Jeremy Laura: Wings pull off OT win, but bad habits created problems again

Raz is the #1 star, despite falling all over the place and taking a bad penalty. It is amazing that someone so awkward can manage to put up points consistently and win games.
C'mon Feds, ya know you love him!

Raz is the #1 star, despite falling all over the place and taking a bad penalty. It is amazing that someone so awkward can manage to put up points consistently and win games.
C'mon Feds, ya know you love him!
- HenryHockey

Remember Homer on skates? I’ll tell you though, not a tougher individual i know. I used to write a column on hockey gear, he didn’t wear chest protection. Just shoulder caps on suspenders and some extra padding on his lower back because goalies always cross checked him (and titanium knee braces). That dude was legitimately tough

An old rugby coach used to tell us winning by 1 is a win, but nobody likes it and it's really embarrassing. The last 2 games are just like that; embarrassing. Coughing up leads, silly Sin Bin trips, falling all over the ice, and worst: the collander defense. The shortie......(insert "puke" emoji here).

We have THE best D-man ever to take the ice (my opinion, biased as it may be) in The Perfect Human. Why can our D not defend? You can say that we have crappy D-lines (and I'd agree, to a degree...), but something's gotta give. When you pot 4, but have to go to OT to win a game??? Y'all can say Husso's not the best G; ok. I could counter with; If he didn't have to stand on his damn head AND solve inflation and the energy crises every night, we'd win more games.

Now that I have that off my chest.....We are still, to Jeremy's point, in a rebuild. We have some promising kids in the bus leagues. Walman??? Buffet Glenn's kid deserves a VERY nice extension. Mo Sides is throwing that body around more and more, Hronek is truly an unkown quantity - an enigma, if you will. We have GOT to shore up the D-line & get the kids working a system. What we're doing now is NOT going to get us to the SCPO down the road. Look at GRG; they're getting pummeled day in & day out. That's not a good sign. If Walman doesn't get a fat extension, I'm driving from SC to LCA & buying him dinner. To me, extending Walman sets a precedent; work your tail off, be of worth to the team, make a difference EVERY night.....you get paid. Dedicate yourself to the team.....The Team.The Team.The Team. Even NHL Tonight talks about this kid (aside from Lundqvist, they're all just talkers...).

Anyway, I'd hope for contractual movement post-break. As much as I live the kid, Bert's an awesome trade chip. Throw in Ras (that hurts, he's a modern day Grind Line guy, imo), & Ned. Get Horvat. Free up Larkin at 2C. If Kasper's a hit, we have 3 unstoppable Centres. Winning.

Raz is the #1 star, despite falling all over the place and taking a bad penalty. It is amazing that someone so awkward can manage to put up points consistently and win games.
C'mon Feds, ya know you love him!
- HenryHockey

Between the bad penalty and the breakaway in OT he tried his best to lose that game. I still say fire him into the sun.

An old rugby coach used to tell us winning by 1 is a win, but nobody likes it and it's really embarrassing. The last 2 games are just like that; embarrassing. Coughing up leads, silly Sin Bin trips, falling all over the ice, and worst: the collander defense. The shortie......(insert "puke" emoji here).

We have THE best D-man ever to take the ice (my opinion, biased as it may be) in The Perfect Human. Why can our D not defend? You can say that we have crappy D-lines (and I'd agree, to a degree...), but something's gotta give. When you pot 4, but have to go to OT to win a game??? Y'all can say Husso's not the best G; ok. I could counter with; If he didn't have to stand on his damn head AND solve inflation and the energy crises every night, we'd win more games.

