Trade our vaunted #8 pick this year. Again, worth it.
- Return of the Roar

I'd do that in a heartbeat. I'd rather keep Jokiharu than Boqvist. I'm not a fan

Trade our vaunted #8 pick this year. Again, worth it.
- Return of the Roar

Trade our #8 overall pick plus #8 on the roster for Morrissey. It won’t be enough to land Trouba.

Trade our #8 overall pick plus #8 on the roster for Morrissey. It won’t be enough to land Trouba.
- DarthKane

Fine by me

Beav I hope I'm wrong really hoping for a bounce back year from this team.
- BGKarras

Aren't we all? As I see it there's two huge keys, the first is when and if Crow comes back and the second is how much is left in DK's gas tank.

Thanks for the update, Justin. Like you said, you're just the messenger!

The Hawks need a player like Shore than Brouwer. Not to say Shore is the missing link to recapturing the Cup again but he'd move the needle a heckuva lot more than Brouwer would in terms of fulfilling a need and relieving pressure from others like taking D-zone draws so that Toews and Schmaltz don't have to do as much. Don't see what need Brouwer fills or who he is helping to relieve.
- AEL_Fox

Agree he doesn’t have the speed but as a bottom six guy, it’s called board work , Front of net presence, grinding them out down low, something that this group of soft as Baby crap Forwards that we currently have that go nowhere near that type of stuff, I don’t mind Troy Brouwer on a short term low-cost deal.
The guy is a proven NHL or unlike some of the crap that everybody’s drinking the Kool-Aid when it comes to some of these so-called prospects, I still say half of them would not make other NHL teams. Especially given the size of some of these guys. Still stand by my guns, if Winnipeg offers Jacob Trouba and they want Nick Schmaltz, done deal baby !

Have a whole roster full of guys like them. Losing either creates no hole.

Better option than spending Hossas money just to maintain the status quo. Need to get better.
- Return of the Roar

No, they don't. Its two guys that put up over 50 points. So go ahead and name one player who fits that mode.

Aren't we all? As I see it there's two huge keys, the first is when and if Crow comes back and the second is how much is left in DK's gas tank.
- Beaver-Warrior

Agreed on both counts.. I guess time will tell

Aren't we all? As I see it there's two huge keys, the first is when and if Crow comes back and the second is how much is left in DK's gas tank.
- Beaver-Warrior

I have plenty of gas, thank you very much.

UPDATE: I just heard the Hawks are entertaining bringing Troy Brouwer back on a 1-year deal.

Also, Stan is re-engaging on some trade talks so it's possible he goes that route or brings Brouwer back on at least a PTO.
- Justin Lowe

so stanbow is now going this year for 2 washed up and done former blackhawks: kruger and brouwer...

lets see: ladd in 2016, soupy and oduya in 2017, and sharp in 2018...

wheres kris versteeg when ya need him...

so stanbow is now going this year for 2 washed up and done former blackhawks: kruger and brouwer...

lets see: ladd in 2016, soupy and oduya in 2017, and sharp in 2018...

wheres kris versteeg when ya need him...


- bogiedoc

I hope the Hawks pass on Brouwer, I’d rather see a kid like Johnson get a shot.

Good news on both points.

We need some sack up front.

Badly.
- Return of the Roar

We can have all the tough guys in the world at forward. With our lack of overall forward skill, center depth, quality defense and goaltending stability it won't matter, instead we're right on track for the lottery and hopefully a top 5 pick. Now THERE'S some good news. Time to get this rebuild/overhaul underway already and stop trying to eek out another playoff run with this roster full of has-beens by adding even more has-beens.

Trade our vaunted #8 pick this year. Again, worth it.
- Return of the Roar

You honestly think trading away our few valuable young assets(Schmaltz, ADB, the young/highly drafted defensive prospects) is a good idea given where we are right now? .....just to get Jake (frank)ing Trouba!?!?! Why? So we can last another few years in no-mans land(not good enough to make the playoffs, but also not bad enough to draft game changing talents)????!!!!????

