Do we need a trade to get our offence going ?

[krsmith17 7,191]

You're right in that he has been inconsistent when it comes to his point totals, but that is mostly the result of the pairings being mish-mashed... He was playing great along side Paetsch, but not as hot when paired with Evans. I think Paetsch is a great vet, that makes anyone he plays with, better. I really hope the Griffins hold on to him. But that's just speaking of his point totals, in every game I've watched this season, Sproul always sticks out in a positive way (with the exception of one game, he just looked off for whatever reason...). He is a very smooth skater, and is fleet of foot for such a big guy, he is becoming much better positionally, and has improved on his defensive game a lot. That is still his weakness and I do believe he still has a little ways to go yet, before he is a full time NHLer, but I don't think he's as far behind as some people think either.

He did play that one game last season against St. Louis and he didn't look that out of place then. He actually played a pretty strong game, getting a few shots on goal and a couple decent looks. He did make one untimely pinch if I recall correctly, but that all comes with maturing and developing as a player, and his game has come a long way in the past 8 months since then...

Anyway, the Griffins are playing in a half hour, and I expect another big game for Sproul. A big 2 point night coming up...

[Dabura 12,206]

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

“You’ve got to play a bunch of seasons before you really understand that it’s all about position and not running around and making bad reads,” he said. “For young guys to come in and be really effective defensemen, like [Drew Doughty and Aaron Ekblad], they’re pretty special players to be able to read the game the way they do at such a young age.”

Giordano was asked, if he were an NHL general manager with a late-round draft pick to use on a defenseman, what would he look for?

“The number one thing is hockey IQ,” he said. “Just look for a guy who reads the game well and sees the ice. At the end of the day, playing in your own zone is going to take a while. I think if you can look for guys who can move the puck and make plays, those are guys you can build around.”

[nawein 324]

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

This is something I've been saying for ages. This is mostly the basis for my dislike for Smith and Ericsson and why I like Ouellet. It's the reason I think Sproul will take a while to be good in the NHL. Hockey IQ is harder to teach than physical attributes and it's more important.

[Buppy 1,720]

That explains why Adam Almquist is...wait, nm...

[joesuffP 1,746]

It's nice to see see Holland acknowledge his mistake trading away Jarnkrok for a rental. Looks like we'll go another season without upgrading the defense which sucks but is probably the right move

[Euro_Twins 4,475]

It's nice to see see Holland acknowledge his mistake trading away Jarnkrok for a rental. Looks like we'll go another season without upgrading the defense which sucks but is probably the right move

Jarnkrok isn't exactly lighting it up, on one of the best teams in the league at that. He's a 3rd line center, and we have plenty of those.

[joesuffP 1,746]

Jarnkrok isn't exactly lighting it up, on one of the best teams in the league at that. He's a 3rd line center, and we have plenty of those.

Still wasn't a smart move. I'm happy we made the playoffs of course but it was short sighted, we lost an asset no matter how you look at it. Don't get me wrong this move didn't bother me, it's just nice to see a GM admit his mistake

Edited January 24, 2015 by joesuffP

[Dabura 12,206]

Jarnkrok isn't exactly lighting it up, on one of the best teams in the league at that. He's a 3rd line center, and we have plenty of those.

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.

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

Jarnkrok isn't exactly lighting it up, on one of the best teams in the league at that. He's a 3rd line center, and we have plenty of those.

Hes playing on the 3rd line like you mentioned with matt Cullen and Gabriel bourque , don't think he's gonna get big numbers with those linemates .... He's still 23

I find it funny how holland is now saying he paid a heavy price considering when the trade happened he was basically trying to convince everyone jarnkrok was worthless

[PavelValerievichDatsyuk 1,935]

Hes playing on the 3rd line like you mentioned with matt Cullen and Gabriel bourque , don't think he's gonna get big numbers with those linemates .... He's still 23

I find it funny how holland is now saying he paid a heavy price considering when the trade happened he was basically trying to convince everyone jarnkrok was worthless

That didn't happen.

I don't really read it as Holland admitting a mistake. He's just saying that you can't do that every year. He defends the move saying the line carried us for a while and gave us hope, which it did. THat was the purpose - make the playoffs.

I don't think it was a mistake anyway. We made the playoffs - it was a necessary evil. There was little chance Jarnkrok would find a space on a team that has so many centers that Weiss is on 4th line wing. Jarnkrok could have been used in a trade for a long term need (RH D), but who knows if having him would make a deal happen that won't without him

[frankgrimes 1,836]

That didn't happen.

