Given the inuendo the past couple of days....
- StLBravesFan

Any innuendo I was responsible for was most definitely not about Keith.

I always thought Keith WAS the cup window. They have a shot as long as he's performing at his regular level since Kane and Toews are younger. Trading Keith would be eyebrow-raising indeed, and not in a good way

So now there's a new "insider"....fantastic
- EnzoD

That's right Enzo - cut down others because they might actually know something you don't.

Actually - you probably shouldn't - as you would have to do it to most of the people on this planet!!!!!

Any innuendo I was responsible for was most definitely not about Keith.

I always thought Keith WAS the cup window. They have a shot as long as he's performing at his regular level since Kane and Toews are younger. Trading Keith would be eyebrow-raising indeed, and not in a good way
- maria_wyeth

I know you've likened Keith to Lidstrom. And I tend to agree. I've said several times that I think the Hawks are entering a stint similar to Detroit from 2003-2007. Yzerman, Shanahan, and Fedorov left in those years, but Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and a healthy Franzen came in. 2008-2009 was the last kick at the can while Lidstrom, Draper, Maltby, and Holmstrom were all there. And Lidstrom was 38 or 39 when they won, right?

I was thinking that the next Cup shot for Toews and Kane (and Hammer) might be in a few years when they are 31 or 32 and Keith is 35 or 36. Maybe the Hawks have a few lean years in between but replenish the talent.

Of course, maybe StanBo et al. are looking at the career of former Blackhawks Player Development coach Mike Sullivan, now head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens' D core is Letang-Dumoulin, Lovejoy-Schultz, Maata-Cole. And their goalie had a phenomenal AHL season and has transferred that to the NHL. Yet they've got three heavy hitters in Kessel, Malkin, and Crosby, and all three are on different lines with good role players, all of whom are VERY fast.

Is that the new model? Would seem to also require a new coach...

To you and everyone else talking about moving Kruger - it's not going to happen!!!!!

From a source with the Hawks:

As far as "untouchables" the only ones are: Toews, Kane, Hjalmarsson and Kruger - IN THAT ORDER!!!!

So please quit wasting space here about trading Kruger - it is purely your fantasy - absolutely NO reality to it!!!!!
- dahawks8819

What's the reasoning of the source? Next time the source says something, ask him why the higher-ups think along the lines they are thinking.

Is it that Toews = Yzerman. Kane = Fedorov. Hjalmarsson = Lidstrom????? I would have thought this would be Keith.

And Kruger = Draper???? Didn't Draper at least pot a few goals?

Any innuendo I was responsible for was most definitely not about Keith.

I always thought Keith WAS the cup window. They have a shot as long as he's performing at his regular level since Kane and Toews are younger. Trading Keith would be eyebrow-raising indeed, and not in a good way
- maria_wyeth

Keith is the Cup window. Well, unless the Hawks' front office is stupid enough to believe Hjalmarsson can be a #1 D-man. After this last season he probably isn't good enough to be a # 2. He is one-dimensional. Yes, he is very good at that dimension but if you think the Hawks struggled 5 v 5 this season, wait until you watch a team without Keith driving the offense. yeessh.

Also. They aren't trading him.

What's the reasoning of the source? Next time the source says something, ask him why the higher-ups think along the lines they are thinking.

Is it that Toews = Yzerman. Kane = Fedorov. Hjalmarsson = Lidstrom????? I would have thought this would be Keith.

And Kruger = Draper???? Didn't Draper at least pot a few goals?
- DMChi2010

Shaw is the better comp to Draper. Not Kruger. Draper killed penalties. shaw doesn't. But both was used up and down the line-up in various roles.

The only thing that Hjalamrsson and Lidstrom have in common is their nationality.

Keith IS this team's Lidstrom.

Most Hawk fans would believe the same thing - the only problem with that assumption is there are a couple new realities facing elite NHL teams - a much lower anticipated salary cap and the issues of who gets protected in two expansion drafts.

Teams that are willing to face these new realities are trying to get out in front of it - and the Hawks are one of them. The four I mentioned were intimated as not available for anything offered - and no other name came up in the discussion - and that was an eyebrow raiser to me. And I was told not to push the subject further.

(I know this upsets people like EnzoD - because he believes the little fantasy world in his head is reality)
- dahawks8819

DaHawks and EnzoD:

I'm not a moderator, but come on guys. Whether or not a person's information is real, I think it's helpful to always lay out the train of thought or the reasoning behind whatever you state. Because the Hawks. We love 'em. So let's at least think about the logic and see if we agree, or if nothing else, learn from it.

