Trading SAAD and Murph now would be a mistake. with the cap going up that much this year contracts are going to also go up. They may both looked overpaid today but lets talk about after next season when salaries go up 7% from a year earlier. We would be smart locking up Nick this off season on a Long term deal.
- kmw4631

how can you say it is a mistake if you don't know what they're getting back for either of them? They both could be nice pieces and, yes, could be "bargains" at the end of their contracts if they improve their performance. But maybe the Hawks get something back that works out better. Neither of them are cornerstone / build the roster around these guys kinds of players

I am....and I follow you. Feel free to post this one yourself, it's all yours.
- DarthKane

I sweetened it up just a tad for us:

#TraAndLaz

To Carolina:

Saad, Anisimov, Hossa ($5.275 million), Forsberg
27th overall in 2018
Rights to Ian Mitchell

To Chicago
Darling (50% retained $2.01 million)
Faulk, Skinner, Rask,
4th round pick in 2018 (from Yotes)

I sweetened it up just a tad for us:

#TraAndLaz

To Carolina:

Saad, Anisimov, Hossa ($5.275 million), Forsberg
27th overall in 2018
Rights to Ian Mitchell

To Chicago
Winnwell Target Shooter for Net
Faulk, Skinner, Rask,
4th round pick in 2018 (from Yotes)
- walleyeb1

Fixed it for you, my man

Powers article:

Excerpt:

“I had seen they drafted Teuvo and Henri,” Kotkaniemi said by phone from Finland recently. “I think they like Finnish guys. I hope they like me too.”

The Blackhawks liked Kotkaniemi enough to have lunch with him at the recent NHL draft combine in Buffalo. Kotkaniemi said the lunch went well, and that he enjoyed talking with Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman and senior director of amateur scouting Mark Kelley.

“They were great guys,” Kotkaniemi said. “I liked them a lot.”

https://theathletic.com/3...under-for-the-blackhawks/

Fixed it for you, my man
- Hank3Henshaw

Yeah unless it involves Hossa’s contract being sent to CAR and some big pieces coming with him to Chicago, Scott Darling didn’t belong in the NHL last season....hard pass.

Its refreshing
- riozzo

In my opinion Murphy is a solid 4 or 5 d man contract is not horrible plus he takes the body and plays with edge just needs to work on his skating.

Yeah unless it involves Hossa’s contract being sent to CAR and some big pieces coming with him to Chicago, Scott Darling didn’t belong in the NHL last season....hard pass.
- EnzoD

This was for the express purpose of tweaking Lazerus and Myers mail bag on Twitter.

This was for the express purpose of tweaking Lazerus and Myers mail bag on Twitter.
- walleyeb1

What did you change? I saw you first my mistake of the Hawks draft pick and changed the pick the Canes were giving up. Did I miss something else (remember I'm drunk)?

What did you change? I saw you first my mistake of the Hawks draft pick and changed the pick the Canes were giving up. Did I miss something else (remember I'm drunk)?
- DarthKane

Got us a better draft pick.

Give 19 some REAL wingers

NOT Saad or Paniks of the NHL

Let him play with Schmaltz & Cat for a full year

Saad is awful & Panik was worse

Signed Panarin & let 88 play with him for 2 years

So get 19 a top NHL winger & let him play on his wing for a full season

19 has played with mostly JUNK for 3 years now

Still kills PK & wins draws at key times HUGE

Seabrook contract is the WORST in NHL right now so dump that before anything else

And trade up to grab Quinn REAL DEAL Hughes & sign Marzek for backup ASAP


- Goalie-33

So...killing penalties and winning a faceoff is 10.5mil worthy...but everyone else is garbage, including Kane. Got it.

Hard to believe Zadina drops to us. Someone will grab Tkachuk because he is too hard to pass.... is nasty and enough ability. His sign -ability and NHL role immediately, though, may force someone to pass whom really wanted tisnag him.

- jhawk59

No, Zadina should go third overall.

My point is if those guys drop, we are having good Hawk luck, because more probably they are gone...

I haven’t drank light beer in ages. Colorado is a Craft Beer lovers paradise with hundreds of breweries to choose from. IPAs and Stouts are my choice. Back to Ovi....the effort, enthusiasm, and production all Spring was infectious for his team. The velocity + accuracy of his 1 timer...just unstoppable.
- EnzoD

Enzo. Have you had Pikes Peak Brewery craft beer? Very tasty!!!!!

In my opinion Murphy is a solid 4 or 5 d man contract is not horrible plus he takes the body and plays with edge just needs to work on his skating.
- Scott1977

For a guy whose 6'4 he moves really well.

Enzo. Have you had Pikes Peak Brewery craft beer? Very tasty!!!!!
- glennjpawlak22

I have not. I love Escape IPA and their Sour IPA is delicious but I can only do a couple in one sitting with the sugar in the sour beer. I’ll have to try out Pikes Peak. Breckenridge Brewery’s Bumps and Jumps is also a favorite of mine during a day of skiing.