I don't really read it as Holland admitting a mistake. He's just saying that you can't do that every year. He defends the move saying the line carried us for a while and gave us hope, which it did. THat was the purpose - make the playoffs.

I don't think it was a mistake anyway. We made the playoffs - it was a necessary evil. There was little chance Jarnkrok would find a space on a team that has so many centers that Weiss is on 4th line wing. Jarnkrok could have been used in a trade for a long term need (RH D), but who knows if having him would make a deal happen that won't without him

That's what most people would have assumed, boohoo the streak would have maybe ended but Jarnkrok had a nice value back then and maybe he could have been packaged with other prospects to land someone like Boychuck. I mean how can you not beat the offer of 2 nd rounders

Hollands job is to defend the trade as much as possible so I'm not blaming him for doing so but I blame him (rightfully) for making the trade and getting robbed by Poile.

[krsmith17 7,191]

frank, "Holland's job is to defend the trade as much as possible"? No, Holland's job is to make this team as competitive as he possibly can, every single year... That involves making trades to improve the team in the now, without mortgaging the future, keeping in mind the team 5 years from now. I'll admit, I was a little shocked by what we had to give up to get Legwand here for a few months, and I was a little disappointed at the time. However, if anyone thinks, that trade mortgaged the future, or even set us back, are not looking at things clearly. Jarnkrok is a pretty decent young player, and I think he still has the potential to be a 40-50 point guy in this league. But that's the type of production that can be replaced any year by a FREE agent... which in my opinion has already been done this past summer, with the signing of Tomas Nosek.

People really need to get over this minuscule botch on Holland's resume, it was one minor bad, not awful trade... Also, just because it doesn't matter to you, believe it or not, the streak is important to a lot of fans, and the entire organization, Holland did a great job in keeping that intact.

[joesuffP 1,746]

Making the playoffs was a good character builder for these young guys and they were integral in getting us there. Also gave them a chance to see what playoff hockey is all about and hopefully are better prepared this year

[DickieDunn 2,571]

Still wasn't a smart move. I'm happy we made the playoffs of course but it was short sighted, we lost an asset no matter how you look at it. Don't get me wrong this move didn't bother me, it's just nice to see a GM admit his mistake

I still think he was told to get a center. People need to remember that Holland has bosses too. Playoff revenue is also free money, and even owners like Illitch like free money, particularly when they're building a huge complex downtown that includes a new arena.

Edited January 24, 2015 by DickieDunn

[jimmyemeryhunter 2,747]

Jarnkrok is a pretty decent young player, and I think he still has the potential to be a 40-50 point guy in this league. But that's the type of production that can be replaced any year by a FREE agent... which in my opinion has already been done this past summer, with the signing of Tomas Nosek.

Plus nosek is a big body, 6'2'' over 200lbs, and not that long ago people were clamoring about how we need to stop drafting these small skilled guys and get bigger, tougher, and harder to play against.

I just don't see when were going to need him unless we have another string of centers go down...

But I think he could be a jori lehterä type player.

[Jesusberg 1,256]

frank, "Holland's job is to defend the trade as much as possible"? No, Holland's job is to make this team as competitive as he possibly can, every single year... That involves making trades to improve the team in the now, without mortgaging the future, keeping in mind the team 5 years from now. I'll admit, I was a little shocked by what we had to give up to get Legwand here for a few months, and I was a little disappointed at the time. However, if anyone thinks, that trade mortgaged the future, or even set us back, are not looking at things clearly. Jarnkrok is a pretty decent young player, and I think he still has the potential to be a 40-50 point guy in this league. But that's the type of production that can be replaced any year by a FREE agent... which in my opinion has already been done this past summer, with the signing of Tomas Nosek.

People really need to get over this minuscule botch on Holland's resume, it was one minor bad, not awful trade... Also, just because it doesn't matter to you, believe it or not, the streak is important to a lot of fans, and the entire organization, Holland did a great job in keeping that intact.

So then what is Pulkkinen's potential in terms of points? I'd gauge him at around 25-30G and 20-25A, especially considering he'll most likely be a Top 9, not Top 6 players on this team.

Seems like it wouldn't be mortgaging the future to include him in a package, either.

