Dabura

If we had the 2020 equivalents of 2002 Lidstrom, Hull, Shanahan, and Yzerman, they'd probably be gushing over some of our young talent and we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

I've been thinking hard on the 2020-21 2C problem over the past couple of months and I'm sad to say I haven't come up with any fix that I can comfortably classify as both super-convenient and super-realistic. Ideally, Rasmussen is our deus ex machina. That's asking a lot of him tho. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Possibly Byfield, if we get him. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ UFA options: Carl Soderberg, Erik Haula, Mikael Granlund, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ There's probably a smart trade to be made. I dunno what it is tho.

cry moar Say it ain't so!

HYPE! LGRW!

Why not both? Yzerman can multitask.

Probably a bit of both, somewhere in the middle. I don't fault Yzerman for letting Vanek and Witkowski walk, regardless of his reasons, cuz Vanek is just too old and Witkowski is useless on the ice. I guess what I'm saying is let's find some guys who bring the X factor intangibles to the table *and* can actually play regular shifts in the NHL.

By all accounts, Vanek was really good for our locker room, a solid veteran mentor. Maybe there was something to that. Maybe this team needs some weird uncles like Vanek, Ott, Witkowski. Filppula seems like a nice guy, but he also seems like a boring guy. Nemeth seems like a nice guy, but he also seems like a boring guy. Every veteran on our team seems pleasant and boring. Half of them are taking beatings every night and we just...kinda...take it. Because we're a team that is nice and boring and the Nielsens and Greens and Howards are just waiting for the sweet release of retirement at this point. Maybe Mantha's "FITE ME BRO" crusade is actually a cry for help. Gimme some character. Gimme a pulse. Gimme some Weird Uncle Energy. Gimme some guys who will break your jaw for running our goalie or maybe even for no reason at all. Milquetoast Wings hockey was tolerable when we were still winning lots of games. We're not winning lots of games. Even if we get Lafreniere and add a good UFA or two, we still won't be anywhere near as deep as last season's Lightning...who, for all their high-end talent, got swept out of the first round by a blue-collar underdog team that knew how to jam and check high-end teams, because that's what Tortorella teams do. Seems like Tkachuk is pretty good at walking the thin line of (il)legality. That first hit he put on Kassian last night technically isn't illegal and I'm not sure he was hoping for head trauma. Second one was boarding. I honestly can't remember Torres's worst infractions, so I dunno how Tkachuk's trademark antics stack up against Torres's. But I think Tkachuk does count as a star player and that probably gives him a layer of "suspension armor" that Torres was never going to own.

I appreciate the thoughtful response. Truly. We're prob'ly gonna continue to disagree on some points, but I respect that you're putting the work in and you're not just phoning it in. There isn't much that truly bugs me about Zadina, but I'll freely admit that I really wish he had more explosiveness in his skating and I'm not sure how I didn't pick up on this when I watched him play in junior. Something else that bugs me: At one point in the 2017-18 season, I was thinking Quinn Hughes was the #3 guy in the draft. I feel like I should've stuck to those guns. I mean, hindsight is 20/20 and all that, but yeah. Man, not placing in the top two in that draft was such a f***ing bummer. I loved Dahlin (still do) and I loved Svechnikov (still do). I guess that's why I'm ok with tanking this season. I mean, I'm *not* really ok with it, but I get it. Do we *need* a Lafreniere? Yes. Do we *need* a Byfield? Yes. Stutzle's doing well enough this season that he's starting to creep up on Byfield in that #2 spot for me.

JUST A SMALL TOWN GIRL

All the money. All the term. Give it to him. Please.

Mentioned this in the GDT: Kassian probably went overboard. He definitely disrespekted da code. But I don't even care. Going mercilessly HAM on a team's alpha after that alpha has taken at least two runs at you is pretty much the only form of deterrence that's actually worth a damn. I unironically want Kassian in a Wings sweater next season. If we get Lafreniere, I unironically want Kassian playing on Lafreniere's line.

Aight, I'm out. Seeya next GDT!

We should sign Zack Kassian this summer.

Intentionally knocking the net off like that should be a penalty shot AND a power play.

Same, same.

OMG A GOAL

Red Wings: "Hold my suck beer."

Welcome aboard the suck ship. We just struck a suck iceberg and we're taking on suck water and soon we'll be at the bottom of the suck sea.

lmao the Wings are stone cold savages. I think he's been hurt. I don't follow them super closely tho, so I don't know the exact deets.

I don't want to know.

The worst part is that was a bad pass attempt from Zadina that directly led to the shorty.

Blashill's getting fired tonight, right? Yzerman's got Laviolette all lined up, right?

nice thiiiiiiiiiiiings

Tonight we shall finally answer the ultimate question, once and for all: Can we, in fact, have nice things? (And if not, why?)

Eichel is a godless ginger. LGRW!