A lot depends on if ASP comes over next season. I think it’s truly a coin flip at this point, but he might benefit from getting acclimated to the smaller ice surface sooner than later.
I’d keep him there. Let him cook as a #1D there, working on his all around game. Then one year max in GR. The three forwards should all get cups of coffee next year if not straight up rotate in and out of a third line role.
A few things of note from Yzerman’s end of season media availability - ASP expected to stay in Sweden for another year but nothing confirmed yet - Berggren and Johansson should be on the roster next year due to waivers (Lalonde said he anticipated a younger team next year) - Talks with all the UFAs but it’s all dependent on what happens with the RFAs (Raymond, Seider, Veleno)
UFAs I believe are Kane, Perron, Sprong, Fischer Ghost Reimer Kane is the only one I'd want back and he's going elsewhere.
Raymond Larkin Cat - Compher - Ras Copp - Fabbri Veleno - Berggren somewhere, unless we finally trade him. Kasper/Danielson/Mazur/Soderblom all threats to make roster. Confident these four make it in some pairing Seider Walman Edvinsson Chiarot Steve's great matter, sorting out this mess. Petry/Maata/Holl/Johansson
Why is Kane going elsewhere? Keep seeing it itt. Did he not enjoy his time, cant pay him enough, not close enough to contending?
It was a mutually beneficial arrangement that has probably run its course. He gave us offensive punch and we helped rehab his value. Now he can fetch another contract we probably can't afford if he chooses the bag option. With the Seider and Raymond contracts due and our glut of overpaid meh we don't have the cap space. Or he chooses to chase a cup and picks a team that is closer to that end. He wouldn't have come to Detroit last year if anyone else believed that his hip was okay.
hopefully they let cossa play every game. None of this rotating shit. See if he's ready to join big club next year
GR won game 1 in their Best of 5 opener in OT. Nate Danielson was a beast for Portland last night, notching three assists to help them even up their Conference Finals series at 1. ASP missed the first two games of the SHL finals due to an illness but he assisted on the OT winner in game four to give Skellefta a 3-1 series lead.
Headed into the offseason, this is what I think the organizational depth chart is for next season as of today. Those three open retention slots are massive because we will probably need them to offload guys like Holl, Husso and maybe Fabbri as well. Tons of work to do, and it seems inevitable there will be a step back unless we land a #1 G, a top six forward and a top four RD. That’s a lot of work to do with limited cap flexibility.
Probably Goalie, D, Forward. Markstrom is my #1 target but it’s complicated by his NMC and it’s likely that he’s a lot of teams #1 target. In a perfect world we would add Markstrom, a D like Sean Walker and as hilarious as it is for me of all people to say, a forward like Bertuzzi. I don’t think any of that is likely mind you but that could help bridge the gap to the kids.
Game 2 isn’t til Wednesday but it was nice winning the first one on the road. In addition to Berggren scoring the game winner, Ed and Mazur had assists. Cossa with 20/22 on his AHL playoff debut.
Probably not the offense. Bertuzzi’s best season was a 75 point pace. The max I think Mazur can get is ~50. Ideally a point producing pest on the third line of a contending team.
Is it likely? No, but he's outpacing Bertuzzi from a production standout at a similar development curve. And it's even more pronounced over the first 60 games sample size. Bertuzzi in 121 GP in GR G 25 A 43 P 68 PPG .56 Mazur in 60 GP in GR G 17 A 20 P 37 PPG .61
Depends on where you're getting those measurements. He varies from 6' to 6'2 and 186 lbs to 200 lbs. Mazur is listed at 6' 170lbs-175lbs. And I'm sure Mazur will continue to fill out.
Danielson with back to back three assist games, both of which were wins for Portland. I’ve seen some clips and he’s so damn good.
I would anticipate him having a better statistical year than Kasper had this season (on a per game basis). I think for one thing, his not having to adjust to the smaller ice is a huge deal, plus he will be healthy (knock on wood). I think Danielson will see NHL games this season though.
As someone that played on both sizes growing up, and watched outsiders play on it for the first time, ice size difference is something that takes just a few games for skaters to get used to. Goalies take a bit longer because angles are so important. Kasper had probably played dozens of games on small ice before coming to GR. I think his injury was much more responsible for his slow start.
I think for Kasper it’s also the issue of how different the NA game is from Europe. The WHL is definitely closer to the AHL in that respect.
Kasper plays a NA style of game thankfully. He’s been arguably a top 3 player for GR down the stretch, which is incredible for a 19 year old center playing his first year in NA.
Cossa back on bust watch. Gave up 5 straight goals last night in game 2 in a 5-1 loss. Vinegar Strokes
The biggest issue will be both guys having trade protection and also if Husso could even pass a physical. On the surface it seems fine.