Jimmybigrigs69

Obviously, as Wings fans I know which way everyone leans, but I think the Quackers are an interesting comparison considering that Verbeek spent his entire managerial career as a student of Yzerman's, and took on a rebuilding team in a state very similar to the Wings when Yzerman took over. SY is now heading into his 7th draft/free-agency as Red Wings GM. 3 years ahead of Verbeek's Ducks build. Verbeek has so far taken a similar approach to Yzerman. Hunting for value trades in the early years, and bringing in placeholders like Trouba, Gudas, Killorn, and Kreider to insulate his prospects. Verbeek also wasnt afraid to unload young core pieces like Zegras and Drysdale in exchange for things he wants, much like SY did with Mantha, Hronek, and Bertuzzi. He also committed term and dollars to his best player in Troy Terry, much like SY did with Dylan Larkin. Further, he's already on his 3rd coach much like SY. He expelled Eakins (Blash) in favor of a rookie coach in Cronin (Lalonde) and is now going with a vet in Coach Q (McLellan). And both SY and Verbeek drafted exactly 11 times in the first 2 rounds in their first 3 years. Some differences though... Verbeek has not committed term to his insulating veterans like SY did with Chiarot (4), JTC (5), and Copp (5). He handed Killorn a 4 year deal, but that's the only one. As a result his rosters structure looks much leaner and more flexible than ours. That could change on July 1st this year, but remains to be seen. Sure, on paper his roster looks much worse than ours... but the results arent much different. The Ducks are picking only 3 picks higher than us in the first round this year. The Ducks also now have Coach Q. Despite the obvious unrelated to hockey concerns that kept Q out of the league until this coming season, I'd say they now have a coaching advantage over the Wings. And Q has some very young weapons he can imprint on in Anaheim in McTavish, Gauthier, Minty, Luneau, Zellweger, and Carlsson - all being 22 or younger... the only 22 or youngers on the Wings are Edvinsson and Kasper. I think one could say SY wasted a little more time than Verbeek fooling around with coaches like Blash/Lalonde in Raymond and Seiders early years. In this pseudo-race I've manufactured between the Ducks/Wings, this offseason will be a big one. Wings fans are discussing buying out several players - Verbeek hasnt put the Ducks in a position to have the same concerns (yet). Verbeek has a lot more cap space than us and could go out and make big moves to help his young team. And if he does that, and SY does very little (which I sorta expect), I could see the Ducks potentially catching us, or moving past us, in the standings. Especially because I think the difference between Cronin and Q is VASTLY wider than the difference between Lalonde and Mclellan IMO. I expect Ducks young players who toiled under Cronin to take big leaps forward this year. Thoughts?

Thing is, Ducks already have a lot of Verbeeks 2nd rd picks already on the roster. They arent blowing up the league or anything, but they did qualify for an NHL roster. With 3 more years to do, SY has only gotten 1 of his 2nds on to the roster. Ajo, who was drafted 6 fuqqin years ago.

Remember last year when the entire discussion all spring/summer was IS PATRICK KANE COMING BACK? WE GOTTA RE-SIGN PATRICK KANE This year nobody seems to give AF And I think its because everyone recognizes this team needs a serious shakeup. If that involves Kane returning or not who cares. If SY makes more mediocre safe moves Im going to punish you all with Lions posting again. In fact I may even start Tigs and Pistons posting. Do not tempt me Stephen.

I voted for #2 yesterday. Mostly out of Nostalgia for HEY HEYYY HOCKEYTOWN, but I also think it would be good for the players and fanbase to start thinking like champions again. Bring back some pride to this team, and perhaps we will accomplish something to be prideful of. >how can we can honestly call ourselves hockeytown when we cant even make the playoff? Because I don't give AF mostly. We could go 0-81 next season and I still will proudly tell opposing fans "welcome to hockeytown, get ready to lose" on game 82. Being concerned we arent good enough for the label is wussy talk. >but #1 just looks so much cleaner I'd argue this isnt a vote about which center logo looks cleaner/nicer. It's a vote for an entire marketing campaign / branding scheme. The Red Wings are essentially asking us the question "do you want us to bringback hockeytown?" And with that everything that comes with it. The television intro. Mickey n Ken referencing it. Merch. Etc. Because if they paint that on the ice all those things are coming back. Theyre not just going to stop at center ice. And IMO id rather do that than trot out the same old boring "clean" red wings. Marketing is fun. Look at what the Cats did with Rats and Dairy Queen. Time to bring back Octopi and Hockeytown. MWFA Make the Wings Fun Again

