5-4-5-1-4-5-4-4-4-4

...and if so, how come Simon Nemec (3rd overall before Shane Wright!) and David Jiricek go off the board at slot #2 & #6?

Just a couple weeks ago, I watched him blow his defensive coverage and lead to an invasion by the opposition...there his still work to be done, but the good feet and instincts of the smaller Makar will aid in him getting better in his end. I am glad you all want to see him in Chicago next year, but I want him ready when he arrives to ride the waves of NHL attackers.
- wiz1901

Not all of us want him in Chicago, that sounds a bit crazy to me, but WTH do I know.

Petr Klima - Alef Ha Shalom
- LAHawk

One of the first pro player who was a right handed left wing as opposed to a Maurice Richard LhRw.

It must be me.

I got #1 again on Tankathon.

I am not doing anymore.


Let the hawks have their shot...maybe those late season victories were honest to goodness good luck for their lotto.

It’s crazy how few players we have walking this offseason. Toews, Athanasiou, Khaira are the only UFA forwards. Englund is the only UFA D. We could just not qualify Bjork, Wagner, C Jones, and Mitchell. But I want to keep Mitchell and Kurashev. Guys like Blackwell, Richardinson, seem to grow on trees. Every D on the nhl squad aside from Seth Jones could go and I’d be happy. Zaitsev, Murphy, C Jones, Tinordi, Englund are all below average defenseman and most are around 30 years old. Give those spots to some kids and let them learn the speed of the pros. Vlasic, Phillips, and others are knocking on the door but we’re going to let one of the above mentioned bums have their ice time? Come on.

I don’t care if the Hawks stink next year, they will. I will care if I have to hunt and peck for the one or two prospects they’re icing each night like this year. The misfits they iced at the end of this season isn’t really forgivable when there’s youth chomping at the bit and guys who COULD be part of the future here. No one aside from Jones and Kurashev has a high probability of being here in three years. Don’t waste our time as fans holding the kids back so that Jared Tinordi can show other plugs how to leadership qualities.

It's easy to fall in love with the prospects, but you can't look at all these guys with rose colored glasses and expect a lot of them to be mainstays on the team in a couple of years. Just my 2 cents.

Along the same lines Powers over at the Athletic is doing his countdown on the top 30 prospects. Here's his list so far starting from 30 to 11.

30-26 Teply, Stjernborg, Crevier, Slaggert, Rolston
25-21 Stauber, Roos, Regula, Saarela, James
20-16 Thompson, Hayes, Savoie, Allan, Luypen
15-11 Del Mastro, Commesso, Safanov, Phillips, Rinzel

You would think that several of the this year's 11 picks would be future top 20's, so IMO, the days are numbered for the guys presently ranked 21-30 above and are long, long shots to have any impact on the team. The 11-20 guys still have time to develop and hopefully several can contribute down the road.
- boilermaker100

Edit - Powers' prospect list 10 to 6.

10 Greene
9 Ludwinski
8 Dach
7 Guttman
6 Vlasic

Who's left? Nazar, Korchinski, Reichel, Kaiser, Soderblom ???

Not all of us want him in Chicago, that sounds a bit crazy to me, but WTH do I know.
- vabeachbear

Nope, let him marinate

The outcome of the AHL playoffs doesn't matter its the experience. The more games these kids get the better

What are we getting for taken on Goaler Campbell's contract for two more years at $5 million?
They have a second this year, a first and second in 2024 and a1st, and 3rd in 2025.


I am through tank- a thonning...now is the time to focus in on who we want the to pick with the Tampa Bay pick.

Edit - Powers' prospect list 10 to 6.

10 Greene
9 Ludwinski
8 Dach
7 Guttman
6 Vlasic

Who's left? Nazar, Korchinski, Reichel, Kaiser, Soderblom ???
- boilermaker100

If Gutman is our third best Forward IN THE SYSTEM, we better invest highly and be right on, 20 (19), 35, and 44....and I am far from convinced lil Dach can skate in the NHL well.

