If the Hawks go out and actually do this without trading away a big salary (or Hossa having to retire, which I hope is not the case), then they just don't learn their lessons.

You can't tie up that much cap space in a handful of players.

If the Hawks go out and actually do this without trading away a big salary (or Hossa having to retire, which I hope is not the case), then they just don't learn their lessons.

You can't tie up that much cap space in a handful of players.
- carcus

I'm sure if Stan signs Bowman he'll trade Hjalmarsson at some point, if not he a UFA in 2013 and he can just walk.

JJ, believe it or not I don't disagree with a whole lot of what you've posted the last few days, so here goes.

PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT my prediction of what will happen, but merely what I would try and do if I were the GM.

Here would be my ideal summer as GM of this team:

The summer of the 3 big, aggressive moves; 1 big change at each: goaltending, defense and at forward.

1. Goaltending

PLAN A: A lot of people will probably scoff at this one, but here goes. Big acquisition of the summer: Roberto Luongo.

I honestly believe he will give whatever team he goes to a chance to win a Cup in the next 3-5 years, which I believe are the years in which he will still be able to perform at an elite level, and the years in which the Hawks core will be in their prime. Deal with his contract after that. For the first time in his career, Luongo will be out to prove everyone that says he can't win the big game wrong. He'll be playing with a chip the size of the Chrysler building on his shoulder. That kind of motivation can sometimes be enough to get a player over the hump. Of course the question then becomes, how do you acquire him? Well, I know that, because of his contract, there is no way the Canucks get market value for him.

The deal: Corey Crawford, Michael Frolik, Niklas Hjalmarsson for Roberto Luongo and Chris Higgins

What the Canucks get

Corey Crawford: Cory Schneider will need a capable backup, and Crawford will both push and take pressure off Schneider. CC would be able to give the Canucks a solid 25-30 starts without missing a beat, and although he's not as athletically gifted as Luongo, plays a very similar style so the players wouldn't have a huge adjustment.

Michael Frolik: he gives the Canucks a good offensive presence on the wing, consistent effort, if not production, and good defensive awareness. Coming off a very good playoff for the second year in a row should be enough to attract attention from a team who is starving for playoff performers.

Niklas Hjalmarsson: solid, if unspectacular top 4 defenseman with big hit potential and elite shot blocking skills. Would be an asset to the Canucks defense and brings Stanley Cup experience on the back end.

PLAN B: I think the answer here may lie in the draft. I would trade up slightly if need be and pick Malcolm Subban. He is going to be an excellent goaltender in the NHL IMO. I've watched him quite a bit and I'm not convinced he couldn't push for an NHL job the season after next. I'd rather go after a guy who has a real shot at being a top goaltender then a guy who may be marginally better than Crawford or Emery at this stage of their careers.

2. Defense

PLAN A: Following the Luongo trade, I try and address the second defense pairing through Free Agency.

I sign Bryan Allen to a 3 year deal worth 11.5 million. I pair him with Niklas Hjalmarsson and make them my shutdown and goto PK pair. This is my second big move of the summer. Allen brings good shot blocking, good size and physicality, and instantly makes the PK better on the back end while taking tough minutes away from Keith and Seabrook. Signing him to a 3 year deal also gives you long-term flexibility on defense because his contract would expire at the same time as Montador's, and with 3 years of development, the organization should be able to plug those two holes internally with Olsen/Johns/Clendening etc.

PLAN B: Barret Jackman. I'd also offer him roughly the same type of deal. He brings a lot of the same as Allen and good leadership.

I absolutely do everything I can to get one of these two, who I believe are by far the best compliments for the Hawks D not named Suter or Stuart in this year's UFA crop.

I also believe Nick Leddy can be a top 4 defenseman next season, and could flourish given the opportunity to play with a physical, stay at home defenseman.

For the 3rd pairing, I try and find an experienced, but not necessarily old defenseman to play with Montador/Olsen and kill penalties. Maybe a Scott Hannan. I sign him for roughly 1.25 million per season on a 1 or 2 year deal.

3. Forward

Here's another area where I agree with JJ, in that perhaps it's time for Dave Bolland to be traded. He is coming off a relatively good season and more importantly, a healthy one. I suspect that from here on out, that will be more the exception rather than the rule with him, and you can get very good value from another contending team for him at this stage.

