Mitchell isn't going the FA route. The fricking source is from reddit, FFS.
- Elbows15

Denver was on TV Saturday and I caught some of the game. One of the guys announcing the game said Mitchell told him he was planning on staying all 4 years at Denver. He made it seem he was told directly from Mitchell. I don't know the announcer or how reliable he is but that's probably the source of that news.

Baseball fans, 30-team keeper fantasy league has an opening. It's a big league, it's tough, the team you'd be taking over isn't that good, but it's fun to play and entry fee is nominal. Hit me up here if interested and I can tell u more. Would love to have another Chicago fan in there a Blackhawks fan even, league is heavy White Sox fans, but also got a great Cub fan in there who is a riot.

If Toronto still has goalie problems (Hutchison is definitely not the answer as a backup), maybe Ward would wave to go back home while possibly hoisting another cup?
- LAHawk

Just said the same thing, but I'm not sure if the Hawks are gonna trade Ward or not. Toronto makes the most sense to me. Especially if they're interested in Kruger as a 4C for more veteran experience on that team. We could even retain salary on both guys to make the return better.

If Toronto still has goalie problems (Hutchison is definitely not the answer as a backup), maybe Ward would wave to go back home while possibly hoisting another cup?
- LAHawk

Maybe he would waive, but I'd be shocked if Toronto is even looking at him as an option. Their backup goaltending has outperformed Cam Ward by a long shot. Honestly, Cam Ward is among the bottom 5 goaltenders in the NHL right now. Nobody should be looking at him as a viable option.

Denver was on TV Saturday and I caught some of the game. One of the guys announcing the game said Mitchell told him he was planning on staying all 4 years at Denver. He made it seem he was told directly from Mitchell. I don't know the announcer or how reliable he is but that's probably the source of that news.
- EbonyRaptor

I wouldn't be shocked if he did stay all four years or at least another one. Hawks are LOADED with D prospects at this point (quantity, not quality) and there isn't a clear path to the Hawks with how loaded they are on the right side. If he's enjoying school and being there why not ride it out get a degree and have an NHL contract waiting for you (from the Hawks or not) at that point. Two years from now who know's what the roster will look like (all of Keith, Seabrook, and Murphy could be gone through trade, retirement, buyout, etc.) and they could have an opening at that point. At that point both Joki and Boqvist could be established on the back end and would allow for Mitchell to ease into things. We'll see though.

Cam Ward is among the bottom 5 goaltenders in the NHL right now. Nobody should be looking at him as a viable option.
- Hawks_49

The King, Price, Fleury all in their prime would be among the bottom five playing for this team right now.

Tank. It's the single best option. This team is at least two to three years away from retooling to be a marginal playoff team again - contingent upon good draft and trade moves being made by the FO. Jury still very much out on that.

KooKoo.....well, we did dump Rutta's contract and saved some money with no obligation beyond this season to KooKoo.

You'd have a better shot of getting Toronto to bite on Ward and maybe Kruger as a package (with salary retained) as they got as good of a shot as any time winning the cup this year and gives them some more veteran experience in that lineup and depth behind Anderson with him being out as of late.

To be honest though I don't think the Hawks are gonna deal Ward. I think he's here to stay for the rest of the year (and possible even next depending on what happens with Crawford) to "platoon" with Delia. Just my opinion, but I don't see them going with Delia and Forsberg in net the rest of the year.
- Savetheembers33

Why retain salary on 2 guys who will be UFAs at the end of the season? Toronto can just say buh-bye to them at the end of their run.

The King, Price, Fleury all in their prime would be among the bottom five playing for this team right now.

Tank. It's the single best option. This team is at least two to three years away from retooling to be a marginal playoff team again - contingent upon good draft and trade moves being made by the FO. Jury still very much out on that.

KooKoo.....well, we did dump Rutta's contract and saved some money with no obligation beyond this season to KooKoo.
- Return of the Roar

I disagree. Collin Delia is proving the opposite this year, and Crawford proved it last year. Great goaltending can mask defensive deficiencies. Cam Ward has been a bottom five goaltender going on five or six years now. Blaming the defense in front of him for his ineffectiveness is seemingly giving him credit for being a bad goalie.

