yes he is.
- fattybeef

I gotta weigh the amount of games a goalie steals vs. the amount he serves up to the other team. He's got a positive ratio in that regard, but his meltdowns are spectacular.

I don't think it matters TBH. And while everyone gets hard about Toews and Kane retiring as Hawks I think half way through those mega deals you see them out the door for an crap ton of picks.

The worst thing they could do is fade into mediocrity like Detroit has while getting absolutely nothing for guys like Zetterberg who are just going to waste away during the twilight of their career.

After Keith is done, or physically not able to maintain near the pace we've grown accustomed to, then this teams chances of winning a Cup decrease drastically and may as well try to reload and rebuild without having to be garbage for 5 or 6 years. Or worse bad but not bad enough to get any lottery picks.
- fattybeef

If they want to model the Detroit franchise, they better learn from this. Gone are the days when a player plays for 1 team his entire career.

If they want to model the Detroit franchise, they better learn from this. Gone are the days when a player plays for 1 team his entire career.
- powerenforcer

Maybe..... But Kane and Toews will both be 34 at the end of their contracts. They could still be pretty good (and worth keeping at a lower re-up rate).

stars crap the ice again and blow a 3 goal lead to lose 5-3...

that team has some serious problems beginning with goaltending, defense and the run and gun style they like
- bogiedoc

Remember when everyone thought Jim Nill was the greatest and "pantsed" Bowman? He took on 10mil of Sharp and Oduya...signed Hudler as well....and nowwill have a fire sale


His D is a dumpster fire, and one of the worst/overpaid goalie tandems

Maybe Stan can land another Kimmo Timonen for his 4 minutes per game in Playoffs?
Ryan Garbutt? Trevor Daley looks good in Pitt.

Danualt trade? Ladd Trade? Rungblad? Scuderi? Bickell contract?


Contracts of Kruger Seabrook & Crawford are horrid.

Stan has lived off Tallons core guys. Stan has been terrible on alot of moves.

- Goalie-33

Seabs deal back-end will be bad. Sorry to say (cuz I love the guy), it is time to sell high. CC's was a tad high at the very front-end, now he's even and will be a bargain, if relatively healthy, at the end. One of only two salary cap era two-time cup winning goalies. That counts. A lot. Kruger's is a tad high, but part of that is built-in from the cheap 1-yr bridge he took, when we all know he could have gone elsewhere for more, much more. Do not discount that. 'Hawks do not have an immediate, playoff-proven, checking line centre for this years PO to replace him.

Yeah, well Nill and Jarmo and Fletcher didn't inherit Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith either.

But you do have to tip your cap to Bowman for the moves he's made the last 4-5 years, which viewed overall have been very good.

Interesting situation in Columbus. The Tortorella Effect seems to be kicking in about 2 years earlier than normal, but I suspect that's just a temporary blip, and the Jackets will continue their upward trajectory.

You can call them and the Wild shiny objects (while a lot of Hawk fans are kind of guilty of the same year after year with regard to Hawk rookies and prospects, no?)

But both are legitimately good teams who looked pretty damn good the last couple of years against the mighty Chicago Blackhawks. Unless I was watching some other games.
- John Jaeckel

I said that Bowman should get credit for keeping the Hawks in the contender status, not necessarily making them contenders. It's true that Stan did not draft Toews, Kane, Keith, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson or Hossa. But he's been very successful at navigting the murky waters of the salary cap world and kept the Hawks in contention for a long time.

Columbus and Minnesota have been having great seasons and I'm not trying to take that away from them. I'm saying that we should have a longer term approach when evaluating a GM. Last season the likes of Dallas, St Louis and Florida were the new wave of the NHL. But this season, not so much. The Jackets and Wild could continue to have long term success, but we'll have to wait and see if they do. I'm not saying they won't, they're just not teams to be envied yet.

Remember when everyone thought Jim Nill was the greatest and "pantsed" Bowman? He took on 10mil of Sharp and Oduya...signed Hudler as well....and nowwill have a fire sale


His D is a dumpster fire, and one of the worst/overpaid goalie tandems
- PatShart

Surprised Niemi has not been better for the Stars. He had some stud seasons with the Sharks, but SJ had better D in front of him. Dallas is a mess.

JJ (or anyone)...

As it stands now, the Hawks would have to re-sign one of Desjardins or Tootoo or acquire someone (either at the deadline or post-season before the expansion draft) to fulfill the requirements of at least 2 forwards and 1 defenseman that are under contract and have played at least 40 games in 2016 or 70 the past 2 seasons.

Michael Latta could've fit that requirement had he been brought up 2 games ago (the Hawks have 25 games left and Latta needs 27 games to reach 70 over the last 2 seasons.) Does anyone know if playoff games count towards the expansion requirements?
- 4_in_7

I think everyone always forgets that the AHL is a pro league...

Colorado has 32 points with 29 games left to play.

You've gotta think they're going to blow up that team.
- kinigitt

I agree....I'm just hoping StanBo makes a reasonable offer for Duchene. He's a talent I'd agree to spend assets on for the future.

