Jason_R

This franchise is so conservative with prospects it is hard to be sure they will let Edvinsson make the team out of camp. 😉

I hope so. The leaks are pretty bad.

Detroit scored 38 more goals this season than last. Impressive improvement, but yes, they aren't likely to get better next year. They need better players on the back end. Edvinsson will have a full season. Hopefully Cossa is ready at least for a mid-season call up and can start to fulfill some of his draft expectations.

It is very surprising to see how much more difficult Seider’s minutes have been any other defenseman in the league. I don’t know if I would call this scheme, or a lack of faith in anybody else. But that kid needs help. And he deserves the big contract.

Sadly, their record shows the rebuilding is not done and they are not ready to compete. I don’t think they will be ready to compete until/unless Edvinsson, ASP, and one other defensive prospect are ready, until Danielson and Kasper are ready, and until Cossa or Augustine is ready. Next year they will be treading water. Hopefully a full season of Edvinsson amounts to an improvement over the minutes that have been logged by a mediocre defenseman. Since they will be on the fence again next year, I doubt Lalonde will get fired but suspect there will be at least one change behind the bench.

They are not a young team and yet nobody provided “veteran leadership” when Larkin was down. That’s what you’re supposed to do when you’re signed to a multi-year big money contract. Also, they signed these responsible two-way centers but the team still can’t keep the puck out of the net. Lalonde seems to be a replacement-level coach. Based on where the team is I don’t think it is the right time for a change there but I hope he shuffles his staff.

I cannot believe what I just saw!

They are who we thought they were. Marginally a playoff team. No real personality yet… maybe soon Yzerman’s vision of having a bunch of hulking defensemen and a massive goaltender to clog up the back end will come to fruition. Meaningful hockey in April is good, though.

🫡

In the 2025 NFC Championship Game Brock Wright is going to leak out behind San Francisco’s DL, across the field, into the flat, for an uncontested, game winning 60 yard TD, and it will all be worth it.

The Steelers have the most interesting storylines in the NFL next season.

He will never see the field.

I hoped they could bring back Chark last season. He would be a solid addition for a year.

Yeah, before the season everyone thought they would be on the playoff bubble and they are. They fell apart without Larkin. Seems like a fragile team.

It is hard to know what goes on behind the scenes but there’s a lot in his bio: https://www.detroitlions.com/team/front-office-roster/rod-wood He and Sheila seem to have a very strong partnership and a shared vision that has allowed for such a strong relationship to emerge between the front office and the football operations.

Remember when Rod Wood got hired and the board almost melted down because he wasn’t a football guy? Seems like he’s been good for the franchise.

I’m guessing teams have to develop marketing proposals and pledge a certain amount of money to brand building in that foreign market.

Will we see Cossa next year? Will he have a shot out of training camp? Would they make him play in GR at the start of the season and consider calling him up late like Edvinsson? I don’t follow closely enough to know when the rebuild should really, finally start to turn the corner.

I don’t follow the Wings closely these days but it seems like Edvinsson’s arrival promises a massive upgrade on the number two defensive pairing. The Yzer-plan of having defensemen who are big and difficult to play against starts to take effect next season. What I don’t know is whether we should expect any other prospects to break through next year. Or whether they will be able to (or try to) re-sign Kane.

“…he homie still wanted”? Really Dave Birkett?

I’ve heard it rumored that snitches get stitches. Don’t know if it is true.

I would retire McCarty’s #25 before Osgood’s #30. He had the iconic fight against the villain Claude Lemieux which I think most of his teammates agree was the catalyst for the 1997 Stanley Cup run, which broke the 40+ year drought, and which McCarty famously capped with a majestic breakaway goal which became the game winner and Cup clincher. He was the heart and soul of the Grind Line, which epitomized the grit of the Red Wings dynasty and the city of Detroit (before Dan Campbell had ever uttered the word). He also reminds us of some of the great tough but skilled forwards from that era like Bob Probert, Joe Kocur, Martin Lapointe, and, dare we add Brendan Shanahan… or does #14 deserve to be retired too?

Maybe Al Cowlings has seen him.

What kind of message does it send to other free agents if they try to claw back his bonus? /ducks/

What took them so long? My hands are all raw from clutching my pearls since yesterday afternoon.