IMO a bit of overkill at the center spot and use of money. Brodziak at 3 mill(?) playing 4C? IMO Kampf will do well at the 4C spot as the roster stands today.
- Mr Ricochet

Brodziak is still effective at age 34 (size, speed, faceoffs, a little bit of nasty). I have always liked what he brings to a team. If he signs at anything close to 950K (his last contract) I would snap him up for a year or two.
Filppula also at age 34 I would stay away. He has been in decline the last couple years.

Brodziak is still effective at age 34 (size, speed, faceoffs, a little bit of nasty). I have always liked what he brings to a team. If he signs at anything close to 950K (his last contract) I would snap him up for a year or two.
Filppula also at age 34 I would stay away. He has been in decline the last couple years.
- 67hawks

Ya another smallish and soft player in Filppula, hard pass. Brodziak brings that edge, size, and defensive responsibility to 4C but he played very well up in the lineup so he may get overpaid....

Not bad signing Hino and Hayden.

Hino can get points but I think it will matter who he gets slotted with.

Here are the forwards he played with most at 5v5 and his scoring points per 60 minutes of icetime with those forwards.

Kampf 238:37 - 1.01 Points per 60 min
Schmaltz 150:25 - 1.60 Points per 60 min
Saad 126:33 - 3.79 Points per 60 min
Toews 108:49 - 3.86 Points per 60 min
Sharp 108:40 - 0.55 Points per 60 min
Debrincat 90:40 - 1.46 Points per 60 min
Jurco 76:42 - 0.78 Points per 60 min


For reference over the course of the full season at 5v5 (filtered out guys who didn't play significant minutes) McDavid was a league leader in Points per 60 min at 3.17 followed by MacKinnon and Matthews at 2.99 and 2.91.

Kane was around 2.16 and Debrincat 2.14

I think you play Hinostroza in the top 6, you'll probably get 40-50 points. Keep him down in the bottom 6 and you can probably expect 20-30 points. Obviously this can swing in a big way depending on Powerplay time/usage. I think at times he played at that top 6 level and if he can get consistent and show the coaches he has the backchecking to be in that role, I think he could be a bargain.
- breadbag

Saad's and Toews' points per 60 have to be off, BB.

Saad's and Toews' points per 60 have to be off, BB.
- Mr Ricochet

That was Hinostroza's points per 60 when he played with them at 5v5. He jumped onto the Toews wing and the line was hot for while.

Yes, #3 in total faceoffs for the Bruins last year. I really agree with those saying the Hawks should go with guys on the younger side but with some experience. They got away with some older players in the past, but with the core aging, they need some youth, speed and they can't carry a 3 wheeled shopping cart.
- breadbag

Agreed, but often you can get the older guy cheaper. But yes all things equal get younger and faster throughout the lineup.

If there is one of the center roles to fill in house, it would be 4C. Plenty of options as you outlined. Kampf and Johnson would be in the mix with Kero and possibly Highmore. I like Tyler Sikura, but more so as a 4th line winger who is great at crashing the net, setting screens, etc.
- AEL_Fox

I think as the roster is today Sikura gets a look in the top 6 in the preseason.

That was Hinostroza's points per 60 when he played with them at 5v5. He jumped onto the Toews wing and the line was hot for while.
- breadbag

I'm not following. McDavid led the NHL in points per 60 but you have Saad and Toews with a higher number than him.

That was Hinostroza's points per 60 when he played with them at 5v5. He jumped onto the Toews wing and the line was hot for while.
- breadbag

Edit, just to add, the point is that Hino scored well playing with Toews, Saad, Schmaltz and Debrincat, compared to how he did with the lower line guys. He can play with the Hawks better players and do alright, but I wouldn't expect a lot of production if he has to do more of the heavy lifting on the lower lines. Given his salary he also shouldn't be expected to carry the load, but he could get some decent point totals if he gets deployed to do so.

Brodziak is still effective at age 34 (size, speed, faceoffs, a little bit of nasty). I have always liked what he brings to a team. If he signs at anything close to 950K (his last contract) I would snap him up for a year or two.
Filppula also at age 34 I would stay away. He has been in decline the last couple years.
- 67hawks

Agreed, Brodziak over Fillpula. No doubt Fil is in decline and soft but is a responsible player that Q craves. Lets put it this way if he was signed for a low number he wouldn't get the Kempny, Daley treatment from Q.

I'm not following. McDavid led the NHL in points per 60 but you have Saad and Toews with a higher number than him.
- Mr Ricochet

No, that isn't the stat. Sorry for the confusion, but it is this.

Saad 126:33 - 3.79 Points per 60 min
Toews 108:49 - 3.86 Points per 60 min

In the 126 minutes at 5v5 Hino played with Saad, Hino scored points at a rate of 3.79 per 60 minutes.

In the 108 minutes he played with Toews, he scored 3.86 points per 60.

For McDavid, that is his stat for the entire season with all players he played with, just for comparison to know at what rate the top players are scoring at 5v5.

Anyone see Hino developing into a poor man's Oshie?

Brodziak is still effective at age 34 (size, speed, faceoffs, a little bit of nasty). I have always liked what he brings to a team. If he signs at anything close to 950K (his last contract) I would snap him up for a year or two.
Filppula also at age 34 I would stay away. He has been in decline the last couple years.
- 67hawks

Is this team close enuf to a Cup contend8ng team to bring on a 34 year old instead of developing a young player?

Qualify Duclair and pass on the other 2.
Keep roster spots open which is important too.
- 67hawks

Duclair’s QO is $1.2 million, probably a reasonably amount. I wouldn’t sign him for anything more for this season.

I’d quality Jurco too, his QO is only $800,000 and can be buried in Rockford 100%.

