And, uh, Scott, where does J.P. Hurlbut fit into the plan for the Detroit Red Wings right now?

Well, that is [laughs] such a wide-open question.

I, I, I think we don't really know what the plan currently is for the Detroit Red Wings, given the, the current Dylan Larkin-ness of it all, obviously.

But, um, I, I think that this is a guy that is really exciting for a few reasons.

And, like, everybody wins on draft night kinda thing, but I, I think the reason why this pick is so enticing for a lot of Wings fans is because for the entire Yzerman era, there has been a clear game plan of we're gonna take high-floor guys that maybe don't project to be high-end NHL players, but are definitely NHL players.

They're okay on offense, you know, half-point-a-game producers.

They're solid on defense, right? That's, like, w- really what he has targeted as far as forwards go for his entire tenure.

How much of an impact do you think the supposed imminent departure of Dylan Larkin had on Yzerman making, taking a swing at a pick like this?

And, uh, Scott, where does JP Hurlbut fit into the plan for the Detroit Red Wings right now?

Well, that is [laughs] such a wide-open question.

I, I, I think we don't really know what the plan currently is for the Detroit Red Wings, given the, the current Dylan Larkin-ness of it all, obviously.

But, um, I, I think that this is a guy that is really exciting for a few reasons, and, like everybody wins on draft night kind of thing.

But I, I think the reason why this pick is so enticing for a lot of Wings fans is because for the entire Yzerman era, there has been a clear game plan of we're gonna take high-floor guys that maybe don't project to be high-end NHL players, but are definitely NHL players.

They're okay on offense, you know, half point a game producers.

They're solid on defense, right? That's like really what he has targeted as far as forwards go for his entire tenure, and this is the first one where there's some shortcomings defensively.

How much of an impact do you think the supposed imminent departure of Dylan Larkin had on Yzerman making, taking a swing at a pick like this?

That's okay

... you know, talk about the offense.

You know, we've talked so much on pitching for, for the first 20 minutes.

Like, the, there, uh...

I feel like all of the offenses you can, and maybe you can do this with, like, every team in baseball, but the, there's good and bad and, and honestly a decent amount of both for, for a lot of these teams.

Like, I, I, I know in Detroit at least, it's, it, it's, uh, inconsistencies, and I know we're only a month in, but, like, they have a handful of series where they literally score three or four runs in the entire series, and then they ha- they, they...

I mean, everybody scores in Cincinnati, but, like, they go to Cincinnati and they, they, you know, put up 20 runs in three games or whatever.

All right, Scott, how about you? You guys didn't take off in the month of April, but again, can't, you can't win a division in April, but you can, you can lose it and- Nobody's lost it, especially the Tigers.

What's kind of the general vibe in Tigers Nation right now?

Yeah, I think it's positive.

I think it's... cautious optimism.

There's a lot of excitement, obviously, surrounding the pitching staff.

The Tigers just announced yesterday that Kevin McGonigal was going to make the opening day roster.

That has a whole new kind of injection of life put into the fan base.

I still think there is some questions or hesitation about how good the offense truly can be.

And I think people forget that there's other players on this team outside of Terrence Google.

All right, who had the best move of the offseason, and why was it Frambois Valdez? And, Scott, is that enough to maximize 2026, possibly Tarek Skubal's last season? How much pressure is on the Tigers to make a deeper run?

I think – I mean, as we kind of said at the beginning of the show, right, like I – and I'm looking at this through, you know, tiger-striped glasses, obviously, but I really do think that this is a – the year that the most pressure is on the Tigers.

This is a team that – Like, they've made the playoffs the last two years in a row.

You had the magic comeback in 2024 and then the historic collapse in 2025.

But, you know, found yourself in the postseason both years.

They haven't won the AL Central since 2014.

That was the last division title the Tigers had.

Is that, are they the only ones that are even close down the hot seat? Is there somebody else you think?

All right, who had the best move of the off season and why was it Framber Valdez? And Scott, is that enough to maximize 2026, possibly Tarik Skubal's last season? How much pressure is on the Tigers to make a deeper run?

run?I think, I mean, as we kind of said at the beginning of the show, right, like I, I, I... and I'm looking at this through, you know, Tiger-striped glasses obviously, but I, I really do think that this is a, the year that the most pressure i- is on the Tigers.

This is a team that, like they've made the playoffs the last two years in a row.

You had the magic comeback in 2024 and then the historic collapse in 2025, but, you know, found yourself in the postseason both years.

They haven't won the AL Central since 2014.

That was the last division title the Tigers had.

It- it's been over a decade and, um, uh, you know, uh, you bring Verlander back, maybe there you go, you got some good vibes.

Is, are they the only ones that are really even close to on the hot seat, or is there somebody else, you think?

All right, who had the best move of the offseason, and why was it Frambois Valdez? And, Scott, is that enough to maximize 2026, possibly Tarek Skubal's last season? How much pressure is on the Tigers to make a deeper run?

I think – I mean, as we kind of said at the beginning of the show, right, like I – and I'm looking at this through, you know, tiger-striped glasses, obviously, but I really do think that this is a – the year that the most pressure is on the Tigers.

This is a team that – Like, they've made the playoffs the last two years in a row.

You had the magic comeback in 2024 and then the historic collapse in 2025.

But, you know, found yourself in the postseason both years.

They haven't won the AL Central since 2014.

That was the last division title the Tigers had.

Are they the only ones that are even close down the hot seat? Is there somebody else you think?

I think he's got this.

Yeah, the last time you had more than 80 was Dadsook in the 08-09 season, and he had 97, when he should have probably won the Hart Trophy.

Right.

But, I mean, I think with Ray in particular...

If they do anything in terms of add to that top six, there's no doubt in my mind he hits it.

And I think of all the people that would love to see him shoot more in the name of Mickey Redmond, if that picks up.

Because if you didn't check, he's shooting at a 15.6% clip right now.

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