Great blog post by sports mockery.


I can tell you all our season ticket rep bombarded us numerous times when we decided to walk and asked for a reason why.....They weren't taking a "no". I also have received my 2nd wave of winter classic presale email which I find odd considering the one at Wrigley sold out quick, and the stadium series at Soldier Field sold out fairly quick as well...….

I love the Hawks and hockey, but I am not going to pretend that the fan base, and I'm not talking about the casual fan, is very fickle. hard to justify spending upwards of 5K a seat in the 300 level for a crap product and not a true direction of where they are heading. It was never about making money, but when you invest $$ in a team and you attempt to sell a game you can't make....and literally have to give them away or make 25% of face value.....that right there tells you exactly where the market/interest is.


As far as Chelios goes....The hawks have tried this before....Savard, Graham, Magnusson and each time it failed. As a GM? No idea.....Shanahan has been impressive up in Toronto, but not sure Chelios has the personality to fall in line with a McDonough front office.
- SteveRain

Exactly what I was trying to say

Get it??
- EnzoD

no

no
- BlazinMike

Blackhawks' TANK

Blackhawks' TANK
- EnzoD

I think 85 points is doable..

JJ:

Heard Hawks in talks with Montreal in last 24 hours. No names mentioned yet.

Great blog post by sports mockery.


I can tell you all our season ticket rep bombarded us numerous times when we decided to walk and asked for a reason why.....They weren't taking a "no". I also have received my 2nd wave of winter classic presale email which I find odd considering the one at Wrigley sold out quick, and the stadium series at Soldier Field sold out fairly quick as well...….

I love the Hawks and hockey, but I am not going to pretend that the fan base, and I'm not talking about the casual fan, is very fickle. hard to justify spending upwards of 5K a seat in the 300 level for a crap product and not a true direction of where they are heading. It was never about making money, but when you invest $$ in a team and you attempt to sell a game you can't make....and literally have to give them away or make 25% of face value.....that right there tells you exactly where the market/interest is.


As far as Chelios goes....The hawks have tried this before....Savard, Graham, Magnusson and each time it failed. As a GM? No idea.....Shanahan has been impressive up in Toronto, but not sure Chelios has the personality to fall in line with a McDonough front office.
- SteveRain

Hey Rainman...

here's the link to the article...

http://sportsmockery.com/...t-stan-bowman-is-selling/

As far as Chelios - he should have never left and that's on Dollar Bill and the Or-gan-I-za-tion as they say. I'm fine with him being an ambassador for this team - it just seems odd since he's been with the Wings front office for quite a while. I realize his family situation has brought him back home. As far as coaching or a mgt. position I completely agree - the Hawks should not go down that road. But I'm still on board for a new President of Hockey Ops.

Brian Foran
‏

@BForanNHL
Jul 23
More Brian Foran Retweeted Chicago Blackhawks
Also, Chelios has a full no-movement clause.


- riozzo

Hilarious...and sadly to the point of the current GM.

JJ:

Heard Hawks in talks with Montreal in last 24 hours. No names mentioned yet.
- walleyeb1

JJ:

Heard Hawks in talks with Montreal in last 24 hours. No names mentioned yet.
- walleyeb1

Bring back Danault, for nothing

Blackhawks' TANK
- EnzoD

Ha

Bring back Danault, for nothing
- BlazinMike

Another one of Stan's great moves...

Bring back Danault, for nothing
- BlazinMike

Hopefully its not Pleks. His game has fallen off the cliff.

JJ:

Heard Hawks in talks with Montreal in last 24 hours. No names mentioned yet.
- walleyeb1

Would love to see something happen, but seems like they have been in "talks" for weeks now with so many teams and yet....zero action.

Sure he's checking on asking prices for players he's interested in.

Wouldn't hold your breath.

Al C:

Boomer Gordon is back from his cabin and I will be on @SiriusXMNHL with him at 2:30 CST. It's report card time for Stan Bowman.

I think that's exactly what Bowman did.

Bowman trading Panarin for Saad just made no sense at all.. Bowman knows he going to be a UFA next summer, and at that point Panarin will be 27 which is still young enough to sign him long-term.... I think Bowman's logic was get Saad back and hopefully he will compensate for at least some of the offensive production lost by trading Panarin, then re-sign Panarin as a UFA on July 1st, 2019... I mean Bowman is certainly setting himself up to be in a cap position to do that next summer.. We all know Panarin loved it here in Chicago, especially playing with Kane (they were certainly dynamic duo, and perfect partners for each other)....Of course Bowman clearly has a history of bringing back players he was forced to trade for cap reasons - so this theory is not as far fetched as many will claim it is.... And I've been saying this was Bowman's plan for Panarin all along.... Look, when Saad was traded the first time (for Anisimov, Dano) I had a feeling Saad would be back - he was just too damn good of a fit just to "trade" him, and I had the same exact feeling when Bowman traded Panarin for Saad - the first thought that popped into my mind was "Panarin will be back"...

