to see more consistent efforts. One game they look like world beaters, the next game they look like they'd struggle against a good AHL team. That said, LArkin, Mantha, and AA are better and are being trusted more. Daley is a big upgrade over Smith. Howard hasn't taken his annual trip to the injured list.

Smart and lucky aren't the same thing.

If you want a top end young defenseman, you're not going to get him for AA and other secondary players. It's going to take Mantha or Larkin plus something. Of the two of them, Larkin is more valuable. Svechnikov has a shot at being as good as Mantha. What center has Larkin's potential? I don't think AA is ever going to be as good at center because of his 2 way play. But no, I wouldn't trade Mantha for anything less than a high end young D with elite potential.

Elite D are a lot harder to find than wingers, and are more valuable. the problem with that is that by the time they draft and develop a guy into a legit #1 elite lever D, the young forwards are going to be closing in on 30. If they can move Mantha and some other pieces (not Larkin or AA) and get OEL or a similar player, they're going to be better off long term.

It doesn't matter if he barely left it or went in the dressing room, changed into street clothes, decided he was still pissed and came back out and jumped on the ice. Once your skates are off the ice, if you go back on, it's an automatic suspension.

IF Larkin and Mantha develop into elite forwards, they're one elite D away form being Cup contenders. I like Mantha this year so far, I'd still trade him for that potential elite D.

Larkin C, Abdelkader and Dekeyser A