Gniwder

When will this board wake up and realize his greatness? Sulak, Saarijarvi, and Kaski didn't make it to the Liiga till they were 22-23. Viro is 18 and playing in crucial roles in the Liiga already. Drafted only 3 spots lower than Alec Regula. Only 10 spots lower than Albert Johansson. Only 12 spots lower than Tyler Bertuzzi. Only 17 spots lower than Filip Hronek. He's left-handed and his is play style is perfectly complimentary to Moritz Seider. Excellent passer and puck retriever. Superb edgework and speed, loves to pinch, join the the rush, and will even chip into the O-zone and retrieve his own chip. At what point did you relize Viro - Seider is our future top pairing? Was it today? You're welcome.

I feel like this kid has been completely overlooked and never talked about... but is probably going to be one of the next players to make this team. 6'2" 200lb center 2015, 5th round pick 23 years old. Turns 24 in August 2021 2019/20 season: First full year in the AHL. Scored 22 pts in 59 games (28 pt pace) 2020/21 season: Second full year in the AHL. 15 pts in 22 games (52 pt pace) Praised for being physically mature and strong. Plays with grit and edge and goes to the dirty areas (racked up penalty minutes in the USHL and college). Used to playing in a shutdown role and can win draws. Horcoff has had him working on his offensive game which seems to be developing nicely. Son of former NHLer Scott Pearson who was a grinder for the Leafs/Sabres/Oilers. Father Scott had 38 fighting majors in just under 300 games played. Pearson looks like he's quickly developing into a bottom 6 shutdown center for this team who likes to crash in the corners and towards the net. At 24 he's probably going to get his cup of NHL coffee next year.

Wings are rumored to be in on him. Nearly a PPG Dman How do we make this happen?

Sign him f*** it, why not? Djoos and Staal are probably both gone. Cholowski and Dekeyser both aren't very good. Hicketts and Lashoff have no future with the Wings. And McIsaac and Johansson both need more development time.... basically we have ZERO depth at LHD. There aren't very many good options for us at LHD on the market this year either. Martinez and Reilly are probably going to get picked up by much better teams, leaving us to scrounge for Merrill's and Nemeth's again. And we're likely going to need to sign multiple LHD to fill holes and have depth. I'm not saying we don't go signing an Ian Cole or John Merrill type player again. I'm just saying why not take a flyer on Gelinas as well. He's 30, big, former 2nd round pick with 200 NHL games played, and has an absolute cannon for a slap shot. Not to mention his chemistry with Seider, that seems to have revitalized him. He can probably be had for a 1 year 700K-2way contract. What's the risk? Worst case scenario he's an AHL depth call up on LHD. Best case scenario he can play the 3rd pairing with Seider and act as our Shea Weber on the PP.

To DET: Richard Panik ($1.65 x 3 UFA) + Jakub Vrana ($3.35 x 1 RFA) + 2021 1st (WSH) + 2022 2nd (WSH) To WSH: Anthony Mantha ($5.7 x 3 UFA) To DET: Hayden Verbeek ($753K x 1 RFA) (undrafted) + 2021 5th (OTT) To MTL: Jon Merrill (925K x 1 UFA) To DET: David Savard's salary ($2.125 x 1 cap hit) + 2021 4th (TBL) To TBL: David Savard ($1.062500 x 1 UFA) + Brian Lashoff (700K x 1 UFA) (Reassigned to GR)

I am arguing DPS got it wrong here if u hadnt figured that out. So what was all that about evans being defenseless and vulnerable? Had a few to many? 1. Yes, but cut off speed 35 ft prior to contact. Opposite of a charge. 2. Yes 3. No 4. No 5. No 6. Yes s*** i think u can easily say no to half that BS. Are you honestly retarded or u just a big drinker up there?

Lmao doubting seider? Ill take that bet. Please say some more s*** i can quote when hes winning norris trophies.

Its bc of Seider and larkins captaincy staus. Itll be the emerging debate throughout the year. Seider is a total package. Skill, physicality, attitude, charisma. Future HOFer. Larkin is boring and a good defensive 2C. But hes from Michigan... The praise for Seider is going to grow rapidly within the Red Wings, within the league, and abroad (best German player of all time) The biggest mistake i think Yzerguy ever made was naming larkin captain. Seider is literally going to outshine Larkin to the point he needs to be stripped or traded. Just wait. I havent been wrong about this kid yet.

We needed a new KR. Bless u sir. 1. Never said it was the only job of a 1C. Nice strawman. A 1Cs job is essentially everying and anything, but they absolutely have to produce points and scoring chances. Probably more so than any other player on the team. Larkin is entirely mediocre at that, which is why hes not a 1C on a good team. Larkins linemates improved their scoring because theyre good young players that are progressing their game. Larkin should be benefiting from that increased production. But you seem to think larkin stays at the blue line and watches them play offense to cover for them? Am i interpreting your notion correctly? Funny way of saying hes not a 1C More straw men I openly admit Larkin is strong defensive player and fast skater. I guess that means i only look at the numbers to you? I encourage you to talk to other fans and escape the fanboy bubble for a moment. No one thinks this highly of Larkin besides circle jerking detroit fans. Its cringey and embarassing the excuses made for this kid. And im not even claiming hes a bust or something. And furthermore, just watch him play. I dont claim to be a scout but theres absolutely nothing impressive about his offensive game. He can skate and hold on to the puck. After that hes entirely average. Defend your boy. Ill be here still when hes still scoring at a 2C level with vrana and raymond around him

A little less convenient, i was driving 2000+ miles cross country, stopped at cabelas in michigan to shop for my stuff i needed, and this puss puss still never showed despite talking made s***.

