We're almost into August and the Blackhawks team has pretty much taken shape.
The fan convention just took place which is usually a sign that the Hawks are locked into their roster for the most part as they historically like to show off their new toys during this weekend.
This is, for the most part, true with Brendon Perlini the only outstanding contract that needs to be taken care of. He was in attendance (and quite active on social media) this weekend and he's sticking with his story that he's left his contract talks up to his agent.
After looking at the roster as it stands now with my latest series "Creating Competition", I believe the only way the Hawks resign Perlini is if he signs a team-friendly deal, and even then, the Hawks will be hard-pressed to have a roster with any sort of cap flexibility.
Let's take a look at where I netted out with the roster after my last two blogs.
In part 1, I took a look at the competition amongst the forwards.
In part 2, we examined the defence and the goaltending.
There are some unknowns right now to start the season like Kirby Dach's ability to make the team out of camp, Calvin de Haan's health status (he still claims he'll be ready for game #1) and – as we mentioned above, Perlini's contract.
Courtesy of CapFriendly, here is a snapshot of the lineup.
As always, don't get too caught up on in the lines, they will be mixed and matched as the season goes on.
I have Kirby Dach at least getting a 9 game trial at the start of the season. If he doesn't or gets sent down, you can move Kampf up to 3C and add Sikura, Wedin, Nylander, etc. in the lineup.
Also, de Haan is in my lineup to start the season because – well in terms of planning for the financial side of the roster – Bowman has to assume that's the case.
I have Perlini's contract at a 1-year / $1.3M.
This amount is lower than most have guesstimated his next deal, however, I don't see how the Hawks can go much higher than this.
You all may have issues with this lineup for other reasons, but my main concern is that the 23-man roster above only leaves the Hawks with $286k in cap space.
… uh… that's not good.
Sure, Bowman could opt for a 22-man roster but that's not ideal for an extended period of time.
This is why I wouldn't be shocked if Perlini's rights are moved or signed -> then traded.
I, for one, would like to see a little more of Perlini on a 1-year deal. I'm just struggling with the math here a little bit.
What do you all think? Do you have any creative lineups that give the Hawks a little more cap relief? Do you agree with my thinking (and lineup) above?
See ya out there,
TC