NOt bad JJ, not bad. Comin' around!


He won't be kept until the deadline, so this deal will happen before Sept. And yes, he makes the Hawks a far more dangerous team. But for that reason, as JJ has correctly surmised, the only way he goes to Chicago is for an overpayment.

Thats more than Hjammer and Frolik.

Thats more like Hjammer and Sharp, or something equally good.

Otherwise there are two teams we know of right now offering s#it contracts and players they were once really high on , but are now just called high for keeping!

Yep, you too can have Luongo Hawk fans. But you will pay way more than anyone else, or the deal don't get done.

Last thing, there are also two outs in the deal, one team, one player...and with the "nudge and wink" years attached, its really only 6 years at 5.3.

In today's Cap world, that deal is looking better all the time!
- vancitydan

hammer & sharp???? absolutely absurd, almost as absurd as the contract lil lu is carrying around.
it will be a dump deal with no top 6 F or top 4 D coming back

I think it would look worse to the league if they folded. That would be a horrible mistake. If they were purchased by Mr. Blackberry, they'd probably be busted by now as well, so..in reality, it's the right thing to do.
- PanthersGoal

Mr Blackberry would have moved them to a city that cares about hockey

good photoshop job


- 1970vintage

get use to it, this is exactly whats gonna happen................only if gillis takes back bad money..otherwise...... do like the bears and missed 4th down conversions, PUNT.........................who's left?

That's a point I tried to make earlier but you did it better...

I overstated BobbyLu's salary as $8 mill instead of close to $6 mill per through 2018, but the point is the same, that's a chunk for the next 5 years for an owner to swallow....
- Al

This is relatively new to the NHL, traditionally long term contracts worked (and still do) the other way, salary gets higher as the term goes on, especially for young players. It is/was a way for owners to be able to ice a competitive team on a budget and then as the players matured they would be traded to the likes of TO, Detroit, etc. Now, NHL GM's have an extra option, cap circumvention contracts are just starting to mature and teams looking to get to the floor for cheap will be acquiring veteran players with high cap hit / low $ payable.

I think a name player will have to come back from Chicago. I wouldn't mind Frolik, actually I'd like to take him, but no Hjalmarsson. We really don't need another blueliner (of course I wouldn't say no to Keith, Seabrook or Leddy). I'd love it if we could snatch Shaw, but I'd love to get Stalberg. And we don't need Kane causing distractions on our team

Mr Blackberry would have moved them to a city that cares about hockey
- VANTEL

Wpg? One of the places you've mentioned on your "support" list. Besides Basillie isn't the man he used to be.

Bettman loves the parody. I think it stinks that a team like PHO who is NHL owned beat the Hawks. They had a super goalie paid for by the other teams to beat a team that needed a goalie. How is this good for the league?
- VANTEL

There was nothing about the parody of Phoenix beating hawks that made me laugh.

But I for one am elated the way the playoffs brought new challenges, new contenders and new hopes across the NHL.

For years, when there was a strict division of talent between teams, even the first rounds of the play-offs were absically "gimmes."
Now the first two rounds of the playoff are filled with outstanding battles.

and even though I am for the first time in my entire life a fan of a team that is "a willing to spend $" in anyway to improve, I love that parity exists.

What is going on with pages 8 & 9? Website needs some serious upgrades to handle this pix.

Wpg? One of the places you've mentioned on your "support" list. Besides Basillie isn't the man he used to be.
- PanthersGoal

And?

I like the luxury tax too . In baseball you have about 10 teams year after year that are in the running. Bettman loves the parody. I think it stinks that a team like PHO who is NHL owned beat the Hawks. They had a super goalie paid for by the other teams to beat a team that needed a goalie. How is this good for the league?
- VANTEL

Bettman has a vision - he wants to see new Stanley Cup champions every year and especially teams that are U.S. based. It's excellent for his TV contract. Edmonton or Vancouver or Winnipeg winning multiple Stanley Cups would be his worst nightmare.

I heard that a--hole Craig Leopold interviewed after the Parise/Suter signings and hesaid the Wild were definitely a playoff team now and with that and these new star players, Minny was almost certain to get the Winter Classic because the league ttold him that's what he needed to do. This from a guy who was sqawking a year ago about rising salaries and costs and was rumoured to be wanting to sell the Wild.

So logic about league owned teams being successful isn't relevant. I was hoping the Coyotes would face the Devils for the Cup. Both of them are in the financial toilet and it would have been great to listen to the Bettman spin on how it was great for hockey.

