TT may be about where he will be for his career. A 15-18 goal, 40 point guy. I'm not sure he will ever work hard enough to be anything more than that. He probably will never reach the ceiling that people originally thought he would.
- TheTrob

If he had been playing with more skilled linemates earlier in the year, he'd have 50 points already.

Jj any idea when hawks will bring up latta could add depth to the center position and be able to win faceoffs more than 40% sorry but kero and rass are depth players and win draws consistently plus latta gives the haeks a little bit physicality
- Scott1977

I cannot see how Latta, who has spend the year in the AHL, could realistically displace any of the Hawks forwards at this point. Kero and Rasmussen are far better options.

. . .

Do the current top four pairings of 2/4 and 7/27 make sense to anybody? Is it to provide balance in terms of having an offensive option on each pair? . . .

C
- 333inthe3rd

They won the 2015 cup with those pairings.

A small group of friends of mine nicknamed a former Blues player bamboo. Why? Cause bamboo is softer than cotton.
- Jason Millen

Bamboo lands at 3041 on the Janka hardness test...

I was a TT fan (still am) and was sorry to see him go. My hope for him was he was just going to take a little longer than we wanted to find his stride but then when he did he would be a very good player. Although Granlund is a different type of player I use him as an example of a star Finnish player that much was expected of but did not happen as quickly as people thought it should. Patience with Granlund has paid off and my hope is it will for TT too.

But, as the saying goes - timing is everything in life - and the Hawks just didn't have the time to wait for TT to reach his potential. They needed to purge Bickel's cap hit and they deemed the cost of TT to be acceptable. Oh well ... I can't blame the Hawks for moving because TT was given an opportunity and he didn't make the most of it.

I check the Carolina box score every so often just to see how TT did. I'm rooting for him.
- EbonyRaptor

I agree . Some are so quick to judge in this day and age . TT could be his own worst enemy ,but a lot can change in a few years . There are plenty of example around the league of players maturing into solid, if not great players .

Three pages in and not one word on Kruger screening Leht-em-in for Hossa's goal. Doesn't show up on the score sheet, but by the amount of praise Edzo was raining down, coaches know what Kruger does without the puck and why he's being paid.

Let the bashing begin!

Three pages in and not one word on Kruger screening Leht-em-in for Hossa's goal. Doesn't show up on the score sheet, but by the amount of praise Edzo was raining down, coaches know what Kruger does without the puck and why he's being paid.

Let the bashing begin!
- CanOCorn

How about the cleanly lost face-off that directly led to the Star's goal?

How about the cleanly lost face-off that directly led to the Star's goal?


- EnzoD

Sweet...his +/- stands at 0.

TT with career highs in goals, assists, points.

Should hit 40+ points easily.
- BINGO!

14 of those points on PP. Probably would not get nearly as many PP minutes on the Hawks.

Three pages in and not one word on Kruger screening Leht-em-in for Hossa's goal. Doesn't show up on the score sheet, but by the amount of praise Edzo was raining down, coaches know what Kruger does without the puck and why he's being paid.

Let the bashing begin!
- CanOCorn

Yes he screened the goalie, but why do you have to fuel the fire? There are also reasons why the Hawks were shopping him for cap relief.

TT with career highs in goals, assists, points.

Should hit 40+ points easily.
- BINGO!

Who

I cannot see how Latta, who has spend the year in the AHL, could realistically displace any of the Hawks forwards at this point. Kero and Rasmussen are far better options.
- DarthKane

I don't get the constant asking about Latta. He's not better than anyone currently called up except maybe Tootoo, but Tootoo is a locker room guy and thug when needed.

Yes he screened the goalie, but why do you have to fuel the fire? There are also reasons why the Hawks were shopping him for cap relief.
- breadbag

1 reason. The cap.

14 of those points on PP. Probably would not get nearly as many PP minutes on the Hawks.
- -Doh-

He still saw decent amount of PP time in Chicago last year. 1:45 per game. Seeing 2:11 this year. Small increase in PP time, but Q wasn't shy to put him on the PP where he has room to make passes.

Good thing he's not playing C, then. Majority of his time has been at RW.
- BINGO!

You guys want Jurco too?

