Personally, I question alot of these moves. Yes the players brought in this off-season are quality NHLers, but it is terrible given the roster congestion. Maata is a great offensive D, but how will he get his fair share of TOI when he is behind De Haan and Keith? And Gustafson was playing very well, and is suddenly is out of a spot? There is 16+M on LD, and a MASSIVE hole on RD. That is a concern. Goaltending as well, yes you have 2 starting goalies, but you can only play 1, and paying 11M for the duo won't make you better than Price/Bobrovski/Vas...... While the acquisitions were quality players, you still need another top 6 winger, and a true #2C. Maybe these assets will be flipped yet again to address those need, but until then I am a skeptic.
- bikeguy99

Obviously some that you have as LHD will need to play the right side (which I am not really thrilled by). Gus played the right side with Keith some last year as the top offensive pairing.

Price (Montreal $12.25 mil in goalies) no cup winning goalies
Bob (Florida $10.7 mil in goalies) no cup winning goalies
Vasi (Tampa next year will have $10.8 mil in goalies (no cup winning goalies)
Hawks situation is just for this year. Next year it probably will be EITHER Crow or Lehner (probably Lehner) and Lankinen (probably) at less than $9mil total. So Hawks should have great goaltending this year and a plan for the future. I do not like $11 mil in goalies this year. But Lehner fell into our laps and at $5 mil could be a steal, and at 28 could be our future.

Dach is, in the immortal words of Pallie Mo, a Lavender sniffer. Not one fight. He's as soft as they come.
- paulr

Nobody will fight him, my friend. Not even Vandy's hero, John Scott.

Since about the midway point of last season, so not even one year:

Subtractions - Schmaltz, Anisimov, Kahun, Kruger, Kunitz, Johnson, Martinsen, Hayden, Jokiharju, Manning, Davidson, Rutta, Forsling, Ward.

Additions - Strome, Perlini*, Caggiula, Dach, Shaw, Kubalik, Nylander, Carpenter, Smith, Maatta, de Haan, Koekkoek, Boqvist, Lehner.

We should be a much improved team, I’m excited!

I really like the Lehner signing .Hope Crow don't pull a Belford and throw his pads out in the hall, like I heard Belford did to Hasek back in the day . I think Lehner is maybe the safest bet to sign this year out of FA goalies . Liked the Shaw deal hole bunch ,was a real team killer losing his personality on this team . I was a big Cozens advocate but Dach was always my number 2 . And the more I see of Dach the more I like .I do believe he will be with the team at the start of the year .
Now sign DBC 8mil 5years Strom 6mil 5 years and next year Crow and Seebs will have to go .

I worry about the hype around Dach. Lots of "feel" that he's can't miss, lock type talent. I hope people are right on that.

Correct nobody wins a trade with TB.
- rpeters01

Lol nope never!

Lol nope never!
- Assman22

Except Rutta for KK

Obviously some that you have as LHD will need to play the right side (which I am not really thrilled by). Gus played the right side with Keith some last year as the top offensive pairing.

Price (Montreal $12.25 mil in goalies) no cup winning goalies
Bob (Florida $10.7 mil in goalies) no cup winning goalies
Vasi (Tampa next year will have $10.8 mil in goalies (no cup winning goalies)
Hawks situation is just for this year. Next year it probably will be EITHER Crow or Lehner (probably Lehner) and Lankinen (probably) at less than $9mil total. So Hawks should have great goaltending this year and a plan for the future. I do not like $11 mil in goalies this year. But Lehner fell into our laps and at $5 mil could be a steal, and at 28 could be our future.
- -Doh-

Ya not saying you guys were wrong to ink Lehner, it was a good deal and with no term. He could easily be flipped if need be. I just noticed that some positions are overcrowded, while others remain depleted. I suspect there will be a big trade or two coming Chicago's way.

I worry about the hype around Dach. Lots of "feel" that he's can't miss, lock type talent. I hope people are right on that.
- kwolf68

Wont be expected to be an instant star or play major minutes. He’s got a lot of talent ahead of him at forward that we can rely on for production, so I doubt he’ll have too much on his shoulders or feel too much pressure.

I bet Lehner doesn't get re-signed with Chicago until after the season ends. They probably don't want to annoy Crow even though Crow is as good as gone after this season. It would shake up the room too much (See Edmonton and the handling of Talbot and Koskinen)
- Slofire94

Call me cynical but would not be surprised if Crow is LTIR/IR most of the year to make a move at trade deadline.

