LeftWinger

Just because you lead the team in goals, doesn't make it a strong case to be Captain. Dylan Larkin was drafted because of his leadership skills, I have no doubt in my mind that he will be the next Captain. Oh, and as long as Mantha isn't traded, he will not leave Detroit due to anything except maybe his personal want. He has at least 2 more contracts here before he becomes a UFA. By the time he reaches that status, he will be getting paid handsomely and be a star here. Doesn't mean as a UFA he won't want to go elsewhere (especially if we haven't become contenders by then) but I don't see management fooling around with this guy (or Larkin) when it comes to contracts. They are the real deal cornerstone of this franchise and should be here for 20 years or more!

Dang I missed a dandy, eh?

Wilson....

There is only 5 reasons I try to watch: Larkin, Mantha, AA and Frk. When I see any of them in the bottom 6 it gives me my 5th reason, to dog the hell out of Blashill. IMO, those 4 should be 4 of our top 6 each and every night! The other two should be Z and which ever one of Nyquist/Tatar is playing worthy of top 6 minutes. Nyquist - Z - Mantha AA - Larkin - Frk period. No Abby, No Helm, No Glendening.

Dang, my Jimmy comments were victimized! Basically all I said was considering that Jimmy has control this season if he were to be traded, I would think he'd rather be traded now instead of after July 1st 2018 when he has ZERO control of where he goes. Choice: 10 teams you'd accept a trade to, or 30 teams of whom of which offers the best return? Contender or Arizona/Carolina? Not that Jimmy is on the market, but come deadline, if we are a bottom 5 team, I'd rather be traded with control rather than none.

I remember getting into a heated debate with someone over NTC/NMC. I argued this exact point that NTC's are traded almost every year. I forget who the user was, but they said that they rarely ever got dealt. We are seeing, I believe more and more, players with NTC/NMC waiving them to go to bigger and better places every year.

If we kept $1.5M - $2M in E's salary and only wanted a draft pick in return, someone in need of D depth would take him. We shouldn't be looking for players in return for ANY trades that dump salary, unless its including that player in a package for that top defender we need! ...or maybe a prospect that would spend more time in the A or at the junior level. Maybe Florida would trade us Tippett and Vegas would trade us Hague! ( Sorry couldn't resist. )

Nyquist could interest some teams. Two subpar seasons decreased Nyquist’s value, and the Red Wings plan heading into the season was to allow Nyquist and others to improve their value. Nyquist has scored four goals this season and has been playing with Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Tatar. Nyquist has another season left on his contract at a $4.75 million salary cap hit, but his salary increases to $5.5 million next year. “His contract might be a little rich based on the contract, not the cap,” said the assistant GM. “It’s all about the role you’re going to put him in and the players you’re going to play him with. The guy is intriguing because of his skill and his contract is not terrible.” The Red Wings would like to add a younger defenseman, but if the Red Wings are to move a winger, Andreas Athanasiou may have more value. If the Red Wings retain some of Nyquist’s salary, that could increase his value.

While I am one of the biggest critics of E and have talked about buying him out, I agree that it'd be useless to buy him out to just promote Hicketts or some other player in our system. Now, if Holland somehow acquired a top 2 defenseman, even someone like Montour or Hamilton, getting rid of E at any cost is a must. If we luck out enough to draft Dahlin, E is on a very short pier and will be offered a long walk. Its a must. Now if Kronwall retires after this season, we can keep E on as #6/#7.

Its pretty bad when your ranked below Dave Lewis.

That's it for me I can't listen anymore I got to drive.

Yes, I do want to move salary for the summer, but just so you know, I didn't bring up this rumor, nor did I suggest it was going to happen, but since is was brought up I was only presenting ways and reasons why it could happen. BTW, if my Ram did go into the shop, I would look to rent a vehicle for the duration and then get rid of it if the Ram was fixable. So using that analogy, Mrazek could be the rental and then when HEnrik is fixed they could trade him instead of re-signing him. If Henrik never got fixed then they could buy Mrazek. Again, not my idea, but just contributing to the discussion about the "rumor."

True, but you know that magic December benchmark that all teams go by, its coming. If Henrik is still struggling a bit come December, they may just be desperate enough to shore it up and take on a Mrazek. They'll just deal with the off season when it comes. Besides, they have $23M in cap next season, and more than likely will not try to re-sign Nash...although they may throw their hat in the JT ring.

