00:00perhaps Dylan Larkin did him a favor.
00:04It's what Wojo wrote in the Detroit news.
00:08I don't know about all that,
00:09but my question,
00:11how does he win?
00:14How does Steve Iserman win in this messy fiasco that Dylan Larkin wants out of
00:21Detroit creates?
00:23Cause sometimes in the media,
00:24we get accused of setting guys up to fail,
00:27being unrealistic,
00:27moving the goalposts.
00:28I want to set all that aside and define right now what success looks like for
00:34Steve Iserman in a Dylan Larkin trade.
00:37Need your help for it.
00:38Two,
00:38four,
00:38eight,
00:38five,
00:39three,
00:39nine,
00:3997,
00:3997.
00:41I don't feel like Larkin's doing him a favor because they're going to have to
00:47plunge deeper into a rebuild.
00:49They're losing talent down the middle.
00:51The public image of the organization is taking a hit around the league.
00:55So how does Iserman win?
00:56The only way I see him coming away with a win in this situation is it's really,
01:03really hard to do because of the timeline of the quote unquote Iser plan going into its
01:10eighth year.
01:10They have to be better next year than they were last year.
01:14How do you do that by trading Dylan Larkin?
01:18When you're,
01:19when you have to be better up the middle,
01:23you already needed a second line center.
01:25Now you need one and two.
01:27I don't know that that path is actually possible.
01:31I do believe the only way that they are better next year is if there is a Kumbaya moment,
01:37they mend defenses,
01:38and then Iserman adds,
01:41whether it's through trade,
01:43free agency,
01:43however,
01:44hook,
01:45line,
01:45crook doesn't matter.
01:46You add to this team,
01:48but you repair so that the relationship can be professional and serviceable that Dylan
01:55Larkin is still here.
01:57Oh,
01:58you think part of winning is keeping Larkin?
02:01I,
02:01because if,
02:02if you send him off,
02:03how do you get better?
02:04Well,
02:04you're right.
02:05Optically,
02:05he will only leave somewhere that's competitive and a contender,
02:10and he'll be playing in the playoffs next year.
02:12And if you aren't optically,
02:14you've lost.
02:15So even before this,
02:17how's the only,
02:18what is the only way that Iserman looks better going into next year?
02:22Playoffs.
02:23That's the next tangible step.
02:24If the team is better and this complicates matters,
02:27but the only way that he wins is if they're better going into next season.
02:33How does that,
02:34how is that even possible?
02:36If you trade Dylan Larkin,
02:38because the return,
02:39I don't,
02:40what are you getting to return?
02:41So the only way he can win is to mend the fence.
02:44I,
02:45I,
02:45I truly believe that.
02:47Or he just says,
02:48Dylan,
02:49I'm not trading you.
02:50I'm,
02:51you know,
02:51I'm not concerned about mending the fence.
02:52I am going to expect you to be a professional.
02:54Yeah.
02:56And my plan was to add X,
02:59Y,
02:59and Z,
03:00or if it's just simply X,
03:02we're going to go get Vinny Trocek to be our second center.
03:05Who was on team USA,
03:06who we were targeting at the trade deadline,
03:08right?
03:09Just to use an example,
03:10and we're going to be better down the middle and we're going to win three more hockey games.
03:13And we're going to be in the playoffs next year.
03:15Right.
03:15That's how he wins is keeping Larkin happy and in the fold.
03:20Okay.
03:21That's one answer in the world where they trade him.
03:24I think you have to get quantity.
03:27You have to get quality over quantity in return.
03:30A lot of these proposals I'm seeing made up on the internet is where they get this youngster and this
03:35pipsqueak and this draft pick.
03:37And it's a,
03:38an argument of,
03:39well,
03:39one of them's going to stick.
03:41We've been accumulating a bunch of these dudes.
03:44They need to get a quality return more than quantity.
03:47And when I say that,
03:48it needs to be a player that you think has the upside of Larkin or greater.
03:53Not currently a player as good as Dylan Larkin,
03:56but a player you think has the upside of him or greater.
03:59So a player who's in his first three or four years in the league or a player that's just younger
04:06than Dylan that you say can be that guy in short order.
04:11It's the only way to win,
04:12right?
04:13Yes.
04:14Because those are hard to find.
04:15We've,
04:15we've been detailing how hard it is to find quality centers,
04:19right?
04:19So in,
04:20in,
04:20in your scenario,
04:21quality over quantity.
04:23Yeah.
04:23Does that quality make you better next year?
04:26Well,
04:26that with a proper off season could,
04:30right?
04:30That would be the logic is if I can get Nico,
04:33he sure out of New Jersey,
04:35who's a two way center who scores 30 goals,
04:37a captain and a leader for them.
04:40We got to pay him.
04:41They get the cash savings because Larkin's cheaper and they get another USA guy for Jack Hughes.
04:46That would be a move where you're getting a comparable player.
04:49And then you're off season ads around him that that's kind of what I'm talking about.
04:56I don't want a 22 year old you're off from Minnesota that people think might be a second line center.
