Dabura

Rasmussen's skating has been knocked largely for a lack of "explosiveness" in his first couple of steps. He's worked on it and he's openly acknowledged that it's something he's going to keep working to improve. I'd put it this way: if you're fine with Mantha's skating, you'll probably be fine with Rasmussen's skating, and if you think Mantha is a little slow-footed, you'll probably feel Rasmussen is a little slow-footed.

Meh. The "generational" discussion is a semantics tar pit. Is Dahlin a "generational" talent? Maybe, maybe not. Does he appear to have the makings of a "generational" talent? Maybe, maybe not. Is he the most promising and exciting teenage defenseman in ages? Yes. Is he the most promising and exciting teenage defenseman ever? You could make that argument. (Lidstrom himself has said as much.) McDavid is the safest 1st overall pick you can make. If Dahlin is a less safe 1st overall pick, it's only because he's a defenseman. 2015 McDavid is as close as you get to "guaranteed franchise centerman" and 2018 Dahlin is as close as you get to "guaranteed franchise defenseman." Dahlin is an incredible hockey player. The HYPE! surrounding him is warranted. You couldn't ask for a better defense prospect.

I'm ok with goaltending being treated as kind of an afterthought, at least for the time being. We're so far away from being a contender and goalies are such a crapshoot that I think Holland would be justified in simply letting things play themselves out for a little while. Que sera, sera. Now, if Larkin takes another big step forward this season and we sign Erik Karlsson next summer...then I'ma be more concerned about our goaltending situation. Because Cup window.

Hell, we almost had Gretzky himself! https://thehockeywriters.com/wayne-gretzky-almost-joined-the-detroit-red-wings/ ESPN’s 30 For 30 franchise featured the trade in one of their documentaries, interviewing all parties involved and chronicling the events that led up to and consequently followed the seismic trade. In the documentary, Gretzky mentioned that he was allowed to pick his next destination and that decision ultimately came down to two teams: the Los Angeles Kings and Detroit Red Wings.

Chychrun sucks. Kronwall is the future.

Yes.

Seems about right.

Mantha and Rasmussen suck. Zadina is the future.

-100 sleep +100 truculence

Fair enough. But when I read this... ...and I see that you believe Hronek, Saarijarvi, Cholowski, and maybe Lindstrom will be 35-50-point defensemen in the NHL... ...I think we're coming from different places re: how important a legit 1D is and what exactly constitutes a "modernized" defense group. I agree that the Wings are consciously trying to build a decidedly "modern" defense group and that this is a good thing. However, I have a very hard time seeing all of Hronek, Saarijarvi, Cholowski becoming 35-50-point players. With a legit 1D, it's unlikely but possible. Without a legit 1D...I'm not seeing it. Now, sure, one of those guys could be a future legit 1D. But I'm not counting on it. I think guys like Hronek and Cholowski are good but probably not good enough to excel as a designated top pairing against top talent. Realistically, if they become high-scoring NHL defensemen, it'll be because they're insulated by an elite defenseman who allows everyone to be slotted appropriately. So: I think the best shot they have at becoming 35-50-point players is as #2/3/4 defensemen slotted behind an elite, foundational defenseman who really owns that #1 spot and drives the bus.

yeh. The two are more similar than one might think. And I say this as someone who was adamantly opposed to the Wings taking Rasmussen 9th overall because I felt his playmaking and pure skill were lacking. The more I see of Mantha and Rasmussen, the more they remind me of Franzen. The Holmstrom/Pacioretty distinction is probably overstating their differences, but the point was that they're looking like two sides of the same goal-scorer coin. Just call the coin Franzen.

Wouldn't be next summer, as Haydn Fleury's the only one on an expiring contract -- and he's a youngin' who can't just up and leave. Fleury - Signed through 2019 (RFA) Faulk - 2020 van Riemsdyk - 2020 Hamilton - 2021 De Haan - 2022 Pesce - 2024 Slavin - 2025 If Carolina wants to move Faulk, they have two seasons to do it. That's a big reason why I'm saying they shouldn't be in a hurry to trade him right now, unless they get an offer they really like. The Sens' official slogan for their 2018-19 season.