I disagree. Collin Delia is proving the opposite this year, and Crawford proved it last year. Great goaltending can mask defensive deficiencies. Cam Ward has been a bottom five goaltender going on five or six years now. Blaming the defense in front of him for his ineffectiveness is seemingly giving him credit for being a bad goalie.
- Hawks_49

35-50 SOG against every night is unsustainable.

35-50 SOG against every night is unsustainable.
- Return of the Roar

We can go back and forth all afternoon. The fact remains that Cam Ward is a terrible goaltender. He has not had a positive GSAA (Goals saved above average) since 2011-12.

Maybe he would waive, but I'd be shocked if Toronto is even looking at him as an option. Their backup goaltending has outperformed Cam Ward by a long shot. Honestly, Cam Ward is among the bottom 5 goaltenders in the NHL right now. Nobody should be looking at him as a viable option.
- Hawks_49

I think he's among the bottom because of the defense or lack thereof in front of him. Team d as well. Carolina didn't have a good team in front of him either. Delia is getting a taste of it now. Don't get me wrong, Ward isn't perfect and low on my list, but out of the 3 summer signings, I liked him. He's saved a lot. Embers said it, and others, I believe Ward gets another contract with us.

We can go back and forth all afternoon. The fact remains that Cam Ward is a terrible goaltender. He has not had a positive GSAA (Goals saved above average) since 2011-12.
- Hawks_49

Hawks are second most shot against team in the league behind only OTT, and have the second worst shot differential in the league behind only OTT.

Conversely, TBL, CAL, TOR all in top five lowest SOG and shot differential.

These numbers do matter. A lot.

Especially when one notices that possession numbers and SOG against are worse under JC than Q. So the trend is actually worsening.

I'm not here to defend Ward as much as I am here to point out the root cause of the problem - and it is not the goaltending.

I disagree. Collin Delia is proving the opposite this year, and Crawford proved it last year. Great goaltending can mask defensive deficiencies. Cam Ward has been a bottom five goaltender going on five or six years now. Blaming the defense in front of him for his ineffectiveness is seemingly giving him credit for being a bad goalie.
- Hawks_49

Give Delia 30 to 40 games before you draw conclusions. By then his tendencies will be scouted and we'll see how good he is when teams know what his weaknesses are.

We can go back and forth all afternoon. The fact remains that Cam Ward is a terrible goaltender. He has not had a positive GSAA (Goals saved above average) since 2011-12.
- Hawks_49

Right he is terrible I said that at the beginning of the year when Q the goalie shouter continued to roll him out ,and refused to play the better goalie at the time Forsberg .It is idiotic to play Ward over Forsberg at this point ,kind of like playing Kunitz over young players .. Wave him do what ever it takes bar moving any prospect or picks to get rid of him .I said EDM because they are crazy enough to bite on just about anything . Tor is getting both their goalie back as of today .

Right he is terrible I said that at the beginning of the year when Q the goalie shouter continued to roll him out ,and refused to play the better goalie at the time Forsberg .It is idiotic to play Ward over Forsberg at this point ,kind of like playing Kunitz over young players .. Wave him do what ever it takes bar moving any prospect or picks to get rid of him .I said EDM because they are crazy enough to bite on just about anything . Tor is getting both their goalie back as of today .
- oldduffman

Trouble with Ward is with an over 35 contract and an NMC all they can do with him is healthy scratch him. He cant go to Rockford, and Rockford needs two goalies.

Give Delia 30 to 40 games before you draw conclusions. By then his tendencies will be scouted and we'll see how good he is when teams know what his weaknesses are.
- paulr

Agreed. I am rooting for him to take things to the next level. I think he is their best prospect by a long shot.

After 30-40 games of 35-50 SOG against it won't be as much about his tendencies being scouted as it will be about the physical and mental toughness he will have to develop and maintain over a larger sample size.

