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Are the Hawks Done?

July 19, 2018, 10:39 AM ET [348 Comments]
Tyler Cameron
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT


The baby Hawks hit the ice for day 4 of their developmental camp.

There has been a lot of nice coverage this year and it's great to see the excitement by fans and media over the next wave of Blackhawks, even though the week to date has been nothing more than skating drills and one-on-one battles.

I understand that excitement though as this is some of the best cluster of prospects we've seen in the system in the last decade.

I'll have a full recap after Friday's scrimmage (which will be streamed live on the Blackhawks site) and look back at my Prospect All-Star Team predictions.

While the focus has been on the defencemen (at rightfully so), it's been great to see a guy like Jake Wise emerge as a standout so far. I loved the pick when they snagged him in the 3rd round and he's got a long way to go but could end up being a steal in the draft.

Amidst all of this prospect talk, Stan has been in the media's eye and recently made some comments suggesting that the Hawks could go into the regular season with this current roster.

Ummm… yikes.

If that's the case, I want to take a moment to break down how not just the Hawks would look heading into next year, but the IceHogs and Indy Fuel as a complete look at the professional organizational depth.

First off, the Hawks have been rumoured to be in on guys like Jeff Skinner, Max Pacioretty and Justin Faulk.

Personal, I don't believe that Stan is straying from him grow with the youth movement. Dealing Vinnie Hinostroza was as far as he was going to go and that was only out of necessity in dumping the Hossa contract.

I do not believe he will (or should) deal Schmaltz, Debrincat, Sikura and/or any of his up-and-coming stud defencemen.

So, how does one acquire one of those names above or anyone in that caliber?

I heard from a contact that Stan is banking on the price coming down on a guy like Justin Faulk as the season nears.

If prices on the trade market don't cooperate with his asking price though, he's setting himself up in advance with his "I don't know if we have to make another move" type narrative.

I was also told to keep an eye on the PTO market where Stan could possibly go dumpster diving as a last resort with Sbisa, Enstrom, Pouliot, Chiasson, Wingels type invites.

For now, let's look at how the Blackhawks could look in October (… and as always, please don't overanalyze these lines, it's for visualization purposes only):

Saad-Toews-Debrincat
Ejdsell-Schmaltz-Kane
Kahun-Anisimov-Sikura
Kunitz-Kruger-Hayden

Keith-Rutta
Gustafsson-Seabrook
Manning-Murphy

Crawford
Ward

ex: Martinsen, Kampf, Forsling


The rumours of the Hawks looking for a top LW and RHD make sense after you look at that.

In the above, I have Ejdsell and Kahun in there, but I think they are best suited for AHL time.

I don't have Henri Jokiharju on there though as I do believe he should and will begin his professional career in the AHL with Colliton's IceHogs.

Plus, unless one of those 7 defencemen is traded, I don't know who goes down instead of him. I think Forsling will be up for the year and will eventually play a big role for the Blackhawks.

Obviously, the goal is to have the parent club, the Chicago Blackhawks, performing and succeeding at the highest level possible.

However, the below shows you what is going to happen to the farm club, the Rockford IceHogs, if guys like Ejdsell and Kahun make the NHL.

Also, gone is a lot of veteran presence in Franson, Clendening, Svedberg, DiDomenico, Kero, Bouma and Glass.

Inserted are a couple of veterans in Jordan Schroeder and Andrew Campbell (candidate to be their Captain) but it's going to be on guys like Luke Johnson, Carl Dahlstrom and Tyler Sikura to be the new leaders on this squad.

Jeremy Colliton will have his hands full with not only replacing the leadership that has left town, as well as the talent; all 7 of those guys were either fringe NHLers or could have been argued should have been playing in the show.

Sure, the Hawks could add some players that push Ejdsell or Kahun down, but based on projection above, here is what Rockford could look like:

Nilsson-Schroeder-Highmore
Samuelsson-Sikura-Louis
Fortin-Johnson-Pelletier
Iacopelli-Noel-Meletta

Carlsson-Dahlstrom
Hillman-Jokiharju
Campbell-Raddysh

Forsberg
Delia

Ex: Knott, Bondra, Snuggreud


Overall, this IceHogs lineup is not as strong as last year in some areas but could surprise and add a veteran or 2 down the stretch for a playoff run.

This lineup would be great for Colliton in net and on defence which is very strong.

For this to happen though, Forsberg would have to sneak through waivers and Jokiharju to be sent to the AHL after training camp (maybe just temporarily).

This is merely a guess at this point, but for those missing off the above lineups, they would be sent to Chicago's ECHL affiliate, the Indy Fuel. Those players could include:

* Maksimovich
* Welychka
* Gilbert
* Tuulola
* Norell
* McArdle
* Lankinen
* Tomkins

What stands out here is the type of defensive talent shipped down to the ECHL when guys like Gilbert, Tuulola and Norell would be more than capable of playing daily in the AHL.

Also, a tandem of Lankinen and Tomkins would be dynamite at that level (granted Lankinen is as advertised).


Some of you are good with the moves (or lack thereof) by Stan Bowman. I'm still reserving judgment until I see that final product.

I do like how he's freed up cap space and is protecting that next wave of Blackhawks talent.

However, if next year is another "wait and see if the core rebounds and the young guys take the next step" that could burn you. It also burns another year off as Toews, Keith and Seabrook move down the road a little more with Father Time.

Personally, I still think there are 1-2 moves to come in the form of a trade or useful player brought in via free agency (Rick Nash still makes a ton of sense if he decides he wants to play).

The Hawks have 47/50 contracts used up so there is an opportunity to add a few more bodies.


See ya out there!

JL

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