I don't see the obsession with Lucic...do we really want this guy? Especially at close to $6 million.


- DarthKane

He can pot 20 goals .

But I feel that Ladd can do the same for 1.0 m or 1.5 m cheaper .


CC would have to be moved for this to happen I believe .

I don't see the obsession with Lucic...do we really want this guy? Especially at close to $6 million.


- DarthKane

Career average of over 20 Goals and about 60 points/year while inflicting serious pain on the opposition. Power Forward that lays the body on the forecheck, has Top 6 skill/finishing ability, and establishes a net front presence. You can find plenty of those types of plays from Shaw + Keith too. I still want them on my team. Lucic would be a DREAM signing.

Vegas gets something like 3.5 million tourists per month. All they have to do is promote hockey like they do the shows and they will have no problem selling out.
- JRoenick97

I agree. Go place your bet and head down the street to watch the game live.

I know personally a number of people in Vancouver/Calgary/Edmonton who are going to be division rivals that would plan trips down to LV to watch hockey. The flights are cheap and people go there often anyway.
- breadbag

Just one more reason to make the trip!

Would anyone here trade a 3rd round pick for Yakupov?

Apparently that's the cost to acquire him.

He's an RFA after next season, and his current cap hit is $2.5 mil.

Taking a chance on him and letting him play with Panarin, while moving Kane up to the first line to help Toews out and allows Hossa move (and excel) to the third line could be a great way for the team to have very potent depth on the right side.

Of course, this doesn't solve the question mark on the left side and the 'Hawks are tight against the cap as is, but figure that a player with Yak's potential and could be had on the cheap might be a route worth exploring.
- TommyHawk

Trade Shaw for him. All russian line would be scary if vorobiev, i mean Yakupov puts it together

Think it is the friends and a couple of relatives that are really the issue in Buffalo. We all, most likely, have those couple of friends that can really trigger our party gene. You know if you decide to go out with them it is going to get out of hand. For Kane I think that was more or less the situation in Buffalo.
- bhawks2241

I think that same cousin of his was involved each of the times he got in trouble and I'm sure you're right and he has some enabling friends back in buffalo as well. It certainly appears he's staying sober in Chicago and that's never been the case in buffalo

Ugh.

The team that gave out those contracts is now somewhat remorseful? Is this a function of one of the Four Headed Monster saying "sign them" and another saying "it's a bad move" withe the "sign them" winning out?

The NHL is moving away from "protection" isn't it? Now, 19 and 88 are the guys on the ice and they know a he!! of a lot more than me, but in the teams that have been successful in the recent past, how many Lucic type guys were there? How does Lucic fit in with 19 and 81? They need a finisher with speed on that line. IMHO, the best way to combat physical play is with puck possession and speed. I don't think Milan brings that.
- DMCsPulledHammy

You need that type of guy in the West. Blues, Kings, Ducks, and Stars all have some nasty in there line-ups. I'd prefer not to see Toews be the only guy on the team willing to mix it up. The Hawks have no jam in the bottom six except Shaw. As JJ suggested Toews and Kane wanted Manshinter in last year.

That's just simple math - something divided by 31 is going to be smaller than dividing by 30. The only way it doesn't go down is if Vegas generates more HRR than the average and when considering TV revenue is a large portion of HRR - Vegas will probably not be close to generating enough HRR to not negatively impact the salary cap.

If the brainiacs in the NHL had any sense, they would have tied the expansion to an amendment of the salary cap calculation ... I'm not holding my breath.
- EbonyRaptor

Exactly.

The other thing is the 1st year, maybe 2nd year it may a "cool" thing for some high rollers or out of towners to be comp'd and go to a hockey game but I dont' go to Vegas to go see UNLV basketball or football. And given the popularity discrepancy between NHL and the other big 3, I dont' see many casual fans flocking there to go see a hockey game.

Think about the size of the arena they built.....that's almost half to what the UC or Montreal sells out for.