Powers article:

Excerpt:

“I had seen they drafted Teuvo and Henri,” Kotkaniemi said by phone from Finland recently. “I think they like Finnish guys. I hope they like me too.”

The Blackhawks liked Kotkaniemi enough to have lunch with him at the recent NHL draft combine in Buffalo. Kotkaniemi said the lunch went well, and that he enjoyed talking with Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman and senior director of amateur scouting Mark Kelley.

“They were great guys,” Kotkaniemi said. “I liked them a lot.”

https://theathletic.com/3...under-for-the-blackhawks/
- walleyeb1

You know they talk about Kotkaniemi's skating being a bit funky and average bit this 10:00 clip with dialogue, not a highlight reel, shows him at the 5 nations this yr and what I see is the big kid always has the speed to get around a defender and excellent balance, very strong on his skates. His size/balance allows him to keep possession. No doubt he plays the game fast and his smarts and hands keep up with that speed. This kid is not slow.

Veeeeeeeeeery intriguing player to me, a centerman, after seeing a full 10:00 of this kid vs international competition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHsCAbU8HW0

Good chance Wahlstrom and Kotkiniemi are on the board at #8 and if so the Hawks have a big decision to make. Although I think they go Wahlstrom due to his pure offensive upside but the Fin at 6ft 2in 200lbs+ as a centerman would be tough to pass for any franchise so weak at center in their system.

Great debate at The Athletic about the two players.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi

Goldstein: Jesperi Kotkaniemi, a 17-year-old center from Finland, is a player you both have in your top 10, but Corey has him at No. 4 and Scott has him at No. 9. Corey, what do you like about Kotkaniemi?

Pronman: High-end brain, high-end skills, I think you can argue both of those attributes look elite some days. He’s got size and projects down the middle based on his two-way play at the international level. He’s not a pretty skater but average overall from what I’ve seen. He’s one of the youngest players in the draft and yet has shown he can play at a very high level versus men in Finland’s top league and his peer group. He has the attributes you want in a top-tier prospect.

Wheeler: No disagreement there. I really, really like Kotkaniemi and his tools as translatable. But I do have a clear top-eight and the difference, for me, between Kotkaniemi and Hughes, Boqvist, Bouchard or Oliver Wahlstrom just lays in their ceilings. I think Kotkaniemi has first-line upside at his peak, but I’d probably bet on him being a 2C before anything else. And I think Wahlstrom projects as an impact goal scorer higher in the lineup, while the three defencemen all have No. 2 upside with different kinds of offensive flair and PP1 potential. I like Kotkaniemi’s range and his puck skills/finishing ability around the net, but his stride is a little awkward. The July birthday helps, though. There’s no rush.

Pronman: What does Wahlstrom do better than Kotkaniemi?

Wheeler: Kotkaniemi has some size and strength to his game that Wahlstrom hasn’t yet added, but I think Wahlstrom is a better skater and a significantly better shooter, in motion and from a standstill. Outside Andrei Svechnikov, I don’t think there’s a better pure shooter in the class than Wahlstrom. Only Auston Matthews has ever scored more than the 70 goals Wahlstrom scored with the program this year.

Pronman: I don’t disagree with that but Wahlstrom drags his feet now and again, negating part of that skating advantage. He doesn’t drive play like Kotkaniemi does. Kotkaniemi’s a high-end playmaker. Much more skilled and smarter. That’s where value is in any league, high-end center talents who can drive a line. The shooting talent isn’t enough to negate that.

Wheeler: See, I wouldn’t classify him as much more skilled. There’s certainly a playmaking advantage as a passer/creator for his linemates, but I really liked the way Wahlstrom opened up his game in the second half of the year as a playmaker when he started to draw more attention as a shot threat — and he’s an excellent handler. Part of that new dynamic to his game was helped by the return of Jake Wise and arrival of Hughes, but Wahlstrom’s more than just a shooter. There’s no question you take the line-driving 1C over the goal scoring 1W; I just think there’s a better chance Wahlstrom hits that ceiling than Kotkaniemi does, and the impact scoring winger who can change a game in a split second with one touch has more value than the productive 2C.

Goldstein: Where do you realistically see Kotkaniemi being drafted? And which teams would he be the best fit for?

Wheeler: It’s always hard to gauge because team lists vary so much, but I think the Blackhawks at No. 8 or the Oilers at No. 10 are probably his most likely landing spots, just because it sounds like the Canucks and the Rangers are going to take a defenseman at No. 7 and No. 9.