If Zetterberg starts on LTIR, I wouldn't mind seeing Veleno get at least a short audition beyond training camp. However, even without Z, I'm not sure there's room for him in the top nine, and if he's playing on the fourth line then it'd probably be best for him to just go straight to junior anyway. Exhibition action should give him a big enough taste of pro hockey for now. I expect him to challenge for a roster spot next season.

The Sens are basically the anti-Wings now. No winning culture. No integrity. Self-destructive, penny-pinching owner. Green GM. So much stupid drama. Cum 2 the Wings, Erik.

I mean, I know what you're saying about how big-bodied forwards often look lazy or disengaged when they're really not. I'm not knocking him for appearances, I genuinely feel the engagement thing is a real thing with him. He pretty much says as much in that article. It's not a big knock against him, just something that might not be as much of a thing with Rasmussen. Agreed.

Not sure I agree that 1D is typically defined as a defenseman that does it all exceptionally well. I'd say it's closer to "Guy who puts up a lot of points and generally powers his team's offense, all while playing hard minutes against top talent every night." Something to that effect. I like the idea that everyone has this whole defense thing wrong, that all you really need is three or four good top-four defensemen who can give you excellence-by-committee. But, whether it's true or not, I'd still want that legit 1D. I think the problem with excellence-by-committee defense is that, by definition, you lack a gamebreaker on the back end. That's the kind of player you'd expect to neutralize or outmatch the opposition's gamebreaking talent in a tight best-of-seven series. Take that player away and your not-quite-a-1D-but-we-call-him-our-1D is probably going to have to step up, which probably means the other defensemen are going to have to step up, which probably means everyone's playing above their pay grade, which probably means you end up really wishing you had That Guy. So, even if Hronek and Cholowski and Lindstrom and Saarijarvi all miraculously become very good top-four NHL defensemen (and it would be a miracle), I'd still want That Guy. I believe 1) team depth wins Cups, and 2) your team is only as deep as your top talent allows it to be.

For Jarnkrok.

I guess you could make a case for Rasmussen's game being more conducive to big-time success at the NHL level. We've all knocked Blashill for using Mantha in a net-front role on the power play, but Blashill's not wrong when he says that's where you need to go if you want score lots of goals at the NHL level. We've badly needed an elite sniper for years now, but we've also badly needed a crease-crasher. At the end of the day, I'm happy we have both Mantha and Rasmussen.

He isn't lazy, but he does need to work on being consistently engaged and such. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2018/08/03/jeff-blashill-sparked-detroit-red-wings-anthony-mantha-better/898001002/ Rasmussen seems more self-aware in that regard and pretty hard on himself. (People have said he's a Captain Serious type.) Maybe that propels him to superstar status, maybe it ultimately doesn't give him much of an edge over any given top-six forward. Dunno. It's early days. *shrug* Overall, I could see Mantha and Rasmussen becoming sort of two sides of the same big-bodied goal-scorer coin. If Rasmussen's a perennial 30-goal-scorer, he's doing it in greasy fashion in Tomas Holmstrom's Office. If Mantha's a perennial 30-goal-scorer, he's doing it as an elite shooter a la Max Pacioretty.

He had Vanek-Zetterberg-Nyquist / Helm-Larkin-Mantha in his "How bad is it?" video. Said the lines and pairings were taken straight off of some website. Seems like he just went with that info again for the season preview video, which is kinda dumb/lazy. (To be fair, though, Vanek outscored nearly all of our forwards last season and Helm-Larkin-Mantha was pretty good for us late in the season.) Didn't even mention Rasmussen or Hronek or Athanasiou in the season preview. If he did, I missed it. Veleno only has a shot at making the team if Zetterberg retires, and even then I doubt he makes it.