Is Runblad even going to be on the opening roster next year - a few years down the road? aren't a few of the Hogs ready? i am only thinking bbank gone for sure. but who knows, do you keep them if you sign them for less.
- Topshelf2010

Who knows and if he's not shame on Bowman for making the deal and essentially crippling the team this year when they need an extra forward....

You forgot the red font...

Keep grinding out those stats from the box scores. It noble work you're doing there.

- EKolb13

sweet smiley face buddy..the fact that those young players have more goals than versteeg who has been playing with Kane or Toews for most of the season exemplifies how much of a bum he has been..i will continue to reference the numbers bc those numbers dont lie despite how much of a pompous online blog troll you are

And those two in Denver would be the first playoff game ever for a lot of the Avs.
- mohel

That is a good point. Totally different world in the playoffs. Lose and go home. Splitting there would be huge. Key is winning our home games then

especially if Q isnt even going to give him a real chance at playing
- EnzoD

Would you? An unproven guy over 2 guys who have laid it on the line for you and helped win a Cup? Especially this late in the season? I don't agree with a lot Q does but this one I have to say I agree with.

I understand your point, but I don't think it is that big of a game, standings-wise. They aren't going to catch the Blues, and are going to play the Avs in round one. It is a measuring stick for ME, but I'm not sure it is for them - I think they know what they can and can't do against STL. That said, I want to see desperation tomorrow.
- mohel

100% agree with all points.

I expect we will see a very good Blackhawks team, win or lose.

I have to agree with you...could the Runblad deal been made during the offseason??? I don't know but carrying 8 dmen does not allow for a lot of flexibility. I would rather Regin and Morin or Nordstrom....as my extra. They didn't carry 8 dmen last year.....
- UnnamedSource

I think this all come downs to Rozsival. Last year he wasn't out there 100%, but he was still way more durable than he's been this year. Thats why for so long they went with Brookbank and Kostka on the roster, and now its Brookbank and Runblad.

The Rundblad move was a move Stan didn't need to make.
- EKolb13

The timing was suspect at best. Hossa had just been injured.

give the kid a break. He is aggravated.
- Elbows15

Me too!

bad teams have to score?? what exactly does that mean?? im pretty sure bad teams score much less than the #1 offense in the league and last time i checked EVERY team has to score....
- EnzoD

For instance Frolik had 20+ goals for the Panthers....what happened when became a Hawk? He never reached double digits....the point being bottom dwellers of the NHL score goals and a player who may be a top player for a bad team may not be able to have the same success playing for a top tier team for a lot of different reasons...

Is Runblad even going to be on the opening roster next year - a few years down the road? aren't a few of the Hogs ready? i am only thinking bbank gone for sure. but who knows, do you keep them if you sign them for less.
- Topshelf2010

When Saad plays Regin will sit

I agree that they need to gain some consistent play before the playoffs start, but this game is no more important than the other 13 left on the schedule, and none of them are "must wins". They need to get their s h i t together and play 60 minutes ( even 40 would be good) and the wins will come.
- TheTrob

Okay, which side of the argument are you arguing for?

It's either the must win/play a full 60 minutes/need momentum for the playoffs or 40 good minutes a game/the wins will come.

40 minutes of effort will equal wins? For (frank)'s sake, what's wrong with you?

sweet smiley face buddy..the fact that those young players have more goals than versteeg who has been playing with Kane or Toews for most of the season exemplifies how much of a bum he has been..i will continue to reference the numbers bc those numbers dont lie despite how much of a pompous online blog troll you are
- EnzoD

Hes been on the third line most of the season....Please don't say you would rather have Hayes than Versteeg......is that really what were talking about?

he did just come off back to back games vs pittsburgh this weekend - so that counts for something, right?
- moylander

Not in my world.

The Rundblad move was a move Stan didn't need to make.
- EKolb13

fwiw the guys in meltzer's flyers blog on this site were all pissed we didn't get rundblad. they seem to think highly of him.

Me too!
- mohel

Yeah. He is throwing metric under the bus. You know it can't be good.

The Rundblad move was a move Stan didn't need to make.
- EKolb13

That move may not pan out long term but Bowman may have just felt that he wasn't going to get anything out of this year's draft in the 50-60 range, so why not make the deal and get a defenceman who has 3 or 4 years of pro hockey under his belt.

The team has loads of young draft picks who have turned pro in the last couple years, they can afford to miss a turn this year in supposedly a weak draft.

Runblad had nowhere to go in the Coyotes system, too many young defenceman ahead of him. I want to see what he looks like with 15 lbs added to his frame.

fwiw the guys in meltzer's flyers blog on this site were all pissed we didn't get rundblad. they seem to think highly of him.
- moylander

Yeah well, some of those guys are special.

Yeah well, some of those guys are special.
- Elbows15

lol... no doubt

fwiw the guys in meltzer's flyers blog on this site were all pissed we didn't get rundblad. they seem to think highly of him.
- moylander

don't we all love the guy our team didn't get and hate the guy our team did get?

He also hasn't played nearly as much hockey in the last year and had 3 weeks off.
- Elbows15

come on - how many times has Toews had over 24mins? or any hawks forward? 27mins for a forward in any game is alot. BTW, i was not saying the Hawks players are wussy's.

And i hope you are not using that as an excuse for the Hawks loss tonight.

More or less they are tired.......the signs are there gentlemen.

Bad penalties
Flat at the end of games
No OT wins


But some people think I'm giving them an excuse....there is a reason why repeating in the NHL is difficult....
- UnnamedSource

I agree. The playoffs are the Hawks time. That is what their season is all about. They know you can lose in the regular season but once the playoffs start they are all businesss. I hope so

If he shoots it or dumps it 10 feet deeper, philly still gets the puck. One or two more strides, so they score with 2 or 3 seconds instead of 4. That save HAS to be made
- TheTrob

He turned it over needlessly and we lost.

The timing was suspect at best. Hossa had just been injured.
- Elbows15

I'm still scratching my head on that one. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. The only thing I can get out of it is that Stan's idea was that he thought he was getting a value buy on probable talent for the future, which isn't the worst idea. However, he may have shot himself in the foot this season by doing it relating to carrying some extra cap room in oder to bring up some help for the last 13 games of the season.

That move may not pan out long term but Bowman may have just felt that he wasn't going to get anything out of this year's draft in the 50-60 range, so why not make the deal and get a defenceman who has 3 or 4 years of pro hockey under his belt.

The team has loads of young draft picks who have turned pro in the last couple years, they can afford to miss a turn this year in supposedly a weak draft.

Runblad had nowhere to go in the Coyotes system, too many young defenceman ahead of him. I want to see what he looks like with 15 lbs added to his frame.
- RickJ

All true, but couldn't the teams have agreed to do the same deal just before the draft?

Probably so, but don't you think that applies to quite a few Hawks?
- mohel

They all have been inconsistent. Really except for a couple of guys.