That said, I think you absolutely look east for this trade. Bolland is an impact player come playoff time and if you can help it, you want him on the other side of the bracket when April rolls around. I look to a team who will never get market value for a player they have that addresses many of the Hawks needs because of his contract status, a team coming off a very disappointing playoff, and a team that will lose that player for nothing next summer if they don't move him: Jordan Staal.

Big move #3: Dave Bolland & Viktor Stalberg for Jordan Staal. Basically a wash in terms of salary.

What this trade does for Pittsburgh: It gives them a true 3C behind Crosby and Malkin (instead of a 2C playing 3), and a big, fast scoring winger for their top 6 coming off a career year. They become a more well-rounded team, add a proven playoff performer and checker, and finally get another top 6 winger without sacrificing one of their top 2 stars.

What this trade does for Chicago: It gives them a great #2 center for Marian Hossa who is excellent in all areas of the game, and is very good on face-offs. He's also an offensive upgrade over Bolland, while being as good or better defensively. He can play all situations and take important draws when 19 is on the bench. He also takes a lot of pressure of Markus Kruger to be a shutdown guy right away, giving the Hawks the option of using a Staal/Hossa combo or a Kruger/Bickell/Shaw combo as their match-up line.

Now, this move is a little bit of a risk given Staal's status as a UFA at season's end, but the reward may be well worth it, and there's no guarantee the Hawks can't sign him in-season anyway.

Following all this, I sign a depth UFA forward who can play C or W:

Jim Slater, 2 years, 2.5 million. Is a premier shot blocker, good penalty killer, good on face-offs, physical player and good role-player.

And I also re-sign bollix of course, at roughly 600k.

I bring up Hayes and Shaw permanently, and possibly even one of Jeremy Morin or Ben Smith, or I sign a 4th line depth forward who can be physical in the 600-800k range.

RESULTS

That leaves the team with not much cap room I know, but I'm working under the assumption that it would go up slightly if the current CBA was extended, which means probably in the realm of 1-2 million in cap room.

The opening night lineup would look like this:

Sharp-Toews-Kane
Higgins-Staal-Hossa
Bickell-Kruger-Shaw
Carcillo-Slater-Bollig
Hayes
Morin/Smith/Other

Keith-Seabrook
Allen/Jackman-Leddy
Montador-Hannan
Olsen

Luongo
Emery

Power-play unit 1
Bickell-Toews-Kane
Sharp-Leddy

Power-play unit 2
Shaw-Staal-Hossa
Keith-Seabrook

Penalty kill forward unit 1
Staal-Higgins

Penalty kill forward unit 2
Slater-Kruger

Penalty kill forward unit 3
Toews-Hossa

Penalty kill defense pair 1
Allen/Jackman-Hannan

Penalty kill defense pair 2
Keith-Seabrook

That's a team that's versatile, can play any type of hockey needed, is bigger and more defensively responsible and tougher to play against than the Hawks of the last 2 seasons.

Thoughts?

As for Suter, while I'd love to have him, I find it hard to believe they'll go after him. That;'s just a gut feeling though. If I were a betting man, I'd say Detroit for Suter.

I used to notice Wade Redden a lot. Wasn't a good thing.
- Lohaus

We've been noticing Duncan Kieth a lot the past 164 games. Hasn't been a good thing.

I used to notice Wade Redden a lot. Wasn't a good thing.
- Lohaus

Now you hardly notice Wade at all.

We saw him this past season when his team was in town to play the Checkers. I sort of felt sorry for the guy. To his credit, he wasn't sulking out there and getting paid for it -- he played hard and seemed helpful to the young d-men on the team.

JJ, believe it or not I don't disagree with a whole lot of what you've posted the last few days, so here goes.

PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT my prediction of what will happen, but merely what I would try and do if I were the GM.

Here would be my ideal summer as GM of this team:

The summer of the 3 big, aggressive moves; 1 big change at each: goaltending, defense and at forward.

1. Goaltending

PLAN A: A lot of people will probably scoff at this one, but here goes. Big acquisition of the summer: Roberto Luongo.

