Dabura

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/agent-pavel-datsyuk-will-play-red-wings-returns-nhl/

I mean, he also signed a contract that he ended up not honoring. So who knows.

All things considered, he's gotta be pretty happy with how things have turned out. F***ing Rangers.

Didn't he punch one of his teammates when he was with the Rangers' AHL team? Glad to see things have worked out for him, I guess.

Now if only more people would sign with the Leafs, then we'd finally have true Parity™.

Adam Fox is actually good tho.

You forgot Adam Fox.

Lawts is so clutch.

He grew up in New York. Played his college hockey at NYU. Makes sense. Worth noting: Datsyuk's mother is Mike Richter. You've gotta think that'll be a factor.

Wasn't sure which thread to post this in. Settled on this one. Dissecting Steve Yzerman's nine year tenure in Tampa Bay [Wings Nation]

I actually wouldn't mind him at the right price. He's a ball of hate and a really good shutdown centerman. Basically a rich man's Glendening. That's a deep cut right there.

Yeah, lol. No, I'm telling the truth. She kept saying the Red Wings should sign Erik Karlsson to a $100M contract despite his injury history. Utterly insufferable.

We need more Norwegians.

I'm really starting to hate the Rangers.

I mean, technically I'm in favor of signing him even with the injury issues. I just don't want to sign him to a ridiculous contract. Unfortunately, like I've been saying, I suspect it would take a ridiculous offer to get the job done, so I guess in that sense I'm not in favor of signing him. But, to answer your question: I'd be much more gung-ho if he didn't have injury issues. Have boned Scarlett Johansson. Very, very, very disappointing.

You guys realize that $12M per year is roughly market value for Karlsson, right? So, assuming the Wings would have to overpay to get Karlsson (because the Wings currently suck), we're probably looking at over $12M per year. We're probably talking about crazy-stupid money.

I'd be thrilled, because Karlsson. But I'd also be a bit concerned, because salary cap. Ultimately, I'd trust that Yzerman knows what he's doing and has a detailed plan.

Mike Green wasn't going to cost us a billion dollars in cap space over the next trillion years.

I'm a simple man; I hear the name Vanek, I spit my coffee.

No.

My big hangup is that we'd probably have to seriously overpay to get him to sign with us. I don't feel like this is a situation where we have as good a shot as anyone else. I think Karlsson looks at, say, Dallas and sees a good playoff team and the possibility of a phenomenal top three in Karlsson, Heiskanen, Klingberg. I think Karlsson looks at Tampa or Florida and says, "Yeah, I think I put this team over the top. We're gonna win some Cups together." I think Karlsson looks at Detroit and sees...a basement team that's still a few years away from being a serious contender, even with an Erik Karlsson on the blue line. I dunno. Maybe Yzerman has crazy-ambitious plans and he's able to sell Karlsson on a crazy-ambitious vision. "We want you. And we want Trouba. And we're gonna get Nylander or Kapanen. And I'm gonna dump at least two of our albatross contracts, which will cost assets, but I don't care, we're going for it."

Here's a report on that Egor Afanasyev kid: https://lastwordonhockey.com/2019/03/31/egor-afanasyev/

This U-18 tourney changed surprisingly little for me. Was kind of expecting someone to solidfy himself as the undisputed #3 guy with an unreal performance in this tourney, but that didn't happen. (Caufield looks like the second coming of Ovechkin, but I think everyone understands that HYPE! comes with several very big asterisks attached.) Some guys probably raised their stock a bit, some guys probably hurt their stock a bit, some guys performed exactly as expected. Not much intrigue or drama. Sad! Was expecting more from Mikko Kokkonen. Ville Heinola was definitely way better for Finland. Maybe that's my big takeaway. There's an assload of good-but-not-marquee defensemen who are projected to go in the first two rounds and lately I've been thinking the Wings should maybe grab a couple of them. I try not to put too much stock in these tourneys, but Kokkonen's performance was unimpressive enough that I might choose a new Guy I Hope We Grab at 35. Candidates include Lassi Thomson, Tobias Bjornfot, Moritz Seider, and Matthew Robertson. Victor Soderstrom and the aformentioned Heinola shouldn't slide out of the 1st round, but you never know.

Feels like Podkolzin is one of the more polarizing marquee draft-eligibles in recent memory. Yzerman had this to say about him, for what it's worth: Make of that what you will.