I’ll agree to disagree. They gave up a ton of goals it seemed after flower was dealt. Does a veteran goalie on the 2nd or 3rd tier really solve that?

I don’t want to see the group of players. Definition of insanity.
- SteveRain

Kinda coincided with Murphy going down as well, no?

Kinda coincided with Murphy going down as well, no?
- Chunk

NO...they were bad defensively with Murphy before and after Flower deal, and he's not a top pairing guy. They can do better...

But I did like what you did there.......

NO...they were bad defensively with Murphy before and after Flower deal, and he's not a top pairing guy. They can do better...

But I did like what you did there.......
- SteveRain

Who said a goalie of a second or third tier? KD said he was open to trading for one if need be also. There will be plenty of good goaltender either as a UFA or because the team needs to dump salary.

Casey deSmith is a UFA. He is stuck behind Triston Jarry. He would immediately become the Hawks #1 goaltender. Kuemper is a UFA, Colorado. don't think Colorado is resigning him, they signed Francouz , don't think they are looking to resign Kuemper. Billington is available by trade. I can go on and on.

And I don't want to see a team without Kane, ADB, and probably Toews, I think that will actually lengthen the rebuild by a decade at least. And you talk about fans in the seats, you would probably go years with less than 10,000, if they can watch better hockey/team for cheaper at a Wolves game. Lets see if Toronto can finally win a playoff series 6 years after Marner and Matthews came to the team.
- LAHawk

I am just a believer if you want to truly do a rebuild you need top picks and top prospects and the right structure to develop them. They filled one hole by trading for Jones and we can moan about his deal all day long but he's a top pairing d man on almost every NHL team.

From there...what else do you have? SO instead lets try to be the 17th-20th best team in the league, miss the playoffs, and draft way late in the round to restock a barren prospect pipeline?

They need to focus on the war (long term) and possibly lose a few battles (Toews, Kane, DeBrincat) to fetch the largest return they can.

The team on paper in September looked good as well and even with Fleury, and 4 NHL veteran d men, and a mostly veteran roster....they still were awful. WE can blame JC all day long, and he's at fault for some, but maybe the players just aren't that good.

You are all over Kubalik and I get that....what makes you think McCabe is going to bounce back and Murphy is going to stay healthy? Excuse me for not buying into the Dylan Strome love affair because he awoke for partial of a season...geez...when was the last time he did that and what did he do to follow that up once he got here? Exactly....lets see Strome do it again for a complete year....

Lots of questions on this team and doing a White Sox/Chicago Bulls type band aid on the titanic is exactly how they got where they are. KD said he wants to get good and stay good, and to do that he needs very good young players which team does not have, or even young players have shown they can be building blocks......jury is still out on a lot of them.

[quote=LAHawk]Unless they do what you wish, which is to tear it down to the studs (which I don't think happens, I think the team will be better next year

1) JC is gone. Also the Beach incident is in the rear view mirror.
2) Probably C. Jones, deHaan, Gus, gone from defense.
3) forward RFA's Dach, Krashev, Kubalik, Strome? I think Strome is back, Dach. for sure. Would anyone miss Kurashev or Kubalik? Can anyone playing for a contract have a worse year then Kubalik.
4) Competent goaltending. I think KD realizes Lankinen/Delia is not the answer,

Will they make the playoffs? Highly doubt it. But this was a team that went from nearly unwatchable to one that competed every night. Not down 3-0 after the first 10 minutes of a game, no crazy defensive scheme that I think was based on the Keystone Cops.

I agree with you. Though for some reason it seems every reporter taints everything they say about Delia. Sometimes that is indicative of an attitude or personality issue. I have not felt that reading about Lankinen. I think Lankinen stays and shares the net with a journeyman signed to a short term deal (and Lankinen signed to a cheap short term deal).

If KD is going to keep the brother thing going, he should figure out a way to get Jaccob Slavin. He’s very good at hockey.

Bruins ran Raanta, and he’s out. 22 year old Russian rookie with 3 NHL games is in.

Carolina hasn’t given up a SOG since the rook came in, and they’ve scored twice.

Don’t piss off the Canes.

If KD is going to keep the brother thing going, he should figure out a way to get Jaccob Slavin. He’s very good at hockey.
- scottak

Please god no...

That was a big boy play by Matthews. Good to see them ramping it up in the playoffs.

That was not a good hit. That was a great f'n hit.

Please god no...
- Chunk

I would take Slavin all day, every day. He is good. Really good.

I read here that Hedman has lost a step. Tonight... 1 goal and 2 apples.

If you lived here would you drop 4K a seat to watch this team for 41 games a year?

Their season ticket list is shrinking. They still haven't hit rock bottom. There is more bad than good still to come....and that's perfectly OK...but no, I don't think the Hawks will have 15K @sses in seats to watch them in 2 years. Not with everything else going on and the costs associated with every day vs discretionary dollars.
- SteveRain

Sad to say that after 59 years of season tickets in my family, we've opted out. 1963 was my dads first year of center ice mezzanine seats at the Stadium, then to 100 level center ice 4 aisle seats. It just became a matter of dollars and cents as alluded. Almost 50K for 4 seats of a floundering organization just wasn't feasible any longer.

I actually saw the handwriting on the wall after 2017 when they traded Panarin. I almost opted out then but gave them the benefit of the doubt that they could surround Kane, Toews, Keith, Hossa and Crawford with enough talent to make the playoffs and COMPETE. Sadly that didn't happen and I've had enough.

At least I got to see Keith and Kane score the 2 loudest and prettiest goals against Tampa in 2015. The UC truly was a Madhouse !!

