Instead Spence what forward would be ideal in a trade for McCabe?
- Scott1977

Aim high for Turcotte, settle for Fergamo.

McCabe will be easier to move. Less cap hit. Contract is one year shorter. Slightly better offensive skills. More mobile. Better outlet passes.

Murphy is a not good defense first defenseman and not much else. If I could get a 4th or 5th round pick without retaining salary for Murphy I would do it.

If I could get a 3rd round pick without retaining salary for McCabe I would do it. But with all the chatter a 2nd might be possible.

It also could be a bigger deal with other picks, contracts or players from both sides completing the deal.

If I could only move one or the other it definitely would be Murphy. I believe the plan for the Hawk D moving forward is big and mobile and can least make an outlet pass. Out of those qualifications Murphy is only big.

100%

I mean I just keep looking at this way.

Your say....Ian Mitchell. You get called up. You have a coach on your ass (rightfully so) and preaching this and that.....you sit there and then watch a vet like Murphy or Caleb Jones do the EXACT same thing and is the coach all over them? If anything they should more so because said vet should "know better"

I saw it firsthand when I sat behind their bench vs Pittsburgh and watched said coach...clench his fist and slam it against the glass in front of me out of anger for a moronic play Caleb Jones made.

They need veterans to help deliver the message as well, but what skins does Murphy have to be preaching anything to anyone on that bench or the room? Great you've been in the league...but what have you accomplished besides being on constant losing teams outside of pandemic gift playoff berth?

Ship him out and let him slot in as a bottom paired guy and let some coach sweat it when he costs said a team a game with his dumb play. Happy trails.
- SteveRain

Murphy is a perfect example of why promoting a Dman to the NHL way too soon often results in what he is now - a generally mediocre player for a very bad NHL team.

He plays 60 games total over 2 seasons in Major Jr. then 30 games in the AHL as a 1st year pro and then he is promoted to the Phoenix Coyotes at the age of 20. There is no development time spent under good coaching so the weaknesses in his game never get addressed.

And then noted accountant turned hockey talent bird dog Stan Bowman decides he is terrific and can replace Hammer so he trades for him and drops a very nice contract on him.

The rest of the league knows what Murphy is - a 5/6 Dman with some size. The Hawks got rid of somebody very similar that they drafted but had no room for or patience to develop - Justin Holl currently with the Maple Loafs. They are just guys who are suited for the bottom rungs of an NHL roster.

They've been saying that he has been trying to avoid an operation the past two years. Maybe that is case. Maybe people have nothing better to talk about.
- fattybeef

I still think there is a chance that he has had a chronic nagging injury for the past year or more. I could see him staying with the Hawks, going on LTIR before the TDL, giving the Hawks a ton of cap room to take on a bad contract or two and picking up other early round picks or nearly NHL ready prospects. Then he has surgery. During the summer he rehabs and is not ready to play again until December or so. At that time he would be a free agent. If he likes the the Hawks draft picks (Bedard/Fantili) and roster changes maybe he resigns with the Hawks. If he chooses not to sign with the Hawks, a healthy Kane as a UFA would be very attractive to a lot of teams next winter.

Murphy is a perfect example of why promoting a Dman to the NHL way too soon often results in what he is now - a generally mediocre player for a very bad NHL team.

He plays 60 games total over 2 seasons in Major Jr. then 30 games in the AHL as a 1st year pro and then he is promoted to the Phoenix Coyotes at the age of 20. There is no development time spent under good coaching so the weaknesses in his game never get addressed.

And then noted accountant turned hockey talent bird dog Stan Bowman decides he is terrific and can replace Hammer so he trades for him and drops a very nice contract on him.

The rest of the league knows what Murphy is - a 5/6 Dman with some size. The Hawks got rid of somebody very similar that they drafted but had no room for or patience to develop - Justin Holl currently with the Maple Loafs. They are just guys who are suited for the bottom rungs of an NHL roster.
- RickJ

I remember when Murphy was first coming into the league and being touted as a two way defender, part of Arizona’s endless ‘this time it’s different’ retooling. Him, ironically Domi and Strome, and a few others. Dave Tippett didn’t do much to help him, but it didn’t matter much because Murphy is a poor skater. Hockey IQ and hands can only help so much, not that he has either, when you skate poorly it makes the rest of the game exceedingly difficult.
Murphy was an eternal prospect, something any fellow Cub fans in here know all too well. Another Bobby Hill, Jeremy Morin, take your pick.
We all know the Q story of him storming out when he heard they traded Hjalmarsson, part of me thinks he was mostly pissed they got such a turnstile in return. Q never forgets a shift, he saw all he needed to see of future assistant captain hot wheels.