If Gutman is our third best Forward IN THE SYSTEM, we better invest highly and be right on, 20 (19), 35, and 44....and I am far from convinced lil Dach can skate in the NHL well.
- wiz1901

That's ridiculous ranking

Guys like Blackwell, Richardinson, seem to grow on trees.
- ObeseOprah

I agree about Blackwell, but I think Richardinson is EXACTLY the kind of player this team needs during this first phase of the rebuild. He plays solid mistake free hockey at nearly .40 ppg. He's a consistent lunch pail guy who was getting minutes in all situations. He probably has pretty good analytics for a team this bad and the number of times he came out of board battles with the puck was fairly amazing.
I am glad we have him signed through next season. He may get an "A"

If Gutman is our third best Forward IN THE SYSTEM, we better invest highly and be right on, 20 (19), 35, and 44....and I am far from convinced lil Dach can skate in the NHL well.
- wiz1901

Samuel Honzek or Kasper Halttunen

It’s crazy how few players we have walking this offseason. Toews, Athanasiou, Khaira are the only UFA forwards. Englund is the only UFA D. We could just not qualify Bjork, Wagner, C Jones, and Mitchell. But I want to keep Mitchell and Kurashev. Guys like Blackwell, Richardinson, seem to grow on trees. Every D on the nhl squad aside from Seth Jones could go and I’d be happy. Zaitsev, Murphy, C Jones, Tinordi, Englund are all below average defenseman and most are around 30 years old. Give those spots to some kids and let them learn the speed of the pros. Vlasic, Phillips, and others are knocking on the door but we’re going to let one of the above mentioned bums have their ice time? Come on.

I don’t care if the Hawks stink next year, they will. I will care if I have to hunt and peck for the one or two prospects they’re icing each night like this year. The misfits they iced at the end of this season isn’t really forgivable when there’s youth chomping at the bit and guys who COULD be part of the future here. No one aside from Jones and Kurashev has a high probability of being here in three years. Don’t waste our time as fans holding the kids back so that Jared Tinordi can show other plugs how to leadership qualities.
- ObeseOprah

How many players in the AHL are actually ready for NHL minutes? If you bring back S. Jones, Zaitsev, Murphy and Tinordi you have 2-3 spots open for younger players depending how serious they are about Z. I don't see a problem there. That way you have young players earning their time in the lineup and not just having it given to them. That said, I can see someone taking a flyer on Murphy for the right price.

They have plenty of space in the forward ranks. They only have 9 under contract (including Reichel, not counting Guttman) for next year as of right now. Expect them to take an ugly contract (ideally with a strong prospect) to help get to the cap.

We will see what shakes out, but you aren't going to see the entire Rockford squad in Chicago next year.

If Gutman is our third best Forward IN THE SYSTEM, we better invest highly and be right on, 20 (19), 35, and 44....and I am far from convinced lil Dach can skate in the NHL well.
- wiz1901

As the Hawks stand currently, I don’t think there’s any doubt that as a collection they have the worst set of forward prospects in the league. That needs to change in the next three years. The good news is that they have the picks to start accumulating those assets.

As the Hawks stand currently, I don’t think there’s any doubt that as a collection they have the worst set of forward prospects in the league. That needs to change in the next three years. The good news is that they have the picks to start accumulating those assets.
- Angotti

A good number of the guys picked last year are showing quite well. Nazar obviously needs another year to show what he can do, but his limited action this year was positive. Hayes showed really well. Savoie was a really nice surprise. Ludwinski showed a nice all around game even though his offensive numbers were behind expectation.

I just think they are very young and not yet ready to be big time players.

How many players in the AHL are actually ready for NHL minutes? If you bring back S. Jones, Zaitsev, Murphy and Tinordi you have 2-3 spots open for younger players depending how serious they are about Z. I don't see a problem there. That way you have young players earning their time in the lineup and not just having it given to them. That said, I can see someone taking a flyer on Murphy for the right price.

They have plenty of space in the forward ranks. They only have 9 under contract (including Reichel, not counting Guttman) for next year as of right now. Expect them to take an ugly contract (ideally with a strong prospect) to help get to the cap.

We will see what shakes out, but you aren't going to see the entire Rockford squad in Chicago next year.
- Chunk

That's because most of Rockford's forward group were AHL lifers. The upcoming season is where some prospects should start filtering into RFD.

Samuel Honzek or Kasper Halttunen
- DarthKane

Charlie Stramel. No Euros.

