Dabura

I'll be surprised if Daley is paired with Green. And according to HSJ, Blashill intends to run Zetterberg, Nielsen, Sheahan as our top three centers. (See my correction post below.) But, yeah, I can see Bertuzzi making the team. I can also see him not making it, though. ¯\(º_o)/¯ Kinda sad that this, to me, is the big training camp storyline.

To be fair, that's every politician and every hockey coach.

#Fallin4Dahlin #Pray4Andrei #TeamSisyphus #SquatGoals

https://www.nhl.com/video/live-rangers-vs-red-wings/t-281013894/c-52598903

Yeah, he's stood out the most to me. I can see why the Wings like him so much.

https://www.nhl.com/video/live-blackhawks-vs-red-wings/t-281013894/c-52563903

At this time, Nyquist is the better player. At the very least, he's the more proven player. The jury is out on Athanasiou. He has a lot to prove.

Live feed: https://www.nhl.com/video/live-carolina-vs-detroit/t-281013894/c-52566403

Scale of 0-10.

"Why does God hate me?" - Martin Frk, 2017

I still think people are reading too much into this situation and getting too worked up. The way I see it, nothing too unusual or alarming has happened, at least according to the reports/rumors that have been circulating. Holland opened with a lowball offer, as you'd expect him -- or anyone else in his position -- to do. Athanasiou's camp came to the table with an unrealistically high demand, as expected. The agent is clearly using the KHL as leverage, as any agent would do. (The KHL card is the only one AA can play; it's the only leverage he has. Such is the plight of the RFA.) Holland countered with a perfectly good let's-meet-in-the-middle offer, as you'd expect him to do. This is all pretty standard stuff. The next and final step is "AA signs with the Wings." Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. If he does, great. If he doesn't and instead goes to the KHL (assuming this KHL thing isn't smoke and mirrors), then oh well, best of luck to him in his future endeavors. Holland can't allow himself to be bullied by an unproven RFA. He can't set that precedent.

Yeah, I'd put Sanheim in the Bean-Fleury category. Though, I think Sanheim's more valuable to Philly than Bean or Fleury is to Carolina. The Flyers have several really promising young defensemen in their system, but only one one of them is a more-or-less proven NHL stud at this time (Gostisbehere). The Hurricanes have a pretty deep NHL blue line led by a legit 1D in Faulk, so, in theory, they can comfortably afford to part with Bean/Fleury. But, yeah, we probably won't be trading for That Guy, whether he's an established top-three guy or a promising prospect. When we do finally get that studly top-pairing NHL defenseman, he's probably going to be a homegrown talent -- i.e. we're gonna have to draft and develop our way out of this mess. If only because, as krsmith noted, trades are hard. So very, very hard. #FreeFallin'4Dahlin

I'd be A-OK with Bean. Here's the thing: I think it pretty much has to be a mostly unproven prospect/youngster. Trouba isn't an established 1D, but, even so, he'd probably cost more than AA + 1st. Because GMs covet young high-end NHL defensemen that much. Oscar Klefbom isn't necessarily an all-star franchise defenseman, but the Oilers are flat-out not going to trade him at this time. My understanding is Vegas has pretty much zero interest in moving Shea Theodore at this time. We can go down the list... You and I are both in agreement here, I think. I'm just sayin'.

If we're talking about an established 1D, that probably wouldn't be enough, even if it's a really high pick. The trade value of your standard 1D is crazy-high right now. I'm pretty sure AA's trade value is not especially high right now. Said it before and I'll say it again: we should be looking at young, hight-potential defensemen like Haydn Fleury. (Maybe that's what you're saying. If so, my bad.)

As long as Luke Witkowski is playing 20 minutes a night, I'm ok with anything and everything.

Nah. I think people are reading too much into this situation. AA's an RFA with roughly one NHL season under his belt. He's cost-controlled. His only leverage is "KHL tho." Holland is refusing to play ball and that's good. If Holland does play ball and he does give AA a couple million dollars more than he'd like to, then he's setting a dangerous precedent -- specifically, that he can be bullied by 23-year-old NHL rookies. Overpaying older players is one thing, but overpaying older players plus failing to keep unproven 23-year-old RFAs under heel is a recipe for organizational ruin, in terms of cap management and the general no-bull**** culture within the locker room and within the organization. The Wings, as an organization, want younger players to be "team players." All organizations want this, but the Wings are especially big on it. The understanding is that the extra-long tour of duty in the AHL and the modest two- or three-year bridge deal are, in a way, loyalty tests. Put your head down, don't make a fuss, take the public shaming from Blashill and Devellano in stride, and when it's time for your big deal, you'll be handsomely rewarded. You'll be a Wing for life and will want for nothing. This is how the Wings roll, for better or for worse.

Needs moar Jagr.

GLENDENING THO

Exactly.

I mean, I'm kind of excited. I'm really hoping one of the kids has a monster season. That would be great. But, overall, I think we're probably a bubble team at best. Our blue line is still a mess. Zetterberg is a year older. We've established ourselves as a bad possession team and I don't see that changing this season. We're up against the cap. Trades are hard. We like our team. Sometimes less can be more exciting. There's no hockey store. Something something something. I'm still gonna root for the team. I'm still gonna watch every game. I'm still gonna be posting here nearly every day. I'm just not all that gung-ho about the team we're icing. I'm fearing we miss the playoffs by a few points and pick 13th overall in the draft. At this point, I'm sort of in the "Find a way to load up and go on a deep, legitimate run...or crash and burn and get a high first-round pick. No in-between" camp.

Same. The possibility of the possibility (yes, you read that right -- the possibility of the possibility) of drafting Dahlin or A. Svechnikov might boost my number to a 4, I dunno. I am not especially excited. I want to skip forward a season or two or three.

Was I even posting back then? I took, like, a one or two year break from LGW, if memory serves. I just remember being really ticked about the whole situation. Granted, I was younger and stupider back then, so pretty much everything ticked me off.

GETTERDUNKEN

Ah, gotcha. I hear ya. I don't blame you for calling bull**** on me, as I didn't explain up front that I was on the Burns-or-bust bandwagon way back when the Wild were looking to move him. I'd wanted us to land Burns because we'd just lost Rafalski to retirement, Lidstrom wasn't getting any younger, and we were in an arms race with the Sharks.