UGh.....

Kempny signing does nothing for me. I get he gets qualified but what justifies a 200K raise for a guy who was a sub standard top 6 d man, with tons of potential, blah, blah, blah is mind numbing.

Cap expected to land somewhere between 73 and 77 million. NHLPA at best wont' put through the entire 5% escalator as they didn't last year, so I would expect something just shy of 75 million which means the Hawks are almost 3 million OVER the cap before they are expected to "get better".

So while this team may have many new faces next fall, the question will be are they better, stagnant, or even worse off then the team that ended with a resounding THUD in April?

Rumors are rampant Bowman will have to part with a pick or prospect to get somebody to take kruger IF Las Vegas won't select him. Can't say I'm surprised. For his money, production, and injury history.....he's damaged goods.

So you have to dump Kruger+prospect/pick to get close to cap compliant. From there you will have to trade a 4+ million salary to give yourself some wiggle room to improve this team with a 2nd or 3rd tier player(s). To make a gigantic move in bringing back a legit 1st tier player with a large AAV, you will have to move a significant piece.....

Again, I think people hoping for some sort of Duchene miracle need to curb that enthusiasm quickly.....Hawks dont' have the room and would need to make MULTIPLE moves to free up that money and you are just stealing from peter to feed paul at that point.
- SteveRain

I would take nothing for granted right now, beyond Kane, Toews, keith and maybe a couple of others being around to start the season.

Sure, bet the odds and it's basically the same team with a couple more rookies plugged in.

But, for all the reasons just discussed, there is "significant" pressure in the front office to make some bigger moves this summer and change the roster/cap/overreliance on rookies paradigm of the last couple of seasons.

But there are "obvious" moves that everyone kind of assumes will happen that might not, like essentially sweetening Kruger with some other asset to get someone to take him. And that's "the only thing the Hawks can do."

Just a move like that to get cap compliant does nothing to improve this team. And as a whole, the offseason moves would invest a LOT of hope in Panik going to some other level, Kempny improving a lot, or a kid or two with zero pro experience coming in and being difference makers.

Might end up being the only thing they can do. But they are exploring other things and I am told doing so with the intent of pulling the trigger on something bigger and more transformative.

Because if WE can see here that they need to do something outside the boz, then the money people in the FO do as well.

Pretty much "it." In a nutshell. They are, and have been, increasingly aware of it.

And it's like anything else—political campaigns, consumer product marketing, you name it—great promotion will quickly destroy an inferior product.

That's not to say the Hawks are inferior—but have they been inferior the last couple of years to what the fanbase has not only come to expect, but to what they've been told ("One goal") to expect? The answer is yes.

And at some point, addressing the earlier discussion about hyping prospects, when the offseason narrative gets repeated, but the results have been "meh," you're going to begin to see brand loyalty crumble quickly. There will always be SOME diehard true believers in the infallibility of this front office. At least some. But the broader results in terms of ticket resale demand, merchandise sales, sponsorship, and more subtle, back-end brand metrics have had the Hawks sending out questionnaires to STH's this last year about their perceptions of the direction of the franchise.

That's not coincidence, just like when Bowman schedules a sitdown with a beat reporter to get his "message" out there it's not a coincidence or a whim either.

That's why—pressure from the business side—I think you will either see change on the ice next season, or in the front office not too long after.
- John Jaeckel

Don't forget the annual Crain article shining that bright light on Wirtz for taking "significant losses" to make the Hawks a contender, which is such crap it's laughable. Been through that debate on this blog way too many times, but I would expect that article to surface in the early fall......

McDonough and company have 3 events to make a splash and get back in the general sports buzz of this town, because as of now......and speaking with tons of casual fans I encounter on a daily basis, the Hawks are trending downwards very quickly and those discretionary dollars will start to be invested somewhere else with a higher "bang for the buck"

Your 3 events are....

1. the draft....which they are trying to pimp as hard as possible. With as bad as the Wi-Fi sucks on game days in the UC and even a regular signal, any in depth hockey fan will probably stay home so he/she can keep tabs on rumors/trades as you enter in all those teams, all those eimployees at each table, all the media, agents, how good is that signal going to be for Joe fan? I'd say pretty, pretty bad.

