Cap room again. Too much paid to the wunderkinds. Still paying for that today whether people admit it or not.
- Return of the Roar

Cap casualties are still casualties.

The posts on r/hawks have made me sick to my stomach. Everyone clamoring for an 'anything can happen' playoff run.

The Blackhawks have one of the worst defenses in the league. The last team to win a cup with a very bad defense was... nobody, ever. The Hawks have a top-heavy offense, with little to no scoring outside of Kane, Toews, Debrincat. The Hawks would lose terribly in the first round of the playoffs even with a healthy roster. An injury to Toews, Kane, Keith... and they're automatically toast.

Can Toews, Strome, Anisimov match up with Johansen, Turris, Bonino? No.
How about Scheifele, Little, Lowry? No.

What about Keith, Seabrook, Murphy, Dalhstrom, Jokiharju matching up against Laine, Ehlers, Scheifele, Wheeler, Buff? That's a joke. The Hawks would get caved in. Every single potention Western Conference opponent has more firepower and better D than the Blackhawks.



Eyes on the damn prize, tank for a top draft pick. You can pick all the diamonds in the rough like Kucherov, but the value of a draft pick is a linear correlation that declines right after pick #1. We of all people should understand this (Kane, #1. Toews, #3). Mark Kelley is a fine scout, but the higher the pick the better the player is the rule, and anything to the contrary is simply the exception to the rule, not some great revelation that 'it doesn't matter where you draft, great!'.

Tank you fools

Cap casualties are still casualties.
- BINGO!

It’s what he does...draws people into futile and illogical arguments that waste time that none of us will ever get back, and leaves us all feeling less intelligent for allowing ourselves to have been sucked in.

We are probably un agreement if you had gone into more detail about Seabrook.

He is too proud and his history shows he will make a commitment to working out. He really cannot choose not to. Whether he didn't one particular summer is now moot. The question is, how much of a difference can he gain from working out vs fighting Father Time.

There is difficulty imagining anyone takes his contract. Since Chicago is not a strong playoff contender, you are nuts to give away a prospect if some GM actually takes Seabrook.

Wait until trade deadline next season and if some GM took Seabrook, no it won't happen if that GM has to protect him due to the no movement clause. If Seabrook waived the no movement for Bowman, is it still in effect with a new team.

We are probably stuck with Seabrook even if he manages to be in tip top shape. Whether Bowman is forced to protect Seabrook probably becomes a moot point up until the expansion draft. There is no way a re-tooling team looses a protection spot and a good player to expansion if at all possible. Creative ways to give Seabrook almost all the money but put him in scouting after next year?

I don't know but sooner or later Seabrook will not continue lacing them up and we will bid adieu to a long time good Blackhawk
- jhawk59

The posts on r/hawks have made me sick to my stomach. Everyone clamoring for an 'anything can happen' playoff run.

The Blackhawks have one of the worst defenses in the league. The last team to win a cup with a very bad defense was... nobody, ever. The Hawks have a top-heavy offense, with little to no scoring outside of Kane, Toews, Debrincat. The Hawks would lose terribly in the first round of the playoffs even with a healthy roster. An injury to Toews, Kane, Keith... and they're automatically toast.

Can Toews, Strome, Anisimov match up with Johansen, Turris, Bonino? No.
How about Scheifele, Little, Lowry? No.

What about Keith, Seabrook, Murphy, Dalhstrom, Jokiharju matching up against Laine, Ehlers, Scheifele, Wheeler, Buff? That's a joke. The Hawks would get caved in. Every single potention Western Conference opponent has more firepower and better D than the Blackhawks.



Eyes on the damn prize, tank for a top draft pick. You can pick all the diamonds in the rough like Kucherov, but the value of a draft pick is a linear correlation that declines right after pick #1. We of all people should understand this (Kane, #1. Toews, #3). Mark Kelley is a fine scout, but the higher the pick the better the player is the rule, and anything to the contrary is simply the exception to the rule, not some great revelation that 'it doesn't matter where you draft, great!'.

Tank you fools
- ObeseOprah

This team needs a Hedman or Ekblad type defensman. Is there anyone projected to be like that in the top 10 this year?

Another too weak on the puck guy, of which this team already has too many.
- Return of the Roar

Teravainen was a TERRIBLE loss. Couch it how you want, but the guy is barely shy of PPG totals this year. No he's not that strong, but he IS a damn good hockey player. DAMN GOOD. And would be some awesome compliment scoring to the top guys the Hawks have. We gave up a bonafide top 6 player just to get rid of a "bad contract". That's horrific resource management, period. Im sure it was Q's fault.

Teravainen has more points over the last 3 years than any Blackhawk not named Kane or Toews and he just signed a 5 year deal at $5.4 Mill per.

But okay, yeah, he's nothing I guess.
- BINGO!

well thats not hard to do: the only players here the last 3 years are toews, kane, crow, seab, keith...and the last 3 don't count...the turnover on the NHL roster has been mindboggling...

