Athanasiou Signed 1 year $1.4 mil

[kickazz 5,459]

31 minutes ago, DickieDunn said:

AA is also young enough to learn to be more than a one trick pony, assuming he has a good coach.  Playing a year in the KHL away from Blashidiot might be good for him.

KHL doesn't have good coaches and playing on a s*** team in a mediocre league and a 39 year old washed up Datsyuk will probably do him bad. Going up against Crosby, McDavid, Kane will do him good. Learning to play against a team coached by Babcock, Quennvelle, Trotz will increase his hockey IQ.

But you're too fixated on Blashill's lap to understand those elements of the NHL.

Edited September 10, 2017 by kickazz

[LeftWinger 4,959]

Well, if we aren't  going to sign him, may as well trade his rights.

[kickazz 5,459]

2 hours ago, Jonas Mahonas said:

AA gets benched for Drew Miller on the Red Wings.  Then gets 13 mins when he's in.  You act like he's our #1 center.  Your argument here is completely void.

Intelligent response.

[Andy Pred 48 337]

no news at all over in the KHL about AA signing for any team at the moment.

[PavelValerievichDatsyuk 1,935]

The KHL season already started. Most teams have already played 7-8 games of the 60 game season  That doesn't mean he won't sign there, but I think it looks less likely that he'll go there. 

I mean, wouldn't he get a fraction of the 3 mill offer taken off for the missed games? if so, the financial incentive would get less and less as this continues. 

[kickazz 5,459]

1 hour ago, Jonas Mahonas said:

Thank you.  

When has AA ever gone up against Crosby, McDavid, or Kane?

That's right.  Never.  Zetterberg gets that assignment.  And he will get it for another 2 years.

So on one page, you say AA has issues with his end to end game and backchecking/defense.  Then on another page, you say he's going to go up against the world's best offensive players if he stays in Detroit.

Which is it, Kickazz?

Both. But you're not intelligent enough to understand  that 

You are a good boy though. 

Edited September 10, 2017 by kickazz

[kickazz 5,459]

10 minutes ago, Jonas Mahonas said:

I guess that's the closest you have ever been to admitting you're wrong.  I will take it.

No I'm still right honey. 

Edited September 10, 2017 by kickazz

[DickieDunn 2,571]

Wingers don't need to be all that great defensively, just competent.  Confidence and scoring ability is far more important.  AA isn't that far away from being good enough in his own end, he needs a coach who allows him to play.

[kickazz 5,459]

3 hours ago, DickieDunn said:

Wingers don't need to be all that great defensively, just competent.  Confidence and scoring ability is far more important.  AA isn't that far away from being good enough in his own end, he needs a coach who allows him to play.

Except he's a natural center. 

Edited September 11, 2017 by kickazz

[krsmith17 7,191]

7 minutes ago, kickazz said:

Except he's a natural center. 

Why does that matter when he's played mostly on the wing and looks like that's where the Wings will likely play him in the future?

[joesuffP 1,746]

I love how AA is put on this pedestal for really pedestrian numbers but when Nyquist broke into the league he had way better numbers but now he sucks (to some people)

[DickieDunn 2,571]

2 hours ago, kickazz said:

Except he's a natural center. 

So was Franzen.  Lots of wingers started as centers.  With his skill set, I've always considered him a better bet at wing.

[kickazz 5,459]

2 hours ago, krsmith17 said:

Why does that matter when he's played mostly on the wing and looks like that's where the Wings will likely play him in the future?

We don't know that. Zetterberg didn't start playing center until later on. Both AA and Larkin are used as winger, just for now. Things can change, we don't have the blueprints to Blashill's thought process. 

[DickieDunn 2,571]

2 hours ago, krsmith17 said:

Why does that matter when he's played mostly on the wing and looks like that's where the Wings will likely play him in the future?

It lets KA "prove" his point

[kickazz 5,459]

7 minutes ago, DickieDunn said:

So was Franzen.  Lots of wingers started as centers.  With his skill set, I've always considered him a better bet at wing.

Franzen was good defensively and killed penalties. My point is he's a natural center. If that's the case then he should continue to think like a center and learn defensive hockey just in case. Franzen played Wing even though he was a natural center, but that didn't stop Babcock from forcing him to play defensively when needed. 

6 minutes ago, DickieDunn said:

It lets KA "prove" his point

No it just lets me point out one of the millionth time you've talked out your ass. AA isn't a winger. He's a center that's used as a winger. That's the truth. Why do they want him to be more defensively aware? Who knows, but a good reason could be because he still takes faceoffs for this team from time to time (200+ so far). Maybe they still see him as a potential/alternate center. Why else play him on the PK? They're obviously trying to mold him to be defensive and purposely putting him in those situations. So I'm not sure if  your "well he's a winger" theory carries much weight. 

Edited September 11, 2017 by kickazz

[krsmith17 7,191]

6 hours ago, kickazz said:

We don't know that. Zetterberg didn't start playing center until later on. Both AA and Larkin are used as winger, just for now. Things can change, we don't have the blueprints to Blashill's thought process. 

