Run the Jewels
Make Detroit Great Again
1. This is not a good hockey team. Good enough to stay within closing distance of a playoff spot, but also just as likely to finish 10th in the conference and miss out on potentially drafting an elite player. Retool on the fly is pretty much dead at this point, there is no prospect who appears to be capable of playing at an elite level.
2. Blashill is not what many had hoped he'd be when he was hired. I am not suggesting he be fired so I am definitely not in the fire Blashill crowd. I'd give him until the end of next season and let the new GM make a decision on his fate. He's been successful at every other level and if the new GM believes he can cut it with a roster that at least has equivalent talent as the rest of the league then I am probably willing to buy that but it will depend heavily on the GM making that determination. If it's Steve Yzerman then that's a great stamp of approval. If it's Ryan Martin I am going to be super skeptical. That's where Blashill is right now in my mind; it could go either way.
3. I am happy to see guys like Athanasiou and Mantha finally get their shot. The one clear weakness with this franchise is younger guys are almost always only given a shot when someone else is injured. Larkin is the lone exception. These guys are clearly making the team more competitive and are generating much needed offense. The concern is Mantha could get sent back down once Abdelkader is healthy again. Perhaps the Wings waive someone to keep Mantha up, but then does Blashill go back to his puzzling decisions of playing Sheahan and Abdelkader on scoring lines? Apparently we will need to see another injury on defense in order for Sproul to get another shot.
4. Vanek was a great signing. I liked it at the time and he is strongly outproducing his contract. I do have some trepidation that Holland will sign him to a 5 x 5 contract that will sandbag the next GM. Until that happens I am going to enjoy Vanek's season.
5. It looks like Mike Green is starting to fill the role we all hoped he would when he was signed. He's on pace to put up 18 goals, his best season since 2009-10. If he continues on that pace you could potentially trade him for a pick and a prospect. Oh no, wait I forgot Ken Holland gave him a no trade clause. Not saying I would for a fact trade him if it was in fact possible, it would simply be something I would do my due diligence on and see what I could get in return. He has one year left on his contract so this would be great time to sell while his value is high. Perhaps he'd be open to being traded to a contender if we are out of the playoff race at the TDL.
6. Pending RFAs/UFAs: Brendan Smith needs to be traded. The value will be negligible but it has to be done as I can't imagine he'd have any interest in signing with Detroit. As far as RFAs go you must sign Athanasiou. Jurco doesn't look like he's going to develop into a guy you need to have on your team although I imagine Holland will qualify him. He should be traded to make room for Bert or another grinder. Lashoff will probably be qualified as a depth guy. If the defense isn't a total tire fire he'll end up in Grand Rapids so no big deal either way. Ouellet is your typical Red Wings defenseman who doesn't do enough to lock down a position but will be qualified and held onto in order to keep him around. He'll likely hold down the ceremonial Jakub Kindl roster spot. Tatar is the most intersting RFA by far. He absolutely needs to be qualified as a 2x 20 goal scorer who very nearly hit 30 goals in 2014-15. The cost is going to be a killer. However if you trade him now you are likely trading him at his lowest value. I'd absolutely shop him to see if you can make a good hockey trade to address our awful defense. Otherwise you bite the bullet and sign him with the hopes that this was simply a bad season. We are so lacking when it comes to goal scoring you need to hope he rebounds and becomes a 20 goal scorer once again.
7. As usual, my approach is the same as it's been over the past couple years: we should be sellers and not buyers if/when the trade talk heats up. I would absolutely use our best assets (Green, Tatar, Vanek) with the goal of getting at least one very good d-man prospect and at least one first round draft pick. The draft pick isn't going to be great if it's a team looking to stock up for a playoff run, so it is critical you focus on the value being returned as being a good young prospect who can be a major contributor when we are good again in 2022-23.
2. Blashill is not what many had hoped he'd be when he was hired. I am not suggesting he be fired so I am definitely not in the fire Blashill crowd. I'd give him until the end of next season and let the new GM make a decision on his fate. He's been successful at every other level and if the new GM believes he can cut it with a roster that at least has equivalent talent as the rest of the league then I am probably willing to buy that but it will depend heavily on the GM making that determination. If it's Steve Yzerman then that's a great stamp of approval. If it's Ryan Martin I am going to be super skeptical. That's where Blashill is right now in my mind; it could go either way.
3. I am happy to see guys like Athanasiou and Mantha finally get their shot. The one clear weakness with this franchise is younger guys are almost always only given a shot when someone else is injured. Larkin is the lone exception. These guys are clearly making the team more competitive and are generating much needed offense. The concern is Mantha could get sent back down once Abdelkader is healthy again. Perhaps the Wings waive someone to keep Mantha up, but then does Blashill go back to his puzzling decisions of playing Sheahan and Abdelkader on scoring lines? Apparently we will need to see another injury on defense in order for Sproul to get another shot.
4. Vanek was a great signing. I liked it at the time and he is strongly outproducing his contract. I do have some trepidation that Holland will sign him to a 5 x 5 contract that will sandbag the next GM. Until that happens I am going to enjoy Vanek's season.
5. It looks like Mike Green is starting to fill the role we all hoped he would when he was signed. He's on pace to put up 18 goals, his best season since 2009-10. If he continues on that pace you could potentially trade him for a pick and a prospect. Oh no, wait I forgot Ken Holland gave him a no trade clause. Not saying I would for a fact trade him if it was in fact possible, it would simply be something I would do my due diligence on and see what I could get in return. He has one year left on his contract so this would be great time to sell while his value is high. Perhaps he'd be open to being traded to a contender if we are out of the playoff race at the TDL.
6. Pending RFAs/UFAs: Brendan Smith needs to be traded. The value will be negligible but it has to be done as I can't imagine he'd have any interest in signing with Detroit. As far as RFAs go you must sign Athanasiou. Jurco doesn't look like he's going to develop into a guy you need to have on your team although I imagine Holland will qualify him. He should be traded to make room for Bert or another grinder. Lashoff will probably be qualified as a depth guy. If the defense isn't a total tire fire he'll end up in Grand Rapids so no big deal either way. Ouellet is your typical Red Wings defenseman who doesn't do enough to lock down a position but will be qualified and held onto in order to keep him around. He'll likely hold down the ceremonial Jakub Kindl roster spot. Tatar is the most intersting RFA by far. He absolutely needs to be qualified as a 2x 20 goal scorer who very nearly hit 30 goals in 2014-15. The cost is going to be a killer. However if you trade him now you are likely trading him at his lowest value. I'd absolutely shop him to see if you can make a good hockey trade to address our awful defense. Otherwise you bite the bullet and sign him with the hopes that this was simply a bad season. We are so lacking when it comes to goal scoring you need to hope he rebounds and becomes a 20 goal scorer once again.
7. As usual, my approach is the same as it's been over the past couple years: we should be sellers and not buyers if/when the trade talk heats up. I would absolutely use our best assets (Green, Tatar, Vanek) with the goal of getting at least one very good d-man prospect and at least one first round draft pick. The draft pick isn't going to be great if it's a team looking to stock up for a playoff run, so it is critical you focus on the value being returned as being a good young prospect who can be a major contributor when we are good again in 2022-23.
