deca guard
Registered User
speaking of dekeyser my hope is he recovers ands rocking next winter when we trade him to a contender for a solid prospect
Someone recently reminded me that Brodie plays on the right side. Though he is LHD & could probably play there also. I believe he prefers right side though, someone chime in as I don't remember the specifics on what his preference is. Brodie would be way cheaper than Krug & taller (wingspan).X-Hronek
Dekeyser-Seider
If we have Hronek and Seider in our top 4 next year, I will at least live with watching them mature and grow together. We just need to bring someone in on the left side to log minutes and bump Dekeyser down. Whether that is Brodie/Krug, or someone we get via trade, I don't care. But I think that is a hole we have to address this off-season. The other hole likely being 2nd line center.
Lafreniere or Byfield change our whole roster building approach, because I think they stop onto the team in a top 6 capacity next year. Anyone else, and we are probably a few years away from the giving ups an impact.
That 2C is still a glaring hole, I wish Fabbri could fill it, at least for now, couldn't hurt to try him there for the remainder of this season.
I think a whole lot depends on where wings draft this year, 1st or 2nd and I think Yzerman spends, trades, and we move towards competitive/playoff hockey in a year. If we pick 3rd or 4th... I see another year of struggle, playing out contracts, and moving players for draft capital hoping we hit on a few picks between now and when we're actually competitive.
If we get the 1st or 2nd pick, I think they play on the team their rookie seasons, Wings will sign another goalie, Rasmussen is brought up, a top pairing player is signed on the defense, with a 2nd line C. Those five upgrades outside of a coaching move should theoretically improve the team a lot.
They can actually do either or, it seems to depend on draft status more than ability.
You have valid points, but I think Stevie isn't going to sign a vet for more than 2 years so we'll wind up with another Nemeth and still be a lottery team. Maybe not THE WORST team in the league, but pretty close regardless. So the OP is suggesting possibly an extra year of sucking. Qute frankly that may happen anyways,I think a whole lot depends on where wings draft this year, 1st or 2nd and I think Yzerman spends, trades, and we move towards competitive/playoff hockey in a year. If we pick 3rd or 4th... I see another year of struggle, playing out contracts, and moving players for draft capital hoping we hit on a few picks between now and when we're actually competitive.
If we get the 1st or 2nd pick, I think they play on the team their rookie seasons, Wings will sign another goalie, Rasmussen is brought up, a top pairing player is signed on the defense, with a 2nd line C. Those five upgrades outside of a coaching move should theoretically improve the team a lot.
They can actually do either or, it seems to depend on draft status more than ability.
I'd be surprised if kids are aggressively moved into Detroit regardless of where we pick. This summer, I expect us to sign a goalie and work to get some better players on the blueline, but a fair part of that will be necessity because we have a lot of expiring contracts in those spots.
We are not sure anybody of big value is actually going to listen to us. I expect some of the goalies to take us seriously, they have kind of a musical chairs situation where you need to be careful. But even if we want to talk to some of the high level UFAs, I am not sure they will listen to us anyway just yet.
I mean if Petro or Krug want to let us pitch, I hope Yzerman does. Like @Bench eluded to, you don't turn down difference makers because you want to do it all in one off-season, that isn't really how this works in reality and I would expect Yzerman to chase true difference makers as long as they are willing to listen. A big part of our pitch plays out on draft lottery night as well so it is really hard to say right now.
Yeah that would be sick.. New Jersey thought the same thing and they were an NHL team. This team is fighting not to be the worst team in NHL history. Just because we get a couple of draft picks doesn't mean we should start thinking we're contenders.I think a whole lot depends on where wings draft this year, 1st or 2nd and I think Yzerman spends, trades, and we move towards competitive/playoff hockey in a year. If we pick 3rd or 4th... I see another year of struggle, playing out contracts, and moving players for draft capital hoping we hit on a few picks between now and when we're actually competitive.
If we get the 1st or 2nd pick, I think they play on the team their rookie seasons, Wings will sign another goalie, Rasmussen is brought up, a top pairing player is signed on the defense, with a 2nd line C. Those five upgrades outside of a coaching move should theoretically improve the team a lot.
They can actually do either or, it seems to depend on draft status more than ability.
Yeah that would be sick.. New Jersey thought the same thing and they were an NHL team. This team is fighting not to be the worst team in NHL history. Just because we get a couple of draft picks doesn't mean we should start thinking we're contenders.
Like others have said, we don't have a choice but to suck for at least another year. Accumulate talent wherever we can but don't get too pushy. Yzerman's one word for this rebuild has been patience. Load up on prospects, but keep the team afloat.
Needs:
2 C. Filpulla and Nielsen (along with bad but passable wingers) are line killers. The offense stops when the second or third line steps out.
Goalie. Howard and Pickard haven't even given us a chance to win games and Bernier is a backup. At least get someone he can split time with.
LD. Seider and Hronek look to be very strong for us down the right side. Dekeyser/Nemeth combo will not cut it. This is likely thru UFA/
Ideal Situation:
Trade AA for young goalie prospect or underperforming young center who would get more of a chance in DET. Georgiev and Lias Andersson fit that bill perfect. Maybe throw in Washingtons 2nd round pick.
Sign the rest and wait for the prospects to grow.
Bert-Larkin-Mantha
Fabbri-XXX-Zadina
Ras-Filpulla-AA/Helm
Nielsen/Helm-Glenny-Smith
Dekeyser-Hronek
UFA-Seider
XXX-XXX
Bernier-Someone else
Would not be surprised if Yzerman trades a prospect or a "core piece" that addresses one of these needs. He's proven very active
Chances are we won't even get LafThe Wings finishing bottom 3 and getting Lafreniere, Raty and Shane Wright, or similar high end talent?
Or do you want to see immediate results via free agents and trades?
But how do you draft top 10 then?We've got this year. And probably 2 more anticipated years without playoffs. Let's just lock that in now.
What I think Yzerman will do starting this off-season is look to make signings and trades that set the team up for the playoffs in that window. So, as an example, while signing a guy like Krug might feel meaningless for next year, the goal would be to have a defender in their early 30s as the Wings prospects transition to full-time NHLers.
So no, I don't want immediate results. But also, this team won't magically be "ready" and then you add all the free agents and trades in one fell swoop. Players become available as they become available, not when you're "ready." You get the guys that make sense, when you get a chance. Krugs don't pop up every off-season. Particularly those that would actually want to sign in Detroit. Our blueline the last decade is very much evidence of that.
But how do you draft top 10 then?
In that case I would rather look for a solid goaltender than anything else.We'll draft top 10 next year. Can't speak for the season after, but I'd be surprised if they make the playoffs so quickly.
If you finish 10th worst in the standings, you still have a 16% chance at a top 3 pick. To put that into perspective, that's only 2% worse than the odds of the dead last Wings getting the #1 overall pick.
The days of going full tank are kind of dead. Keep building your team and hope for some luck. That's really all you can do. Because some bubble team that barely missed the playoffs can still pull a lucky draw and steal a top 3 pick, maybe the #1 overall, from the worst teams.