I was reading on another hockey website that Anaheim is looking for LW help. We all know Bob Murray loves big players. What about Bickell for Stoner?
- powerenforcer

Hawks won't trade with Anaheim...and Stoner is locked up for a reasonable amount for a few years, I don't see him going.

The Hawks defense has been top two all season with Oduya. The Isles defense has been at or near the bottom of the league all season with Leddy not playing a defensive role. The Hawks made the correct decision.
- paulr

I agree with the decision for this year was correct but Leddy will be in the NHL a lot longer than Oduya. The issue for me was not who was chosen to go but how little they got for Leddy.

The late Eddie Gold used to cover the Blackhawks in the 60s and 70s. He told me that Esposito was traded for doing impersonations of Rocky's uncle - and it was not flattering. Wirtz came into the locker room and overheard it - and the next thing you know - Phil was traded.
- dahawks8819

There were a few reasons Espo was traded and he was responsible for almost all of them but still the wrong decision.

i disagree, leddy could have done with hammer what he does with boychuk. was rozy serviceable or did leddy carry him? pretty valid argument imo.

not playing protected minutes and leading the islanders in relative corsi which is pretty cool stuff.

i buy the money argument but otherwise i think the islanders came out way ahead

oh well.
- fattybeef

i think the islanders came out way ahead

Indeed...

Leddy struggled with his defensive responsibilities as a third pair dman

He certainly wasnt ready to be promoted as a no.4

You think Leddy is flourishing in NY right now? Wait until NYI get to the playoffs and other teams REALLY start bringing the heat on the forecheck again

Q trusted him a lot in season, but he clearly saw something he didnt like in Leddys play once the playoffs arrived
- FourFeathers773

With Oduya at his top level ever and Rozsival playing at his best in years Leddy wasn't needed. That's why he sat, simply put he wasn't as good as the other 5 and when the mins are eaten up with 5 dmen you get away with it...

But as often happens Leddy's age is completely dismissed. There was no embarrassment sitting on a Cup winning team with the best defense in the NHL.

What Leddy does from now will determine his stature as a player in the playoffs..

what else is new: the preds win another 3 pt game in OT...and the blues won...

Look. You are new here. This particular conversation has been going for quite some time. Its a vortex you really need to think about getting caught in.

On the bright side. If you don't like how it turns out today, wait a week or so, you will have another chance at it.
- Elbows15

Thanks for the heads up. Not much else I can really say about it at this point, anyway. I've lurked here since the offseason, so I have seen this discussed, for sure. I'm surprised this has been belabored for so long now. I think it would have been a bit quieter on this subject if TVR hadn't gotten hurt and had been a steady presence night in and night out.

I don't have any strong disagreements with anybody either way regarding Leddy and the player he is and could be. I just wish more people would see why the trade happened, as much as we wish it didn't happen as it did, and have more appreciation for Oduya's injury situation last summer and how it likely impacted what ultimately happened.

You didn't ask me but there isn't one player I would regret losing if I were Bowman except Ryan Stanton. Because he could have been a #6-#7 dman here for years and they got nothing for him.
- Al

The Kostka over Stanton decision wouldve made a good bullet point about Q allegedly not liking kids....

Shift gears , those that like Daniel Winneck are onto something,NHL channel says his stock is rising which meansStan Ain't payin! ....... Next!

damn preds winning again with another 1 goal game...every game is a one goal margin...

that team has really turned it around...they are going to be very tough in the playoffs
- bogiedoc

I wouldn't worry about their one goal game record. The Ducks had the best record in those games last year - and they didn't sniff the conference finals. In the NHL - the team that relies on winning by tight margins in the regular season sees that luck run out come playoff time.

John Jaeckel: Does Q Mishandle Younger Players? My Take.
- John Jaeckel

Ladd, Buff, Frolik, Wiznewski, Niemi, Brouwer.

Complete list of active players I'd have make the Hawks roster over a current player.

All the baby hawks we traded away... don't miss 'em. Bowmans and Q know what they're doing.

i think the islanders came out way ahead

Indeed...
- Al

Until we see what Ville Pokka is as an NHL defenseman - no one can say yet who got the better of that deal. If Pokka ends up as a good second pair d-man for the Hawks - and that is what he projected to be - then I would say the deal worked out well for both sides

Ladd, Buff, Frolik, Wiznewski, Niemi, Brouwer.

Complete list of active players I'd have make the Hawks roster over a current player.

All the baby hawks we traded away... don't miss 'em. Bowmans and Q know what they're doing.
- busmaster

And if I am not mistaken the only reason we had to move Laddy was because of the Toews bonus, when it was clearly in doubt if he really should have won the MVP of the playoffs. I would have liked for anyone to get the MVP. If I am not mistaken Buff and David Bolland had series for the ages...w/o Bolland's work (shutting down whichever line he was up against) the Hawks don't get 2010.

