Too small? Debrincat is highly skilled and appears very motivated. His size is not as much of an issue in today's NHL.

Johnny Hockey is also pint size but that has not stopped him from demanding $8 mil per season (per reports) which he arguably deserves and would put him in the elite pay scale.

http://forecaster.thehockeynews.com/player/9261

Debrincat has put up huge numbers in back-to-back years in the OHL even though his line mates have changed. I know doing well in the OHL does not mean he is going to be a great NHLer but it does show he has the potential to make the leap.
- hankscorpio

I would tend to discount the season that McDavid was his center. Rob Brown scored a ton with Mario as his center. But the kid scored big last year without McDavid also. Maybe he's got something. Should be interesting watching Q shuffle things around more than normal.

I liked what I saw of Kero. Seemed to have a clue. Maybe they try him with 19+81 and he surprises a bit.
- 6628

I just read that Kero set the rookie goal record for Rockford and Hinostroza set the rookie points record...without even getting a goal until December

http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=892510

I would tend to discount the season that McDavid was his center. Rob Brown scored a ton with Mario as his center. But the kid scored big last year without McDavid also. Maybe he's got something. Should be interesting watching Q shuffle things around more than normal.
- 6628

That is what evryone did, until he got 50+ goals the next season as well. I believe that's when his draft stock shot up to rounds 1 and 2.

I just read that Kero set the rookie goal record for Rockford and Hinostroza set the rookie points record...without even getting a goal until December

http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=892510
- JRoenick97

When I first watched Kero he showed a sense of offensive flow for the game. I imagine he would need work on D. Not so sure about VH. What's for sure is everyone was a nobody before they were a known somebody. If one of the younger options steps up it could be a beautiful thing. Just have to hope it's sooner than later and it's obvious enough for Q to pick up on it.

When I first watched Kero he showed a sense of offensive flow for the game. I imagine he would need work on D. Not so sure about VH. What's for sure is everyone was a nobody before they were a known somebody. If one of the younger options steps up it could be a beautiful thing. Just have to hope it's sooner than later and it's obvious enough for Q to pick up on it.
- 6628

Kero appears to be a guy that is flying under the radar when it comes to prospects that could make the team this season. I think there's a solid chance Kero makes the team in a bottom 6 (likely bottom 3) capacity this season.

"Always with the negative waves Moriarty, always with the negative waves."

This team has the best blueline and goaltending since the franchise's resurrection. When your worst D guy is now TVR and you have a puck mover on every line....

I find this years team to have elevated their possession quotient which should lead to more O zone time and more goals just by default.

Time for the coaching staff to leave the Dusty Baker era and move to the Joe Maddon era. Coach a couple of guys up and play to your strengths. Every other team in the division got worse.
- Return of the Roar

I'd like to see McNeill and Hartman get a true legit shot at making the club this fall, they have done their time in Rockford,I hope Q looks at them 2 long and hard. Both of them guys go the front of the net and in the corners something we lost with Ladd and Shaw. I still am shaking my head over that deal for Ladd and got shlit back, same with giving up Danault.

PS. Dusty Baker Era, in my case Leo Durocher! Go Cubbies !!!

The other thing is that Panarin is in RFA status, no need to rush to sign him. They still have leverage and they could still get a haul in a trade for him with RFA status a-la Saad if they decide it wont get done. Its not like he will be a pending UFA and they need to crap or get off the pot with a new contract real soon or risk letting him walk for nothing
- hawkeytalkman

If Stan knows he can't sign Panarin, and I reiterate IF, I'd like to see him send a package to Toronto that nets us back JVR. JVR is very Saad-like in playing style - big, uses his body well, drives to the net, decent speed. We'd get a full season form JVR and a shot to re-sign him long term after next season. Of course, this is all a total dreaming scenario.

Interesting how the hocks haven't signed any pto longshots. Giving the kiddies first crack?

This is the longest summer ever. Global lengthening and what not. Czechmate! Ha!

Interesting how the hocks haven't signed any pto longshots. Giving the kiddies first crack?

This is the longest summer ever. Global lengthening and what not. Czechmate! Ha!
- hocktock

More fringe players are being signed to PTOs because of the World Cup of Hockey. I don't see too many PTOs throughout the league actually making their respective teams.

Maybe this season will be a mini youth-movement for the Blackhawks. At some point fresh blood has to be introduced into the team with all the talent they've lost.

I have a question for you...do you have kids?

