Mark Lazerus @MarkLazerus
Stan Bowman will be talking with reporters at 2. It'll be interesting to see if he's as adamant about Sharp staying as Rick Curran was.

Dreger also said Kesler deal may be inching closer which was retweeted by Laz right after this

soooooo.......
- golfbard

That's when he wakes up from nap time.

GMs don't normally comment on rumors and speculation, so I would expect it's something else.

what time zone? central?
- SaskHawkFan

Yea so like 5 minutes from now (or when this post was posted)

Stan got out of bed...but he went back for nap time.


- DarthKane

What is the leverage?
- BreakoutHockey

Figure it out for yourself.

Yea so like 5 minutes from now (or when this post was posted)
- golfbard

is there coverage that can be listened to?

Mark Lazerus @MarkLazerus
Stan Bowman will be talking with reporters at 2. It'll be interesting to see if he's as adamant about Sharp staying as Rick Curran was.

Dreger also said Kesler deal may be inching closer which was retweeted by Laz right after this

soooooo.......
- golfbard

My mind instantly jumped to 2pm trade announcement and then I had to step back and laugh.

What is the leverage?
- BreakoutHockey

Imo, the relationship between the sides is a classic win-win. In those situations each side wants the relationship to continue; that is the leverage for each and against each. Both sides have some leverage.

Well it looks like Stan actually got out of bed!

Players who are the primary reason for the revival of a franchise, two Stanley Cups, millions upon millions of dollars in revenue generated, etc. should not be "willing to take" significantly less than market value. Particularly, a) in a game when your career and future earning potential can end of the blink of an eye and b) for owners that have no problem shutting down the league to avoid paying players what was mutually agreed upon in contracts they signed.

If Kane and Toews sign at $10.5mil/yr for 8 years, that will be seen as under market value within 3 years, if not sooner - much like Crosby's deal looks like now.
- BreakoutHockey

In a hard cap era, market value has a few shades of gray. Teams who have one or more players with the highest (or very close to it) cap hit in the league will have less overall opportunity to win the cup since they have to fill their roster with less AAV players. Players who comprise 90-95% of the roster.

Unlike hoops where you can have 2 superstars and a bunch of supporting cast guys win a title, hockey needs several very high end players; maybe not all superstars or the highest paid players, but upper echelon.

I would feel much better about the 'Hawks chances in the next 2, 3, 4 years if 19/88 are signed to sub-$10M than upwards of $12M each.

Dregeraays Kesler deal close next 24 houra..

is there coverage that can be listened to?
- SaskHawkFan

Probably the Hawks website

Who knew so many people hated the front office so much. Jesus. And I love the idea that if we don't do something right now the season's over. Certainly leaving cap space for a deadline deal has never helped a team before.

Figure it out for yourself.
- Lido_Shuffle

I already did. They have no leverage.

Just cant really see Bowman and Co sackin up and dishing out the pieces VAN is asking for Kesler

Benning would have to cave some for a deal to get done IMO

That's when he wakes up from nap time.

GMs don't normally comment on rumors and speculation, so I would expect it's something else.
- DarthKane

Channeling my inner-Lovie, "Patrick Sharp is my alternate captain".

This presser is going to be about the draft I'm sure... then a bunch of PR blah blah blah.

New JJ blog is up!

I already did. They have no leverage.
- BreakoutHockey

OK, I'll help you out.

Do you think that Kane and Toews get all those endoresment deals all by themselves? The answer is no, they don't. McD set all that up. And believe me, they make a hellva lot more on those then they do playing hockey.

Kesler deal close with which team?

And last time I checked, Corey Perry still played a more important position, scores more goals, and plays more of a two way game……

I understand I'm in the minority. And I know the alternative is a slippery slope with Kane's ego and you might not want to go there….but jee bus, 11 mil for a person who, on paper, is a glorified Tony Amonte? Kane was 23rd in goals last year, and we want him to be paid in the top 5…? I'm more than happy to give him a significant raise. But this "Whatever he wants"…..Why even get a cap conscious GM…….
- yahoodi

Adam as much as I like to chat with you and debate...A glorified Tony Amonte???
Kane is the best playmaker in the game...When you hear HOF players say they would like to play alongside Kane ...Like Gretzky... it is because they see him as an elite player.

No one that could see straight ever called Amonte elite.

Pittsburgh puts a good team on the ice every year. They have a very good team that is a threat in the playoffs every year. A headcase for a goalie has been the biggest problem for them. Talent is not the problem.
- PhilMeister89

Hey, we agree on something!

Next: the roster time and date for the annual prospects camp.