They actually have $3.1M in cap space they can use according to capfriendly, so actually if they really wanted Mrazek, they could strike a deal that sends us Pavelec ($1.3M) for Petr. We'd gain cap space and they would still be under by $400k. Howard would be the for sure #1 here then and Pavelec is a fine back-up, especially for a tank job. Plus Holland would have taken care of his (or the new GM's) goalie issue next season.

I agree, tanking or not, it's no guarantee for Dahlin. Holland needs to trade for that top guy, and he needs to be on the phone talking to clubs about their needs for the now, for a run to the Cup. Just like we used to do back in the day. We'd trade for that vet to put us over the top, even if it cost us a young player with potential or 1st round pick. It's our turn to trade the vets for the young player with potential or 1st round picks. I see no issue in acquiring Montour for Nyquist and throwing XO in there to take Bieska;s salary off their hands. IMO, that is not a pipe dream, but a good hockey deal for Anaheim.

Ahhh, did not know their cap situation. Ya, don't see them wanting either of our guys. But it still doesn't change the fact that come next season we cannot have both Howard and Mrazek. That cap space is crucial! He's paying us to play? Well Hell, I love that guy! Just kidding, I know you meant $.5M less...

Plus you have to figure (hope actually) that whether or not Holland is GM next season, he has to already be looing at ways to shed some more salary for next season. If Larkin and Mantha keep up their 70 point pace and finish leading the team in scoring, it's gonna cost them a bit more that AA to re-sign those two. We may be talking bridge deals that pay no less than $4M each. Especially if they hit 70 points...it could be even higher. Holland needs to shed salary and dealing away one of the goalies, Tatar or Nyquist, and possibly Helm,he needs to. The GM next season will need all the cap he can get! BTW, I want to say again that Tatar's NTC doesn't kick in until next season, so he is very tradable right now.

Well you have to figure that one of Howard/Mrazek will not be here next season. You also have to figure the Henrik will be the #1 as long as he wants to. So, if you're the Rangers, do you prefer Mrazek who will want to be #1 or would you prefer Howard (home state kid) that wouldn't cost you as much as Mrazek would to re-sign and probably be very happy playing there sharing the net. Not that Howard wouldn't want to be #1 somewhere, but it is his home state and he may just be easier to trade there. Also, his stock is probably as high as its going to be this season, so he may garner a better draft pick in return.

I too would welcome a trade to Anaheim. I am convinced Holland will never trade Nyquist, but maybe he'd be willing to trade Tatar. He's a little bigger, and usually is more of a scorer than Nyquist. Either one though would work for me. I think Anaheim may be interested more in Tatar because he is already signed. If they traded for Nyquist, they may have to pay him MORE than Tatar if they want to re-sign him. I really wish Holland would realize that its time to deal in the best interest of the future. He has to know his D is horrible right now, and while Mondour and Bieska woudln't turn us into instant contenders, Bieska more than likely would not be re-signed, but having Mondour in the system, along with Cholowski and Hicketts, et al. would be wonderful for our future. Tank all you want, the odds of 1st overall are still pretty stacked against you. But even if they did get it, having Dahlin in that mix is only brighter! Kronwall can retire after the season, Green could be traded at the deadline, E could be our #7 since nobody would want him and his contract. XO would be dealt and Witko could not be re-signed or act as the 14th forward again. If Holland made that trade, next season's D corps could possibly look like this: Dahlin, Montour, Daley, DD, Jensen, Hicketts then E as #7.

I'll admit, outside of my kids watching it, I have no clue about it! BUT I'm down for a great theme for Avatar's! Plus I was getting bored of Yogi Guru! Although the bear theme was pretty funny too!

Hope you guys don't mind, I joined in the spirit of Dragon Ball Z with you!

Both he and Larkin are on pace for 70+ points! Oh my aching salary cap!

Uh, fat fingers. Plus I asked in the next post to have the title changed. Besides don't you like the sound of Amatrur?

Yes, that is the play where I commented Andreas Dastyuk!

It does look funny, but I like the idea. Doesn't look as bad as Howard's TomJones picture.