Yes. The landscape of the entire league has changed.

Worry about this year now, and next year next year.
- Return of the Roar

Disagree on that, I'm thinking the exact opposite, like I said earlier you may have to look towards the Panthers for the new normal.

Darren Dreger @DarrenDreger

Appears to be lots of interest in Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov. Nothing close, but worth watching as the day unfolds.

Not true on the cap.....all reports with added Vegas team is that HRR will drop due to increased splits and with Canadian dollar where it's at.....cap at best will increase slightly but probably flat or drop.

Look at this year, and if you put division +1 of HRR, the cap would have been at best flat.

So we know baring a MAJOR rebound of the loonie, you can pencil in cap at best at 74-75 with a low of 71-73 million. 4 million dollar variance but this thing isn't jumping up HUGE like so many thought it would be....
- SteveRain

First of all, we should figure out what business we want to open with all this cheap labor!

Second, do you, or anyone on the board think there may be a handshake deal that with the new team, the owners agreed to open their pocketbooks a little more? At least for next year? Is that even a possibility?

Not true on the cap.....all reports with added Vegas team is that HRR will drop due to increased splits and with Canadian dollar where it's at.....cap at best will increase slightly but probably flat or drop.

Look at this year, and if you put division +1 of HRR, the cap would have been at best flat.

So we know baring a MAJOR rebound of the loonie, you can pencil in cap at best at 74-75 with a low of 71-73 million. 4 million dollar variance but this thing isn't jumping up HUGE like so many thought it would be....
- SteveRain

When has the cap ever gone down?

Darren Dreger @DarrenDreger

Appears to be lots of interest in Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov. Nothing close, but worth watching as the day unfolds.
- jt19

Hawks like him, FWIW, have not heard anything recently though

Paniarin is 12 months away. No one has a clue where the cap will go, what will happen with Hossa at that point, will there be tweaks to the expansion about to happen (buyouts), etc.

They have a 2016-17 to play for/field a team for which is #1 priority. Panarin will be a RFA - not UFA.
- PatShart

The Hawks can't risk letting Panarin get to next off season without having him locked up because he will get an offer sheet the Hawks can't match. That's why it is paramount to extend him as soon after July 1st as possible and I agree with an earlier post that tied the Panarin extension to Anisimov - i.e. trade Anisimov and risk alienating Panarin who will hold out for an offer sheet that is sure to come next summer.

Considering what Yandle just got, I'm not so sure such is true about Seabrook.
- Chunk

Yandle got 12 mil less and is 2 years younger. His deal finishes when he is 36 Seabs when he is 39.

Yandle got 12 mil less and is 2 years younger. His deal finishes when he is 36 Seabs when he is 39.
- kmw4631

Not to mention their numbers are very similar, and Seabrook was a turnover machine with a terrible Corsi relative(-4).

The Hawks can't risk letting Panarin get to next off season without having him locked up because he will get an offer sheet the Hawks can't match. That's why it is paramount to extend him as soon after July 1st as possible and I agree with an earlier post that tied the Panarin extension to Anisimov - i.e. trade Anisimov and risk alienating Panarin who will hold out for an offer sheet that is sure to come next summer.
- EbonyRaptor

Exactly. Every team in the league would want Panarin. They can't let him go on the market just look at what happened with Saad.

Not to mention their numbers are very similar, and Seabrook was a turnover machine with a terrible Corsi relative(-4).
- Hawks_49

Seabrook is also a hit machine, minutes machine, goal scoring machine, leader machine...also had to play with Svedburg and Gustafson machine...

Except Kruger has not seen one dime from his new deal yet.
- John Jaeckel

But it is all guaranteed money unless they get bought out which is pretty unlikely. My point is with Kruger he took a friendly deal for 1 year with us and we repaid him with a unbelievable deal when you factor his injury and year he had last year. Trading him as a RFA this year with no contract would be treating him poorly and have the new team give him a 1.7 mil deal as a RFA. We repaid his loyalty already.

Not true on the cap.....all reports with added Vegas team is that HRR will drop due to increased splits and with Canadian dollar where it's at.....cap at best will increase slightly but probably flat or drop.

Look at this year, and if you put division +1 of HRR, the cap would have been at best flat.

