Jeremy Laura: Sometimes the glass isn’t half empty or half full. It’s just half…

Nice read Jeremy. Watching the build is exciting especially with Stevie laying the Bricks 🧱

Nice read Jeremy. Watching the build is exciting especially with Stevie laying the Bricks 🧱
- Tee56

Absolutely! Thanks for that. How quickly he’s moved out contracts/players and moved in other pieces is really impressive.

Hope is now a strategy? OK, it is all we can cling to for now.... Thanks for the post!

Was wondering why you did not post a "Who might we pluck from the Isles" after their series loss. Or did I miss it?

Hope is now a strategy? OK, it is all we can cling to for now.... Thanks for the post!

Was wondering why you did not post a "Who might we pluck from the Isles" after their series loss. Or did I miss it?
- HenryHockey

Thanks H2! Not hope so much. Think of it as doing a car restoration and you’re waiting on a transmission. You know the parts are coming, just going to be a bit.

Not yet on Isles. That is my post for tomorrow. It’s tough because I want the coach more than the players! Be good. Looked like nasty storms up your way yesterday

Jeremy,

Have you heard why Petruzelli (goalie prospect) has soured on coming to Detroit ? What's his problem ? You'd think he'd he honored to wear the Winged Wheel and play for an original 6 team. Good grief... sounds like he's being a spoiled brat and simply doesn't want to be part of a rebuild. Thoughts ??

In the words of every old sea captain navigating a storm, "Hold the course!"

Detroit is going through the part of the build that is usually toughest to watch. The maturation process. That being said, if I was a wings fan I would be feeling pretty good. Sure, they are not gonna compete for a playoff berth, but you can start to see the sprouts that will eventually bloom to their potential. I can see a couple friendly vets in the offseason and some steps forward by the youngsters in the near future.

Jeremy,

Have you heard why Petruzelli (goalie prospect) has soured on coming to Detroit ? What's his problem ? You'd think he'd he honored to wear the Winged Wheel and play for an original 6 team. Good grief... sounds like he's being a spoiled brat and simply doesn't want to be part of a rebuild. Thoughts ??
- Vladdie_Kon1

KP is from Mass. Could want to be on Boston or another Northeast coast team? He has Fox-itis. Adam Fox would not sign for 2 teams that had his rights til he landed in NYC. Vesey let his draft team go as well....I am sure there are others.

Jeremy,

Have you heard why Petruzelli (goalie prospect) has soured on coming to Detroit ? What's his problem ? You'd think he'd he honored to wear the Winged Wheel and play for an original 6 team. Good grief... sounds like he's being a spoiled brat and simply doesn't want to be part of a rebuild. Thoughts ??
- Vladdie_Kon1

At this point it’s speculative, but it sounds like he has another team in mind. H2 may have hit the nail on the head, but no guarantee. Just doesn’t seem to want to be in Motown at this point. Things change, but don’t hold your breath

In the words of every old sea captain navigating a storm, "Hold the course!"

Detroit is going through the part of the build that is usually toughest to watch. The maturation process. That being said, if I was a wings fan I would be feeling pretty good. Sure, they are not gonna compete for a playoff berth, but you can start to see the sprouts that will eventually bloom to their potential. I can see a couple friendly vets in the offseason and some steps forward by the youngsters in the near future.
- hockeyaddict89

Very well put

Jeremy,

Have you heard why Petruzelli (goalie prospect) has soured on coming to Detroit ? What's his problem ? You'd think he'd he honored to wear the Winged Wheel and play for an original 6 team. Good grief... sounds like he's being a spoiled brat and simply doesn't want to be part of a rebuild. Thoughts ??
- Vladdie_Kon1

It sucks but I don’t think it’s fair or reasonable to be upset at KP about it.

The reality is that drafting a teenager gives a team a four-year window of exclusivity. Considering how short a typical pro hockey career is, that’s actually a fairly significant length of time IMO.

Years 1 and 2, KP sucked. No chance he was getting a contract offer.

Year 3, he bounced back and had a very good season. I’m not sure if the Red Wings offered him a contract after his junior year or not. If they didn’t they really only have themselves to blame for being in this situation.

But even if they did, put yourself in KP’s shoes. It’s a pandemic. The start of the NHL season is still up in the air. AHL and ECHL even less certain, maybe not play at all. If you do sign a contract, you immediately lose your college eligibility. (NCAA season was delayed but started in November, long before the pros.) And even if the pros do play, the best-case scenario is probably that you’re the backup in GR. You’ll make okay money but small potatoes compared to what you might eventually get if you catch on in the NHL. And because of his age, by waiting another year his ELC term also drops from 3 years to 2, so he’s not even pushing back the timeline to a second contract.

Honestly it’s not surprising that he’d choose to go back to college for year 4. That was almost certainly the best call for his development given all the uncertainty.