05:03Like Iserman's not winning in that trade.
05:05Iserman's not winning on the ice in the hearts of Red Wing fans.
05:09It's just going to drag this thing further in the mud,
05:12right?
05:13And,
05:13and so I think the,
05:14the end scenario for both you and I is they have to be for the only way that Iserman wins.
05:20And this is even without the trade demand and all that stuff.
05:27He's in a position where this team has to be better going into next year.
05:32Now it's complicated.
05:34It's been complicated because of the trade demand.
05:38Yes.
05:38And I just,
05:41I agree with you.
05:42It has to be quantity over quality.
05:44Who's going to give up that,
05:46that I'm sorry.
05:46It has to be quality over quantity.
05:48Who's going to give up that quality,
05:50right?
05:51Very few,
05:52if any teams,
05:54it's probably not one of the three teams that are initially on Dylan Larkin's list,
05:59right?
05:59And I've seen some posturing other insiders in the league saying,
06:01no,
06:01no,
06:02there's some other teams that are,
06:03or will be on the,
06:04they better be because that's how you find the best return.
06:09Let's go to the phones.
06:10Two,
06:10four,
06:11eight,
06:11five,
06:11three,
06:11nine,
06:1197,
06:1297.
06:13Again,
06:13we're going to lean on you guys.
06:14We want to define this ahead of time.
06:16So we're not doing a hindsight hit job on Iserman.
06:19What is a success for him in handling the Larkin situation?
06:23Adam and Gibraltar.
06:24You're on 97 one.
06:26Hey,
06:26good morning guys.
06:27How you doing?
06:27Good.
06:28How you doing?
06:29Good,
06:29good.
06:30John,
06:30I actually agree with you on this.
06:33I don't know that they can mend senses because this is dragged in the mud already,
06:37the off season.
06:38And it could get even uglier.
06:40But if there's constant communication with this,
06:45with the trade clause,
06:46with,
06:46you know,
06:46the three teams,
06:47if they want to extend the three teams,
06:49or if Iserman just wants to sit down with Larkin and be like,
06:52hey,
06:52what do I have to do to keep you happy here?
06:56I know I kind of screwed up in the past with,
06:59you know,
06:59not adding other trade lines when I,
07:01you know,
07:01when you thought the team was,
07:03you know,
07:04ready to make that push.
07:04But I think they can add to free agency because they do have the cap.
07:09They can re-sign Cat if they wanted to.
07:11They can re-sign Kane if they wanted to.
07:13Not at the top line guy,
07:15but maybe a second or a third line guy.
07:17They could add more depth down the middle and at wings.
07:20I think their defense would be fine,
07:23but then I think they could make sentences that way.
07:26There's also reports too,
07:28with COSA,
07:28maybe on the move.
07:30I know Kevin Weeks posted on X that Utah.
07:34Yeah.
07:35He could be possibly on the move.
07:37I'm not sure if he's trying to get prospects back in that,
07:41or maybe a,
07:41you know,
07:42a second or a third line guy that's ready down the middle.
07:45Well,
07:45Adam,
07:45I think,
07:46I think the COSA thing,
07:47unfortunately is another blemish on Iserman's resume,
07:50right?
07:50This is a first round goalie who five years in is not a lock to make the team
07:56next year.
07:57And if he's not,
07:57he's waiver eligible.
07:58So they need to trade him.
08:00I think that's why his name is coming up here.
08:02Now,
08:02look,
08:03that doesn't mean you can't pivot off of them.
08:04Another team might be interested in him as a young goaltender.
08:08Yeah.
08:08And then another thing,
08:09I think with the whole COSA thing,
08:11I mean,
08:11he has more goalie prospects in the pipeline with Augustine and that,
08:15uh,
08:17I don't know his name.
08:18I can't really pronounce it,
08:19but this gives me an inclination that maybe if they were to move Mark into
08:25many,
08:25a wall stat deal would be in place with that for him to be ready now to play in the
08:31NHL.
08:32Um,
08:33and they do get those young prospects back.
08:35Irishman could move those prospects for another top line guy potentially.
08:39So you're saying a series of moves as he maneuvers,
08:43the chessboard brings in a goalie that does not help them score five on five.
08:48It does not help them play better hockey with the puck or retrieving the puck.
08:53But then you use that as step one of three,
08:56right?
08:57Cause there's a lot of steps that they're going to need to take.
08:59If they're going to lose their number one center.
09:00Sure.
09:01It's going to get,
09:01it's go.
09:02It's extremely intricate and complicated.
09:06If that's the route you go.
09:09Dominic Texan,
09:10all of a sudden dingler is my favorite athlete named Dylan.
09:17I know people feel a certain way about Larkin.
09:19They're just going to have to make the most of this situation.
09:21Wojo says it could actually be a favor.
09:23This could be Larkin doing Iserman a favor.
09:26I will not go that far,
09:27but how does he make this a success?
09:30Yeah.
09:31How does he win the Larkin fiasco?
09:34It's 97 one.
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