I keep envisioning McDonough ocherstrating a Jerry Jones trade up in the top 3 to make a splash and have a new kid to pimp....I wake up sweating each time that goes down........

2. July 1st.....UFA day.....will they have money to lure a decent player with a fix for NOW on to this team? Or will they be left looking at bargain shopping again?

3. The convention...will they have a new piece(s) to pimp on that Friday evening in the Hilton or more of a hold the course, etc etc?

Hawks will be battling with the Bulls to reintroduce positive winter news in the summer with draft moves, free agency signings, etc. Then they have to overcome the juggernaut of the Bears because regardless of good, bad or indifferent the NFL still reigns supreme......and that's before the new love child of winning is even thought of....the Cubs.....

Very good chance when most casual sports fans awaken from their Cubs slumber sometime in October, and the Bears are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, where will this team lie and what will the make up of personnel look like?

I only get to a few games anymore but this season two of the games I attended I was extremely impressed with a couple of kids. At the Pens game here I kept asking the guys I was with " who is that 59 guy, that kid's awsome". Turns out I guess he is. And in Nashville I couldn't believe what a pain in the ass Arvidsson is. He's everywhere. Turns out he's not so bad either.
And while Hartman surprised me with his progress, the hawks don't seem to have the game breaking type of rookies. Although the first time I saw Kero at the UC I said I thought he has a clue and will stick somewhere. We'll see. Love to be right about him too.
- 6628

My suspicion is the Hawks would like to move a big contract for a couple more Hartman/Panik type guys—young, energetic, willing with some upside that they can just plug in.

Seems like they need those all over the lineup. But stressing "with pro experience." Guys who are physically and emotionally ready for the pro game at the highest level.

As bad as we may feel about the reversal, it was correct within the rules.
- riozzo

But that is the problem, why apply the rules sometimes, and not ALL the time.

I would take nothing for granted right now, beyond Kane, Toews, keith and maybe a couple of others being around to start the season.

Sure, bet the odds and it's basically the same team with a couple more rookies plugged in.

But, for all the reasons just discussed, there is "significant" pressure in the front office to make some bigger moves this summer and change the roster/cap/overreliance on rookies paradigm of the last couple of seasons.

But there are "obvious" moves that everyone kind of assumes will happen that might not, like essentially sweetening Kruger with some other asset to get someone to take him. And that's "the only thing the Hawks can do."

Just a move like that to get cap compliant does nothing to improve this team. And as a whole, the offseason moves would invest a LOT of hope in Panik going to some other level, Kempny improving a lot, or a kid or two with zero pro experience coming in and being difference makers.

Might end up being the only thing they can do. But they are exploring other things and I am told doing so with the intent of pulling the trigger on something bigger and more transformative.

Because if WE can see here that they need to do something outside the boz, then the money people in the FO do as well.
- John Jaeckel

I dont' disagree with you but then you have to look at it this way.....

IF and that's a huge IF, because I don't think the FO can spin moving a significant core guy off this team with little back to free up $$$ after having done so X number of years. Most of us get that's the reality of a cap world, but the casual fan will start to get the narrative "all they do is trade away their good young players...." which I have heard a TON lately since April.

If you do move a Seabrook+Kruger+another decent piece, then to me you are in a moderate on the fly rebuild. Say that other piece is AA and you have 10 million in cap room, and I'm guessing you are taking some sort of $$ back for either/both AA or Seabrook.....how much "better" are you with the external adds? That's my point.

I know full well the team currently constructed will not win a cup. That's a given. That's been proven the past 2 years, and slapped across every overly optimistic fan's face in April with that resounding sweep.....however even IF the WANT TO by management is there, will the execution be there because who is stepping into the top 4 on D, and 2/3 slots at center with say at best 7-8 million in cap room (assuming some salary back from 7/15 trades in example above)....you might land a top 1 LW to play with 19, but your back end is very frightening and your depth down the middle is reliant on kids........

Going to be a fascinating summer that's for sure and Nashville isn't going to be going away any time soon. That's an impressive, young, quick team there.