Shaw is the better comp to Draper. Not Kruger. Draper killed penalties. shaw doesn't. But both was used up and down the line-up in various roles.

The only thing that Hjalamrsson and Lidstrom have in common is their nationality.

Keith IS this team's Lidstrom.
- TTtime

That's exactly what I was thinking.

Good insight on Draper and Shaw.

What's the reasoning of the source? Next time the source says something, ask him why the higher-ups think along the lines they are thinking.

Is it that Toews = Yzerman. Kane = Fedorov. Hjalmarsson = Lidstrom????? I would have thought this would be Keith.

And Kruger = Draper???? Didn't Draper at least pot a few goals?
- DMChi2010

The reasoning is what I posted earlier - that the cap is significantly lower going into next year than what it was assumed to be - somewhere in the 80 million range per team. That was the perceived escalator year to year - assuming the growth that Bettman's cronies told everyone - but it never came to bear - as profits have dropped in the last four years.

And compounding the problem is the two expansion drafts coming up - GMs are very uncertain as to who they can protect and who they will be forced not to protect.

Some teams this summer will be trying to get out in front of this - and the Hawks will most likely be one of them.

That does not leave many players they can continue to call "untouchable" - as the cap won't allow it, and expansion may force them to be "touchable".

What all this comes down to is financially, the NHL is in BIG TROUBLE!!!! Another long work stoppage coming - the players union is already complaining about lower salaries for the 5% escalator - this while the owners will fleece two new teams out of a lot of cash - cash that the players will never see. Do you really think this sits well with the NHL players union?? A union that gave in big time to end the last three work stoppages - and have privately vowed there WILL NOT be a fourth time!!!!

The reasoning is what I posted earlier - that the cap is significantly lower going into next year than what it was assumed to be - somewhere in the 80 million range per team. That was the perceived escalator year to year - assuming the growth that Bettman's cronies told everyone - but it never came to bear - as profits have dropped in the last four years.

And compounding the problem is the two expansion drafts coming up - GMs are very uncertain as to who they can protect and who they will be forced not to protect.

Some teams this summer will be trying to get out in front of this - and the Hawks will most likely be one of them.

That does not leave many players they can continue to call "untouchable" - as the cap won't allow it, and expansion may force them to be "touchable".

What all this comes down to is financially, the NHL is in BIG TROUBLE!!!! Another long work stoppage coming - the players union is already complaining about lower salaries for the 5% escalator - this while the owners will fleece two new teams out of a lot of cash - cash that the players will never see. Do you really think this sits well with the NHL players union?? A union that gave in big time to end the last three work stoppages - and have privately vowed there WILL NOT be a fourth time!!!!
- dahawks8819

The current CBA is a 10 year deal runs thru 2022 - I think either side can reopen negotiations after the 8th year - 2020 - so 4 years from now. I don't know if there can be a work stoppage at that point, but it will be at least 4 more seasons until the next work stoppage.

And (except for baseball) - as long as owners have massive amounts of resources that can withstand a long stoppage, and players have only a limited amount of time that they can make good money, the players in football, basketball, and hockey will not ever "win" a lockout/strike situation.

That's right Enzo - cut down others because they might actually know something you don't.

Actually - you probably shouldn't - as you would have to do it to most of the people on this planet!!!!!
- dahawks8819

1) That sure seems like a personal attack on another poster...I'll let Eli decide.

2) There have been about 5 posters just since January that have come here and claimed to have "insider information" or "sources in the Hawks Front Office"...laughable.

3) Only a simpleton with an IQ in single digits would believe the nonsense you are spewing about Keith as the one to trade. Keith is the best Defensemen in the league when considering on-ice performance and cap hit. Did you and your "sources" forget the nearly 60% of the game that game Keith played in the 2015 Conn Smythe Cup Win??

4) Where were your "sources" when other phonies were here spewing their opinion as fact so they could sit on a virtual high horse and feed their sad ego?

5) There is NO WAY that the Hawks' front office is leaking ANYTHING about trades right now, or else JJ (the one that is paid for his information with a blog that is running nearly 10 years) would have reported it.

6) I will not comment on the "insider information" any further after this post, but you aren't fooling anyone, pal. Give me a break and go do something better with your time than getting kicks off people asking you questions like you're getting intel from the Bowmans.

7) TRADING KEITH IS ASANINE. He runs the show. #2 plays 50% of the game every game and is a stud in every possible way to analyze the game of ice hockey....all at less than what David Clarkson makes in a season.