I agree about Blackwell, but I think Richardinson is EXACTLY the kind of player this team needs during this first phase of the rebuild. He plays solid mistake free hockey at nearly .40 ppg. He's a consistent lunch pail guy who was getting minutes in all situations. He probably has pretty good analytics for a team this bad and the number of times he came out of board battles with the puck was fairly amazing.
I am glad we have him signed through next season. He may get an "A"
- GreenJeans

The letters will be worn Jones, TJ and Murphy. JD won't come anywhere close to .40 ppg next season cause he won't have Kane to help pad his numbers. He is a fringe bottom of the roster guy.

The letters will be worn Jones, TJ and Murphy. JD won't come anywhere close to .40 ppg next season cause he won't have Kane to help pad his numbers. He is a fringe bottom of the roster guy.
- Elbows15

Murphy deserves an A on his chest as much as Rocky deserves a PR book deal for his town hall press conference.
‘Welcome to Chicago, come learn from the worst.’

How many players in the AHL are actually ready for NHL minutes? If you bring back S. Jones, Zaitsev, Murphy and Tinordi you have 2-3 spots open for younger players depending how serious they are about Z. I don't see a problem there. That way you have young players earning their time in the lineup and not just having it given to them. That said, I can see someone taking a flyer on Murphy for the right price.

They have plenty of space in the forward ranks. They only have 9 under contract (including Reichel, not counting Guttman) for next year as of right now. Expect them to take an ugly contract (ideally with a strong prospect) to help get to the cap.

We will see what shakes out, but you aren't going to see the entire Rockford squad in Chicago next year.
- Chunk

The Indy Fuel should have the best defense in the ECHL next season.

Murphy deserves an A on his chest as much as Rocky deserves a PR book deal for his town hall press conference.
‘Welcome to Chicago, come learn from the worst.’
- ObeseOprah

Been wearing one for two seasons. The worst would be Seth Jones. Thoough he would really good at teaching players how to dig the puck out of the net.

Been wearing one for two seasons. The worst would be Seth Jones. Thoough he would really good at teaching players how to dig the puck out of the net.
- Elbows15

Jones has an A -- had it this year -that was my major problem with Kyle's stupid statement about changing over leadership as a pretext for moving on from Toews ---'allow new leadership to develop' (outside of influence from the old leadership group). Otoh- I mean that includes a guy whose sole qualification seems to be that a former GM paid him more than anyone else left on the team. For me that isn't good enough.

Jones has an A -- had it this year -that was my major problem with Kyle's stupid statement about changing over leadership as a pretext for moving on from Toews ---'allow new leadership to develop' (outside of influence from the old leadership group). Otoh- I mean that includes a guy whose sole qualification seems to be that a former GM paid him more than anyone else left on the team. For me that isn't good enough.
- SC116

Yeah, hence the worse part of my comment. They give him a C in couple of years and he will be tied for the worse captain in hawks history with Adrian (frank)ing Aucoin.

Jones has an A -- had it this year -that was my major problem with Kyle's stupid statement about changing over leadership as a pretext for moving on from Toews ---'allow new leadership to develop' (outside of influence from the old leadership group). Otoh- I mean that includes a guy whose sole qualification seems to be that a former GM paid him more than anyone else left on the team. For me that isn't good enough.
- SC116

Does it matter at all who the captain will be next year? In 06-07 the captains were Aucoin and Lapointe. Did that matter at all to the trajectory of the club?

The difference between having Toews and Kane on the team and having Jones is that Toews and Kane came with a pedigree of being champions. Players deferred to them when on the ice and in the locker room. Very few will defer to Jones in either aspect.

There's been a lot of discussion here recently on the Kings. Here's an in-depth article about where they go from here.

https://www.thefourthperi...stmortem-skating-in-place
- boilermaker100

Great read. That is one fine writer.. Thanks for posting, BM.

LA didn't have a total teardown but they went from 64 points to 71 to 99 to 104 pts in their rebuild. Looks good to me, real good. Yes, they got bumped by EDM in the 1st rd the last 2 yrs but is that shameful? Does that say the rebuild wasn't good or should have been done differently?

And yes you need 1st rd picks to hit but I'm all in on 20 yr old Byfield with only 99 NHL games played. And I like their top 6/9 of Kopitar 35, Denault 30, Kempe 26, Fiala 26, Arvidson 30, Kaliyev 21, Kupari 23, Vilardi 23 and Byfield 20. And Clarke coming up in the D core with Doughty, Roy, Anderson and probably Gavrikov.

Yea losing in Rd 1 two yrs in a row sucks but you could be going forward with a lot less on your roster than LA has.