Did you watch the game last night? He was one of the most noticeable players on the ice other than Kane.
- Blackwater13

The only thing that seems wrong with him is he does not generate as much velocity on his shots in tight.

So should people expect the Hawks to look drastically different next year? Or is it more of a rebuild on the fly kinda thing? As an outsider, I don't see many weak spots on this team, they still look like a juggernaut. But I don't know the Hawks current cap situation, it can't be as bad as ours

Yep, but have a limited number of open roster spots.
- BINGO!

They will sign and overpay free agents...They have who to trade that would interest the Hawks?....Also it subtracts from their payroll.

See Tallon with Florida when they got Campbell....They were $30 mill under the floor so a lot C+ players hit the motherload.

He has a NMC on his current contract and the next.
- Blackwater13

I think he has a MNTC on his current deal, but when does this contract end and next years begin?

The 2016 NFL league year began on March 9, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. ET. On March 7 clubs started to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who became unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their 2015 contracts two days later.

If the same is true with NHL then July 1st his new contract kicks in. I'm sure SEabs would not be happy about this but he had to know asking for a contract Like that would lead to this being a possibility. I wonder if trading Seabs was something that was discussed and he setup the contract the way he did not to control the hawks as much as were he might end up? It would make allot more sense then Bow just allowed Seabs to strong arm him.

They will sign and overpay free agents...They have who to trade that would interest the Hawks?....Also it subtracts from their payroll.

See Tallon with Florida when they got Campbell....They were $30 mill under the floor so a lot C+ players hit the motherload.
- Al

realistically speaking don't you feel the guy who they can afford to trade to help clear room while not creating another huge is....Teuvo?

Would you also add that the return of Shaw probably sits at 40% depending upon his willingness to take a small bridge deal but then Bowman faces an uphill better next year with Shaw and Panarin needing to be signed?

My point is....trading Bickell only opens a slight door of relief and you have to pray that your D men hit......

Again, if I were Bowman I think Kruger would bring back a nice return and his ceiling already has been established. He's a bottom 6 player with limited scoring ability. See by his 59 games and counting without lighting the lamp. His last goal was game 2 vs Anaheim.

Lot of money to pay for small skill set.

So should people expect the Hawks to look drastically different next year? Or is it more of a rebuild on the fly kinda thing? As an outsider, I don't see many weak spots on this team, they still look like a juggernaut. But I don't know the Hawks current cap situation, it can't be as bad as ours
- Deadmau55

oh, our cap problem sucks just as bad. Go look and then giggle..........apparently nobody at 1901 w Madison uses a long term forecast planner..........

They will sign and overpay free agents...They have who to trade that would interest the Hawks?....Also it subtracts from their payroll.

See Tallon with Florida when they got Campbell....They were $30 mill under the floor so a lot C+ players hit the motherload.
- Al

They'll do like they did last year and trade mid round picks and some of their crowded D prospects for guys with shorter term deals on cash-strapped teams.

Of course, it is not a pleasant idea, but it cannot be both ways anymore because of the cap.
Some of you are too young to remember, but Mr. Keenan traded away a very popular ambassador (18) for a Richard from the Canadiens (7), which helped turned them into a contender back then. If we say defense wins championships, the money must be put where the pie goes in...
- RedFeather

Yeah but Roenick was ready to take over 1C. Who do we have ready to take over 1RW? Exactly!!

They will sign and overpay free agents...They have who to trade that would interest the Hawks?....Also it subtracts from their payroll.

See Tallon with Florida when they got Campbell....They were $30 mill under the floor so a lot C+ players hit the motherload.
- Al

Timing is sometimes almost everything.

oh, our cap problem sucks just as bad. Go look and then giggle..........apparently nobody at 1901 w Madison uses a long term forecast planner..........
- SteveRain

I cant say anything. As a Kings fan we have no room to talk. We are currently paying 5-6 million dollars for a third line player who does nothing. Kings and Hawks are in the same boat, but the Hawks outlook looks better.

So should people expect the Hawks to look drastically different next year? Or is it more of a rebuild on the fly kinda thing? As an outsider, I don't see many weak spots on this team, they still look like a juggernaut. But I don't know the Hawks current cap situation, it can't be as bad as ours
- Deadmau55

Their cap situation is as bad as it gets. That is why there are no role players, it is all in the top 8 players (very good players). I was told Stan will take care of it last year on this forum. And that the hawks will be raising the cup in June. I think Dale is done taking bad contracts from the hawks. Why not take Datsyuk's contract. $7.5M and the team won't need to pay a dime. JJ wronte a great article a few days ago, the cupboards are near empty, the piper is here. Hawks are going to have to play with what they have for now. Still a very strong competitive team.