Based on last year, if KD believes he is not getting fair value back, he won’t make the deal. He didn’t trade Strome, Kubalik, and who knows who else, and just let them walk at the end of the year. Just because Kane,Toews might waive the NMC, I don’t think KD will move them unless he is satisfied that he gets a fair return.
- LAHawk

I agree, KD needs to think about how any trade he makes today might undermine his future trades. He can't become a target for bargain hunters.
And I believe McCabe and Murphy only get traded if the return is eye popping. Move on from C Jones, J. Johnson and Tinordi after this year and let 4 kids move up from the pipeline. They can always trade one or both of them next year, maybe even go for an NHL ready, but unproven prospect in return. KD seems to have some players he has coveted over the years. We also need their salaries (or cap hits coming back) for next season's cap floor which simply cannot be overlooked in the next month.

One day we will need to compile a list. I do miss Jeff Shantz breaking down 1995 games to me with his insight. Or the preacher who couldn't say New Jersey "Devils"

Sadly...I do miss a lot the older guys who were around.
- SteveRain

Who was the guy who was piss your pants funny? I miss him. Was it Bunny something?

Murphy is a perfect example of why promoting a Dman to the NHL way too soon often results in what he is now - a generally mediocre player for a very bad NHL team.

He plays 60 games total over 2 seasons in Major Jr. then 30 games in the AHL as a 1st year pro and then he is promoted to the Phoenix Coyotes at the age of 20. There is no development time spent under good coaching so the weaknesses in his game never get addressed.

And then noted accountant turned hockey talent bird dog Stan Bowman decides he is terrific and can replace Hammer so he trades for him and drops a very nice contract on him.

The rest of the league knows what Murphy is - a 5/6 Dman with some size. The Hawks got rid of somebody very similar that they drafted but had no room for or patience to develop - Justin Holl currently with the Maple Loafs. They are just guys who are suited for the bottom rungs of an NHL roster.
- RickJ

Believe it or not, based on the measurements available, Murphy is a pretty solid NHL defender.

Is he good - nah. Is he terrible - nah. Is he a 4 million dollar guy that should play 18 minutes you don't remember - yeah.

Has nothing to do with bringing guys up early.

Kinda like Johnny Oduya - who was frequently referred to as the pizza man for serving the other team a pie on a platter but turned out to be a fairly decent player - at the end of the day was he a great player? Definitely not. But he was fine for what he was which was a minute eating, probably not gonna do too many stupid things per game and you know what you get for a fair price - absolutely.

If Connor Murphy is the guy you're complaining about then it truly is a terrible team bereft of talent which is exactly what the Hawks have been the last half dozen or so years.

Believe it or not, based on the measurements available, Murphy is a pretty solid NHL defender.

Is he good - nah. Is he terrible - nah. Is he a 4 million dollar guy that should play 18 minutes you don't remember - yeah.

Has nothing to do with bringing guys up early.

Kinda like Johnny Oduya - who was frequently referred to as the pizza man for serving the other team a pie on a platter but turned out to be a fairly decent player - at the end of the day was he a great player? Definitely not. But he was fine for what he was which was a minute eating, probably not gonna do too many stupid things per game and you know what you get for a fair price - absolutely.

If Connor Murphy is the guy you're complaining about then it truly is a terrible team bereft of talent which is exactly what the Hawks have been the last half dozen or so years.
- fattybeef

Man Oduya getting mentioned in the same post as Murphy is rough. Maybe we don’t remember him from 2013-15, guy was an absolute workhorse. Our D never really recovered from those three deep years, especially 2015. He was a perfect example of a Q dman, almost always making the right play, never willfully surrendering possession, making high percentage passes, etc.
Murphy is none of that. Oduya Hjalmarsson was an elite shutdown pair.

I still think there is a chance that he has had a chronic nagging injury for the past year or more. I could see him staying with the Hawks, going on LTIR before the TDL, giving the Hawks a ton of cap room to take on a bad contract or two and picking up other early round picks or nearly NHL ready prospects. Then he has surgery. During the summer he rehabs and is not ready to play again until December or so. At that time he would be a free agent. If he likes the the Hawks draft picks (Bedard/Fantili) and roster changes maybe he resigns with the Hawks. If he chooses not to sign with the Hawks, a healthy Kane as a UFA would be very attractive to a lot of teams next winter.
- -Doh-

Then there is the case of Seabrook who was never ready to play again.

