All I want tomorrow is all of our RFA s back and Matt Hendricks for the 4th line.

Use the 4a ice hogs to fill in . They are either ready now or never.
- mrpaulish

I'd be happy with Boyd Gordon too.

Yeah probably. Hopefully they stick with it for awhile. I bet he has a lot of confidence now. He could succeed there. I still liked having a 4th line with some skill on it. Really spread out the offense
- tomcat24

I know many don't want to hear this but I believe the Hawks are going to give the #2C job to Pirri and see how he does.

I'd be happy with Boyd Gordon too.
- DarthKane

I'd be fine with that too.

I know many don't want to hear this but I believe the Hawks are going to give the #2C job to Pirri and see how he does.
- dan9189

Sounds like it from all the media reports. All he does is produce everywhere he goes. I know the NHL is a lot tougher than ahl or college but if he can produce anywhere it is playing with sharp and hossa. Rather trade for a young c, though but who knows what happens

I'm too entertained by the Salary Cap Calculator on CapGeek, so let me share my thoughts (I apologize that I've done this so many times.)

Let's look at what we DEFINITELY have in place for next season ...

Bickell / Toews / Hossa
Sharp / _____ / Kane
Saad / Shaw / Smith (I think this is going to be the new third line)
_____ / Kruger / _____

Seabrook / Keith
Hjalmarsson / Oduya
_____ / Leddy
Brookbank

Crawford
Emery (I'll assume they somehow finalize a contract with him)


Now, looking at the blanks, the logical blanks that I see come from the fourth line, and those blanks could easily be occupied by the likes of Morin and Hayes. However, I don't think that it would be smart to play Kruger with two inexperienced (for the most part) players. I think that it would be wise for the team to bring in a veteran presence to help Kruger and one of the kids (likely Morin) out. So, with that being said, I sign ... Jerred Smithson for a cap hit of $850,000. Smithson is 6'3" and 209 LBS. He can play right wing or he can play center, and he owns a career face-off percentage of 54.9%. He is excellent at the draw and is also a player that can hit. He had almost 100 hits this past season, and the two years prior he had 162 and 128 respectively. He is good on the penalty kill as well. I also like Matt Hendricks, but I think that he will draw more interest than Smithson will, and will likely command more. With this being done, I think that Jeremy Morin will have the ability to play on the fourth line with two players who are very sound defensively. All three players play very hard and I can see all three finding chemistry.

Our roster now looks like this ...


Bickell / Toews / Hossa
Sharp / _____ / Kane
Saad / Shaw / Smith (I think this is going to be the new third line)
Morin / Kruger / Smithson

Seabrook / Keith
Hjalmarsson / Oduya
_____ / Leddy
Brookbank


Moving on, I think that one other pressing question is, who pairs up with Nick Leddy? I think that the answer SHOULD be Michael Rozsival. However, the big question remains, would he be willing to take a slight pay-cut in order to give the team more breathing room? Or will another team snag him because they offered more money? At the end of the day, I think that it is the latter. So, with that being said, I think that Nick Leddy has a new partner by the name of ... Kurtis Foster. Yep. Kurtis Foster. Kurt Foster is 6'5" and 225 LBS. He's coming off of a season where he wasn't really used by the Philadelphia Flyers, but what is really appealing about Kurtis aside for his size is the offense he brings. For his career, Foster has 160 points in 405 games. However, what is significant about his numbers is that he has 95 points off the power-play. That means more than half of his offense comes from the man advantage. During his best season ('09-'10 in Tampa Bay) he had 42 points, 26 off which came off the power-play (only Mike Green, Sergei Gonchar, and Dan Boyle had more assists than he did. He had more than the likes of Niedermeyer, Pronger, and Doughty to name a few.) I think that given more playing time, and given Chicago's electric offense, I think that he can really thrive in the same way Rozsival did. I think he will be a VERY affordable cap hit. I'm estimating around $900,000 for his services on a one-year deal. He would REALLY upgrade the power-play.

Bickell / Toews / Hossa
Sharp / _____ / Kane
Saad / Shaw / Smith (I think this is going to be the new third line)
Morin / Kruger / Smithson

Seabrook / Keith
Hjalmarsson / Oduya
Foster / Leddy
Brookbank


Our defense now looks set. Brookbank/Foster will essentially alternate if need be, but I like how our defense is looking.


And now, we have come to the most pressing question. This question hurts to even think about. No scientist or mathematician can come up with an answer as to WHO will fill the role of the second line center. However, I think that the job is essentially filled by .... drum-roll please ..... *drum roll* .... BRANDON PIRRI! YES! You guessed it! Brandon Pirri, the leading scorer in the AHL this past season. He *surprises* everyone and wins the job. Stan said that he wanted to give some of the younger kids an opportunity to win a spot, and Brandon Pirri is this year's Mega Millions Lotto winner. Brandon will skate with Kane and Sharp, two of the best wingers in the NHL. He will have an ample amount of pressure placed upon his shoulders, but I think the kid steps up! I think that Stan is the happiest of them all for saving an extra penny! Amid the frustration of Blackhawks fans everywhere, I think Pirri can really turn some heads. The 'Hawks will have around $1,500,000 of cap space for the upcoming season, and when it's said and done I think that by the trade deadline if it remains a problem the 'Hawks will end up acquiring a LEGITIMATE second line center.

So, ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together and let me hear you scream as I present to you ... your 2013/2014 Chicago Blackhawks!


Bickell / Toews / Hossa
Sharp / Pirri / Kane
Saad / Shaw / Smith
Morin / Kruger / Smithson

Carcillo / Hayes

Seabrook / Keith
Hjalmarsson / Oduya
Foster / Leddy
Brookbank
- TommyHawk

No.

I know many don't want to hear this but I believe the Hawks are going to give the #2C job to Pirri and see how he does.
- dan9189

It will be a looooong 1st half of the season.

He'd be a nice present for sure

- philco28

Or Smithson would be nice!!

It will be a looooong 1st half of the season.
- Q...argh

It will be a long start to the season anyway. How many Hawks are coming off injuries in one of the shortest off seasons in history?

- philco28

John Scott? What about him?

Chris Kuc ‏@ChrisKuc
Goaltender coach Stephane Waite leaves #Blackhawks to join Canadiens. Had big role in Corey Crawford's development. Great guy too.

Per RDS Stephanie Waite hired by Montreal as goaltending coach. Bummer.

Action on Ray Emery. Philly, Isles and Oilers believed to be chasing. Hawks also in discussions to re-sign Emery. Good to have options.#TSN

Per Dreger

I'm thinking Kruger ends up centering Sharp and Hossa.
- EKolb13

Him, or maybe Shaw.

Dreger tweeted philly, oilers and islanders all in on Emery. Hawks looking to resign as well.

Dreger tweeted philly, oilers and islanders all in on Emery. Hawks looking to resign as well.
- golfbard

Philly must have money to burn they seem to be in on everybody. Maybe if the offers don't get ridiculous Emery may like the chance to win another Cup instead of being a starter for a team that doesn't have as good a chance. The back up goalie will be more important this time around going back to the 82 game season so he should get more opportunity to play and provide insurance in the event of injuries.

Dreger tweeted philly, oilers and islanders all in on Emery. Hawks looking to resign as well.
- golfbard

If that's the case, he's as good as gone. The other teams are likely offering a starting job with at least twice as much money Stan would be willing to spend. When I didn't hear of him resigning officially Tuesday or yesterday, I thought this was going to happen. Now on top of it, we have lost the Goalie Whisperer....

Philly must have money to burn they seem to be in on everybody. Maybe if the offers don't get ridiculous Emery may like the chance to win another Cup instead of being a starter for a team that doesn't have as good a chance. The back up goalie will be more important this time around going back to the 82 game season so he should get more opportunity to play and provide insurance in the event of injuries.
- jhawk159

But he probably wouldn't play in the play-offs here, absent a Crawford melt-down or injury.

Major question to me whether he can do 50 games plus play-offs or not behind a more leaky defense than here in Chicago: good results here last year, but I still saw some problems when he went post-to-post.

Philly must have money to burn they seem to be in on everybody. Maybe if the offers don't get ridiculous Emery may like the chance to win another Cup instead of being a starter for a team that doesn't have as good a chance. The back up goalie will be more important this time around going back to the 82 game season so he should get more opportunity to play and provide insurance in the event of injuries.
- jhawk159

Or now he gets to be a starter again and win a cup himself?! He's gone..... Time to look at backup options. Jason Labarbera anyone?

Per RDS Stephanie Waite hired by Montreal as goaltending coach. Bummer.
- golfbard

Anyone have any insight as to why?

Per RDS Stephanie Waite hired by Montreal as goaltending coach. Bummer.
- golfbard

Queue the Crawford for Price rumors.

But he probably wouldn't play in the play-offs here, absent a Crawford melt-down or injury.

Major question to me whether he can do 50 games plus play-offs or not behind a more leaky defense than here in Chicago: good results here last year, but I still saw some problems when he went post-to-post.
- StLBravesFan

I will admit I was one of those who was hoping for Emery to be the guy going into the playoffs. That's of course before he got injured.

His performance in the Calgary game has to be one of the best goalie performances I have ever witnessed.

Dreger tweeted philly, oilers and islanders all in on Emery. Hawks looking to resign as well.
- golfbard

My first choice to backup Crawford is obviously Emery. But if we can't re-sign him and Raanta's not ready who is our best option?

Of all the teams mentioned about none give Ray a chance to win as much as Chicago and I doubt Philly can pay any more than we can. The Islanders could be an interesting destination for Emery.

JJ!!!!!!!!!
Gimme news! Pllleeeeeeeeaaase!
Just put it in my veins!!!
- Kentxo

Junkie!

Junkie!
- Beaver-Warrior

My first choice to backup Crawford is obviously Emery. But if we can't re-sign him and Raanta's not ready who is our best option?

Of all the teams mentioned about none give Ray a chance to win as much as Chicago and I doubt Philly can pay any more than we can. The Islanders could be an interesting destination for Emery.
- DarthKane

For certain since they don't even have a goaltender. I think they have been contemplating playing with 6 attackers for the whole game.

I always thought Emery would get a good FA offer from somebody even though his health makes it very risky. Hawks shouldn't pay him anymore than he made last year. He has his Stanley Cup ring and can move on with no regrets.