I honestly believe he will give whatever team he goes to a chance to win a Cup in the next 3-5 years, which I believe are the years in which he will still be able to perform at an elite level, and the years in which the Hawks core will be in their prime. Deal with his contract after that. For the first time in his career, Luongo will be out to prove everyone that says he can't win the big game wrong. He'll be playing with a chip the size of the Chrysler building on his shoulder. That kind of motivation can sometimes be enough to get a player over the hump. Of course the question then becomes, how do you acquire him? Well, I know that, because of his contract, there is no way the Canucks get market value for him.

The deal: Corey Crawford, Michael Frolik, Niklas Hjalmarsson for Roberto Luongo and Chris Higgins

What the Canucks get

Corey Crawford: Cory Schneider will need a capable backup, and Crawford will both push and take pressure off Schneider. CC would be able to give the Canucks a solid 25-30 starts without missing a beat, and although he's not as athletically gifted as Luongo, plays a very similar style so the players wouldn't have a huge adjustment.

Michael Frolik: he gives the Canucks a good offensive presence on the wing, consistent effort, if not production, and good defensive awareness. Coming off a very good playoff for the second year in a row should be enough to attract attention from a team who is starving for playoff performers.

Niklas Hjalmarsson: solid, if unspectacular top 4 defenseman with big hit potential and elite shot blocking skills. Would be an asset to the Canucks defense and brings Stanley Cup experience on the back end.

PLAN B: I think the answer here may lie in the draft. I would trade up slightly if need be and pick Malcolm Subban. He is going to be an excellent goaltender in the NHL IMO. I've watched him quite a bit and I'm not convinced he couldn't push for an NHL job the season after next. I'd rather go after a guy who has a real shot at being a top goaltender then a guy who may be marginally better than Crawford or Emery at this stage of their careers.

2. Defense

PLAN A: Following the Luongo trade, I try and address the second defense pairing through Free Agency.

I sign Bryan Allen to a 3 year deal worth 11.5 million. I pair him with Niklas Hjalmarsson and make them my shutdown and goto PK pair. This is my second big move of the summer. Allen brings good shot blocking, good size and physicality, and instantly makes the PK better on the back end while taking tough minutes away from Keith and Seabrook. Signing him to a 3 year deal also gives you long-term flexibility on defense because his contract would expire at the same time as Montador's, and with 3 years of development, the organization should be able to plug those two holes internally with Olsen/Johns/Clendening etc.

PLAN B: Barret Jackman. I'd also offer him roughly the same type of deal. He brings a lot of the same as Allen and good leadership.

I absolutely do everything I can to get one of these two, who I believe are by far the best compliments for the Hawks D not named Suter or Stuart in this year's UFA crop.

I also believe Nick Leddy can be a top 4 defenseman next season, and could flourish given the opportunity to play with a physical, stay at home defenseman.

For the 3rd pairing, I try and find an experienced, but not necessarily old defenseman to play with Montador/Olsen and kill penalties. Maybe a Scott Hannan. I sign him for roughly 1.25 million per season on a 1 or 2 year deal.

3. Forward

Here's another area where I agree with JJ, in that perhaps it's time for Dave Bolland to be traded. He is coming off a relatively good season and more importantly, a healthy one. I suspect that from here on out, that will be more the exception rather than the rule with him, and you can get very good value from another contending team for him at this stage.

That said, I think you absolutely look east for this trade. Bolland is an impact player come playoff time and if you can help it, you want him on the other side of the bracket when April rolls around. I look to a team who will never get market value for a player they have that addresses many of the Hawks needs because of his contract status, a team coming off a very disappointing playoff, and a team that will lose that player for nothing next summer if they don't move him: Jordan Staal.

Big move #3: Dave Bolland & Viktor Stalberg for Jordan Staal. Basically a wash in terms of salary.

What this trade does for Pittsburgh: It gives them a true 3C behind Crosby and Malkin (instead of a 2C playing 3), and a big, fast scoring winger for their top 6 coming off a career year. They become a more well-rounded team, add a proven playoff performer and checker, and finally get another top 6 winger without sacrificing one of their top 2 stars.

What this trade does for Chicago: It gives them a great #2 center for Marian Hossa who is excellent in all areas of the game, and is very good on face-offs. He's also an offensive upgrade over Bolland, while being as good or better defensively. He can play all situations and take important draws when 19 is on the bench. He also takes a lot of pressure of Markus Kruger to be a shutdown guy right away, giving the Hawks the option of using a Staal/Hossa combo or a Kruger/Bickell/Shaw combo as their match-up line.

