Fair for both parties
- riozzo

I think it's a little less than he could have gotten if he really pushed, but knowing that he's going to be tied to Aho for the next 5 years probably helps him be a bit more reasonable.

I gonna be honestly and eat some crow here (pun intended). I was very surprised to see that Crawford was out on the ice taking shots. I did not see any point in him coming back this season (being pretty much a lost cause), or possibly even next year to protect himself and his long term future for his family.

However, after talking with my wife about the situation, I wonder if his "concussion" this year really wasn't as bad as we all thought it was. Perhaps they were just being EXTREMELY cautious with him due to how bad his concussion was last year and they wanted to make sure he was okay but as the days went on him and the team realized it wasn't anything serious like it was the last time. I kinda feel like this could be the case. Let him go out there and take some shots see how he handles it while he's doing it and how he does afterwards.

Also makes you wonder if he does come back and play at some point this year, how is the Goalie situation gonna play out? Don't think we have to worry about him coming back in the next week or two here, but lets say mid February it looks like he is definitely going to come back this year by the end of the month, do the Hawks try and convince Cam Ward to waive his NTC? Would he wanna waive it? If he did, would anyone want to take him as veteran backup Playoff tested Goalie for the push for the Cup? Would it be smart to expose your depth like that if Crow gets hurt again? Do they send down Delia to start regularly? Do they do the unthinkable and carry three Goalies? That is gonna be interesting to follow.

As far as the D goes, the backend is just a mess and idk how they're gonna fix it. Idk who should stay and who should go. They have good pieces in place, but can't seem to find the right combo. They need to add at least one Top 4 guy (as well all WELL know and have known for about 4 years, even before Hammer was traded) but I don't have the slightest idea who they should go after. I just hope they don't overspend on someone in FA cuz none of those guys seem like they will be worth it.
- Savetheembers33

Seriously ? I'm a team going all in for the Cup and Cam Ward is the answer ???

I think it's a little less than he could have gotten if he really pushed, but knowing that he's going to be tied to Aho for the next 5 years probably helps him be a bit more reasonable.
- BINGO!

Unless they ever bring in Q, then all bets are off

Hopefully a top 2 pick.....
- mrpaulish

Yea man. Would also love for Crow to stay away awhile so they can keep running Delia out as a #1. A 3 month sample of him as a #1 would be helpful to evaluate the organIzational goalie strength long term.

Please I hope not . Stan has 1 to many times tried this bringing the band back together project and it has not worked out.

Stan needs to stop living in the past with all this nostalgia blinding him from reality and come to grips serious change needs to happen to improve this team.


Chicago is in dead last place at this point a major shakeup is required.
- Taylorst1

Not in the "lose for Hughes" race they aren't

Which is the only thing that matters this year!

Well said. Ward was/is simply a bridge WITHOUT term with intangibles for what was a weeeeeeak roster. Stan did well to do no harm this last offseason.
- Mr Ricochet

Thanks . I think the trade deadline will tell us a lot about next year and the direction this team will be going.

If you see Stan dump anismov, Saad, Keith then free agency will be fun time in chicago. Gaining young nhl ready players and loading up Rockfords depth will be a good thing . And playing for last place is the goal while evaluating their youth.

Unless they ever bring in Q, then all bets are off
- riozzo

Fair. Fair.

Not in the "lose for Hughes" race they aren't

Which is the only thing that matters this year!
- camfor

At this point I'm rooting for this team to get rolled very night in the race to get Hughes

Yea man. Would also love for Crow to stay away awhile so they can keep running Delia out as a #1. A 3 month sample of him as a #1 would be helpful to evaluate the organIzational goalie strength long term.
- Mr Ricochet

Crawford even if he comes back every effort should be made to move ward than. Allow Delia to gain more experience, Crawford has 1 year left if he can even make it that far. We need to see more from Delia

At this point I'm rooting for this team to get rolled very night in the race to get Hughes
- Taylorst1

I am betting Monday's game is a letdown before the break and they will get flogged...

Which play Man 2 Man and which play zone?
- riozzo

That I don't know.

Thanks for the blog TC. Good points of discussion. Just my thoughts.

Coaching (and execution of coaching) will be a work in progress for the Hawks. JC is the NHL's youngest coach by a decade and I still think it will take growth from him as a coach and more time for the players to be in full alignment. I was critical of JC early because of just how clueless and heartless the team was following the firing of Q, but the signs of life lately are a positive. I think most of us as fans wanted a quick fix. If coaching is a problem, we want the best coach now, but I feel like Stan is playing the long game a bit.

Team D is still the huge hole, like you said. I've been banging that drum for a while. The offense will be okay if they can defend. I think the Hawks need a top pair D. While Keith can still play and Joki is promising as a young player, I don't see a Hawks team really competing well next season if their top pair is 36 year old Keith and 20 year old Jokiharju. It just doesn't scream success in the NHL. Right now, the Murphy Dahlstrom pair are getting the tough assignments and I agree it would be great to find a better partner for Murphy, but I feel like we need a big add here. I don't know who fits the mold, but for me the issue right now is that Murphy/Dahlstrom don't have enough of a 2 way game together. It would be great if the Hawks could land a big fish on D and Murphy could be the stay at home guy on that new top pair.

Nice to read someone else drawing the comparison between Stone/Hossa. I'm worried the cost to sign him might be unreasonable. The Hossa signing worked back in the day because the Hawks had a lot of young "underpaid" talent and they were able to front load the crap out of his deal, but it is a much different situation today. The Hawks could quickly be in salary cap hell again if they don't play their cards right and I hope Stan and the Hawks ownership have foresight or insight into what the next CBA might bring. We are 8 months away from a potential "opt out" which would make next year the last year of the current CBA.