I'd be OK with a change in both areas. Theo Epstein provided this quote in his op-ed article in the Boston Globe when he departed Boston:

“Bill Walsh said that after 10 years in any position that’s stressful, it’s probably best to seek a new landscape and different challenges,” Epstein said, referring to the Hall of Fame football coach who guided the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl titles in 10 seasons. “I’ve had it in the back of my mind that there might be a transition coming.”

I do believe there is logic and wisdom in the 10 year cycle.
- riozzo

And you know, for the Q-defenders, that cycle is quickly coming to a close for him. Could NOT help think, watching Trevor Daley in black n' gold last night, that Q's stubbornness is going to be his undoing.

How could anyone not think that Mike Sullivan was able to take players given to him and turn those into gold?

Whereas Q took that same player and by his actions in how he (mis)used Daley (or refused to use him) caused Stan to send off what might have made the Sharp trade a little less a fleecing. Never did there seem a time when it was apparent Q was going to use the talents he had available and concoct a scheme/system that worked to the team's advantage. It's always Q's way or the highway.

I really hope Sullivan is able to guide the Pens to back-to-back CUPS. Maybe now when the question comes up of who would you rather have behind the Chicago bench I can finally have an answer. Given Pitt's injuries, what Sullivan has accomplished thus-far is pretty damn top-of-list in my mind.

That's not what we are saying. This is what most people on this site have been missing for the past two years.

John has been dead on right about what ails "playoff Blackhawks". When they are legitimately competing for the cup, Toews line dominates with possession, shot attempts, quality shot attempts, and puts a choke hold on the other teams first/second line. Kane's line acts as a compliment to this - they are usually possession dominant, high quality scoring chances, average defensively. But after 20 minutes a night of the first line doing what they do, it wears on the opposing team, so the other lines have an easier time of it - especially against opposing defensive units. When Toews was paired with Sharp/Hossa, then Saad/Hossa, every team's first pairing spent their time and energy trying to catch this line. The Hawks second and third lines drew the lower pairings - and usually feasted on them. This is what made them so difficult to play against.

But over the past two years, without a TRUE first line LW, the other teams top lines and defensive pairings could focus on Kane and Panarin - and against playoff teams - neutralize them. And seeing that they were playing against an incomplete first line of Toews/band-aid/Hossa or Panik, not worry about that line dominating anyone.

The entire flow of the playoff version of the Hawks has been off since Sharp delcined, and Saad left - and there has been no true replacement for that position. And since that time, we have seen first round exits in both seasons without it.

So the point is - FIX the first line - make that line a dominant line with what I outlined above, the second line will be just fine without Anisimov and Panarin - assuming they find a replacement for 2C that is better at the face-off dot and helps drive possession with Kane. That is not difficult to find - the Hawks will be offering quality NHL forward(s) to find this piece. Someone like Duchene or Rask would be that piece - and fit in nicely here. Now add a 2LW with above average speed, some size and wins board battles to help maintain zone pressure - and your top six are back to being a beast to play against. All of this can be done without mortgaging the future.

And lets face it - this current core has a window of 2-3 years to actually compete for the cup - after that - it really won't matter about which prospect is left - they will be an aging team fighting just to make it past the second round. But at that point, if we have 4 or 5 cups to look back on, this pill will be a lot easier to swallow - doesn't everyone here agree on this???
- dahawks8819

No, because as this roster stands today they are an aging team fighting to get past the FIRST round.

How are you going to fix that top line when you can't add anything?

Don't forget the annual Crain article shining that bright light on Wirtz for taking "significant losses" to make the Hawks a contender, which is such crap it's laughable. Been through that debate on this blog way too many times, but I would expect that article to surface in the early fall......

1) McDonough and company have 3 events to make a splash and get back in the general sports buzz of this town, because as of now......and speaking with tons of casual fans I encounter on a daily basis, the Hawks are trending downwards very quickly and those discretionary dollars will start to be invested somewhere else with a higher "bang for the buck"

Your 3 events are....