Now, this move is a little bit of a risk given Staal's status as a UFA at season's end, but the reward may be well worth it, and there's no guarantee the Hawks can't sign him in-season anyway.

Following all this, I sign a depth UFA forward who can play C or W:

Jim Slater, 2 years, 2.5 million. Is a premier shot blocker, good penalty killer, good on face-offs, physical player and good role-player.

And I also re-sign bollix of course, at roughly 600k.

I bring up Hayes and Shaw permanently, and possibly even one of Jeremy Morin or Ben Smith, or I sign a 4th line depth forward who can be physical in the 600-800k range.

RESULTS

That leaves the team with not much cap room I know, but I'm working under the assumption that it would go up slightly if the current CBA was extended, which means probably in the realm of 1-2 million in cap room.

The opening night lineup would look like this:

Sharp-Toews-Kane
Higgins-Staal-Hossa
Bickell-Kruger-Shaw
Carcillo-Slater-Bollig
Hayes
Morin/Smith/Other

Keith-Seabrook
Allen/Jackman-Leddy
Montador-Hannan
Olsen

Luongo
Emery

Power-play unit 1
Bickell-Toews-Kane
Sharp-Leddy

Power-play unit 2
Shaw-Staal-Hossa
Keith-Seabrook

Penalty kill forward unit 1
Staal-Higgins

Penalty kill forward unit 2
Slater-Kruger

Penalty kill forward unit 3
Toews-Hossa

Penalty kill defense pair 1
Allen/Jackman-Hannan

Penalty kill defense pair 2
Keith-Seabrook

That's a team that's versatile, can play any type of hockey needed, is bigger and more defensively responsible and tougher to play against than the Hawks of the last 2 seasons.

Thoughts?

As for Suter, while I'd love to have him, I find it hard to believe they'll go after him. That;'s just a gut feeling though. If I were a betting man, I'd say Detroit for Suter.
- andru2797

You lost me at Luongo

I like this angle. The one thing that is tough with Suter however.. He plays next to Shea Weber and in front of Pekka Rinne. Not to mention the coach he plays for and the system he runs. Tough to gauge just how good he is... A guy who asks for 7 mil per should really be the guy who can run the show. He seems to me to be 3rd wheel over there.

Thoughts?


- andru2797

I give up on the Blackhawks and hockey and dedicate my life to watching tier three swiss league soccer if Luongo wears the Indian head.

John Jaeckel: Hawks Will Be In On Suter
- John Jaeckel

I don't know if we're going to get Suter... It is exciting if we do... But... my prediction is if we're expecting Bobby Orr, or even Chris Chelios... I doubt it... To me he's a little over-rated.

I'd say don't be surprised if we get next season from him what we got this season from Keith...

Which isn't too bad... but still...

And BTW... CC has shown me enough for me to say with a fair amount of confidence: We will not win with him as our starter... If we keep wasting seasons with Toews and Seabs in their prime... its going to be sad.

I remember Gretzky in some interview where they were discussing team Canada and how Redden would easily be in the top 6. I almost choked. I wanted Muckler to pick up the phone, call Gretz in Phoenix and make a deal then and there.
- Lohaus

Funny...Phillips does ZIP for me either. Surprised he's lasted as long in Otty town.

I like this angle. The one thing that is tough with Suter however.. He plays next to Shea Weber and in front of Pekka Rinne. Not to mention the coach he plays for and the system he runs. Tough to gauge just how good he is... A guy who asks for 7 mil per should really be the guy who can run the show. He seems to me to be 3rd wheel over there.
- ilinkhawk

Yeah. He and Shea are having a rough go of it against the Yotes with Rinne doing his Huet impersonation. Suter's a solid player but I'm not sure he's worth Weber/Lidstrom money. But if he wants to wear the Indianhead so badly, maybe he'll take a "hometown discount"? I kid, I kid.

If you guys sign Suter can you please send us Seabrook for Yakupov?

Cap problem fixed and Yakupov will likely be a impact player right away.
- gretzky

Well we need a C, how's this.. Hammer for Nugent-Hopkins.. I think that's more than fair.. you get expereience D, who is amazing.. we get a often injuried C.. but we are willing to take the risk...