I wouldn't lay the blame for the roster entirely on Bowman's shoulders. He provides the player pool. Q decides who plays. and it seems that Q makes up his mind pretty quickly. if you're on his s**t list, forget it. he doesn't seem to like quick d-men; e.g. Leddy (who's in the second round) and Daley (who's in the second round and has been playing pretty damm good for Pit). And defense is the Hawks' problem area. TVR is at best, a third pairing D-man. Also, every year in the playoffs, Q seems to bumble around until he finally finds the right combo, which is a result of him judging plaYers too quickly. With the Canadiens in the 70s, the Islanders, and Edmonton their coaches already had their lineups set by the time the playoffs started. Q is a very good coach at making game time adjustments. not so hot at finding the personnel to make the adjustments.
- tim62b

Having stewed on this more recently, I have to say Stan is more to blame. Here's why:

He knew it was a long shot to move Bickell and blew the late-June buyout window. If he bites the bullet, the Hawks have $2.05M more cap space than an AHL bury. JO can be re-signed. Everyone knew Q rode his four big horses in last year's WCF/SCF.

That also changes the complexion of the Sharp deal in that Daley likely doesn't come bacck in return. Stan could have gone the route of a lower line forward to compliment Garbutt. Then he lets Garbutt go only to have to waive his replacement weeks later.

I am not giving Q a pass on his roster by any means. However a lot of this goes right back to hanging on to Bickell. Now it is even more likely Bickell is bought out this June.

Of course, it is not a pleasant idea, but it cannot be both ways anymore because of the cap.
Some of you are too young to remember, but Mr. Keenan traded away a very popular ambassador (18) for a Richard from the Canadiens (7), which helped turned them into a contender back then. If we say defense wins championships, the money must be put where the pie goes in...
- RedFeather

Oh I remember and I also remember Keenan hell bent on shipping away a bunch of players Belfour, Larmer, etc to get Lindros but once the 2 million in cash came to play good ole Dollar BIll squashed that one. Chelios, Roenick, Hasek, and Lindros all in their prime........

I get the Kane thing, but he continues to excel and improve on the ice. Not sure we have seen his ceiling yet. As snap it says, Toews really needs to work on his skill game and not just be a try hard finisher. Remember when he first came on and Foley claimed he had a wrist shot like Sakic? Where has THAT gone to.....

Spot on. Had StanBo dealt Sharp for picks on draft day and not overplayed his hand by asking for more (assuming the rumors were correct), he could have gotten rid of Sharp's contract, had money to spend on Oduya, and had Johns still in the system.
- DMCsPulledHammy

This a 1000 times over.

Part of me still wonders if he really had that opportunity at the draft. Seems like a no brainer to trade Sharp, Versteeg and or Bickell each for a 7th round pick. especially after the Leddy deal. What they needed was cap space.

He had to be sitting there at the draft with the cap numbers up on the board with the team laid out (that or he saved a roster on General Fanager).

It was too much of a no brainer to not sign Rundblad, buyout or trade Bickell, and trade Sharp and Versteeg for picks.

Still wonder if he really could have just traded them for picks, hard to believe he couldn't, but harder to believe that if he could, he didn't.

Yeah but Roenick was ready to take over 1C. Who do we have ready to take over 1RW? Exactly!!
- tyweb69

Tough problems to have, for sure, after 7 years of tremendous success. Aren't you glad these are our complaints (instead of being a team who says "yay, we won a game 7 finally).

Who is that someone and what do you think it will take?
- bhawks2241

He means Crawford I think or TT. You could get a ton for Crawford, can't really see a big return for TT.

Not sure long term TT is better than Danault

Problem is that Crawford has a no movement clause so you need to get him to waive it. Edmonton would be an ideal trade partner but doubt he would waive to go there.
- pierregruska

Why, he'll be playing with the best hockey player to come along since the Great One, haven't you heard?

This a 1000 times over.

Part of me still wonders if he really had that opportunity at the draft. Seems like a no brainer to trade Sharp, Versteeg and or Bickell each for a 7th round pick. especially after the Leddy deal. What they needed was cap space.

He had to be sitting there at the draft with the cap numbers up on the board with the team laid out (that or he saved a roster on General Fanager).

It was too much of a no brainer to not sign Rundblad, buyout or trade Bickell, and trade Sharp and Versteeg for picks.

Still wonder if he really could have just traded them for picks, hard to believe he couldn't, but harder to believe that if he could, he didn't.
- vabeachbear

I agree... I'm not 100% convinced picks were ever an option it would have been an absolute no-brainer... Let's face it IMMEDIATELY after we lose the trolls of other team boards come to talk trash nobody likes the perennial winner, and to think opposing GMs think any differently is insane. Everybody knew how F'ed we were and us getting draft picks back for Sharp would have helped us tremendously... I don't think GMs were lining up to help the Hawks out... I could be wrong and maybe Stan was cocky, but when everybody knows your hand it's pretty hard to play poker. Either way we had to dump Sharp... Picks would have helped us, so I think teams offered anything but picks.

I still am holding out hope that there is a market to trade Bickell rather than buyout... There are a few rebuilding teams w/ SERIOUS cap space who are rebuilding (Carolina and Arizona) who would benefit from taking a bad contract and a decent prospect to aid in the rebuilding process and hit cap compliance. Would likely take the rights of Shaw or McNeill plus Bickell for scraps, but either of those two options could step in and immediately help a rebuilding team. I also think Toronto is in a similar position and would be smart to take a bad contract plus a prospect, given that they have more money than anyone and paying Bicks contract for a year would be chump change.