1. the draft....which they are trying to pimp as hard as possible. With as bad as the Wi-Fi sucks on game days in the UC and even a regular signal, any in depth hockey fan will probably stay home so he/she can keep tabs on rumors/trades as you enter in all those teams, all those eimployees at each table, all the media, agents, how good is that signal going to be for Joe fan? I'd say pretty, pretty bad.

2) I keep envisioning McDonough ocherstrating a Jerry Jones trade up in the top 3 to make a splash and have a new kid to pimp....I wake up sweating each time that goes down........

2. July 1st.....UFA day.....will they have money to lure a decent player with a fix for NOW on to this team? 3) Or will they be left looking at bargain shopping again?

3. The convention...4) will they have a new piece(s) to pimp on that Friday evening in the Hilton or more of a hold the course, etc etc?

Hawks will be battling with the Bulls to reintroduce positive winter news in the summer with draft moves, free agency signings, etc. Then they have to overcome the juggernaut of the Bears because regardless of good, bad or indifferent the NFL still reigns supreme......and that's before the new love child of winning is even thought of....the Cubs.....

Very good chance when most casual sports fans awaken from their Cubs slumber sometime in October, and the Bears are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, where will this team lie and what will the make up of personnel look like?
- SteveRain

As always, you get it. My feelings on some of the points:

1) Yes, bang on

2) I honestly think they would be quite content to give up numerous picks to land a "name" NHL player, rather than trade up. If they go all in on picks in a suposedly weak draft, taking into account where they are at organizationally, it says to the fans, screw the next couple of years, we're building for "the future." Most of their extra picks are in later rounds, too. I'm not sure they can trade up into the top 3 anyway. Could happen. But all I hear is they recognize a need for NHL level help right now.

If they eschew that at the draft, IMO, it;s either because they couldn't get anything done for that kind of help or they are just not seeing what they need toi compete this year.

3) Unless they can clear arguably two big contracts, I don't see how they do anything but bargain shop. And that said, they are no longer a team that can make the argument to a quality vet, come here to win a Cup at a league minimum deal.

4) McDonough gets marketing. So what do you think he wants to be able to talk about at the Convention? A move like Campbell in 2008 or Hossa in 2009? Or Hinostroza, Motte, and a bunch of kids taken in the fifth and sixth rounds?

Therefore, expect the unexpected until you see otherwise.

But that is the problem, why apply the rules sometimes, and not ALL the time.
- powerenforcer

Not debating that at all, I myself found that call a load of horse dodo. His skate was maybe 1" off the ice (25.4MM for our CAN friends), three or four passes before the goal. Getting the call perfect alienates one set of fans, missing a call by a fraction would alienate the other set. No win situation. I myself have been critical on many calls this cup season, particularly when Wes McCalley is involved. So when does the spirit of the game come in?

But that is the problem, why apply the rules sometimes, and not ALL the time.
- powerenforcer

I'll say this.....the Canadian bias with Crosby is beyond old that when I read how Crosby is supposedly in the top 5 of ALL TIME I can't believe it. In what world? HE's not even the BEST player of all time for his organization....that would be Mario or even Jagr and Malkin has produced at a very high rate when the lights have shined brightest in Pittsburgh....sadly, the Russian media doesn't get to vote.

The interference last night was a joke. Preds got jobbed there and on the debated offsides call. I didn't see anything definitive to over turn that call on the ice as it's impossible to see if his blade was off the ice when the puck crossed the line. Great challenge and eyes by the PItts video coach.

I think the Preds will win this series. Assuming Rinne doesn't go Roberto on the Preds and let in soft goals. Should have had Malkins and the game winner, but the Preds were dominating most of that game and I dont' see that changing. Penguins have danced that dangerous dance all playoff long being out shot and relying on a random counter punch......

I would take nothing for granted right now, beyond Kane, Toews, keith and maybe a couple of others being around to start the season.

Sure, bet the odds and it's basically the same team with a couple more rookies plugged in.

But, for all the reasons just discussed, there is "significant" pressure in the front office to make some bigger moves this summer and change the roster/cap/overreliance on rookies paradigm of the last couple of seasons.

But there are "obvious" moves that everyone kind of assumes will happen that might not, like essentially sweetening Kruger with some other asset to get someone to take him. And that's "the only thing the Hawks can do."

