Oh geeze. That's a loaded question. ha.

Obviously this team isn't where it needs to be so some people gotta go and the depth needs to be upgraded severely.

I'm thinking (in no particular order):

OUT

......

* Seabrook - not happening and I don't think Stan should include a guy like Dylan Sikura just to rid him from the team like he would have in years past. If Seabs stays, Colliton is going to have to have a tough offseason/training camp conversation with Brent to basically tell him he's a 6th-7th dman at this point.

.....


IN

.....

* Sandpaper/Character/Sparkplugs - I would take a guy like Michael Ferland or Wayne Simmonds for higher-end guys of this nature. A guy like Brandan Tanev on the lower end $$ would be great as well. The Hawks may need to trade for one of these types of players... think MB wants to deal Shaw back? Hawks have space.

.....
- Justin Lowe

Just a few notes in regards to the above. Regardless of what you believe Seabrook level of play is (bad), when you look at the salary structures of how teams are built, you realize what an anchor that contract is to this club. Take a guy like Stralman, about the same age, but clearly still playing at a higher level than Seabs. If you can sign him for around his current salary of $4.5 for a few years to be a top 4 D man thats great, but Seabrook's cap hit almost forces you to supplement with guys on ELC's who you will need to live thru the mistakes and growing pains.

In terms of Shaw, while I love the guy and what he brings, his cap hit is too high and his injury history coupled with his style of play would make me hesitant. Shaw at $2.5-3 mil is great, Shaw at almost $4mil is not.

Calgary actually has a pretty good set-up. I think if they could get their goaltending situated (and Rittich might be that) they could be one of the top 5 teams in the league. They have a lot of guys in the $3-6M range and have really good depth.

I get they are really good players, but what in the flying heck is the deal with giving McDavid and Eichel 12.5 and 10 per year (cap hits) at 21 and 22yrs old? Yes they can score, but in my eyes that is way too much way too early. I can't wait to see what Matthews gets...
- Chunk

TBL was similar this season with only Stamkos and Hedman at the high end (but still not $10mil+), but they are going to be in a bind next season when contracts of Kucherov, Gourde and McDonagh jump significantly and Point is up for a new contract. The following year they will also have to make a decision on Vasilevskiy who will be due a significant raise.

Justin Lowe: Areas of Improvement

I posed the question last blog: Have Colliton and Bowman Turned Things Around in Chicago?

Since then, I've had some good conversations on Twitter and here on the messages boards regarding where this team is at.

Here are some areas of improvement that I've narrowed down.
- Justin Lowe

Great breakdown of the hawks now, and analysis of what they can/need to fix.

I'm always optimistic, I think the team is closer to contention, 2-3 years away, possibly 4. That necessitates prospects helping, great trades, and the goaltender situation. The last one is my biggest concern.

I agree on f.a., its not building the team, but an impact player and some depth or a defenseman won't hurt. It all depends on the leap the young guys take.

I know we have a lot of rfa's needing contracts. I know there aren't a lot of pay increases, but I wonder who Stan wants to keep and how much cap he has to play with over the summer.

“A game where the Hawks had some nice spurts but ultimately give up 43 shots (18 of those in the 3rd period) and 17 high-danger scoring chances (source: NaturalStatTrick.com).“

Some interesting factoids:

The Flames have out scored their opponents 65-33 in the third period and out shot them 489-373!

Hello Justin. I am one of the long time lurkers here. Always enjoyed your thoughts here. Im from Western Canada and also the realist. Lol

Anyhow just furthering your point aboot sparkplug. I ve been saying this too as i sense the dressing room needs a loudmouth in it. It gets players going. Kane used to say Shaw would never shut up. I think it explains why the Hawks most times come out slow in the game and seem to get going halfway thru the 1st period.
- Logan Reilly

What's up, LR? Great post, and welcome aboard. Stop by more often.

“A game where the Hawks had some nice spurts but ultimately give up 43 shots (18 of those in the 3rd period) and 17 high-danger scoring chances (source: NaturalStatTrick.com).“

Some interesting factoids:

The Flames have out scored their opponents 65-33 in the third period and out shot them 489-373!
- walleyeb1

Woof. Ya they dominated. They are a good team and I've said it before, I like how they are built for the playoffs. Might need a goalie if Smith can't pull it together but other than that... they have a solid team.