[krsmith17 7,191]

I think those point totals are fairly accurate, but it's not Pulkkinen's point totals that we'd be missing, it's the element that he brings to the team. How many right-handed snipers do we currently have on this team that can shoot the puck as well as he can? Also, I never once said anything about trading Pulkkinen would mortgage the future, I just think it would be a foolish, short-sighted move at this point in his career. I wasn't happy when Jarnkrok got traded, but even then I knew it wasn't a huge blow. I wouldn't be happy if Pulkkinen got traded either, especially if it were for another rental...

[DickieDunn 2,571]

Holland should trade for an elite defenseman and a power forward. But only if he can get them for guys I don't really like. And if he doesn't get that done, I'll spend the next 8 months telling everyone how badly he failed and that a GOOD GM would have been able to do it, because 5 average to bad players equals one really good player. Like that time I went to a BMW dealer and tried to talk him into trading me a brand new Z4 in exchange for an '02 Mountaineer, a '09 Ranger, an '87 Escort, and '86 Daytona, a transmission from an old Cutlass Supreme, an '89 Blazer, a '91 Taurus with a blown up engine, and my weird uncle's old Camaro. That's like 7 cars plus a tranny for ONE car, super great deal.

[DatsyukianDekes 2,428]

frank, "Holland's job is to defend the trade as much as possible"? No, Holland's job is to make this team as competitive as he possibly can, every single year... That involves making trades to improve the team in the now, without mortgaging the future, keeping in mind the team 5 years from now. I'll admit, I was a little shocked by what we had to give up to get Legwand here for a few months, and I was a little disappointed at the time. However, if anyone thinks, that trade mortgaged the future, or even set us back, are not looking at things clearly. Jarnkrok is a pretty decent young player, and I think he still has the potential to be a 40-50 point guy in this league. But that's the type of production that can be replaced any year by a FREE agent... which in my opinion has already been done this past summer, with the signing of Tomas Nosek.

People really need to get over this minuscule botch on Holland's resume, it was one minor bad, not awful trade... Also, just because it doesn't matter to you, believe it or not, the streak is important to a lot of fans, and the entire organization, Holland did a great job in keeping that intact.

Bingo. People seem to forget the most important thing to an organization is making the playoffs and getting a ton of extra revenue, not necessarily to please the fans by not trading Jarnkrok to miss the playoffs. It isn't all about us fans sometimes, in fact I have no issue with the move then, and still don't. Anderson was our #1 center due to all the injuries, we would have bombed the rest of the season if not for this move.

People need to get over it and realize we are spoiled, imagine having the Leafs for a team or Buffalo, would you even watch half the games? We should be thankful Holland is running this team and making such moves instead of falling in the standings (which I'm certain a portion of the fanbase would stop following the Wings).

[PavelValerievichDatsyuk 1,935]

That's what most people would have assumed, boohoo the streak would have maybe ended but Jarnkrok had a nice value back then and maybe he could have been packaged with other prospects to land someone like Boychuck. I mean how can you not beat the offer of 2 nd rounders

Yeah, but The Bruins wouldn't have traded within their own division. I'm not really sure that "Jarnkrok had a nice value back then" (he and a pick did only get us a rental Legwand - which was a bit of robbery, but prices are high around the league) and what other trades were possible? It's the land of hypotheticals and hard to pin down.

[Son of a Wing 1,644]

Mike Richards on waivers...

Not that I want him...but it's interesting ...

[DatsyukianDekes 2,428]

Mike Richards on waivers...

Not that I want him...but it's interesting ...

But he's a good ole' Canadian boy!

[Jesusberg 1,256]

Next up, Jakub Kindl on waivers?

[frankgrimes 1,836]

Should have bought him out in the summer. Would be a great addition for some teams in need veteran leadership

[Dabura 12,206]

Sabres GM bemoans 'very, very quiet' trade market [ProHockeyTalk]

“It’s been quiet, to be frank,” he said. “It’s been very, very quiet. We’re fairly close to the deadline and I didn’t expect it. I don’t expect every team to be active, but there usually are a small amount of teams that don’t wait for the deadline, that like to get it done before the deadline.”

Sabres' Murray: "I would love to be Kenny Holland" [Nichols on Hockey]

On how he has a dream job and if he’s having fun listening to trades:

“No. It’s no fun. I would love to be... who? I would love to be Kenny Holland. 23, 22 years making the playoffs. Not having GMs call you about available players because there’s nobody available. And the only trade you have to make, each and every year around the deadline, is to add a veteran guy to play on your third line or whatever that you feel could put you over the top, and that may be a second round pick. If it’s a second line player, maybe a first round pick. And you know you don’t even mind giving up a first round pick because you have that type of team. That would be fun, to me.