8) If you were a "true insider", you would not get so offended when someone calls you out on your BS. It wreaks of fraud and insecurity, something that is necessary to try and get your kicks on a blog acting like your posts are fact and not pure speculation. Give me a break, guy.

EDIT: This is a place for fans to discuss the Hawks. Whenever an "insider" comes here, he/she tries to act like a God amongst men. Their word is divine and cannot be questioned. It ruins the blog, and nobody is buying your crap. I'd love for you to continue posting as a passionate Hawks fan, which I am sure you are. I would bet my car that you dont know jack squat that any regular fan knows about what the FO will do this summer....trade Keith...

Just wondering would the FO trade Keith and Bicks for P K Subban? The money works and I think the Hawks pick up about 500,000 in cap space. Get rid of Bicks contract and pick up #1 D.

Just wondering would the FO trade Keith and Bicks for P K Subban? The money works and I think the Hawks pick up about 500,000 in cap space. Get rid of Bicks contract and pick up #1 D.
- ShamRockShark

I'd be so pissed if they did that... I think Subban is easily one of the most overrated defenseman in the game... He'd be a great winger... but he's a defensive liability he can stay in MTL for all I care

The most unrealistic thing about the front office wanting to realign the team is that they really can't without the consent of the guys holding the big dollar NMCs.

They can want to all they want, but there is no scenario I see under which a guy like Seabrook or Keith or Crawford would willingly go play in Calgary, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Phoenix, Buffalo or Carolina.

Until there are any rumors out there suggesting that any of them would consent to move, I call BS.

There is also great risk in moving Keith or Hossa because of the recapture penalties in their deals which are far more controllable if they are still on the roster.

This team has the core talent and enough cap left to put an excellent team on the ice next season.

What I do believe is that the lawyers that run the NHL are not business people, their model is failing them, and a labor dispute is far closer to reality than people think.

1) That sure seems like a personal attack on another poster...I'll let Eli decide.

2) There have been about 5 posters just since January that have come here and claimed to have "insider information" or "sources in the Hawks Front Office"...laughable.

3) Only a simpleton with an IQ in single digits would believe the nonsense you are spewing about Keith as the one to trade. Keith is the best Defensemen in the league when considering on-ice performance and cap hit. Did you and your "sources" forget the nearly 60% of the game that game Keith played in the 2015 Conn Smythe Cup Win??

4) Where were your "sources" when other phonies were here spewing their opinion as fact so they could sit on a virtual high horse and feed their sad ego?

5) There is NO WAY that the Hawks' front office is leaking ANYTHING about trades right now, or else JJ (the one that is paid for his information with a blog that is running nearly 10 years) would have reported it.

6) I will not comment on the "insider information" any further after this post, but you aren't fooling anyone, pal. Give me a break and go do something better with your time than getting kicks off people asking you questions like you're getting intel from the Bowmans.

7) TRADING KEITH IS ASANINE. He runs the show. #2 plays 50% of the game every game and is a stud in every possible way to analyze the game of ice hockey....all at less than what David Clarkson makes in a season.

8) If you were a "true insider", you would not get so offended when someone calls you out on your BS. It wreaks of fraud and insecurity, something that is necessary to try and get your kicks on a blog acting like your posts are fact and not pure speculation. Give me a break, guy.

EDIT: This is a place for fans to discuss the Hawks. Whenever an "insider" comes here, he/she tries to act like a God amongst men. Their word is divine and cannot be questioned. It ruins the blog, and nobody is buying your crap. I'd love for you to continue posting as a passionate Hawks fan, which I am sure you are. I would bet my car that you dont know jack squat that any regular fan knows about what the FO will do this summer....trade Keith...
- EnzoD

You should really learn to read Enzo. At NO point did I say what I heard was Keith being traded. Other people have speculated that - and I have said NOTHING to encourage or discourage the notion.

I was told that there is a list of 4 Hawks that are considered by this management group as untouchable. All that means is they are not listening to any offers for those four. It does not mean that any specific player is being traded.

John has eluded to a possible trade going down this summer that would surprise everyone here - I was told the same thing - by someone that would know this more than anyone here. You can take it for what its worth - but we all know you get your kicks by attacking people here - than just simply accepting information for what it is. You have chased at least two people off this site with your ignorance - I will not be the third - no matter how hard you try.

And just to let you know - back when they fired Tallon - I knew about it two weeks before it was announced - and was asked by the same person not to tell anyone - and I didn't.

And again - I NEVER said Keith was a trade option. It has been speculated by a few people here. I did say that Keith - as a person - is a little "off". This has been said by people that actually know him.