I ask because I have been told this for years...don't compare your children to others. How that works in this case is partially what Wiz said about state income tax. But it's also about what those players mean to your team and your city. All things being equal, I personally think Toews and Kane are AT LEAST worth $2M more because of what they mean to the team, the city and the league. We can argue all day, and some have, about what player A is worth compared to player B. But at the end of it all, players are worth what they are paid. Because that is their individual market. Whether that player can or does play up to that contract is another, completely different argument. But when the contract is signed, THAT is the players value. For the life of that contract.
- CanOCorn

That is why you don't pay guys for what they have done. You pay them for what the will do. So many teams over pay. It is a tough job being GM. I really don't have an issue with Toews and Kanes contracts at the time. Obviously, now they suck bc the NHL lied to the teams about the cap. You pay the two faces of the franchise. I do have a problem with the Seabrook Crawford and Kruger contracts. Every penny counts in the cap world. You take .5 mil off each of those cap hits and that 1.5 mil goes a long way.

Kero appears to be a guy that is flying under the radar when it comes to prospects that could make the team this season. I think there's a solid chance Kero makes the team in a bottom 6 (likely bottom 3) capacity this season.
- DarthKane

Darth, I think Kero would be out of position on the 4th line, or even the 3rd. I see him eventually as a top 6 because of his offensive puck sense. But perhaps a stint on the 4th line might allow him some defensive practice starting out. If they can't make room for him he could make for good trade bait. I do think he's going to make someone's team as a top 6 in the future.

That is why you don't pay guys for what they have done. You pay them for what the will do. So many teams over pay. It is a tough job being GM. I really don't have an issue with Toews and Kanes contracts at the time. Obviously, now they suck bc the NHL lied to the teams about the cap. You pay the two faces of the franchise. I do have a problem with the Seabrook Crawford and Kruger contracts. Every penny counts in the cap world. You take .5 mil off each of those cap hits and that 1.5 mil goes a long way.
- bhawks2241

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL3VHRp0xpA

Hey JJ,

Can you ask Eklund to check his PMs on here? I sent a question regarding blog writing, but can't seem to get a response.

Thanks!
- Hank3Henshaw

He never gets back to me either. He gets a lot of PMs. PM me your email address and i will get you in touch with someone else.

Exactly. He had 0.920 SV% and 11 shutouts in about 2-3 seasons worth of games with Montreal.

Washington was a short stint of 13 games, but he went 11-2 with .936 % and 1.63 GAA 2 SO.

Another stat that is out there now too is quality starts, which wasn't bad in Huet's case either. Some Career #s below. Keep in mind a backup like Darling will have a bit more inflated numbers here as Crawford typically got the tougher opponents.

Crawford is good in that regard .613%
Huet for his career was .584%
Niemi .535%
Khabibulin .481%
Darling .622%

Crawford was actual the best NHL starter in quality starts last season, with Schneider a close second.

Anyway, back on point, Huet was on paper a decent goalie, with some seasons behind him.
- breadbag

Another example of internet message board and Chicago myopia run amok.

Like I said, he had a pretty impressive body of work from 2003 or so to 2009 with three different teams, including some pretty stellar playoff performances. Huet came in pretty much cold for a road, elimination game 5 (after Khabibulin quit on the team in Game 4) of the 2009 WCF and damn near got the Hawks to game 6 back in Chicago, standing on his head, were it not for Cam Barker and Matt Walker sucking royally.

It was in 2010 that the wheels came off (spectacularly).

But the "narrative" today is he sucked horribly period, always did.

I don't know what happened to him that year and it could just be he could not handle the immense pressure of being a number one, replacing a popular guy, on a team with Cup expectations. I also recall some absolute troglodyte fans going after him and his family at times because he was French. Dunno.

But again, the narrative doesn't line up with the facts.

Here's my dark horse for making the club: Kyle Baun.
Liked what I saw in his 2 game preview last yr (sans the stupid penalties he took, which ended up being his Q ticket back to Rockford, then got hurt).

From Mark Bernard's interview on the BH website:
Was there anyone else who stood out to you despite maybe not showing up on the scoresheet as much as other players?

I thought Kyle Baun had a very good year. He had a really tough injury at the beginning of the year where he was out about 12 weeks. It took him awhile to come back, because it was an injury in his forearm, very close to his wrist and hand. But when he came back, I really liked his game. There was no lack of work ethic in Kyle Baun's game. He works 100 percent of the time, every shift, every period, every game, every day in practice, and he brings it. If he continues to work on his game, he's going to be a guy who is going to battle for a spot, because coaches fall in love with those types of players. They'll do anything that's asked of them, they're high-energy, and they don't need a lot of babysitting.

He never gets back to me either. He gets a lot of PMs. PM me your email address and i will get you in touch with someone else.
- John Jaeckel

Excellent. Thanks, JJ!

Check your PMs. I'm sending it now.

Here's my dark horse for making the club: Kyle Baun.
Liked what I saw in his 2 game preview last yr (sans the stupid penalties he took, which ended up being his Q ticket back to Rockford, then got hurt).

