Dabura

Anyone else watch Buffalo @ Montreal? A bit of a statement game for Myers, I think. It was clear right away that the Habs were targeting him, trying to rough him up, get under his skin, throw him off his game. He took it for a couple periods, just played hockey, like a good Red Wing would. But in the third period he pushed back, with genuine anger, meanness, truculence, violence. There was a sequence where I actually thought he'd broken Gallagher in half. He didn't, of course. He just bodyslammed, punched, face-raked, crosschecked, speared, and all-around ragdolled him into the ground, all during gameplay (as opposed to a fight), and all without being called for a penalty. He honestly looked like a young Chara. It was pretty awesome.

Kinda harsh, don't you think? Darcy Regier drove the franchise into the ground. Tim Murray's job is to get out from under Regier's mess, which everyone in Buffalo knows and accepts is going to take years, even if they land McDavid. They've got to start somewhere, though, and McDavid/Eichel is as good as it gets. And it's not just McDavid/Eichel. Girgensons is a future 1C and, I believe, one of the few young NHLers who has a shot at being somewhere in the neighborhood of Datsyuk-good. Getting McDavid/Eichel means Girgensons, a future 1C, won't have to be a 1C, which gives them a Datsyuk-Zetterberg one-two punch situation at center. They also have the likes of Reinhart and Ristolainen and Zadorov and McCabe, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they moved Myers (and, say, Stewart) for O'Reilly. "How you like them apples?" Murray asks, sheepishly. And, holy hell, the man's only been on the job for, what, a season and a half? He's just getting started, and, frankly, that's kind of a scary thought. I mean, I get it. We're the Wings, we do things the right way, f*** the Sabres and their shameless tank job. But, remember, there was a time when we were the Dead Things and it looked like the Cup would never return to Detroit. What started the turnaround? We sucked hard in the 1982-83 season, which allowed us to pick fourth overall in the draft, which allowed us to pick Steve Yzerman (though, only because the guy we really wanted - Pat friggin' LaFontaine - had already been picked). That gave us a true franchise player that we could build around, and that's what we did. We got lucky with Fedorov (fourth round, 74th overall). We got lucky with Lidstrom (third round, 53rd overall). We stole some Russians. We got Scotty Bowman. We brought in some outside help. Finally, 14 years after Yzerman was drafted (and not long after we'd considered flipping him for Yashin), we won a Cup. And then we won a couple more. And then we won another one. Which is incredibly impressive. But, the flipside of that is we were a perennial Cup favorite for two straight decades and we only (I know, "only") came away with four Cups. We've only won one in the cap era. All those years with Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Lidstrom, and we only won one Cup. Point being...actually, I don't remember. I went off on a tangent there.

I think Green gets traded. And, as these things usually go, everyone whose team didn't land him will say, "Really? A couple prospects no one's ever heard of? That's it? Huh. Oh well, we didn't need him anyway. He's a LOCKER ROOM CANCER."

My biggest issue with waiting one more year is that the planets really seem to be aligning for us this season. Zetterberg's having an absolute best-case scenario campaign, and the same can probably be said of Datsyuk. (If Datsyuk or Zetterberg starts to falter, we're not winning the Cup. Unless we add a top-end centerman.) Howard's been great, and we've basically been able to spot him a few weeks of rest without it impacting our place in the standings. Special teams, shot suppression, puck possession - our underlying numbers are really damn good for a team that doesn't have any prime-years all-star studs. The East, again, is as wide open as it's ever going to be, and we're right there at the top. This might be (but likely isn't) Babcock's last go-around with the Wings. Maybe most importantly, Babcock and Holland have pretty much come out and said that this team is a year or more ahead of schedule - so whatever The Plan was in the fall, it's safe to say it's changed, or has at least been accelerated. If we add a top-three defenseman, one who can move the puck and put up points and play big minutes, we're as good as any team in the East. If The Right Deal presents itself, Holland should go for it. Strike while the iron is hot. If The Right Deal doesn't present itself...well, I'll be highly skeptical. But I'm used to trade deadline disappointment. Que sera, sera.

