1984Echoes

PS: We're in the 8th playoff spot after tonight... Counting 3 points in 3 games (in hand), passing by the Panthers, Islanders, and Caps... Not that I would count chickens before they hatch BTW...

PS: Congrats on... Baby Nephew Red Wings Fan!!!

After tonight game... Yeah. EDIT: Plus more (couple really nice prospects...)

WHOO BOY!!! AWESOME!!!

Tuzz took a shot (high stick) to the face though...

WOO HOO Kubalik!!!

It won't add up properly...

Dude... I reverse jinxed them in the 1st period... You can't reverse REVERSE jinx them!!!

Even with that 1st most likely at the end of the round... Stevie would figure out something clever/ someone exciting he could draft...

I don't know if Tuzz would get that much buddha... But... If he got that or better as you surmise... I'd do a cart wheel.

So far.

They look a step slower tonight... Losing pucks... in fact not a whole lot of puck control in general tonight... And... At least a step slow.

I think the offers for him will be higher than we think...

Agree with all of this 100%. Especially Killian back to the bench as the #2 PG and Burks paired with Ivey instead.

Romania should assist Moldova by invading the Transdniestra and kicking out the Russians. Georgia should attack and take back their territories Abkhazia and South Ossetia.. and kick out the remaining Russian forces. Poland should attack Byelorussia and take over/ hand over the country to the duly-elected Byelorussian Government that was cheated out of their 2020 electoral victory by Lukashenko. And kick out the Russians. Yes, Finland should attack Karelia and take back the lands that they gave away to Russia after WINNING their war against them (Russians started it with a winter invasion) in 1939. Japan should forcibly take back the 4 Kuril islands that are actually Japanese, not Russian. Kaliningrad is a more difficult issue however. More heavily fortified than any other exo-territory of Russia. I'd like the Polish to kick the Russians out of Kaliningrad too... but that's a big ask...

That has to be down the road sometime... not today or anywhere in the near future. Wiseman is just too raw and inexperienced from 3 years of lack of playing time to just jump in and start at Center with Duren at PF... It's gotta be a reference to down the road or, a special situation like trying to match up with the Cavs as you say, cannot be a regular occurrence until JW gets up to speed. Which is gonna take awhile...

He has to be the backup Center for now. Just way too raw, new to the playbook, etc. Duren starts for now, with Stew at PF. What happens 10-20 games down the road... is anybody's guess IMO. But for now, I think Wiseman backs up Duren at Center.

At #6: stay or trade down. At #18: Stay.

The bolded looks like we get some compensation.

Was there some kind of issue with Wood? Coaching-wise? Because I liked Wood from that 3 and D perspective. Or was it simply a cap-crunch thing where Weaver was cornered into making a move like that in order to reset the cap, reset the talent age on the team, and he also loved Stew enough to take that type of risk for that pick/ selection? Which makes it more complicated than i originally intended... as just a cap move... Just wondering...

I thought his 3-point range/ shooting was supposed to be so much better than what we've seen. If he could raise that part of his game to an elite level (40% +/- shooting on 3's) I think he would more than justify his selection. He'll never be an elite athlete or defender... but as long as he gives his all on D and takes a jump in his shooting - no guarantees on anything except I believe he's the "committed" sort who will definitely work on these parts of his game - I can live with who he is.

I forgot what the projections are on this pick but I think in 2025 it drops to top 9 or 12 or something... We might keep our 2024 pick as this team will be trying to learn how to win games whiler getting all these kids to improve... So, if we don't convey the pick after the 2024 season (I think there's a reasonable chance it conveys in 2024 as a top-18? protected pick.. IDK... 10% + chance?), I think there's a VERY good chance that it conveys after 2025. Then freeing up any future 1sts if we needed them in any additional trade scenarios...

And the thing about these are (let me break down my "phase" 2 and 3's down a bit more): Phase 2 talent acquisition is really: 2A) Acquire talent. 2B) Develop talent. Phase 3 competitive team is really: 3A) Fit roster pieces together and trade for fits/ improvements 3B) Chase playoffs/ pennants/ championships. I think we're really in 2B phase, especially after this summer's draft, as they need to develop all of these kids. I think your concerns on construction is really 3A... in which we are almost there (or already in the case of refusing to trade Bojan or Burks because they provide not just leadership, but the skills this team is currently missing with all these young guys: shooting skills/ range). I think concerns on roster composition are still premature. But not by much. Or maybe even not really... in the sense that these kids need to show what they've got, in terms of skill on the court, and what we are still missing. And only then does Weaver have to maneuver in order to put the right guys together to round out a truly competitive team. But first... these kids still have steep learning curves in order to do that. To show what their best is, on the court, and tell management what complimentary skills are missing and are needed to round out the team. Especially: 2023 draft pick, Wiseman, Cade, Duren and Ivey. These are the key guys for us in the future (at least at this point). Short answer (to me): still too much learning to do before criticisms of construction can even begin. It's the next step, aside from development. But we still have to get through the development first. As for asset management: to me, that's water under the bridge. As far as I'm concerned, Weaver did what he needed to do in order to fix the talent deficiency, crappy vet/ crappy contract situations. When this team gets good... that's when I'll start to worry about asset/ cap management. Just my 2 cents.

That looks much better. I totally fell for the photoshop...!

Dude... None of this "Happy Holidays" BS! Call the holiday by its REAL name!!! HAPPY SPRING TRAINING OPENING DAY ladies & gents!!! (I'm just being a smartass here but... you know...)