Regardless, was a heck of a series and I am very curious to see how things play out for next year. Gonna be a challenge, but diamonds in the rough can be found (Panik turned out pretty well, and I don't think anyone thought Sharp would do the things he did for us when we acquired him from Philly)...

Part of me still wonders if he really had that opportunity at the draft. Seems like a no brainer to trade Sharp, Versteeg and or Bickell each for a 7th round pick. especially after the Leddy deal. What they needed was cap space.
- vabeachbear

This is why I don't give him too much grief over Sharp. If he had the opportunity to shed $6m in salary and get two draft picks -- weren't they supposed to get second rounders? -- he'd have to be a complete fool to reject that offer. Even if you want to get guys who can contribute, you can always flip those picks for something you want, especially at the draft. If Bowman isn't smart enough to realize that he deserves to be fired.

What's maddening to me is that he didn't pass off Trevor Daley for something else once he had him. It's July. Teams can take on some salary. Bowman either didn't understand that the coach didn't want Daley, or the coach didn't know what he wanted. Both of those are problems.

I'm wondering if the Hawks window started closing the minute the ink was dry on those two 10 million dollar contracts. That's 28% of your entire cap in two players. With the cap being stagnant that is a crippling figure, even though they are good players. Bowman is gonna have to be exceptional in his drafting and signing NCAA fa's as the Hawks are going to need to find cheap complimentary players as depth is what makes champions. There are a lot of two line teams but not many four line teams. Even though Kane is a good player I would rather they have traded him for an excellent return and kept Saad and Shaw. They give you more depth and are good playoff type performers.
- Joinable

Trade the most exciting and highest scoring player in the league? Glad you're not making decisions for my company.

Do you guys have any favorite sites for hockey prospect news? Everything that I google is several months old.

This feels like the day after an unexpected breakup. When will this feeling go away???

oh, our cap problem sucks just as bad. Go look and then giggle..........apparently nobody at 1901 w Madison uses a long term forecast planner..........
- SteveRain

And wasn't our current GM formerly the contract guy? So much for guys taking team friendly deals, what a myth. The Seabs is such a lousy deal for the Hawks. Can't pay a guy based on past performance.

This is why I don't give him too much grief over Sharp. If he had the opportunity to shed $6m in salary and get two draft picks -- weren't they supposed to get second rounders? -- he'd have to be a complete fool to reject that offer. Even if you want to get guys who can contribute, you can always flip those picks for something you want, especially at the draft. If Bowman isn't smart enough to realize that he deserves to be fired.
- darklighter

To add to this...

I think Bowman overvalued Sharp. Purely as a player, Sharp is a valuable guy. But when you take salary into account, as you absolutely MUST do in a hard cap world, he's not valuable at all. He's probably overpaid for what it is he brings to the table these days. Not necessarily by a whole lot, but maybe by a million or two. That means a team taking him on is actually getting worse. Dallas could have used that $6m to improve their blue line. To balance the scales out, Dallas needed more, which is why they demanded Stephen Johns.

(Watch the same thing happen with Brent Seabrook in four years.)

When you look at it that way, you might actually be able to make a case that Bowman did as well as he could have under the circumstances. He got two quality players in return, both of whom are contributors to still-active playoff teams. Unfortunately, Q didn't like either of them.

Quenneville's inflexibility and impatience is going to be a bigger and bigger problem as time goes on here because it's becoming harder and harder for Bowman to acquire players who are both quality and Q-approved. It's an especially big problem for the defense, because their cap situation means they basically have to acquire younger guys. If they don't already play Q's way, they don't get enough time to settle in and learn how to.

And that's how you wind up with a bad turnover in the neutral zone in the third period of a tied Game 7.

Oh I remember and I also remember Keenan hell bent on shipping away a bunch of players Belfour, Larmer, etc to get Lindros but once the 2 million in cash came to play good ole Dollar BIll squashed that one. Chelios, Roenick, Hasek, and Lindros all in their prime........

I get the Kane thing, but he continues to excel and improve on the ice. Not sure we have seen his ceiling yet. As snap it says, Toews really needs to work on his skill game and not just be a try hard finisher. Remember when he first came on and Foley claimed he had a wrist shot like Sakic? Where has THAT gone to.....
- SteveRain

Not to mention all the times Brett Hull became available.

oh, our cap problem sucks just as bad. Go look and then giggle..........apparently nobody at 1901 w Madison uses a long term forecast planner..........
- SteveRain

No, it definitely isn't "just as bad" as LAs. But leave it to you to blow things out of proportion and cast doubt on the teams future. This is the 4th straight year I've experienced your endless doubting and criticizing of every little move that gets made. 3WCF and 2 Cups later, i think its safe to say our front office knows what its doing, and has a long term plan.