Brain fart on my part. Point still stands, though. Interestingly, Holland was just quoted as saying he'll either add a major piece or stand pat. (Source.) With Pulkkinen and Ouellet and Marchenko and maybe Sproul and/or Jensen getting looks, and Holland watching Griffins games in person, and that decision to hold the midseason scouting meetings very early, and the understanding that Babcock wants right shots on the blue line (a longstanding desire, dating at least as far back as the day he told the media he was "pissed off" that the Sharks succeeded in landing Brent Burns), and the fact that this team is a legitimate contender that's one or two key pieces away from being a truly elite team...I get the sense Holland has been looking very hard for The Right Deal. And I totally agree with you - it has to be The Right Deal. I love Yandle. He is a phenomenal hockey player, an incredibly rare specimen, and pretty close to exactly what we need. Handedness might be an issue there, but I'm assuming we'd be sending at least one left-shot defenseman (e.g. Smith) to Arizona, so we'd essentially be upgrading one of our existing lefties. I don't think Kronwall and DeKeyser is really enough to build on; we need an outstanding top three, preferably along the lines of what we had back in Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall. Maybe Yandle isn't right for us, but if we could boast a top three of Kronwall, Yandle, DeKeyser? That'd be great. Maybe DeKeyser has to play on the right side, but I don't see that as a strong argument against bringing Yandle aboard. If we pass on Yandle, I want it to be because the price is simply too high and there's a sense that he likely wouldn't re-sign with us. To be clear, though, I'm not saying it has to be Yandle. He's right at the top of my list, but there are 20 other names I like.

So here's my thoughts on stuff, non-rush job edition. My point is that Holland wouldn't necessarily choose the penny. That is to say, he's not categorically opposed to trading high-end assets. If moving Smith, Pulkkinen, and a first-round pick could get him the right player, he'd do it. In recent years, the main stumbling block has been our system's sheer lack of young, desirable assets, the kind of players that teams would want in return for their big-name players. But now we have a wealth of young talent, far more than we're ever going to be able to fit on the roster. I mean, look at our D situation: we've got Ouellet, Marchenko, Sproul, Jensen, (Almqvist), (Backman), Marshall, and Hicketts in the pipeline, and we have to assume that Kronwall, Ericsson, and DeKeyser are in it for the long haul and that Quincey will either be extended or replaced with a free agent pickup. And, further, let's assume Smith doesn't get traded. That leaves...one roster spot, and the #7 role. Point being, assets will have to be moved. And it's the same kind of deal with the forward corps. So, if a trade is inevitable, why not sell high on a couple pieces and get what we really need right now, which is an elite defenseman who can score 50+ points and elevate this team to "powerhouse" status. Three months ago, I might've said we should wait until next year to make a big move. But this team has exceeded my expectations and is performing about as well as it possibly can without that elite defenseman. And with Eastern Conference supremacy being up for grabs (if the Isles win the East becaue they landed Boychuk and Leddy, I will s*** bricks), and, again, Datsyuk and Zetterberg (and Kronwall) having only so many postseason runs left in them, and with things being so crazy that Don Maloney has come out and said that every Coyote not named Shane Doan is available...I don't really get how someone could say, "Pulkkinen, Smith, and a 1st for Yandle? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Sure, we might win a Cup, but at what cost?!" Like, again - Quincey and a couple months of Legwand cost us two first-round picks and one of our better prospects. And if we want to talk about prospering in the present but suffering in the future, Suter and Parise would've been the ultimate Cup-or-bust signings. You think two or three good pieces for Yandle is insane? Parise and Suter would've made it very, very, very hard to hold on to all of Nyquist, Tatar, DeKeyser, Sheahan, et al. past their first or second contracts. We would've been handcuffed for years. But, at the end of the day, the Cup is everything. You're either rebuilding/retooling, or you're scraping and clawing for the Cup. If there's a chance Holland can get a top-pairing defenseman at a price he can live with, he needs to consider it. And I've no doubt that he is, in fact, making calls and weighing his options.

I should apologize. I had a really hectic day and life has been kicking my ass lately. Which is to say: 1) my responses were rush jobs (at least by my standards), and 2) if there's an undercurrent of pissiness, it's not directed at you (or anyone, for that matter). I'll be posting a non-discourteous, more Dabura-like take.