The cap next year will be flat or slightly down baring a MAJOR rebound with the Canadian dollar. Something Bettman said was THE reason Quebec City was passed by.

lololol. 230,000,000

made m chuckle .
- mrpaulish

That's why I'm here Mr. P., that's why I'm here.

I don't see the obsession with Lucic...do we really want this guy? Especially at close to $6 million.


- DarthKane

I'd be leery of Lucic, or any other big-bodied power forward that plays a lot of physical taxing minutes. Somewhere along the line, it seems that their effectiveness takes a nose dive all of a sudden. We've seen that with Bickell, Brown, Clowe, _______ - just about anyone you can think of to fill in the blank.

I'm not against Lucic or similar type player, but a high dollar amount and a long term contract could end up working adversely.

What I just heard, from a normally pretty solid source, guy who tipped me on the Hawks being in the WC last year long before it became official:

(and I apologize in advance for the confusion—lots of conflicting stuff flying around)

- Hawks are shopping about 5 guys with contracts (or contract demands) north of $3 million per
- Team feels they gave out too many big contracts to too many guys
- They want a POWER FORWARD type LW. Kane and Toews specifically have lobbied
for . . . Milan Lucic.
- They want a guy to play with them who can both play and provide some physical protection.
- Source believes Malkin thing is just a smokescreen, Hawks may have asked but there was never serious interest


I have to be honest with you guys, all of this makes a lot more sense to me. But too much out there right now that conflicts, so I am still ferreting through and asking some questions
- John Jaeckel

Five guys north of $3mil (actual or salary demands)

CC
AA
Kruger
Seabrook (edm?)
Shaw

Lucic would be nice. Swap Ladd's rights for his

Career average of over 20 Goals and about 60 points/year while inflicting serious pain on the opposition. Power Forward that lays the body on the forecheck, has Top 6 skill/finishing ability, and establishes a net front presence. You can find plenty of those types of plays from Shaw + Keith too. I still want them on my team. Lucic would be a DREAM signing.

- EnzoD

Are you describing Ladd right now?

No, all NHL GMs must submit a daily ledger of their conversations, and take a lie detector for every item on said ledger, to Bob McKenzie.

Didn't you know?
- John Jaeckel

Oh right.. my bad.

Is it not conceivable that the Vegas team will pretty easily sell out every game? I can only imagine the number of Hawk fans that will be in Vegas and envision a lot of other teams fans traveling as well
- hawks1921

It is hard for me to imagine the Vegas team sells out the majority of the time..

I agree with JJ's assessment that the Hawks will have a regression to mediocrity with having a handful of high-priced assets and a depleted farm system.

The "reply" function is not working for me, so can't credit the poster that suggested there is more to this than we know.

For the fans hoping the Hawks avoid the slow decline: what do you think is the best way "to the top": shove off high-priced assets and get something for TODAY that makes you competitive, or intentionally drift back for a year or two and restock the Rock?
- phantasmo

Guess we're gonna find out if the Hawks are changing philosophy. Burn the house down to win today before the core gets too old, change the core (move a core guy out) for it to become younger (Panarin), reload on the fly?

Career average of over 20 Goals and about 60 points/year while inflicting serious pain on the opposition. Power Forward that lays the body on the forecheck, has Top 6 skill/finishing ability, and establishes a net front presence. You can find plenty of those types of plays from Shaw + Keith too. I still want them on my team. Lucic would be a DREAM signing.

- EnzoD

If the cap space required to sign Lucic can be freed up I would rather sign Ladd over Lucic.

Also, with diminishing cap growth extra cap space required to re-sign Panarin do we really want to lock-up Lucic long term at (or around) $6 million? I wouldn't move Crawford for Lucic either.

Are you describing Ladd right now?
- JRoenick97

They both fit the description but Lucic is more physical and 2 years younger. I'm lobbying for Milan with 19-81

I'd be leery of Lucic, or any other big-bodied power forward that plays a lot of physical taxing minutes. Somewhere along the line, it seems that their effectiveness takes a nose dive all of a sudden. We've seen that with Bickell, Brown, Clowe, _______ - just about anyone you can think of to fill in the blank.

