Neomaxizoomdweebie

So...Break a deal and spin the wheel?

OOPS! That's right. It would be kind of hard to have Myers and Kane on the same team then. Not to mention its already been mentioned in this thread about acquiring him from Buffalo. I don't know why I was thinking that, if it's the similar jerseys or what, but I tend to mix up the players on those 2 teams.

After the last 4 games, I feel like the title of this thread is too presumptuous. I say we remove the "WHY" and just go with "Are we better than last year?". The answer should be the same as it would be if ur cousin asks you out on a date.

Really? He's outplaying Rask this year in Boston and is 4th in the NHL in GAA so far this season and 2nd in save pct. I can totally see someone giving him another shot. Here's his stats this year: 2017-2018 Regular Season GP W L OT GAA Sv% 10 7 0 2 2.22 .932 Maybe he's one of those guys that plays better as a backup, IDK. But, I would take those stats as a backup for sure.

First bold: Right off the top of my head, the Seth Jones and Adam Larsson trades come to mind. So it does happen; particularly trading from an area of strength to fill an area of need. Wings have forwards to trade, other teams have dmen to spare. 2nd bold: Don't forget that young, promising d-men are traded all the time. Every time a contender wants to bolster their roster by acquiring good players from rebuilding teams they send picks and prospects the other way. Many times those prospects are promising d-men. 3rd bold: Winnipeg and Carolina are 2 teams that Holland should be looking at. Winnipeg has Trouba and Morrissey. Even if they trade one of those guys, they still have Buff, Kulikov, Enstrom and Myers. They can afford to trade one and still have a solid D. Plus, If they lose Kane, they'll need to bolster their forward corp. As for Carolina, they have 4 good young defenseman that Holland should consider. Nashville is a perfect example that you can't horde dmen. Hanifin is a pending RFA and hasn't been extended yet. If I were Holland, I would not only be wealthier, but I would also be going after Hanifin. Again, the Canes can afford to lose him because they are deep there.

First bold: Just because Holland hasn't done it doesn't mean we shouldn't argue that he SHOULD do it. Second bold; This one I agree with.

It hasn't been pretty for him since he left. He went from Head Coach of the BRuins to Asst Coach with the Kings to Head Coach of the Ukrainian National Team to Asst Coach with Carolina to Head Coach of the Belarussian National Team. So he's a available. As for the question of whether Blashill has lost the team? YYYEEESSS! I think he lost the team last season during that horrendous losing streak in January? It's obvious the guys have no interest in saving his job. That said, I am still disappointed in the players. You get paid WAY too much money to not show up and give 100% every game. It's not like these guys are making minimum wage working the drive thru at McD's. There I don't expect great service. But when ur spending the equivalent of a day's salary to attend a game or a week's salary to purchase a Center Ice package, I don't think that it's unreasonable to expect a guy making 6 or 7 figures to show up and play his *** off.

Why would Wilson be thrilled? Have you ever been to Buffalo? I have, its definitely not better than Detroit! Granted it was years ago I was there, but my impression was that it was the Cleveland,OH or Gary, IN of NY.

Upon further review, I am going with keeping Howard and not qualifying Mrazek. If I thought there was a way to keep Mrazek at a much lower salary, I would say do that and hope that he finally turns it around. But at 3-4 mil, no thanks. I do think that if Mrazek ends up ends a free agent that someone signs him and gives him another chance tho. Here is a list of pending UFA goalies this summer. I am not real hopeful on getting someone both good and cheap: http://www.spotrac.com/nhl/free-agents/goaltender/ Obviously, I would love Khudobin, but he's going to get starter money somewhere. I guess I would try for Chad Johnson? Not a very sexy signing tho.

Addition by subtraction.

My money is on Kronner playing one more year.

Like Mrazek? It almost worked for Quincey on Kronner.

Don't get me started. It will get me banned, LOL. Of making the playoffs and winning a round? Yes. Reaching the Conference Finals or Championship? No.

Good call. I'm sure they would trade him at the deadline instead of losing him for nothing. Whether or not he's a rental really depends on whether OEL wants to test free agency or not. Or whether the contender who traded for him has the cap space to re-sign him. Regardless, Doughty and Karlsson are staying put, and OEL is the only one who has a chance of making free agency.

