Dabura

At the end of the day, I think the cold, hard truth is that we need to get lucky in one or more of the next several drafts and score us some truly elite talent. I don't think the UFA market will save us. I don't think the trade market will save us. I highly doubt the talent that we already have in the system will be enough. We need a Rasmus Dahlin in the worst way.

Agree on both counts. But I figure we might be due for a Franzen-esque overachiever or two. I'm more hoping than expecting. I mean, realistically, maybe one of our current D prospects becomes a really good NHL defenseman. So...yeah. We don't appear to have much #Legit talent in the system, so this is all kind of an exercise in self-delusion.

Tatar Larkin Mantha Elfstrom Holmstrom Nyquist Rasmussen Nielsen Svechnikov Bertuzzi Glendening Abdelkader Fleury Jensen Cholowski Hronek DeKeyser Saarijarvi Mrazek Petruzzelli ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I had wanted us to trade for him at the time. Babcock had wanted us to trade for him at the time: “They just hit a home run,” Babcock said of the Sharks. “That’s a gold medal pick. I’m pissed off.” I agree that losing a franchise defenseman to retirement can put a GM in a tough spot. I disagree that you "really can't replace that."

Brent Burns.

WITKOWSKI. NEW ARENA. HEALTHY HELM, ERICSSON, ABDELKADER. WITKOWSKI. WITKOWSKI. WITKOWSKI. NEW ARENA. GET REKT, NEGATIVE NANCY.

I want to believe. Sobering fact: we haven't produced a true high-end NHL defenseman since NIklas Kronwall. Kronwall's breakout season was ten years ago, and now he's in the final stages of his career, so we've basically gone his entire NHL career without producing a single Kronwall-caliber defenseman. (That can't be right. Right? Someone tell me I'm forgetting someone. I genuinely want to be wrong on this. .__.)

We have Luke Witkowski; everything is going to be fine.

I'm still holding out hope that Chuck Fletcher becomes available. He hasn't won anything with the Wild, but I generally like the way he rolls. I think he could be a reel gud fit.

That lineup's my best-case scenario. I'm fully expecting Witkowski to be in the lineup.

WINGS: It's because we missed the playoffs, isn't it. FANS: NO. NO IT IS NOT. WINGS: You can't expect an organization to make the playoffs every season. There's no hockey st-- FANS: DON'T YOU SAY IT. DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT.

The best I can realistically hope for: Tatar Zetterberg Mantha Athanasiou Nielsen Nyquist Abdelkader Larkin Svechnikov Sheahan Helm Glendening Ouellet Green DeKeyser Daley Ericsson Jensen Howard Mrazek PIPING HOT TAKE: We need a 1D, a 1W, and a(n additional) 1C. Aside from that, we're in great shape! #FreeFallin4Dahlin

Kid Rock for GM. Make the Red Wings Great Again.

I feel like we say this every year.

Everyone knows the Swedish Mafia is running the show.

Sure. I'm just saying it's probably hurt Tatar's numbers.

He's not overpaid. Mike Halford summed it up pretty well: Tomas Tatar has been Detroit’s most consistent goalscorer over the last three years. He’s netted 29, 21 and 25 in each campaign, for a grand total of 75 — more than Phil Kessel, Patrick Marleau and Matt Duchene have scored over the same timeframe. Now, Tatar wants to be paid accordingly. Helene St. James: The 75 goals he has scored from 2014-15 through 2016-17 ranks 31st overall in the NHL. Tatar is a really good top-six scoring winger and a solid (if unspectacular) first-line scoring winger. And, according to the conventional possession metrics, he's an elite possession-driver. $5.3M x 4 is a really good deal for the Wings. He's performed above his pay grade in each of the past four seasons. 2013-14: 19 goals and 39 points in 73 games. Cap hit: $630K. 2014-15: 29 goals and 56 points in 82 games. Cap hit: $2.75M. 2015-16: 21 goals and 45 points in 81 games. Cap hit: $2.75M. 2016-17: 25 goals and 46 points in 82 games. Cap hit: $2.75M. He's been performing like a $5M player, and now he's getting $5M. So, the only "demand" that his new contract makes is "Keep doing what you're doing." The team is bad because we lack top-end talent at every position. That's not on Tatar, it's on the people who run the organization and construct the team. Tatar is not The Problem. Tatar has not been holding us back.

And on a bad team.

Realistically, the pool of potential targets is exceedingly small. Nyquist's NTC recently kicked in and he's coming off a tough season in terms of goal-scoring. So even if he signed off on a trade, we'd probably be selling low. Tatar just signed a multi-year deal and has gone out of his way to say he's happy in Detroit. We all know the Wings have deemed Larkin absolutely untouchable. After the season Mantha just had, and with this new "Size Matters" mandate, I'm sure Mantha has been deemed only slightly less untouchable than Larkin. So, in terms of forward trade chips, I think we're pretty much left with Athanasiou and Svechnikov. I believe Svechnikov's trade value is close to negligible and that AA's isn't anything to write home about. AA might be enough to get us a high-end D prospect, but our trade partner would have to have an abundance of high-end defensemen and a desperate need for skilled top-nine forwards. Philly needs to improve their D group and I'm sure they see Travis Sanheim playing a big role in that effort. Nashville's looking to replace James Neal, so they'd probably want Nyquist or Tatar -- and, realistically, Holland isn't trading Nyquist or Tatar for Dante Fabbro. "What if AA has a monster season and establishes himself as a great top-six forward?" you ask? Well, then Holland deems him untouchable. If it's gonna happen, I think it's gonna be Athanasiou(+) for Haydn Fleury. My impression is that the 'canes feel Jake Bean is the more valuable prospect, as his skill set makes him a potential Justin Faulk replacement. Brett Pesce is decent but unremarkable. I'm really high on Jaccob Slavin, but he just signed a big extension. Noah Hanifin is still very young and has enormous potential; they'd want Larkin/Mantha. If not Fleury, possibly Rasmus Andersson or Oliver Kylington, as the Flames have solidified their top four/five. I like both players, but if we're giving up Athanasiou, I'd prefer Fleury; he has all the makings of a really good minute-munching two-way defenseman. The kind of player we were hoping Ericsson and DeKeyser would become.

I don't think we'll be trading for a young, proven top-pairing defenseman anytime soon. The price is simply too high. Through the draft and/or by trading for a high-end prospect, e.g. Haydn Fleury.

This is a really good deal. I am pleased.

If anything, Thompson should be the QB. This way he can control the play, feed Mr. and Mrs. Witkowski as he sees fit. "Mr. Witkowski, How does it feel to something something Michigan something something?" "Mrs. Witkowski, Did you ever imagine your son something something brand new building something something Michigan something something?" "Mr. Witkowski, Would you say this is a dream come true something something Michigan something something?" "Mrs. Witkowski, How special is this something something brand new arena something something in front of all these people something something Michigan?" If that doesn't work, roll out the Michigan 5: Abdelkader Witkowski Glendening Larkin DeKeyser Much patronize. Very pander. So grit. A lot Michigan. Very character. So parents.

Tatar Zetterberg Mantha/Witkowski Helm Nielsen Nyquist/Witkowski Abdelkader Larkin Athanasiou/Witkowski Sheahan Glendening Witkowski/Witkowski DeKeyser Daley/Witkowski Kronwall Green/Witkowski Ericsson Jensen/Witkowski Howard/Witkowski Bryzgalov PP1 Witkowski Abdelkader Zetterberg Helm Kronwall PP2 Sheahan Witkowski's Father Trevor Thompson Witkowski's Mother DeKeyser Witkowski

I wouldn't say no to either of them.