Dabura

I like how we're playing here. Keep it up!

AA!

OUELLET!

Much bad. Very oof. Many pain.

I guess the reasoning is that DK and Sheahan are what they are, whereas Mantha has the potential to be an elite NHLer. So, "BE BETTER!" means more to a player like Mantha than it does to a player like Sheahan. I guess.

Chicago feed. F*** you, NHL Network.

If I'm The League, I'm salivating over the prospect of the Wings and Leafs becoming bitter rivals again. Maybe they'd like to, um..."accelerate the process." (*nudge nudge, wink wink*)

See, I dunno if a top-three pick holds all that much value this year -- or, at least, as much value as it normally does. I mean, I'm hoping that that's not the case and that we could land, say, Justin Faulk for a top-three pick + Nyquist/Tatar + pick/prospect. But, from what I've heard/inferred, Carolina would want a high-end top-six centerman in return, e.g. Matt Duchene. Because that seems to be the mindset these days. "If I'm moving a young top-pair defenseman, I need to be getting a really, really good player in return. Because I don't want to look like an idiot and put my job security at risk. Because top-pair defensemen are incredibly hard to come by." As for Hischier...he does kind of scream "Prototypical Red Wing," which, true enough, isn't necessarily something we as Wings fans should be salivating over. But I feel like our cupboard is bare enough -- and the Cup is far away enough -- that we shouldn't downgrade someone's perceived desirability just because we already have players like him. Beggars, choosers, all that jazz. And I'm not sure I even agree that we already have a number of players like him. And even if we agree that we already have a number of players like him, I think that's a narrow way of looking at our situation. Like, OK, we could say that Hischier's similar to Nielsen, Nyquist, Tatar, Zetterberg -- i.e. two-thirds of our present top six, basically. If anything, I think that points to a need for a Hischier type or two, if not now then 3-5+ years from now, when Nielsen and Zetterberg will be done and one or both of Nyquist and Tatar have been traded and we are, in theory, back to contender status. Don't get me wrong, I think we need an Owen Tippett in the worst way. But I also think one of the big reasons why we're struggling to generate offense and score is a lack of elite hockey sense and elite playmaking ability. Zetterberg's been our best player, and that's because his hockey sense is off the charts and he's such a good playmaker. The line of Tatar-Zetterberg-Mantha has been so good for us because, between those three, there's high-level hockey sense, playmaking ability, possession prowess. Vanek was a breath of fresh air because he could finish AND he could make plays out of nothing. I worry that if Larkin and Athanasiou aren't playing with exceptional playmakers all through the next few years, they won't reach their full potential (whether as wingers or centermen). Just sayin'. Give me any of Patrick, Hischier, Vilardi, Tippett and I'll call this season a success.

FWIW... I just ran the NHL Lottery Simulator 50 times. Here are the results:

Or we could try to trade the pick and asset (plus an additional asset/pick, probably) for a top-pairing defenseman. But the market price for that player is seemingly set at Hall/Weber/Subban/Duchene/Landeskog, so...that's probably not happening. Which is fine. I'd be thrilled with any of Patrick, Hischier, Vilardi, Tippett.

WE'RE COMING FOR YOU COLORADO ALL YOUR LAST PLACE IS BELONG TO US

I feel like this is how every game against Boston starts.

#Process #RealGoodDefensively #RealGood #WhenHe'sRealGoodDefensivelyHe'sARealGoodPlayerDefensively #RealGood #Process

Pro Tip: Don't protect DeKeyser in the expansion draft.

I'd like to see our forward group get bigger overall, but our fundamental problem is more a talent problem than it is a size problem. I mean, sure, if we're trying to choose between two kids who are equally talented and equally good skaters but one is 5'10 and one is 6'3, maybe you go with the bigger one. (Maybe.) But, bottom line: we simply need more high-end talent. We're in the hole that we're in because we lack gamebreaking talent. Size -- for forwards, at least -- should be a secondary or tertiary concern. And even if size is a primary concern, it's not like Mantha, Larkin, Athanasiou, Svechnikov are "small and easily thrown around."

Kronwall would be proud.

Welcome to the big show, Mr. Russo. We need you to be Drew Doughty. No pressure.

MANTHA!

He is. Good player, but his skating is a serious weakness.

This has the makings of a long, long night.

I'm definitely holding out hope that the road ahead isn't a long and painful one. If we can draft Patrick/Vilardi, Kailer Yamamoto/Nick Suzuki (someone here mentioned these two a couple days ago, which is cool, cuz they've both been ony my radar for a while now), and then Andrei Svechnikov next year...that's a collection of talent to be really f****** excited about. Flip Nyquist/Tatar + Mantha/Larkin/Athanasiou for a top-pairing defenseman and, in theory, we're back on track -- all within a couple years. But then, that's probably wishful thinking.

Agreed. I think coaching has hampered the team this season; I think that with better coaching, this is a playoff team. BUT, at the end of the day, The Real Problem is that we lack top-end talent. Because we lack top-end talent, virtually every skater on the roster has to play above his station, and that inevitably leads to players struggling to produce (and that would be the case even with really good coaching). That's not to say we should give Nyquist a free pass for the disappointing season he's having. Rather, the point is that he's not really A Problem. He is what he is, which is a solid playmaking winger, a secondary scorer. And, honestly, he's one of our better players. So, if we're looking to move him, it shouldn't be for the sake of moving him. It should be in exchange for a really good young player (preferably a defenseman) and/or a high pick.

I don't want to fan the flames of discontent or bum anyone out, but...Auston Matthews is a generational talent, and he's surrounded by very good players in Mitch Marner, Morgan Rielly, Nazem Kadri, William Nylander, and James van Riemsdyk, all of whom were top-ten picks. And they're all coached by Mike Babcock. I think it's fair to say we have a fairly long and painful road ahead of us. Even if Holland had knocked this deadline out of the park, and even if we somehow land one of the top two players in this year's draft, I'd probably say the same thing. It'll take much more than a Nolan Patrick to truly get us back on the right path, IMO.

To be clear, I was responding to Majsheppard. I'm a card-carrying member of the Holland Has to Go Club. I'm counting down the days until his contract expires and praying his successor isn't Ryan Martin or Kris Draper or any other member of this front office. But I agree with Dickie: Holland's been crap, he did well at this deadline, these aren't mutually exclusive statements.

If you were expecting Holland to "fix the team" this week, your expectations were misplaced. There's no quick and easy fix for this team. We have to rebuild, and we have to be smart about how we do that. Part of that is getting the best return you can get for the assets that you've deemed expendable. So, like, sure -- maybe Holland could've moved Nyquist today. We would've enjoyed the immediate gratification, but we would've been selling low on one of our better assets, because 1) trade deadline week generally isn't the time for shopping non-rental players, and 2) Nyquist has really struggled this season. If we're really serious about fixing mistakes and doing a rebuild the right way, it makes much more sense to be patient and wait. What's the rush?