I think as the roster is today Sikura gets a look in the top 6 in the preseason.
- Mr Ricochet

Agree to that assuming you are referring to Dylan and not Tyler. Back when Justin asked us those 5 questions and the 5th one was who we think will be surprises to make the roster this fall, I listed the Sikura Brothers.

If there is one of the center roles to fill in house, it would be 4C. Plenty of options as you outlined. Kampf and Johnson would be in the mix with Kero and possibly Highmore. I like Tyler Sikura, but more so as a 4th line winger who is great at crashing the net, setting screens, etc.
- AEL_Fox

FWIW Tyler Sikura played in the middle with Martinsen and Hayden on the wings late in the season. It's possible they can move up as a unit, but I wouldn't bank on it

Is this team close enuf to a Cup contend8ng team to bring on a 34 year old instead of developing a young player?
- StLBravesFan

Are they rebuilding, rebuilding on the fly, going for a cup run and/or protecting their GM/coaching jobs as best they can? Do they have a plan? Do they have a hockey ops guy to overlook an organIzational plan?

IMO this organIzation is rudderless right now. Rocky has a money man (shovel face) in a hockey man's position and the fans suffer as well as his pocketbook.

If they sign the remaining three at the minimum QO rates, they will only have $2MM in real cap left.
- Return of the Roar

There cap hits will only matter if there on the big club or over a million

That reminds me, what is the fate of Roszival? His contract expired once the Hawks season ended, right?
- AEL_Fox

Contract expires 6/30. Rozsival talked to the Czech media before the SC final ended and he said it would be difficult for him to come back when the game is so much faster now and he didn't play for a long time. He feels like his positioning would be still solid, but whatever quickness he had it is gone. If I remember correctly he also said that after a game he needs more than just a couple days to recharge, which is basically what happended with him already when he played every other game couple years back. It sounded like he is retired for good and won't be playing in Czech league either. Long live the memories!

That reminds me, what is the fate of Roszival? His contract expired once the Hawks season ended, right?
- AEL_Fox

Good ole 3 wheel shopping cart

to me, this team needs some player who perform when the game is on the line. Last season these guys didn't exactly help the team win close games.

Sharp
Forsling
Anisimov
Seabrook
Keith

To me, Sharp retiring is gonna help, because he didn't have it anymore. He maybe could have road the coat tails on a line that was heavily sheltered, but he didn't help this team win games. He did help some young guys adjust to the NHL.

Forsling didn't have a good time, especially when paired with Rutta. I think part of it was he didn't play well and goaltending didn't bail him out. I think he might be a trade chip if he doesn't show some progress soon.

AA to me, they got to find a better option defensively. He has some value and obviously did okay with PP goals because he had a shooting % of like 30% last season on the PP, but he shouldn't be a shutdown option.

Seabrook needs to bounce back...plain and simple, he was too soft and too ineffective at both ends. He was beat with speed, caught pinching, turning pucks over and way less physical than they need him to be.

Keith, but his standards wasn't good and also didn't have a great partner. His play might drop further next season and that doesn't bode well for the Hawks. He isn't a bad player, but in an ideal world, they don't have to use him in a shutdown defensive role.

Brodziak played 2C for the Blues after Stastny left and did a darn good job of it. Plus he was 52% at the dot last year. Winning draws can make up for speed just by getting possession. Only need him there for a year or two at most anyway.

Think Vegas model - no one horrible, not too many "stars", but guys who play the game well and with some size and nasty.
- Return of the Roar

I'm not trying to dog on your post, but I think we all need to take a step back from the "Vegas model". We have a one year sample size with a roster full of guys that are on one year deals that had a bit extra motivation because they were not "protected" by their original clubs. Not to mention, MAF played lights out for them.

I'm not predicting anything, but I would not be surprised in the least if Vegas fell back down to earth a bit next year (not out of the playoffs, but not nearly as dominant as last year).

66, the three main paths to the NHL is NCAA and Major Junior (OHL-WHL-QMJHL) and Europe. When you play in Major Junior the oldest players are 20 before the season starts. They age out after 20.. When you play NCAA you play against player who are many times 23 or even 24 yrs old.

Randomly I'm posting Union College's roster from last yr. They won the NCAA championship maybe 3-4 yrs back: http://www.hockeydb.com/i...ons/teams/0005862018.html

This is the competition Tkachuk and all players who compete in the NCAA play against. They play against 19 yr old kids and 23 yr old men.
- Mr Ricochet

I see what you mean, but college guys don't fight. And I'm not a complete old school cement head, but every once in a while that's going to happen in the NHL, especially if a rookie is trying to muscle his way in.

We'll see what happens, take care.

FWIW Tyler Sikura played in the middle with Martinsen and Hayden on the wings late in the season. It's possible they can move up as a unit, but I wouldn't bank on it
- stonefire

Cool, thanks for the info on that! I don't read the Hogs lineup card that closely to see what position everyone plays each game. Great to know Tyler has flexibility to play center or wing. Be a plus if he is adept at faceoffs.

Edit, just to add, the point is that Hino scored well playing with Toews, Saad, Schmaltz and Debrincat, compared to how he did with the lower line guys. He can play with the Hawks better players and do alright, but I wouldn't expect a lot of production if he has to do more of the heavy lifting on the lower lines. Given his salary he also shouldn't be expected to carry the load, but he could get some decent point totals if he gets deployed to do so.
- breadbag

Great summary of what could be for Hinostroza depending on how he is deployed and with whom.

Hayden is a 4th liner with very little skill

Hno is as fast as they cone in todays game & has skill

Given the correct TOI & PP time Hino will be a big factor on this team


JL Forsberg is HORRID!!!