Black Friday sale on all Hawks defenseman!! HUGE savings on quality AHLers like Eric Gustafson, Brandon Manning, and Jan Rutta.

Want overpriced 5/6 Dman? You’re in luck!! Stan Bowman has what you need in Brent Seabrook and Connor Murphy! Signed until he’s 57 at a very inflated $7mil/season, Seabrook brings those “intangibles”.

Not to be confused with the fitness model (thanks google), Connor Murphy has the foot speed of an ECHLer, but was a 1st round pick of the highly successful Coyotes franchise!

Call Stan Bowman now, as these Special Offers won’t last!!!

Lots of chatter on Twitter about a Saad (Plus?) for Nylander swap. Nothing concrete or any inside information, it’s just an idea at this point.

Would anyone make this deal?
- DarthKane

Pencil me down as a No.

The point is to establish a winning culture...you don't do that by tanking. If the Hawks were to tank this season, I bet it would be years before they get back to winning. Tanking is never something that any organization should actually commit to.
- ToewsdNKanefusd

Exactly! The Oilers haven't exactly kicked it into Dynasty v2.0 mode with all their recent years of badness and the Sabres would love to establish v1.0 but it hasn't happened yet.

Yeah because there is no history to point to that says the Hawks have drafted impact players outside of picks high in the first round. Oh wait.....Here's a list of players drafted by the Blackhawks that were NOT top 10 picks:

Duncan Keith
Brent Seabrook
Corey Crawford
Dustin Byfuglien
Troy Brouwer
Dave Bolland
Bryan Bickell
Niklas Hjalmarsson
Philip Danault
Brandon Saad
Andrew Shaw
Teuvo Teravainen
Nick Schmaltz
Dylan Sikura
Alex DeBrincat
Henri Jokiharju
- Hawks_49

Drafted Toews and Kane in the top 3 back-to-back seasons. And that’s the type of talent we need. Is it possible to find talent later in the round sure. But it’s not as likely.

It’s not that hard to understand....if we’re gonna be a mediocre non-championship caliber team(which there is no denying) we might as well be as bad as possible to get an even higher % chance of landing an elite talent to help rebuild the franchise. The higher we draft, the better chance we have.

Sounds like Manning, Kunitz and Johnson are your scratches.

Forsling stays in.
- Justin Lowe

Forsling needs to keep playing. If anyone needs to sit to make room for a showcase it can be Gustafsson. Like some others here I’d like to see what a Jokiharju-Forsling pairing can do.

Changing gears... I am ok with Sikura staying in Rockford a while longer. I’d wait until the Blackhawks have solidified themselves under Colliton before bringing him up. Let Sikura be the man in Rockford for the time being, it won’t hurt his development

Was that based on his theories relating to wormholes and teleportation?
- HawkintheD

I didn't even know that he had such theories...I mean I do if you want to hear them, but never heard him talk about that stuff.

Lots of chatter on Twitter about a Saad (Plus?) for Nylander swap. Nothing concrete or any inside information, it’s just an idea at this point.

Would anyone make this deal?
- DarthKane

I might say for Saad, Schmaltz, DeBrincat, Boqvist and a 1st?

Black Friday sale on all Hawks defenseman!! HUGE savings on quality AHLers like Eric Gustafson, Brandon Manning, and Jan Rutta.

Want overpriced 5/6 Dman? You’re in luck!! Stan Bowman has what you need in Brent Seabrook and Connor Murphy! Signed until he’s 57 at a very inflated $7mil/season, Seabrook brings those “intangibles”.

Not to be confused with the fitness model (thanks google), Connor Murphy has the foot speed of an ECHLer, but was a 1st round pick of the highly successful Coyotes franchise!

Call Stan Bowman now, as these Special Offers won’t last!!!
- EnzoD

Pencil me down as a No.
- I Am The Breadman

I'm also a no!

Black Friday sale on all Hawks defenseman!! HUGE savings on quality AHLers like Eric Gustafson, Brandon Manning, and Jan Rutta.

