I was listening to Andy Strickland the other day ...

Have to wonder where Brouwer and Backes end up.
- Al

I think I heard Boomer or Baranby saying that Backes would do a team like Toronto some good in terms of leadership. I think Backes is willing to take a smaller salary but is looking for longer term.

Would they sign Brouwer and let Backes walk?

Very disappointed to see TT move in this manner . And believe the HAWKS may very well come to regret this move .But again the cap forces Stan hand .If Shaw is resigned that would be good ,he is more valuable to the team right now . Like Stan said it hard to keep this thing going ,and picks are good to have for the future .GO HAWKS !!!!

So what is priority one after this big day?
To move out more salary, or to sign Shaw and then see what the money situation is?
- RedFeather

1. Continue to clear cap space, ie Shaw and/or Crawford.
2. Resign Panarin
3. Sign Ladd/Boedker
4. Campbell on a 1yr
5. Matt Martin (Please! 365 hits last season)
6. Sign McGinn 3LW
7. Luke Schenn??? Maybe?
8. Sign Schmaltz

If the price for Crawford is a #1 pick and depending on where the pick is, I would take it. I would also see what the return is for Shaw. If we move Crawford we have 15 mil to fill out the roster.

L1 Panarin - Toews - Hossa
L2 Ladd/Boedker - Anisimov - Kane
L3 McGinn - Kruger - Panik
L4 Martin - Lundberg - Desi

D1 Keith - Campbell
D2 Seabrook - Gustafsson
D3 Hammer - Kempny
#7 Svedberg/Pokka

Darling/Leighton

Subject of debate is why was Teuvo Teravainen the sweetener—and that said—why was the return just 2nd and 3rd round draft picks?

Because this is what Bickell contract and Teravainen are worth. Sorry you guys think you will always get a 1st, a top prospect AND a top 4 or top 6 player

No thanks to Boedker. He ain't worth the money he'll get this summer.

Where ya been, DBH?
- DMChi2010

Spent some time over in Russia with a long time friend then did some additional sight seeing (Sweden, Greece, and Italy). I got back a week ago but have been battling the jet lag since returning.

You dare compare Lars Johansson to Lundqvist...oh my!


He is not big enough to take over as a contending clubs top guy, period.

Maybe in four years he proves me wrong, but check your reality...he had a nice year in Sweden so did another goalie the hawks acquired by way of the Frolik trade, goaltender Alexander Salák,
- wiz1901he took the NHL by storm...after very successful seasons in Sweden.

and Raanta isn't and never will be a mule starter for an NHL club so you didn't come up with a comparable NHL starting netminder to bolster your size isn't a factor argument. Matt Murray 6 4 a third round North American game developed, not late blooming Swedish league phenom. That is the standard now.

Not saying Johansson will be an immediate impact just saying that I think he deserves a long look during the preseason.

Any word if Stan wants to resign Fleischman? If we don't add any more experience, the bottom 6 could be rough.
- z1990z

Have not heard—doubtful IMO

Thanks JJ. I appreciate the insight and time you take to discuss your information with the rest of us.
- 93Joe

Thank YOU and it is a pleasure and a privilege.

JJ, if they are being offered a 1st in this goalie market I think they have to do that. Darling a #1 and sign a vet UFA (Ramo/Scrivens/Johnson/Khudobin)?......Even still a helluva gamble giving up a 2 time cup winner with the 4th best save percentage over the last 3 years.

I'm a Ladd fan, think he brings more intangibles than is given credit for plus his skill/size/grit but I'd rather go younger/faster with any money.
- Mr Ricochet

As I said before, if they feel they need the money, then yeah, they have to do it. But until the cap settles, they can't know the full gravity of their position.

Some continue, IMO, to underestimate the severity of the Hawks' cap situation. Yesterday's move helped on a couple of fronts. But they still have to (eventually) sign Panarin AND also ice a team and one would hope is a better team than last year's (that's the other thing some still refuse to get, last year's team was not a Cup-caliber team, not even close).

Let me spell it out, regardless of how you feel about Teuvo, if you lost him in order to re-sign Shaw for more money, you are a marginally worse team, not ANY better, unless Shaw takes his game to some other, highly unlikely level.

It's math. And the same math problem that's been here all summer. How do you re-sign Panarin for big bucks and still improve the team under a stagnant cap?