The Kostka over Stanton decision wouldve made a good bullet point about Q allegedly not liking kids....
- shruew

Yes and then Kostka was dumped and they were caught having to give Stanton away...

FFS why are we still talking about that Neanderthal looking mofo Leddy? Who the (frank) cares honestly?
- biegs

1. It's a topic within the current blog.

2. Apparently, other posters care to discuss it.

3. Points relating to Leddy are relevant.

Until we see what Ville Pokka is as an NHL defenseman - no one can say yet who got the better of that deal. If Pokka ends up as a good second pair d-man for the Hawks - and that is what he projected to be - then I would say the deal worked out well for both sides
- dahawks8819

No matter what happens with Pokka the deal has to be judged in present tense because the Hawks were the ones who gave up an established young NHL players for a kid with hopeful potential.

Pokka being thought of as a potential 2nd pairing dman is exactly the same as Dylan Olsen being thought of in the same way.

Yes and then Kostka was dumped and they were caught having to give Stanton away...
- Al

Moves like this (and others-many reactive and not proactive) give me caution when I look into the future as our stars age past their prime and/or injuries happen. I fear one day we'll have a team with half of it full of well paid aging stars, and rookies and castoffs.

The Kostka over Stanton decision wouldve made a good bullet point about Q allegedly not liking kids....
- shruew

I don't know if it's this? Rather, it could be that the Hawks had 9 defenseman at the time and had decided to carry 8 of them to start the season, and decided that an experienced Kostka was more valuable then Stanton at the time. That could be a joint decision between Q and Bowman? At any rate, Bowman tired to pass him through waivers to send him to Rockford, and got caught with his pants down on that move.

Something maybe in the works, maybe not who knows?

http://committedindians.c...ming-icehogs-add-forward/
- walleyeb1

I doubt it. With call-ups (Nordstrom, Teravainen), injuries (Broadhurst is out until March), and suspensions, this is just something to give Rockford a little more depth a forward for the time being.

Then again, anything is possible...

Moves like this (and others-many reactive and not proactive) give me caution when I look into the future as our stars age past their prime and/or injuries happen. I fear one day we'll have a team with half of it full of well paid aging stars, and rookies and castoffs.
- kwolf68

Your point is true if it were to continue.

The average age is now about 27....not 24-25...This has been a unique situation as many young players got to be vg quickly and the pipeline from Rockford was plugged, while overrated and over hyped Ice Hogs were held too long and later had to be given away.

That is exactly why Clendening was dealt for a much younger player....Because if he didn't make the squad out of camp they would have lost him in the same way as Stanton. At some point losing players for nothing after they were here for awhile being developed is not a good recipe.

I don't know if it's this? Rather, it could be that the Hawks had 9 defenseman at the time and had decided to carry 8 of them to start the season, and decided that an experienced Kostka was more valuable then Stanton at the time. That could be a joint decision between Q and Bowman? At any rate, Bowman tired to pass him through waivers to send him to Rockford, and got caught with his pants down on that move.
- EKolb13

Yes but point is same..."They" over valued Kostka and undervalued Stanton.
But Stanton could have been dealt long before he was lost via waivers.

Q has a big say on who stays and seldom if ever does he pick a young player over a one with NHL experience. And that decision gets more convoluted when it involves bringing up a young dman to be a #7....

Yes but point is same..."They" over valued Kostka and undervalued Stanton.
But Stanton could have been dealt long before he was lost via waivers.
- Al

No argument with this. I thought as much when it happened.

what else is new: the preds win another 3 pt game in OT...and the blues won...
- bogiedoc

Did you expect anything else? ...and the Jets won a 3 pt. game against the Wild.

No matter what happens with Pokka the deal has to be judged in present tense because the Hawks were the ones who gave up an established young NHL players for a kid with hopeful potential.

Pokka being thought of as a potential 2nd pairing dman is exactly the same as Dylan Olsen being thought of in the same way.
- Al

No it doesn't, actually. The Hawks had to move someone because of cap issues. They moved a bottom 6 d-man that Q had no intentions of ever moving up - mostly because he never trusted him. And on top of that, the Hawks front office did not want to deal with his agent - so there was some animosity there as well.

This move made all the sense in the world, and we will have to wait and see what Pokka becomes for this organization before judging a move that had to be made anyway.

Still can't under stand reading and context. snore..

Do yourself a favor and don't kick the bear. Especially when you have ZERO to add to any discussion.
- TrueGrit

Still working the Zus/Pirri narrative and upset that no one has proclaimed you right in this matter.

*yawn*

I know you're not a guy who lives life looking in the rearview or living life in the past so to speak, but apparently you're not averse from enjoying a nightly stroll down Memory Lane.

*bigger yawn*

Kick the bear? More like kick the bore.