Location: I was going to do the math on this but I don't think it will help., IL Joined: 08.04.2013
Apr 29 @ 2:53 PM ET
Why not? He is a hall of fame player. Still a solid producer, plays a nasty game that a lot of Hawks fans pine for. Him feeding Hossa or Kane and creating space for them. Wow. Only under contract for two more seasons. Still apparently gives a crap about winning. Lot of good things there. Or they could continue to sit on 6 mildo in the crease. I'm not saying they should absolutely do it but I think that is fun to imagine him in the Hawks line up. - fattybeef
He is a loser. Not a fan of his at all.
StLBravesFan Season Ticket Holder Chicago Blackhawks
Location: IL Joined: 07.03.2011
Apr 29 @ 2:57 PM ET
He is a loser. Not a fan of his at all. - Elbows15
Fast Eddie: I'm the best you ever seen, Fats. I'm the best there is. And even if you beat me, I'm still the best.
I don't think he will split Suter and Brodin to make sure one of them is always out against Toews or Kane. But it's possible. I just think from a complete game standpoint, Suter and Scandella are their best guys so they already have a good split.
I think Yeo does trust Scandella and Spurgeon enough to keep them together. Spurgeon can be a liability if the Hawks have extended offensive zone time and start getting chances in the middle of the ice. But so can Brodin.
The reality is that the Wild forwards have to be an integral part of the defense - it's basically what makes guys like Spurgeon and Brodin so effective. The Wild D isn't built to take the puck away from a cycling team, so they have to limit speed and disrupt entries so they can use the mobility of their blueliners to retrieve and breakout quickly. If that doesn't happen and Chicago has a lot of offensive zone possession, their skill will likely take advantage. - Chinaski
Bang on.
And quite frankly, when the Hawks back check like they can (and did much of the series versus Nashville) it allows the defense to hold better gaps.
Completely agree, maintaining offensive zone pressure, keeping the Wild bottled up is key for the Hawks. if they can't, it's a big advantage for the Wild because they move the puck so well from the back end.
Here is what the Hawks have that no other team can match. They have at least 5 guys who are among the top 5 at their relative positions.
Toews, duh..lol
Kane
Keith
Seabrook. not many #2 better, if any. Being generous here because I think he is the best. As do many other with better creds than me.
Hjalmarsson. IS there a better # 3 than him?
Now add players who are at the very least among the top 10 in Hossa, Sharp and Crawford.
And oh yeah. when the light shines the brightest, who is better than Kane? Or Toews. Look at the numbers those 2 put up in close out games.
Can they be beat? Sure. The Wild play their system very well and are a tightly structured team that make life miserable. They are also a good possession team that is very good at shot suppression though that has slipped a bit since the arrival of Dubnyk. - Elbows15
As usual, I think we're basically saying the same thing. The Hawks still even after the cap bleeds have a lot of elite talent at key positions.
The Hawks relative postseason success year to year seems to be somewhat dependent on the supporting cast.
My .02: they are substantially better at C than previous years, but losing Leddy on the third pair (his warts and all) and replacing him with Timonen, leaves them wafer thin as far as depth if there's an injury. Also remains to be seen how long the top 5 hold up getting so many minutes. The maturation of Kruger, Saad, Shaw playing wing is all a plus. not sure Bickell is what he was the last two postseasons though.
All my humble opinion here. I honestly think Scandella is the most improved Wild defender and PROBABLY rates higher than Suter. Suter get's all the press because of his minutes but Scandella does really good work.
I'm no Wild fan but I can appreciate good hockey. Between Scandella, Brodin and Dumba development (and Suter eating minutes), the Wild has two very very good defense pairs. I don't think Yeo needs to split his top pair.
EDITED TO ADD: And I forgot Spurgeon!!! - MNHawk
So this is the second stacked blue line the Hawks have had to face. Big difference, Nashville had more bruisers, the Wild guys, excluding Scandella are speed guys, not bangers like Jones or Weber.
JJ,
Since it seems Panarin has been signed and in the event that he doesn't make the Hawks roster and chooses to go back to the KHL, would we be able to recall him back or would he be there for the year?
And if he went back to the KHL, would he be considered under contract with the Blackhawks still?
That kid can fill it up. Provided he doesn't have all the bad Russian habits, he will score alot of goals in the NHL. Would love to see him opposite Kane. Man . . . - John Jaeckel
After all the Teuvo Time hype last summer you think this board would learn..... Holy Poop , I just watched those videos, Can't wait for the Russian Hurricane next year !
That's all I was looking for. Someone said he signed, but all I had seen was speculation.... I was going to say until I see something from the team, the NHL, NHLPA, or the kid's agent nothing is guaranteed. But a tweet from his agent is as good as it gets.
After all the Teuvo Time hype last summer you think this board would learn..... Holy Poop , I just watched those videos, Can't wait for the Russian Hurricane next year ! - bhawk1s
23 year old playing in the KHL and outscoring former NHLers (including Kovalchuk). I'd say the sampling is sufficient enough to be more excited than a 19 year old amateur.... and Teuvo certainly looks to have a solid future. He does need to find upper body strength but we can all see the offensive upside he may have...
I'm not all in on Panarin yet - not really the best track record here with Russians... I am glad that the organization remains aggressive grabbing talent outside of the draft. If he shows what we see on tape this coming pre-season against NHLers I will get excited. I hope they plan to help him transition - english tutors if needed etc....