Great Cup years that would have been a fourth in 2014 when we lost in OT to LA. Jeff Carter was offside on 2 of their goals but replay was not being used yet.
Too bad.

I know for a fact that their season ticket base is suffering for next year, but hopefully they'll put a New plan in place to revive this once top organization.

That was not a good hit. That was a great f'n hit.
- 6628

Absolutely smoked him.

I read here that Hedman has lost a step. Tonight... 1 goal and 2 apples.
- mohel

What?!? For real? I missed that one. When and how did Hedman lose a step? He may win the Norris. Mercy.

I would take Slavin all day, every day. He is good. Really good.
- Elbows15

Fine, I just don’t want the brother thing for the sake of them being brothers. It’s a completely unwarranted pet peeve of mine, but it irritates the living poop out of me.

Please god no...
- Chunk

Jaccob Slavin is really good. Unfortunately he’s under contract for another 4-5 years.

Simmonds playing like a moron tonight. Two bad penalties and not providing anything else.

Simmonds playing like a moron tonight. Two bad penalties and not providing anything else.
- Chunk

Just tonight? He's been nothing his entire career.

I am just a believer if you want to truly do a rebuild you need top picks and top prospects and the right structure to develop them. They filled one hole by trading for Jones and we can moan about his deal all day long but he's a top pairing d man on almost every NHL team.

From there...what else do you have? SO instead lets try to be the 17th-20th best team in the league, miss the playoffs, and draft way late in the round to restock a barren prospect pipeline?

They need to focus on the war (long term) and possibly lose a few battles (Toews, Kane, DeBrincat) to fetch the largest return they can.

The team on paper in September looked good as well and even with Fleury, and 4 NHL veteran d men, and a mostly veteran roster....they still were awful. WE can blame JC all day long, and he's at fault for some, but maybe the players just aren't that good.

You are all over Kubalik and I get that....what makes you think McCabe is going to bounce back and Murphy is going to stay healthy? Excuse me for not buying into the Dylan Strome love affair because he awoke for partial of a season...geez...when was the last time he did that and what did he do to follow that up once he got here? Exactly....lets see Strome do it again for a complete year....

Lots of questions on this team and doing a White Sox/Chicago Bulls type band aid on the titanic is exactly how they got where they are. KD said he wants to get good and stay good, and to do that he needs very good young players which team does not have, or even young players have shown they can be building blocks......jury is still out on a lot of them.
- SteveRain

So what if Kane says ok, I want to go to the Rangers, and the Rangers say fine, he only wants to come here, we will give you Blackhawks half of fair value. There gore yourbplethora of picks and prospects. Happened with Giroux this year. Philly had better offers, but he would only go to the Panthers.

You want to trade 24 yo ADB when he will be in his prime when the Hawks hope to compete again? I don’t understand that one at all.

Icehogs take game 1: 2-1

Reichel gets the first goal (and his first AHL playoff goal)
Soderblom lets in only one and makes 33 saves.
Ian Mitchell played (and was +2 for whatever that's worth)
Oddly, both Osipov and Gabriel suited up.
Beaudin did not play.

Watching Minny v BLahs and i must say the hat trick tradition of hats filling the ice is pretty darn cool IMO.

Watching Minny v BLahs and i must say the hat trick tradition of hats filling the ice is pretty darn cool IMO.
- SaskHawkFan

Too bad he was offside.

Too bad he was offside.
- Chunk

th

So what if Kane says ok, I want to go to the Rangers, and the Rangers say fine, he only wants to come here, we will give you Blackhawks half of fair value. There gore yourbplethora of picks and prospects. Happened with Giroux this year. Philly had better offers, but he would only go to the Panthers.

You want to trade 24 yo ADB when he will be in his prime when the Hawks hope to compete again? I don’t understand that one at all.
- LAHawk

The great rebuild hardly appears like it can be put into overdrive even if they Kane or DeBrincat. Essentially you need to hit a home run and get two top prisoects fir either of them. Are they tier one prosoects in the particular draft, because if not then are you going to get a really good player. You might get say a Reichel, who might become a good player but I don't see stud All star with Reichel

Look at this realistically

We can turn the defense around if Mitchell, Vlasic, Regula and Galvas become our top four. They certainly look more promising than a lot of our dmen this past season.

Now it may be a couple seasons and I am lukewarm counting on Soderstrom and or Comesso to become an improvement in goaltending. I do believe that Davidson is going to get a better veteran in the meantime.

Laakinen never was really good after his injuries this past season. Maybe.it is a 50/50 proposition if Laakinen could hold the fort for a couple years, then you hope one of the kids might be ready....but it kind of seems like Davidson wants to upgrade over Laakinen. We shall see what happens

Now please put on your thinking cap over the S Jones situation because too many on this board are making it into a much worse situation than it is.

Steve Rain is right when he said that Jones is a top pairing on most teams in the league. Oh sure he is overpaid. So...you think you can trade for a better dman. What do you give up as a sweetener if there is dman to replace S Jones. In a rebuild you want.to surrender a top prospect or early draft choice?

We need a big Sized dman
I don't see Vlasic or Regula as the big strong dman which Jones can be. Maybe Vlasic and Regula learn and use their strength at times, but every so often S Jones is that big strong dman. Jones contract might be an albatross to some readers here but how much less do you think you pay his replacement that you all want? In terms of big contracts we can afford, after next year it could be Kane, DeBrincat, Jones. None of our top young talent will command big money real soon. Just pay Jones, ok.

I prefer to not make any trades involving Kane, DeBrincat and Jones. Our improved defensemen, bottom line players from Rockford, eventually our draft choices under Davidson need to be good.

That is how I expect it will go