And now Panarin is basically subtly telling Columbus that he has no intentions at all to re-sign, Bowman has cleared the cap space to re-sign him... I mean 2+2=4... I mean it's kinda odd that Bowman gets rid of Hossa's contract and Panarin says he has no interest in signing in Columbus all in the same week.. IMO, that was basically Bowman telling Panarin he plans to re-sign him next summer and Panarin's refusal to sign an extension with Columbus was a head-nod (or signal) to Bowman saying "the plan is still on" lol..... I know this level of collusion sounds silly, but I'm sure Bowman and Panarin had a nice chat explaining all of this before he was traded....I mean this reunion is inevitable..

Now the real question is does Bowman try to acquire him via trade at some point or does Bowman remain patient and wait until July 1st of next summer? I mean obviously it would take a lot of quality assets such as Schmaltz, DeBrincat, one of our defensive studs and/or a first round pick to bring him back via trade.. It would be nice if Ansisimov was part of the deal... Perhaps 3-4 of Anisimov, Shalunov, Nalimov, Connor Murphy, Forsling, Hayden, Sikura ++ A first round pick 2019 or 20 (Hawks choice) could get it done, and if it only cost the Hawks 2-4 of those guys and the pick I wouldn't be upset at all..... Of course the smartest thing to do would be to save the assets and sign if as a UFA if the asking price is still astronomical at the traded deadline..

Either way I truly believe Panarin will be back with the Hawks within a year (perhaps 7 years @ 8-9.5 per season), and when that happens the Hawks will have a pretty scary top 6:

Saad-Toews-DeBrincat
Panarin-Schmaltz-Kane

Every one of those guys has 30 goal potential.

However what do the Hawks do about the 2nd line left wing hole in the mean time? I mean I would have no issue if Bowman traded Anisimov, Shalunov & Murphy or Forsling to the Habs for Patches or the Canes for Skinner..... I know Montreal is hurting for Centers right now, so one would think Anisimov would be an attractive asset, as would be Shalunov, considering Shalunov has the potential to be a top 2 center in Montreal.... And I think Patches would be a real nice add to this Hawks team, but if Bowman can acquire Patches (who's on an expiring contract) I would like to see lines like this (until we get Panarin back):

Saad-Toews-Patches
DeBrincat-Schmaltz-Kane

That top 6 within itself would be extremely difficult to play against - especially a 2 way line with Saad-Toews-Patches... With a line like that Q could run 2 shutdown lines and 2 scoring lines -it would be a matchup nightmare for opposing coaches...

I mean there are a lot of options to fix that LW spot now, however you don't want to give up the future and potentially future core players for a band aide, when you can bring Panarin back for free to next summer to fill that role long-term..

That's just my .02 cents on the 2nd line LW hole the Hawks have and who could fill it...

To be honest I would rather have Bowman go out and sign Nash, Hartnell, Upshall or even Shane Prince (who I think would really shine with the Hawks) instead of giving up future pieces to this team for one year of Patches or Skinner...
- Savard2Secord

As much as I would hate to see the hawks go through another season like last year. I believe that’s what they are gearing up for.

The actual unannounced plan — in my opinion — is to try to get through this year with the maximum number of assets and cap space and make a move next off season to retool. I can’t see expecting bounce back season from Toews and seabrook and Keith and Crawford being a solid plan.

As much as I would like Panarin’s skills back, I wouldn’t surrender any assets to get him this year. He is not a difference-maker this year and to get him now compromises where they could be next year. We could probably get Putin to tell trump to tweet HAWKS WILL MAKE OFFER TO PANARIN JULY 1, 2019. Getting him for nothing — I know it is risky holding out for him — while maintaining assets and as much cap space as possible, would give us a stronger team in 2019-2010.

Al C:

Boomer Gordon is back from his cabin and I will be on @SiriusXMNHL with him at 2:30 CST. It's report card time for Stan Bowman.
- walleyeb1

I'm going to guess he's not getting an A or a B

probably a C- or D

JJ:

Heard Hawks in talks with Montreal in last 24 hours. No names mentioned yet.
- walleyeb1

@Mario_Tirabassi
49m49 minutes ago
More Mario Tirabassi Retweeted John Jaeckel
Probably just ordering some poutine

Blackhawks' TANK
- EnzoD

I thought it was making fun of smaller, skinny smurfs in Blackhawks attire

JJ:

Heard Hawks in talks with Montreal in last 24 hours. No names mentioned yet.
- walleyeb1

I haven't heard of anything specific other than the Hawks keep a constant dialogue with MTL (assuming that's mostly because of Stan & MB).

According to CapFriendly the Habs have 7M+ in cap space and that's with 15 forwards, 9 defence (including Weber) and 2 G.

