Dabura

Yay, now TWO whole people agree with me!

Would you be ok with trading Andersson? I think it's something we should consider.

Still, it would be pretty cool if they could grab the lead in the Atlantic with the cameras on them. Big Bad East? Psh.

Agreed on all counts.

I can't believe we got this kid.

So, basically, tell me how I can see this on my TV while spending the least amount of money humanly possible. Just get HBO? (Which I might already have?) For some reason this is one of those things I have no patience for reading about.

So I just came across this: http://www.sbnation.com/2013/5/30/4379816/pierre-mcguire-henrik-zetterberg-nbc I'd totally forgotten about it - but when I was reminded, I said (to myself), "Oh, right, the interview thing!" But the above article has me thinking it might not have been what I - and pretty much everyone - had taken it to be. I like this explanation, from the comments section: But that still begs the question: What did Pierre say? Was he asking a question (maybe a yes/no one), and if so, what was it? Obviously we can't definitively put this to bed without input from Z and/or Pierre, but I'm still curious: What do you guys and gals think?

But who do we move in the here and now? Or are you saying we should grab him in the offseason?

It's easier to hate on Quincey; his costly mistakes are more obvious/glaring, and he takes stupid penalties. And he secretly wants to be back with the Avalanche. And we gave up a first-round pick to bring him back into the organization. And he has no offense to his game (struggling epically to hit the net from the point), which would be ok if he were really solid defensively. And he has kind of a weird-looking face. But, overall, I agree - Kindl hasn't been much better than Quincey this season. It's looking like Kindl might've just been overachieving a bit last season. But, to be fair, he's still relatively young at 26. (Ericsson didn't really come round until he was 28, 29.) Still, Kindl seems to have taken a step back, and it could be argued that Quincey - bad though he's been - has been a bit better than he was last season.

I see Gaborik clashing with Babs. Don't really have much to base that on, though. The big thing is his cap hit. Isn't it 7.5 or something ridiculous like that? No way Holland even tries to take that on.

My only possible explanation is that we, as a team, don't put put any stock in fancy breakaway moves. We're all about team D and such. Where Linus Omark spends 90 minutes every day practicing his shootout moves, Datsyuk and Zetterberg are working on the PK, their back-checking, etc. Not convincing? Yeah, I know. But it's all I can come up with. I mean, it can't be, like, nerves...can it? We're supposed to be a hardened veteran team....

Brunner? OH YES I DID

I think we're both just kinda misunderstanding each other, SOAW. Which is probably my fault. First of all, AAA D2F Club! Hurray! *high-five* Smith - We absolutely do have to be more patient with him. But I'm not patient in these matters. Thus, I hate him and want him to be a forward or shown the door, even though he'll almost certainly be a top defenseman in this league in a few years. I don't think it'd really hurt to give him a look up front, though. I mean, we wouldn't be expecting him to turn into Milan Lucic, just add some speed and punch to our attack. I like the idea, but I've no pride in the matter. I just think, when you watch him, he looks like a forward who's recently been converted to D. He's trying to figure things out. If he wasn't trying to figure things out and was a steady, essential component of our D corps, I wouldn't even consider moving him up front. Maybe he just needs to get some "offense" out of his system? If the plan fails, then just move him back to the blue line. No harm done. Alfie - As with Smith, I think it's worth shot, that's all. If it works, it could be really great for us. If it doesn't work, he goes back to being a forward. I guess it's sort of the opposite of Smith yet also kind of the same: switch him, because, why not? Smith is young and jumpy and has a lot to learn and he's got a few seasons before things really click for him...Alfie is old and wise and about as steady and reliable and experienced as it gets, and he has almost nothing new left to learn or try. So, in both cases, why not give it a shot? It'd be totally "in-house," no assets lost. Ideally, of course, we land a Rafalski type. That is, an elite puck-moving offensive-defenseman who can solidify our defense and boost our offense. Del Zotto's far, far, far from that. I just like his offensive instincts. The problem is we're not getting a top-four defenseman this season. The demand is through the roof, the asking price is ludicrous - it's not happening. So, fine, we just play the kids and give them valuable experience. Which is great, except Alfie came to this team for a Cup this season. And we're really burning away the time we have left with Datsyuk and Zetterberg as ultra-elite players.