Word on the street is every Coyote not named Shane Doan can be had, if the price is right. http://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/690924

Ken Holland traded a first-round pick for Kyle Quincey. Ken Holland threw crazy money at Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Had we signed them, "5+ years from now" wouldn't have been a thing anymore. We would've spent the duration of those enormous contracts living year-to-year, selling off young, homegrown assets when they became too expensive to hold on to. (Not necessarily saying it wouldn't have been worth it. Just saying.) Ken Holland traded one of our better prospects and a second-round pick for a rental so that we could limp into the playoffs and keep The Streak alive. Ken Holland courted Stephane Robidas, who was injured at the time and, as he's failed to establish himself as a regular on the Maple Leafs' blue line, is pretty clearly washed up. Ken Holland has pursued Rick Nash, Alex Edler, Jarome Iginla, and probably every other big name under the sun. Eventually, we're going to land one of those big names. Because, at some point, you have to. We added Rafalski in the summer of '07 and Stuart in February of '08. The Kings added Williams and Richards and Carter, and then Gaborik. The Blackhawks added Sharp and Oduya and Hossa. That's half the reason why you stockpile assets in the first place - so that you can trade them. You don't wait to see how each and every one of your promising prospects pans out. If you have your seven D slots filled, and you've got as many as five really good D prospects in the pipeline, and you're a Keith Yandle away from being a Cup favorite, and Keith Yandle is - for the first time ever - known to be available, and you have three more years left with Datsyuk...do you really say, "Well, we have to think about 5+ years from now"? I mean, sure, of course the future's a consideration. But, um, I'm personally not willing to wait 3-to-5 years to see if one of our prospects (at least two of whom inevitably won't be Red Wings, if only because we're not going to have enough room) becomes as good and valuable as Yandle is right now. Our blue line doesn't move the puck well enough and doesn't produce enough offense. Smith isn't producing. Ouellet doesn't have Yandle's offensive upside. Marchenko is a shutdown defenseman. Sproul is a couple years away from being a regular, never mind an impact player. You're telling me we can't afford to part with any of these players, even if we're getting a top-pairing defenseman who can score 50 points for the scoring-challenged Coyotes? We need a Rafalski, and we need him while Datsyuk and Zetterberg are still dominant players. We're going to have to give to get him. If we're going to wait to see if one of our prospects becomes a Rafalski, we're taking a bigger risk than the one we'd be taking if we acquired that player. Because, we don't know where we're going to be 5+ years from now (though, we do know Datsyuk will be gone and Zetterberg will be a shell of the player we have today and Nyquist and Tatar and DeKeyser will be making serious money). I'm not saying we should trade one of our untouchables. I'm assuming we can add a Yandle without having to part with one of our crown jewels. Which is one of the perks of having a ton of assets. You can afford to part with a couple pieces. Pulkkinen isn't a key roster player for us right now, nor is Jurco, nor is Smith, nor is Ouellet, nor is Marchenko, nor is Sproul, nor is the pimple-faced 18-year-old we'd draft with our mid-to-late first-round pick. Remove two or three of these pieces and we're still a contender, and our future is still extremely bright, especially with a top-end defenseman in the prime of his career being added to the fold. We're contenders. Datsyuk and Zetterberg and Kronwall and Nyquist and Tatar and Sheahan and DeKeyser have all avoided major injury this season. The Eastern Conference crown has never been so up-for-grabs. We should make a push. Why say, "Well, it's great that we're contenders, but what about 5+ years from now?" Well...maybe we're contenders 5+ years from now. But...we're contenders...right now...? I'm not talking about selling the farm. I'm talking about moving a D prospect plus Pulkkinen/Jurco. If that's completely out of the question, then we're never going to make a meaningful trade and this team is never going to reach its full potential. We draft and develop well, but not well enough that we can say, "Y'know what, let's try to win with an entirely homegrown roster." Why would we make that a thing? Even if it's possible, it's certainly not realistic. Every Cup-winning team that has ever been has needed some outside help.

Well said. The nice thing about instant gratification - versus what I guess I'll call faithful patience - is that there's an element of certainty. $1,000,000 is $1,000,000, you can have it now, simple. The penny? There's absolutely no guarantee it's ever going to climb anywhere close to $1,000,000. In fact, the odds are very much against that happening.