The moment you find urself making excuses for players you should ask yourself "why the f*** am i doing this?" "Am i being a slappy fan boy?" I knew a guy who worked for olympia entertainment and he said the illitches specifically do not hire anyone who has any kinda fandom for the teams. Clouds judgment. Stop being larkin fans and evaluate him like u would a dallas star player... then ull realize his true nature.

Remember when u agreed to fight me in the parking lot of the dundee cabelas and then didnt show up? U got me good bro.

In fact u should be excited when Yzerman drafts the #25 at 6. It means Mo Seider 2.0 incoming.

Sure but your essentially arguing: >lets mask Larkins deficiencies by propping him up with not 1 but 2 elite wingers. Id rather just address the truth of the situation now instead of banking on maybe having multiple elite wingers one day to save larkins 1C position.

Completely disagree. A 1C's job is to generate points - a lot of points - and also to do that while dealing with often the toughest matchup trying to shut u down. If larks cant handle that responsibility hes not a true 1C. Furthermore we've watched Larkins linemates excel and grow. Bertuzzi, Mantha (except this season) Fabbri, Zadina, and now Vrana. Yet Larkin regresses while they develop. So your theory about its just his weak ass linemates, isnt at all true. Larkin is an impressively fast, defensively capable, top 6 center. He does not possess the play making ability to ever be a true backbone 1C in this league.

Exactly why DPS is a joke. Larkin incident ignored. Evans incident recieves the hammer. When Larkin was in a far more vulnerable position and the play is actually dirty. DPS reacts based on fan uproar. Only Detroit fans said anything about Larkin. But half the league was watching and crying for poor head down Evans. Theyre social police at this point. Ive said from the very start of this discussion that it is technically a charge and i cant fault one for arguing that line. You chose to parade out a buncha made up crap about Evans being defenseless and vulnerable instead. So spare me the "what is so hard about this to understand" when you circle back to charging. It's a very weak charging call. Because the play mandates Scheifele traveling a great distance regardless of contact. Had it been a tighter race for the puck and the two crashed in the corner before Evans could even attempt a wrap around... no charge would be called. Just like charging is never called on those plays despite distance traveled. The league is reacting because the hit was big. Furthermore, Scheifele lets off the gas before contact! I checked the measurements and he stops skating a full 35 ft before making contact with Evans. This exactly what he should have done to negate a charge. As the play develops, and he realizes hes going to make contact with Evans, he stops 'charging' forward. Weakest charging call of all time. Hit clean. Any suspension is pure tom foolery.

I would throw Viro into that mix on the LHD side. IMO he's honestly our best D prospect outside of Seider and Johansson. McIsaac and possibly Wallinder should be in there too. I'm really not as high on Tuomisto as many folks are. I'd list Viro, Wallinder, and McIsaac ahead of him. At forward you're missing Smith and Pearson. Both look like NHLers to me. Petruzelli should be considered at goalie. His time is approaching. We need superstars at any position. That's the hole. Maybe less so D cause of Seider.

Exactly. And also exactly why basing suspension on injury is the most moronic thing the league has ever done. Clean legal hit? Too bad - Evans got hurt from the ensuing incidental head bonks. Now your clean hit is considered dirty and you must sit 4 games. This league is approaching total clown-world real quick. If you want to make that Scheifele hit illegal, great. Change the rules to make it so. But to pretend that hit was egregious under the current rules is more laughable than the leafs franchise still claiming it was their cup year. And I'm honestly shocked how many folks agree with the league here. Big hit hockey is dead. If this is the reaction to this hit then we're going to be going by women's rules sooner than I could've even imagined (not hyperbole).

The official spot. NHL.com. 2015/16: Larkin finishes 65th among league centers in PPG (excluding centers who played less than 50 games) 2016/17: Larkin ties for 95th-98th (same parameters) with Devin Shore and Jean-Gabriel Pageau 2017/18: Ties for 33rd-34th with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 2018/19: Ties for 19th-22nd with Lindholm, Hertl, and Duchene 2019/20: Ties for 32nd-33rd with Logan Couture 2020/21: Ties for 67th-73rd with Chytil, Eller, Pageau, Statsny, Kempe, Wennberg (excluding centers who played less than 30 games) His average career finish (taking the highest number from ties) and excluding his first two seasons is: 38th You guys literally love to call him a legit 1C because of 1 season out of 6 where he tied with Duchene, Hertl, and Lindholm. This is clearly a 2C. 3/4 of the last seasons tell you this. He's 25 now and has 6 seasons under his belt. And he's not improving anymore, in fact he's declining on the stat sheet. Don't feed me the excuse of the team sucks, cause we've watched talented players around him and on his line score. Will he jump back up to the 30-40 center range this next year? Quite possibly. But that's 2C level. Call a spade a spade. IMO the most egregious error a team can make is unreliably assessing the talent you have or will have (scouting). This is the bread and butter of any organization. Teams that can't do this effectively operate in a fog of war that leads to bad trades and utilizing talent improperly. If you don't think Ras or Veleno have true 2C potential then they should both be traded immediately while they still have value and potential as prospects. I say this because Larkin is also a bonafide 2C. And if Ras and/or Veleno can't replace him I'd rather keep Larkin. I think Ras is going to do very well for the Red Wings though. He took very large steps as a 21 year old this year. Larkin should worry about his job.