So we know baring a MAJOR rebound of the loonie, you can pencil in cap at best at 74-75 with a low of 71-73 million. 4 million dollar variance but this thing isn't jumping up HUGE like so many thought it would be....
- SteveRain

I'm not buying the Vegas is going to have a hard time selling tickets argument, at least for the next few years. It flys in the face of the facts. It has a 17,368 capacity and has deposits on about 15,000 season tickets.

Exactly. Every team in the league would want Panarin. They can't let him go on the market just look at what happened with Saad.
- Dabearshawks

Does every team in the league 1) have the cap space and 2) their own 2-1st round picks, 1-2nd rnd pick, 1-3rd round pick to sign him?

And that wouldn't be a horrible coup for the Hawks if needed.

I'm not buying the Vegas is going to have a hard time selling tickets argument, at least for the next few years. It flys in the face of the facts. It has a 17,368 capacity and has deposits on about 15,000 season tickets.
- walleyeb1

And 3.5 million tourists per month. They will sell out.

And I'm sure Shaw's agent is telling Andrew this currently in regards to bridge deals vs LT deals AND the dreaded hometown discount.

Shaw very well could in Kruger's shoes next June and be shopped before his NMC kicks in, and god knows he'll have one as well.....

Fact is, Bowman has done this to himself with the NMCs. The cap is not all on him, as I have ratned about the NHL's inability to supply teams with factual information and conservative LT planning......but the NMC pickle....not good.

And you are right.....agents, players will all take notice SHOULD the Hawks deal Kruger, and whoever's Kruger's agent is will not be a fan of doing business with Chicago again.
- SteveRain

And if the best offer for their client cones from Chicago....

This is a business on all fronts - team, it's representatives, players, agents - the only party that cares about loyalty is the fans.

Chicago should remain a positive destination for players, I would think - great hockey market, potential for outside endorsements (tho not as lucrative as some here think), relatively (relatively) progressive management willing to pay for performance, a still-competitive team - the only negative is the weather, but hey, they're hockey players - certainly in the top10 of attractive hockey homes.

It just won't be as attractive as we romantically have portrayed it.

The Hawks can't risk letting Panarin get to next off season without having him locked up because he will get an offer sheet the Hawks can't match. That's why it is paramount to extend him as soon after July 1st as possible and I agree with an earlier post that tied the Panarin extension to Anisimov - i.e. trade Anisimov and risk alienating Panarin who will hold out for an offer sheet that is sure to come next summer.
- EbonyRaptor

Put on your big boy pants.

The Hawks are already playing with their hands tied, now they have to worry if player A is buddies with player B. If Panarin needs a Russian to hold his hand, go get a cheaper one. If Anisimov is one that needs to move, move him. Not saying Anisimov (or anyone) IS the one who should get moved, but moving/keeping players should be hockey / cap related and shouldn't reflect how sensitive a player may be.

They're going to have much less than half of that 22 million when the signings of Gaudreau, Monahan and Colborne get done. Colborne might not get signed, but Gaudreau and Monahan are likely to get bridge deals in the 6M range. They are Calgary's Toews/Kane.

Calgary has a lot of guys with Shaw's type of skill set(Jooris and Bouma in particular). I don't see Shaw going there. Crawford is a very realistic possibility, but doubtful for Sam Bennett. Bennett is taking all the necessary developmental steps, and he is going to be a top 6 monster for them for a lot of years. Calgary can get a goalie without giving him up.
- Hawks_49

Great post. The mention of Bennett in a deal will be followed by a click. I realize Hawks don't have the need to trade Crawford the way Pitt should be way more reasonable in asking price for MAF & even Bishop for that matter, but Yzerman is now a certified documented hard a$$. So I could see him waiting to trade Bishop next year.
But I am curious, how valuable is that 6.0 mill cap space to you guys? Would someone like Jooris, our #35 & our 2017 2nd be enough for Crawford? Jooris could be your cheaper version of Shaw & you move Shaw. Or take out Jooris & we give you Colborne, he's looking for 2.5mill, can play centre but he really settled in & scored his points on wing. Big kid, nice hands but I think his ceiling is 3rd line even though you would love to see more out of him. If you ask for the #6 or any of our young (future)core, it just isn't worth it & we find a bridge in net that will suck for next year but then the Tampa's & Pitts will lose any leverage & prices will be more realistic. Bishop will be a UFA rental & Rutherford will be throwing in sweeteners to take MAF.
Screw them both if Crawford's price is more reasonable.