The other point I made - which was told - and I was told I could repeat - is between the salary cap, and the two expansion drafts coming up - this front office is very concerned that one or the other can/will hurt them - and the days of having so many high priced "core" players is probably coming to an end. That was a direct quote. I asked who would be considered absolutely untouchable - and those four names were the only ones said - and I was asked not to push the issue any further.

He also said a trade may be coming that no one would see coming - both in who they move, and who comes back. Again, that was eyebrow raising. That's ALL I said.

Go back and read the posts on this blog - find the one where I said ANYTHING about Keith being traded. It was NEVER written by me!!!!!!

1) That sure seems like a personal attack on another poster...I'll let Eli decide.

2) There have been about 5 posters just since January that have come here and claimed to have "insider information" or "sources in the Hawks Front Office"...laughable.

3) Only a simpleton with an IQ in single digits would believe the nonsense you are spewing about Keith as the one to trade. Keith is the best Defensemen in the league when considering on-ice performance and cap hit. Did you and your "sources" forget the nearly 60% of the game that game Keith played in the 2015 Conn Smythe Cup Win??

4) Where were your "sources" when other phonies were here spewing their opinion as fact so they could sit on a virtual high horse and feed their sad ego?

5) There is NO WAY that the Hawks' front office is leaking ANYTHING about trades right now, or else JJ (the one that is paid for his information with a blog that is running nearly 10 years) would have reported it.

6) I will not comment on the "insider information" any further after this post, but you aren't fooling anyone, pal. Give me a break and go do something better with your time than getting kicks off people asking you questions like you're getting intel from the Bowmans.

7) TRADING KEITH IS ASANINE. He runs the show. #2 plays 50% of the game every game and is a stud in every possible way to analyze the game of ice hockey....all at less than what David Clarkson makes in a season.

8) If you were a "true insider", you would not get so offended when someone calls you out on your BS. It wreaks of fraud and insecurity, something that is necessary to try and get your kicks on a blog acting like your posts are fact and not pure speculation. Give me a break, guy.

EDIT: This is a place for fans to discuss the Hawks. Whenever an "insider" comes here, he/she tries to act like a God amongst men. Their word is divine and cannot be questioned. It ruins the blog, and nobody is buying your crap. I'd love for you to continue posting as a passionate Hawks fan, which I am sure you are. I would bet my car that you dont know jack squat that any regular fan knows about what the FO will do this summer....trade Keith...
- EnzoD

Not trying to poke my nose where it doesn't belong, but Enzo, there are at least a few who are a bit more than just fans posting and know more than most who post here. I do agree with you that someone who has a little insight would tend to be a bit under the radar. But there are a lot of ways to have insight. Neighbors, friends, and so on. It happens.

The most unrealistic thing about the front office wanting to realign the team is that they really can't without the consent of the guys holding the big dollar NMCs.

They can want to all they want, but there is no scenario I see under which a guy like Seabrook or Keith or Crawford would willingly go play in Calgary, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Phoenix, Buffalo or Carolina.

Until there are any rumors out there suggesting that any of them would consent to move, I call BS.

There is also great risk in moving Keith or Hossa because of the recapture penalties in their deals which are far more controllable if they are still on the roster.

This team has the core talent and enough cap left to put an excellent team on the ice next season.

What I do believe is that the lawyers that run the NHL are not business people, their model is failing them, and a labor dispute is far closer to reality than people think.
- Return of the Roar

No labor dispute for at least 4 years.

I agree 100% with the rest of your last paragraph.

Most Hawk fans would believe the same thing - the only problem with that assumption is there are a couple new realities facing elite NHL teams - a much lower anticipated salary cap and the issues of who gets protected in two expansion drafts.

Teams that are willing to face these new realities are trying to get out in front of it - and the Hawks are one of them. The four I mentioned were intimated as not available for anything offered - and no other name came up in the discussion - and that was an eyebrow raiser to me. And I was told not to push the subject further.

(I know this upsets people like EnzoD - because he believes the little fantasy world in his head is reality)
- dahawks8819

The much lower salary cap I think is BS. It's posturing, Daly said the exact same thing back in March, flat without the escalator, around $74 with.

This is really old news. Now waiving the cap ceiling and floor in the expansion year, that's new!

The much lower salary cap I think is BS. It's posturing, Daly said the exact same thing back in March, flat without the escalator, around $74 with.

This is really old news. Now waiving the cap ceiling and floor in the expansion year, that's new!
- walleyeb1

Not so much B.S. When the NHL came up with this salary structure back in 2012 - they told teams they didn't think the escalator would even be needed - that the game was growing so well. Five years later - that is laughable.