Seabs deal back-end will be bad. Sorry to say (cuz I love the guy), it is time to sell high. CC's was a tad high at the very front-end, now he's even and will be a bargain, if relatively healthy, at the end. One of only two salary cap era two-time cup winning goalies. That counts. A lot. Kruger's is a tad high, but part of that is built-in from the cheap 1-yr bridge he took, when we all know he could have gone elsewhere for more, much more. Do not discount that. 'Hawks do not have an immediate, playoff-proven, checking line centre for this years PO to replace him.
- blackhawk24

There's a chance Seabrook will be moved over the summer. Hopefully, some GM will overpay for him.
But, Seabs is the only guy--other than maybe Kempney--that offers any real "physicality" on the blue line. So, any return Stan can get on Seabrook needs to be a young D man or a high pick.
It's better to trade a guy a year too early, than a year too late.

Remember when everyone thought Jim Nill was the greatest and "pantsed" Bowman? He took on 10mil of Sharp and Oduya...signed Hudler as well....and nowwill have a fire sale


His D is a dumpster fire, and one of the worst/overpaid goalie tandems
- PatShart

And a few other things that went wrong - the big Russian center they drafted that went home because Lindy Ruff hated him, the very predictable amounts of time Jason Spezza misses because of injuries, and that stiff Ales Hemsky.

Nill made the team much better very quickly because they needed to sell tickets, but not good enough and not for long enough.

You mention the crummy trades he has made, though he has made some good ones...getting Leddy (trading away Leddy for garbage later so that's a wash, still he did land Leddy for a pylon), Oduya move, drafting Saad, drafting Shaw, Panik, his European pipleine he has cultivated (Panarin, Kempney, Forsling-a nice trade from the Canucks) and the current young guys making some noise.

That said I do think Stan is overall an average GM and often times is too reactive instead of proactive...he hits on some things and misses on some things (like most GMS), but Crawford, Kane, Hossa, Toews, Keith, Seabrook, Hammer, and others were already on the roster when he showed up. NO GM has inherited that kind of core group in quite a while.

So while I think it's not quite right to say he is a terrible GM, those who think he can do no wrong also fail to see the entire perspective.

I think Stan can write the story depending on how he transitions from an aging core to a new team. If he is able to navigate the aging of this team without the Hawks falling into the abyss then he may well have the final say. However, if he flames out then the idea he was a product of former GM's core guys will take on more merit.
- kwolf68

While that's fair, I think it's also fair to say he identified the right horses to hitch his wagon to.

Like some might have, he didn't succumb to his ego and decide they weren't his guys so that he needed to deal them for his guys to put his stamp on the team.

I certainly don't think he's infallible and has made some moves I'm sure he'd like to have back. He still gets full marks from me for filling in around the core and icing the Cup teams in 2013 and 2015 after having to gut the team in 2010 and then have to shed more key players just about every year since.

As far as your last sentence I think that's easier said than done and I disagree mostly from the point I made above. Ken Holland seems to be considered a great GM by most but it hasn't kept the Wings from backsliding into mediocrity.

I said that Bowman should get credit for keeping the Hawks in the contender status, not necessarily making them contenders. It's true that Stan did not draft Toews, Kane, Keith, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson or Hossa. But he's been very successful at navigting the murky waters of the salary cap world and kept the Hawks in contention for a long time.

Columbus and Minnesota have been having great seasons and I'm not trying to take that away from them. I'm saying that we should have a longer term approach when evaluating a GM. Last season the likes of Dallas, St Louis and Florida were the new wave of the NHL. But this season, not so much. The Jackets and Wild could continue to have long term success, but we'll have to wait and see if they do. I'm not saying they won't, they're just not teams to be envied yet.
- DarthKane

DK always the voice of reason.

I would also add teams like the Avs or the Ducks who also had one-hit wonder seasons a few years back. Aside from the Blues (not including this year), most of those teams mentioned have regressed back to mediocrity.

Solid blog as usual....

LIke their game of late but cautious as they aren't as good as they look when they are on fire, or as bad as they look when they drop 3-4 in a row. Somewhere in the middle lies the true version of this team, and getting more consistency will be the biggest challenge the last 25 games.

Hawks sent a ton of guys of down for more games with the hogs, but most importantly to bank the almost 500K in cap space for the deadline. Then again, they aren't making any trades........

Lastly, I cringe when I see biased tweets like that from Jud S pointing out skewed out stats when looking at Panik vs Saad. Just a moronic thing to do as I would bet my soul if you place 20 instead of 14 on this team, he produces MORE and 14 would produce LESS on Columbus........funny how Jud didn't go down the Nick Leddy avenue who is at 31 points, with 9 goals and playing very well.

Dont' count out the blues.......talented teams with veterans who get in-season coaching shakeups usually go on a little run.......Fascinating to watch Nash vs STL for the 3rd spot in the central the rest of the way.

