I kind of think it's why his name was "floated" out there in trade rumors that would never happen

Maybe show him he isnt quite untouchable
- PatShart

I'd agree.
If I were Rocky, I would be thinking about all the coin paid to this guy and yet-to-be-paid. I'd also be thinking my GM got rid of one of the most dynamic forwards in the game to get this highly paid guy back on-track, only to see his performance tail off yet again AND drag down his line mates.

I would not be at all surprised to see him moved, whether this yr or not.

Kempny seem to really enjoy the fans baring all for the cup champs...

https://www.thesun.co.uk/...-cup-washington-capitals/

I'd agree.
If I were Rocky, I would be thinking about all the coin paid to this guy and yet-to-be-paid. I'd also be thinking my GM got rid of one of the most dynamic forwards in the game to get this highly paid guy back on-track, only to see his performance tail off yet again AND drag down his line mates.

I would not be at all surprised to see him moved, whether this yr or not.
- savvyone-1

I'd agree with this.

The board is pretty split on the 19 debate. Personally, I'm ready for the Hawks to move on. I think it'd benefit the team, and truthfully, a change of scenery might benefit him. I certainly don't think he's done or anything like that, but it's hard to justify a $10.5 M man on the top line struggling to get consistent results.

EDIT:

Along the lines of floating the name as a "wakeup call". How come he has never been bumped down a line? A lot of guys are shifted for poor play, but he seems to have avoided this. I feel like that would send just as good (if not better) of a message than the name floating.

You tell us Bingo, you know Carolina well. What are the Canes in need of / what parts on the Hawks roster would be a fair return?

I do feel like a Faulk/Darling trade would imply that Crawford is not healthy or he is and Stan is finding a new home for him (that he's pre-approved to go to).
- Justin Lowe

No idea, to be honest. Saad would be the guy they'd be targeting, but I'm not sure that makes much sense for Chicago.

Thought it was time to subscribe to The Athletic with the Hawks drafting so high, 2 picks in the 1st rd, last yr being a train wreck and the coach and GM nowhere near being in sync.

Pronmen did an exhaustive ranking of the top 74 players. Kotkanieme 4th, Hughes 5th, Wahlstom 6th, Bokk 8th, Tkachuk 9th, Merkley 10th, Bouchard 17th, Dobson 20th.

Love how he obviously threw out the normal rankings and it reminded me the draft could shake out much much differently than we expect. The 27th is very interesting to me and he has LW Joel Farabee ranked 27th.

USNTDP U18 coach Seth Appert said: “He’s a complete player. He creates a ton of offense without any cheat to his game. He’s a 200-foot player. He’s a great penalty killer and dangerous shorthanded. He’s got the skill level to break you down 1-on-1 and make plays through people. He’s the absolute fiercest competitor.”
- Mr Ricochet

Damn if he’s ranked 27th. I hope the kings grab him at 20. I didn’t think he would fall past 15.

You tell us Bingo, you know Carolina well. What are the Canes in need of / what parts on the Hawks roster would be a fair return?

I do feel like a Faulk/Darling trade would imply that Crawford is not healthy or he is and Stan is finding a new home for him (that he's pre-approved to go to).
- Justin Lowe

I still have a feeling Crow is moved.

Reading between the lines, it certainly feels that way.

McPhee is regretting not pulling the trigger on a trade for Erik Karlsson at the deadline which was reportedly VERY close to going down from what I’ve read. One could argue his offense would’ve put Vegas over the top....or at least made this a 7 game series
- EnzoD

I wonder who broke off the trade. OTT or VGK? If it was VGK probably a stupid move.

Trotz...who Q schooled head to head while in the same division/playoffs?
- PatShart

WHOAH, wait a minute. History around here might be quite a bit different if Martin Erat didn't pull a colossally stupid move in 2010. Trotz and his guys had the hawks but they got away. Lavvy has the hawks dialed in these days. Without FU talent there's nothing the hawks coach can do about it. Just shuffling lines isn't going to get done.

No idea, to be honest. Saad would be the guy they'd be targeting, but I'm not sure that makes much sense for Chicago.
- BINGO!

I'd like to think Saad's season was a fluke, but you never know.

If CAR has an offer that makes sense, I'm down for the Hawks to make the trade. At this point, I just want to see a lot of these big-contract-low-performance guys moved.

I'll take the gamble on what they can bring in

I'd like to think Saad's season was a fluke, but you never know.

If CAR has an offer that makes sense, I'm down for the Hawks to make the trade. At this point, I just want to see a lot of these big-contract-low-performance guys moved.

I'll take the gamble on what they can bring in
- Hank3Henshaw

I think I'm in the same boat, but am getting concerned about how many ex hawks are on this team already. It's not like any other than TT and TVR have been any good.

Trotz...who Q schooled head to head because he had a vastly superior roster while in the same division/playoffs?
- PatShart

Fixed

I think I'm in the same boat, but am getting concerned about how many ex hawks are on this team already. It's not like any other than TT and TVR have been any good.
- BINGO!

No doubt.

Hawks have a problem bringing ex-players back.

Canes have a problem taking ex-Hawks.

I wonder who broke off the trade. OTT or VGK? If it was VGK probably a stupid move.
- KINGS67

Especially considering the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd he gave up for Tomas (frank)ing Tatar.....

Especially considering the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd he gave up for Tomas (frank)ing Tatar.....
- EnzoD

I laughed at that trade. I wanted LA to trade for him but not for that!! And he barely played. Awful move!

Especially considering the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd he gave up for Tomas (frank)ing Tatar.....
- EnzoD

Wasn't Tatar the guy who Bowman was supposedly gunning for two seasons ago but ended up getting another Slovakian instead in Jurco and claimed that Jurco was who he wanted all along?