This thread has aged like Jaromir Jagr Yzerman/Draper will likely select a player that is 3+ years away from even making the roster today, let alone contributing in an impactful way, at 13th overall in the first round. The only free agent linked to the Wings via legit rumor (not pundit speculation) is Brock Boeser - a slow skating 50 pt winger. So what is Yzerman's longterm plan, considering this directionless mushy middle we are in? If I had to guess/assume - it's that Yzerman intends to win the draft and cultural war. Those are the only intangibles that could set us apart. DRAFT - He believes he and his scouts will draft better than the rest of the league without the advantage of higher than average picks. CULTURE - He believes the insulation he is providing with UFAs will better develop his prospects than an exposing tank stratedgy would, and will build us a winning culture assisted by veteran leadership. --------------------------------------------------- PROBLEMO UNO: The only draft picks he's selected thus far which have made an impact for us are... ones taken with very high picks. This is better than Holland's disastorous late term wings record with high picks - but hardly enough to set us apart from the rest of the league. And now we no longer have the advantage of selecting in the top 10. PROBLEMO DOS: The insulation he's provided with UFA's has indeed pushed us forward into the middle of the pack - but the building of an actual culture has failed to come along with it. His first coaching hire failed in spectacular fashion. His replacement is a middle of the pack coach who's already bounced around the league. The C of the team is frustrated and dejected. And by the GMs own addmission he has not seen enough leadership from the players he expects/expected to be leaders. -------------------------------------------------- So where is our advantage? I don't see one. Do we even have an identity as a team? We were/are decently high scoring and offense driven... but Yzerman wants to change that and focus on defense. We're not physical, but not particularly built around finesse either. We don't play the trap, but we don't really forecheck well either. We favor Swedes (if that can even be considered an identity)... but thats only because our best scout happens to be Swedish. And lastly, and most importantly........ we are not a cup contender, but we are not rebuilding either. Welcome to Detroit, Minnesota.

Stop being a pessimist. Everyone know's the best way to rebuild is to sign mediocre players and draft middle tier picks.

"I'm not going to play with some of these draft picks you know" - Dylan Larkin

I absolutely dont think we will actually get Dobson. As long as we are a non-playoff team I see SY biding his time.

Please allow me to rewrite this article the way it shouldve been written: SWEDISH MAN RIDING CHILDRENS TOY HIT BY DRIVER IN DOWNTOWN DETROIT Rasmus Andersson - a player for the Calgary Flames of the NHL - was struck by a local driver today while traveling on a ride share scooter in the downtown area. Fox News Detroit caught up with the NHL defenceman for a follow up interview: Q: What happened out there today Rasmus? A: It was a minor accident where I was bumped and knocked off my scooter yeah. I was a little bit shaken up but I was not seriously injured and will be ready for tonights game. Q: Did you know scooters are for baby's? A: Traditionaly they are for children, but ride sharing has made them really popular for adults now too. Q: IDK sounds like you like baby shidt man. A: I don't like baby things, no. Baby-man Rasmus Andersson declined to answer further questions or comment. Typically these communist "ride-share" scooters are found by local teens and dumped into the Detroit river. However, Rasmus was able to find one that had escaped detection. When asked about the incident, the driver of the car involved commented only "Welcome to the motor city betch" and declined to answer further questions. Communist Man-Baby Rasmus Andersson will suit up for tonights game against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Ceasar's Arena, despite our local hero drivers best efforts to destroy the Flames chances by eliminating their best Dman, and protect our fair motor city from the societal poison that is scooter ride sharing. Catch the game tonight at 7pm on Fox Sports Detroit.

When the fuqq did Holland take over LAK? I missed this. I thought Kenny retired after OilLand. I'm suddenly excited to know that tire kicking is alive and well. And Rob Blake? Always thought he might end up in Colorado. Interesting to see him unemployed. You know who survives in LA? Marc Big BIs Bergevin. Now Senior Advisor to Holland. It is with a heavy heart that i must relinquish muh luv of my oilies and my habies and announce that I too join the dream team that is the Kenny/Bergy Kings.

Yeah this draft legit sucks. At 13th, all the Dmen seem like riskier project players, and the forwards project out like middle 6 guys. Dobson would be a huge add. I'd send NYI the 13th + Ras (making cap space) and a D prospect like Buium or Wallinder. Dobson is rumored asking for 11m per, but he wont get that IMO under RFA control. I'd try to get him under a contract that matches Seider's. $8.55 x 8. Would expire when he's 33 yo. That leaves us with roughly $15m to sign Ajo, Soder, and Berggren + UFAs (including Kane). Could go out and still sign an impact forward with that amount of money.

His first 2 seasons he played wing in an up tempo Eakins offence, and he was very sucessful. Last 2 seasons they moved him to 2C in a shutdown Cronin system, and he really struggled. Granted their entire team struggled, Cronin juggled the lines constantly, and they didnt have great wingers on the roster... But, It's clear to me Zegras is pure offense. If he suceeds in Philly it will be because they move him back to wing and allow him to attack attack attack IMO. I don't think Zegras at all fits what Yzerman wants. He would come here, be again asked to commit to defense, and he would struggle. At that point his value would be even lower, and we will have "lost the trade". Thats just my opinion. Sounds like Peterka is off the market. Unrelared, but also looks like Bennett is re-signing with Florida.