Just a move like that to get cap compliant does nothing to improve this team. And as a whole, the offseason moves would invest a LOT of hope in Panik going to some other level, Kempny improving a lot, or a kid or two with zero pro experience coming in and being difference makers.

Might end up being the only thing they can do. But they are exploring other things and I am told doing so with the intent of pulling the trigger on something bigger and more transformative.

Because if WE can see here that they need to do something outside the boz, then the money people in the FO do as well.
- John Jaeckel

That makes sense. A serious restructuring of this roster has to happen in order for this team to be where they would like to be.

Point by point, since you've "seized" on this as something really worth arguing.

As I have said many times, it was NOT the organization that overhyped Teravainen in the summer of 2014, it was fans and blogs that did.

You surely remember that?

Where in this blog did I say the organization was overhyping DeBrincat? No, I said some fans and blogs are.

And they quite possibly are.

I don't get into ripping other bloggers by name here or on Twitter. Not worth the keystrokes, and I don't care what they say, except when they play into or create a narrative that provides cover for the front office avoiding making hard decisions.

Specifically . . .

Do I think, if Bowman can't get some NHL business done this summer, he may revert back to hyping the prospects? Yeah, I do. Because he's done it before.

And, if I had the time, I could go back and find the quotes from last summer when he was all over Forsling, Norell and Press (and other summers when he's had pre-arranged "sitdowns" with a specific beat reporter—and the prospect love did flow).

Does it mean Bowman is a bad guy or bad at his job? Or that DeBrincat sucks and will never be good. No, it does not.

But it is also possible to take an adult, nuanced point of view on the state of the Hawks, the way "spin" works, and where the summer might go.

I don't get what you are so riled up about. Or are you just "fanning" something up here—arguing against a straw man? Dunno. Don't care.
- John Jaeckel

First of all, it was a question and I'm not riled up about anything.

I never intimated you were saying that the organization was hyping these guys. Like you I can understand Stan reverting to talking up guys in the organization for whatever purpose (confidence, trades, etc.).

It certainly wouldn't help to bad mouth them.

My point in all this from the very beginning was simply to do with the tweets; and really, why should I be up in arms about what someone is tweeting about a Hawk prospect, good or bad?

And you know, for the Q-defenders, that cycle is quickly coming to a close for him. Could NOT help think, watching Trevor Daley in black n' gold last night, that Q's stubbornness is going to be his undoing.

How could anyone not think that Mike Sullivan was able to take players given to him and turn those into gold?

Whereas Q took that same player and by his actions in how he (mis)used Daley (or refused to use him) caused Stan to send off what might have made the Sharp trade a little less a fleecing. Never did there seem a time when it was apparent Q was going to use the talents he had available and concoct a scheme/system that worked to the team's advantage. It's always Q's way or the highway.

I really hope Sullivan is able to guide the Pens to back-to-back CUPS. Maybe now when the question comes up of who would you rather have behind the Chicago bench I can finally have an answer. Given Pitt's injuries, what Sullivan has accomplished thus-far is pretty damn top-of-list in my mind.
- savvyone-1

You know the more I think about it.....the more I think a fresh start is needed not only at coaching but in the FO as well. Both have been very mediocre in what they have been able to accomplish the last 2 years and it's only getting worse.

Bowman has strapped their financial flexibility that this summer could rival 2010.

Q seems very hell bent on hiring his ex whaler boys and not adapting to the ever changing NHL, but instead trying to ram rod his system through which now is being exposed on a routine basis.

You have a very lateral move waiting in Lombardi for Bowman.

For Q....find the next young brain in the NHL, shake up the complacency in the dressing room and make guys earn their roles instead of being given life line after life line......

You know the more I think about it.....the more I think a fresh start is needed not only at coaching but in the FO as well. Both have been very mediocre in what they have been able to accomplish the last 2 years and it's only getting worse.

Bowman has strapped their financial flexibility that this summer could rival 2010.

Q seems very hell bent on hiring his ex whaler boys and not adapting to the ever changing NHL, but instead trying to ram rod his system through which now is being exposed on a routine basis.

