Dabura

I'm kinda with Lefty on this. The Leafs want the Cup; they'll be looking to acquire cheap, reliable veteran depth -- and we all know Babcock loves Glendening. It was reported that the Leafs asked about Glendening last season and Holland said he wanted a 2nd in return. With Glendening likely getting pushed down the depth chart this season, I could see Holland lowering the ask.

Aaand there it is, seven degrees of Dan "Buckets" Cleary.

Bred for their skills in magic.

You muddafugga.

YEAH WHAT OF IT The official beer of Murica is the tears of our enemies.

He good. He real good.

Fair point. Maybe the Wings aren't high enough on Hughes that they'd need an impossibly good offer. And maybe there are teams that are high enough on him that they're willing to give us more than we feel he's worth to us, and so we move the pick. Personally, I'm high enough on Hughes that it's hard for me to envision these conditions being met. But, again, maybe the Wings don't actually share that enthusiasm. It's possible, if unlikely. If I rate Hughes as "generational" (e.g. McDavid), I don't move him for anything. If I rate Hughes as a non-"generational" superstar franchise player (e.g. Stamkos)... I would really need to be blown away by the offer. [Hanifin-caliber young player] + top-5 pick + early 2nd + early 2nd wouldn't do it for me...unless, perhaps, I'm high enough on someone else in the 2019 draft class that I feel the trade package is easily more valuable to my team than a Stamkos-caliber player by himself is. If I rate Hughes as not-quite-a-Stamkos-but-not-too-far-off (e.g. Seguin), I might accept a top-5 pick + [young player who I'm over-the-moon about]. But that young player who I'm over the moon about would be, like, an Ivan Provorov, i.e. probably an untouchable. ...Unless, again, I'm high enough on someone else in the 2019 draft class that I feel the trade package is easily more valuable to my team than a Seguin-caliber player by himself is. If I rate Hughes as really-good-but-maybe-not-quite-Seguin-tier (e.g. Larkin), then I'm actively shopping the pick. --- It's still early days, but if Hughes takes a big step forward in his draft year (and he very likely will), we could be looking at someone comparable to Auston Matthews. If I had to put Matthews into one of the above classes (tough call because he's still so young), I'd say he's Stamkos-caliber. So, if Hughes is flashing that kind of potential in his draft year and I -- the Red Wings -- am quite certain he can reach those heights...and I feel Hughes is much better than any and all of his draft class peers...then that pick is only getting moved if someone makes me an offer I can't refuse. I take the player I feel is going to be a powerhouse centerman over the collection of picks and the good-not-great young roster player.

Wasn't it confirmed that the Wings aren't interested in trading for Karlsson?

This is why you're no one's favorite character, Kate.

Right. I'm just surprised that he's being so candid about it. Historically, Wings beat reporters tend to hedge and qualify and slow-walk and soften this kind of thing. Sort of like what Custance is doing here, I guess. But this is twice now that Khan's been like "Yo. Zetterberg's probably done. The Wings expect these two teens and this second-year defenseman to make the team. Boom. Next question." Candid, insightful Khan is best Khan.

Which is why I'm so surprised that Khan is saying all of Rasmussen, Zadina, Hronek are expected to make the team out of camp.

Sorry, I was kinda terse in my previous message. Re: Larkin & Hughes -- Ideally, we emerge from this rebuild with an elite 1C, a 2C who'd be a 1C on many other teams, and a 3C who'd be a 2C on many other teams. (And the same idea with the top four on the back end.) Like I always say: depth wins cups, and a team is only as deep as its top talent allows it to be. So, in theory, it'd be something like Hughes-Larkin-Veleno/Rasmussen, where Hughes is "elite, elite," Larkin is 1C-caliber but playing second fiddle to Hughes because Hughes is just that good, and Veleno/Rasmussen is top-six-caliber but not quite as good as Larkin. It's not exactly Crosby-Malkin-Staal/Bonino/Brassard or Matthews-Tavares-Kadri, but it's the same idea and in the same ballpark of crazy depth. tl;dr Larkin scoring 80-90 points as our 2C is the stuff dreams -- and championships -- are made of. Having said all that... Re: The trade value of the first overall pick in the 2019 draft (AKA Jack Hughes) -- It'd have to be an incredible offer. Like, too good to be true. Dougie Hamilton + 1st + a couple of 2nds doesn't come anywhere close; Jack Hughes is much more valuable than Dougie Hamilton -- and what good are picks if you're giving up pretty much the most valuable pick a team can get (outside of a pick that gets you a Connor McDavid)?

Then we have an outstanding 1-2 punch at center. There's no way we'd trade the first overall pick. Certainly not for Hamilton and some picks.

https://www.nhl.com/redwings/news/red-wings-re-sign-larkin-to-five-year-deal/c-299727352

If he goes UFA, we go all in for him. Absolutely. Unfortunately, money would probably be our only major selling point. If Karlsson's looking to join a really good team that he could, theoretically, put over the top, we're not getting him. (Jack Hughes could change that. Maybe.) I also wonder if he wouldn't see "playing in the shadow of Lidstrom" and "inheriting Zetterberg's leadership mantle" as turnoffs.

Bergevin sure does love him some lateral-at-best swaps.

It wasn't for your benefit, it was for all the globalist Holland apologist sheeple here.

Panarin is a beast.

I think his two-year extension is a "prove it" deal. A bridge deal, if you will. He has to prove that he's capable of engineering a viable rebuild-on-the-fly, and, two years from now, that rebuild effort has to be in a good place (by Chris Ilitch's standards). I feel Holland's pretty much taken care of that first part, having made some solid trades and stockpiled a lot of picks and run a stellar 2018 draft and re-signed key RFAs to good deals. The other part, well, we're gonna have to wait and see on that one. Can the younger players take over? Can they drive a dramatic turnaround that sees the Wings return to relevance in the very near future?

I mean, anything can happen. But, yeah, I'm assuming 2018-19 is Kronner's swan song. Relevant: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/2018/08/16/detroit-red-wings-defense-verge-overhaul-talent-way/1010936002/ But, collectively, the group keeps getting older, and its age is a concern that general manager Ken Holland addressed after the season ended. “Our defense is old,” Holland said. “We haven’t done a good enough job of drafting defensemen that have been high impact. You have to draft them and develop them.” Which is what the organization plans to do in the next few years. “As we go forward over the next year or two the plan is to slowly move some of the young players in our system onto our team,” Holland said. “Whether they are up front, or on defense. If two young defensemen can make our team, maybe we will carry eight defensemen.”

Mortal Kombat... MK... MKUltra... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MKUltra

Report: Niklas Kronwall considering retirement after 2018-19 season [WINGSNATION] No surprise here, but it's a slow news month. So, yeah.