The Official 2025 Offseason Thread: Just me, I guess

[kit fox]

so dumb

so fuckin dumb

[kit fox]

good thing we all know what i'm talking about

[Grand Moff Larkin]

We know, we know too well

[sutterfamily]

Yeah, looking forward to no longer fantasizing about the Wings moving up to 2 and taking whichever of Schaefer and Misa don’t go 1

Wings could conceivably drop from 12 to 14 so that’ll probably happen.

At least they only dropped one spot? (sorry)

[Grand Moff Larkin]

I don't know the odds of them dropping to 14th but it would've been a moon shot

[Grand Moff Larkin]

I've looked at a batch of mock drafts and there's no consensus by the time it reaches the Wings. The top guys (Schaefer, Misa, Martone, Desnoyers, Frondell, Hagens, O'Brien, and now Martin) will go in some order. I think Seattle takes a D at 8 and hopefully it's Mrtka, because "Big but not physical" isn't a player type I cover (Tyler Myers comp). That's nine picks, leaving the following guys as the best on the board:

Roger McQueen: He should sue Cayden Lindstrom for damages because "Great prospect but has persistent back issues" got its worse case scenario in Lindstrom playing 0 games this year. If McQueen reached the Wings, I'd take him because it's swinging for the fences, but I wouldn't feel safe about it.
Jackson Smith: A boom/bust defensive prospect. Wings could use a LHD in the pipe but I don't know if I trust that Smith's hockey sense is good enough. Lots of tools, though. In general not that interested.
Viktor Eklund: The Wings passed on his brother William in favor of Simon Edvinsson, but a skilled scoring winger at 13 would be a big help. Kane would be gone by the time he reaches the pros, maybe DeBrincat too. The best case scenario, so it won't happen. If the PNES have consecutive picks, I think they take a D and him.
Jack Nesbitt: Big, physical middle-six center. Had a rough U18 until the last two games when he adjusted to the pace and scored key goals. Not a good skater.
Kashawn Aitcheson: Nasty, two-way defenseman. Does he top out at Jacob Trouba or Ben Chiarot? Not sure if the hockey sense is there. Feels like a Draper pick but not necessarily an Yzerman pick.
Carter Bear: Competitive top-six scoring winger who had an Achilles injury. I'm less concerned about that moving forward than McQueen, even if the ceiling isn't as high. Maybe he's the safety if some of the other guys don't fall.
Justin Carbonneau: Another bigger scoring winger. Don't know as much about him, seems like a possibility.

That's seven guys, there are a few other names who could fit in.

1. Eklund
2. McQueen
3. Bear
4. Aitcheson
5. Carbonneau
6. Smith
7. Nesbitt

[sutterfamily]

Heh, I guess NA isn't far off complaining about lottery luck. Tied with the SNES for the worst luck total over the history of the thing:

[Grand Moff Larkin]

Fucking Chicago

The toughest part about Detroit’s lottery luck is that it’s come in a relatively small window: 2018 to 2025.

This year doesn’t really matter. They’d get a flawed prospect at 12 just like they will at 13. Unless Eklund goes 12, I should be fine. It’s mostly that when other teams make big jumps — thinking about Dallas with Heiskenen — it’s a huge piece moving forward that they weren’t expecting.

The most the Wings got boned was in 2020, when they were the worst team by a huge margin and drafted fourth (something that was subsequently changed so it won’t affect precious Chicago). At this point, Raymond is close enough to Stutzle that losing out on him doesn’t sting too much, and I think Raymond is better than Laf or Byfield. But it’s the PRINCIPLE.

[practice]

I didn't even know it was possible to move up 10 spots in the lottery. the Utah Yeties make miracles happen

[Grand Moff Larkin]

Utah officially the Mammoth

[Cacophony]

Utah officially the Mammoth

It’s fine. But boy are those jerseys just about the blandest I have ever seen.

[Grand Moff Larkin]

They should have a thick coat of fur

[Alexei Ca$hin]

They look like beer league jerseys

[nick]

The design really is so bland and boring

[Grand Moff Larkin]

They look like beer league jerseys

Which Mammoth player will take #69

[Cacophony]

They look like beer league jerseys

Which Mammoth player will take #69

[Alexei Ca$hin]

Ducks are fucking hiring Quenneville

[Grand Moff Larkin]

Barf

I saw they were interviewing him, hoped Verbeek would come to his senses

[Cacophony]

Ducks are fucking hiring Quenneville

[Cacophony]

[media] [/media]

Yknow I don’t think they did