You have a very lateral move waiting in Lombardi for Bowman.

For Q....find the next young brain in the NHL, shake up the complacency in the dressing room and make guys earn their roles instead of being given life line after life line......
- SteveRain

The Q benching someone because of turnover or goal is getting fatigued. How do
You expect some young players to learn or get experience for that matter? Great coach, one of the best... but he needs to adjust some things, like the PP for example.

And you know, for the Q-defenders, that cycle is quickly coming to a close for him. Could NOT help think, watching Trevor Daley in black n' gold last night, that Q's stubbornness is going to be his undoing.

How could anyone not think that Mike Sullivan was able to take players given to him and turn those into gold?

Whereas Q took that same player and by his actions in how he (mis)used Daley (or refused to use him) caused Stan to send off what might have made the Sharp trade a little less a fleecing. Never did there seem a time when it was apparent Q was going to use the talents he had available and concoct a scheme/system that worked to the team's advantage. It's always Q's way or the highway.

I really hope Sullivan is able to guide the Pens to back-to-back CUPS. Maybe now when the question comes up of who would you rather have behind the Chicago bench I can finally have an answer. Given Pitt's injuries, what Sullivan has accomplished thus-far is pretty damn top-of-list in my mind.
- savvyone-1

The Pens seem to thrive when changing coaches in mid-season:

Bylsma in mid-season 2009 - won Cup - then several mediocre seasons before getting released himself after the 2014 tournament.

Sullivan in mid-season 2016 - won Cup. (Of course, he's full-season this year).

Not sure what that means in reference to Q - but - how much of the Pens' success is due to the coach, vs. how much is due to the team leaders (Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz, Fleury - the players on both Cup teams) turning it around themselves?

That makes sense. A serious restructuring of this roster has to happen in order for this team to be where they would like to be.
- BINGO!

What's Derek Ryan like? Looking at bargain UFA's, he might make some sense as a replacement to Kruger should he get dealt. 30 points in 67 games and wins 55% of his face offs. Sounds like a really appealing bottom six center on the cheap.

What's Derek Ryan like? Looking at bargain UFA's, he might make some sense as a replacement to Kruger should he get dealt. 30 points in 67 games and wins 55% of his face offs. Sounds like a really appealing bottom six center on the cheap.
- TommyHawk

He's not overly fast, not physical, and, honestly, has almost none of the pure natural skill you expect from a guy his size in the NHL.

He's pretty smart, though, and knows how to get open and find an open man.

When you watch him, there's nothing that's going to impress you, but he's somehow going to end up with points on the board.

He does get outmuscled in the D zone, so you'll need to shelter him a little bit, but if you need a 3C that can chip in offensively on the cheap, he's your guy.

via Pierre LeBrun tweets,

Vegas free-agent window will be from10 am ET on Sunday June 18 to 10 am ET on Wednesday June 21; same 72-hr period as expansion draft window

Also, NHL will release all 30 teams' protected lists at 10 am ET on Sunday, June 18

Vegas can sign any UFA in the NHL during this period as well as unprotected RFAs. Would count as Vegas' expansion draft pick from that team

He's not overly fast, not physical, and, honestly, has almost none of the pure natural skill you expect from a guy his size in the NHL.

He's pretty smart, though, and knows how to get open and find an open man.

When you watch him, there's nothing that's going to impress you, but he's somehow going to end up with points on the board.

He does get outmuscled in the D zone, so you'll need to shelter him a little bit, but if you need a 3C that can chip in offensively on the cheap, he's your guy.
- BINGO!

Thanks for the input. Sounds like a 'Hawk. Is he responsible/good defensively, even though he tends to get outmuscled? A player that's gritty or plays tough/hard to play against is exactly what the Hawks need.

Thanks for the input. Sounds like a 'Hawk. Is he responsible/good defensively, even though he tends to get outmuscled? A player that's gritty or plays tough/hard to play against is exactly what the Hawks need.
- TommyHawk

Good on the backcheck, but positioning is a bit suspect in his own end. He can play on the wing pretty effectively if need be, too.

