DickieDunn

Give me top high level prospects, let me trade them with secondary assets for high end guys in their prime, I'll lose maybe 1 of 10 times. The rest of the time the prospect will either eventually match what I get now and it will be a push, or the prospect will never be that good. Look at the list of CHL players of the year. 4 of them are elite NHL players, with Eberle maybe getting there, and Drouin hasn't played an NHL game yet. Look at a list of leading scorers in the Q over the last dozen years. You'll see a lot of guys that tore it up there and did nothing in the NHL.

What did they offer for him? Kessler or Edler if he included Nyquist and Sproul? I wouldn't do that either, and I wouldn't move him just to move him. I've move him if I could get a young top pair D like McDonough, Subban, Pietrangelo, or a young power forward like Benn, Pacioretty, or Johansen.

Because his value is high. If he gets to GR and struggles, his value will drop.

Yes, I would trade potential for proven high level production every time. If you can get a 24 or 25 year old 30 goal scorer for a fut who might score that much 5 years later do it. That's not ridiculous, it's smart.

A few things to remember. Success in juniors doesn't guarantee anything in the NHL. Lots of CHL POY were average NHL players or never made it at all. Holland and Babcock always say there is a chance a kid can make the team. They almost never do. They already have Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Franzen, Weiss, Nyquist, and Tatar signed plus Jurco and a potential free agent. Add in Helm and you have the top 3 lines without Mantha. Honestly, I'd be quietly shopping him to see if I could get a young proven high end player.

You can do that with any draft from any team in any given year. When you're trying to project where an 18 year old kid is going to end up 5 years later, it's a crap shoot, even in the top 5 overall.

Emdogovich

Some contracts are set for the same every year some are front loaded and some are set for them to get a rase each year. That's why cap hit is average salary of the deal.

Suh got the fine

His head was down well before the hit and it could have been avoided. Like I said, both are at fault there.

Sobotka wasn't paying attention. You need to keep your head on a swivel and be aware. Abdelakder also needs to recognize that his head was down and give up on the hit.

The NHL is making money. He's doing his job. The owners and players are as much to blame for the problems as he is if not more so.

If Torts is worth that Babcock should get about eleventy bajillion dollars a year.

Vanek is playing on the 4th line because he's been bad. You know, like so many people want Babcock to do to the goat du jour here.

Do you want 34 year old Vanek playing less defense than he does now with a $7 mil cap hit for 45 or 50 points in a few years? People complain about Franzen at $4 mil.

Vanek is going to get a ridiculous contract despite the fact that he has 2 seasons of 70+ points in his career and hasn't scored 30 goals since 10-11. He's on the back half of his career and his numbers won't get better. Someone (Philly? Minny?) Will still give him $50 mil over 7 years. I hope Holland laughs at him when he hears that number.

Would you rather have Budweisers?

HF let's just about anyone write for them, including yours truly once upon a time when I thought I wanted to be a journalist when I grow up. Matt and Sarah at RWC do a much better job.

Have had. Meaning past. And of you've lived in an apartment and had a first shift job and loud neighbors you'd see the issue. Some people just like to complain but not having consideration for neighbors speaks to a lack of maturity

These conversations about replacing Howard reminds me of an old saying. Something about grass and fences.

Miller is going to somewhere to be #1, and he is not an upgrade over Howard and is older. Most of Howard's issues were due to his knee bothering him on and off all year.

Konstantinov was one of the dirtiest players int he NHL. Shanahan, Chelios, Hull are all big names who had of ice personality issues. Probert was an alcoholic and drug addict who thought that his status enabled him to do pretty much whatever he wanted when you or I would have been in prison. There was that story about Tatar blaring loud music among other things at all hours in the condo he was subletting from Helm to the point where the other residents wanted him evicted.

If Neal would stop his diving and cheap shots, I'd give up a lot to get him. He has 4 more years left on a deal with a very reasonable $5 mil cap hit. I think he's a d-bag, but the Wings have had plenty of d-bags on the roster.

Wow. Trade all that for Miller and Ott then let Miller walk.

Nyquist, no. Mantha, maybe. Granted, those types rarely get traded unless either they're partying too much, demand a trade, or something similar, but if you have a chance to get that type of player you do it.