And now? It’s been 4 years since he was drafted, he’s coming off an exceptional NCAA season, he’s 22 and turning 23 in February. He will likely get attention from a variety of NHL clubs and he has the opportunity to sign with whoever he wants. That right is granted to him by the CBA. Honestly he’d be crazy not to take it.

Sucks for Detroit, but again: if you were KP, almost 23, hoping to enjoy a long and productive NHL career, and you’ve been given the opportunity to seek out the best possible fit for your career, you would (and should) pursue that opportunity. Whoever he signs with is going to hold his rights for the next five seasons minimum. That could very well be his entire career. If he thinks there’s a better fit out there for him than Detroit, he should absolutely go there.

It’s unreasonable to expect that he is morally obligated to sign with the team that drafted him even though at each turn he has simply made the best possible decision for himself and his career, in accordance with the rights and restrictions granted to him by the CBA.

If you want to be mad at the situation, be mad that the NHL does not offer any kind of compensation for unsigned draft picks. Don't be mad at KP.

It sucks but I don’t think it’s fair or reasonable to be upset at KP about it.

The reality is that drafting a teenager gives a team a four-year window of exclusivity. Considering how short a typical pro hockey career is, that’s actually a fairly significant length of time IMO.

Years 1 and 2, KP sucked. No chance he was getting a contract offer.

Year 3, he bounced back and had a very good season. I’m not sure if the Red Wings offered him a contract after his junior year or not. If they didn’t they really only have themselves to blame for being in this situation.

But even if they did, put yourself in KP’s shoes. It’s a pandemic. The start of the NHL season is still up in the air. AHL and ECHL even less certain, maybe not play at all. If you do sign a contract, you immediately lose your college eligibility. (NCAA season was delayed but started in November, long before the pros.) And even if the pros do play, the best-case scenario is probably that you’re the backup in GR. You’ll make okay money but small potatoes compared to what you might eventually get if you catch on in the NHL. And because of his age, by waiting another year his ELC term also drops from 3 years to 2, so he’s not even pushing back the timeline to a second contract.

Honestly it’s not surprising that he’d choose to go back to college for year 4. That was almost certainly the best call for his development given all the uncertainty.

And now? It’s been 4 years since he was drafted, he’s coming off an exceptional NCAA season, he’s 22 and turning 23 in February. He will likely get attention from a variety of NHL clubs and he has the opportunity to sign with whoever he wants. That right is granted to him by the CBA. Honestly he’d be crazy not to take it.

Sucks for Detroit, but again: if you were KP, almost 23, hoping to enjoy a long and productive NHL career, and you’ve been given the opportunity to seek out the best possible fit for your career, you would (and should) pursue that opportunity. Whoever he signs with is going to hold his rights for the next five seasons minimum. That could very well be his entire career. If he thinks there’s a better fit out there for him than Detroit, he should absolutely go there.

It’s unreasonable to expect that he is morally obligated to sign with the team that drafted him even though at each turn he has simply made the best possible decision for himself and his career, in accordance with the rights and restrictions granted to him by the CBA.

If you want to be mad at the situation, be mad that the NHL does not offer any kind of compensation for unsigned draft picks. Don't be mad at KP.
- Sven22

This is dead on. Similar with Vesey. If you wait to offer a deal, these kids are savvy enough now to realize they can do what they want. I’m all for compensation if a team makes an honest effort to sign. But, in most cases, those Collegiate kids walk into free agency without an offer. I’m not mad at KP. Post COVID, players in all spectrums want to control where they’re playing even more. Near family, etc. my only beef in the collegiate seen is that NYR does a LOT of pulling. Any communication before free agency is tampering.

Alex Tanguay has been hired to be an assistant coach. Good move!

He was just a kid during the Wings great rivalry with Colorado, so I'm OK with the hire.

Alex Tanguay has been hired to be an assistant coach. Good move!
- mcmastermike1968

Nice. Wasn’t he at the desk for NHL network for a while? Let’s see what he can do with the kids on the power play

Alex Tanguay has been hired to be an assistant coach. Good move!
- mcmastermike1968

Time for Blashill to turn up his game. Great move for the Wings

Nice. Wasn’t he at the desk for NHL network for a while? Let’s see what he can do with the kids on the power play
- Jeremy Laura

From what I read, he was a coach in the minors in Iowa (I think.....). Kid was death on the PP, great sniper with incredible accuracy. Looks like he's the new PP guy from the press I've been reading. This will be a breath of fresh air, for sure. Of course we'll have to overlook his being with the Avs, but he lost to us on '08....hopefully, he's not still bitter

I posted a new article regarding the hiring. This is really exciting stuff!

https://www.hockeybuzz.co...p-with-scoring/275/112214