It's a bit weird because even though he's 30, he only has 73 NHL games under his belt due to his long, bizarre road from the CHL to CIS to Europe...

Also he's really religious, whether or not that is a concern in the lockerroom.

As always, you get it. My feelings on some of the points:

1) Yes, bang on

2) I honestly think they would be quite content to give up numerous picks to land a "name" NHL player, rather than trade up. If they go all in on picks in a suposedly weak draft, taking into account where they are at organizationally, it says to the fans, screw the next couple of years, we're building for "the future." Most of their extra picks are in later rounds, too. I'm not sure they can trade up into the top 3 anyway. Could happen. But all I hear is they recognize a need for NHL level help right now.

If they eschew that at the draft, IMO, it;s either because they couldn't get anything done for that kind of help or they are just not seeing what they need toi compete this year.

3) Unless they can clear arguably two big contracts, I don't see how they do anything but bargain shop. And that said, they are no longer a team that can make the argument to a quality vet, come here to win a Cup at a league minimum deal.

4) McDonough gets marketing. So what do you think he wants to be able to talk about at the Convention? A move like Campbell in 2008 or Hossa in 2009? Or Hinostroza, Motte, and a bunch of kids taken in the fifth and sixth rounds?

Therefore, expect the unexpected until you see otherwise.
- John Jaeckel

#Stars GM Jim Nill announced that he was seriously considering trading the #3 pick in this year’s draft. D would have to be the return.

The Latest Expansion Draft News

by Paul on 05/30/17 at 11:33 AM ET
Comments (0)

via Pierre LeBrun tweets,

Vegas free-agent window will be from10 am ET on Sunday June 18 to 10 am ET on Wednesday June 21; same 72-hr period as expansion draft window

Also, NHL will release all 30 teams' protected lists at 10 am ET on Sunday, June 18

Vegas can sign any UFA in the NHL during this period as well as unprotected RFAs. Would count as Vegas' expansion draft pick from that team

I see this as an interesting twist to the RFA's, if not protected Vegas can take them if they can sign them. No chance to match!

The Latest Expansion Draft News

by Paul on 05/30/17 at 11:33 AM ET
Comments (0)

via Pierre LeBrun tweets,

Vegas free-agent window will be from10 am ET on Sunday June 18 to 10 am ET on Wednesday June 21; same 72-hr period as expansion draft window

Also, NHL will release all 30 teams' protected lists at 10 am ET on Sunday, June 18

Vegas can sign any UFA in the NHL during this period as well as unprotected RFAs. Would count as Vegas' expansion draft pick from that team
- walleyeb1

The month ahead is going to be very interesting.

I would like to see the Hawks hold onto TvR if possible. After the top 3 the defense is pretty thin, TvR is a solid cost controlled 3rd pairing guy.

So basically we're saying Toews is the drag on this team. Kane can lift the play of those on his line Toews isn't capable of doing this and his play actually drops off! If that's the case we're in deep trouble.
- walleyeb1

Yes. Kane makes players better. Toews needs better players to compliment his game.

It's not coincidence he wins Selkes - when the best defensive winger in the game/on the team was his RW (Hossa)

You know the more I think about it.....the more I think a fresh start is needed not only at coaching but in the FO as well. Both have been very mediocre in what they have been able to accomplish the last 2 years and it's only getting worse.

Bowman has strapped their financial flexibility that this summer could rival 2010.

Q seems very hell bent on hiring his ex whaler boys and not adapting to the ever changing NHL, but instead trying to ram rod his system through which now is being exposed on a routine basis.

You have a very lateral move waiting in Lombardi for Bowman.

For Q....find the next young brain in the NHL, shake up the complacency in the dressing room and make guys earn their roles instead of being given life line after life line......
- SteveRain

Never happen. Q saw how Savard got dealt. We all saw Haviland get launched after he had a good run when Q was hospitalized during that season and that was all Q.
I know you believe the story that it was Bowman Sr. who got Savard offed because of his practices. But Sr had a little help with motivation on that from some marketing guy who hockey guy Savard wouldn't take lineup direction from. You and I could have been coach and asst. coach in 2010 and run the table with that team.