Official 2018 Off Season *Rebuild* Thread

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

34 minutes ago, SwedeLundin77 said:

Anyone else pay attention to the Griffins promoting Ben Simon to head coach this morning? Can't see this posted anywhere else on the boards.

From Ohio, drafted by Chicago, and played for Notre Dame. f*** this guy.

But in all seriousness, more promotions from within? I'll keep my mind open, but we seem to do a lot of this lately.

As Leftwinger would say, I'm spooked

Edited June 5, 2018 by ChristopherReevesLegs

[SwedeLundin77 460]

4 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

From Ohio, drafted by Chicago, and played for Notre Dame. f*** this guy.

But in all seriousness, more promotions from within? I'll keep my mind open, but we seem to do a lot of this lately.

As Leftwinger would say, I'm spooked

He seems to be a true steward of Todd Nelson's philosophy of coaching, so in that, I am perfectly fine with the choice. They want to hold on to the atmosphere that Blashill started and Nelson put his stamp on. 

[Neomaxizoomdweebie 3,083]

7 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

I believe Central Europe includes Czech Rep and Slovakia in this instance. Routa is Czech.

Fair enough. I mean there are a few NHL players who come from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria as well, just not enough to keep a scout that busy I would think.

I just figured the Eastern Europe scout included the former Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, and former Soviet Republics.

Edited June 5, 2018 by Neomaxizoomdweebie

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

10 minutes ago, Neomaxizoomdweebie said:

Fair enough. I mean there are a few NHL players who come from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria as well, just not enough to keep a scout that busy I would think.

I just figured the Eastern Europe scout included the former Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, and former Soviet Republics.

I think Eastern Europe literally just means Russia. Vakurov also manages HK Sochi.

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

https://www.nhl.com/redwings/news/wings-blashill-its-a-wide-open-roster-more-than-ever-before/c-298952646

Blashill: "The roster is more wide open than ever before"

I know some of you will see this as great news. I hate this. A wide open roster is a team that doesn't know where it's going. Congratulations, we're now a s***ty re-builder like the rest of the s*** teams in league. You got what you wanted, The magical fun of not making the playoffs. But damn those high draft picks are cool amirite?

[kylee 727]

Fire Blashill 

[TLGTrico 627]

Yep, for a team that lacks talent like this one, I'll take  high draft picks over early playoff exits any day.

[amato 3,210]

10 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

https://www.nhl.com/redwings/news/wings-blashill-its-a-wide-open-roster-more-than-ever-before/c-298952646

Blashill: "The roster is more wide open than ever before"

I know some of you will see this as great news. I hate this. A wide open roster is a team that doesn't know where it's going. Congratulations, we're now a s***ty re-builder like the rest of the s*** teams in league. You got what you wanted, The magical fun of not making the playoffs. But damn those high draft picks are cool amirite?

I’m not the biggest Blashill fan by any means, but I didn’t take this interview as we don’t know where we’re going. IMO, it was more of Blashill saying that if players who have appeared in the top 6/on the power play want to stay there on a more permanent basis, they have to work hard (Bertuzzi and AA for example). And if guys like Rasmussen/Svechnokov want those spots, they have a chance to earn them in camp/preseason. There are obviously guys like Larkin, Mantha, and Zetterberg  who will be in those spots for sure; I don’t think every single spot on the roster is up for grabs. But I like that they’re keeping an open mind about some spots in the top 6/power play (especially defense on the power play), rather than already having it decided. Even more so if we don’t have an assistant coach for the power play yet. 

[krsmith17 7,191]

10 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

https://www.nhl.com/redwings/news/wings-blashill-its-a-wide-open-roster-more-than-ever-before/c-298952646

Blashill: "The roster is more wide open than ever before"

I know some of you will see this as great news. I hate this. A wide open roster is a team that doesn't know where it's going. Congratulations, we're now a s***ty re-builder like the rest of the s*** teams in league. You got what you wanted, The magical fun of not making the playoffs. But damn those high draft picks are cool amirite?

I didn't take this as a negative at all. We hear this every year, but I think it's finally starting to become more of a reality, which is a good thing. We didn't make the playoffs last season (far from it). Would you rather hear that the exact same roster is back again, regardless of performance? I'd like to think that they will assemble the best roster possible, giving a lot of hungry kids every opportunity to make it. I'm hopeful that we'll see 4 or 5 new players from the start of the season, but I'm not going to hold my breath. Hopefully Holland will be very aggressive at the draft and trade a few players to make room for some of the kids. If he does that, the direction will be very clear. Youth. They're saying all the right things, now do it!

[AtlantaHotWings 987]

How I read that article was you want your spot from last year EARN it. You want that spot then BEAT the guy who has it now. 

Basically compete compete compete vs yeah the spot is mine and people mailing in the effort. 

Only time will tell I guess whether this is good or bad.