Pronman: First, I was at most of Wahlstrom’s games prior to Hughes’ arrival. That team struggled to create offense. He drove play but it was not the dominance you saw with a true driver like Hughes on his line. Second, from my observations watching both of them at the U18 Five Nations in February and IIHF tournament in April, as well as talking to members of the team staffs that were tasked with stopping them, they felt Kotkaniemi was a notably harder player to contain. That he was the line driver on a team that skated with the NTDP at the gold medal game at both tournaments also speaks volumes.

I don’t think I’m alone in this assessment from talking to NHL folks, so I could see him go to either Montreal at No. 3 or Arizona at No. 5.

You know they talk about Kotkaniemi's skating being a bit funky and average bit this 10:00 clip with dialogue, not a highlight reel, shows him at the 5 nations this yr and what I see is the big kid always has the speed to get around a defender and excellent balance, very strong on his skates. His size/balance allows him to keep possession. No doubt he plays the game fast and his smarts and hands keep up with that speed. This kid is not slow.

Veeeeeeeeeery intriguing player to me, a centerman, after seeing a full 10:00 of this kid vs international competition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHsCAbU8HW0
- Mr Ricochet

Thanks for sharing that video. Kotkaniemi seems to be a pretty good passer, dishing in tight spaces and finding an open teammate.

You know they talk about Kotkaniemi's skating being a bit funky and average bit this 10:00 clip with dialogue, not a highlight reel, shows him at the 5 nations this yr and what I see is the big kid always has the speed to get around a defender and excellent balance, very strong on his skates. His size/balance allows him to keep possession. No doubt he plays the game fast and his smarts and hands keep up with that speed. This kid is not slow.

Veeeeeeeeeery intriguing player to me, a centerman, after seeing a full 10:00 of this kid vs international competition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHsCAbU8HW0
- Mr Ricochet

For those who watch pay attention towards the end of the commentary that mentions in the pro league that Kotkaniemi played in as a July birthdate the 17 yr old averaged 1/2 point per game vs men and that league keeps fancy stats and the kid was well over a 50% corsi. He did however play wing on that pro team.

And Wiz watching this I see what had you so high on this Fin. A lot to like, a lot. If he hits as a #1 centerman in the NHL he'll be a beast.

Thanks for sharing that video. Kotkaniemi seems to be a pretty good passer, dishing in tight spaces and finding an open teammate.
- AEL_Fox

Agreed, helluva passer and very nimble feet/hands in tight spaces. IMO that's due to excellent balance. Great reach too. Kid oozes IQ.

For those who watch pay attention towards the end of the commentary that mentions in the pro league that Kotkaniemi played in as a July birthdate the 17 yr old averaged 1/2 point per game vs men and that league keeps fancy stats and the kid was well over a 50% corsi. He did however play wing on that pro team.

And Wiz watching this I see what had you so high on this Fin. A lot to like, a lot. If he hits as a #1 centerman in the NHL he'll be a beast.
- Mr Ricochet

I would gladly take a Mikko Koivu type C

Am I the only one that thinks, “get off the Scott Darling is a starting goalie and we need to get him back “bandwagon. You saw the real person playing in front of an average team this year. He is what he is, a good back up goalie worth maybe 900,000 a year. He is no starter. I believe his contract Might have cost Ron Francis his job.I have no problem trading with Carolina, and I would actually like Teuvo back, but no to Scott Darling and that kind of money, if Carolina wants to eat all but 900,000 of that money well then there is a different story but he would come back only as Corey Crawford’s back up.

And Wiz watching this I see what had you so high on this Fin. A lot to like, a lot. If he hits as a #1 centerman in the NHL he'll be a beast.
- Mr Ricochet

He's special, in that he (in his goofy stride) drives the play in, comes hard in the dirty areas, and he simply is so "head-smart" and passes before they know it.
he is creative, nimble, and not finished growing.
and he is safe...If he doesn't become a true #1, he plays somewhere in the top six and helps you.Is he your future power winger or your big centre? He can be such high end puck hander, be a tank-like aggressive force with his work in the crease area, or he can defend away from the puck, or be so strong on the puck, teams might project him as that big wing every team is looking for. But surely when he was finally elevated to first line centre in the U-18 Worlds, and he showed a high end potential , and did that now project him as a forceful, physical future NHL centre? The fact that he is very proficient in the face-off circle might have NHL scouting staffs figuring he should get ample chances to develop as a pivot. Strong on his skates in his possessions and very effective on the defensive side. Needs a step to get going and is straight line attacker, but is patient and sneaky with a good wrist shot, and the ability to gift-wrap pucks to teammates. The team that drafts him will be hopeful he continues to build leg strength and fill in fully. Lots to like about his vision and hockey smarts and upside.

Did I just quote myself?

Good chance Wahlstrom and Kotkiniemi are on the board at #8 and if so the Hawks have a big decision to make. Although I think they go Wahlstrom due to his pure offensive upside but the Fin at 6ft 2in 200lbs+ as a centerman would be tough to pass for any franchise so weak at center in their system.