Concession: Yandle might bolt next summer (not this coming summer, the summer after that) and sign with, say, the Bruins. And we'd feel pretty stupid. But, if we're not moving an untouchable (Nyquist, Tatar, Sheahan, Mantha, Larkin), I think it's worth the risk. At the end of the day, if you're looking like a real postseason threat, then the Cup should be pretty much all that matters to you. The window is open, but it's also closing; we're a damn good team, but we have only a few runs left with a dominant Datsyuk, who remains our best player. We should make the most of these precious few remaining opportunities. My greatest fear is we go into the playoffs this season thinking we're as good as any Eastern team - and then we get our asses handed to us in the first round by Tampa or Montreal or Boston or New York (either one) or even Washington or Florida. And then we say, "Y'know what? We were stupid to think we could win the Cup without adding, at the very least, a top-three offensive defenseman. Oh well, at least we kept the streak alive. Let's see if we can land a big name in free agency."

Holland would absolutely consider Pulkkinen/Jurco + Smith/Ouellet/Marchenko/Sproul + 1st/2nd for Yandle. IMHO, that'd be a solid deal for both sides. We can afford to move a young winger, and the odds are against any of Smith, Ouellet, Marchenko, Sproul ever becoming as valuable as Yandle is right now and will be for the next four or five years (assuming he re-signs with the Wings, which is, admittedly, not a given). Yandle flat-out doesn't get injured (he's an iron man) and he's an extremely good skater; he's going to be effective for years to come. We're talking about one of the premier scoring defensemen. He has exceedingly few peers. Do we need to hang on to all of Smith, Ouellet, Marchenko, Sproul, even when we know we're not going to have enough room for all of them on our blue line? If the answer to that is yes, why are we holding on to them? Because we're hoping one of them might turn into a Keith Yandle, right? So...why not get the real thing, right now, while we still have a few years left with Datsyuk? As for the draft pick - we should be looking to win the Cup within the next three years. A late first-round pick isn't going to be an impact player for the Wings for another five years (if at all). By that time, Datsyuk will be gone and Zetterberg will be a third-liner.

The regression monster is just and merciless.

I've been thinking. Would Yandle really cost one of our untouchables? What about a package of, say, Pulkkinen/Jurco, Smith/Ouellet/Marchenko/Sproul, and a 1st or 2nd? Maybe Maloney would be willing to take on Franzen?

Last season, first wildcard spot.

Sabres GM bemoans 'very, very quiet' trade market [ProHockeyTalk] Sabres' Murray: "I would love to be Kenny Holland" [Nichols on Hockey]

If it ain't broke, break it.

Jurco isn't exactly lighting it up, on one of the best teams in the league at that. He's a fourth-line winger, and we have plenty of those.

Undrafted Giordano has some draft advice for NHL GMs [ProHockeyTalk]

I'd say our true offensive D prospects are Sproul, Ben Marshall, and Joe Hicketts. (And Adam Almqvist.) As for Yandle...I think it's safe to say he's a total pipe dream; he'd likely cost Nyquist or Tatar, and he can become a free agent at the end of next season (so we might only get one full season with him).

Some good reads: http://www.arcticicehockey.com/2014/6/3/5771420/winnipeg-jets-big-mistake-dustin-byfuglien-alexander-burmistrov http://bshockey.com/2014/james-wisniewski-and-the-big-mistake-season-review.html http://www.broadstreethockey.com/2015/1/19/7854163/nhl-plus-minus-stat-awful-flyers-sean-couturier-breakdown

You almost feel like he made the Legwand trade just so he could say, for the rest of time, "Yeah but Legwand tho! Never again!" Like Quincey and how we're never ever ever ever ever going to trade another first-round pick.

Also: f**** the stretch-pass attempts from behind our net. Stop doing it, stop trying it, stop thinking it. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. Maybe the pass connects, and, inevitably, nothing comes of it. More likely, you ice it, or the pass gets picked off in a dangerous area with all your troops way up ice (becuz strech pas$!1)

Kronwall - Ericsson Smith Bad in our end. All night. This whole PROTECT THE FORT! thing needs to be adjusted, especially with our PK starting to suck. Too passive. And, good lord, get the puck out of the zone when you have the chance. It's not the end of the world if you don't do it with full possession. We were playing with fire. Crazy-high shooting percentage ("puck luck"), getting mauled in the faceoff circle, PK is coming down to earth in a big way... ...but the refs really kept the Wild in this game. The officiating standard was a joke. They wanted the comeback, they got it, and then they put away their whistles. Ass hats. Knowing what I know now, I might prefer winning in a shootout. Nice shot in the arm, and there's the peace of mind that sometimes we can actually win the skills competition.

EARTH-SHATTERING REVELATIONS