e_prime

...but they don't suspend Brown for his hit on Schultz? https://sports.yahoo.com/no-suspensions-just-fines-dustin-231459117.html “I’m going to close on him. He stumbles, toe picks. I don’t drive him into the wall or anything,” Brown said afterward via LA Kings Insider. “Also, closing on the play, at the most it’s probably a two, I think. I mean, who knows because of the protocol and all that, but it’s one of those plays where I’m going to close and he’s in an unfortunate spot.” Bologna. Schultz is already down before you start to "close on him" Ya followed through on a guy whose already on his knees.

...but was he ELITE?

I thought that was Maltby's claim to fame.

Rumor: Jack Johnson is gonna get that trade he so badly wants. ...but it's going to be to a team he doesn't want to go to, isn't going to give him the ice time he wants, and will further expose him as the defenseman he has become resulting in a bad showing for his pending UFA status this offseason. I get it, dude. You need a nice contract to fix all your money woes. ...but your playoff bound team needs you even in the limited role you've got... and you wanna ask for a trade right now? ???

I'm okay with either Nyquist or Tatar being traded... maybe even both. What do we think either of them would net us?

HERE'S MORE FELTCHING OF YOUR RUMOR*! *note: actual tangling and collision is not featured in this video. just some helping and hopping. Remember the days when plenty of LGW (including myself) wanted BOGO?

Dude. Flesh out your rumors. Additionally, Kane got tangled with Bogo in practice and injured him. Ankle. Out 4 - 6 weeks. So Kane had a GREAT practice today.

#TrueRumor The only deal I wanna hear about between DET and ARIZ (really Friedman?) is for OEL.

I love you guys, but can we please not retread either of these roads when it comes to E. Kane. In other Sabres news, it's possible that they're already in sell mode. Possibly panic mode. Whatcha all think about Ristolainen? (Note the bolded emphasizing the unlikeliness of this move) https://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2017/12/3/16729206/buffalo-sabres-trade-rumors-evander-kane-ryan-oreilly-rasmus-ristolainen-benoit-pouliot-sam-reinhart What do you think it would take to get this done? For all the talent they have in Eichel, that team is still trash and unlikely to improve as is.

Seems reasonable.

Pass. Kane does not make this team better.

Git 'er done, Kenny.

It doesn't seem to me that @krsmith17 is one to "oh, I told you so" in either direction -- wether it be success or flop -- so I don't know why y'all wanna go so hard at him.

He got a game.

MANtha!

"Eff him up, MANtha!" During the scrum, Jimmy Howard is thirsty to beat someone's ass.

He's a BEAST!

Russian Twitter Bot

I certainly don't think we can build a roster with all of our important RFAs, Green, Ericsson and trade no forwards. SO, I'd love to see you crunch the numbers and build a roster with Green, Larkin, Mantha, Athanasiou, Mrazek, and whatever other RFAs you deem worthy of keeping, while also retaining $2.25 million in Ericsson cap dollars and not moving a currently signed forward. I'm not saying it can't be done. I'd just like to see your thoughts on it. PM me.

Cost of buyout without giving up an additional asset: $1,416,667 x 4 years. $2.8 million in savings over the next two years when it probably matters most in signing RFAs. EVEN IF Holland were able to move Ericsson and garner more savings than $2.8 million, I still don't think giving up mid-range assets or draft picks just to unload a guy who has only two years left on his contract makes sense. That mid-range asset may just be the guy that takes Ericsson's spot for a fraction of the cost in two years. That doesn't help us in the long run. Ultimately, this point is mute. We aren't going to need the $2 million, or 2.8 million, or even 3 million in Ericsson savings to get any of our RFAs re-signed. Which is the only reason he'll be traded or bought out. Those dollars are going to come from Green being traded, a forward being traded, and/or Howard or Mrazek not being on the books next year. I'll just say it right now. Jonathan Ericsson will finish out his contract in the Wings organization. Somebody save this post because if I'm wrong, I'll buy a round for the pool party.

I don't over or under value Ericsson. He is what he is. What he has in upside (size) I don't think he tends to use it effectively and what people see as his downside (a lack of puck handling ability in pressure situations) is scrutinized to the utmost detail. Would I rather have Ericsson at a more reasonable cap hit? Absolutely. Would I mind if he were traded? Not one bit. Would I mind retaining salary and giving something else away (pick or prospect) just to have him off this squad? Hell Yes! I would. Just keep him or buy him out. /broken record

I don't think it's worth it to trade Ericsson if we have to "pay" someone to take him. A middle round pick and retained salary for someone to take Ericsson off our hands? Gee... wonder what the return on that would actually be? A slightly higher, middling pick and a defensive prospect that probably isn't much better than what we've already got. It certainly wouldn't set us back but ultimately, you're looking at a deal that is essentially: "What else can we give you to essentially get nothing of worth back?" We either need to suck it up and deal with the last of his contract, OR if we really need the cap space; buy him out.

...but would do wonders for Detroit's future? I certainly haven't had a large enough sample size of Blashill as coach to really make a clear decision on him. There are certainly things about the way he coaches that drive me crazy, but there were things about the way Bowman and Babcock coached the team that drove me crazy too.

Custance on Ericsson:

From @Kaaaaaahhhhhhhhnnnnnn