I think you have it backwards. While Dale did struggle somewhat with free agents, his best area was trades (Sharp, Ladd, Versteeg, etc.). That falls under evaluating NHL talent. His drafts were for the most part very poor, besides the gimme picks (Toews, Kane, etc.).
- RustNPeace

His free agent signings were not good, Period. If you want to throw those trades ini the evaluation, I get your point but I wasn't inluding trades.

Tallon's reputation around the NHL is being a great talent evaluator of young players....He is a very good scout. His track record in the Draft was up and down but he also had great input in preceeding years as well...Bolland, Hammer...

As far as Toews, he wasn't such a layup pick. There were reasons to take others, Toews had an off yr. at ND plus concussion issues....Kessel, who Wirtz wanted couldn't have easily been drafted ahead.

Also there would not have been any criticism by the media here if Tallon drafted JVR or Turis ahead of Kane.

He stuck to his guns on Toews, which was his best accomplishment, and took the undersized Kane.

My grade for Tallon as far as NHL talent has to include the team he saddled Trent Yawney with the year following the lockout. He missed on almost every signing for that team....All were free agents, he built the club around LaPointe, Barnaby , Khabby and Aucoin.

But he did make a good deal for Havlat....Still an awful team though.

Ha ha, some wrestling fan is a hockey insider with "sources"...

WWE Insider ‏@Wwe_Breaking
#Blackhawks close to acquiring G Roberto Luongo from #Canucks for G Ray Emery C Andrew Shaw & D Niklas Hjalmarsson according to sources

good photoshop job


- 1970vintage

This is relatively new to the NHL, traditionally long term contracts worked (and still do) the other way, salary gets higher as the term goes on, especially for young players. It is/was a way for owners to be able to ice a competitive team on a budget and then as the players matured they would be traded to the likes of TO, Detroit, etc. Now, NHL GM's have an extra option, cap circumvention contracts are just starting to mature and teams looking to get to the floor for cheap will be acquiring veteran players with high cap hit / low $ payable.
- 1970vintage

In the new CBA, teams should be allowed to absorb salary on certain traded players without effecting their cap.

What is going on with pages 8 & 9? Website needs some serious upgrades to handle this pix.
- blackhawk24

Luongo..on our team would be great....its just that contact

In the new CBA, teams should be allowed to absorb salary on certain traded players without effecting their cap.
- Al

How do you mean? Like a reset on the cap hit of a player that gets traded, all previous years are wiped clean then recalculate based on the remainder of the contract?

Ha ha, some wrestling fan is a hockey insider with "sources"...

WWE Insider ‏@Wwe_Breaking
#Blackhawks close to acquiring G Roberto Luongo from #Canucks for G Ray Emery C Andrew Shaw & D Niklas Hjalmarsson according to sources
- 1970vintage

Same guy says they signed Semin to a 4yr deal, traded for Bobby Ryan, and are looking at Yandle. What a joke.

Same guy says they signed Semin to a 4yr deal, traded for Bobby Ryan, and are looking at Yandle. What a joke.
- 1goalLordStanley

Must be true than, because all those things happened...

In the new CBA, teams should be allowed to absorb salary on certain traded players without effecting their cap.
- Al

What would you think about arbitration later in contracts, wanted from the team, kind of like how players can demand raises in the 3rd or 4th year of their contracts when they become RFAs?

Say the Blackhawks get Luongo and he craps the bed in 2015, the Hawks can send Luongo to ARB and maybe get a $1-1.5 off his cap hit.

Agreed! Guy is a first rate evaluater. Needs work on free agents and cap management too........

And as far as Huet it can be argued he was "nudged" by McD to add him. So maybe he gets a bit of a pass here.

But as I mentioned awhile back if I'm gonna lose at the horse track I'm gonna lose with my selection. Even if Dale doesn't like Markstrom, I do and so do a lot of sharp ones.
- Mr Ricochet

Then if traded by Tallon, he won't be a throw in on a Jack Skille like trade as was the case with Salak ...He will wait and get some value.

What would you think about arbitration later in contracts, wanted from the team, kind of like how players can demand raises in the 3rd or 4th year of their contracts when they become RFAs?

