I'd gladly take him. Can't believe they couldn't find a fit for him in the top-9 this year.

My totally unsubstantiated theory was that Detroit felt that after Sprong and Fabbri there wasn't any more room for a third defensive liability winger in the bottom six.

I sort of buy that logic to a degree, but I would have taken Berggren over Fabbri if that was the case.

It was a debate with the Army. https://www.nbcsports.com...-trademark-vegas-responds
- Jeremy Laura

Thanks for looking into the Knights name controversy and Utah arena ice situation. I'm sure the new owner knew the costs involved with the arena renovations as part of his due diligence in getting the team. They'll have a few busy months getting everything off the ground.

Ok, here’s the press link: https://www.sportsnet.ca/...hs-plan-for-delta-center/

They are doing upgrades. Here’s a quote: Ryan Smith explains the plan to make the Delta Center more hockey friendly with commissioner Gary Bettman trusting the plan of the upgrade.

A preseason game can have more of a Winter Classic setup. This stadium needs the full treatment. There will be building modificaitons. We’ve all seen the process of painting the floor. For a full season of hockey they need to have things constructed properly. Infrastructure isn’t there. The good news? 17.5k capacity. I am shocked at the amount of work they’re going to have to get done. By the end, this could easily be a 2B investment for this group with an incredibly short turn around to get everything ready
- Jeremy Laura

I was distracted watching that video as the owner looked like he put on lip gloss while driving in a Baja race.

My totally unsubstantiated theory was that Detroit felt that after Sprong and Fabbri there wasn't any more room for a third defensive liability winger in the bottom six.

I sort of buy that logic to a degree, but I would have taken Berggren over Fabbri if that was the case.
- Sven22

Bingo. People act like Berggren is some bona-fide top 6 scorer. He has some skill, but is hard to trust defensively. So Lalonde likely said that if I have guys like Perron, Kane, Fabbri, Sprong then I don't have room for Berggren. Rasmussen gives me size. Veleno brings some speed and faceoffs. Copp and Compher are better defensively. Fischer is a dependable 4th line guy. Sorry Stevie, but I can't use this Berggren guy right now.

Next year, Kane is leaving. Tell Perron to beat it. Sprong probably gets a nice payday somewhere else. Now I have 2 or 3 middle 6 winger spots to fill, preferably someone with some skill. Enter Berggren. It's not that complicated to me. The kid still has a lot to learn at the NHL level.

Thanks for looking into the Knights name controversy and Utah arena ice situation. I'm sure the new owner knew the costs involved with the arena renovations as part of his due diligence in getting the team. They'll have a few busy months getting everything off the ground.
- boilermaker100

It’s an honor that Ek let’s me do this. Where I feel for Utah is just a couple months ago Bettman talked about turning them down as far back as 2022. Instead of 4 months to get the team relocated and everything done they could have transitioned. Last week they were still talking about land in AZ. The players are unhappy. The guys who got traded must be very thankful while this unfolds. Thank you for the engagement. It makes this blog fun working with everyone

My totally unsubstantiated theory was that Detroit felt that after Sprong and Fabbri there wasn't any more room for a third defensive liability winger in the bottom six.

I sort of buy that logic to a degree, but I would have taken Berggren over Fabbri if that was the case.
- Sven22

Your theory is relatively accurate imo and once Kane was added it was even harder to justify a spot for Berggren.

With his trade request though I’d be surprised if he isn’t traded for another RFA or something like that.

looks like the Wings are getting closer to extending Perron.

looks like the Wings are getting closer to extending Perron.
- HenryHockey

I like Perron, I just think it’s getting close to time to put on a tie and help draw up power play schemes. Very good on the half wall finding lanes to the bumper or blue line. Seems to open ice. I’d like to see Kasper in the pre season on a 2nd unit. Possible halfwall or side of the net.

Your theory is relatively accurate imo and once Kane was added it was even harder to justify a spot for Berggren.

