Mr.TaterSalad

Were I Yzerman I would play hardball. Hey buddy, you're in year 4 of an 8 year contract, you don't want to go to Team X, enjoy your next 4 seasons around here. I get that Larkin has a No Movement Clause in his contract, but we're under no obligation to trade him. I want to trade him. I think we should trade him. But I'm not sending him to only where he wants to go for a crappy return. I'm making sure I get a deal that is equitable and mutually beneficial.

No. He barley has the ability and stones to execute a one for one trade with other teams. I am fully prepared to be massively underwhelmed by the return we get. At best I think it is going to be a mid-level to late first round pick or second round pick + a second or third line player + maybe a mid-level prospect. I could see a trade with Florida looking something like Anton Lundell/C + 2027 2nd Round Pick (we won't get their #9 this year) + their #4 prospect Wilmer Skoog/C-LW.

No thanks to any of these teams. I want high-end draft capital or top prospects for Larkin. Florida has the highest pick at #9. I don't know that any of these teams have a deep prospect pool, with a top six player in their prospect pool. I hope Yzerman asks him about San Jose and I hope Larkin says yes.

Are Chicagoans really going to drive to a suburb of Gary, IN like Hammond, with absolutely nothing to do or see before or after a football game? It feels like moving to a Gary suburb like Hammond will be a disaster for attendance. No reason now that we can't get a team in Quebec if the Gary metro area can support one.

Random note, but if Gary, IN can support an NFL franchise, I don't want to hear anything more about Quebec not being able to support an NHL franchise. The median household income for Gary, IN is less than $35,000/year and they have less than 100,000 people in the Metro area. And before you say "Yeah, but it's really Metro Chicago", how many people are really going to buy season tickets and spend their time in Gary to watch football?

I guess I am not fully opposed to trading Larkin for the right established player. But trading for a guy like Hischier or any established veteran just keeps this team in purgatory I feel like. We either need to get a #1 center, capable of putting up 90+ points in a season or we need to revamp this roster in the vein of Carolina, Florida, or Vegas and get tougher forecheckers and role out 3 lines of scoring. I don't see either of those two scenarios playing out anytime soon. As such, I would rather start the rebuild all over again, get draft capital, and have a shot at a #1 center or top-end talent now and in the future. This Larkin news has me in the camp of rebuilding the rebuild.

I think Platner is rightly cooked at this point. He has had scandal after scandal for the better part of 6-8 months now. Nazi tattoos, disgusting posts online/reddit about sexual assault, allegations of affairs and being hostile to woman. He should step aside and end his campaign and allow Janet Mills to become the nominee. Unfortunately, his ego and arrogance won't allow for that. He's blowing a golden opportunity for Democrats in Maine and assuring that Susan Collins will be back in the Senate.

Abdul endorsed Kamala Harris and was openly supportive of her election. He did the same in 2020 for Joe Biden. Yes, in the primary only, he supported a vote for uncommitted. But in the general he did everything you asked. Furthermore, as someone who has seen him speak at least 5 times now, he does far more than just pitch Medicare For All. He has a whole swath of ideas, on a range of issues. Just because you plug your ears and go la-la-la-la like Lloyd Christmas doesn't make it so. It's just you choosing not to hear or acknowledge them.

One, polling suggests he might well be the nominee. He's been tied or leading in several primary polls lately. Two, they will do exactly what they did for Attorney General this year. At the MDP Convention they endorsed Karen McDonald, but she lost to Eli Savit. They endorsed Eli after the convention. So if Mallory or Haley Stevens wins, the UAW will endorse one of them.

We could also get Gavin McKenna if Toronto does Toronto things. I could see a world where Toronto does something incredibly dumb, passes on McKenna, and he falls to whomever is drafting at #2 overall. If not, we still have the chance to get top tier talents like Stenberg, Malhotra, or even Reid the defenceman.

The Antisemites at the UAW have endorsed Abdul El-Sayed for Senate. One of the largest and most important unions in Michigan endorses Abdul.

What if you could get San Jose's #2 overall pick in this year's draft instead of a player. Would you take that?

What would you ask in return for Larkin? Do you want draft capital? Are you trying to get a Top 5 pick in this year's draft given that it doesn't have a true #1 center? What are you looking for?

