@reporterchris

Bill Daly says the NHL still has to evaluate whether Marian Hossa can be placed on LTIR next season. No timetable for that decision.
- walleyeb1

No cap circumvention for you!

No cap circumvention for you!
- Iggysbff

@reporterchris
Gary Bettman says the NHL has no reason to suspect anything is "amiss" with Marian Hossa's contract/health situation

@reporterchris
Gary Bettman says the NHL has no reason to suspect anything is "amiss" with Marian Hossa's contract/health situation
- JRoenick97

Which side of his mouth did he use to make that statement?

Musings--

** Indeed a very sad day for Hawks fans losing a player like Hossa
** Hawks are NOT a better team on ice without Hossa as currently constructed
** IMO Hossa may have been the key acquisition by the Hawks to have the 3 Cup run
** This condition has been persistent-- is not new and has limited Hossa from performing and the treatment / medication is potentially worse than the skin disorder-- has been taking blood tests regularly to monitor impact of medications--
** Hossa has been an even bigger warrior than was apparent as he dealt with this issue on and off the ice-- without fanfare or complaining-- now that is COMMITTMENT-
** IMO Hossa is a sure fire first ballot HOF
** Hossa will not play in 2017 - 18 season according to official statement-- nothing has been declared beyond that making this clearly a LTIR issue--
** Timing is very curious-- but the responsible thing is to make a decision as to not hurt the team-- which is all consistent with the character we have seen in Hossa as a Blackhawk--
** Hawks players and fans will miss Hossa

All the rest is BS

Which side of his mouth did he use to make that statement?
- riozzo

The backside if I were to hazard a guess.

Your MaMa......
- BGKarras

I gotta tell ya...

I'm a diehard Hawks fan, and Hossa is probably my favorite.
BUT, this situation at least has to make us all giggle just a bit.
Many of us thought he would eventually use his established back/neck/concussion issues, pick any one, to get to LTIR so he could retire without a recapture penalty for the Hawks. I absolutely have to giggle a bit if he ends up on LTIR with a skin rash!

I don't think there's anything circumventiony about this, but oh my, the irony!
A beast of a man, has certainly played through very tough injuries...felled by a skin ailment.

I gotta tell ya...

I'm a diehard Hawks fan, and Hossa is probably my favorite.
BUT, this situation at least has to make us all giggle just a bit.
Many of us thought he would eventually use his established back/neck/concussion issues, pick any one, to get to LTIR so he could retire without a recapture penalty for the Hawks. I absolutely have to giggle a bit if he ends up on LTIR with a skin rash!

I don't think there's anything circumventiony about this, but oh my, the irony!
A beast of a man, has certainly played through very tough injuries...felled by a skin ailment.
- Cmonalready

Skin rash > Raffi Torres

Skin rash > Raffi Torres
- kwolf68

Everyone knows that.

Everyone knows that.
- JRoenick97

True. LOL. I equate Raffi to an anal cyst

Skin rash > Raffi Torres
- kwolf68

Dingleberry>Raffi Torres
*spit*

Skin rash > Raffi Torres
- kwolf68

All things are greater than Raffi Torres...unless he's being compared to other NHL scumbags...then Torres >...

True. LOL. I equate Raffi to an anal cyst
- kwolf68

Hahaha yes!
😂😂😂

No cap circumvention for you!
- Iggysbff

RumorBreak

Flyers and Golden Knights have a trade in place. Most likely for the 2nd overall pick.

True. LOL. I equate Raffi to an anal cyst
- kwolf68

I'd go fissure.

NHL has to evaluate whether it wants to Richard over a franchise again for making a move that was actually legal when it was made.

This hard salary cap (as opposed to a soft cap) is destroying the league. That and garbage officiating in the playoffs.
- ObeseOprah

Hard salary cap + garbage unreliable officiating = PARITY-- (inept & corrupt leadership)

PARITY = Bettman keeping his job--owners skimming money through inflated franchise fees that somehow are not HRR--while NOT truly growing the league but watering down the product

IMO the heritage of the game is at stake-- as Bettman continues to blindly relegate NHL hockey to irrelevance on the national stage-- inept and corrupt leadership

Hard salary cap + garbage unreliable officiating = PARITY-- (inept & corrupt leadership)

PARITY = Bettman keeping his job--owners skimming money through inflated franchise fees that somehow are not HRR--while NOT truly growing the league but watering down the product

IMO the heritage of the game is at stake-- as Bettman continues to blindly relegate NHL hockey to irrelevance on the national stage-- inept and corrupt leadership
- jb3333

And stadium related costs. Follow the $$

Nice piece from Hedger on Hoss the Boss. Really gonna miss good ol' #81 ....

https://theathletic.com/6...-many-ways-to-blackhawks/

And stadium related costs. Follow the $$
- riozzo

How impossible would it be for the Cap to be set at $85?