“A game where the Hawks had some nice spurts but ultimately give up 43 shots (18 of those in the 3rd period) and 17 high-danger scoring chances (source: NaturalStatTrick.com).“

Some interesting factoids:

The Flames have out scored their opponents 65-33 in the third period and out shot them 489-373!
- walleyeb1

Ya and there is that . And the HAWKS were on the back end of a back to back .I thought they hung in pretty well considering

Hello Justin. I am one of the long time lurkers here. Always enjoyed your thoughts here. Im from Western Canada and also the realist. Lol

Anyhow just furthering your point aboot sparkplug. I ve been saying this too as i sense the dressing room needs a loudmouth in it. It gets players going. Kane used to say Shaw would never shut up. I think it explains why the Hawks most times come out slow in the game and seem to get going halfway thru the 1st period.
- Logan Reilly

Welcome aboard, Logan! Hope to see you around more.

Good first post about yappers. At Rockford, not many down there especially one worth a call up. Noel fits the bill with a loud mouth and grating playing style but he lacks talent to justify a spot for him.

As far as prospects, Barratt is the one that stands out the most to fill that role to a T.

None of the defense youngsters and prospects are chirpers. Jokiharju, Mitchell, and Krys are really vocal but that’s to teammates, not chirping to get under the skin of opponents.

Another way to look at it

Forwards
Elite forwards - Kane and Toews
Top 6 forwards - ADB, Strome, Saad
Top 9 forwards - Kahun, Kampf, Perlini, Caggiula,
Bottom 6 forwards - plenty of options
In the pipeline - Kurashev, Entwistle, Barrat, 1st round 2019 pick

Needs to become a contender
Stud RW to play with Toews and Saad
3rd line FA Center that can contribute offensively, play a 200' game and win draws.
Agitator (Shaw-like, but cheaper, bigger and more durable than Shaw)

Dmen
Top pairing studs - None
Top 4 - Murphy, Keith, Joki
NHL caliber 2nd or 3rd pairing types - Dahlstrom, Forsling, Gus,
In the pipeline Boqvist, Beaudin, Mitchell, Hillman

Needs to become a contender
Stud top pairing DMan

Goalies
Stud - Crow - if healthy (which has been debated ad nauseam)
Promising youngster - Delia
In the pipeline - Forsberg?, Lankinen, Laminov

Needs to become a contender
A Healthy Crow and/or Delia to be the real deal.
If Crow is not healthy and Delia is the real deal, a solid back up, maybe Ward,
If Crow is not healthy and Delia is not the real deal, you need a stud goalie

Depending if you are a glass half full or glass half empty type of guy you could see the Hawks as not that far from being a contender, or a million miles away from being a contender.

They need two more 35-40 point forwards. 3 if you subtract AA from roster.

A top three draft pick this summer or a Stone, Skinner or Panarin caliber player.

Number one defender + moving one of Keith or Seabrook. Shouldn't keep both and I dont care which at this point.

Literally all of those things need to happen for them to be better than medicore.

And to be honest Patrick Kane racking up points, the power play and the goaltending are the only things that are keeping them watchable. Not a whole lot else going right now, which is fine and results are all that matters but banking on those three things doesn't seem like the best way to go about it.

So do you go in on an 6-8-year contract for Karlsson? Imagine him with Boqvist and Joker, take some pressure off Keith, add some incentive for the Swedish D?

Scott Powers‏Verified account @ByScottPowers · 3m3 minutes ago

Hayden is in for Kunitz. Jokiharju will play. Colliton wasn’t sure about Seabrook yet.

- Seabrook did not participate this morning due to illness.

Whether or not Crow can come back could be a huge factor into how quickly this team can get back to the Playoffs though. I think everyone would agree that if we had a 100% healthy Crow with Delia backing him up going into next year we would have almost zero worries about the net, but if Crow can't play and they need to LTIR him then it gets a little more shaky. I think we all feel very good about Delia and his future as a possible starter or at least a backup for the Hawks, but then who do they get to pair with him? Mike Smith or Cam Talbot on a one year deal? Neither have been great but have shown they can play well at times and could be signed fairly cheap. This is the major question mark on this team going into next year.
- Savetheembers33

Personally, if it's down to Smith, Talbot, and Ward, I would stick with Ward. Definitely Ward over Smith. I would go with Talbot but he's 31 and not sure if he'd sign a 1-2 year deal for affordable AAV. If he is attainable under those conditions, then by all means him over Ward.