I can't see putting Bedard in a five thousand seat area.

Believe it or not, based on the measurements available, Murphy is a pretty solid NHL defender.

Is he good - nah. Is he terrible - nah. Is he a 4 million dollar guy that should play 18 minutes you don't remember - yeah.

Has nothing to do with bringing guys up early.

Kinda like Johnny Oduya - who was frequently referred to as the pizza man for serving the other team a pie on a platter but turned out to be a fairly decent player - at the end of the day was he a great player? Definitely not. But he was fine for what he was which was a minute eating, probably not gonna do too many stupid things per game and you know what you get for a fair price - absolutely.

If Connor Murphy is the guy you're complaining about then it truly is a terrible team bereft of talent which is exactly what the Hawks have been the last half dozen or so years.
- fattybeef

I'm not complaining about Murphy, I just defined what he is as an NHL defenceman today. If he was on a good NHL team with talent up front, better goaltending and other good rearguards, he is a 5/6. On this dreadful team, he plays a level above where he belongs.

And if you watched the Bruins -Leafs game last night, you saw what a team that applies a heavy forecheck does to young defencemen in their own zone. They rush, they panic, they turn the puck over.

If you bring up 20 yr old Dmen to an NHL team, their names had better be Hedman, Doughty, Makar, Heiskanen, McAvoy, etc. Connor Murphy was and will never be close to any of those players.

I'm not complaining about Murphy, I just defined what he is as an NHL defenceman today. If he was on a good NHL team with talent up front, better goaltending and other good rearguards, he is a 5/6. On this dreadful team, he plays a level above where he belongs.

And if you watched the Bruins -Leafs game last night, you saw what a team that applies a heavy forecheck does to young defencemen in their own zone. They rush, they panic, they turn the puck over.

If you bring up 20 yr old Dmen to an NHL team, their names had better be Hedman, Doughty, Makar, Heiskanen, McAvoy, etc. Connor Murphy was and will never be close to any of those players.
- RickJ

If you had to bet a dollar today do you think Korchinski plays with the Hawks or is back in the CHL next yr? And to further that, and I know it's too early to say, which Dman rookies are the most probable to be with the Hawks next yr?

If you had to bet a dollar today do you think Korchinski plays with the Hawks or is back in the CHL next yr? And to further that, and I know it's too early to say, which Dman rookies are the most probable to be with the Hawks next yr?
- Mr Ricochet

Korchinski gets the Brandt Clarke treatment. Stars the season in the NahL. Mostly sits in the press box, goes down to the A on a “conditioning loan” plays 5 games gets called up gets 9 games total, goes to world juniors, then after goes back to Seattle to finish out the year so his ELC slides again.

Phillips, Roos, and Mitchell also are with the Hawks ( if Mitchell is not traded first)

If you had to bet a dollar today do you think Korchinski plays with the Hawks or is back in the CHL next yr? And to further that, and I know it's too early to say, which Dman rookies are the most probable to be with the Hawks next yr?
- Mr Ricochet

He is still 18 and unless their is crazy pressure from above to play him, at best he gets the 10 game intro to the NHL and goes back to junior and another shot in the WJC in Sweden on the big ice. His minutes were cut back in the final games in this year's tourney. Not much sense throwing him into the pool in the man's league too soon, the Hawks will probably be even worse next year.

Wouldn't Vlasic be next logical candidate up to the NHL next year? Surely he can beat Caleb Jones out of a job.

Korchinski gets the Brandt Clarke treatment. Stars the season in the NahL. Mostly sits in the press box, goes down to the A on a “conditioning loan” plays 5 games gets called up gets 9 games total, goes to world juniors, then after goes back to Seattle to finish out the year so his ELC slides again.

Phillips, Roos, and Mitchell also are with the Hawks ( if Mitchell is not traded first)
- LAHawk

Same scenario as done with Seattle's Shane Wright.

Murphy is a perfect example of why promoting a Dman to the NHL way too soon often results in what he is now - a generally mediocre player for a very bad NHL team.

He plays 60 games total over 2 seasons in Major Jr. then 30 games in the AHL as a 1st year pro and then he is promoted to the Phoenix Coyotes at the age of 20. There is no development time spent under good coaching so the weaknesses in his game never get addressed.

And then noted accountant turned hockey talent bird dog Stan Bowman decides he is terrific and can replace Hammer so he trades for him and drops a very nice contract on him.