[Euro_Twins 4,476]

14 minutes ago, AtlantaHotWings said:

How I read that article was you want your spot from last year EARN it. You want that spot then BEAT the guy who has it now. 

Basically compete compete compete vs yeah the spot is mine and people mailing in the effort. 

Only time will tell I guess whether this is good or bad.

Its good. Its always good to have healthy competition.  Even if we don't make the playoffs or win anything of note, that doesnt change the fact that holding players accountable is a good thing. 

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

Change is scary tho

[Dabura 12,207]

17 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

https://www.nhl.com/redwings/news/wings-blashill-its-a-wide-open-roster-more-than-ever-before/c-298952646

Blashill: "The roster is more wide open than ever before"

LUKE WITKOWSKI 1ST LINE WINGER LET'S GO

JAGR IGINLA BILL RANFORD RAY WHITNEY PTO RECLAMATION PROJECTS LET'S GO

LET'S MAKE SURE WE HAVE A REAL GOOD SUMMER HERE LET'S GO

[SwedeLundin77 460]

 

4 hours ago, Jonas Mahonas said:

Zetterberg, Abdelkader, Nielsen, Nyquist, Helm, Glendening, Green, Kronwall, Ericsson, DeKeyser, Daley, Howard.

 

Holland will have 55 million of cap tied up in those 12 guys.  Absolutely ZERO chance the coach plays rookies over them.  

 

Bertuzzi, Mantha, Larkin, Svechnikov, and Athanasiou are all going to push the vets out of some playing time, but a minimal amount.

 

What does that leave you with?

 

Witkowski, Frk, Turgeon, Rasmussen,  Smith, and Booth battling for 12th, 13th, and 14th forward spots + Jensen, Ouellet, Hicketts, Cholowski, and Hughes battling for 6th and 7th defensemen spots.

 

Gee, how exciting.  

 

Holland has crippled this team for a few more seasons.  We are in for some chop.

Let's fix this for you:

Zetterberg, Abdelkader, Nielsen, Nyquist, Helm, Glendening, Kronwall, Ericsson, DeKeyser, Daley, Howard.
   * Green is unsigned

Bertuzzi, Mantha, and Larkin have already pushed vets out of playing time. Svechnikov and Rasmussen should vie for some top 9 minutes. 

Witkowski has already been relegated to our extra forward/defensemen. Frk hasn't shown he belongs in the top 9 outside of some powerplay duty. Turgeon has health issues right now. Booth is no longer on the team. They've already said that Ouellet will not be with the team. So we are drafting Hughes, huh? 

Yes, Hicketts, Hronek, Cholowski, Sulak, and possibly our #6 pick (maybe Bouchard, Wahlstrom, etc) will be competing for a spot in the lineup, maybe 2. 

If you're going to share your usual b****ing and moaning, at least have your facts straight and understand the whole picture. I'm not apologizing for Holland, but I'm also choosing to understand that more open competition for playing time is a good thing in a rebuild. Yes, Holland has saddled this team with bad contracts (Abdelkader, Nielsen, Helm primarily) but he hasn't done anything yet this offseason outside of what you assume he will. 

[Euro_Twins 4,476]

6 hours ago, Jonas Mahonas said:

Zetterberg, Abdelkader, Nielsen, Nyquist, Helm, Glendening, Green, Kronwall, Ericsson, DeKeyser, Daley, Howard.

 

Holland will have 55 million of cap tied up in those 12 guys.  Absolutely ZERO chance the coach plays rookies over them.  

 

Bertuzzi, Mantha, Larkin, Svechnikov, and Athanasiou are all going to push the vets out of some playing time, but a minimal amount.

 

What does that leave you with?

 

Witkowski, Frk, Turgeon, Rasmussen,  Smith, and Booth battling for 12th, 13th, and 14th forward spots + Jensen, Ouellet, Hicketts, Cholowski, and Hughes battling for 6th and 7th defensemen spots.

 

Gee, how exciting.  

 

Holland has crippled this team for a few more seasons.  We are in for some chop.

[Neomaxizoomdweebie 3,083]

If any of the younger guys being mentioned were NHL ready, Holland would have no reason to go out and sign free agents or re-up unnecessary roster players. Rookies and prospects on ELC's are cheap. If they were truly NHL ready they would be on the roster. Why spend more for a vet when you can just play a cheaper kid? 

[SwedeLundin77 460]

7 hours ago, Jonas Mahonas said:

Drew Miller.  Let it sink in.

Drew Miller was a silver-haired ice god!

[krsmith17 7,191]

7 hours ago, Neomaxizoomdweebie said:

If any of the younger guys being mentioned were NHL ready, Holland would have no reason to go out and sign free agents or re-up unnecessary roster players. Rookies and prospects on ELC's are cheap. If they were truly NHL ready they would be on the roster. Why spend more for a vet when you can just play a cheaper kid? 