With his trade request though I’d be surprised if he isn’t traded for another RFA or something like that.
- Feds91Stammer

It really feels like the Zadina scenario. He believes another team will give him more minutes. Apparently they didn’t find the partner for Zadina either. San Jose could be full of low budget players trying to get ahead. At this point they can Qualify and swap rights or the player can sit out and do something else or they can work something out (trade or contract)

Murphy is quite polarizing. Some can't stand him at all. Others can't stand that he's injured often. Then there's a final group that really like what he brings and that he brings leadership qualities.

I don't think you can't really discount the amount of time he misses. I think he is actually pretty good when healthy. You can certainly tell when he is playing through something as he get pushed around more and has trouble getting into (or back into) position.

I concur with Boilermaker from your last comment thread on T. Johnson. I'm sure he was upset that he got traded from TB to Chicago, but at $5M per year his performance didn't come close to matching his cap hit - especially for a cap team in TB. TB got some cap relief in the "dead" Seabrook contract, and CHI got someone that was an actual NHL forward. At the time, I guess the move sort of made sense, but it aged like milk.

Some really salient points brought up about the path forward for this team. Last summer, the focus was on increasing scoring.....did that, at the sacrifice of defense across the board. The lack of a defensive effort/scheme was devastating. If you look at Berggren, as much as I wanted to see the kid in the NHL, he would've been a liability (H2 spoke to this as well as Sprong's lack of defense....). The issue is having a balance such that one doesn't overwhelm the other....

I want to see Bergy play, looks like he could be pretty special. However, looking at the season's results, we cannot afford to give up a ton of GAA and think we can just out-score our way to a W, or worse yet; think we can just tie the game and move into a OTW. That's a wholly unsustainable game model and it frankly cost us a SCPO berth.

That being said, this season's angst wasn't about the SCPO, although there were several occasions where I had to be reined in because I was focused too much on the SCPO push. Making it would've been nice, but from a practical stand-point, we woulda been waxed in 4. I worry that NOW the expect is for us to make the SCPO next season, and I feel that may not be a logical expectation until we see the body of work during the off-season; who goes, who's brought in, and who comes up. LOTS of names to consider. Eddy's in the NHL going forward. I personally think he's the only name to voice when speaking of next season. The rest; Berggren, Mazur, Johansson, etc... gotta see what they bring to camps and who stays, who goes, etc...This team has a bright future. There've been some moves that were odd, no doubt. But we're in a MUCH better place than we were 6 years ago (+/-), but still have a road to travel. Was nice to have Kane, but we didn't have a team D that could handle to defensive gaps that abound each game....

I really feel that Sprong's ask is going to be too rich for this cash-strapped team. Would be nice to retain him, but we'd have to have a defensive F to supplement what he doesn't do (H2, to your point from several blogs ago....very valid). Kane's play is something I would push to retain, honestly. His ability to control the game, his offensive acumen, his leadership; I'd take him over Sprong, but again we don't know the asking price.

Thdere will eb some changes coming. Some good names will be gone, for sure. The one thing I worry about is the ability to manage the G play. Not sure who gets the rose pinned on them for that, but our G needs to be tuned up. I'm ok w/Reimer coming back, not sure what Husso's gonna be able to do, Lyon did well but we know we need more. I worry about Lalonde's ability to adapt to in-game issues, his read on players, etc... I mean, he's an NHL coach, soooooo. Yeah. However, there were too many coaching gaps this season as well. There has to be a no-BS sit down with issues dressed down and a plan put in place to improve this team. That's a leadership thing. I don't think Lalonde's going anywhere, he has 1 more season on his contract. There are some viable candidates out there right now, but I just don't get the sense that a change is gonna come. The Captain was pretty non-committal when Blash was on his way out; he's been fairly committed in the pressers I've watched. Bottom line is this team has to grow, some likeable names are going away, some change is gonna come....but the coaching staff REALLY needs to be looked at. It's not just "fire 'em for the hell of it...". There needs to be a demonstrable PLAN to show how to clean up the team D issues and address how our G play will be improved.

Again, this IS a good team. We got some work to do. Not even remotely thinking about the SCPO next season until we see the dust settle from this season and any upcoming moves....