I am not kidding. Have you watched the Hawks the last 7 years? He is a Top 4 Dman that plays in all situations. Trading him for some trash mid round draft picks suggested by a Flyers' fan still salty about 2010 and reveling in the Hawks trouble in the first round....laughable.

WHO PLAYS THOSE MINUTES THAT 7 plays?? I am willing to bet that 2,4,7 are going NOWHERE unless a young and highly talented Dman comes back in the trade. Not Seabrook for franking mid round picks in 2018. Give me a (frank)ing break.
- EnzoD

IMO, Seabrook is no longer a top 4 Dman. if he was, teams would be lining up at Stan's door for the opportunity to trade for him--terrible contract and all.

You're probably right, Seabrook and Keith probably AREN'T going anywhere....but not because of their skill set.

Size means nothing if the player plays a soft game. Russian players are not known for their ability to adjust to a heavier game - most shy away from it.

And people here need to stop with the narrative of Stan preferring "smurf" players. When you are drafting at the bottom of each round - you pick the player rated highest in hockey ability - not his height and/or weight. And usually the bigger, more skilled players go at the top of the draft - not the bottom. That is the price a team pays for being successful.
- dahawks8819

He's winding you up, mate.

Cmon' mow, there are exceptions to the rule where smurfs do make the NHL grade.

Dino Ciccarelli. Martin St Louis. How big is Drouin. T Johnson on Tampa.

- jhawk59

Mats Zucarrello is 5'7".

You mean the same Dale Tallon who has never had to worry about cap issues - the one who could sign players, trade them, without dealing with needing to move quality players out because of cap reasons - you're so sure he would have been able to keep this team together the past 7 years, would have won two Cups after 2010, would have been that much better than Bowman?
- StLBravesFan

Sage, I would have loved to have seen what Dale would have done, but that didn't happen - my feeling is Dale should have been given the opportunity to continue on but McEgo wasn't going to have him here because he wouldn't play ball with him...that and the man crush McD had on Scotty. As far as the bolded that's not what I said. I said if mgt. had been smarter not if Dale had been in charge.

Bowman's body of work the last several seasons speaks for itself. Yes he added a couple of nice pieces to help them get two more, but there's also a lot of bad trades and bloated contracts that have handcuffed this team moving forward when he could have put them in a much better position.

Question ...... is it just me or are these playoffs so far totally dull and lack intensity? ?

- Hawkytalk

I think it's just you. Nash plays with plenty of intensity. Did you see all the skirmishes yesterday? Did you watch Anaheim/Edmonton? The entire 2nd period was a highlight reel.

Crawford staying ??? Don't count on it.
- StutzBlackhawk

That's an interesting POV.

Having heard a fair amount on this topic, when Darling hot dealt, it didn't necessarily mean, in my mind, there wasn't another shoe to drop and/or that Crawford might not still be moved.

I don't think Crawford is going anywhere, honestly. If he balked at being traded now (and he did, even though some fanboys refuse to accept that the Hawks would have considered dealing him—but they'll consider dealing Toews. Whatever), he will balk again most likely.

All that said, there are a LOT of ways things can play out and I have been told to expect a surprise or two—if the Hawks make some moves. Because status quo with BDH (Big DeBrincat Hype) could also be what happens.

I think it's just you. Nash plays with plenty of intensity. Did you see all the skirmishes yesterday? Did you watch Anaheim/Edmonton? The entire 2nd period was a highlight reel.
- RollingPuck

Ottawa/NYR series is a blast.

Stan should have drafted Raddysh instead of Debrincat. He's just as talented but he's 6'2" and 203 lbs.
- DarthKane

And yet he lasted until the 58th pick.



Do you believe anything you write?

Mats Zucarrello is 5'7".
- RollingPuck

it's all about the size of the fight in the dog, not the size of the dog in the fight.

Conversely, big junior numbers are in no way a guarantee of big NHL numbers. The NHL is big boy, physical hockey where the big guys can move and finish checks as well as the small guys, and really small guys do need to have a lot of heart to succeed.

Some do, some don't.