Definitely the Hawks would have to be desperate to take a pick in the 10-15 and ONLY that!

Besides the defenseman Fabbro and Bean who LOOK like they can develop into solid NHLers, after the giant developmental forward Logan Brown goes off the board, the draft starts its 4th tier already at 10-11...even though I have Jacob Chychrun laugishing in slot 12, he will be gone before 11 too.

Sure there looks like some nice forwards who might score in the NHL but things start getting suspect, and I am not the Hawks chief scout, but trading Crawford for a pick?

You cleared Cap, but flushed...and started your rebuild now.
Go out an spent on a UFA goalie...has that worked for anybody yet???? (is Jimmy Howard?)
I hope that pick doesn't decide to go to college and play four years and sign elsewhere.
The forwards I have slotted at 11 on Clayton Keller (Boston U) Tyler Jost (North Dakota), Keiffer Bellows (Boston U) are going to school
So do the hawks pick a guy not going to college, just as insurance, to take away that option?

So...the vocal majority that wants Crawford gone must either think
a)Darling is a horse who can play 50 games and the playoffs and start absorbing pucks to his pads instead of not controlling their whereabouts, or
b)you think that somebodys is giving you the next Martin Jones, or
c) Antti Raanta's cousin can come in and do it,
or d)some team actually let a REAL starter go UFA.
- wiz1901

Speaking for myself, I don't want him gone. But based on what I have heard and—again—doing the math, it might become necessary.

Value for value, no, he is probably worth more than a 10-15 pick. But if they have to deal him, it won't be about value for value, it will be about getting rid of the contract.

I know, you think it's stupid. But again,

I want to hear the magic formula that allows them to upgrade a couple of positions and clear the space to extend Panarin at over $5 million per. Yes, yesterday helped, but likely all it does is allow them to retain an existing asset, not acquire any better ones.

The ONLY thing I have heard that starts to make some sense is a (longshot most likely) run at Jimmy Vesey.

After that, you have a choice, hold on to all your sacred cows (because there so fricking amazingly awesome!) and a make a slow slide back to the middle of the pack like Detroit has, or make some hard choices.

So what is priority one after this big day?
To move out more salary, or to sign Shaw and then see what the money situation is?
- RedFeather

Priority one right now, from what I hear, is wait on the cap #, along with finalizing a deal for Shaw.

Priority one right now, from what I hear, is wait on the cap #, along with finalizing a deal for Shaw.
- John Jaeckel

A few years back Vancouver traded Schneider to Jersey for a top 10 pick. Turned out to be Bo Horvat. Schneider at the time was an unknown quantity with plenty of upside. Win win for both sides. Crawfords resume far exceeds that of Cory Schneider though all things being equal, there's not much of a gap. Do you not think Crawford is worth a top 10 pick even with the salary cap implications? IMO if they wait till draft day the package offered may be sweetened.

I think stan saw his mistake from last year with the Sharp deal, and decided to pull the trigger instead of waiting to long and getting screwed.

I think stan saw his mistake from last year with the Sharp deal, and decided to pull the trigger instead of waiting to long and getting screwed.
- Blueline4

Gotta agree. (One would hope he learned his lesson(s)). If there is another deal out there to improve the team, then I hope he goes with it and doesn't hold out.

So...

Get final cap #.


Resign Shaw or Ladd

Extend Panarin .

Find a real #3 D man.


Is this possible ?

I am.
- Ogilthorpe2

Absolutely. Or you trade Shaw instead of Teets.

Hey dbh, any insight on lil Arti's love of the hocks? In other words, would he be just as happy playing anywhere else as long as he gets his money?

GO STAN

Here is a radical idea/question? What do you get back for Panarin in trade? Does he fetch a high first? If so, and you can get an NHL ready guy who can stick, and not be due a raise for a few years you ease your cap by virtue of not having to pay up for Panarin.

But, I don't know what you could get for Panarin or if that would work at all, but it would be a backdoor sneaky move if you could move him for something pretty good that would delay your need to pay the new piece by a few years.

I mean, the Hawks have won 3 cups without Little Arty, so it's not like a move like this destroys all hope. It could work if you got back the right young piece. Someone Saad-ish, or the like.

