Quoting: Drw4209
Lmao such nonsense, Detroit has a better future outlook than Montreal atp. If you think it's gonna take Yzerman 5 years to turn this team into something decent you're gonna be disaapointed
I think it's going to take 4-5 years before they have long playoff runs (especially if they keep losing positions in the next couple draft lotteries--what is it like 8 positions lost over the last 4 years). But Mantha will still be near his peak as his skill set is size and shot accuracy. So there is absolutely no need to trade him....especially when you consider the Wings have had extra picks in the 1st, 2nd, and early 3rd rounds over the last 4 drafts and have 6 selections over the top 65 in this year's draft. I really don't think some people on here understands just how valuable those extra picks are in aggregate--but this thread doesn't understand how valuable good young first line players are worth.
As to being further along in its rebuild. Montreal didn't really go all in on a rebuild--they kind of never committed to bottoming out or staying competitive. As a result Montreal has bounced all over draft positioning and not been consistent with developing through the draft or using prospects to supplement success for example they traded Mikhail Sergachev, but are developing Jesperi Kotkaniemi--who doesn't look like he progressed in his development during the regular season--but did have some goals in the playoffs--he's still too young to project if he is top line or top 6 yet. They have some good prospects (Alexander Romanov, Cole Caufield, and Cayden Primeau...but after that it's not really great as Ryan Poehling has no offensive upside (he'll be a bottom 6 guy) and Josh Brook is basically Cholowski only worse at defense so he'll be a 3rd pair guy. They have a Fin and a Swede in the 2nd round that are way too young and still overseas to project.
Yet, their problem will be their expensive older players cap hits (whether that comes from renewed contracts that need to be handed out to the 20-30 goal scorers coming off their deals and becoming UFA like Gallagher or their old players under contract like Weber and Price--goalies usually fall off a cliff around age 35 (which is the 2022-23 season for him) and he still has 3 more years under contract at 10.5M after that. Primeau's ELC will help balance that situation though.
All that makes it difficult to compare to Detroit which doesn't have these long term contract constraints (only 5 players under contract for '21-'22), whose 1st line is young (Mantha turns 26 in Sept, Bertuzzi 26 in Feb, and Larkin 26 in July 2022) and will have more prospects/players that were taken in the top 10 (Rasmussen, Zadina, Seider, plus this year's #4 overall,and most likely another top 5 next year), and other young players that have graduated from prospect status like Fabbri (24 yrs old 2014 1st#21), Hronek (22 yrs old 2016 2nd#53), Zadina (20 yrs old 2017 1st#6) and Lindström (22 yrs old 2017 2nd#38). Beyond those 4 points Detroit has other high prospects that will become NHL'ers in the next year or two like Cholowski (2016 1st #20), Veleno (2018 1st#30), Berggren (2018 2nd #33), and McIsaac (2018 2nd#36). Throw in bottom 6 prospects like Givani Smith (2016 2nd#46). Another thing is last year's 2nd & 3rd round picks like Antti Tuomisto (#35), Robert Mastrosimone (#54), Albert Johansson (#60), Albin Grewe (#66), and this year's 2nd & 3rd's (32, 45, 57, 62, and 64 overall). Finally, add in those expected sweetners from cap dumps or just talented players that just no longer fit other team's budgets and the Wings should very well have more potential than Montreal. But as was the case with Evgeny Svechnikov sometimes potential doesn't turn out or takes longer than expected.
Quoting: jpsnow13
Why not just close the arena, save some money for a couple of years and reopen it when the kids get to their prime, right?
Because a hockey team is in the Win business. They cant afford to just put an AHL level team on the ice, it's won't move crowds...
You do realize the Red Wings were purchased for 8M in 1982 (that's only $21.8M in today's money).Less than they spend on individual players.
Actually, Olympia Entertainment and its sibling subsidiary Little Caesar Enterprises Inc along with MotorCity Casino Hotel and Olympia Development (real estate ventures) have plenty of money to fund the team indefinitely. The increase in take out pizza is negating any operating loss from the entertainment side of the business. Last year it's revenue was something like 3.81 billion and 2019 was the most profitable year of Motor Casino ever which helps mitigate some of its losses in 2020.