Dabura

Right. I guess that post was addressed more to Neo. You and I seem to be on the same page here. I mean, I get it. Lots of people say pretty stupid things in support of hardcore, take-no-prisoners tanking. Lots of people want to see everything burned to the ground. Lots of people think it's Hughes/Kakko or bust. I'm not down with that and I think Neo is right to call bulls*** there. But I submit that if you're posting on a forum like LGW.com on a daily basis, then you probably have a reasonably nuanced take on the whole "tanking" thing. You and I, for example, are firmly in favor of the approach Holland has taken, and it's not because we think "Being bad is the only way to get top talent." Rather, we think it's the best path forward. It doesn't guarantee anything. It has its inherent risks. But, personally, I think it's way more appealing than treading water indefinitely, which is what we did from about 2012 to about 2017. Getting Hughes or Kakko is the dream scenario, but even a guy like Byram or Cozens would be an enormous add and could end up generating a lot of excitement and being a worth-the-price-of-admission player. Eeeeeeeveryone hates our D situation. Byram would give us an honest-to-goodness elite D prospect who projects as a 1D. Eeeeeeeveryone wishes we could add a guy who's 6'3" and skates like the wind and plays a power game and is a natural born goal-scorer with a lethal shot. Cozens checks all of those boxes. Point is, we'll be getting an elite prospect with out first pick. And we'll be adding that prospect to the other very promising prospects we have in the system. And we'll have nine more picks after that first pick.

"We're superstar driven, and it pains me, it pains Ken, that we are bereft of a superstar," Devellano said. "Superstars win games. Superstars sell tickets. Superstars drive TV ratings. And to sit here and not have that kind of player, or preferably players, is painful." I think this is a pretty important point, one that Wings fans maybe tend to overlook. Heading into a brand new building with no superstar talent and a dead-and-buried playoff streak and waning fan enthusiasm...is not a good situation. (I think if Holland was going to get axed, it would've happened right after the playoff streak ended. And I probably would've been ok with that.) If you're the owner, you want to reverse this situation as quickly as possible. You want that playoff revenue. You want butts in the seats. You don't want The Brand to be tarnished, dragged through the mud. If you're the GM...well, same thing. So. What do you, the GM, do? Which path forward gives you the best shot at getting to where you ultimately want to be within the next, say, four years?

The Wings aren't even really tanking, so this whole argument is sort of stupid. The team is bad and Holland has concluded there isn't anything he can do to dramatically change that in the here and now, so he's making the best of a bad situation. Making the best of a bad situation = transition years (younger guys stepping into bigger roles, some older guys getting phased out), trading some non-core pieces at the deadline, getting a lot of picks. It's a bad situation, but it's also sort of nice (albeit in a perverse way), as this organization desperately needs a major infusion of high-end young talent and it's exceedingly difficult to get that when you're doing everything in your power to make the playoffs every year. (Which is why we're in the situation we're in.) We're getting a big shot in the arm over two or three years instead of the painfully slow drip that we'd grown accustomed to, the painfully slow drip that would run indefinitely until we'd basically lucked into the two or three franchise players that we need in order to open up a legitimate, sustainable Cup window. Many people had grown tired of the slow drip. Many of these people think "tanking" is the way to go. We can debate semantics until we're blue in the face. At the end of the day, the reality is that the team is bad and Holland has changed his approach in an attempt to get the organization back to relevance in as short a time as possible. Thus far, Holland's approach has paid off pretty well; he's moved out a few players that were deemed expendable and he's managed to add a lot of high-end(ish) young talent in a relatively short span of time. Again, last year's draft basically got us four years' worth of 1st-round picks. We might be looking at a similar return in this year's draft. At the very least, this draft will be giving us one elite prospect, quite possibly the best prospect we've had in a very long time (even if it isn't Hughes or Kakko). I'm going to link to this piece again: Red Wings won't 'sit back' in attempt to rebuild [NHL.com] (October 25, 2018) When I say I'm fine with tanking and I claim that Holland is embracing the suck, what I basically mean is that I'm down with what Devellano and Cotsonika are saying in this piece. Highlights: Embrace the suck, but don't enjoy it. Hate every minute of it. And always have some form of an "IN CASE OF EMERGENCY BREAK GLASS" escape plan. Don't trust that 30 picks spread across three consecutive drafts will definitely get you to where you want to be. At the same time, recognize that this is an opportunity to set things right and put this organization "back in business" in a relatively short time. That's what I think the brass should be doing and that's what I think the brass *is* doing.

HYPE! LGRW!

Tankathon's kinda weird. I think it does give you the results you'd expect based on the odds, but you need a large enough sample size. Like, yesterday I ran it ten times and the Wings got 1st overall seven times. And if I run it ten times today they'll probably get it, like, two or three times.

I mean, it's better than Ottawa not winning. But I get what you're saying.

I admit to being really hard on AA in the past. And I won't apologize for it! FRK THA POLICE! AA was maddening to watch last season. At least to me he was. He'd tease gamebreaking ability, but more often than not he'd frustrate me with really simple-minded hockey that left a lot to be desired. He played like he was still in junior. He's taken a pretty big step forward this season; he's playing a more mature, rounded game. He's still inconsistent and he still frustrates, but I feel like progress is being made and I believe he's committed to doing what it takes to reach his full potential. I didn't feel that way last season. Today he was coming off a bad individual performance against Tampa and he put in a much better performance against the Isles. If he can play the way he played today on a consistent basis, he's golden. I really want him to become a solid 2C -- or, ideally, the goal-scoring 1B to Larkin's playmaking 1A. Adding Hughes/Kakko and/or a top free agent forward (be it a UFA or an RFA) might get him to 70+ points.

Hope everyone has a great St. Patrick's Day tomorrow! (Drink responsibly. Don't be a dingus.)

Good vibes!

Couldn't really do much about that one. Was just in an awkward position when he took the hit. Seems to be ok, so no harm done. WE WON A GAME

PP with 90 seconds left.

Larkin hurt. ...still on the bench. Seems to be ok...? (knock on wood)

Yo the Isles kinda suck.

Get yer head outta the gutter, loo!

I feel like games against the Isles are always weird, so I guess in that sense it's fitting.

End of 2nd. Wings lead 2-1. I reckon we're in for some buttclenching in the 3rd.

Bernier's feeling it today.

I miss Legendary Red Wing Stephen Weiss.

Dan Bylsma.

Do we practice power plays in practice? Like, how are we this bad at it?

PP

I actually don't mind him. Seems like a genuinely good person. But he's the king of boring, grindy, smother-the-puck-with-a-pillow hockey.

Athanasiou (26) from DeKeyser (13) and Bertuzzi (18) - NYI 1, DET 2

AA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I blame Trotz.