shoobiedoobin

Sammy, Bert and Kindl. 3 names a lot of people didn't want to see much of in the first place lol.

^Bingo. Every year we talk about a 9th or maybe even 10th seed team who was definitely playoff caliber (especially in the new NHL), but if we miss get ready for falling pieces of sky.

2103, the Year of the Groin.  Sigh...

LOL I know you meant 2013 but this is even better. Like in 90 years we'll all have adamantium indestructible robot groins. Hasek will come out of retirement and at age 137 will be pretty damn good.

I'm actually happy that there's a salary cap. This means that you can't buy success like you could in the past. You need to have a good front office and a good system to be successful for many years in a row and not just money. To me it's a bit cheap if your team wins only because it has a billionaire as an owner. 

 

If you try to just buy success nowadays there's a huge risk it will bite you in the butt (Gomez, Redden, Bryzgalov, DiPietro).

Back then you threw money at a problem. Nowadays you tank and throw draft picks at a problem. The cycle is getting predictable. Suck for a few years, acquire top end talent, be good for a few years. Then let someone else who sucked while you were good have a turn.

I think there's a more exciting even solution somewhere in the middle. Don't allow teams to spend like maniacs but don't hold back a team that would like to spend more than a team who won't bother. I just wish this were possible.

You advised people to get back into the real world if they think Holland could get fired. I mean, we are discussing real world stuff - Red Wings Hockey - here.

 

Like I said I am saddened that some of the better owners (Dolan, Pegula, Mr. I, Aquilani, Snider) didn't speak out against this crap, I already don't like the new CBA, can't wait for some loopholes giving the Wings back some advantage.

Nah, I don't think I'm sorry for that. It's a legit suggestion and if you take offense to that it's because it's true. To think he'd get fired for missing the playoffs once is total forum doomsayer think.

He also said they could be #1 in the conference. But that isn't sensationalist enough, right? He's right. The forced parity of the NHL has made it so that every semi-competent team is going to be a clone of every other semi-competent team give or take a guy here and there. Everyone has a chance. It's going to more than ever come down to who actually gives the most effort and I think he knows that.

If you actually think Holland will get fired for missing the playoffs you need to get off of internet forums for awhile and check back into the real world.

I too would like to congratulate John, without his steadfast leadership in the face of inevitable destruction, we never would've survived judgement day and defeated the machi-

....s***, wrong John.

Way to go Rig, you were solid as hell last year.

He's looking forward to reporting to the Isles like I've been interested in & upbeat about every job I've ever applied for. Say what you gotta say...

I don't care about his history, his name, his age or anything like that. I care about the team winning and if he can contribute more than at least one other forward, I'm all for it.

Bleacher Report?
 

Hey now, Bleacher Report is good for offering a way for joe schmoe to exhibit his or her contrived, uninspired, amateur writing. And that can be hilarious. Most articles read like if a real website let their writer and editor get hammered and only corrected the sdlkfjfjjjjjjjjjjjj from where they passed out on the keyboard.

Really though I wouldn't take anything on that site seriously. It's just average joes who can't write worth a lick. They know how to try and kinda sorta make the words sound professional, but the content doesn't sound professional whatsoever. Too many ignorant forum-style opinions when those opinions only survive on forums because the like-minded gather to reassure each other.

Are you suggesting that we actually could get an elite player for Jimmy? I mean Jimmy as the main piece, not just a part of some big package.

 

If so, you must have a pretty liberal definition of the word 'elite'.

Yeah you're right. High quality proven goaltenders in their prime come along all the time. Especially ones who could've conceivably, and should've, won ROTY. And ones that were in the Vezina race until they got injured. It's just that goalies in Jimmy's scenario don't get traded often.  Vancouver is asking quite a bit for Roberto Luongo and I wouldn't say Howard is much worse. 

What doomsayers and debbie downers on forums fail to realize (aside from the fact they're almost always wrong) is that while they may have number online, in reality no one takes their mopey emo bulls*** seriously. Everyone but Hank and Pav suck, every other team has better players, blah blah blah. 

I'm curious. For all the people who are insisting with aggressive opinions that Yandle and/or Bouwmeester are elite/suck/average/etc...how many people actually consistently watch either of them? I know just typing "I dunno" isn't as fun but really how much do we know?

I think the proof is all over the place. I've lurked around on a lot of Wings forums and if you want a good laugh, go look at some of the know-it-alls insisting smugly that Ian White was garbage and shouldn't be here. I saw people questioning Dan Cleary, with the usual illogical "well he sucked before, he can't ever be good somewhere else" stupidity. I've seen people chew crow on signings or trades so often I just laugh when we wipe our memories and have another go at playing pretend expert like it never happened. 

And for anyone who might actually watch either of the two consistently, not to sound like a **** but how many would even be able to judge their ability to play or fit in here? We can hardly even make up our mind about our own players. It's one thing to simply state what you think but it's hilarious when people pursue silly shouting matches over guys they don't even watch. 

He's got a lot of potential; he played superlative hockey at the 2012 World Juniors, and he's done well in GR so far. But he's yet to prove anything, as is generally the case with prospects who haven't played much in the big leagues.

On paper yeah, he's been talked up like a lot of prospects before. What separates him though is when you watch him, you see an absolute beast. It can be tough to tell the difference between someone who looks great because his teams are great, and someone who is just truly great. Mrazek if I had to bet hasn't rode the talent of his teams from all I've seen. I've watched him at the juniors, in the wjc, the AHL, and man does he ever look awesome. He looks more like one of those goalies who is pure skill and will need something to stop him from dominating, rather than the guys who are so-so and need something to help them dominate. And I'm as critical as they come. If I can judge one thing it's goalies and Mrazek makes me giddy.

Personally what I saw was a guy ready to develop at the NHL level. I will say that the very first time he came up, before his last (and longer) stint, he looked so patient, so skilled and so mature. When he came up most recently, he looked a tiny bit more lost. Same player, and my opinion didn't drastically change, but he looked slightly more like a rookie. It happens a lot and happened to varying degrees with Jimmy and E and other players I've seen over time. I think when you come up initially you play like you have nothing to lose, but when your up again later, longer, you try to do too much to earn your spot. Nyquist looked like he was holding the puck a beat too long, trying to dangle around guys and was just playing the game too much in his own head. He also got taken off the puck very easily. But that's nothing that will worry me, I think in time he'll be just fine.

I'm just curious and would like to see the opinions of people here if this scenario were to arise.

We know about Jimmy's contract, two year "try out" sorta deal, this is his last year of it. At any point if another team offers us the elite forward or defenseman we've been coveting so badly, yet ask for Jimmy in return, would you give him up? Knowing we have Gustavsson, who has started and did alright considering how poor Toronto was, and Mrazek, who looks a lot like he could not only start but succeed in the NHL.

I'm not a huge fan of sending away players like trading cards especially after grooming them for so long but for the right deal I may be OK. I'm interested to see what others think.