Stastny plus nothing equals nothing
- paulr

Their centers would be better than our centers. At least collectively.

yes that is an option but it leaves the Hawks right where they left off...with an incomplete top 6 and a weak 3rd defense pair
- EnzoD

they played all last season like that and were one bounce away from another finals

we like our team

And the idiots in the league office couldn't understand or project this.

Inexcusable to be off by $3MM.
- StLBravesFan

Not going to lie, that's hard to excuse. The Candain dollar has gotten stronger since it took a dive in Feb/March, but it would never have climbed up enough to get back to $71m.

It makes the trading of Versteeg more odd: he might be a bargain at $2.2m if his knee gets better, but that's a bigger gamble than getting Morin some more NHL experience imo. Bollig's signing is another mystery because while he was solid, paying 3 4th liners over a million each is stupid when you have so much money tied up in the top 9. Kruger and Smith are worth it, but a Rockford guy could be trained to be as effective as Bollig.

Neither of these are huge enough deals that they're what is breaking bank right now for the Hawks, but they certainly aren't helping.

If you did...the Nucks would look pretty damn good down the middle

L1-C-Sedin
L2-C-Stastny
L3-C-Bonino

Shoot, that's better than us.
- kwolf68

I would agree and we can also go after a Dman too. I like what the new GM is doing

And the idiots in the league office couldn't understand or project this.

Inexcusable to be off by $3MM.
- StLBravesFan

Came in around 70...NHL and NHLPA compromised to 69...Agreed thouh.....off and for teams spending to the limit, they got bent over.

SnapitUpstairs is right...game of poker with all the big teams...Bost, Philly, Chic, Pitts...Bowman better be good at poker and maximize return in buyers market.

and by bowman, I mean scotty....

bollig's contract is sickening 1.25 mil for a goon that was part of the downfall of the 4th line in the playoffs....morin is 5x the player bollig is...and yes i realize he has a role on the team bc there are a bunch of pansies who can't stand up for themselves on the hawks roster but why not sign him for under 1mil...is the market for goons really that small???
- EnzoD

Bollig got that deal before he disappeared in the playoffs again. Now it certainly doesn't look like a very smart deal. Although I'd much rather have Bowman over react to our lack of physical play by doing that then bringing in Jon Scott.

Bollig got that deal before he disappeared in the playoffs again. Now it certainly doesn't look like a very smart deal. Although I'd much rather have Bowman over react to our lack of physical play by doing that then bringing in Jon Scott.
- Hemingways

I don't think anyone will take his deal but it has certainly become expendable with the cap news.

they played all last season like that and were ine bounce away from another finals
- ikeane

and if they go into next year with this roster they will probably be the 2nd/3rd seed in the Central and a repeat of this postseason is likely

Their centers would be better than our centers. At least collectively.
- kwolf68

IF they sign Stastny. The Hawks are still miles better. Don't forget what the Hawks have.

Agree. Why on earth did we even trade for Versteeg to begin with? His performance in the playoffs was comically bad. He STILL found his way back into the lineup when it was clear he was completely ineffective (unless you count his effectiveness FOR Los Angeles).
- kwolf68

The trade was pretty well received here when it happened - easy to see, with hindsight, that it hasn't worked out.

Yet.

There is still the small chance the the knee injury has been rehabilitated and the skater has worked (will work) himself into better condition this summer.

It always has been important, but we have not needed Bickell to score 30 goals to make the playoffs. We have plenty of guys that can score. We need guys like Bickell that can flip the switch come playoff time when guys like Sharp run out of gas.
- CBHawks88

Welcome to the new buzz.

bollig's contract is sickening 1.25 mil for a goon that was part of the downfall of the 4th line in the playoffs....morin is 5x the player bollig is...and yes i realize he has a role on the team bc there are a bunch of pansies who can't stand up for themselves on the hawks roster but why not sign him for under 1mil...is the market for goons really that small???
- EnzoD

To be fair to Bollig vs Morin argument, they would not have played the same type of role so swapping them wholesale would have been difficult. Bollig plays a solid if not spectacular defensive role while Morin has been trained to be an offensive threat with okay-enough defensive abilities. Versteeg is the one blocking Morin, not Bollig. Nordy could do Bollig's job effectively once he gets a little more weight to him imo.

IF they sign Stastny. The Hawks are still miles better. Don't forget what the Hawks have.
- paulr

Oh yea as a team the Hawks are way better than the Nucks...WAY better at Defense, goalie and overall top six, and full collection of wingers.

Nucks would only have Hawks at center, but most teams have the Hawks at center. If by some unfortunate chance 19 gets hurt, the Hawks would boast arguably the worst group of centers in the NHL. His presence makes our center group go from horrible to pretty good.

All that said, i think we'll get us a new center this evening...OLLIE J baby.

And the idiots in the league office couldn't understand or project this.

Inexcusable to be off by $3MM.
- StLBravesFan

This! Bunch of dumb (frank)s.

Torts and Gillis being gone is a bad thing? ( you do realize their salaries do not effect the cap right?)

Sure the return on Kes wasn't good, but it wasn't bad!

Sure as hell beats Kruger


- Whiskey-Tango

"Wasn't good"??? Not good returns are going to get you back in contention when?

Benning's plan to rebuild is apparently based on losing your way into high picks the next few years. Should be fun for the campfire crowd up in Vancouver.

and here we go again awaiting the inevitable Cap dumps at the draft, this is getting tiresome every year. stupid salary cap

To be fair to Bollig vs Morin argument, they would not have played the same type of role so swapping them wholesale would have been difficult. Bollig plays a solid if not spectacular defensive role while Morin has been trained to be an offensive threat with okay-enough defensive abilities. Versteeg is the one blocking Morin, not Bollig. Nordy could do Bollig's job effectively once he gets a little more weight to him imo.
- L_B_R

my point in the comparison is why is a big goof that has ECHL skill making more money than a former 1st rounder with NHL talent???

Plenty of 'idiots' on Wall Street can't project it.
- paulr

Plenty of idiots on Wall Street and in businesses everywhere go bankrupt because they can't accurately project.

Stop trying to excuse these clowns.

This! Bunch of dumb (frank)s.
- Lido_Shuffle

You do realize the league is 30 teams. Wirtz doesn't want that cap to go higher any more than any owner does. The league set the cap based on owner and NHLPA input

Plenty of idiots on Wall Street and in businesses everywhere go bankrupt because they can't accurately project.

Stop trying to excuse these clowns.
- StLBravesFan

What happened to the rational and thoughtful Sage?

One thing about the 69M figure...

...this will force SB and Co. to do something.

Still should be an interesting couple of days.

Well shiiiiiiiiiiat, it worked for you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hopefully it doesn't take 20 years however.


- Whiskey-Tango

Felt like more than that...

Plenty of idiots on Wall Street and in businesses everywhere go bankrupt because they can't accurately project.

Stop trying to excuse these clowns.
- StLBravesFan

If only they had the power of the printing press to correct all their mistakes like the government does.

Still do not think anyone in ownership is shocked by the news today. I am certain, like in earnings on the street, there are plenty of whispers.

and here we go again awaiting the inevitable Cap dumps at the draft, this is getting tiresome every year. stupid salary cap
- SaskHawkFan

I just wish the CBA included a luxury tax contingency for big spenders...

...going over would be possible, but it'll cost ya in penalties. At least that way teams aren't scrambling to dump salary, or hesitating to make deals solely for financial reasons.

but alas, it wasn't included...