From Mark Bernard's interview on the BH website:
Was there anyone else who stood out to you despite maybe not showing up on the scoresheet as much as other players?

I thought Kyle Baun had a very good year. He had a really tough injury at the beginning of the year where he was out about 12 weeks. It took him awhile to come back, because it was an injury in his forearm, very close to his wrist and hand. But when he came back, I really liked his game. There was no lack of work ethic in Kyle Baun's game. He works 100 percent of the time, every shift, every period, every game, every day in practice, and he brings it. If he continues to work on his game, he's going to be a guy who is going to battle for a spot, because coaches fall in love with those types of players. They'll do anything that's asked of them, they're high-energy, and they don't need a lot of babysitting.
- savvyone-1

Baun, Kero, Hartman, McNeill, blah blah blah . . .

Not to be a buzzkill nor to unfairly write off any of these guys. But they (and possibly even Motte and Schmaltz) may all top out (and some won't even get there) as bottom 6 guys in the NHL.

That's the problem this year. We're holding auditions for a starring role with guys who are all really cut out—at best—for supporting roles. Long odds.

The problem as I see it is:

I feel like we have 4 top 6 wings and then Hossa, Kruger, Panik I feel would make a really good 3rd pairing and Des, Moose, tootoo, lundberg would be a Avg 4 line.

Baun just has no skill so other then a 4th line banger that is about it. He at best is a 12/13-AHL career guy
Hartman-I just have not seen that he does anything really well other then draw penalties and get called for them.
Hino-has some speed and some skill but I still see him more as Good AHL player then top 9 NHL.
Mcneal-I did watch his one game and I thought he looked OK. But in general maybe more like a Borderline 4th liner-AHL.
Motte-I think could slot at 3 or 4 LW in a year and be pretty good.
Schmaltz-I think could slot 2/3 C/RW in a year and be pretty good.

I still would love for a trade for a guy Tobias Rider who you know could slot in a top 9 and be Avg. What do you think Gus would bring you back? he is EXP draft exempt and still can be put on waivers and looked pretty good the 1st 25 games. being Draft and waiver exempt really increases his value I would think this year more then most.

The problem with trading Pokka or TVR the trading team could lose them in the EXP draft and who ever we trade for we might lose as well.

Nice write up JJ, but you did not talk about the most important thing, that being Q. If Q does not evolve with this changing roster then forget it. He will go back to running 3 lines and burn this team out by March. There is still a very talented core here, its just not as deep as in years past.

The way Q handled his bench against the Blues was comedy and he better have learned from it. Dont know, but Q will be the X factor in what happnes this year.

Nice write up JJ, but you did not talk about the most important thing, that being Q. If Q does not evolve with this changing roster then forget it. He will go back to running 3 lines and burn this team out by March. There is still a very talented core here, its just not as deep as in years past.

The way Q handled his bench against the Blues was comedy and he better have learned from it. Dont know, but Q will be the X factor in what happnes this year.
- z1990z

I couldn't agree more if you had a gun to my head

Here's my dark horse for making the club: Kyle Baun.
Liked what I saw in his 2 game preview last yr (sans the stupid penalties he took, which ended up being his Q ticket back to Rockford, then got hurt).

From Mark Bernard's interview on the BH website:
Was there anyone else who stood out to you despite maybe not showing up on the scoresheet as much as other players?

I thought Kyle Baun had a very good year. He had a really tough injury at the beginning of the year where he was out about 12 weeks. It took him awhile to come back, because it was an injury in his forearm, very close to his wrist and hand. But when he came back, I really liked his game. There was no lack of work ethic in Kyle Baun's game. He works 100 percent of the time, every shift, every period, every game, every day in practice, and he brings it. If he continues to work on his game, he's going to be a guy who is going to battle for a spot, because coaches fall in love with those types of players. They'll do anything that's asked of them, they're high-energy, and they don't need a lot of babysitting.
- savvyone-1

Hi Savvy, Baun may not be anything more than just a minor leaguer but as you know he has pro hockey bloodlines. It wouldn't be a surprise if great uncle Bobby took the kid aside and told him a few things about the facts of life in the NHL. The old boy was a warrior in the 6 team NHL.

And if you recall, he played a few games at the end of the regular season 2 years ago and Q singled him out as somebody he liked the look of. There is a job open if he is good enough.

The problem as I see it is:

I feel like we have 4 top 6 wings and then Hossa, Kruger, Panik I feel would make a really good 3rd pairing and Des, Moose, tootoo, lundberg would be a Avg 4 line.