Seabrook is also a hit machine, minutes machine, goal scoring machine, leader machine...also had to play with Svedburg and Gustafson machine...
- PatShart

My point is if a player asks for every cent he would get as a FA (a year before he gets to FA) you should not feel bad about trading him. Guys that take less to stay with you I feel more strongly you should not trade. What team was going to give Seabs more then 55 mil over 7 years?

They can tag that contract on and then roll the dice and get cap complaint next summer as long as they are within 10%. So Bowman could go up to 80 million on the books for next fiscal year, if he wanted to.

That's why I think you are seeing so many names out there being shopped....not only does he have plans A + B, but it sounds like he's going 5-6 deep in regards to scenarios.
- SteveRain

For next year (2017-18), GF shows the Hawks with $57MM in cap hit for the 11 currently-signed players, so plenty of "tagging room" for Panarin.

I will say one last thing regarding the contracts for 19/88. What is not up for debate is that those two cap hits are really hurting the Hawks chances of putting a complete and championship quality roster on the ice both last season and moving into 16/17. What is up for debate and OPINION, is whether or not 19/88 would have gotten more, or could have been signed for slightly less. Since nobody here has their Agent on speed dial, it is pure conjecture one way or another. People can agree or disagree on whether or not some stupid team would have given Toews $2million more/season than the perennial 100 point man Crosby. I for one, don't think it would have happened. I will reiterate....I have no doubt that Bettman's false projections AND their Agent/NHLPA pushed for the "Highest Paid Players in the League" to try and set the bar for furture star contracts.

However, I will also state, that an argument can be made (especially in 2010+13), that Hossa and Keith were as much or more important to the Cup wins.... they make 55% of what 19/88 make. Kane and Toews got paid as much for their marketability (faces of the Salary Cap Dynasty) as for their on ice production, IMO. Until this season and last, Kane has never been top 3 in NHL scoring and Toews has never been top 5(I know there is more than scoring involved but points = paydays). So, why did they deserve to be paid $1million more/year than Crosby? I dont think they did, you can agree or disagree. All I am trying to point out, is that saying "They would have gotten more as UFAs" is pure conjecture...just like my opinion that Bowman could have gotten them to sign for $9.6mil/year (and still be the highest paid players in the game)

Seabrook is also a hit machine, minutes machine, goal scoring machine, leader machine...also had to play with Svedburg and Gustafson machine...
- PatShart

Yeah Seabrook does a lot of things well. But he had a bad season regardless of who he played with. He looked tired. Maybe some rest will do him good.

My point is if a player asks for every cent he would get as a FA (a year before he gets to FA) you should not feel bad about trading him. Guys that take less to stay with you I feel more strongly you should not trade. What team was going to give Seabs more then 55 mil over 7 years?
- kmw4631

Well...off the top of my head? I bet FLA would over Yandle. Probably PHX over Gologoski.

Then....you have BOS, BUFF looking at Fowler and Shattenkirk. I'm sure EDM would love to have him.

When has the cap ever gone down?
- PatShart

After the lockout. From 2012 to 2013. Believe it dropped 4 million.

You also haven't had expansion in the hard cap era with revenues being split equally among teams.

Dont' shoot the messenger. I'm just relaying what is out there and what is being said from guys who were damn close on the actual number.....one guy had the cap this year at 72.8 and it landed at 73 million. These guys are pretty close at guessing.

When has the cap ever gone down?
- PatShart

When have they added another boat anchor to the HRR equation? The best that can be hoped for out of Vegas is that they are a break even team in terms of HRR. They will not drive it higher. Odds are they will be in the bottom half of teams in HRR thus dragging the cap down. The cap was set to go down this year and players bailed that out by voting in the escalator. Next year not even the escalator will likely get the league to even. If I was a betting man (and I usually am) I would bet on the cap falling next year.

Yandle got 12 mil less and is 2 years younger. His deal finishes when he is 36 Seabs when he is 39.
- kmw4631

Indeed, but my contention is that Seabrook is a better player. I will freely admit that he had a down year. The numbers and the eye test prove that out, but strictly looking at the players, given the choice between Yandle and Seabrook you don't think every team would take Seabrook?

Also, simply at the cap hits, there is only about a 500K per year difference (which is really what I look at. Next year, is anyone going to say Hossa isn't worth $1M? No, they will say he isn't worth his cap hit.