I know this might sound homerish but I didn't know Jarnkrok was a Red Wing draft pick. But agree with your take (I think Holmberg is really turning out to become something and loved Minten when I watched him play IRL) but not all draft picks become actual players. Just hope some 7th rounder in 2019 turns into what Dasyuk or Zetterberg turned into for you (but that's a dream). Honestly, if I were a Detroit fan (like you are), I would be getting hyped for the upcoming years as I believe Stevie Y will make this team a Dynasty soon! I just hope the Leafs can win a couple before that happens.

I agree with the retention part. Allowing Sakic to have the depth he wants and getting a superstar should be pretty appeasing to him

Then I would like you to tell me who's my favorite team if I am pretending to be a Leafs fan? Even though my 3 favorite players are Auston Matthews, Nick Holden (He went out of his way to give me a puck one game) and Lilly. I am just not that high on Marner's play style just like me not being that high on Mcdavid's either

Because he would really like to anger his fans on the way out the door 🙄🙄🙄. This is exactly what Gaudreau and Tkachuk said before they left Calgary. I really only made Marner for Slaf as a base to be expanded upon but what would you suggest as fair value for Slaf then?

Cool

Cool

Then why are you saying that

Then why are you stating that my base of a trade to find the value of Slaf is a troll?

It is next to impossible today to find a Datsyuk or Zetterberg late. Too many advanced Stas, the internet, and worldwide scouting. The Red Wings benefitted for years by having a committed owner who wasn't afraid to spend on scouting across the world. Goalies are voodoo, so there is always late round finds there, but I really think the best you will find after the 3rd round will be your specialized players who fill a niche...like Elmer Soderblom who is big and has hands.

And Wings fans are in limbo. Yzerman has preached patience, but we still don't have Larkin signed to an extension, and it is tough to gage what is fair to pay for a 1C/2C. Cossa looks like he may have been the wrong pick as Wallstedt was on the board; Cossa hasn't looked like an elite goalie of the future. At least we have Seider...perennial Norris candidate in the near future. The timeline for the new guys and vets doesn't quite align, so unless Cossa hits and Edvinsson and Kasper hit, a dynasty will not be possible.

Oof. You can't dog on McJesus. I mean, there isn't a more electrifying player in the league. I'll take him over Gretzky. Is McDavid good defensively? Nope, but he is so much better offensively than the next best guy that he doesn't have to be. I've never seen a player be top class in so many variables. Gordie Howe is a completely different player, but he is the closest comparable in terms of being great at a lot of stuff. Gretzky had hands and vision, but had little speed, an average power shot (though he was lights out accurate), and was awful off the puck. Crosby was a more well rounded version of Gretzky, but not nearly as good at what Gretzky did best.

McDavid? I mean, he beats you with speed, he beats you with strength, he can rip a shot, he can snipe a shot, he can stick handle in a phone booth (though Datsyuk and Kovalev could do it in smaller phone booths), and he sees 360 degrees. The dude is awesome.

Back in the day 2007 time), I had a debate with a friend about who you wanted to win you a cup for one year. The choice was Datsyuk/Zetterberg or Crosby/ Malkin. We settled on the Wings for 1 cup today, and the Pens for long term. Turns out, we were right. With McDavid (not even adding Draisatl), the choice vs any other DUO is McDavid for today, and McDavid for the future. Throw McDavid in for any other player on any other contending team (Matthews included), and they fare infinitely better. Too bad the Oilers have been so bad at drafting and assessing talent; truly wasting the best years of one of the best to ever lace them up.

Paragraph 1: Agree to a certain extent. The example I have is Pontus Holmberg (Drafted mid 4rth round), is he Dasyuk and Zetterberg; of course not. Is he doing better than some guys drafted 2 rounds ahead of him; yes.

Paragraph 2: It does take time for Yzerman to build but when he hits that top point; he isn't coming back to rebuilding for a long time. As for Larkin, he looks happy to be in Detroit and is from Michigan (I believe). I think Yzerman has him around 2 million dollars less than Larkin but he still does want to stay in Detroit. I think a Larkin package will be similar to Horvat's if you look at how similar they are on the outside looking in (both captains; 1C; the superstar on their team etc.) Goalies take more time to develop so I would still wait on Cossa (If you look at the "Called out" segments for the World Junior Team, you would agree with me that he seems like a good guy). I love Spider and picked him in Fantasy. I think at least 2 of the 3 prospects you've listed will hit due to their production in their minor league years. Worst case scenario, you've got a bright future with Larkin/chariot/Bertuzzi and the other vets getting shipped for promising prospects and draft picks

Oh, I agree McDavid is the most electrifying player offensively and would make any time minus their top 2 players a better team (Exceptions are Nate Mac and Makar/ Hedman (or Kuch) and Vasi but it frustrates my so much that he couldn't back check as hard as he forechecked. Imagine this, you are backcheking against Mcdavid, after he scores his normal 2-3 goals, you finally get a stop and recover the puck... but then BOOM you get stripped off the puck before you hit the red line because McDavid gets on his horse and strips you off the puck and returns to you defensive zone. You know hard hard it could be to play against that Oilers Team without any changes except McDavid backcheking??? That team would be unstoppable. Would Mcdavid have a 200 point season? No. But would the Oilers continually win the Stanley Cup? Yes. He just frustrates me more than anything really

Paragraph 1: right. And you end up with a Nyquist. Or a Tatar. Both great players, but they still are not elite. To win, you need a handful of elite, not just very good or even great. Nyquist and Tatar couldn't carry the torch the same way Zetterberg/Datsyuk could.