Well I hope he wants to go to San Jose then because I want that #2 overall pick in this year's draft . If we somehow could land Gavin McKenna that would be a real blessing. If not, one of Ivar Stenberg or Caleb Malhotra is probably the player I am targeting. Stenberg looks like he could be an 80+ guy in the NHL and a pure goal scorer, which we need in the worst way. I've read and seen that he is an elite skater already too and very crafty with the puck on his stick. Put the puck in the net and win games with this guy. Malhotra lacks some of the production you'd want from a true #1 center, which is a concern. I don't just want to trade Larkin only to draft another Larkin. But from reports I have read this guy is a dog on the forecheck and has the skill to be a goal scorer. I've read Nick Suzuki comparisons which would be awesome and I've also ready Dylan Larkin comparisons, which would be less exciting and a bit of an LOL.

This is a blessing in disguise. This rebuild was going nowhere and needed to be blown up and started over. Now we get to do just that. Dylan Larkin is not a #1 center. In order to win in the NHL you either need to build a deep, phyiscal team like Florida or Vegas or you need to have a #1 center, capable of getting you 90-95+ points per season. Right now we are neither deep nor physical. We also lack a #1 center capable of producing 95+ points in a season and really being a top line guy who can make the wingers around him better. If Larkin wants out good, fine. I'm starting this rebuild over and getting rid of virtually everyone over the age of 32 on this roster. I'm starting off my rebuild of the rebuild by offering Larkin to San Jose immediately and asking for their #2 pick in the draft this year. San Jose has a good, young core of players. A guy like Larkin can give the Sharks the veteran presence they need and help them win now as they are come out of their rebuild phase. The official deal I would offer them is Larkin for #2 overall pick + 2026 2nd round pick.

Are you kidding me. We're already starting with the injuries again?

This is what a country song should sound like. Really digging Joshua Ray Walker.

I know this is fake. But since it is an incompetent organization like the Bears, maybe there is a hint of truth to the GM passing out and missing a phone call after eating too much Arbys.

Your talking about former Jewish Congressman Andy Levin. The same leftists that you parade around as terrible, Jew-hating, antisemites have supported a Jewish man in Eli Savit for Attorney General, a Jewish woman for Attorney General in Dana Nessel, a Jewish man in Andy Levin for Congress, and a Jewish man in Bernie Sanders for President. For a group of people that hate people of the Jewish faith, they sure do support a lot of Jews, especially for higher offices.

He's a complete trainwreck. I'm all for supporting the more progressive candidate in a primary. But there is nothing progressive about his actions. Nazi tattoos, sexist and misogynistic posts, cheating on his wife with staffers. Platner had some appealing working class traits, but it has become more appalling than appealing now.

Yeah, it probably is just that. I hope Levi comes back this year and makes an impact because we are thin at DT otherwise.

They liked where Marcus Davenport was at too. I will believe it when I see Levi on the field, in a uniform, playing football.

The old James Carville quote of "It's the economy stupid" rang true in 2024 and cost Kamala Harris and the Democrats. That same quote and same notion is going to cost the Republicans in the 2026 midterms. Trump has reversed any of the economic gains made by the Biden Administration and Democrats in Congress and turned them into negatives for his party. Inflation is pushing close to a 4% pace. Gas prices are up nearly $2 above the national average and are over $5 and $6 per gallon in some states. In the eyes of the average American consumer and voter, this economy is in bad shape. They are feeling it and are going to express it at the ballot box. Republicans are very likely losing the House because of it and could very well lose what should otherwise have been a gifted win for them in the Senate. I think North Carolina with Roy Cooper and Maine with Graham Platner will flip giving Democrats seats 47 and 48. I think Ohio probably goes next with Sherrod Brown returning, followed by Alaska with Mary Peltoa, giving Democrats seats 49 and 50. I think the Talarico seat ends up the tie breaker if there is one. I don't think Talarico wins, I think Paxton squeaks out a victory margin between 1-3%, but will make is closer than it should be. There are other seats like Independent (Democrat) Dan Osborne in Nebraska and Josh Turek/Zach Wahls in Iowa that could flip in the most amazing of years for Democrats. I tend to think that the electorate is waaaaay too partisan at this point and that both Nebraska and Iowa are simply too far out of reach. So I wouldn't count on those flipping. But the Senate should have been an absolute lock for Republicans and impossible for Democrats. Thanks to a terrible economy, with high prices and expensive gas, Trump has made it a competitive environment for Democrats to take advantage of and win the Senate.