Mental note: Buy Powerball tickets NOW!

Picture: Love the Thunderdome reference. First bold: I thought you said before that you signed up just over a year ago? Second bold: This seems curiously specific. As far as the goaltending situation goes: 1. Keep Howard until the end of his contract. He's still a good goalie, and this team isn't good enough right now to worry about upgrading. Re-sign him when his contract is up unless a prospect pans out or there is something better in free agency. 2. As for Mrazek, how does that work since he's a RFA? If they don't make an offer he becomes an UFA and they lose him for nothing? If he doesn't like the offer he can refuse to sign it and go to arbitration? If there is a way where he is gone and the Wings still get something out of it, that's what I prefer. 3.Sign a cheap, competent backup for Jimmy in free agency on a 1 or 2 year deal. 4. I always see goalies as the NHL equivalent to Running Backs in the NFL. There are always decent ones available in free agency. They are easy and cheap to acquire via trade if necessary. If you're team is really good, they don't have to be. Don't waste a pick in the top 2 rounds to draft one for the reasons I just mentioned.

First of all, Howard is an above average goaltender. Mrazek is a below average goaltender. Howard's career stats are: GP W L OT GAA Sv% 423 207 132 58 2.46 .915 Mrazek's career stats are: GP W L OT GAA Sv% 153 66 55 18 2.62 .912 Howard's numbers are better in all categories. Numbers don't lie, and the numbers say Howard is better. As for sample size, Mrazek has played in 153 NHL games and almost 8000 minutes. How big of a sample size do we need to see who is better? That's like going into the grocery store, and instead of getting a tiny cube of cheese on a toothpick, the sample lady gives you the whole wheel!

True, but I stopped watching mostly because the NBA turned into a public referendum for social and political issues. I go to a sporting event to relax, be entertained, and to get away from that stuff. I don't go to be "educated", solicited, or "preached to". I hope the NHL is smart enough to stay away from that nonsense or I will leave them too.

I've actually been wanting this since training camp. I am a little biased since he used to coach our team here.

You got it. Vegas is a perfect example of what a team can achieve with good coaching, a good work ethic on the ice, and guys who WANT to win. The Wings actually have a better roster IMO, but they unfortunately lack the 3 thinks I listed that Vegas has. The Wings could be overachievers, instead they suck more than a Hoover on NOS.

That's back when the NBA was still watchable. We already have too many dead guys on this team.

So 24 goals against the last 4 games. That's bad, right?

Pre-2013, only the worst 5 finishers qualified for a lottery pick. That sucked for the teams that finished 6-14. It was worth it to make the playoffs as a 7th or 8th seed. That's no longer the case. Back then, I would have said go for the playoffs if you aren't bad enough for the lottery. That's not the case anymore. Even the worst team has less than a 20% chance to snag #1. The odds for the 2017 wild card teams to win the Cup were between 2.4 to 3.2%. The odds of picking in the top 3 even if you finish just outside the playoffs are between 1.0 and >4%. So if the odds are nearly the same, would you rather squeak into the playoffs and draft in the bottom half of the 1st round or finish outside the playoffs and have an equal chance to draft in the top 3? So while the incentive to make the playoffs isn't there anymore, neither is the incentive to tank.

If Karlsson or Doughty become available, absolutely Holland throws out huge contracts. He went after Suter who in the end tuned out to be whipped and signed in Minny. Why wouldn't he also go after Karlsson or Doughty? I'm almost certain that both those guys get re-signed to monster contracts with their current teams. They're both elite 1D and both LA and Ottawa will find the money. Even if they were available, Holland has cap issues and some GM would be willing to sign them to more than Holland can. As for OEL, I do think there is a very good chance he reaches UFA. Arizona doesn't strike me as a team who is willing to sign such a big deal to keep him. They're in continuous rebuild mode and OEL will be 27-28 when his contract expires. He's too old for a rebuilding team to sign to a long term deal (which is exactly why the Wings shouldn't go after him). He'll sign a big deal with a team that is closer to being a legit contender. Holland should be going after much younger defensemen. It's riskier, because they will still be unproven. But they will also be cheaper, easier to acquire, and at least they'll peak around the same time that Mantha, Larkin reach their prime.

I know what you meant. I was just hearing Holland's Ghost of Playoffs Past voice in my head when you posted that.