Would it really destroy the owners? Would it mess the escrow amount that bad?

Teams like the Hawks could actually recompose a decimated roster. The few decent free agents out there could actually land huge deals as teams find big money in the coffers.

Instead we have to be excited about another kid from eastern europe coming in and hopefully helping.

New fans who just got into the Hawks the last couple years have nothing to be excited about this summer. All because of an arbitrary number.

How impossible would it be for the Cap to be set at $85?

Would it really destroy the owners? Would it mess the escrow amount that bad?

Teams like the Hawks could actually recompose a decimated roster. The few decent free agents out there could actually land huge deals as teams find big money in the coffers.

Instead we have to be excited about another kid from eastern europe coming in and hopefully helping.

New fans who just got into the Hawks the last couple years have nothing to be excited about this summer. All because of an arbitrary number.
- ObeseOprah

I would not know other than if I were an owner in the 4th best league (revenue wise) I'd be apprehensive of letting one plugged nickle out of my till.

Usage/deployment and TOI do not agree with you. Structure of a team does not mean having a scoring 3C.
- L_B_R

There is no such animal as a completely non-scoring 3C. Arguably, there shouldn't be a completely non-scoring 4C. Call Kruger anything you want, he isn't worth to the Hawks the contract he has and if that contract can be moved it is a good result.

One more POV--

Strategically from a control the message business PR stand point-- today is the perfect day to fly somewhat under radar with an announcement like the Hossa LTIR--

Unfortunately it serves the organ I zation more than the integrity of the player that Hossa represents--

They bury the story amidst the expansion draft / multiple trades / NHL Awards and the upcoming draft--

nice

Couple of notes:

Average 4C in the NHL skates about 8-10 minutes overall while teams that roll 4 lines in a more structured way have their 4C skating about 12 minutes. 4C are typically deployed against the lowest QOC with medium OZS%. This is true of most 4 mine rotation team as well, outside of ones like the Pens. Most of that does not apply to Kruger, so usage/deployment is not typical of a 4C.

Looking beyond what is typical, in Q's system, the Hawks have had the highest OZS% in the league most seasons, so their offensive centers TOI is somewhat skewed above average (Kane double shifting with an offensive 3rd helped, Shaw benefited from this a lot). How do they have one of the highest OZS%? It's partially thanks to the shutdown/checking lines flipping the ice at one of the highest success rates (more on this below).

Kruger's QOC has gone down since his QOT went down and/or when his line usage changed to be slight more two-way (when Hartman / Panik / Hossa were on his line). They shifted from seeing high QOC to mid QOC, but they saw them even more in the DZ so that Anisimov did not. Looking at shift chart info, it's clear that Kruger's line was used as a possession driver so that Anisimov's line could come out on the OZ (the most common line change was Kruger to Panarin, most DZ to OZ). It's pretty clear when you dig a bit more that Q used Kruger outside the normal parameters of a typical 4C, so to label him as such would be inaccurate.

If you'd like, I have go through a full documentation of his shifting responsibilities over time as it relates to his linemates and role of his lines as the other lines changed. It'll be like novel length though because I am verbose lol. I think it's totally understandable for people to think Kruger's contract is too much, but I think it's a disservice for what he does and how he performs to say he's a 4C.
- L_B_R

LBR, I agree with about 99.9% of what you say on here (maybe more). When I'm not able to get on here because of work, and there are 500+ posts, I skim through a lot of them, but I always read yours. I am in complete agreement with you in regards to Kruger. The only real argument is that $3MM is too much for the Hawks, not for Kruger. He has done everything the organization has asked of him, including taking less money on a one year deal a couple years ago, and if the Hawks can find a way to keep him, I would be happy to have him.