Win Dahlin, let him play another year in Sweden and ride out some bad contracts. There is young talent in this system. Unfortunately it seems that Det's best players are all making under 2M and due for raises. Please Ken, move some bad contracts and keep Larkin!!!!
- bikeguy99
Call me a pessimist, but I have always been skeptical of the young talent (despite constantly calling for them to get more ice time). Nothing against them, but if you want to go far in the playoffs consistently you've got to have at least a couple players in the "consistent all-star" range, preferably both up front and on defense. I just don't see that from Detroit.
For starters, they need Dahlin in the worst possible way since the cupboard is about as bare as it can possibly be on defense. In addition to icing quite possibly the worst current blueline in the NHL, our top prospects are Filip Hronek (who is good, but no PK Subban), a 5'10" guy having a terrible year (Saarijarvi), and a 5'8" undrafted guy having an even more terrible year (Hicketts).
Up front, Mantha and especially Larkin are quality NHL players but certainly not players I see ever getting to the same level as a Toews, or Tarasenko, or Getzlaf, or Bergeron, or what Datsyuk and Zetterberg were in their primes. As for Athanasiou, I think he's a one-trick pony. Granted his one trick (scoring goals) is the best one you can have, but he's a liability without the puck.
Again, nothing against these players, who actually make watching Red Wings games somewhat enjoyable. I'd love it if they all stayed Red Wings for a long time. But if these are the guys we
build around and are still the best players on the roster by the time they hit their mid-late 20s, I think Detroit doesn't have much chance at being anything better than mediocre in that timeframe.