Haliax

I think it is great to see Larkin play with energy again. I didn't catch much hockey last season but I'm investing a bit more time into it this year, and he seems to really be having fun with Raymond and Bertuzzi. Hope he can go the rest of the season without messing his neck up again.

Biggest issue with Almquist is that his skating never got better, which was probably a prerequisite in order for him to be able to succeed at the NHL level. Speed seems to ever more be a concern in the NHL, even for large players, but especially for undersized guys. I liked him in the AHL, but I do see why the Wings let him go, especially with Ouellet, Sproul, Backman, and Marchenko looking to compete for spots in the next couple of years. I wish him well in the KHL, hopefully he lights it up and eventually finds a home in the NHL somewhere.

@jammer2 If Mantha makes the team next year, it would without a doubt be in a top 6 capacity, but I think he'll spend most of the year in Grand Rapids. Hopefully I'm wrong though and he earns a spot on the roster.

Pretty good, busy with work, how about yourself?

Hossa.

I partly agree. Howard and Franzen have been under performing, but Tootoo is just pure wasted space. I also think that most of Franzen's issues are with coaching rather than talent, and Howards are more to do with defensive support. Tootoo just sucks.

I'd say it's because they have given up on Tootoo but they still see Howard and Franzen as long term contributors to the team. Also, as easy as it seems to us for the team to buy out these long term contracts, they are still forking out the cash, it isn't free. They made similar buyouts with McCarty in 2005 and Colaiacovo last year.

Yup. That, along with signing Samuelsson, made for a very bad day.

All indications are that they will use the final buyout on Tootoo, who was a healthy scratch even in Grand Rapids. Not huge savings here, but I don't think that they will give up on Franzen or Howard.

The thing with Mantha is that he always looks like he could be moving faster, but I think it has far more to do with his stride than the actual amount of effort he puts into it. In the games I watched, it seemed he would over take other players even while not looking like he was skating hard. Watching some of his highlights, the guy is good at getting into position, and choosing right times to go to the net. He isn't tough on the boards at all really, but that could be an aspect of the game he picks up at higher levels. And for all the complaints of his lack of compete, the guy sure worked hard on the back check. He wasn't always good positionally, but you could tell he was trying.

No, he finished his contract with the Wings. The Wings just traded his negotiation rights to the Sharks.

Some people just can't recognize good television. ^_^

In my opinion, the team needs a change. I think you can get change by bringing in a new coach. Overly simplistic, but it is a place to start. Then you evaluate the team in off season, let go some of the players that aren't contributing, and see what comes out in next years training camp. It has been a full decade (I'd say offseason 2001) since this team has made big changes to the roster. I think a similar change, with new faces and not failed past experiments, needs to happen now. Obviously the same firepower that we acquired in that 2001 offseason isn't available now, but I'm sure there are some options. Going younger may be one of them, and in that case we should buckle in for a couple seasons of missed playoffs. Long story short, I think this season is a write off. Make changes now with a 5 year plan in mind.

Is it 5 games minimum with in person? I thought it could still be less.

I don't really see anything wrong with those Kronwall hits. People only focus on him because he gets big hits like that more often than most. Thinking that he deserves to get injured because he throws big hits is a ridiculous mindset. I didn't think there was too much wrong with this hit on Kronwall either. He said it himself, he put himself in that position to get hurt. Hopefully it is just mild and he doesn't miss time. It's still a bad hit and earned the penalty, but I don't really think McLeod deserves a suspension.