Son of a Wing

I think his development is best served in the minors on a winning team. Why try to marginally improve our backend for this season? Most people wanting Hicketts up, also want us to get a high pick this year. If that is an improvement, why would you do it?

Ok but are we not focusing on the long-term at this point?

How would bringing up Hicketts help him or the team?

I thought Nyquist was the future?

Link Written 5 years ago... There has a been frustrating cycle so far to Athanasiou's career. Before his OHL draft year in 2010, he figured he was capable of being a first-round choice but he fell to the fourth. This season, he was touted as a potential first-round pick and played in the Top Prospects Game -- but fell to the fourth. He showed flashes of brilliance in a dominant four-goal game at Owen Sound in December, but in the second round against Saginaw, called out the club for calling him sick when he was, in fact, a healthy scratch. "I know some people will take it to heart, I was proud of how I dealt with everything that happened this year," he said. Not many on the club was particularly pleased when he did not show up for the Knights' end-of-year-banquet and OHL champion ring ceremony. "I really couldn't make it," Athanasiou said. "I was really out of town with my trainer (Ray Leblanc) and I couldn't get there." "I'm going to have to go pick it up," he said. "That's no problem."

Yup he slipped alot on draft day because of attitude problems. He was also traded in the OHL away from the London Knights because he didn't feel he got enough ice time. He actually asked for the trade. It's always been a red flag for him.

They were UFAs. It's very different. At that age it's a trade off of security for value. The longer the contract the better the value because the player is going to decline. RFAs on the other hand are going to more than likely get better so it's the opposite.

Good kid from a good family. Ive worked with his aunt. Great work ethic.

I've seen it first hand in China as well. Squat and plop

Yikes. What a miserable soul. Sadly people like you are miserable your whole life. What a waste of skin.

Willing to bet on that? He won't be back as a player.

And?

Not sure where you're getting your information from but their 5 foreigner spots are currently taken up by Azevedo, Sekac, Lander, Ohtamaa, and now Klinkhammer. Stefan Elliot has nothing to do with it.

Athanasiou is believed to have an offer of one year at $3 million from AK Bars Kazan. The Wings fattened an initial offer of one year at $1.25 to two years at $1.9 million per year. Free Press

Z for leadership and longevity.

Much of that blame deserves to be spread around. But that's not the easy/simple thing to do. Everyone loves a scapegoat.

Sure they are. So are Tarasenko and Kucherov. Can you have a team full of them? I sure as hell would.

That's quite a large brush you're painting with... High skill relative to what? The NHL? Pulkkinen and Jurco sure don't match that criteria.

You must be referring to the fact that those guys are complimentary guys because they surely are not the same type of player.

Well if he's signing a contract for that amount we can sign him now and figure it out later after camp and injuries. That's my understanding. I get the impression through what I've read that he and his agent are asking for 3+/year but that's really just a guess.

Connor Brown just signed a 3 year deal for 2.1/season so that should help the process with AA. He's the same age with similar stats. 20 goals and was actually one of their leading penalty killers

Can't blame him if he wants to play in the Olympics. Seems to be a more common trend with borderline Russian players this season.

It seems the current generation of parents (not all) are more interested in being friends with their kids than actually parenting them.

Always has to be one of two extremes with you with everything. There's many ways to see and interpret this. And neither of your suggested outcomes are at all likely.

What good is cap space, if the players available are worse then the players we're getting rid of? It makes zero sense when this team is playing to win and be competitive this year.