And yet he lasted until the 58th pick.



Do you believe anything you write?
- RollingPuck

He's being deliberately sarcastic. Some call it "trolling."

Mats Zucarrello is 5'7".
- RollingPuck

And as long as we're subtly debating how "great" deBrincat will be next year, and we're using Zuccarello as a comparator. Put him on the Hawks this year or next, how ya feeling about that Restored Dynasty now?

(pfffffffffffffffffffffft)

But we are about to enter Silly Prospect Season. Happens every year.

That's an interesting POV.

Having heard a fair amount on this topic, when Darling hot dealt, it didn't necessarily mean, in my mind, there wasn't another shoe to drop and/or that Crawford might not still be moved.

I don't think Crawford is going anywhere, honestly. If he balked at being traded now (and he did, even though some fanboys refuse to accept that the Hawks would have considered dealing him—but they'll consider dealing Toews. Whatever), he will balk again most likely.

All that said, there are a LOT of ways things can play out and I have been told to expect a surprise or two—if the Hawks make some moves. Because status quo with BDH (Big DeBrincat Hype) could also be what happens.
- John Jaeckel

Please tell me the Hawks aren't pinning their hopes on DeBrincat.

Sage, I would have loved to have seen what Dale would have done, but that didn't happen - my feeling is Dale should have been given the opportunity to continue on but McEgo wasn't going to have him here because he wouldn't play ball with him...that and the man crush McD had on Scotty. As far as the bolded that's not what I said. I said if mgt. had been smarter not if Dale had been in charge.

Bowman's body of work the last several seasons speaks for itself. Yes he added a couple of nice pieces to help them get two more, but there's also a lot of bad trades and bloated contracts that have handcuffed this team moving forward when he could have put them in a much better position.
- DK002

I'm not happy with the offseason and TDLs of the past couple of seasons - I criticize Bowman's seeming inability to pull the trigger on what (presumably) would have been better off-season moves, and his TDL moves in 2016 certainly hurt a lot more than helped - although how much of that is on Q, I don't know. And some of the contracts....

I just question all of the Tallon-love that goes on here - he had owner interference in Sunrise, but I don't see much positive results down there - two playoff appearances, both one-and-done. And - while he spcertainly should get a lot (but not all) of the credit for 2010 and beyond here, I still maintain that he has done his job without having to deal with the salary cap. And I don't know that we'll ever know the real cause of the delayed contract offers in the summer of 2010 (or was it the summer of 2009?) that cost the team a couple of million dollars in cap space (and some real Rocky dollars, but that's not my problem).

We have no idea how Tallon would have handled the Hawks' situation the past 6/7 years - particularly with regards to their cap situation and the need to continuously dump cap hits - and we don't know how he would have handled the new contracts of the likes of Kane, Toews, Seabrook, Bickel, Anisimov, etc. - whether or not he would have "overpaid", or handed out so many NMCs/NTCs - his record in Florida is certainly incomplete.

But that's my point - we don't know.

The Darling trade is simple logic, simple team management. Darling is a Chicago boy. Hawks gave him a chance, and he likely feels a bit of loyalty to them. There's been rumor that he would take a discount to resign with the Hawks. But more likely, he and his agent want to get the best contract, most money they can. I applaud them for that, would do the same myself. So once he told Stan that he wanted a "market" contract, the Hawks traded him for a 3rd round pick. Great move by Stan. The hawks still own exactly the same right to sign him that they did before trading him. Frankly, a great haul by Stan to get a 3rd for an UFA.

Great move by Stan.
Applaud Darling for getting what he deserves in the market.
And if things break just the right way over the next couple months, there's still a chance he ends up in Hawks sweater in fall (though highly unlikely).

And as long as we're subtly debating how "great" deBrincat will be next year, and we're using Zuccarello as a comparator. Put him on the Hawks this year or next, how ya feeling about that Restored Dynasty now?