Honestly use to be a bigger fan of this teams FO. Last summer we are forced to trade Saad because of the cap (Most of us in agreement that Bicks contract was a large reason why) and so he is gone. Fine turn the page to this year and we are tight for money again (as expected obviously) and we are willing to give up TT to dump bickell to resign SHAW! Why wouldnt we do that a year ago for Saad. Obviously a better player than Shaw is. If all that was just to resign a depth and honestly expandable player when we could have done the same thing a year ago for Saad than I have lost faith in the front office. Now if they resign Ladd instead then I am for it. But if all that you give up TT, Sharp, Johns, all to make more cap space and you say we are going to trade saad rather than trade Shaw a year later. Like what shaw brings but high energy and gritty players are not hard to find. Goal scorers like Saad are.
- kevndevries

Like, we can make him bigger?

Johns from everything I heard from people who would know was not only the #1 dman prospect but the #1 overall Ice Hog prospect at the time of the trade.
Nill was in control and wanted Johns and Bowman had no other out for Sharp....Daley was part of the deal only because Bowman couldn't spend an extra $400to keep Oduya.

Like I said a few times the entire deal was scripted by Nill....
- Al

Hey Al...Stan would have had that money had he not resigned his pet Runny. You know I want to give Stan a break but time and again he shows his out over his skis. Rundblad had no business being brought back. The fact that Stan thought this kid should be here is a huge red flag. The same guy who you mentioned targeted Timonen and way overpaid two springs ago.

And seeing some of the other comments particularly Tred's - Bowman has gotten very little return for some key pieces over the last 2 years.

As far as some of the other comments...I doubt Vesey is leaving the Boston area. And as JJ mentions this team is by no means out of the woods yet as far as the cap. The logical piece to move is CC. I like Crawford and he's top notch but what are you going to do? At the same time its a buyer's market for goalies with several available.

I do give Stan credit for unloading Bickell yesterday, with the price being TT. But he's got a lot more heavy lifting to do here. Does he actually make a deal at the draft like he should have with Sharp last year and Leddy the year before? Or does he wait too long again? We'll know soon enough.

No thanks to Boedker. He ain't worth the money he'll get this summer.
- MjulQvist

Agreed. Someone will overpay, better not be the Hawks.

So...

Get final cap #.


Resign Shaw or Ladd

Extend Panarin .

Find a real #3 D man.


Is this possible ?
- mrpaulish

What's wrong with Hammer?

What's wrong with Hammer?
- HawkintheD

I like to think of it as What's wrong with Seabs?

What's wrong with Hammer?
- HawkintheD

Nothing. Fat fingers.

Find a real #4 D man....

IF Crow were moved doesn't mean darling is the #1.
- Mr Ricochet

No, it means another team who feels that goalie is very replaceable is going to let that guy go, and you know what? No matter what his pay is, he is gonna want CC salary to be the guy too.

1 Lundqvist 8.5
2 Bobrovsky 7.4
3 Rinne 7
4 Rask 7
5 Carey Price 6.5
6 Cam Ward 6.3
7 Ryan Miller 6
8 Coery Crawfor 6
9 Cory Schneider 6
10 Ben Bishop 5.95
11 Kari Lehtonen 5.9
12 Semyon Varlamov 5.9
13 Quick 5.8
14 M A Fleury 5.75
15 Mike Smith 5.7
So...from here on a Crawford departure says you a million or more - but
is the one good one in the group up for trade and are the rest going ot keep y21 ou in games?
16 Jimmy Howard 4.533
17 Roberto Luongo 4533. I'll say it but this guys salary/skill is now balanced right
18 Jaroslav Halak 4.5 (didn't see as a regualr as far back as Montreal)
19 Antti Niemi 4.5 (How'd that work oput for the Stars?)
20 Devan Dubnyk 4.333 and not worth any penny of it!
21 Craig Anderson 4.2 he's your guy expect a shared gaol and plenty of streaky results...and is he really available?
22. Cam Talbot 4.166
23 Bernier 4.15
24 Mason Who they are keeping 4.1

so we could have a teo million savings starting with 20th overalll highest salaried guy.! What a savings and the net only suffers minimally...
25 Ondrej Pavelec 3.9 he your fantasy backup/ DOUBT IT 3.9
Martin Jones is NOT asking for a trade, either is Brian Elliot or the kid.
Michal Neuvirth the answer? Then I gotta know the long term question...


30 teams and everyone thinks there our some hidden gems who can play 50 games better than Corey Crawford