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**huge update. Mantha was traded to Washington for a 1st, second, Vrana and Panik. I really don’t like Dick Panik at all
I honestly feel sick right now. Apologies for my insistence that this wasn’t happening. To me, Yzerman pushed the team back 3 years. That may be reality anyway. A late first round pick, well, think of Veleno. Drafted 3 years ago, still not ready. That’s likely what we’ve gotten again. Dick Panik almost killed one of the Griffin defenders on their run to the cup. He’s another Gudas thug type player and I can’t stomach his game. I like Vrana, he’s basically a new era of Darren Helm. Fast, not too many goals, but good defensively.
I need some time to chew on this, but I really don’t like Yzerman’s thinking on this at all. He’s built a contender, for sure. But, he also took Brett Connolly in the first round once. No one is perfect. I just can’t wrap my head around any of this right now.
Trade Deadline day Took a huge turn. Two 4th round picks and a 5th round pick with Nemeth and Merrill heading out of town became a first, a second, 2 4ths and a 5th with Mantha leaving. Another hockey serial killer is coming to town in Dick Panik. I’d be fine if he was sent to Europe. Vrana is a very good player, but he’s this generation of Darren Helm. Fast, good defense, not a ton of offense.
Yzerman would rather walk away from the table than take a horrible return. However, it looks like Steve was working hard all day long on this one. Bernier is slated to start tonight, and it looks like he’ll make that start. Detroit does need 2 goalies to make one available for the expansion draft, and Bernier could well get an extension. No one in the AHL is really pushing for an NHL job yet.
Last year’s hall from Edmonton was good, and Detroit has 3 2nd round picks this year. How many 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th round picks do you really want? Steve had something much bigger on the burner. Some trades had no guarantees. This market is just brutal. After teams are kicked out of the post season, the nightmare of 2 more years of flat cap will kick in again. Maybe Yzerman makes some more moves at the draft, maybe he just stands pat.
The rebuild hasn’t had much excitement so far, and today we lost a guy I’ve loved watching. People will pour on the hate, but I will miss Mantha. Now, it’s a lot of waiting and developing. I’m still shaking my head at missing out on Mete because of Saturday’s win against Carolina. That’s life. Detroit will likely pick 4-6 again this year, and it’s going to be a bit of a drag in the short term.
Bernier, tonight, could have a big night. Let the team play and let the chips fall where they may. We can’t out “lose” Buffalo or Anaheim at this point. Ottawa knows when to tank, for sure. I guess our fate is in Gary’s (lottery) balls, and those balls bounce more for Chicago, New Jersey and New York. Detroit just doesn’t give Gary much of a bounce.
How do you think it went today?
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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