Red Wings

[jaadam4]

I’m not going to say it hasn’t sucked but the Wings are in the final year (hopefully) of the transition from being a shitty team to making the playoffs. Our defense has taken a long time to rebuild but with Jonatan Berggren and Simon Edvinsson possibly ready next year it’s going to flip the script.

Our defense should be a major strength of the team and the pipeline of young guys are there. Stevie Y has amassed a lot of prospects and many are turning heads.

This should be the last year of us being sellers.

[chemiclord]

no kidding, it’s why Stevie Y has our farm system ranked on the top 3 systems in all of hockey.

The farm matters about as much in hockey as it does in baseball. Approximately fuck all. It's not an accident that the bottom feeders in both leagues tend to have highly rated farm systems.

[JGSpartan]

Baseball is structured so teams don't have to carry salaries and the cheapo teams with the farms are churning out players that just end up on other teams.

Hockey does not have that. The Wings aren't trading away their building pieces, they are trading away the vets that were keeping the seats warm. The only area in which it's similar is that both are long burns and players take time to make the bigs.

[jaadam4]

The farm matters about as much in hockey as it does in baseball. Approximately fuck all. It's not an accident that the bottom feeders in both leagues tend to have highly rated farm systems.

You’re on crack.

FA in hockey is terrible, the only way to build a team is having a generational talent or building through the draft. The CBA has almost made it impossible to free spend anymore as players don’t hit free agency until they’re 30.

You have to amass talent and develop the young kids.

[jaadam4]

Baseball you could spend on FA or trade for a good team. Hockey isn’t that way

[froot loops]

What year should we expect them to contend for a playoff spot Jad?

[jaadam4]

What year should we expect them to contend for a playoff spot Jad?

I sure as shit hope its soon. Yzerman has done everything to clean house from Hollands stink in the 3 years that he's been GM. The Wings have progressed every single year under Yzerman's tenure as GM and in that same time he's also built up the system. Holland should have been canned several years prior but for some reason they held onto him and his shit decision making.

They need Simon Edvinsson and some of the other young guys next season. I don't think its far fetched that they could contend for a spot next season as they're hovering around .500 this year.

[jaadam4]

Both of Yzerman's draft picks in Seider and Raymond are in contention for rookie of the year. That's damned impressive to me. These guys have all star potential right now.

[froot loops]

I think this is he third straight year I've asked the question and you never give a real answer, it's always excuses.

[jaadam4]

I don’t know how to be any clearer

NHL free agency is garbage. There’s ZERO way to build via free agency especially when Holland gave away so many long term contracts. We were still paying for Stephen Weiss until
last year. Let that sink in. Unless you past prime players FA does nothing.

The Wings have drafted unbelievably showing fairly immediate returns having 2 of the best young players in the NHL which were Yzerman’s picks

Yzerman cleaned house and the Wings have gotten better.. every… single… year

We have one of the best farm systems in hockey which would
prove we’ll have a pipeline of talent to the bigs. What’s an excuse? We’ve gotten better every year?

[froot loops]

They have looked like shit in the second half of the season. Give us a year in which they should make the playoffs, you say the same thing every year when they suck.

[jaadam4]

Let’s agree on one thing, you can’t build via free agency anymore. The Wings, Avs, Rangers etc ruined it for hockey because they were stacking talent with piles of money. Teams were sick if being farm systems. Now free agency is nil
to nothing.

The only way to build is via trades and the draft. Stevie Y has taken our farm system and turned it into one of the best in hockey which would mean these guys will have to be in the bigs soon and he was a magician flipping Mantha for Vrana (who’s already way better) and drafting our goalie of the future. Thanks Caps!

The problem with hockey is its not basketball. 18 and 19 year old kids aren’t ready for the pro game. This will be the 3rd year in a row the Pistons draft in the top 7 picks and it’s easy to see the Pistons will prob be in the playoffs next year.

Hockey takes longer as the draft picks don’t come straight to the NHL and become the centerpiece to a team. Unless it’s a generational talent it doesn’t happen like that. How can you put a “give me the exact day” when we’ll be good again in that climate? You’re cool with the Pistons taking a couple years, clearing bad contracts and stacking high end talent but not the Wings?

Holland left the Wings in a sad state bro

[froot loops]

If Yzerman's only recourse is lottery picks and amassing draft picks by dealing anyone of value at the deadline every year, then the excitement for his hiring was misguided. If you think that's the only way to improve a team, then you are being hypocritical by criticizing Holland, he didn't have the opportunity to tank for years on end to build up the farm system. The Wings were telling everyone they were open for business at the trading deadline, that is a tantamount to a fire sale. Allegedly, the only ones off limits were Seider and Raymond.

There's nothing to that says the Yzerplan can't involve making good trades and finding players that were underrated.

I'll say it again, people bitched when Holland said a rebuild will take 10 years, Jad should have said, "Damn right it will."

[chemiclord]

Yep. If this is the excuse for Yzerman, then they should have never turned on Holland to begin with.

[Forsh]

Yzerman built a powerhouse in Tampa Bay through drafting and signings. He had a track record doing exactly what the Wings needed done.

Holland had a scouting background, but as a GM all he ever had to do was tweak an already established powerhouse. Maybe Holland didn't want to do a complete rebuild, or know how to

Moving on ...