(pfffffffffffffffffffffft)

But we are about to enter Silly Prospect Season. Happens every year.
- John Jaeckel

JJ, maybe you could check into this, Ilya Kovalchuk stuff, Apparently and it could be just B.S., Panarin has an let's say an affinity toward Kovalchuk, there are some saying He's going to the Devils again, others are saying some other teams have expressed interest also. Money aside, why do I get that feeling that if Bowman some how can fit him in within reason , they will make a play for him ,for another kick at the can.
My feeling is sit back and see what happens, anything is on the table now. I would rather see them get Toews a young , big freight train of a LW instead, and to that poster that mentioned Josh Manson yesterday, my thinking EXACTLY,BUTTT, Bob Murray played with Daddy, and Bob Murray loves those kind of players, I would love the kid as a top four or five here but not at the expense of Brett Seabrooke.
Bowman may look at an under the Radar kid like DelZotto, which I wouldn't be opposed to, The Flyers may be open to listening , I wouldnt mind Brayden Schenn, Courturier orSimmonds coming this way along , if Hextall was willing to throw in Gostisbeire, but we would pay DEARLY for that one. This is going to be the fun part leading up to the draft, everyone throwing crap against the wall to see what sticks.

Please tell me the Hawks aren't pinning their hopes on DeBrincat.

- jhawk159

Why not?
No different than pinning hopes on Forsling coming in and being a top 4 D.
Yes, he's got a great shot.
The rest of the physical tools?
>an OK skater (if doing a simple + / even (=) / - ranking), I'd give him a "="
>passing ability "-" (not even close to Seabrook)
>overall physical ability "-" (again, just a kid, needs time in weight room for sure)
>size "-" (average height, thin build)
>smarts "=" (too soon to tell, seems to have good hockey smarts)

To me, this isn't a recipe for a top 4 guy -- got to have at least 1 physical attribute as a + (if not 2 or more) plus a few more of these to be even or + to be a top 4.

Methinks we're gonna get a lot of BDH (in JJ's terminology) for him and others (Fortin?) and not going to see much else happen. I'm thinking the big moves have already been made (firing Kitch and Dent, launching Darling after Crawford refusing to go anywhere). Stan has done quite well painting himself into the corner.

And as long as we're subtly debating how "great" deBrincat will be next year, and we're using Zuccarello as a comparator. Put him on the Hawks this year or next, how ya feeling about that Restored Dynasty now?

(pfffffffffffffffffffffft)

But we are about to enter Silly Prospect Season. Happens every year.
- John Jaeckel

I was just adding to someone else's list of diminutive players in the NHL, not trying to compare MZ's game to Debrincat's.

Please tell me the Hawks aren't pinning their hopes on DeBrincat.




- jhawk159

Doubtful. But you can bank on some fans doing so. Many already are.

So if Stanley et al don't get much else accomplished, you WILL hear the rhetoric shift to building up the prospects.

I was just adding to someone else's list of diminutive players in the NHL, not trying to compare MZ's game to Debrincat's.
- RollingPuck

No, I gotcha. Just saying, the odds of deBrincat being "the" difference maker next year are not high, though some fans/bloggers are already trying to go there. Not singling you out at all.

I'm not happy with the offseason and TDLs of the past couple of seasons - I criticize Bowman's seeming inability to pull the trigger on what (presumably) would have been better off-season moves, and his TDL moves in 2016 certainly hurt a lot more than helped - although how much of that is on Q, I don't know.
- StLBravesFan

The widely accepted opinion after the TDL in 2016 was that the Hawks won bigly and were favorites to win the Cup. Then Q decided he didn't want to play with his new toys.

The Darling trade is simple logic, simple team management. Darling is a Chicago boy. Hawks gave him a chance, and he likely feels a bit of loyalty to them. There's been rumor that he would take a discount to resign with the Hawks. But more likely, he and his agent want to get the best contract, most money they can. I applaud them for that, would do the same myself. So once he told Stan that he wanted a "market" contract, the Hawks traded him for a 3rd round pick. Great move by Stan. The hawks still own exactly the same right to sign him that they did before trading him. Frankly, a great haul by Stan to get a 3rd for an UFA.

