Jason_R

kasper, danielson, ASP, MBN all had the chance to give the roster a jolt. Nobody has done it.

IIRC JVR had a deflection chance go off the post.

Disappointing. Another game they get a goal disallowed by inches. Multiple posts. Some great chances turned away. Some questionable calls. But they just aren’t that difficult to play against. They aren’t abrasive.

Yeah if they get run out of their own rink by a team with all these injuries, they’re done.

Well, that might be it for the playoffs.

All true. The most alarming thing in my view is that they are the only legitimate contender in the East that has allowed more goals than they have scored. They are a -3 as of today. Defensively they have been solid, tied for 5th in the conference for goals allowed but they are one of the lowest scoring teams in the East. None of this is a surprise. There is a reason they’ve been on the outside. They’ve tightened up their team defense a bit this year, going from about 3.2 goals allowed per game to under 3. Offense hasn’t been much better, though. This season was always about internal growth. I believe Stevie was in on Thomas and Pettersson at the trade deadline but believes his options would be better in the offseason. I expect he will get one forward this offseason who will move the needle. This season they will scratch and claw to get in.

It was good to get Copp back. It will be better to get Larkin back. It looked like he was a full go at practice and is now a gametime decision. The Boston game was disappointing. They outplayed Boston. They had one goal waved off by a fraction of a second. Swayman stood on his head. Somehow Boston ended up with 1:53 of a two-man advantage AND a penalty shot. I still think Detroit gets in.

The fact that ASP made the team out of camp was partly an indication of how much talent he has, but it was also an indication of a lack of depth at the blue line. Especially now that Faulk is here, ASP needs to go to Grand Rapids, get some heavy ice time, and get some playoff experience.

Pissing off the fan base is inevitable and has already happened. But nobody knows how the CBA situation will work out. Almost anything could happen in a situation like this. I don’t blame Ilitch for not wanting to be the first and last owner to sign a pitcher to a $400 million contract.

I agree that the CBA and potential work stoppage are factors that are influencing this process. If you are Boras, you are advising your client to test the market before a salary cap is possibly introduced. If you are Ilitch, you are not going to bid against yourself in a situation where mega contracts may become obsolete. Finally, I don’t believe for a second that Boras is in charge of Skubal’s decision. One does not become the best in a highly competitive field by being stupid, lazy, or passive. Skubal will make his own decision.

Maybe I’m naive, but I don’t believe the door is closed on Skubal. Call up McGonigle and demonstrate to Skubal that Dee-troit baseball is a serious contender for the foreseeable future.

Ugh. A two minute 5 on 3 and a penalty shot.

A Gold Glove third baseman!?!

Good find. What I expected. They basically got him for half the cost of AQM, and he should be on the field almost twice as much as AQM.

😶

Yes, it is great to see DeBrincat, one of the smallest guys on the ice and an elite goal scorer, getting into every scrum. But let's not forget Patrick Kane. Takes a shot from way downtown, against the boards, just inside the blue line, as far from the goal as you can possibly get in the offensive zone, between the legs of a defender, off the *** of his teammate screening the goaltender, and hits nothing but net. Also, with three minutes left, springs a puck loose from the defensive zone for a streaking Alex DeBrincat to chase down. Sure he didn't get an assist on that one, he didn't get a goal on the first one, and there was an element of luck involved in both, but every time I watch him I marvel at his vision. He makes plays that few other players can even see.

Still the only team on the list with a negative point differential.

Great game. Kane and DeBrincat carried the team.

Others have said it, but Wonnum is the Davenport/Paschal replacement, not the AQM/third-down pass rush specialist replacement. AQM ended up being DE2 by default last year since Davenport missed most of the season. He played over 40% of defensive snaps, Davenport played only 25%. in 2024 Paschal played 50% of snaps with AQM getting less than 25% of snaps. Last year, AQM had to be on the field for a lot of situations he was absolutely not capable of handling. Detroit is looking to Wonnum to be on the field opposite Hutch for probably two-thirds of defensive snaps. I don't think signing Wonnum and not signing AQM means the team doesn't value a 3rd down pass rush specialist, it means they need someone to play 1st and 2nd down now that they've moved on from Paschal and Davenport.

“PFF tracks something called average depth of tackles, so just the yards away from the line of scrimmage you are when you bring a player down. Al-Quadin Muhammad ranked dead last among qualified EDGE defenders last year in average depth of tackle against the run — 7.5 yards from the line of scrimmage … Wonnum checked in at 2.5 yards, which is 5 yards better than the average Muhammad tackle. And then PFF also tracks run stops and Muhammad was tied for last in run stops last year among EDGE defenders with just two … Contrast to Wonnum, who had 19 run stops, which ranked 11th. You get an idea of what the Lions are valuing here & what they are devaluing in some ways in letting AQM walk & replacing him with Wonnum.”

Are we talking about Trammell/Whitaker tier prospect? I keep reading about the 80 hitting tool. Is this guy going to hit like Tony Gwinn?

Finish this sentence for a Detroit sports fan whose attention is mostly directed toward the Lions and the Red Wings. It seems like it might be accurate to say that Kevin McGonigle is already the best hitter on the Detroit Tigers, even before playing a regular season game in the bigs. Assuming he makes the opening day roster (and it would be astonishing if he didn't), it seems like he is going to be on the short list for ROY candidates. Where is he likely to stack up against this generation of players? Where is he likely to stack up against Tigers greats? I am starting to get hyped up about him, but I don't know how hyped up I should be.

AQM's deal was $4 million base with $2 million in incentives ($500k for 40% of defensive snaps, $500k for 60% of defensive snaps, and $250k for 6, 8, 10, 12 sacks). I think AQM would make $5.25 million if he reproduces his numbers from last year. Will be interesting to see what Wonnum's base and incentives are. The market is the market. Defensive ends are expensive on the market. Wonnum won't be a major factor but he will do his job when called on which is to set the edge. They will pick a DE to go into the rotation as well.

Regardless, the Lions met with Proctor at the combine. They may have met with other tackles, but I have not specifically seen information about it. I have seen several mock drafts with the Lions picking Proctor at 17. In other drafts, I have seen him slipping to the last few pics of the first round, and I think I even recall one where he was early in the second round.