I played the game, and I went from D to forward. Not that that really means anything. But I'm not just pulling stuff out of my ass. I really do appreciate how difficult it can be, switching positions. I'm not trying to make light of it or, like, disrespect the game, or whatever. I don't think it's so crazy to look at Smith and say he's playing the wrong position. Actually, I'm not even saying he's playing the *wrong* position, I just think he'd help this team more up front, at least in the short term (i.e. this season). He has good offensive instincts, good speed, reasonable size, and could probably play a fairly gritty game. Another Abdelkader, maybe? (Ideally, we trade him for a great forward, or a great defenseman.) (Yes, I know - "That's why you're not the GM.") As for Alfie, well, I explained the gist of my reasoning in the other thread. I believe that if we're going to win the Cup this season, we'll be needing a presence on the blue line that we flat-out do not have and are not going to be able to acquire via trade...unless maybe Alfie can fill that role. If there's one guy who could, it's probably Alfie. And I say this as a casual fan of the Sens who's seen a lot of Alfie over the years. The only real reason why I think this could work is that he has experience as a defenseman (if not at the highest of levels) and, if you watch him closely, you could make the argument that he sort of thinks the game as a defenseman, e.g. skating backwards when countering a rush in the neutral zone. Obviously being a top-four defenseman in this league - never mind one who can help win a Cup - requires a good deal more than "sort of thinking the game as a defenseman," but, look, we have holes, and I'm trying to think of creative ways to fill them, since we very likely won't be trading, and our roster, as it currently exists, is not good enough to win the Cup. (IMHO.) To get this back on-topic - I do think we need a very offensive-minded defenseman (like Del Zotto?), and maybe it'd be a good thing that he'd be relegated to the third pair. He can add offense, but his screw-ups would be "managed," because of his minutes. I dunno.

Hasn't really lived up to potential and it looks like he's not getting along with Vigneault. Which is weird, because you'd think Vigneault's system would suit him. But he only has four points in sixteen games, and he's starting to get the healthy scratch treatment. Personally, I think he's frustrated. He has skill, talent, potential - but he's a Ranger. No way is he cracking that top-four. Kid needs a change of scenery, IMHO, so I think Sather's making the right call here. (Holy crap, did I just type what I think I typed?)

It almost seems like Dats literally isn't trying. As if he's, like, morally opposed to the whole thing, or something. Frustrating. But then, imagine how all those goalies felt back when he was a sure-thing in the shootouts. Karma? I also wanted to comment on Bert's attempts. Dear Bert, STOP SPINNING. I think there's some kind of secret NHL goalie pact that they will do everything in their God-given powers, and more, to stop bulls*** spin-o-rama moves.

I agree with this. I wouldn't mind a guy like Michal Rozsival. He's old and slow, but he kicked the crap out of us in the 'hawks series.

Quincey-Del Zotto might be a reasonable trade. Quincey might be halfway decent on a team that doesn't play with its collective head up its collective ass every night. And Del Zotto, as good as he may be, has essentially been a bottom-pairing depth defenseman thus far. (Granted, Ericsson might be a depth defenseman on the Rangers.) Sather would probably want Smith or Kindl+pick. I hate Smith, but you don't give up a guy with his potential for Michael Del Zotto. Kindl, on the other hand, I think I could live without him. And Del Zotto's an offensive-minded defenseman like Kindl, so I kinda like that trade. Kronwall DeKeyser Ericsson Alfredsson Del Zotto Lashoff I am totally serious about this make-Alfredsson-a-defenseman thing.