Teravainen has more points over the last 3 years than any Blackhawk not named Kane or Toews and he just signed a 5 year deal at $5.4 Mill per.

But okay, yeah, he's nothing I guess.
- BINGO!

TT was a solid player for the Hawks but I think JJ noted that he had heard there were some issues with TT not having the off ice training focus to get stronger. Not verified but I do recall that being mentioned. He had a great 2015 playoff for the role he was in and then seemed to not be a big factor after that.

He has been great in Carolina!

This team needs a Hedman or Ekblad type defensman. Is there anyone projected to be like that in the top 10 this year?
- Dieselhead

These two things are not similar at all.

But Philip Broberg is probably the guy you'd be looking for. Real good all-around D.

This team needs a Hedman or Ekblad type defensman. Is there anyone projected to be like that in the top 10 this year?
- Dieselhead

The top Dmen available are ranked below the top 5 forwards on most draft boards I've seen. It looks like Broberg and Byram are the top guys available on D. I don't know much about them to be honest.

It sounds like the top forwards (Hughes, Kakko, Dach, Kozens, Podkolzin) are all more exciting than the D.

If the Hawks took a dman with their #1 pick this year, I'd honestly be pretty bummed. I know you always take 'best pick available', but the idea of using 4 of our last 4 First Round picks on dmen seems illogical to me. Are we really putting all of our hope on Sikura, Kurashev, and Barratt? I think our D pipeline is well stocked with Boqvist, Jokiharju, Beaudin, and Mitchell. There's other guys in there that I like, such as Krys, Dalhstrom, Forsling. If three of those Dmen I listed turn out, you've got a pretty good defense.

TT was a solid player for the Hawks but I think JJ noted that he had heard there were some issues with TT not having the off ice training focus to get stronger. Not verified but I do recall that being mentioned. He had a great 2015 playoff for the role he was in and then seemed to not be a big factor after that.

He has been great in Carolina!
- nickmo2699

Sounds like something JJ would say. TT must not have been a fan of the puke bucket.

TT was a solid player for the Hawks but I think JJ noted that he had heard there were some issues with TT not having the off ice training focus to get stronger. Not verified but I do recall that being mentioned. He had a great 2015 playoff for the role he was in and then seemed to not be a big factor after that.

He has been great in Carolina!
- nickmo2699

Yes, there were rumours that he wasn't committed to training, but a lot of them seemed to stem from the fact that he wanted to do it on his own in Finland and the Hawks wanted him to train in Chicago.

well thats not hard to do: the only players here the last 3 years are toews, kane, crow, seab, keith...and the last 3 don't count...the turnover on the NHL roster has been mindboggling...
- bogiedoc

Alright, well, he's 62nd in the league in that time. Tied with Ehlers and Arvidsson and ahead of guys like Landeskog, Kadri, Duchene, Huberdeau, RNH, JVR, etc.

Seabrook comments on turning down the NMC:

It's his right to resist waiving. Period. On one hand I am fine with him staying, out of "perceived loyalty" to the Hawks and their fans and perhaps a "desire" to help see this team back to the mix. However, if Bowman said, "hey Seabs, moving your deal is something we need to do for the long term future of the Hawks" and Seabrook ignored that call, then I am not happy with that. But, STILL his right. If nothing else has been learned Bowman absolutely can NOT give out any term + cash + NMC/NTCs deals anymore. If a guy wants the leverage to hold the Hawks hostage by negotiating a NTC into his deal, then he surrenders term and or overall cap hit. Bowman, in the most clueless of fashions, gave Seabrook the entire deck of cards. Hope we don't see stupid poop like this again, but part of me wonders especially considering Bowman handed out NTCs to bench veteran depth players this off-season. I just don't get it, but it's a huge reason why the Hawks are in the quandary they are in. This is absolutely on Bowman's desk. Now he gets to lay in the bed he himself made.

Part of me also wonders if Seabrook simply doesn't want the challenge of going to a playoff team and being "that cog" in the wheel. Maybe he knows he can't produce the way he once did, the demands and rigors would be too taxing and instead of being further exposed during a heated Cup chase, which ultimately may find him failing he's just happy to skate 18 minutes a night -with a team he is comfortable with with diminished expectations, thus lower pressure/scrutiny, not to mention a hell of a lot of good will built up over the years- before heading back home to his family in late april. I also wonder how hot the fire still burns for Keith and Seabrook. Toews has rebounded like a beast this year, but he's also much younger than 2 and 7.

Teravainen was a TERRIBLE loss. Couch it how you want, but the guy is barely shy of PPG totals this year. No he's not that strong, but he IS a damn good hockey player. DAMN GOOD. And would be some awesome compliment scoring to the top guys the Hawks have. We gave up a bonafide top 6 player just to get rid of a "bad contract". That's horrific resource management, period. Im sure it was Q's fault.
- kwolf68

Not helping Carolina all that much

Not helping Carolina all that much
- RaleighHawk

I guess Patrick Kane isn't helping the Hawks. Not that I am comparing Kane to TT, but the point still stands that there are good players on bad teams. Dude has 45 pts in 52 games and is +17, the kid can play. Spinning it off or justifying it doesn't hide the fact this was a effed up situation to have to basically give him away for nothing.