Want overpriced 5/6 Dman? You’re in luck!! Stan Bowman has what you need in Brent Seabrook and Connor Murphy! Signed until he’s 57 at a very inflated $7mil/season, Seabrook brings those “intangibles”.

Not to be confused with the fitness model (thanks google), Connor Murphy has the foot speed of an ECHLer, but was a 1st round pick of the highly successful Coyotes franchise!

Call Stan Bowman now, as these Special Offers won’t last!!!
- EnzoD

I spit out my food on the first part! That cracked me up!

The second part, I thought it was just me like, "When did Murph metamorphose into this???"

Drafted Toews and Kane in the top 3 back-to-back seasons. And that’s the type of talent we need. Is it possible to find talent later in the round sure. But it’s not as likely.

It’s not that hard to understand....if we’re gonna be a mediocre non-championship caliber team(which there is no denying) we might as well be as bad as possible to get an even higher % chance of landing an elite talent to help rebuild the franchise. The higher we draft, the better chance we have.
- SimpleJack

Because that worked so well for the Oilers...

Lots of chatter on Twitter about a Saad (Plus?) for Nylander swap. Nothing concrete or any inside information, it’s just an idea at this point.

Would anyone make this deal?
- DarthKane

Sure as long as the plus is Rutta.

Pencil me down as a No.
- I Am The Breadman

Put me down with a no in Sharpie...

Drafted Toews and Kane in the top 3 back-to-back seasons. And that’s the type of talent we need. Is it possible to find talent later in the round sure. But it’s not as likely.

It’s not that hard to understand....if we’re gonna be a mediocre non-championship caliber team(which there is no denying) we might as well be as bad as possible to get an even higher % chance of landing an elite talent to help rebuild the franchise. The higher we draft, the better chance we have.
- SimpleJack

Count me as one that doesn't believe that the Hawks need a top tier talent to get back to championship caliber. They have a bunch of talent already, and some young ones on the way up. They may need another top 6 forward next year, but they can easily trade for that with their plethora of good defenseman prospects.

I think they just need to keep working on their game as a team, and keep improving. They aren't going to win this year, but this will go a long way to helping them win in the next few years.

Should the Leafs consider a Nylander-for-Saad trade?

https://www.tsn.ca/video/...er-for-saad-trade~1545640
- KMFDMLight

No way! Unless the Loafs are taking back Seabrook the Hawks need Saad and his style of play on the top 2 lines. Schmaltz+ for Nylander sounds good, though!
- EnzoD

Lots of chatter on Twitter about a Saad (Plus?) for Nylander swap. Nothing concrete or any inside information, it’s just an idea at this point.

Would anyone make this deal?
- DarthKane

Hmm this is a very interesting idea. Like Enzo said, it's hard trading away Saad since his play is more of what we need on this team, but Nylander is an elite talent that could possibly be a Center or at least an impact winger scoring goals. I'd rather trade Schmaltz as well, but the 6M off the books replaced by Nylander would be pretty nice. Idk what their cap situation is at but if they'd be willing to take one of our big contracts like Manning or Murphy along with Saad and a pick or prospect it could be interesting.

This would be more the NHL game GM mode, but if you could trade Saad for Nylander, could you then go out and get someone like Tyler Toffoli as your "power forward" type guy. Again, not like and more NHL 19 GM but throwing it out there lol

The point is to establish a winning culture...you don't do that by tanking. If the Hawks were to tank this season, I bet it would be years before they get back to winning. Tanking is never something that any organization should actually commit to.
- ToewsdNKanefusd

This is such BS

“Winning culture” is nothing more than a cute phrase used by front offices in press conferences.

The reality is you need to establish A TALENTED ROSTER.

How the hell are you gonna establish a “winning culture” if your roster is so flawed that you’re missing out on the playoffs regardless?

Of course it’s gonna take years before we get back to winning, that’s the reality of our situation. We might as well accept it and draft as high as possible during those years.