Say the Blackhawks get Luongo and he craps the bed in 2015, the Hawks can send Luongo to ARB and maybe get a $1-1.5 off his cap hit.
- 1goalLordStanley

I think the NHLPA would consider that as a foot o n first base and second base at the same time....They wouldn't go for it.

How do you mean? Like a reset on the cap hit of a player that gets traded, all previous years are wiped clean then recalculate based on the remainder of the contract?
- 1970vintage

Kind of like the Cubs will do if they trade Soriano....They will eat a lot of his salary.
Let's say a team has a player with three years left at $7 mill per...

They could deal him and agree to absorb $4 mill in salary per year...and it doesn't count against the cap.

The smaller mkt teams could get big name players more cheaply and the bigger mkt clubs who take more chances can have a way out if things change.

On Twitter @AlCimaglia

I'll even take it another step - and what I posted on CapGeek for my armchair GM roster - and rip off one of JJ's thoughts: Trade Leddy. Can CHI get EDM to bite on Leddy & Bickell for Gagner? Gagner I know is not the biggest centre and he isn't the ideal FO guy, however in a 2C role:

** Sharp goes to 1L.
** Kane goes to 1R or 2R. Hoss is 2R or 1R.
** Bolly stays at 3C.

Those 3 guys right now can get locked and loaded in their natural positions, with less wondering "whose gonna play the role of 2C today"?

Then CHI does this:

** Sign Hannan to offset the loss of Leddy. He's the 5D LHS to go with Brookbank as 6D RHS.
** Sign Winnik for 3L, keep him slotted with Bolly @ 3C and Frolik at 3R.
** Sign Moore as 4C. Seems like overkill but CHI has historically been short at Centre.

These 3 moves fortifies the defence, taking TOI pressure off DK especially. Hammer is the blocker and JO is the mover on the 2nd pairing. Brookbank & Hannan are steady 14-16min TOI 3rd pairing guys.

Winnik is a tough LW'er, can take the draw at times and is good on the kill. Moore is a good FO guy (55%) can can slot into other centre roles for special situations. Kruger, Shaw, Mayers and Carcillo can then be moved in and out of several positions through out the lineup.

Hayes and Bollig start in the minors and are emergency call ups. Same for Olsen. CC and Emery stay in the nets.

See: "Post Parise/Suter Apocalyptic ChiHawks Roster" on the armchair GM pulldown at CapGeek.
- blackhawk24

Aside from the trade for Gagner, look at past posts I have made. I have been calling for those 3: Winnik, hannan, and Moore.

JJ can you enlighten us what Stan is waiting for? Is this the calm before the storm? Wait for Doan, if he doesn't sign pursue other options?

...and when Lou craps the bedsheets in the playoffs? Now what? If CHI dealt for that deal, then he fails again, it will be 10x more difficult to trade him from CHI as it is from VAN.

Comparing to Hoss is ludicrous. Let's see: Top 2-way player & leader & champion vs 4-time running playoff choke & too big a talker to the press (TT). The only thing similar is their cap hit on a >10-year deal.

Z.Smith for Hammer was a win-win. OTT gets a great VALUE 4D, CHI gets a really good checking centre. Hammers spot can be back filled inexpensively; e.g. Hannan or Clark. Add'l money saved could have signed Pyatt or can still now acquire Winnik.

I think you're reaching on this JJ to make Lou's risk level look less than it is. Can he thrive? Yes. You bet. Are you willing to bet 6-7 years and $44M worth of salary in addition to having less overall monies to fill other positions, such as 2C, 3L and 5D?

Lastly, are all CHI's goalie options outside the organization exhausted? For instance, Bishop from OTT (OK overpay for him) to come in and compete for a job? Bernier from LA for a 1st and a prospect? Miller, pick & prospect from BUF for Kane? OK, that's a stretch and more of a TDL deal.
- blackhawk24

Prior to 2010.. Big Hoss was the same thing.. Ask DET/PITT about him the year we signed him, fans thought he was a choke artist

Take your personal emotional feelings out of it.. Is he better than CC.. yes, Does he make the Hawks Better.. Yes

I want the kid from LA, but the likely-hood of that is up there with CC being a Stanley Cup caliber Goalie.

Aside from the trade for Gagner, look at past posts I have made. I have been calling for those 3: Winnik, hannan, and Moore.

JJ can you enlighten us what Stan is waiting for? Is this the calm before the storm? Wait for Doan, if he doesn't sign pursue other options?
- ikeane

Dominic Moore?

I think his wife has a serious health issue...