Dabura

I hope it isn't still a thing, but it wouldn't really surprise me if it is. I'd thought Mike Ilitch's passing meant Fedorov would finally get his number raised, but then I read something about Marian Ilitch being firmly "over my dead body" on the subject, so...*shrug*. Karmanos is still pretty high up in the organization (minority owner and chief executive officer), for what it's worth.

If memory serves, the Wings admitted that they drafted mostly for size, grit, intangibles last year. That it was very much a "theme draft." I think the idea of theme drafting is kind of ass-backwards, but what do I know, I'm just a civilian.

Of course, all of this assumes the Wings and Hurricanes would be willing to deal with each other in the first place. Even with Mike Ilitch now gone, there could still be bad blood.

It's still early days, but I admit to having this same thought a couple days ago. Wings need to step up their draft game. This has been a thing for a while now. "This is a draft-and develop league." "There's no hockey store." "We've gotta draft and develop, that's the only way." "We're not interested in a long rebuild." Time to put up or shut up, methinks.

LOLightning. Caps fans have gotta be on cloud nine right now.

You thought wrong!

https://www.tsn.ca/off-season-game-plan-detroit-red-wings-1.1083279

Caps up 2-0 after 20. Outshooting the Bolts 9-2. I like the Caps in this series for two reasons: The Caps have become a Trotz team this season, i.e. they now know how to stifle high-powered offenses and grind out close wins in low-scoring games The Caps slayed their dragon (the Pens) and a victory like that can be the mother of all shots in the arm

Caps in 6.

I want instant gratification and I want it now.

He'll have to beat out Mrazek for the job.

I mean, I'm not saying free agency is the only way we're going to get a 1D. I just fear it's the only way we're going to get a 1D within the next few years. Granted, my "cautious pessimism" on this issue is rooted in the Wings' total failure to draft and develop one single really high-end NHL defenseman since Niklas Kronwall, and I get that that failure is largely a result of the Wings trading away so many draft picks. With the Wings now being a lottery team and with Holland stockpiling draft picks, and with a Hronek and Cholowski and probably Hughes/Boqvist/Bouchard/Dobson in the pipeline, it's reasonable to assume we're on the verge of breaking the Kronwall curse. But even so, I'm thinking overpaying for a known 1D might be better than waiting for a homegrown 1D who may or may not arrive soon. The Wings can follow the Cheveldayoff-Jets model of slowly (slooowwwwly) building up incredible depth through the draft and making some shrewd deals every now and then. But I dunno if the Wings organization and Wings fans will have the patience for that. I dunno if our Winning Culture can survive what could be a long stay in the basement. If Holland is dead serious about pulling off a relatively quick rebuild, he might have to overpay for a top UFA.

As for freeing up cap space to fit in a hypothetical Carlson contract... Holland won't trade Ericsson. Green wouldn't be signed. I'm not sure we can salary dump DeKeyser without having to take on someone else's problem contract or give up a prime asset or two. I have a feeling Kronwall's going to play out next season. Daley could be doable. Maybe Daley and Helm/Nyquist. Maybe AA.

I keep forgetting 7 years is the max term. Thanks for pointing that out. Man, I'm just so tired of this defense saga. I want it to be over. Giving Carlson an unreasonable contract would be risky, but we need that 1D. We need a firm foundation to build on. We need to have a functional transition game so our team can actually play "the right way" and learn and grow, as opposed to continuing to spend most nights running around and chasing the puck. We need an all-situations minute-muncher to mentor and shelter the coming wave of young defensemen. I'm with you: I really hope Holland plans on overhauling the back end over the next couple of years. But even if it happens, it could just be a younger-but-equally-mediocre defense group. I worry that this team isn't going to be able to take a real step forward until it has a real 1D, and I worry that we're a long way from having that 1D unless we somehow sign one through free agency.

Great pickup for them. Scheifele-Stastny-Little is the kind of center depth that makes me nerd out. I love center depth. I think it's every bit as important as depth on the back end. Jets are stacked at C, W, D. It's nuts. Scheifele, Stastny, Little. Laine, Wheeler, Ehlers, Connor. Byfuglien, Trouba, Morrissey. Cheveldayoff's patience is finally paying off.

Scheifele with 10 goals and 15 points in these playoffs. If a wizard from the future told me Larkin will ultimately become a Scheifele-tier centerman in this league, I would be ecstatic.

EDIT: Wrong thread.

Best game ever, btw.

Oh, I'm just talking Calgary. If we were to pursue a Flames defenseman, Andersson would probably be our best bet. I rate Hronek as the more promising defenseman, but it's close. The Flames' defense is stacked and they're reportedly looking to improve at RW, so we might actually have a shot at acquiring Andersson for a non-fatal price. I wouldn't expect Andersson to become our long-awaited savior, but at the very least he'd give us another ticket in the 1D Lottery.

On the one hand, I'm optimistic about our "quick rebuild." On the other hand, I wouldn't bet money on the Wings producing their very own Carlson-caliber defensemen within the next 2-4(+) years. Even if Hughes/Boqvist/Bouchard/Dobson becomes a stud 1D, it probably won't happen until he's in his third or fourth NHL season. I love what Hronek's shown since being drafted and Cholowski's also very promising, but I'm not counting on either of them becoming that 1D that we so desperately need. So my concern is that we could very easily continue to strike out on our quest to find an elite NHL defenseman and that this could drag out our rebuild. Even with the draft picks that Holland has stockpiled, I don't know that I trust the Wings to find That Defenseman in one of the next two or three drafts. And even if I did fully trust the Wings on that front, the choice would still be A) Get Carlson and finally have some damn closure, or B) hope and pray that we get this s*** sorted out soon. So, from the Wings' perspective, Carlson might actually be worth something like $7.5M x 8. Because we need a Carlson that badly (arguably). I'm not too concerned about our forward group, because we have Larkin and Mantha and Rasmussen and the Wings have been pretty good about finding good NHLers in later rounds. But the post-Lidstrom years have sort of conditioned me to always expect the worst about our defense situation. I worry that free agency is the only way we're getting an elite NHL defenseman within the next several years.

If folks want to have a dialogue with me about this, we should probably take it to PMs. I don't think I can engage in a nuanced discussion on this topic without getting decidedly "political," and I know this forum has a strict No Politics policy.

Big game tonight. You are a spineless traitor. You disgust me.

So I'm kind of warming to the idea of overpaying for John Carlson. We're far away from being a serious playoff team again. And yet, maybe we're not so far away... Our core before Carlson: Larkin, Mantha, ??? Our core after Carlson: Larkin, Mantha, Carlson There is an enormous difference between the two. D situation before Carlson: "I sure hope one of Hronek, Cholowski, Hughes/Boqvist/Bouchard/Dobson becomes a 1D" D situation after Carlson: "With Carlson, Hronek, Cholowski, and Hughes/Boqvist/Bouchard/Dobson, we have the makings of a dynamite top four" There is an enormous difference between the two. Offense before Carlson: "Goals, like cookies, are a sometimes snack" Offense after Carlson: [stuffing face with thin mints] I want all the thin mints.

Assuming the ask would be somewhere in the neighborhood of Anthony Mantha, I'd rather target Rasmus Andersson.