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In addition to the Hawks being at the center of the Trade Rumor Mill yesterday—involving Andy Sutton (first reported here a week ago), Evgeni Nabokov and Adam Burish (which are plausible), and Tuomo Ruutu (much less plausible)— I heard late last night that there might in fact be a problem in the Hawk dressing room.

What I heard is that a number of players, if not all of them, are immensely frustrated with aspects of the defensive scheme of the coaching staff. This information allegedly leaked out via a current player venting to an ex-teammate.

UPDATE 2:26PM Central: heard some late-breaking scuttlebutt here, apparently from the original source, that this rumor, as related to me and Greg Stewart over at 300Level, was maybe somewhat overblown. Apparently a smaller handful of guys are having some issues with the defensive system, while the dressing room overall remains fairly tight and engaged with the coaches. As always, and as I originally said below, take these types of rumors (especially) with a grain of salt.

Like all such rumors, it should be taken with a grain of salt. However it does seem consistent with what we've seen on the ice, both in terms of the players' demeanors and the results.

Does this foretell any significant changes? If true, perhaps. Or perhaps it might just bring about an adjustment in the defensive scheme.

I should have more on trades in the next few days if nothing happens before then.


Thanks for reading,



JJ

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