Great move by Stan.
Applaud Darling for getting what he deserves in the market.
And if things break just the right way over the next couple months, there's still a chance he ends up in Hawks sweater in fall (though highly unlikely).
- Cmonalready

Oh, I'm with ya in a lot of ways. Getting a 3rd for negotiating rights to an impending UFA is pretty remarkable.

All that said, and some will disagree because they think there's some other "obvious" answer, but I am 99% certain the Hawks wanted to deal Crawford and keep Darling—not because Darling is the better 'keeper (he isn't), but because the cap tradeoff vs. the talent tradeoff was acceptable to them. And there was another, lesser consideration I heard about that I won't go into.

So "great" move? No. Making the best of a tough situation. Yes.

Because today, the Hawks have another third round pick (big whoop)—and they are worse in net and on their roster.

Let's reserve "great move" for when the Hawks have improved their roster through leveraging some other "core" asset or two this summer.

Oh, I'm with ya in a lot of ways. Getting a 3rd for negotiating rights to an impending UFA is pretty remarkable.

All that said, and some will disagree because they think there's some other "obvious" answer, but I am 99% certain the Hawks wanted to deal Crawford and keep Darling—not because Darling is the better 'keeper (he isn't), but because the cap tradeoff vs. the talent tradeoff was acceptable to them. And there was another, lesser consideration I heard about that I won't go into.

So "great" move? No. Making the best of a tough situation. Yes.

Because today, the Hawks have another third round pick (big whoop)—and they are worse in net and on their roster.

Let's reserve "great move" for when the Hawks have improved their roster through leveraging some other "core" asset or two this summer.
- John Jaeckel

Moving a pending UFA is rarely a great move, but I think Stan did well for Darling all things considered. If the Hawks were sticking with Crawford (for whatever reason) then it's either get a pick now and lose talent or lose the talent on July 1 for nothing.

It's possible that the Hawks tried to trade Crawford and he wouldn't go along with it. It's also possible that Stan wanted to keep Crawford from day 1.

I'm not expecting a great move, maybe a couple more small good moves but nothing major.

And yet he lasted until the 58th pick.



Do you believe anything you write?
- RollingPuck

Debrincat was 39th. Not a big difference at that point in the draft. I would have like to have seen Stan take Raddysh with their 50th pick instead of Kayumov.

the problem is if we don't move Craw (which looks unlikely for multiple reasons) then who do you move? Just moving Kruger does not do it IMO if the cap goes to $75K. Moving keith would bring back a good return but any top 4 Dman that we get back is going to be paid the same amount so it would not be a cap savings as much as getting younger. thinking we can never move Seabs then Keith might me be a option to get younger and hope the return is worth it. IE it might be savings this year but not for long. But we will be in better shape next year when we are not paying 3.5 mil in Overage. Shalnuv signed for 3 years so if he does come to the NHL he would be a true FA not bound by $$$ or the team that drafted him.

Your point is moot bc The Hawks will not trade Seabrook this Summer. There is no likely trade scenario that makes the Hawks better equipped to win the Cup in 2018 or 19. Panarin, Anisimov and Kruger are the likely trade chips on the table as Top
4 Dmen are a limited commodity. He is 32 not 36 and has several years of effective Top Pair production. Brent Seabrook is a Top 4 Dman on every NHL team. 7 was not the reason the Hawks lost to the Predators or Blues the last two years. The bottom 3 Dmen and coaching adjustments were the biggest culprits this year. However, Seabrook was a Cornerstone and HUGE reason for 3 Cups in 5 years. He's also a huge leader in the locker room. I'd be absolutely dumbfounded if he is traded this summer, regardless of your valuation of his contract.


Yeah, this exactly. CC and Seabs are not going anywhere. Kruger probably gone to Vegas or trade if Vegas does not take him. We need his cap space. I would think AA or Panarin are our big trade chips as you stated. I just don't know the Russian compete level when the playoffs start. It seems to mean so much more to Canadian and American born players. But that is just me spit balling. That is why that guy from Russia signing a three year deal is no big deal to me. Let him stay there. We need playoff battle guys.