Except Rutta for KK
- LAHawk

They wanted KK gone. Was probably making noise.

Call me cynical but would not be surprised if Crow is LTIR/IR most of the year to make a move at trade deadline.
- rpeters01

Can't accumulate LTIR space. Can use the space if he's gone the rest of the year (until playoffs).

Agree on Dach especially because I'm not convinced Toews makes it to the end of his contract due to the cap moreso than his play. If he becomes an 18 goal 40 points player which is fair production for a beat up 34 year old will have to do something with him.
- rpeters01

What exactly are they going to do with Toews? Not to mention he has a full NMC. If he is as bad as you say, who is going to want him at his cap hit?

Can't accumulate LTIR space. Can use the space if he's gone the rest of the year (until playoffs).
- mohel

Pesky facts.

Can't accumulate LTIR space. Can use the space if he's gone the rest of the year (until playoffs).
- mohel

Yes Like they did with Kane in '15.

What exactly are they going to do with Toews? Not to mention he has a full NMC. If he is as bad as you say, who is going to want him at his cap hit?
- Elbows15

Buyout? same problem as Seabrook.

Buyout? same problem as Seabrook.
- rpeters01

Highly doubt it happens with Toews for a lot of reasons. Unless there is a free buyout in the next CBA, doubtful, can't see Seabrook getting bought out either.

Their contract structure really doesn't afford much cap relief and extends the term. Add in what those two have meant to the organization and I don't see it happening.

Highly doubt it happens with Toews for a lot of reasons. Unless there is a free buyout in the next CBA, doubtful, can't see Seabrook getting bought out either.

Their contract structure really doesn't afford much cap relief and extends the term. Add in what those two have meant to the organization and I don't see it happening.
- Elbows15

Toews has four years left on his deal - he won’t be 35 until the end of its last season (April, 2023).

I would guess he would be an effective to excellent player for all four years.

Toews has four years left on his deal - he won’t be 35 until the end of its last season (April, 2023).

I would guess he would be an effective to excellent player for all four years.
- StLBravesFan

Well, yeah.

Yes Like they did with Kane in '15.
- rpeters01

They used the cap space from putting Kane on LTIR, but it did not accumulate like regular unused cap space.

Toews has four years left on his deal - he won’t be 35 until the end of its last season (April, 2023).

I would guess he would be an effective to excellent player for all four years.
- StLBravesFan

I expect Toews (and Kane) will stick around after their current contracts run out.

Not sure if this has any relevance, but this afternoon during my lunch break/treadmill workout I watched the 3rd period of game 4 Blackhawks vs Predators in the 2016-2017 playoffs on NHL Network. Other than a PP goal by Toews late in the 3rd(awesome pass by Panarin), the Hawks looked FLAT. Hossa, Kane, Toews, Panarin, Keith, van Riemsdyk, Campbell, Hjalmarsson...nothing left in the tank. I kept hoping the Hawks tied it up...haha. Anyways, Go Hawks!

Since about the midway point of last season, so not even one year:

Subtractions - Schmaltz, Anisimov, Kahun, Kruger, Kunitz, Johnson, Martinsen, Hayden, Jokiharju, Manning, Davidson, Rutta, Forsling, Ward.

Additions - Strome, Perlini*, Caggiula, Dach, Shaw, Kubalik, Nylander, Carpenter, Smith, Maatta, de Haan, Koekkoek, Boqvist, Lehner.

We should be a much improved team, I’m excited!
- SimpleJack

This team missed a playoff spot by 6 pts. The are at least 10-15 better with this roster. GA should drop from around 3.6 to the 2.75 area. They can score but they won't have to outscore teams and win 5-4 or 6-5.

Tough division for sure but i expect a top 3 finish.

Call me cynical but would not be surprised if Crow is LTIR/IR most of the year to make a move at trade deadline.
- rpeters01

that is cycnical...only happens if he takes another head hit...

there no chatter that he won't be ready for camp...

This team missed a playoff spot by 6 pts. The are at least 10-15 better with this roster. GA should drop from around 3.6 to the 2.75 area. They can score but they won't have to outscore teams and win 5-4 or 6-5.

Tough division for sure but i expect a top 3 finish.
- bogiedoc

No doubt, I expect an improvement. But....wow, that seems ambitious!!! If they get it around the 3.00 mark, I will be thrilled. And, they will be in the playoff mix if they do, cuz they SHOULD easily be a top 10 offense in the league.