Now that I have that off my chest.....We are still, to Jeremy's point, in a rebuild. We have some promising kids in the bus leagues. Walman??? Buffet Glenn's kid deserves a VERY nice extension. Mo Sides is throwing that body around more and more, Hronek is truly an unkown quantity - an enigma, if you will. We have GOT to shore up the D-line & get the kids working a system. What we're doing now is NOT going to get us to the SCPO down the road. Look at GRG; they're getting pummeled day in & day out. That's not a good sign. If Walman doesn't get a fat extension, I'm driving from SC to LCA & buying him dinner. To me, extending Walman sets a precedent; work your tail off, be of worth to the team, make a difference EVERY night.....you get paid. Dedicate yourself to the team.....The Team.The Team.The Team. Even NHL Tonight talks about this kid (aside from Lundqvist, they're all just talkers...).

Anyway, I'd hope for contractual movement post-break. As much as I live the kid, Bert's an awesome trade chip. Throw in Ras (that hurts, he's a modern day Grind Line guy, imo), & Ned. Get Horvat. Free up Larkin at 2C. If Kasper's a hit, we have 3 unstoppable Centres. Winning.
- mcmastermike1968

Yzerman is not trading for a rental. Unless he can talk to Horvat and extend him first, he is not coming to Detroit. I think he is a bit expensive for Stevie's taste anyway.

Yzerman is not trading for a rental. Unless he can talk to Horvat and extend him first, he is not coming to Detroit. I think he is a bit expensive for Stevie's taste anyway.
- HenryHockey

Yeah, he's currently the most-plausible, impact C that could reasonably be expected to move. But, I'd take anyone of his calibre!

We’ll probably do trade talk during the All Star Break. Teams that really want Karlsson will probably need a 3rd party. ROR did a presser for St. Louis yesterday and admitted he knows a trade may be in the works. Horvat seems ready to go. Probably going to get some picks and expiring contracts to make room for other teams to load up. Would love to see a hockey trade that impacts next season

We’ll probably do trade talk during the All Star Break. Teams that really want Karlsson will probably need a 3rd party. ROR did a presser for St. Louis yesterday and admitted he knows a trade may be in the works. Horvat seems ready to go. Probably going to get some picks and expiring contracts to make room for other teams to load up. Would love to see a hockey trade that impacts next season
- Jeremy Laura

I don't see a 3rd team on a Karlsson trade. Taking on 4 more years of his cap hit can really handcuff a team if the cap does not go up a bit.....The future of the cap is not a sure thing.
But yeah, something is bound to break soon.

We’ll probably do trade talk during the All Star Break. Teams that really want Karlsson will probably need a 3rd party. ROR did a presser for St. Louis yesterday and admitted he knows a trade may be in the works. Horvat seems ready to go. Probably going to get some picks and expiring contracts to make room for other teams to load up. Would love to see a hockey trade that impacts next season
- Jeremy Laura

A 3rd party isn't retaining on Karlsson for the remainder of that contract.

Horvat + Larkin would give us two below-average first line centers at like $8 million each (if not more). Plus Copp at 3C for $5.6 million. A lot of depth down the middle, but very expensive and doesn't exactly solve the "no stars" problem. And all of them are in their mid-to-late 20s.

You could build a pretty good team around that kind of center depth but I'm not so sure you could build a serious contender--and even if you did, your window isn't going to be open for very long. Worst-case scenario you're looking at a few years of being on the bubble/getting bounced in the first round or two, then another rebuild in 3-4 years.

Horvat + Larkin would give us two below-average first line centers at like $8 million each (if not more). Plus Copp at 3C for $5.6 million. A lot of depth down the middle, but very expensive and doesn't exactly solve the "no stars" problem. And all of them are in their mid-to-late 20s.

You could build a pretty good team around that kind of center depth but I'm not so sure you could build a serious contender--and even if you did, your window isn't going to be open for very long. Worst-case scenario you're looking at a few years of being on the bubble/getting bounced in the first round or two, then another rebuild in 3-4 years.
- Sven22

A place holder at 2C is probably a better idea. Pick up a less costly C in the summer by trade or better yet FA. Toews, Monahan, O'Reilly, Dylan Strome, even Eller might be available.