You tell us Bingo, you know Carolina well. What are the Canes in need of / what parts on the Hawks roster would be a fair return?

I do feel like a Faulk/Darling trade would imply that Crawford is not healthy or he is and Stan is finding a new home for him (that he's pre-approved to go to).
- Justin Lowe

Justin first great job this season so far keep up the good work!!

What would your proposal be for Faulk and Darling?

I m sure there are many discussions going on between GM's right now any news that you can share or still to early.

Why is that a big deal? It seems like only players who spend the summer in Chicago are participating and if Toews is working out in Winnipeg or Montréal or wherever, who cares? As long as he doesn't spend all of the summer sunbathing somewhere on Carribean beach, of course. Isn't anyone (Rocky especially) worried about injuries in this new league? That must be a concern, unless it is strictly play for fun.
- stonefire

I'm guessing this will be a minimal contact league. Between the amount of money invested in the players taking part, and the fact I just read on the CPHL Twitter page that Olympic Gold Medalist Kendall Coyne was added to the Black team, It would seem that it is just a way to keep playing hockey.

I still have a feeling Crow is moved.

Reading between the lines, it certainly feels that way.
- Hank3Henshaw

Wouldn't shock me either.

Trotz...who Q schooled head to head while in the same division/playoffs?
- PatShart

Trotz. . . the guy who got an aging super star to give a phuck and coached a team lacking depth to a Stanley Cup victory.

Trotz. . . the guy who got an aging super star to give a phuck and coached a team lacking depth to a Stanley Cup victory.
- Dieselhead

I think it's pretty safe to say that most f the coaches in the NHL are very good. Q was a "guy who couldn't win it all" until he got to Chicago. And now with 3 straight down years he is a "bum".

Trotz never won anything... until he did.

Gallant had slightly above average results in FL, and now he's a guy who gets "everyone to buy into his system".

The list can go on and on and on.

I think we can all agree that it is a combination of talent, coaching, chemistry, "give a %$@#", and yes even some luck.

Murphy was a fine jr player. At the WJC U-18's he put up 13 points in 7 games although didn't play in the Ivan Hlinka Tournament for some reason.

I think the quote from a long piece on him sums it all up.

There is a tendency in hockey to focus on what a player can’t do, or how he hurts your team, rather than accentuating his positives. There is little doubt this is what is happening with Merkley, and maybe that’s justified because the problems in his game are very real.

Who’s willing to focus on Merkley’s positives? To fight the hockey instinct of seeing a player who takes too many risks on the ice, who has poor body language or an attitude problem as opposed to the player who can break a game wide open, who sees and thinks the game like few others in the world can?

Merkley was the second leading scorer on his team and the third most productive defenceman in the OHL with 67 points in 63 games. His talent is not in question by anyone. At some point in the draft, you go for pure talent. The question is, when?

No doubting his talent by anyone, no doubting his shortcomings on the ice as well and that's not mentioning any possible attitude/discipline problems, no doubting his high risk high reward nature, no doubting he'll be drafted, just a matter of where.
- Mr Ricochet

Knew Ryan Murphy had done well as a junior just hasn’t translated. I just found it interesting that the Athletic had Merkley at 10. As I have said his ranking is all over the map. Up to now I have seen him as a 2nd player that the Hawks should do whatever it takes to draft. I have said all aling that Merkley is the wildcard in the Draft. A team could certainly justify taking him high - higher than 10th. Top of Draft skill, skill at high speed, great skater, we’ll work on his D, we think he’s a good guy and whatever attitudinal problems he’s had are in the past and remember he is very young. Many other teams will see if he falls and will likely miss him but can also justify to themselves that approach. How about Wahlstrom AND Merkley? That would be something. The Hawks need new high-end talent. Arguably the Hawks really need change. There was once a time few could envision Toews, Seabs and Crawford not on the team but that might be exactly what needs to be done. The Hawks have been living in the past.

I think it's pretty safe to say that most f the coaches in the NHL are very good. Q was a "guy who couldn't win it all" until he got to Chicago. And now with 3 straight down years he is a "bum".

Trotz never won anything... until he did.

Gallant had slightly above average results in FL, and now he's a guy who gets "everyone to buy into his system".

The list can go on and on and on.

I think we can all agree that it is a combination of talent, coaching, chemistry, "give a %$@#", and yes even some luck.
- Chunk

Gallant was an excellent coach in Florida. Got fired by new idiots. Coaches are not the same. They are at different places on the spectrum. The best make a team better, set a team up for success. The worst act as an impediment where you hope the coach gets out of the way long enough for a solid team to succeed. Q is in the latter group. Q, like Scotty Bowman, has always coached elite teams. Would have been harder NOT to have success. Read into what Rocky is saying - he is looking at Vegas who are the misfit toys of the NHL and they are making it to the Cup Final while the Hawks with Toews, Kane, Saad, Keith, Seabrook, Anisimov and an absent Crawford can’t even make the play-offs. He’s a shrewd businessman and doesn’t like it.

WHOAH, wait a minute. History around here might be quite a bit different if Martin Erat didn't pull a colossally stupid move in 2010. Trotz and his guys had the hawks but they got away. Lavvy has the hawks dialed in these days. Without FU talent there's nothing the hawks coach can do about it. Just shuffling lines isn't going to get done.
- 6628

That was game 5 - Predator would have been up 3-2.

Given Q’s and the team’s future record in late series games, certainly they could have (and, IMO, probably would have) come back in games 6 and 7.

Should I add...

D. Toews eats a hamburger
- PatShart

E. Tazer harvests a great Kale crop.

Does anyone else get the feeling that 88 is a better leader than 19?