The rest of the league knows what Murphy is - a 5/6 Dman with some size. The Hawks got rid of somebody very similar that they drafted but had no room for or patience to develop - Justin Holl currently with the Maple Loafs. They are just guys who are suited for the bottom rungs of an NHL roster.
- RickJ

Well you articulated this a helluva lot nicer than I ever could.

Who was the guy who was piss your pants funny? I miss him. Was it Bunny something?
- 6628

There has been a few.....I think it was "Bunny" or "benny"

Believe it or not, based on the measurements available, Murphy is a pretty solid NHL defender.

Is he good - nah. Is he terrible - nah. Is he a 4 million dollar guy that should play 18 minutes you don't remember - yeah.

Has nothing to do with bringing guys up early.

Kinda like Johnny Oduya - who was frequently referred to as the pizza man for serving the other team a pie on a platter but turned out to be a fairly decent player - at the end of the day was he a great player? Definitely not. But he was fine for what he was which was a minute eating, probably not gonna do too many stupid things per game and you know what you get for a fair price - absolutely.

If Connor Murphy is the guy you're complaining about then it truly is a terrible team bereft of talent which is exactly what the Hawks have been the last half dozen or so years.
- fattybeef

Eh....Johnny Oduya was 100% the pizza man here vs Phoenix in that series when he was afraid to take a hit.

Only after settling in with hammer did he become what you described. So was it MORE playing with Hammer? I would think so.....

Again, it's not Murphy's personal fault people, cough---Stan Bowman, overvalued what he truly is and that is a 5-6 d man. Good for Murphy for getting paid higher than what he slot for, but now is the time for Davidson to sell him off and move along.

Korchinski gets the Brandt Clarke treatment. Stars the season in the NahL. Mostly sits in the press box, goes down to the A on a “conditioning loan” plays 5 games gets called up gets 9 games total, goes to world juniors, then after goes back to Seattle to finish out the year so his ELC slides again.

Phillips, Roos, and Mitchell also are with the Hawks ( if Mitchell is not traded first)
- LAHawk

And as BM points out this was the same "developmental path" as Wright. Has NHL clubs found a kind of work around to the NHL-CHL agreement that keeps players in juniors until they are out of jrs eligibility? ..... We'll see but an interesting option/path.

Gotta wonder if Vlasic isn't one of the rookies up with the Hawks next yr as Rick points out. Camp/preseason will answer some questions, but Vlasic seems sufficiently ready.

He is still 18 and unless their is crazy pressure from above to play him, at best he gets the 10 game intro to the NHL and goes back to junior and another shot in the WJC in Sweden on the big ice. His minutes were cut back in the final games in this year's tourney. Not much sense throwing him into the pool in the man's league too soon, the Hawks will probably be even worse next year.

Wouldn't Vlasic be next logical candidate up to the NHL next year? Surely he can beat Caleb Jones out of a job.
- RickJ

Seems Korchinski won't get much more development out of jrs by next yr but IMO, as of today, less chance for harm KK doing another yr of jrs than being brought up to the NHL as a 19/20 yr old on a bad team.

Kid is the centerpiece of D prospects, I don't think KD and staff will take unnecessary risks with the kid.

Seems Korchinski won't get much more development out of jrs by next yr but IMO, as of today, less chance for harm KK doing another yr of jrs than being brought up to the NHL as a 19/20 yr old on a bad team.

Kid is the centerpiece of D prospects, I don't think KD and staff will take unnecessary risks with the kid.
- Mr Ricochet

i would agree. i think this GM is probably going to be alot more patient and hopefully invests more into player development.

Let's say KK stays in Juniors or gets the Brandt Clarke treatment.

Allan, DelMastro, and Kaiser probably make the jump to Rockford. Roos, Phillips, Vlasic, Crevier. Regula, Galvas plus a couple of AHL vets already there. Quite a log jam, not even including Mitchell. Might see some veteran or prospect D
moved now or in the summer to make room for everyone in Rockford and Chicago.

Man Oduya getting mentioned in the same post as Murphy is rough. Maybe we don’t remember him from 2013-15, guy was an absolute workhorse. Our D never really recovered from those three deep years, especially 2015. He was a perfect example of a Q dman, almost always making the right play, never willfully surrendering possession, making high percentage passes, etc.
Murphy is none of that. Oduya Hjalmarsson was an elite shutdown pair.
- ObeseOprah

Do people not remember how much he got beat up here until they won a cup then all of a sudden he was so amazing and steady?

Do people not remember how much he got beat up here until they won a cup then all of a sudden he was so amazing and steady?
- fattybeef

He got beat up because he deserved it.

Playing with Hammer 100% propelled his career. Hammer took him to the next level as all great players do.