Paragraph 2: Glad to see optimism for my team from a rival. Larkin is very entrenched in Michigan, but you can't always take that for granted; his dad coached my sister's high school soccer team well before Dylan was born and Dylan's fiance is from Michigan. I just don't want Dylan to walk and I don't want Steve to pay market value, or you end up in a Leafs or Oilers situation!
Horvat and Larkin are sort of similar. I'd like to add Horvat to be honest. Horvat is a 2C, and earns his living being one of the most elite defensive centers in tbe league. Horvats offense is where he drops out of elite; this year is an anomaly with inflated shooting percentage. Horvat is the perfect 2C deployed as a defensive center that is not a black hole offensively. Larkin is perhaps one of the top 10 two way centers in the league in that neither suffers because of the other. Larkin is not elite offensively and he is not elite defensively, but he is well above average at both. If I had to choose a 1C, I'd go Larkin, but if I already had a 1C like, let's say Mackinnon, I'd go Horvat to be 2C to give me better options.
Finally, Chairot is fine, but his deal sucks and he will never live up to it. Bertuzzi might or might not get traded for a haul or peanuts. Larkin isn't leaving Detroit, but you never know. Cossa, I appreciate your optimism, but goalies are voodoo and it looks like bust thus far. And yes, Seider does kick ass, even with his down production; dude is already top 20 right now.

I get where you are coming from, and I have to agree to a a degree.. but burning Mcdavids energy on defense is not a good strategy. He is too good offensively. Instead, you should get better defensemen than Darnell Nurse to eat up cap space. Swap Nurse for Josi and get him out there with McDavid and you stop worrying about Mcdavids back check.

The Wings dominated for the better part of 2 decades because they had elite 2 way centers. Zetterberg was actually better defensively than multi-Selke winner Datsyuk. Federov is the greatest two-way forward ever and there isn't even a valid argument against that statement; Federov had job 1 of shutting down the other teams' best player, and job 2 was offense and he still averaged a point per game.

Point is, Mcdavid is not a defensive player. Asking him to do so in today's NHL would negatively affect his impact overall. Telling Stevie Y to have a 2 way game in 1987 would not be effective, but it sure as he'll was in 1997 because the way the game was played. Mcdavid is effective because you don't know how he will burn you, because he will, and the only thing you can do to match him is hope his linemates turn the puck over so you can capitalize on a weak back check.

Agreed with your 1rst paragraph to a tea

Frankly, I like to look from other team's perspectives and all signs points to Detroit being a powerhouse soon (Yzerman's history and Detroit's history). I think Larkin is going to sign for a little under market value (so he can win like a McKinnon). For the cost and what he brings right now, I don't think it would be smart to trade for Horvat unless you are guaranteed an extension (but just thinking of that top 6 gives me chills as a Leafs fan) and I agree on your take about Horvat but think that his production offensively was underrated last season to overrated this season. I forgot about Chiarot's deal but I think there has to be something that we aren't seeing (maybe locker room presence?). Goalies are magic beans but Cossa looks like he can at least keep you in a game in the future and if you don't like him, you could just trade him for a decent haul in a year or 2. Hopeful the Atlantic stays strong so I can turn on a regular season game and watch great hockey but hope it's weak at the same time so the Leafs can make a lot of playoff runs.

I know what you are saying. I still can't comprehend how Holland thought paying 9.5 for Nurse when Rielly who is so much better than Nurse, signed for 7.5. I just think Mcdavid could still maintain that sole offensive talent while bringing in Messier level defence. I think he would literally be a man wrecking crew and would go down as the greatest to ever do it (without a debate). But the beauty of this game is that it always changes, an I hope Holland will develop some brains and put a Stanley Cup winning roster together

Montreal wouldn’t trade Slafkovsky. Marner might be better but his cap hit is not something the Habs would want. It doesn’t fit in their rebuilding plans. Both teams say no.

Yeah, That's probably the biggest issue for the kind of trade unless Montreal adds cap going to TO which costs extra

MTL could easily add a cap dump or two to balance the trade. Marner is just worth way more as of rn and MTL would be sending a terrible message to their prospect pool and fanbase if they just traded Slafkovsky who’s 18 after a few NHL game. Hes actually not having a bad season either for kid big kid who just came from playing overseas. Lots of potential that the Habs just have to see through

1rst part makes complete sense and the second part is why Suggested a trade base for Slaf in the first place!

I liked Slafkovsky as 1OA. I did. He isn't doing anything wrong to make me say otherwise. That draft was so random and weak at the top 5-10, nobody was truly NHL ready. The problem I see is that Slafkovsky is a wing, and the wing he most closely will be compared with is Ovechkin (fair or not). From my limited observations of Slafkovsky (very limited), he is not assertive like Ovechkin, and that spells doom for his expected play style. What is wanted out of a first overall winger puck is starting at 50g and 50a. What I think you get is 30 and 30.