Dabura

Agreed, and agreed, and...agreed. 4-1 now. It's over.

Edzo talks about how Toews, like Datsyuk and Bergeron, get it done on both ends of the ice. "That's how special these players are," he says, "particularly Toews." Such an Edzo thing to say. Anyway, Blackhawks score two goals early in the third and this is looking pretty over for the Blues. I feel bad for them. You have such a good regular season, and then you face the Blackhawks. Can't say they didn't have their chances in this game, though. Something like 54 straight power plays.

He was our best prospect. He had a very bright future here, until he didn't, because he was traded. He was essentially our only high-end center prospect, and he's right-handed. If a center logjam was an issue, he could've been moved to the wing, which Babcock likes doing with young, inexperienced centers anyway. My question was, How many times did Holland say he wouldn't sacrifice futures for the short-term? (More to the point, maybe, How many times has Holland talked up the importance of drafting and building from within and developing what you have in the pipeline? You know what I'm saying.) By trading Jarnkrok for Legwand, he moved our crown jewel for...David Legwand. And very possibly only a few games from him. Like I've said elsewhere, I'm not looking to s*** on Holland for any and every little reason. But, so far, this deal was not worth it. If, however, Legwand re-ups with us and goes on to be a key piece for a few seasons and we push deep into the playoffs, I'll feel a lot better about it. Jarnkrok is a very, very good player. I've been high on him for some time now.

I worded this kind of awkwardly. Basically, I think he'd be a good add for a good team. If you played for the Canucks this season, you probably came out looking like half the player you truly are. The team was a disaster.

I believe they're thinking regular buyout. Because it's the Canucks, I'm not necessarily convinced cutting him loose means he wouldn't be worth a look. Like, the big knock on him seems to be that he was a streaky point producer this season. I feel like that's...not a big issue, especially since they need all the help they can get on the power play, and that's where he really shines. I like him. I think he's a solid top-four defenseman on a good team that knows what it's doing.

Well, I think the "He is Zetterberg 2.0" statement - if people are actually making it - is actually fair enough in the larger context of this debate. The point being, here's a guy who projects as another Zetterberg. And we traded him. For a few games of service from David Legwand. If another GM had pulled that trigger, my guess is everyone here would be laughing at him. Moving your top prospect is a big deal, especially when it's obviously a last-minute panic move. How many times did Holland say we wouldn't be sacrificing key pieces of our future for short-term payoff? It stinks. We basically have to re-sign Legwand.

I can't believe Backes is playing, and looking pretty much like himself. "Brookbank is one of those ultimate team players," yo. What has Oshie ever done???

Oshie ties it at one! Nearing the end of the first.

I worry that he wouldn't be the same player on a non-elite team. Plus, he's already 35. If he were bought out, absolutely, do it. But I don't see us getting him in a trade.

Man, that shooting %. Shooting what he was shooting meant he was inevitably going to crash equally hard and it wasn't going to be pretty. Granted, that's not really a reason or an explanation. Rich's list pretty much covers it, I think. IMHO, the biggest thing he's very small and non-physical and he doesn't have nearly enough postseason experience to know how to make that work for him in a tight-checking series, let alone against Team Zdeno. The Bruins - arguably the best defensive team in the league - knew they had to contain him, and they did it. And you also have to consider other factors like our ugly blue line and the time we spent hemmed in our end (I'm gonna beat this horse all summer long). Take away 4-5 offensive zone faceoffs and you're taking away good ice time from the kid line. I think he's going to be a legitimate top-six scoring winger in this league. I think he is a legitimate top-six scoring winger in this league. This was a learning experience. He'll be better for it.

How do we feel about Jason Garrison? Nux fans think he may be a buyout candidate. At the very least, he'd probably help our power play.

http://msn.foxsports.com/detroit/story/what-s-next-for-the-red-wings-042714 I heard he's going to Minnesota.

No one's saying he's Zetterberg. They're saying he could ultimately rise to that level. That's his projection, and I don't think it's very far off. The issue, of course, is that the Wings' prospect development is second to none, so I'm not sure he's going to reach his full potential in Nashville's system. Then everyone will say SEE. HE'S NOT ZETTERBERG. YOU FOOLS.

I like Perlini. He played in England, kinda sorta like Babcock. He spent his bantam and midget years with Belle Tire. His brother plays for the Walleye. All of which seems *cosmically suggestive*. But the big thing is I like him as a player. Big frame with room to grow, great speed (great skater), very skilled with the puck.

