Nightfall

Both him and Palat were great finds. Palat was a late round selection (208 overall)

My bad on that. I was thinking Johnson but it was Hedman I was thinking about. He was drafted in 2009.

The other thread was just on Holland, this is on GMs in general. I made this strictly to get the input from people here on at one point does a GM deserve credit or blame based on the team's performance. Many here are quick to anoint Yzerman as one of the top GMs in the game. Yet, people forget that his first two full seasons under his belt the team didn't even make the playoffs, and then his team last season was swept out in the first round. Considering when he was hired in March of 2011, his team made it to the conference finals. I am not saying that missing the playoffs was his fault, but when does the overall results of the team become the GMs? This goes far beyond Holland. I will paint another picture here. Its easy for the GM of Edmonton to be labeled as a failure with all the failed draft choices. Look at Toronto as a good example of making a regime change. If the Leafs make the playoffs next year, does Shanahan get credit? Absolutely he should. As many have said, the past regime really does have a lasting impact on the team. Far more than the GM of the team does right away. The past GM for the Lightning really did pave the way for what the LIghtning are today. Sure, Yzerman has made some changes, but the great young players in the system now were not drafted by Yzerman.

I agree, the stats are there, but how many times have we seen a hot goalie steal a series in the playoffs? I would say too many than I can count in my lifetime of watching hockey. I am a glass half full guy though so I am hoping to see all 3 games go the way of the Griffins and them advance to the calder cup finals.

So, as someone who has seen his play in the minors this year, would you think he is just coasting around out there? I have been to roughly half of the griffins games this year since my company has season tickets, and I wouldn't classify him as just coasting.

Thats a surprise statement. Especially since everyone on these forums, or at least most people, were saying how weak the East was while the West was a powerhouse. Heck, every pundit and analyst was saying it as well. As for last nights game, wow. I didn't make it to the end, but the finish by the Ducks puts the Hawks on the ropes. I bet this series is going 7.

You are very quick to give Yzerman credit for the conference finals appearance in 2011 when he was just hired in March. I give him the same credit because his hiring brought a lot of mental stability to the franchise. Still, many would look at Holland's team in 98 and say he did nothing and deserves no credit. Same with Yzerman's team in 2011. In short, a GM's title at the time of the season ending is who gets credit in my book. Great post! I agree. Which is why the person who is hired in at the time is the one who gets credit. Doesn't matter what has been done previously. Yet, there are many here that like to point at the successes and failures of GMs and put an asterisk by some of their accomplishments or failures just based on the amount of time they have been in control. That really is what this thread is all about. After hearing some of the discussion in other threads, I decided to see what everyone thought as a whole.

The Griffins are going to need to AT LEAST win 2 of 3 at home, which is going to be tough against Utica. The good news is the Griffins are undefeated on home ice in these playoffs, but some of that was due to necessity since they dropped the first two games of the playoffs on the road to Toronto and had to win 3 in a row to advance. This team has a lot of resiliency. We will see how they do at home.

So 4 years?

Don't be jealous. AHL live isn't worth the money. I have paid for it for 2 years and the stream quality of these games are pretty bad. I am going to cancel my sub next year.

Its on AHL live which you have to pay for, unless you find an illegal stream.

Utica is getting their chances, but the Griffins D or McCollum is holding them off the board. Bert with the goal! 4-0 Griffins.

Wow, I was thinking they better sit Larkin before the game because why mess with a winning chemistry. Now, look at what this kid is doing. Woot!

Ovechkin really didn't play a great two way game last season, or ever in his career until this season. Barry Trotz really kicked his ass and look at the results this year. I remember watching Steve Yzerman play before Bowman came to Detroit. He really didn't play a two way game either until later in his career. As for if Ovechkin can make the top 5, I believe he can.

The Utica announcers are saying Athanasiou got that goal. Guess we will see. EDIT: The official scoresheet says Larkin! Congrats!

1-0 Grand Rapids Utica is playing desperate and hard.

You would think that AHL Live would have HD streams by now. Instead, it is crappy quality. I really have to cancel my sub to them next year if their stream quality doesn't improve.

Yea, a soft goal by McCollum last night, but the Griffins have to score more than 1 goal to win and they didn't. We shall see how game 2 goes.

Utica was #1 in the conference, and in theory they should be a tougher team because we were #2. We were 1-1 against them in the regular season with each team winning at home. OKC was #6 in the conference, and we finished 2-2 against them in the regular season with each team going 1-1 at home. Its not like we have an easier road with OKC. I would like to see the home ice advantage though, but its only an advantage if you win at home.

OKC beat Utica today 2-1. Game 7 is on Wednesday. I won't pick my poison here because poison can kill you. I think that either team is going to be tough to beat. I would like to see the home ice advantage if I had my choice. The Griffins haven't been beaten on home ice so far in these playoffs.

Absolutely there is hope. The chance of it happening goes down considerably after the first round though. Who knows, we may have someone in our organization right now that could be that elite player. We just don't know right now.

The fact of the matter is unless we are picking in the top 10, our chances of drafting an elite player are going to be very slim. If you look at the offensive leaders this year, most of them have been high draft picks. In fact, in the top 10 this year, only Jiri Hudler and Jamie Benn were chosen in the 2nd round and later. Every other player was a 1st round high draft pick. In the new NHL, you can draft smart like the Wings and not get a star player. You have a greater chance of landing that franchise player by having bad seasons and drafting high. This is how the Blackhawks built their team. This is how the Lightning built their new team. Here is a great article on the value of players and the draft pick position of those players in relation. http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/analyzing-value-nhl-draft-picks/ In short, if we want an elite player, we either have to get lucky in the later rounds OR have a poor season and try to get a elite player in the first 5 picks and hope it pans out. Since getting an elite player is easier for those that are picking high, it would make sense to have some poor seasons to get those high draft picks. Nothing is for certain though. Its not like everyone picking #1 is drafting a stud. There have been some real dogs out there for sure.

This kid is playing crazy good right now and helping this team at the best possible time. I really hope we are seeing just a little of what he can bring to the table because his ceiling could be pretty high.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/there-is-no-presidents-trophy-curse-but-that-may-not-help-the-new-york-rangers/ A very interesting article for sure. What surprised me was the Wings didn't win the Presidents trophy in 1997 or 1998 (especially 98), but they won in 2004 and 2006 and we all know how that worked out.

Its a little early to be saying that he can't show that he has the goal scoring ability in the NHL. He is going to get his opportunity to showcase his skills, and most rookies don't figure things out that quickly in the NHL. As for Bert, I really love the spark he has given this team. He didn't play the first two games of the Toronto series, so Blashill puts him in and they start winning. This guy is playing for a roster spot next season and it shows with his desire and passionate play. I love it.