Woof. Ya they dominated. They are a good team and I've said it before, I like how they are built for the playoffs. Might need a goalie if Smith can't pull it together but other than that... they have a solid team.
- Justin Lowe

Rittich has vastly outperformed Smith, and he doesn't seem too bothered by pressure. His weakness is that he likes to go down early, which the Hawks successfully exploited on two occasions on Monday night, but every goalie has weaknesses. I think their goaltending is a strength and they have an elite top 4 D as well as a high end roster of forwards. Come playoff time they're going to be a hard team to eliminate whether Smith pulls it together or not. Smith won't be starting any playoff games unless Rittich falls apart.

Woof. Ya they dominated. They are a good team and I've said it before, I like how they are built for the playoffs. Might need a goalie if Smith can't pull it together but other than that... they have a solid team.
- Justin Lowe

Smith hasn't been an elite Goalie for years. Overall he had one great season and a few where he is average. Can he get hot and win you a few games.....sure, but he isn't winning you 4 series. I think the Flames hope Rittich can stay hot and carry them.

How about lack of development time in the AHL....

Salary considerations say bring up young talent early to keep the more cost controlled longer. They come up before they’ve learned how to really play the pro game - or, if coming from Europe, before really learning how to play on N.A. ice.

Jokes are made every time AdB scores that he needs time in Rockford - well, probably (IMO) it would have been time well spent - and he would be a better, more complete hockey player. Others, too.

I know I’ve sounding this refrain often before, but I wish there were some way to get these guys two years at Rockford and othe AHL stops.
- StLBravesFan

Sometimes a player is already past the AHL though. For instance, the cat. Would he really have benefitted from playing in the AHL, even though he was already beyond that level of play? It can be just as detrimental to put a player below where he should as it does not help them improve. Especially for ADB who is a gamer and competitor.

Great breakdown of the hawks now, and analysis of what they can/need to fix.

I'm always optimistic, I think the team is closer to contention, 2-3 years away, possibly 4. That necessitates prospects helping, great trades, and the goaltender situation. The last one is my biggest concern.

I agree on f.a., its not building the team, but an impact player and some depth or a defenseman won't hurt. It all depends on the leap the young guys take.

I know we have a lot of rfa's needing contracts. I know there aren't a lot of pay increases, but I wonder who Stan wants to keep and how much cap he has to play with over the summer.
- I Am The Breadman

The Hawks almost have to look out 2-3 years to be in serious contention. They just cannot have the complete roster due to current contracts, and Rockford does not have a pipeline good enough yet to help.

A decent amount of the top teams right now will be facing cap issues in the next couple of years, so there could be a shift of playoff quality teams coming.

When the hawks were winning cups didn't they get out-shot most nights then too?

When the hawks were winning cups didn't they get out-shot most nights then too?
- dirt4949

NO, in 2010 and 2013 the Hawks routinely blitzed teams in shots on goal. 2015 was a bit different and it was much tougher then but I still wager the Hawks were in the + more than not. Comparing this team to the Cup teams is high comedy.

This team is NOT a playoff team, not even worried about it. I am enjoying watching some of the young guys play and seeing Murphy develop the way he has, but it's not a very good team either.

When the hawks were winning cups didn't they get out-shot most nights then too?
- dirt4949

No.

I remember JJ complaining about being out hit and out shot most nights

NO, in 2010 and 2013 the Hawks routinely blitzed teams in shots on goal. 2015 was a bit different and it was much tougher then but I still wager the Hawks were in the + more than not. Comparing this team to the Cup teams is high comedy.

This team is NOT a playoff team, not even worried about it. I am enjoying watching some of the young guys play and seeing Murphy develop the way he has, but it's not a very good team either.
- kwolf68

I was thinking the same about the shots ,I may be mistaken but do remember our goalies have always been a huge part of any cup runs . I don't believe anyone was comparing this team to cup teams .
I am excited about tonight's game ,HAWKS have beaten some good teams of late and have been in the others right till the end .

When the hawks were winning cups didn't they get out-shot most nights then too?
- dirt4949

The last time the Blackhawks were significantly out shot was the 2007/08 season.

Smith hasn't been an elite Goalie for years. Overall he had one great season and a few where he is average. Can he get hot and win you a few games.....sure, but he isn't winning you 4 series. I think the Flames hope Rittich can stay hot and carry them.
- TheTrob

Smith has rubbed me the wrong way since that horrible penalty against Shaw where Smith Flopped like a EPL player.