Baun just has no skill so other then a 4th line banger that is about it. He at best is a 12/13-AHL career guy
Hartman-I just have not seen that he does anything really well other then draw penalties and get called for them.
Hino-has some speed and some skill but I still see him more as Good AHL player then top 9 NHL.
Mcneal-I did watch his one game and I thought he looked OK. But in general maybe more like a Borderline 4th liner-AHL.
Motte-I think could slot at 3 or 4 LW in a year and be pretty good.
Schmaltz-I think could slot 2/3 C/RW in a year and be pretty good.

I still would love for a trade for a guy Tobias Rider who you know could slot in a top 9 and be Avg. What do you think Gus would bring you back? he is EXP draft exempt and still can be put on waivers and looked pretty good the 1st 25 games. being Draft and waiver exempt really increases his value I would think this year more then most.

The problem with trading Pokka or TVR the trading team could lose them in the EXP draft and who ever we trade for we might lose as well.
- kmw4631

7F: Toews, Kane, Panarin, Hoss, Anisimov, Kruger, ???

3D: Keith, Seabrook, Hammer

Exempt from expansion/expiring contracts:
Kempney, Campbell, Schmaltz etc

Swapping TVR/D depth for another F in which we can protect would be perfect.

(I believe Panarin is exempt as well, but even with having to protect him, we still have another spot for whichever F we trade for)

Another example of internet message board and Chicago myopia run amok.

Like I said, he had a pretty impressive body of work from 2003 or so to 2009 with three different teams, including some pretty stellar playoff performances. Huet came in pretty much cold for a road, elimination game 5 (after Khabibulin quit on the team in Game 4) of the 2009 WCF and damn near got the Hawks to game 6 back in Chicago, standing on his head, were it not for Cam Barker and Matt Walker sucking royally.

It was in 2010 that the wheels came off (spectacularly).

But the "narrative" today is he sucked horribly period, always did.

I don't know what happened to him that year and it could just be he could not handle the immense pressure of being a number one, replacing a popular guy, on a team with Cup expectations. I also recall some absolute troglodyte fans going after him and his family at times because he was French. Dunno.

But again, the narrative doesn't line up with the facts.
- John Jaeckel

Oh man, Matt Walker...I had blocked him from my memory...

I think with Huet, he got a bad rep in Chicago mostly because of the goals he did let in. If I recall correctly he was a bit prone to letting in easy ones, which honestly never bothered me, but I know gets under people's skin. I hate to blame goalies for soft goals, because the same guy will often stop other shots that could have beaten him. He struggled with the Hawks, for whatever reason, be it goalie coaching, system in front, confidence or he just plain couldn't get it together, I don't know.

At the end of the day, the GAA of the team the years Huet was here wasn't bad really and his individual GAA in Chicago was on par with his average with Montreal. Almost the same as the last year here in Chicago with Crawford/Darling. Seems like Huet just faced less shots but still manage to allow his 2.5 goals per game.

7F: Toews, Kane, Panarin, Hoss, Anisimov, Kruger, ???

3D: Keith, Seabrook, Hammer

Exempt from expansion/expiring contracts:
Kempney, Campbell, Schmaltz etc

Swapping TVR/D depth for another F in which we can protect would be perfect.

(I believe Panarin is exempt as well, but even with having to protect him, we still have another spot for whichever F we trade for)
- Slofire94

True, but then what happens if the team trades TvR then loses Pokka in the expansion draft?

Would there be a chance that Kruger is left unprotected if the team needs to generate cap space? Maybe Panik and/or Hartman would be a more attractive target than a defenseman. Maybe (big stretch here) Svedberg would be the d-man Vegas wants from the Hawks.

It will be interesting to see how Stan navigates through the expansion draft. There will be several possible scenarios and I wouldn't be surprised to see a deal or two made in an effort to protect the teams best assets.

Another example of internet message board and Chicago myopia run amok.

Like I said, he had a pretty impressive body of work from 2003 or so to 2009 with three different teams, including some pretty stellar playoff performances. Huet came in pretty much cold for a road, elimination game 5 (after Khabibulin quit on the team in Game 4) of the 2009 WCF and damn near got the Hawks to game 6 back in Chicago, standing on his head, were it not for Cam Barker and Matt Walker sucking royally.

It was in 2010 that the wheels came off (spectacularly).

But the "narrative" today is he sucked horribly period, always did.

I don't know what happened to him that year and it could just be he could not handle the immense pressure of being a number one, replacing a popular guy, on a team with Cup expectations. I also recall some absolute troglodyte fans going after him and his family at times because he was French. Dunno.

But again, the narrative doesn't line up with the facts.
- John Jaeckel

Speaking of that series against the Wings and looking back in 2009. Do you think the Hawks could have advanced if Halvat didn't get Kronwall'd and Khabibulin had stayed healthy?