Three pages in and not one word on Kruger screening Leht-em-in for Hossa's goal. Doesn't show up on the score sheet, but by the amount of praise Edzo was raining down, coaches know what Kruger does without the puck and why he's being paid.

Let the bashing begin!
- CanOCorn

They should just waive him now!

He still saw decent amount of PP time in Chicago last year. 1:45 per game. Seeing 2:11 this year. Small increase in PP time, but Q wasn't shy to put him on the PP where he has room to make passes.
- breadbag

Playing him on the point on the PP most of the time.

You guys want Jurco too?
- Assman22

That's... not the same thing, no.

I don't get the constant asking about Latta. He's not better than anyone currently called up except maybe Tootoo, but Tootoo is a locker room guy and thug when needed.
- JRoenick97

I'd much rather have Tootoo starting on the 4th line during the playoffs playing with Kruger and a mix of Kero, Desjardins, and Jurco (Hinostroza, too, if he gets recalled for the playoffs). Tootoo plays smart, brings a physical edge, and forechecks hard. For some reason he gets a bum rap and gets easily discarded as not lineup worthy.

EDIT: Forgot about Rasmussen as a viable 4th line option.

TT with career highs in goals, assists, points.

Should hit 40+ points easily.
- BINGO!

Happy to see Lindholm having a strong second half of the season. He's already eclipsed his career highs, but he would be a 50-60 point player if his first half play matched his second half play. Plus he's a strong two-way player with size.

I'd much rather have Tootoo starting on the 4th line during the playoffs playing with Kruger and a mix of Kero, Desjardins, and Jurco (Hinostroza, too, if he gets recalled for the playoffs). Tootoo plays smart, brings a physical edge, and forechecks hard. For some reason he gets a bum rap and gets easily discarded as not lineup worthy.
- AEL_Fox

I'm actually fine with Tootoo. I just don't know much about Latta, so I can't say if he's better/worse.

JJ

The Hawks could also face one of Anaheim, Edmonton or SJ assuming they win the division and Nashville picks up its play a bit.

Hawks need what 9 points to ensure the #1 west seed? Their probability has to be in the 90+%

Only 5 points separate Calgary (last pacific wildcard) from San Jose (current division leader).

Hope all are doing well. Hope to be around the JJ comment section more in the coming months.

J
- Jason Millen

What do people think would be the ideal first round matchup for the Hawks? I'm leaning towards Calgary, I think then the Blues, then Preds

Hope you're doing well too, Jason

A top 6 C probably needs to do better than 40 points, unless he is basically a screen/space creator for superstars (like Anisimov).
- John Jaeckel

And Anisimov is doing better than 40 points, too. Although Hartman and Schmaltz have both had some nice moments centering 72 and 88, Anisimov's injury has really highlighted how much of his contribution to that line doesn't make it on the score sheet. I know posters here have talked about it before, but he really does compliment those two almost perfectly (although being better at the dot would be nice). I hope his injury isn't worse than they're letting on, I'd love to see these lines for the playoffs:

Schmaltz-Toews-Panik
Panarin-AA-Kane
Hayden-Hartman-Hossa (assuming Hayden sees ice time. If not I'd put Kero at C and move Hartman to LW)
____-Kruger-____ (fill in Desi, Moose, Kero, Tootoo, Jurco)

I'm actually fine with Tootoo. I just don't know much about Latta, so I can't say if he's better/worse.
- JRoenick97

I've been pleasantly surprised with him this season. Especially comparing him to Mashinter, seems like he's got more of an impact in the locker room and also is a better skater/has a little more skill on the ice

Thanks for sharing! Couldn't agree more with this one:

"If I was running the NHL, I’d be terrified of offside video reviews in the post-season. One of them is going to decide a playoff series, and it’s going to be ugly."
- pdx2ord

its a got to go but hey according to bettman and the genuius gm its working great...no...the intention was to catch the egregious off sides miss called.

that is not whats happening...

now it requires freez frame precision...where the puck is and where the blade and where the stick is in relation to the puck...

and i am seeing more and more of allyoop passes into the zone where a player rushes in and skates under the pass...

simply no way to assess offsides with a puck lifted 20-30 feet into the zone with streaking skater going after it

That's... not the same thing, no.
- BINGO!

That's good. This offseason the Canes can trade for Crawford. Just send Pesce in return.