Why retain salary on 2 guys who will be UFAs at the end of the season? Toronto can just say buh-bye to them at the end of their run.
- Rota's Rooter

I believe he meant for us to retain the salary to make it more appealing to Toronto to take them

All lines and pairings are the same, but Ward starts. I kind of figured that.

DeBrincat — Toews — Kahun

Anisimov — Strome — Kane

Saad — Kampf — Caggiula

Kunitz — Kruger — Hayden

Keith — Gustafsson

Jokiharju — Seabrook

Dahlstrom — Murphy

Ward

Delia

Hawks are second most shot against team in the league behind only OTT, and have the second worst shot differential in the league behind only OTT.

Conversely, TBL, CAL, TOR all in top five lowest SOG and shot differential.

These numbers do matter. A lot.

Especially when one notices that possession numbers and SOG against are worse under JC than Q. So the trend is actually worsening.

I'm not here to defend Ward as much as I am here to point out the root cause of the problem - and it is not the goaltending.
- Return of the Roar

GSAA takes into account what a goalie saves against what an average goalie would save in the same situation. The two worst goalies in the NHL in GSAA are Mike Smith (-11.87) and Cam Ward (-11.76).

For perspective, Corey Crawford has a GSAA of -4.77 and Collin Delia has a GSAA of 6.50.

Anton Forsberg had a GSAA of -4.17 last season. Corey Crawford had a GSAA of 13.90.

I'm not discounting the fact he plays behind a lesser defensive team. I'm standing by the reality that Cam Ward is a truly awful goaltender and no contending team should be looking at using him.

As to the bolded, that is not true. I mentioned this yesterday in the previous blog, but while I agree that he is somewhat easy to knock off the puck now, Sikura is not a perimeter player or contact averse as some may think he is. He is more often then not the first one in on a forecheck, doesn't shy away from board battles, will take a hit to make a play, and is generally stronger than he looks.

Yes, Sikura does need to get stronger and that should come over time as he stays dedicated to a workout regimen and get more time in with Goodman and the rest of the strength & conditioning crew. But to say he's just like Schmaltz is false. One thing they are similar at is generating takeaways.
- AEL_Fox

There is hope for Sikura but temper enthusiasm for top six ceiling until he gains strength...then perhaps we have a descent prospect step up in a meaningful contributor. Interesting to see you feel reslisticly Knott could get a look. Here is a big body who is the checking type but previously could score a bit. You want a forward with size whom is not a likely fail (Edjsell): here is Knott

I believe he meant for us to retain the salary to make it more appealing to Toronto to take them
- Abadseed

I doubt we'd get much in return even if the Hawks did retain salary.

Just said the same thing, but I'm not sure if the Hawks are gonna trade Ward or not. Toronto makes the most sense to me. Especially if they're interested in Kruger as a 4C for more veteran experience on that team. We could even retain salary on both guys to make the return better.
- Savetheembers33

Just wondering the success both Forsberg and Laakinen might enjoy if recalled.

35-50 SOG against every night is unsustainable.
- Return of the Roar

I disagree.

It IS sustainable.

They could give up 50 SOG every game between now and April.

Wouldn't win many games - but that many SOG against IS sustainable.

All lines and pairings are the same, but Ward starts. I kind of figured that.

DeBrincat — Toews — Kahun

Anisimov — Strome — Kane

Saad — Kampf — Caggiula

Kunitz — Kruger — Hayden

Keith — Gustafsson

Jokiharju — Seabrook

Dahlstrom — Murphy

Ward

Delia
- I Am The Breadman

These D pairs are frustrating. Why have 2 young defenders playing on their opposite side when it makes sense to just swap them on the lineup card. Jokiharju should play RHD with a solid partner in Keith and Gustafsson should play LHD in sheltered ES minutes with Seabrook.

These D pairs are frustrating. Why have 2 young defenders playing on their opposite side when it makes sense to just swap them on the lineup card. Jokiharju should play RHD with a solid partner in Keith and Gustafsson should play LHD in sheltered ES minutes with Seabrook.
- AEL_Fox

I got this from SCH, and I don't see Koekkoek, so it could be wrong. If it is, don't shoot the messenger. I do agree with your complaints in general about JC.