Young players that deal with losing lots of games in their first few seasons as pros don’t get ruined/poisoned by it. They learn from it, and grow in the process. I wouldn’t be worried about a few seasons of not having a “winning culture”, that’s a myth. We need better players. Younger players with talent. Like the Lightning blogger said after our matchup earlier this season, we probably have the least amount of game-changing elite talent under the age of 23 in the entire NHL. #1 priority should be fixing that. Gotta lose in order to increase the chance of that happening.

Because that worked so well for the Oilers...
- ToewsdNKanefusd

People keep bringing up times where it didn’t work. Well what about times when it has worked? It goes both ways, and we’re at a point with this current roster where we need to give it a try. Nothing to lose. Everything to gain.

Forsling needs to keep playing. If anyone needs to sit to make room for a showcase it can be Gustafsson. Like some others here I’d like to see what a Jokiharju-Forsling pairing can do.

Changing gears... I am ok with Sikura staying in Rockford a while longer. I’d wait until the Blackhawks have solidified themselves under Colliton before bringing him up. Let Sikura be the man in Rockford for the time being, it won’t hurt his development
- DarthKane

I agree 110%. If someone is gonna sit for a showcase, it should be Gus. Forsling has easily been one of the best defensemen behind Joki and Keith this year. He should continue to get lots of play to continue to grow.

Same goes for Sikura, no need to rush him if they team is at least playing well and continuing to grow so he can continue to develop his game in the meantime and come up when he's truly ready and have a legit shot a making an impact.

Count me as one that doesn't believe that the Hawks need a top tier talent to get back to championship caliber. They have a bunch of talent already, and some young ones on the way up. They may need another top 6 forward next year, but they can easily trade for that with their plethora of good defenseman prospects.

I think they just need to keep working on their game as a team, and keep improving. They aren't going to win this year, but this will go a long way to helping them win in the next few years.
- ToewsdNKanefusd

Strongly disagree. I think we’re lacking in talent BIG TIME compared to the other contenders and other farm systems.

People keep bringing up times where it didn’t work. Well what about times when it has worked? It goes both ways, and we’re at a point with this current roster where we need to give it a try. Nothing to lose. Everything to gain.
- SimpleJack

Other than the Hawks and maybe Penguins sucking into Malkin and Crosby, name them.

The point is to establish a winning culture...you don't do that by tanking. If the Hawks were to tank this season, I bet it would be years before they get back to winning. Tanking is never something that any organization should actually commit to.
- ToewsdNKanefusd

Through the first quarter of the season, there are only 7 teams with a worse point % per game than the Hawks and their -14 goal differential is third worst in the league, ahead of only the Kings and Ducks. This team, as presently constructed, will lose more than their share of games without intentionally tanking, unfortunately.

Should the Leafs consider a Nylander-for-Saad trade?

https://www.tsn.ca/video/...er-for-saad-trade~1545640
- KMFDMLight

Nylander's offensive skills are way better than Saad's, but Saad plays a man's game whereas Nylander is a soft player. The Hawks don't need another fluffernutter.

Not saying I would or wouldn't do it, but I'm curious as to what you guys think.

Who says no first?

Nylander

for

Schmaltz, Mitchell/Beaudin, Manning, and a draft pick (likely 2nd or 3rd)

Forsling needs to keep playing. If anyone needs to sit to make room for a showcase it can be Gustafsson. Like some others here I’d like to see what a Jokiharju-Forsling pairing can do.

Changing gears... I am ok with Sikura staying in Rockford a while longer. I’d wait until the Blackhawks have solidified themselves under Colliton before bringing him up. Let Sikura be the man in Rockford for the time being, it won’t hurt his development
- DarthKane

Agree on Forsling. I'm fine either way on Sikura. I would like him up, but if he's not up, nbd. No reason for another forward to sit if we aren't sending anyone down.

Not saying I would or wouldn't do it, but I'm curious as to what you guys think.

Who says no first?

Nylander

for

Schmaltz, Mitchell/Beaudin, Manning, and a draft pick (likely 2nd or 3rd)
- Savetheembers33

No.
I'm first.
I don't mind Manning leaving, but I see it as overpaying. I don't want Nylander's gross overpayment of a contract.