I'm not against Lucic or similar type player, but a high dollar amount and a long term contract could end up working adversely.
- EKB13

What makes more sense, Lucic at $6 million or Shaw at $3.5? I'll take Shaw at $3.5.

It is hard for me to imagine the Vegas team sells out the majority of the time..
- Al

Living here...I disagree. They sold the season tickets rather fast to a lot of average people here that love hockey and consistently make trips to CA to see games. MUCH more than they do to AZ which is about the same distance.

Also, once the many, many casinos scoop up tickets and include them in room/trip packages, they'll do fine.

Any show you want to see on the strip that have been here for years you're not seeing for less than $100 a ticket.

Attendance will not be a problem.

They both fit the description but Lucic is more physical and 2 years younger. I'm lobbying for Milan with 19-81
- EnzoD

If you move Crawford to free up dollars to sign Lucic, then where does the money come from to re-sign Panarin?

I think the Sharp situation made me SUBSTANTIALLY curb expectations when doing a pure salary-dump trade for an established NHL veteran. Would I hope for a better return for a 2x Cup winning goalie? Of course! Do I expect anyone to take his full $6mil off the Hawks' books AND give a 1st rounder or more? Not at all.
- EnzoD

I agree that we won't get market value for Crow.

Part of me still wonders (especially w/ JJ discussing Buffalo's interest in Crow) if the Sabres and what's been reported about their "expedited" rebuild, could be willing to part w/ their 1st (#8)?

Would Crow + Shaw be enough to land their first? If not, how much more would it take?

Rumored they are a dark-horse to sign Stamkos...
They have nice young talent in place
I believe Vesey signs there
Add in Shaw and Crow
That's a nice start to a faster rebuild at the very least... And crow + shaw would contribute immediately... No development time that someone drafted this year likely takes...

Who knows

You can tell just by listening to him . Its pathetic.

Kuc too .

Tracy too .

Zawaski is approaching that level , but I bet he gets kinda black listed now since he posted his disapproval of the TT deal .

I guess there isnt any use of anyone that asks them real questions anyways since GMs and HCs and front office people are basically politicians anyways ....
- mrpaulish

Lazerus did too. That's the one thing I don't get about him, I don't doubt that he's basically a Hawks employee and I'm not sure how many articles the sun times publishes of his that are like this, but on his Twitter he can be very critical of the Hawks front office. He was all over them the entire Kane mess, had lots to say about how the Hawks missed an opportunity to send a message with the Ross thing, Hawks are losing their female fans and enlightened male fans, that they're gonna regret the TT trade, etc. Certainly not things I ever see Myers say

If the cap space required to sign Lucic can be freed up I would rather sign Ladd over Lucic.

Also, with diminishing cap growth extra cap space required to re-sign Panarin do we really want to lock-up Lucic long term at (or around) $6 million? I wouldn't move Crawford for Lucic either.
- DarthKane

I can see him landing in British Columbia or Alberta more than Chicago IMO.

They both fit the description but Lucic is more physical and 2 years younger. I'm lobbying for Milan with 19-81
- EnzoD

And even more dumber. Why would Stan trade away to get cap room just to fill it up again with Lucics and Malkins etc when his first priority should be resigning Panarin? Maybe it is just me but...

You need that type of guy in the West. Blues, Kings, Ducks, and Stars all have some nasty in there line-ups. I'd prefer not to see Toews be the only guy on the team willing to mix it up. The Hawks have no jam in the bottom six except Shaw. As JJ suggested Toews and Kane wanted Manshinter in last year.
- bhawks2241

Who was that guy in 2014?
Who was that guy in 2012?

How much jam did the line of TT-Vermette-Sharp have? Forget the jam, give me speed and finishers.