Yeah, I've never had much of a problem with the ripening process for the most part in Detroit. I think most kids need it, especially being later picks than most teams have seen over the past couple decades. It's also very easy to push a kid back to Grand Rapids when you're trying to compete for a Cup every season. After all, "the NHL isn't a developmental league". Now that we're at the lower end of the cycle, and we're actually starting to rebuild, get higher draft picks and get younger, we're already starting to see some younger players make the roster much younger than we have in what seems like forever.

Mantha probably would have made the roster the year after being drafted, if he hadn't fractured his tibia. Larkin made the roster a year after being drafted. Rasmussen will likely make the roster this season, a year after being drafted. I fully expect whoever we pick at 6 in this year's draft to challenge for a spot this coming season, at worst will make the team next season. Defensemen are a little slower developing but it's expected that both Cholowski and Hronek will challenge for a spot this season, two years after being drafted.

In saying all that, we really need to start taking advantage of these players on ELC's, and the only way to do that is to make room on the roster. Holland needs to get rid of some bad contracts over the next couple seasons. Some will expire over that time anyway, so it's really only a couple players he needs to try to ship out.

[SwedeLundin77 460]

3 hours ago, krsmith17 said:

Yeah, I've never had much of a problem with the ripening process for the most part in Detroit. I think most kids need it, especially being later picks than most teams have seen over the past couple decades. It's also very easy to push a kid back to Grand Rapids when you're trying to compete for a Cup every season. After all, "the NHL isn't a developmental league". Now that we're at the lower end of the cycle, and we're actually starting to rebuild, get higher draft picks and get younger, we're already starting to see some younger players make the roster much younger than we have in what seems like forever.

Mantha probably would have made the roster the year after being drafted, if he hadn't fractured his tibia. Larkin made the roster a year after being drafted. Rasmussen will likely make the roster this season, a year after being drafted. I fully expect whoever we pick at 6 in this year's draft to challenge for a spot this coming season, at worst will make the team next season. Defensemen are a little slower developing but it's expected that both Cholowski and Hronek will challenge for a spot this season, two years after being drafted.

In saying all that, we really need to start taking advantage of these players on ELC's, and the only way to do that is to make room on the roster. Holland needs to get rid of some bad contracts over the next couple seasons. Some will expire over that time anyway, so it's really only a couple players he needs to try to ship out.

What worries me is what Holland would traditionally do... like re-sign Ericsson in 2 years. although he should done by that point, so unless he extends someone, we should be fine.

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

4 minutes ago, SwedeLundin77 said:

What worries me is what Holland would traditionally do... like re-sign Ericsson in 2 years. although he should done by that point, so unless he extends someone, we should be fine.

[krsmith17 7,191]

46 minutes ago, SwedeLundin77 said:

What worries me is what Holland would traditionally do... like re-sign Ericsson in 2 years. although he should done by that point, so unless he extends someone, we should be fine.

Not gonna happen. I honestly believe the organization philosophy has shifted. Ericsson may not even last 2 years in Detroit...

[SwedeLundin77 460]

1 hour ago, krsmith17 said:

Not gonna happen. I honestly believe the organization philosophy has shifted. Ericsson may not even last 2 years in Detroit...

I know, and I’m pretty much there with you, but it’s been the norm so I can’t help but have it in the back of my mind.

[Neomaxizoomdweebie 3,083]

Let's assume that all of Cholowski, Hronek, Saarajarvi, and maybe one other current prospect (Lindstrom) make the roster in the next 2-3 years. IF Holland drafts a D with #6 who also cracks the lineup, that's 5 D. You'll still need preferably 1 or 2 vets to fill out the D. Kronwall, Daley, and Green will presumably be gone by then or retired. Ericsson will still be around 36 or 37 at the time so I don't think it would be a horrible idea to re-sign him to a short term, cheap deal.

Edited June 8, 2018 by Neomaxizoomdweebie

[SwedeLundin77 460]

20 minutes ago, Neomaxizoomdweebie said:

Let's assume that all of Cholowski, Hronek, Saarajarvi, and maybe one other current prospect (Lindstrom) make the roster in the next 2-3 years. IF Holland drafts a D with #6 who also cracks the lineup, that's 5 D. You'll still need preferably 1 or 2 vets to fill out the D. Kronwall, Daley, and Green will presumably be gone by then or retired. Ericsson will still be around 36 or 37 at the time so I don't think it would be a horrible idea to re-sign him to a short term, cheap deal.

I think I’d rather they extend Daley in that scenario.

[Neomaxizoomdweebie 3,083]

4 hours ago, SwedeLundin77 said:

I think I’d rather they extend Daley in that scenario.

Agreed. I would prefer Daley too. They are both roughly the same age. Their contracts both end at the end of the 2019-20 season. I don't think Daley makes it to the end of his contract tho. His salary is almost half of Ericsson's, so he'll be easier to trade in the final year (both have modified NTC). I suppose they could just let E walk and re-sign TD as a free agent, but I think they re-sign E instead.

Edited June 8, 2018 by Neomaxizoomdweebie