Their TV deals are a joke, their merchandising sales are down, sponsors are screaming - and the cap stays stagnant.

Teams felt that by the start of next year, the cap should have been closer to 80 million than 70 million - the league definitely miscalculated their profits moving forward.

Interesting article from Blackhawks Breakdown on what the expansion draft would look like for the Blackhawks.

https://blackhawksbreakdo...t-the-chicago-blackhawks/

Interesting article from Blackhawks Breakdown on what the expansion draft would look like for the Blackhawks.

https://blackhawksbreakdo...t-the-chicago-blackhawks/
- DarthKane

Thanks. Seeing that additional clause that the expansion teams can select no more than one player from each team and the players actually exposed makes me think the primary worry for the BH is/was/should be the cap and its impacts. Losing only one of the better exposed players would hurt, sure, but it would not be fatal.

I'd be most concerned about losing Darling at this point because we really don't have any proven backup for him, yet. Let's hope our new Swede from the KHL does well.

I, too, favor parity, even if in some ways the Hawks are hurt. It's good that there were probably 10 teams that had a legitimate chance of winning a Cup this year.

But of the four major NA sports, only hockey has the lethal combination of a hard inviolable cap with a stagnant revenue base.

NFL has the ability to restructure contracts. The NBA has many cap leaks tempered by a luxury tax. MLB, of course, has no cap, just revenue sharing. And all of those have consistently (or, in the NBA situation this year, dramatically) increasing revenues and caps.

It's also the only sport that has to worry about the CDN$-US$ exchange ratio, with a good portion of revenues being received in a declining weaker currency with players salaries and other expenses paid out in a strong currency.
- StLBravesFan

IMO Bettman is slowly strangling the heritage of the game by being hell bent on parity-- and manipulating the rules both on ice with the refs / rules and off ice with the hard cap economics and foolish expansion efforts to of all places Las Vegas-- what does the league really benefit by expansion to another team in a non hockey market? Why not clean up the mess they left in AZ before placing another team in the desert--

Further with the cap restrictions that essentially penalize smart drafting and development teams that often have to trade their successfully developed drafted players -- when they can't pay them as they become free agents --

Ive mentioned this here before-- the league should create some type of homegrown cap exemption to reward teams that draft / develop talent-- so that those players can stay on the team-- Imagine the Hawks if they still had Bufyglien and Saad--2 players they drafted but had to trade because of the cap-- Or if now with Shaw they had an exemption amount that allowed them to retain him--

The only people watching the Sharks v Pens finals this year are locals in that market and hardcore hockey fans-- there is no rivalry or heritage here-- and nobody cares--

IMO Bettman is slowly strangling the heritage of the game by being hell bent on parity-- and manipulating the rules both on ice with the refs / rules and off ice with the hard cap economics and foolish expansion efforts to of all places Las Vegas-- what does the league really benefit by expansion to another team in a non hockey market? Why not clean up the mess they left in AZ before placing another team in the desert--

Further with the cap restrictions that essentially penalize smart drafting and development teams that often have to trade their successfully developed drafted players -- when they can't pay them as they become free agents --

Ive mentioned this here before-- the league should create some type of homegrown cap exemption to reward teams that draft / develop talent-- so that those players can stay on the team-- Imagine the Hawks if they still had Bufyglien and Saad--2 players they drafted but had to trade because of the cap-- Or if now with Shaw they had an exemption amount that allowed them to retain him--

The only people watching the Sharks v Pens finals this year are locals in that market and hardcore hockey fans-- there is no rivalry or heritage here-- and nobody cares--
- jb3333

All great points

To you and everyone else talking about moving Kruger - it's not going to happen!!!!!

From a source with the Hawks:

As far as "untouchables" the only ones are: Toews, Kane, Hjalmarsson and Kruger - IN THAT ORDER!!!!

So please quit wasting space here about trading Kruger - it is purely your fantasy - absolutely NO reality to it!!!!!
- dahawks8819

This is what I have heard. As far as Kruger. Consistently, for the last 3-4 years.

JJ you gotta help us out. Any tid bit, hint, wink of what may be coming??
- z1990z

All I have heard is the cap may force a surprising move or two. Which is what I have been hearing honestly since last summer. I have not heard any specifics except the names of Crawford, Shaw and TT, but those names were from just one source.

The sense I got from the latest source I heard from was the potential "surprising moves" might be more surprising than those players.

All I got. I won't relate things I don't actually hear from sources I trust.