Great debate at The Athletic about the two players.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi

Goldstein: Jesperi Kotkaniemi, a 17-year-old center from Finland, is a player you both have in your top 10, but Corey has him at No. 4 and Scott has him at No. 9. Corey, what do you like about Kotkaniemi?

Pronman: High-end brain, high-end skills, I think you can argue both of those attributes look elite some days. He’s got size and projects down the middle based on his two-way play at the international level. He’s not a pretty skater but average overall from what I’ve seen. He’s one of the youngest players in the draft and yet has shown he can play at a very high level versus men in Finland’s top league and his peer group. He has the attributes you want in a top-tier prospect.

Wheeler: No disagreement there. I really, really like Kotkaniemi and his tools as translatable. But I do have a clear top-eight and the difference, for me, between Kotkaniemi and Hughes, Boqvist, Bouchard or Oliver Wahlstrom just lays in their ceilings. I think Kotkaniemi has first-line upside at his peak, but I’d probably bet on him being a 2C before anything else. And I think Wahlstrom projects as an impact goal scorer higher in the lineup, while the three defencemen all have No. 2 upside with different kinds of offensive flair and PP1 potential. I like Kotkaniemi’s range and his puck skills/finishing ability around the net, but his stride is a little awkward. The July birthday helps, though. There’s no rush.

Pronman: What does Wahlstrom do better than Kotkaniemi?

Wheeler: Kotkaniemi has some size and strength to his game that Wahlstrom hasn’t yet added, but I think Wahlstrom is a better skater and a significantly better shooter, in motion and from a standstill. Outside Andrei Svechnikov, I don’t think there’s a better pure shooter in the class than Wahlstrom. Only Auston Matthews has ever scored more than the 70 goals Wahlstrom scored with the program this year.

Pronman: I don’t disagree with that but Wahlstrom drags his feet now and again, negating part of that skating advantage. He doesn’t drive play like Kotkaniemi does. Kotkaniemi’s a high-end playmaker. Much more skilled and smarter. That’s where value is in any league, high-end center talents who can drive a line. The shooting talent isn’t enough to negate that.

Wheeler: See, I wouldn’t classify him as much more skilled. There’s certainly a playmaking advantage as a passer/creator for his linemates, but I really liked the way Wahlstrom opened up his game in the second half of the year as a playmaker when he started to draw more attention as a shot threat — and he’s an excellent handler. Part of that new dynamic to his game was helped by the return of Jake Wise and arrival of Hughes, but Wahlstrom’s more than just a shooter. There’s no question you take the line-driving 1C over the goal scoring 1W; I just think there’s a better chance Wahlstrom hits that ceiling than Kotkaniemi does, and the impact scoring winger who can change a game in a split second with one touch has more value than the productive 2C.

Goldstein: Where do you realistically see Kotkaniemi being drafted? And which teams would he be the best fit for?

Wheeler: It’s always hard to gauge because team lists vary so much, but I think the Blackhawks at No. 8 or the Oilers at No. 10 are probably his most likely landing spots, just because it sounds like the Canucks and the Rangers are going to take a defenseman at No. 7 and No. 9.

Pronman: First, I was at most of Wahlstrom’s games prior to Hughes’ arrival. That team struggled to create offense. He drove play but it was not the dominance you saw with a true driver like Hughes on his line. Second, from my observations watching both of them at the U18 Five Nations in February and IIHF tournament in April, as well as talking to members of the team staffs that were tasked with stopping them, they felt Kotkaniemi was a notably harder player to contain. That he was the line driver on a team that skated with the NTDP at the gold medal game at both tournaments also speaks volumes.

I don’t think I’m alone in this assessment from talking to NHL folks, so I could see him go to either Montreal at No. 3 or Arizona at No. 5.
- Mr Ricochet

I would take the big finn can play center and rw plus 6 2 200 thats what the hawks need just my opinion seeing whats happening in Ottawa wonder what it would take to get Hoffman?

Am I the only one that thinks, “get off the Scott Darling is a starting goalie and we need to get him back “bandwagon.
- wonthecup10

Carter Hutton

Mrazek is complete and utter garbage who would struggle to stop a beach ball last year. Saad is a $6milliom dollar top line LW that was key in winning the Cups in 2013+15. I still have no clue wtf happened to him last season but hard to imagine he could play worse. The reason that Entry Level and league minimum players are in the lineup is due to to Cap Hits of 88 & 19. Schmaltz and 19 together again would be interesting as they had great success in 16/17 RS.
- EnzoD

Marzek is a HUGE upgrade over Forsberg who is trash
Has a good track record before last season & is solid if 50 is a no go again

Saad stinks let 88 play with him for a full year & everyone will cry