Again >Hit not late >Play not dead >Scheifele stops striding 15 ft before the hit >Hit is shoulder to shoulder Text book clean hit The only one doing something stupid on the play is Evans. He put himself in a vulnerable position going for an empty net goal. Had he kept his head up he may not have done this. But he did and he paid the price for it (also getting the goal). It is not Scheifele's responsibility to not hit a player who puts themselves in a vulnerable position. It's said players responsibility to not put themselves in vulnerable positions. Play dumb = win dumb prizes.

Absolute from between your cheeks bollocks. Please explain to me how Evans is anymore defenseless than when Kronwall slept Havlat? Does standing next to the net instead of the half wall somehow magically make Evans unable to defend himself? A defenseless hit is taking someone from behind or hitting a guy already down. None of that happens here. Scheifele is square to the shooter and lays shoulder to chest. So far you've cited wrap around: not exempt from a hit And having two hands on his stick (lol what?): not exempt from a hit Please reach deep into your crack and give me your next lame excuse about how Evans is turned 9 degrees north making him ineligible to be hit. Oh wait... so Evans wasn't defenseless now? Cause if a Dman had done it it would be legal... oh okay. Makes total sense... I also wasn't aware that players receiving a hit have to be made aware that a hit is coming. News to me. Maybe Scheifele should have called out to Evans and let him know he was about to hit him? I know Konstantinov used to do that "watch out comrade I will hit you now!". Honestly, where are you pulling this make believe from? If you want to argue it's a charging call lets just do that and forget this BS. 100% false. Re-watch the hit. Scheifele is already between the hash marks half way through the circle when Evans first touches the puck. But you are correct, Evans never once picks his head up before or after retrieving the puck to look down ice at what's coming at him. But that is exactly zero percent of Scheifele's problem. You skate with the puck and your head down you're asking to get leveled. There is absolutely no rule that Scheifele can't take the body on that play. The only argument you can make is for charging, and I'm happy to dive deep and hash out exactly why the play isn't charging either.

Re-watching the hit and paying attention to where Evans is. The moment Evans retrieves the puck and it's clear he's taking it far side for the wrap around, Scheifele stops skating. Stops skating at the top of the circle. Big hit, but absolutely clean and within the rules. Evans knew those defenders were baring down on him and made the play regardless. Good on him. >Play still live >Player has the puck >Doesn't accelerate into the hit >Shoulder to chest contact Absolutely clean and legal.

IMHO I wouldn't call it a charge at all. Scheifele was doing exactly what he was supposed to, rushing to make a defensive play. That's not traveling a great distance for the purpose of leveling a hit. Furthermore, as both Scott and I have pointed out, Scheifele stops taking strides about 15 ft prior to contact. At the same time bringing his stick in and bracing for the hit. That's the moment he decides he's no longer racing back; he's taking the body. And he does exactly what he should do in that moment: lets off the gas and stops taking strides. The only way you can argue it's a charge is because of the distance traveled. But there's many similar scenarios where players travel great distances and make contact - and those aren't considered charges. Because they're racing for the puck or something like this. The play lacks the intention of traveling far just to make a hit. Exactly the same in this case. Calling charging on that play is a very weak/questionable call. A clean hit isn't considered roughing. What are you even talking about? This isn't a thing. Performing a wraparound doesn't exempt you from contact. And I'm willing to bet 9/10 players hit ever have both hands on their stick when receiving contact. Why? Cause they almost always have the puck or have just released it. Go watch Kronwall's hits. Nearly every victim: both hands on stick. Where do you even come up with this stuff? Not at all. The most frustrating part about the play is not the big clean hit, it's the fact that Scheifele was well within reach and timing to make a stick play and prevent the goal, and didn't do it. However, had he played the puck, the two are absolutely still gonna collide. And there should be no call for that contact either. I suspect the call that Scheifele made on the play was to protect himself. You do that by stop taking strides and bracing for impact. Exactly what he did. If he makes the poke play the collision still occurs - but now with him in an extended, awkward, position. Evans sacrificed his body to make the play. Scheifele did the opposite. Opting to hit instead of collide awkwardly. And if I'm Paul Maurice I would have words with him - not about hurting an opponent - but about not being willing to sacrifice the body to make that play. That's what little ******* do.

This team needs to be big and bad like Scheifele