Not helping Carolina all that much
- RaleighHawk

You've got to be (frank)ing kidding me.
He's the 2nd best forward on the team right now and it's not all that close.

Alright, well, he's 62nd in the league in that time. Tied with Ehlers and Arvidsson and ahead of guys like Landeskog, Kadri, Duchene, Huberdeau, RNH, JVR, etc.
- BINGO!

Dude, we get it...Tervainen is a nice point producer. How many consecutive years will this be for the Hurricanes missing the playoffs?? Teuvo Teravainen is not the different between the Hawks being a playoff team or being last in the Central, and apparently not for the Hurricanes either.

Dude, we get it...Tervainen is a nice point producer. How many consecutive years will this be for the Hurricanes missing the playoffs?? Teuvo Teravainen is not the different between the Hawks being a playoff team or being last in the Central, and apparently not for the Hurricanes either.
- EnzoD

Well they are 3 points out of a WildCard. I wouldn't bet on them, but it's not over yet. TT is not the difference, but he REDUCES the margin between not being in the playoffs and being in them. How people can just cast aside a guy like this as a "nothing much loss" is astounding, especially considering the fringe players we are using in our bottom 6. TT is not just a "point producer", he's a good player and good in all zones as well. he had very solid defensive instincts when in Chicago. I could care less that he isn't a brute on the ice, he helps put pucks into opponent nets.

Dude, we get it...Tervainen is a nice point producer. How many consecutive years will this be for the Hurricanes missing the playoffs?? Teuvo Teravainen is not the different between the Hawks being a playoff team or being last in the Central, and apparently not for the Hurricanes either.
- EnzoD

I wasn't suggesting that at all. I was just refuting the other dude's take that the Hawks never lost anything of value while trying to salvage cap space.

Bottom line it becomes a business decision.
Player salary no longer justifying the player contributions = issue.
Never easy when dealing with players who brought so much in the past.
To move forward they will need to move on from some of these contracts.
Will be interesting but needs to be done one way or another.

Well they are 3 points out of a WildCard. I wouldn't bet on them, but it's not over yet. TT is not the difference, but he REDUCES the margin between not being in the playoffs and being in them. How people can just cast aside a guy like this as a "nothing much loss" is astounding, especially considering the fringe players we are using in our bottom 6.
- kwolf68

I doubt we'll make it. This upcoming road trip will be the deciding factor in that, I think.

But that's more to do with a complete and utter lack of NHL calibre forward depth and less to do with the top guys we do have.

I know D sucks but does anyone have the advanced metrics of high danger chances, Goals against prior to Murphy and Dahlstrom being our 2nd pair and after Murphy and Dahlstrom in our lineup?

It was mentioned that we only have given up less than 3 goals twice in the last 12 games though...

Bottom line it becomes a business decision.
Player salary no longer justifying the player contributions = issue.
Never easy when dealing with players who brought so much in the past.
To move forward they will need to move on from some of these contracts.
Will be interesting but needs to be done one way or another.
- Hawkster

Very true statement, but the guy making the business decision is unable to move forward with his decision because he gave the player ownership over the decision. Just very bizarre brand of negotiation to forego all the leverage you had in moving said player while also giving max salary + max term. Just truly abysmal negotiation strategy by bowman. And this alone is a much bigger issue on why the Hawks are who they are than Coach Q ever was.

The posts on r/hawks have made me sick to my stomach. Everyone clamoring for an 'anything can happen' playoff run.

The Blackhawks have one of the worst defenses in the league. The last team to win a cup with a very bad defense was... nobody, ever. The Hawks have a top-heavy offense, with little to no scoring outside of Kane, Toews, Debrincat. The Hawks would lose terribly in the first round of the playoffs even with a healthy roster. An injury to Toews, Kane, Keith... and they're automatically toast.

Can Toews, Strome, Anisimov match up with Johansen, Turris, Bonino? No.
How about Scheifele, Little, Lowry? No.

What about Keith, Seabrook, Murphy, Dalhstrom, Jokiharju matching up against Laine, Ehlers, Scheifele, Wheeler, Buff? That's a joke. The Hawks would get caved in. Every single potention Western Conference opponent has more firepower and better D than the Blackhawks.



Eyes on the damn prize, tank for a top draft pick. You can pick all the diamonds in the rough like Kucherov, but the value of a draft pick is a linear correlation that declines right after pick #1. We of all people should understand this (Kane, #1. Toews, #3). Mark Kelley is a fine scout, but the higher the pick the better the player is the rule, and anything to the contrary is simply the exception to the rule, not some great revelation that 'it doesn't matter where you draft, great!'.

Tank you fools
- ObeseOprah

I agree with you and while I too want to see them tank and rebuild I also like that the team is putting in an effort and playing well, for the talent they do have. But I am surprised at some of the posters here who believe that the Hawks can somehow become a cup contender just because they snuck into the playoffs.