Dont look now, but Zegras didnt score much more than Poehling last year. And considering Zegras played in the top 6 and Poehling the bottom 6... in many ways you could argue Poehling was more productive. Of course Philly is banking on Zegras rebounding in a big way, but IDK how much of that we will see... Zegras has proven to be a very soft one trick pony so far, and he's already 24. I probably wouldnt make this move. A 30-40 pt bottom 6er and a high 2nd is a nice little return. Zegras is a big gamble for the Flyers.

This is where I think Yzerman has the system beat. Any other GM would be on the hot seat and would feel the pressure to go all in right now to save their job. But SY isn't on the hot seat because he's Steve Yzerman. He's been given the mandate to go slow and steady and I doubt he'll break from that gameplan. Even IF he seriously fumbled in big ways multiple times, the Illitch family would just move him to Jimmy Ds job. Think about what he willingly gave up in Tampa in order to come home to our crap heap roster. He's shown extreme loyalty to the Illitch family, and they will show him the same back. The address of the Joe was 19 Yzerman Drive for pete sake. And his proven track record in Tampa will keep the Illitch family very patient with his strats and methods... That said, I'm with you Left, I think it's the right time to start taking big swings. But I'd venture to guess that in SY's mind - if this team cant make the playoffs organically - then he will stay the course and not make wild moves for them. TLDR: Yzerman is untouchable and we will all suffer until our so called stars get serious about the playoffs

Really hoping we dont win the overpay for a slow 50 pt Boeser sweepstakes.

I'm so excited to be dissapointed and mad at Yzerman all summer. You absolutely know he's gonna remain calm and stick to the "plan" AKA continuing to slowly build through the draft while insulating with vets. He's not gonna move that first and he's not gonna move any young/prime age roster pieces. Probably slightly overpays a vet Dman and maybe another similar player, D or F, and adds some cheap depth players. Maybe gives away Gus and/or Tarasenko for free to a team like Pittsburgh. And that'll be it. Some bad talent will go out, and some better talent will come in, but it'll mostly be a total wash. Team will look relatively the same, and the results will be similar. Maybe a wild card spot, but equally likely not. The only way things noticeably change and improve are if Raymond and Seider find another level and enter the conversation as top 10 in the league at their respective positions. Or a guy like Mazur or Soderblom come out of nowhere and tear the league up (unlikely IMO). But this is exactly what SY wants. He wants this team to grab its own bootstraps and pull itself up. And he's not going to do a bunch of wild moves or spend a fortune on a UFA star until that happens. Not happy about that Larkin? Then fix it. If you don't have another level you can reach, then help Ray and Mo find their's. Crying wont change anything. I'm happy to be mad at Yzerman personally, because I hope and pray he feels the pressure from fans and actually makes a big move. But deep down I realize we have no influence on this stoic, and he will treat us much the same as Larkin: Crying wont change anything.

We probably should be using our 1st on a defender, but this just seems like a really weak draft for Dmen... If SY wants to go Dman I think you have to take Jackson Smith. He's a project player who's gonna need time to cook in lower leagues, but could end up really good with the right development. I'm not sure we'll get a chance at him... 12 teams in front of us and surely one will opt for a Dman which will prolly be Smith. If SY is okay taking a forward and picking up D later in the draft... I think you have to take Eklund if he's there. He'll be in the SHL next year and looks like he'll easily be a top6 forward. To me he looks like the best possible player that coulddddd maybeeee slip to 13. If Eklund is gone I'm going with Bear or Potter. Those two just have everything this team sorely lacks. Bear is a physical nightmare on skates. A bear on skates if you will. Guys like that who can also score are hard to pass on. And we desperately need a guy like that. Potter I see ranked pretty low by some. Outside the top20 even. I think he's potentially a top10 talent in this draft. He's a very high motor forechecking disrupter. Reminds me a lot of MBN. After watching all 4 lines of the panthers play this way, i have absolutely no problem collecting more guys like this.

What he said ^^^^ Burakovsky hasnt been good in seattle and the team would rather have the cap space

YES! Now I get to watch Studleno continue his development into a juggernaught at every Kraky game. Blessed.

It is with a heavy heart that I announce that muh habies and muh oilies are at it again.

Hes signing in Toronto after this coming season. The McMaple Leaf era is going to be heckin crayzeeeee

Honestly, an interesting move by Yzerman would be to take a stab at signing Bennett, Marchand, AND Ekblad. Importing an entire culture. And if he could pull that off, let Tarasenko stick around another year as part of it. Just buyout Holl and maybe move Gus. But we'd have to let Kane walk, but honestly that might be for the best. We need a turnover in leadership. DCat - Larkin - Raymond Marchand - Bennett - Tarasenko Kasper - Copp - Compher Soderblom - Ras - Berggren Ed - Seider Chiarot - Ekblad Ajo - Gus

If theyd actually played the full 7 games things probably turn out different

Thanks sexbot for bumping this thread! Truscott signed with GR u lobster touching lgw quiter

Right. So, per usual, it comes down to how much does that cost. I'm not paying a lot for a player like that.