I'm only half trolling. I do these custom roster things all the time. About two a day. Today I'm thinking our top-six is looking ok if Franzen and Tatar can keep clicking together and Weiss finds his game. Our bottom-six, on the other hand...what a mess. When we last won the Cup, we had an absolutely bitchin' bottom-six. Or, at least, that's how I remember it. The Grind Line was there, and so were Helm and Drake and Abdelkader and Probert and Kocur and Wendel Clark and it was awesome. We need to get back to having a bitchin' bottom-six. We need to get back to rolling four very good lines. I know, I know - "No-can-do in today's NHL!" But I don't necessarily buy that. You just have to be really smart about it. "And your definition of 'being really smart about it' is trading for...Zack Kassian, and...Steve Ott." It's just an idea. In about four hours I'll have a different idea and I'll post that one and this one will be but a distant memory. But while we're here... THE CASE FOR ZACK KASSIAN I'm not ready to call Zack Kassian a bust. First of all, the guy's not a guy at all - he's a kid. Know how young this kid is? 22. He's Tatar's age. Gustav Nyquist and Joakim Andersson are 24. Justin Abdelkader is 26. Drew Miller is 29. Point being, all those people who are turning on him need to chill the eff out. (But hating Brendan Smith is ok.) He's a young power-forward. He's still growing, figuring out his body, trying to find his game, and now also adjusting to a new coach and new system. And he plays for the Canucks, so you know he needs a change of scenery. We've been pining for a big, young, right-handed power-forward. If we're gonna get one (via trade), it's probably gonna have to be a young guy who's disappointing his current employers, otherwise we'd have to sell the farm, and that's absolutely not going to happen. http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Gallagher+this+good+gets+Zack+Kassian+with+Canucks/9175989/story.html Doesn't it just scream "Classic Holland Steal/Reclamation Project"? I mean, he's not gonna be our '96-'97 Shanny. But that was pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime trade. We need a big mean Canadian power-forward (with a RH shot). We need a Zack Kassian. Brendan Smith for Zack Kassian, straight up. THE CASE FOR STEVE OTT I love Steve Ott. He could be our Kirk Maltby. He, along with Kassian, would make it harder to play against us. And he'd add some much-needed character. (We're heavy on character players yet somehow low on real character.) One of Joakim Andersson/Kyle Quincey plus a late pick or two for Steve Ott. THE CASE FOR DANIEL ALFREDSSON ON THE BLUE LINE We need to add a high-end top-four defenseman to our blue line. This guy would, ideally, be a right-handed, puck-moving offensive-defenseman. A little bit of Lidstrom, a little bit of Rafalski. He'd have the ability to quarterback the PP, with, among other assets, an absolute rocket of a shot. He wouldn't have to be big or physical or fast; his greatest assets would be his brain ("hockey IQ") and vision. He'd be a veteran, a great leader. And he'd be Swedish. Who does that kinda sound like? (Worth noting: Alfie was, I believe, a defenseman at one point in his career. I think it was long, long before he hit the NHL, though. But I could be wrong.) Would I rather keep Alfie up front and add Dan Girardi or P.K. Subban? Yes. But we have a solid top-three, and a solid top-three is the cap era equivalent of a solid top-four. Which is to say, any solution to our blue line's issues must come from within. Because Holland likes sitting on his hands.

I think we all know he was going for an interview and got shut down. But this thread is a place of hope and dreams, a sanctuary from the tryanny of reality, a playground for the imagination. RUN WILD AND FREE, MY CHILDREN

Henrik Zetterberg Pavel Datsyuk Todd Bertuzzi Johan Franzen Stephen Weiss Tomas Tatar Gustav Nyquist Darren Helm Zack Kassian Drew Miller Steve Ott Justin Abdelkader Niklas Kronwall Danny DeKeyser Jonathan Ericsson Daniel Alfredsson Jakub Kindl Brian Lashoff Jimmy Howard Jonas Gustavsson Also: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/hockey/nhl/news/1999/03/23/wings_clark/

Stroking it?

Ah, I'm disappointed to hear that. (I'm not watching the game. I fear I'm bad luck for the team.)

Kronner was brutal last night. I'm expecting him to rebound with a great game.