We need to completely forget about adding anyone else to this roster thats already in their prime/requires a hefty contract or term. This team is done. The Toews/Kane/Keith/Seabs era will never achieve success again. You can bet your life on it. Its time to move on, find ways to rid ourselves of 19, 2, and 7. Possibly 88 as well. Hell, Q should probably go too just to complete the clean up. And definitely time to find someone else in the front office to make the decisions moving forward. EVERYTHING needs to change starting ASAP.

I have plenty of gas, thank you very much.
- DarthKane

Of course you do.

so stanbow is now going this year for 2 washed up and done former blackhawks: kruger and brouwer...

lets see: ladd in 2016, soupy and oduya in 2017, and sharp in 2018...

wheres kris versteeg when ya need him...


- bogiedoc

Siberia

so stanbow is now going this year for 2 washed up and done former blackhawks: kruger and brouwer...

lets see: ladd in 2016, soupy and oduya in 2017, and sharp in 2018...

wheres kris versteeg when ya need him...


- bogiedoc

Agree with all criticism except for Ladd. All of those guys were on fumes. Was the price too high for Ladd? Probably "yes", but Ladd wasn't washed up. That series with STL was very close and he was laying people out and competing. All of the other guys are as much on Q as Stan because I bet Q was advocating to bring them back

You honestly think trading away our few valuable young assets(Schmaltz, ADB, the young/highly drafted defensive prospects) is a good idea given where we are right now? .....just to get Jake (frank)ing Trouba!?!?! Why? So we can last another few years in no-mans land(not good enough to make the playoffs, but also not bad enough to draft game changing talents)????!!!!????

We need to completely forget about adding anyone else to this roster thats already in their prime/requires a hefty contract or term. This team is done. The Toews/Kane/Keith/Seabs era will never achieve success again. You can bet your life on it. Its time to move on, find ways to rid ourselves of 19, 2, and 7. Possibly 88 as well. Hell, Q should probably go too just to complete the clean up. And definitely time to find someone else in the front office to make the decisions moving forward. EVERYTHING needs to change starting ASAP.
- SimpleJack

Lol I remember when you were wayyyy to overly optimistic when you used to post more frequently...and now when you come out of the woodwork and post, you're overly doom a gloom. Find a happy medium dude!

*NEW* blog up: https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=94430

You honestly think trading away our few valuable young assets(Schmaltz, ADB, the young/highly drafted defensive prospects) is a good idea given where we are right now? .....just to get Jake (frank)ing Trouba!?!?! Why? So we can last another few years in no-mans land(not good enough to make the playoffs, but also not bad enough to draft game changing talents)????!!!!????

We need to completely forget about adding anyone else to this roster thats already in their prime/requires a hefty contract or term. This team is done. The Toews/Kane/Keith/Seabs era will never achieve success again. You can bet your life on it. Its time to move on, find ways to rid ourselves of 19, 2, and 7. Possibly 88 as well. Hell, Q should probably go too just to complete the clean up. And definitely time to find someone else in the front office to make the decisions moving forward. EVERYTHING needs to change starting ASAP.
- SimpleJack

Yep the window is closed

https://thehockeynews.com...-windows-central-division

WINDOW CLOSED: Chicago Blackhawks

Give GM Stan Bowman a round of applause. He navigated angry salary-cap seas for years and helped the Hawks win three Stanley Cups in the Patrick Kane/Jonathan Toews/Duncan Keith/Brent Seabrook/Marian Hossa era. Chicago propped its Cup window open for longer than most teams do. But Hossa is retired, Keith is in his mid-30s, Seabrook was a healthy scratch at one point last year, and goalie Corey Crawford has career-threatening concussion concerns. The Blackhawks, their depth on defense stripped bare, missed the playoffs for the first time since Joel Quenneville took over as coach in 2008-09.

The Blackhawks will now look to build around Alex DeBrincat, who led them in goals as a rookie, while preparing for a new era on defense with Adam Boqvist and Henri Jokiharju. They’d probably be better off missing the playoffs than making them this year, as they could use another top-end prospect to form their next foundation. That would get them on track to reopening the Cup window a few years from now.