Are you implying Legwand is a Terminator, sent from the future to prevent Evgeni Malkin from being able to impregnate Sarah Connors of Stanley Cup of Chowder?

The roster is hilariously awesome. It's kinda bittersweet for me, though. Knowing Blashill's going to be plucked by the Leafs and s***. blargh.

Typo. That should be "spectaculular."

Ultimately, it comes down to puck possession. Great defense is what gets you there. Great defense is more than just d-zone coverage. It's the transition game, the first passes. Great offense comes from great defense. Great defense doesn't come from great offense. The Kings are so good defensively because they don't spend any time in their zone. Their defensemen know how to manage the puck once they regain possession. If they have the puck and they're not forechecking or cycling in the o-zone, they're pushing the play up the ice, away from Quick (who, yes, does benefit greatly from all this). That means they're not embarking on African safaris deep within their zone every 40 seconds like we are. They're spending a lot of time on the attack, because they're spending little time in their zone. They're spending little time in their zone because they "defend" well. They move the puck out of their zone and through neutral ice well. Arguably the best top three we've ever had is Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall. Three offense-minded, puck-moving, possession-savvy veteran defensemen. Lidstrom and Rafalski especially - they knew how to take care of business in their own end and put us on the attack with brilliant breakouts, a quick-strike transition. And that's saying nothing of their work in the o-zone. They were spectacular quarterberbacks, and they could bomb it from the points. We miss the old Mule. We miss Z and D in their prime. But, more than anyone else, we miss Lidstrom and Rafalski, and the luxury of being able to play Kronwall on the second pairing. (I'd also take Stuart over Quincey.) I mean, think about it. Our forward corps isn't bad, even with the injuries we've had. It's actually quite good. It should've been scoring at a much better clip. What went wrong? Was it beause we just needed one more top-sixer? Was it because we didn't have Thomas Vanek? Would Vanek have been the difference? Doubtful. What we need is a veteran top-four defensemen who, above all else, does good things with the puck.

Great defense. This shouldn't really be up for debate.

For the record, I was being facetious. Also for the record, it's Simmonds. Punk.

I've wondered about this. At the end of the day, we (especially me, I guess, given all the s*** I've talked about him in the past four hours) probably aren't getting even half the full story, and he probably deserves the benefit of the doubt. Even by his streaky standards, he was really off here in the final stretch. One thing that's worth keeping in mind (and, again, I'm calling myself out more than anyone else) is that concussions can really, really mess you up in many different ways. Mix that together with what I guess we'll call Anxiety Issues, and maybe we should be applauding him for pushing on through some really bad stuff rather than trashing him for things that might be a great deal more complicated than "He's lazy and complacent." At the very least, we should probably reserve total judgment. (I'm looking at you, Dabura.) Also, I found it interesting that Babs made a point of, yes, calling Franzen out, but also saying he's a good man and a good family man. My understanding is that that's pretty much the highest compliment Mike Babcock feels he can pay a person. (He said something earlier this season about Alfie and how being a good man and a good family man is the ultimate thing and everything hockey-related is secondary. Unless I'm remembering it wrong.) OK, that's my monthly Politically Correct TL;DR post.

The recapture penalty actually wouldn't be nearly as bad as many people seem to think. Holland does have to be careful, though. Lots of kids and lots of cap space is cool, but eventually those kids will be making serious money.

Actually, that'd leave pretty much no room for any of the kids, now and in the future. But my point still stands. The blue line must improve, and substantially. This whole replace-Lidstrom-and-Rafalski-with-Kyle-Quincey thing has been fun, but by "fun" I mean "a waste of two of the few good years Datsyuk and Zetterberg have left." No more.

http://kuklaskorner.com/tmr/comments/red-wings-bruins-game-5-quick-take-just-too-little-too-late-and-a-summer-of Lots I could quote, but I agree with what Craig Custance says here: We need outside help on the back end. I love what we have in the pipeline, but I want to see us be as competitive as we can be in the here and now. (Plus, we know there will be injuries, so the kids will get opportunities one way or another.) If we legitimately bolster the blue line with a high-end veteran, we fix 90% of our problems. Ehrhoff would be huge. Ehrhoff + Boyle/Niskanen would be Christmas.

I'm down with it. I just feel like he'd probably cost quite a bit, given the state of the Caps. If I'm trading Nyquist or Tatar, I want a sure-thing impact player, probably a top-pairing defenseman. I do think Dustin Penner is worth considering. I feel like he and Datsyuk would work well together.