an educated hockey mind
A comment based solely on the fact that he agreed with you, huh?
Q is worth a 1st but Bouwmeester isn't? Very strange talent evaluation going on.
Why does Detroit need firsts with more very good prospects than they've had in 20 years?
We literally don't even have the ability to find room in our organization for all of our prospects...
You trade first rounders for Bouwmeesters --- Not Quinceys -- and that's the bottom line.
LeBrun is an ass-sucking hack.
I am going to post this again because I think it is an important point. Surprised no one noticed it:
I would have made that deal back when Rafalski retired and Lidstrom was still playing, but given the makeup of the team now and how they play I don't think Bouwmeester solves any problems. As others have said, he duplicates a lot of what Kronwall already does, without the occasional big hits. As a #2 next to Lidstrom he would have been fine; as a guy who's supposed to anchor a pairing I don't think he's worth it.
Let's be honest, a few moves for some veteran depth wouldn't be a bad thing but no reasonable trades (i.e. ones that can actually happen in real life) are going to elevate the Wings to being a prime contender. Winning the Stanley Cup, or even making a deep run in the playoffs (to say nothing of getting there to begin with) is going to largely require the current team to catch lightning in a bottle: Howard playing out of his mind, some role players getting hot and starting to score, etc.
Huh. Wonder where that bolded line came from.The Wings were in on Bouwmeester, but, in the end, they didn’t get him because they didn’t include a first-round pick, a source told ESPN.com.
Which quite frankly, is a smart, smart, smart decision by Wings GM Ken Holland.
Yes, Bouwmeester is the top-four D-man the Wings have been craving all year, but Detroit is not in a position organizationally to be trading first-round picks. They moved a first-round pick last year for Kyle Quincey when they still had Nicklas Lidstrom and Brad Stuart on the team and felt they had a shot to really contend.
But now? Of course they still like their team if they get healthy and make the playoffs, but this is an organization that needs to re-stock and use its own first-round picks to actually draft players.
They’ve been near the top of the standings for 20 years. It’s time to draft and develop again.
There is no way Holland could have ever justified moving a first-rounder to Calgary. What if the Wings miss the playoffs? Even had they structured the deal like St. Louis by deferring the first-rounder to 2014, who’s to say what Detroit is going to look like next season if they miss the playoffs this season? That pick could be even more dangerous to give Calgary.
My belief is that Detroit’s final offer on Bouwmeester was a second-round pick and two prospects. And frankly, that’s as far as the Wings could have gone.
I would have made that deal back when Rafalski retired and Lidstrom was still playing, but given the makeup of the team now and how they play I don't think Bouwmeester solves any problems. As others have said, he duplicates a lot of what Kronwall already does, without the occasional big hits. As a #2 next to Lidstrom he would have been fine; as a guy who's supposed to anchor a pairing I don't think he's worth it.
Let's be honest, a few moves for some veteran depth wouldn't be a bad thing but no reasonable trades (i.e. ones that can actually happen in real life) are going to elevate the Wings to being a prime contender. Winning the Stanley Cup, or even making a deep run in the playoffs (to say nothing of getting there to begin with) is going to largely require the current team to catch lightning in a bottle: Howard playing out of his mind, some role players getting hot and starting to score, etc.
More from LeBrun:
Huh. Wonder where that bolded line came from.
Not that I disagree with you, but weren't you making the claim a few months ago that Suter and Parise or Nash wouldn't have made the team that much better?Bouwmeester + Gaborik wouldn't give this team a fighting shot?
Even if you swing for the fences ... you still got to protect the plate a little bit. As good as Nash is, he's past his prime goal scoring years. As good as Suter is, he doesn't replace Lidstrom and Stuart.
It's debateable how much Nash and Suter improve on last year's first round loser. And it's still important that we develop the guys in the AHL.
Like trading a first for Kyle Quincey?Good thing you aren't the GM. We haven't picked in the first round since 2010. Now's not the time to be dumping 1st rounders on marginal upgrades with $6.8 Million cap hits. When you're a GM, you have to think about the present, and the future. That means sacrificing present success for a better future.
Like trading a first for Kyle Quincey?
Well Berra has a 50/50 chance to be either a fair NHL backup or the next Fasth. If he brings his strongest game he is stronger than Hiller (just to compare to another swiss goaltender), with the advantage that he ain't small, but still quick.
Weren't you making the claim a few months ago that Suter and Parise or Nash wouldn't have made the team that much better?
I can only judge Berra of what he's done up to this point, and he's not close to the merits of Fasth before heading to NA. Fasth was a two-time best SEL goalie, SEL MVP, World Championship best goalie, and World Championship MVP.
Berra to his advantage is younger and got size you can't teach, but is as of today a lot more comparable to Daniel Larsson than Viktor Fasth. Larsson is similar in age and a one-time SEL goalie of the year(Berra being a one-time NLA goalie of the year), and both have done their share of International play but nothing that stands out. They were also both drafted in 2006. I'm not one to say he's absolutely can't turn out to be a starter down the line but the odds are definitely worse than 50/50.
Not that I disagree with you, but weren't you making the claim a few months ago that Suter and Parise or Nash wouldn't have made the team that much better?
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showpost.php?p=58604707&postcount=20
Even if you swing for the fences ... you still got to protect the plate a little bit. As good as Nash is, he's past his prime goal scoring years. As good as Suter is, he doesn't replace Lidstrom and Stuart
It's debateable how much Nash and Suter improve on last year's first round loser. And it's still important that we develop the guys in the AHL.
We had Lidstrom and we were playing for the President's trophy. Nobody predicted everyone would get injured right afterwords. Nobody. Now we don't have Lidstrom. This team isn't in the shape that you dump assets into winning now. But in any case, bringing up Quincey is hypocritical. Because if it's bad asset management to dump a first for Quincey (which then at the time would have been useless anyways), then certainly it follows that a 1st for Bouwmeester at this point in time is also bad asset management.
kyle quincey was not a playoff rental to hopefully allow lidtsrom to go out with a bang, he was and always has been intended to help ease the loss of lidstrom,which at the cost of a 1st rd pick and how below average quincey was, is and always will be, terrible asset mgmt and long-term planning