After all the Teuvo Time hype last summer you think this board would learn..... Holy Poop , I just watched those videos, Can't wait for the Russian Hurricane next year ! - bhawk1s
I'll just say this, I hear ya on the Teuvo Time thing, buthtis kid has an NHL body right now. Brick poophouse as they say. Second line LW opposite Kane? Yeppers.
JJ,
Since it seems Panarin has been signed and in the event that he doesn't make the Hawks roster and chooses to go back to the KHL, would we be able to recall him back or would he be there for the year?
And if he went back to the KHL, would he be considered under contract with the Blackhawks still? - jjh181
So this is the second stacked blue line the Hawks have had to face. Big difference, Nashville had more bruisers, the Wild guys, excluding Scandella are speed guys, not bangers like Jones or Weber. - John Jaeckel
What makes me nervous is when Josi or Weber or Jones had the puck on their stick, they had no problems carrying the puck deep into the Hawk's zone/getting off a shot. And it happened more than a couple times (with varying degrees of success). The Wild have several defenders capable of doing the same thing, and quite possibly executing the strategy better.
This series makes me very nervous. I would have rather of played St Louis again.
I'm not sure I could be more excited than I am about the impending signing of Artemi Panarin.
I am a huge KHL and SKA St. Petersburg fan - watched every game Panarin played this season. He is the real deal. Only 5'11" but strong, tough to knock off the puck. Great playmaker, great vision, great shot. Top power play performer - think Kane on the power play, except setting up behind the net instead of along the half-wall. Big game player. Two way player.
His line, with Evgeny Dadonov and Vadim Shipachyov, was among the top 3 lines in the KHL. They were the driving force behind SKA coming back from an 0-3 series deficit in the Conference Finals to beat rival (and top team in the league) CSKA 4 games to 3. They then went on to win the Gagarin Cup Final.
Also, like Patrick Kane, he came back about a month early from a pretty serious wrist injury to be ready for the start of the playoffs. No one is Patrick Kane, but there are A LOT of similarities.
The KHL out clause does not worry me at all. There is no way - especially with the impending Blackhawks cap hell next season - that he doesn't make this team. They wouldn't have signed him if they thought there was.
23 year old playing in the KHL and outscoring former NHLers (including Kovalchuk). I'd say the sampling is sufficient enough to be more excited than a 19 year old amateur.... and Teuvo certainly looks to have a solid future. He does need to find upper body strength but we can all see the offensive upside he may have...
I'm not all in on Panarin yet - not really the best track record here with Russians... I am glad that the organization remains aggressive grabbing talent outside of the draft. If he shows what we see on tape this coming pre-season against NHLers I will get excited. I hope they plan to help him transition - english tutors if needed etc.... - tredbrta
No doubt a great move if they sign him, but patience is the key, let his development dictate how excited we get..... but sure looks like a smart move to make with all the potential upside and minimum cost.
I'll just say this, I hear ya on the Teuvo Time thing, buthtis kid has an NHL body right now. Brick poophouse as they say. Second line LW opposite Kane? Yeppers. - John Jaeckel
I'll just say this, I hear ya on the Teuvo Time thing, buthtis kid has an NHL body right now. Brick poophouse as they say. Second line LW opposite Kane? Yeppers. - John Jaeckel
AND who plays the pivot between them? Richards will walk and Vermette hasn't shown enough fit within this system to be confident about resigning.
NHL body? I thought he was only like 170 lbs? - Bjm84
I think he meant this : Only 5'11" but strong, tough to knock off the puck. as opposed to TT who is easy to knock off the puck. But to TTs credit he is very evasive and slips hits pretty well.
I think he meant this : Only 5'11" but strong, tough to knock off the puck. as opposed to TT who is easy to knock off the puck. But to TTs credit he is very evasive and slips hits pretty well. - bhawk1s
I am so sorry to break these bubbles, but
He is far less than official heights weights, 170, more like 164 lb.s
What he is on the large ice is a buzzing ant that can sting you quickly and before you know, it but please, don't state "facts" that rah-rahs.
All you have to is pause any of the World Junior footage and you see his real size against Canada, whose player inof may also be exaggerated too, but you probably have seen some of the Canadian guys already in the big leagues, and know their size.
Gaze at Artemy.
I am not doubting his skill, heart, or playing strength.
Just saying that you can't assume transitions for North American junior STARS, midlevel prospects or older Euros until they actually hit the North American sheets and see what the "phone booth" looks like with flting trees all around.
No one is more excited and hopeful that he succeeds as a brilliant StanBo replacement than me. I have been so happy that they already are at work replacing their lost first round picks and supplanting this upcoming weak UFA market, along with filling in the area a skill and scoring, something a bit thin in their talent pool at this juncture.
And he's something else I need to sound off on.
Again not being a fanboy.
Tevo Teravainen is strong on the puck, not as you described, weak. His stature and muscles needs much more, to aid in his work away from the puck working to take them away.
When that 42 11 86 checking line was in full swing,T was working that down low area and they weren't knocking him off any pucks, and he was eluding pressure. If he wasn't strong on it the plays he made would not have ensued.
Sure you can say TT needs to be even stronger on the puck, but is is indeed a biiger stretch to assume you or I can have an opinion that Artemy already is stronger on the puck than TT before he has played a game!
I could see Steeger gone, but Shaw I'm not so sure about. If Hartman and/or Ross make the team (and they're close), then perhaps Shaw goes. Otherwise, Shaw still fills a lot of squares for the Hawks.
Regardless, Panarin looks like a terrific low-risk pick up for the Hawks. - grinder10
Low contracts are not the fly in the oinment for them. Versteeg Shaw are bargains as will be Artemy, Baun and the Rockford grads...
