Dabura

10:00. Only 30 minutes until it's 10 minutes until puck drop.

On the plus side, we don't have to deal with the Leafs until OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD They really need to ditch the boring black-and-white and go back to purple-and-gold.

Is it 10:30 yet?

I'm thinking you could be right. Some people might be expecting his production to fall because he won't be glued to Zetterberg's hip anymore, but there's nothing to say he won't do just as well or even better with Larkin. Larkin's speed game might actually suit Nyquist better than Zetterberg's slower style did. Actually, the way I remember it, Nyquist scored a lot of goals off the rush back when he was first breaking into the league. In the years since, he's become more of a cycle guy. Would be cool to see some of that 2013-14 magic again.

Tiny Cocaine Hockey Player Ghost. The rarest of Pokemans. Can we call him Chow Yun Fat so I have an excuse to spam Chow Yun Fat fight scenes in every thread for the rest of time?

PUNISHED HICKETTS

Lines and pairings from yesterday's practice: Tonight's Opposing Player Who We Will Hear All About Because He's a Michigan Native Who's From Michigan And Michigan Is Where The Wings Are Based Out Of So This Is Pretty Important Not Just For The Wings (Who Are Based Out Of Detroit, Which Is Located In Michigan) But Also Michigan (Which Is Where The Wings Are Based Out Of): Pray for Bernier:

Zadina is pointless through the Griffins' first two games. He says he doesn't like playing hockey anymore and he thinks trying to fill the net with pucks is pointless because ultimately we're all gonna die and rot in the ground. Kid is blackpilled as f*** right now. it only took the Wings a few months to totally break him. Sad!

Totally agree.

https://www.nhl.com/redwings/news/notes-vanek-and-larkin-see-mantha-as-next-great-nhl-power-forward/c-300708638

Or Ottawa.

Agreed. I've pissed and moaned about Blashill in the past. In retrospect, I shouldn't have been so hard on him. Because, at the end of the day, all that matters -- the one thing he'll ultimately be judged on -- is the development of the young players. That being said... Development of the young players in the 2016-17 season? Not very encouraging (at the time), was arguably cause for concern re: Blashill's competence (at the time). Development of the young players in the 2017-18 season? We start to see some results, we start to see some payoff. We start to see that "The Process" isn't necessarily just bumper-sticker bulls***. Consider: Larkin: 63 points thru 82 games Mantha: 48-80 Athanasiou: 33-71 Frk: 25-68 Bertuzzi: 24-48 Hicketts: 3-5 Pretty hard to argue with those results.

A few things: Any contract can be traded. It's safe to say we're at least a couple years away from being a solid playoff team. At that point, those contracts are nearly up and shouldn't be too hard to dump. The Seattle expansion draft could be a nice relief valve. So, personally, I'm not worried about those contracts. I think people get too hung up on them. If it gets to a point where they're genuinely strangling the team, something will be done and cap space will be opened up. I'd be more concerned about, say, Montreal's situation with Price and Weber.

TORTORELLA: "OK, we know how to beat these guys. Their D are slow and old and predictable. Let's go over the names. First we have...*squints*...Wait, did they overhaul their entire f***ing blue line? Who the f*** is Libor Sulak? What the f*** is going on here?"

Agreed.

Could be, but I doubt it. Going several years without a captain would be dumb, IMO.

Yup. That seems to be the plan. Granted, I don't claim to have any insider info, so I could be way off about Kronwall and the C and all this stuff. It's just my two cents.

There seems to be a general understanding that this will be Kronwall's last season, and it's safe to say he's going to miss a number of games. He's a great team guy and he knows what's up (the team is transitioning, a DRW captain is counted on to lead by example every day and every night, etc.), so I'm guessing he would decline the offer. And I imagine Holland and Blashill aren't big on the idea of stopgap captaincy anyway, as the organization takes the C very seriously. That Yzerman->Lidstrom->Zetterberg continuum is a big part of the Wings' "winning culture." Larkin might not become the kind of player that Zetterberg became, but he's the closest thing we have.

The standings system is set up so that Chad pundits can remind the plebs that teams who are outside of the playoff picture at the end of November probably aren't going to make the playoffs. Basically, it's an institutionalized mechanism for demoralizing the Edmonton Oilers.

Alternating letters is a stupid trend and any organization that partakes in it should be strapped to a rocket and fired directly into the sun.

And the best part is we still have Punished Zadina to look forward to.

This s*** is so confusing. I wish I had a better handle on it. But what you're saying makes sense. I think. Maybe. I guess. The thought of three or four rookie defensemen being in the lineup on opening night makes me want to laugh maniacally.

Some clarity: https://www.nhl.com/redwings/news/notes-wings-defense-remains-in-flux-due-to-injuries/c-300571818