Note that Kotkaniemi is not included in the above.

So they have a glut of forwards... and defence really, just not a very strong team overall.

I just can't see the Hawks getting Pacioretty because MTL would want a couple top tier prospects back and I don't think Stan will (or should) move those for 1-year of Patches.

But hey, I could be wrong.

A couple guys that may make sense from my arm chair GM... chair would be:

Jordie Benn - only 1-year left at 1.1M. Can play both LD and RD - he play 18+ TOI/game, 2:00+ of that on the PK, 90 hits and led the team in blocks at 153 (which would have been good for 3rd on the Hawks last year)

Charles Hudon - scored 10 goals in a limited role. Plays bigger than he is and has always seemed to get jerked around in Montreal. He's a LW/RW with some speed. Could use a change of scenery and has potential to score a lot.


Going the other way, Anisimov would make sense as a C, as well as a RHD as the Habs will be without Weber for a while and only have so if the Hawks think Jokiharju is ready/have a trade in the works for a RHD than maybe a Rutta or Murphy could be a possibility.

The question would be how does that improve the Hawks?

I just don't see any impact players from MTL who are available (outside of Pacioretty) that would be worth it.

I haven't heard of anything specific other than the Hawks keep a constant dialogue with MTL (assuming that's mostly because of Stan & MB).

According to CapFriendly the Habs have 7M+ in cap space and that's with 15 forwards, 9 defence (including Weber) and 2 G.

Note that Kotkaniemi is not included in the above.

So they have a glut of forwards... and defence really, just not a very strong team overall.

I just can't see the Hawks getting Pacioretty because MTL would want a couple top tier prospects back and I don't think Stan will (or should) move those for 1-year of Patches.

But hey, I could be wrong.

A couple guys that may make sense from my arm chair GM... chair would be:

Jordie Benn - only 1-year left at 1.1M. Can play both LD and RD - he play 18+ TOI/game, 2:00+ of that on the PK, 90 hits and led the team in blocks at 153 (which would have been good for 3rd on the Hawks last year)

Charles Hudon - scored 10 goals in a limited role. Plays bigger than he is and has always seemed to get jerked around in Montreal. He's a LW/RW with some speed. Could use a change of scenery and has potential to score a lot.


Going the other way, Anisimov would make sense as a C, as well as a RHD as the Habs will be without Weber for a while and only have so if the Hawks think Jokiharju is ready/have a trade in the works for a RHD than maybe a Rutta or Murphy could be a possibility.

The question would be how does that improve the Hawks?

I just don't see any impact players from MTL who are available (outside of Pacioretty) that would be worth it.
- Justin Lowe

I agree with you....instead I think AA going there for prospects/picks would be fantastic. Keep gaining more assets to help in the future.

I agree with you....instead I think AA going there for prospects/picks would be fantastic. Keep gaining more assets to help in the future.
- SteveRain

It just seems like MTL would be silly to trade prospects and picks away at this point.

They should be in full rebuild mode.

It is Bergevin though... anything can happen.

It just seems like MTL would be silly to trade prospects and picks away at this point.

They should be in full rebuild mode.

It is Bergevin though... anything can happen.
- Justin Lowe

HA....yes

Bergevin is in his own world......

A buddy of mine just offered me two convention passes.

I kindly rejected. He told me I’m the third person to turn them down (the other two were big Hawks fans).

It just reeks of desperation this year, and as many have alluded to earlier here, the draw isn’t nearly the same without a committed direction. Didn’t want to go and waste my time being lied to.

A buddy of mine just offered me two convention passes.

I kindly rejected. He told me I’m the third person to turn them down (the other two were big Hawks fans).

It just reeks of desperation this year, and as many have alluded to earlier here, the draw isn’t nearly the same without a committed direction. Didn’t want to go and waste my time being lied to.
- TommyHawk

Since when was the convention about hard hitting questions on organizational direction? It's mostly about fun panels and interactions with fans. There's some info but nothing major.

Man, you should tell your friend to follow the blackhawks tag on tumblr if he wants to sell his tickets. There are several fan girl groups on there are saving up for travel + tickets rn.

Edit to add: omgosh I just saw Sports Mockery was referenced here as good and I just can't lol. They could totally be right about whatever topic y'all are discussing but the fact is that their background is full of publishing unsubstantiated information for just clicks and they rarely, if ever, do due diligence on their stories. I'm betting the article was all conjecture or anecdotal info and no actual verifiable info. Like usual.

I think you missed the point, Keith may have been 5’11” 174lbs when he was drafted, but these guys aren’t done growing.

Keith is now 6’1” 192, he’s far from one in a million. There are a lot of top Dmen playing that are in his size range.
- walleyeb1

Having been right next to Keith at one of the charity events, ain't no way that man is 6'1". Sports bios are second to Hollywood in lying about height/weight.