There's a chance Seabrook will be moved over the summer. Hopefully, some GM will overpay for him.
But, Seabs is the only guy--other than maybe Kempney--that offers any real "physicality" on the blue line. So, any return Stan can get on Seabrook needs to be a young D man or a high pick.
It's better to trade a guy a year too early, than a year too late.
- tompo1015

I disagree. We did not sign Seabrook to a long term deal, and give him a NTC/NMC...to trade him away. That makes no sense. Same with Kane, Toews, Crawford, Panarin, Hossa, Keith, Hammer. None of those guys are going anywhere. But this is a "rumor" blog so people like to make wild trades with these guys. And all these guys have NTC/NMC so they won't be going anywhere. Kruger and/or the young guys are guys that would be moved at the trade deadline.

I disagree. We did not sign Seabrook to a long term deal, and give him a NTC/NMC...to trade him away. That makes no sense. Same with Kane, Toews, Crawford, Panarin, Hossa, Keith, Hammer. None of those guys are going anywhere. But this is a "rumor" blog so people like to make wild trades with these guys. And all these guys have NTC/NMC so they won't be going anywhere. Kruger and/or the young guys are guys that would be moved at the trade deadline.
- onehundredlevel

it would take a LOT for the Hawks to trade Seabrook. No question.

2,4,7 19,88,72 those core 6, Bowman would need a lot to move them.

I disagree. We did not sign Seabrook to a long term deal, and give him a NTC/NMC...to trade him away. That makes no sense. Same with Kane, Toews, Crawford, Panarin, Hossa, Keith, Hammer. None of those guys are going anywhere. But this is a "rumor" blog so people like to make wild trades with these guys. And all these guys have NTC/NMC so they won't be going anywhere. Kruger and/or the young guys are guys that would be moved at the trade deadline.
- onehundredlevel

Do you think that the NTC/NMC are there SO the player has the ability to dictate (work with the team) as to where they would want to go? Remember, most players with these clauses do get traded, but with their terms also.

I disagree. We did not sign Seabrook to a long term deal, and give him a NTC/NMC...to trade him away. That makes no sense. Same with Kane, Toews, Crawford, Panarin, Hossa, Keith, Hammer. None of those guys are going anywhere. But this is a "rumor" blog so people like to make wild trades with these guys. And all these guys have NTC/NMC so they won't be going anywhere. Kruger and/or the young guys are guys that would be moved at the trade deadline.
- onehundredlevel

Seabrook is 31 and has 7 years to go on his contract. Do you want to be paying him nearly $7 million cap hit in 2023-2024? I don't.

Seabrook is 31 and has 7 years to go on his contract. Do you want to be paying him nearly $7 million cap hit in 2023-2024? I don't.
- tompo1015

1. Impossible to know how his cap hit vs cap ceiling will be relative. Hopefully the cap will be a lot higher by that point.

2. You could say the same about #2 who has more miles on him and is only 1.5ish cheaper.

3. While a workout fanatic, you could also look at 81 who has managed to stay productive at age 38 while carrying a significant cap hit.

4. Who takes 7s place on the back end since everyone seems so hell bent on trading on him? 57? 6? 42? Remember, the point in trading him is to clear cap room so to take back nhl ready talent might not save you a helluva lot.

Seabrook is 31 and has 7 years to go on his contract. Do you want to be paying him nearly $7 million cap hit in 2023-2024? I don't.
- tompo1015

The beauty of it is, no one here has to pay him...Rocky does.

Seabrook is 31 and has 7 years to go on his contract. Do you want to be paying him nearly $7 million in 2023-2024? I don't.
- tompo1015

As always when the CBA expires, there will be a freebie buyout window for all teams to clean up some stuff.

And after that there will be the opportunity to watch some kid who career wise couldn't carry #7's jockstrap.

The beauty of it is, no one here has to pay him...Rocky does.
- HawkintheD

True, but ticket prices (which fans pay) reflect the salary of players.
so yes, the ones here do pay him.

True, but ticket prices (which fans pay) reflect the salary of players.
so yes, the ones here do pay him.
- powerenforcer

True. I suppose they could put a freeze on ticket prices or roll them back and they could find the 2017 version of the ABC line...that'd be cool.

It's not like ticket prices jumped 100% when Seabs got signed. I know they've gone up but the real issue is ticket brokers buy them all up and exorbitanntly inflate the prices...but that's a different issue.

Do you think that the NTC/NMC are there SO the player has the ability to dictate (work with the team) as to where they would want to go? Remember, most players with these clauses do get traded, but with their terms also.
- powerenforcer

Yes, I agree with you there. The only thing is the organization is looked highly upon by the players. Not many guys want to leave. But you are right...a player ultimately has the say so. I'm sure some of the Canadian born players would not mind at all, especially as they get older, maybe getting dealt to Toronto or Montreal or Winnipeg. But there has to be a fit there too for our front office. Tough situation to make a deal.

Seabrook is 31 and has 7 years to go on his contract. Do you want to be paying him nearly $7 million cap hit in 2023-2024? I don't.
- tompo1015

Oh, I agree with you there. That contract will be tough on us in the later years. But it also might be why other teams have little interest in dealing for that contract. I'm not disputing that with you at all. I guess we have to hope he has the staying power of Hossa. He is getting up there and many people thought his contract would be terrible at this point in time. But he has proven us wrong so far. Hoping Seabs does too.