I like this angle. The one thing that is tough with Suter however.. He plays next to Shea Weber and in front of Pekka Rinne. Not to mention the coach he plays for and the system he runs. Tough to gauge just how good he is... A guy who asks for 7 mil per should really be the guy who can run the show. He seems to me to be 3rd wheel over there.
- ilinkhawk

i would say most close observers of Nashville say Suter>Weber

i would say most close observers of Nashville say Suter>Weber
- John Jaeckel

Really? Interesting... I would not have thought that. Do you say that internally for Nashville as well? I always heard the pecking (no pun) order always was
1. Rinne
2. Weber
3. Suter

Wouldn't they ink Suter first if he was 2?

I give up on the Blackhawks and hockey and dedicate my life to watching tier three swiss league soccer if Luongo wears the Indian head.
- shruew

By the way, although I felt this already, my best source also told me this AM: "there is a .02% chance of Roberto Luongo joining the Hawks."

We've been noticing Duncan Kieth a lot the past 164 games. Hasn't been a good thing.
- Dieselhead

The backboards have noticed him A LOT too. 2.5 shooting pct.

By the way, although I felt this already, my best source also told me this AM: "there is a .02% chance of Roberto Luongo joining the Hawks."

- John Jaeckel

We don't need another mentally soft goalie with a huge price tag.

Funny...Phillips does ZIP for me either. Surprised he's lasted as long in Otty town.
- philco28

He's a superstar in games where he's celebrating a milestone. Fact. Outside of that, the "big rig" has slowed down. He's been fortunate to play with two of the best in the game defensively in Chara and Volchenkov for a good portion of his prime, part of what made him a solid contributor, but on his own these days, he's looking more like a D who has played 1000 games.

Really? Interesting... I would not have thought that. Do you say that internally for Nashville as well? I always heard the pecking (no pun) order always was
1. Rinne
2. Weber
3. Suter

Wouldn't they ink Suter first if he was 2?
- ilinkhawk

I have heard of the three he is least amenable to staying. He was also the only one going into UFA, the other two were RFA. Rarely does an impending UFA sign early.

Really? Interesting... I would not have thought that. Do you say that internally for Nashville as well? I always heard the pecking (no pun) order always was
1. Rinne
2. Weber
3. Suter

Wouldn't they ink Suter first if he was 2?
- ilinkhawk

They've tried to. He shut up shop until the season is out.
There have been a few discussions in McCann's threads discussing Weber versus Suter and who really is the king fish there, or bang for the buck if you will. I thought it was interesting. Bottom line though, they are both legit and if not Nashville, whoever gets them improved immediately.

The backboards have noticed him A LOT too. 2.5 shooting pct.
- philco28

And a hit a leg pct. of about 90%

I still think Detroit will bid a lot for him especially if Lidstrom retires.
- golfbard

Pretty much the ONLY way Detroit can go for him is if Lidstrom retires, and I heard recently he is leaning toward coming back again. Understand this, if he wants to play, he is not going to retire so they can get in on Suter. Furthermore, the Wings would be incredibly foolish to want him to do so—only so they can lose Suter to someone else.

He's a superstar in games where he's celebrating a milestone. Fact. Outside of that, the "big rig" has slowed down. He's been fortunate to play with two of the best in the game defensively in Chara and Volchenkov for a good portion of his prime, part of what made him a solid contributor, but on his own these days, he's looking more like a D who has played 1000 games.
- Lohaus

Good point about the company he's kept. Those guys made him look pretty good.

Pretty much the ONLY way Detroit can go for him is if Lidstrom retires, and I heard recently he is leaning toward coming back again. Understand this, if he wants to play, he is not going to retire so they can get in on Suter. Furthermore, the Wings would be incredibly foolish to want him to do so—only so they can lose Suter to someone else.
- John Jaeckel

No I don't think Lidstrom retires to give the Wings a shot at Suter. It's a cause and effect thing. If Lidstrom feels he's through, he'll walk away. That leaves Detroit with cap room and a hole on D in which they can throw the farm at Suter if they wish.

And a hit a leg pct. of about 90%
- Return of the Roar

resulting in odd man breaks the other way about 50 % of the time.