Thanks . pb]I think the trade deadline will tell us a lot about next year and the direction this team will be going.

If you see Stan dump anismov, Saad, Keith then free agency will be fun time in chicago. Gaining young nhl ready players and loading up Rockfords depth will be a good thing . And playing for last place is the goal while evaluating their youth.
- Taylorst1

Yes. I've been in the show my eyes not tell my ears mode for a long time with the Hawks, all pro organIzations really. How many tell you what the plan is besides NYR?

Will they take on a bad contract with a blue chip prospect(s)/draft picks? The hope is StanBow can do a Carolina/AZ and give a starving man a crumb in exchange for his soul.

More than one way to skin a cat, man. Get an organIzational plan that even the person answering phones understands and adheres to and execute the thing. They have a start there now that StanBow and Q are not coupled, next thing is to get ShovelFace out of the equation.

Thanks.

It is really weird to see Carolina on that list, I really wonder why that is.

In other news, Buffalo and Colorado have cooled ... injuries? Tankathon has us drafting Podkolzin 3rd over all, what helped him jump up 2 ranks? People realize the potential awesomeness?
- I Am The Breadman

Regarding Hughes. Kakko and Podkolzin, if the Hawks keep playing like yesterday, they can kiss away a top 3 pick. But then on any given night they can play like they did against NJ last week.

I wonder if the good teams just think they don't have to put forth their best effort against this Hawks team. Recent examples the past few weeks include the Caps, Jets and Preds all Hawks wins.

Edit. Should be Pens (twice) instead of Jets.

TT signs a 5.4 X 5 deal coming off 64 pts year and on pace for 65 this year. Doesn't that seem like a reasonable deal? How come everybody else seems to get team friendly deals except the hawks? that is with the cap going up as well.
- kmw4631

Because Bowman isn't negotiating the deals. Stan would have given him 6M and a full NMC

Love it. That's a great deal for a guy just entering his prime. Had 64 points last season, on pace for 67 this year and is now a full time penalty killer.
- BINGO!

Bingo, What's your take on the Rask deal. If I remember correctly, last year some posters wanted him traded to Chicago. Don't know what the trade proposals were, but you were holding out for more? Maybe I'm misremembering?

I am betting Monday's game is a letdown before the break and they will get flogged...
- riozzo

Well at least it's Kane bobblehead night regardless of the score...

Kane on WGN this morning talking about the vibe in the room and how he is feeling about rest of the season:

https://wgnradio.com/2019...blackhawk-patrick-kane-2/

I hope I am not repeating. I have not page through the previous post but how many other items play man to man and which team over the last few years has been the most successful at the system.

Cody Ceci will solve all your problems.

Bingo, What's your take on the Rask deal. If I remember correctly, last year some posters wanted him traded to Chicago. Don't know what the trade proposals were, but you were holding out for more? Maybe I'm misremembering?
- boilermaker100

I was, but then the dude chopped his hand up while making sweet potatoes.

Getting Nino for him is a coup. I honestly thought the Canes were going to have to waive Rask.

Instead, they were able to get Nino for him, who is basically just a more skilled, less gritty version of Ferland, who the Canes can't sign.

So the trade solves our Ferland problem AND gets us out of a $4 million contract for our 4C who, honestly, just seemed too slow and too passive. Nice guy, but it wasn't happening for him and I doubt it will. His best year came playing C for Jeff Skinner.

I was, but then the dude chopped his hand up while making sweet potatoes.

Getting Nino for him is a coup. I honestly thought the Canes were going to have to waive Rask.

Instead, they were able to get Nino for him, who is basically just a more skilled, less gritty version of Ferland, who the Canes can't sign.

So the trade solves our Ferland problem AND gets us out of a $4 million contract for our 4C who, honestly, just seemed too slow and too passive. Nice guy, but it wasn't happening for him and I doubt it will. His best year came playing C for Jeff Skinner.
- BINGO!

Would you take Saad for DeHaan or Pesce?

Regarding acquiring a top 4 D-man, at this time of year all contenders will be looking to add depth on the blue line which will drive up the asking price. Maybe it would be best to address this during the off season, either by trade or free agent signing.

Carolina looks like a possible trading partner with young defensemen DeHaan and Pesce on their team and the fact they could use some offense, so maybe Saad is a viable trade chip.

Of course trading a Saad, would leave the Hawks with a hole in the top 6 forward lineup that they will have to address somehow.

The best in the free agent market would be TB's Stralman. Does he have anything left in the tank at his present age of 32? I would only sign him for 2 years max as a placeholder until some of the Hawks prospects are ready. He's probably looking for longer term though.
- boilermaker100

Agree with Breadman on retaining Saad. Yes, he's been streaky but when he's on, he's one of the best forwards on the ice at ES and PK. He also seems to have the worst puck luck on the team with countless hit posts/crossbars and near misses by an inch. Convert even 1/3 of those and he's already over 20 goals on the season.

As for Stralman, he's the type of experienced D veteran to pursue. Steady defense and reliable enough to play top 4. Could likely be had at a reasonable AAV for say 2 years. If term is a factor for him, give him another year or 2 but no NMC or NTC. Doesn't have to be Stralman but he's an example of a UFA defender to kick the tires on.

How about Ryan Dzingel as the third line center .... moving Kampf to 4th line center and getting rid of Krueger. Big stay at home defensemen that is UFA is Ben Charot from Winnepeg. Both should not break the bank and are in their late 20's

Well said. Ward was/is simply a bridge WITHOUT term with intangibles for what was a weeeeeeak roster. Stan did well to do no harm this last offseason.
- Mr Ricochet

Not sure on this, but I thought I read Ward has a special needs child and for that reason he can't be moved around as some would like.