Dabura

Impossible to call at this time. I will say this: I think wing is their least pressing need, and I think they'd like to have someone who will be ready relatively soon.

I think it was in reference to the regular season. In any case, LMAO.

DON'T REMIND ME

Heard somewhere that the Preds' power play is technically the worst of all time.

Nice! This first round has been awesome.

Turcotte's definitely won me over. I do worry about that hip tho, especially with the kind of game he plays. Maybe it won't be an issue...but maybe it will.

Getting back to the draft... I still love Krebs. He's still a personal favorite. Given that he's smallish and a left-handed shot and possibly a full-time winger at the NHL, I kind of placed him off to the side and gave other forwards a chance to overtake him. Some forwards made good cases, but...watching Krebs at the U-18s, I'm reminded that he is the s***. And so I will reassert my early-season belief that he's sorely underrated and is every bit as good as [insert forward not named Hughes or Kakko]. So, at present, Byram and Krebs are my top preferences for our first pick. As for defensemen, I feel like more people should be talking about Victor Soderstrom.

Currently an RFA, can become a UFA next summer. If the Wings are interested in him, the smart play is to wait until next summer and try to sign him to a not-insane deal. That would mean we risk losing him to another team in a sign-and-trade, but, personally, I'm really not sure it's worth giving the Jets what they'd probably want. Specifically, I'm guessing the ask would be something like Mantha/Athanasiou/Hronek + pick/prospect. Maybe that trade makes some sense in a vaccum, but knowing Trouba can and probably will hit the market next summer as a free man, I just think it makes more sense to wait. If another team trades for him and we miss the boat, oh well.

I think a realistic expectation, for the time being, is "Holland, minus the bulls***."

My name is Dabura and I approve this message. It's all about perspective.

Right, but no one's saying Holland would be holding Yzerman's hand. It's Yzerman's team now, but it's not like Holland is worthless. Dude has a ton of experience and institutional knowledge and insight. He's practically an NHL institution unto himself. If you can have that kind of guy in your front office and he's happy doing what he's doing, you take it without thinking twice. Yzerman + Holland = Big Hockey Brain. Think of how much brain power the organization has lost in recent years. Think of how often you see people lamenting that "brain drain." Personally, I'd like to see the Wings get back to collecting "institutional" guys. Not for the sake of having big names, but for the collective brain power. What's Larionov up to? What's Fedorov up to? Is Scotty Bowman bored?

See, this is what I'm cautioning against. Don't expect Yzerman to be a radical departure from Holland. At least, not right away. There are probably identifiable differences in the way Yzerman does business and the way Holland does business. For example, I personally feel better with Yzerman running our drafts. However, I don't think there are huge fundamental differences in the way the two men see things. (They are, after all, cut from the same Red Wings cloth.) The "identifiable differences" I'm referring to aren't even necessarily a thing, because comparing Yzerman-Tampa (2010-2019) to Holland-Detroit (2010-2019) isn't a straightforward apples-to-apples comparison. Yzerman replacing Holland does not necessarily mean "We finally have a guy who will do what needs to be done, and what needs to be done is what I think needs to be done, so what I'm saying is Yzerman is finally going to give me what I've been asking for." I really don't want to see Wings fans turn on Yzerman if he doesn't prove to be the Anti-Holland.

boston evens series, nbd. #1776

The concern is that he's a slightly more talented Libor Sulak. He checks off several boxes: size, skating (his lateral skating might be a problem tho), offensive instincts. But there are questions about his scoring upside. As with Sulak, there are signs that he might lack the requisite raw talent for executing high-end plays at the highest levels and putting up big numbers at the highest levels. You can't teach a Darren Helm to be a Dylan Larkin. Like, here's Tobias Bjornfot, a teenage Swedish defenseman who's eligible to be drafted in June: That's a great end-to-end rush, and it almost results in a goal. So where does this stud project to be selected in the draft? The 2nd round. Because, while the skating and instincts are there, the ability to be an offense-driver in the NHL is not necessarily there. https://dobberprospects.com/player/tobias-bjornfot/ Same kind of deal with other defensemen in this draft class (including Mikko Kokkonen, who's currently the guy I think we should be targeting with our first 2nd-round pick). Lots of mobile two-way defensemen with good offensive instincts, but counting on any of them to be the kind of elite guy we're longing for is risky. So you go for them a bit later than 6th overall, because at 6th overall there will be several other players who are probably more likely to become elite players. Then again, maybe Hakan Andersson loves Broberg and insists we take him with our first pick. Drafting defensemen is a crapshoot, so who knows.

It's our duty as Americans. No man left behind.

This is reminding me of the '97 Wings-Avs series. Wings won Game 4, at home, 6-0. Avs won Game 5, at home, 6-0.

Fair point. But I feel like this team has the capacity to be really exciting and dominant, it just lacks some scoring punch at forward. The Boyle and Simmonds adds made some sense but weren't necessarily key pickups. Granlund is a good scorer, but I don't think he was The Guy that the Preds really needed. So, understandable moves...but not enough, imo. Basically, I feel like Poile is getting too cute. They've finally opened a Cup window, they don't know how long it'll be open for, and Poile decides Boyle, Simmonds, and Granlund will put the team over the top. I get that the Preds' whole thing has always been getting good value out of underrated guys and such, but c'mon.

Blues win the series!

Schwartz with the natural hat trick. Blues lead 3-0 early in the 3rd. Schwartz has now scored the past four goals in the series.

I mean, I know one cares, but what the Blues are doing right now is pretty impressive. That they're even in the playoffs is kind of nuts. At one point in the season, the Blues were firmly in the league basement. Now they're on the verge of taking out the team that many picked to win the Cup in their pre-season predictions.

Blues are outshooting the Jets 22-6. And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack Schwartz scores, again. Blues lead 2-0. Schwartz has scored the past three goals in this series.

https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/wpg-vs-stl/2019/04/20/2018030166#game=2018030166,game_state=live Blues up 1-0 halfway through the 1st. Blues can win the series tonight. I'm pulling for the Blues, because 1) MURICA and 2) I want Trouba to be sad.