My point wasn't that he's 100% going to play center, it's that thus far he has been used mostly on the wing. So your "except he's a natural center" comment doesn't hold much weight, if he's not currently, nor overly likely to play there in the future.

6 hours ago, kickazz said:

Franzen was good defensively and killed penalties. My point is he's a natural center. If that's the case then he should continue to think like a center and learn defensive hockey just in case. Franzen played Wing even though he was a natural center, but that didn't stop Babcock from forcing him to play defensively when needed. 

No it just lets me point out one of the millionth time you've talked out your ass. AA isn't a winger. He's a center that's used as a winger. That's the truth. Why do they want him to be more defensively aware? Who knows, but a good reason could be because he still takes faceoffs for this team from time to time (200+ so far). Maybe they still see him as a potential/alternate center. Why else play him on the PK? They're obviously trying to mold him to be defensive and purposely putting him in those situations. So I'm not sure if  your "well he's a winger" theory carries much weight. 

I don't agree with coaching / management trying to turn every player into a defensive ace. However, I do think Athanasiou is the type of player that should be coached to play defense. He has the speed and stick to be a pick pocket wizard on the back-check.

However, I think they use him on the PK, more so for his ability to create offensive opportunities than to sit back and play defense. Helm is one of the better penalty killers in the league, and I think for the same reason, they think AA can be a very good PKer. It's not like he sits back and blocks a ton of shots, he more so uses his speed and active stick to get in passing / shooting lanes. He's able to use his speed to drag the puck, and if timed properly can create breakaway opportunities.

[kickazz 5,459]

18 minutes ago, Jonas Mahonas said:

Athanasiou - Glendening - Miller

 

"Play defense, AA."

 

Yah, ok.

Two years later and this guy is still on about Drew Miller

[krsmith17 7,191]

1 hour ago, Jonas Mahonas said:

The best part is you think he's done with us.

He is.

If Miller is brought back in any capacity, I will break things.

[Son of a Wing 1,644]

1 hour ago, Jonas Mahonas said:

The best part is you think he's done with us.

Willing to bet on that? He won't be back as a player.

[e_prime 1,936]

3 hours ago, krsmith17 said:

 

I don't agree with coaching / management trying to turn every player into a defensive ace. However, I do think Athanasiou is the type of player that should be coached to play defense. He has the speed and stick to be a pick pocket wizard on the back-check..

...but you're willing to admit that that's exactly the expectation of most Red Wings players by coaching and management. 

 

Also, please, no Drew Miller talk.  It will break my heart either way. 

Edited September 11, 2017 by e_prime

[krsmith17 7,191]

20 minutes ago, e_prime said:

...but you're willing to admit that that's exactly the expectation of most Red Wings players by coaching and management. 

Also, please, no Drew Miller talk.  It will break my heart either way. 

I'm confused by this... Why wouldn't I admit this? That has been the expectations here forever now... I just don't agree with it.

Players should be willing and capable of playing some level of defense, but not every player should be scrutinized for a lack of defense, if they're providing offense.

The way I see it, players should be evaluated based on whether or not they're providing the team with more positives or negatives. Take Mantha for example, I don't think coaching / management should tell him to concentrate on defense, because he's a big time offensive weapon. It's more beneficial to the team to have Mantha concentrate purely on offense, scoring 30 goals, 60 points than it is for him to play a two-way game scoring 20 goals, 40 points. As long as he's doing more good than bad, it's good for the team. A player like Glendening on the other hand, damn well better be playing lights out defense, because he's a disaster in the offensive zone.

[joesuffP 1,746]

You'd be hard pressed to find a top six forward in the NHL that's as bad defensively as AA at this point. You need some level of strength and awareness to be a top six forward

[kickazz 5,459]

13 minutes ago, joesuffP said:

You'd be hard pressed to find a top six forward in the NHL that's as bad defensively as AA at this point. You need some level of strength and awareness to be a top six forward

Patrick Kane. He's terrible. 

Ovechkin.

But those two are eons ahead of AA offensively so its ok

Edited September 11, 2017 by kickazz

[krsmith17 7,191]

11 minutes ago, joesuffP said:

You'd be hard pressed to find a top six forward in the NHL that's as bad defensively as AA at this point. You need some level of strength and awareness to be a top six forward

I don't buy this at all. Athanasiou's lack of defensive ability is completely overstated. He's by no means considered a good defensive player (yet), but to say he's one of the worst in the league is absurd. The fact that his defensive game is poor at this point, is just reason he should be working on that area of his game. You're saying Athanasiou doesn't have strength and awareness?

[joesuffP 1,746]

15 minutes ago, kickazz said:

Patrick Kane. He's terrible. 

Ovechkin.

But those two are eons ahead of AA offensively so its ok

Maybe Kane but I doubt it. Ovechkin is underrated defensively he just pushes offense but can play D when he wants to. These guys can steal pucks and stop a cycle and AA can't but not from lack of trying he's just not strong enough. His back checking is worse than these guys too and that absolutely falls on him with his speed. He'd be playing a lot more if he back checked ever