The lines at practice are prrfect.

Throbbingly perfect

#Blackhawks lines at practice: Sharp-Toews-Hossa; Saad-Richards-Kane; Versteeg-Vermette-Teravainen; Desjardins-Kruger-Shaw

The lines at practice are prrfect.

Throbbingly perfect

#Blackhawks lines at practice: Sharp-Toews-Hossa; Saad-Richards-Kane; Versteeg-Vermette-Teravainen; Desjardins-Kruger-Shaw
- mrpaulish

Agreed...

let's see how it turns out on saturday!

The lines at practice are prrfect.

Throbbingly perfect

#Blackhawks lines at practice: Sharp-Toews-Hossa; Saad-Richards-Kane; Versteeg-Vermette-Teravainen; Desjardins-Kruger-Shaw
- mrpaulish

Beautiful, time to bring some red ass on the road. We need a little angst and to want it more than they do for 60 plus minutes.

The lines at practice are prrfect.

Throbbingly perfect

#Blackhawks lines at practice: Sharp-Toews-Hossa; Saad-Richards-Kane; Versteeg-Vermette-Teravainen; Desjardins-Kruger-Shaw
- mrpaulish

Interesting adjective that I will not ask you to expand on .....

Agreed and man that makes me kinda uncomfortable LOL, maybe he's just not that great an athlete, maybe he has some maturing to do cuz he's not much physically on the ice
- John Jaeckel

I thought he was *fine* in terms of dealing with physicality early in the season, especially for a rookie. He's been a bit of fire drill in these 2 games of the Final, but I still like his instincts far better than Cumiskey or Rundblad.

Interesting adjective that I will not ask you to expand on .....
- paulr

Sounds like its probably at max expansion right now...

Interesting adjective that I will not ask you to expand on .....
- paulr

That and the TVR pic have me a little queasy at the moment.

I thought he was *fine* in terms of dealing with physicality early in the season, especially for a rookie. He's been a bit of fire drill in these 2 games of the Final, but I still like his instincts far better than Cumiskey or Rundblad.
- BreakoutHockey

Yeah, honestly, though, how well do you think he skates?

The lines at practice are prrfect.

Throbbingly perfect

#Blackhawks lines at practice: Sharp-Toews-Hossa; Saad-Richards-Kane; Versteeg-Vermette-Teravainen; Desjardins-Kruger-Shaw
- mrpaulish

Yep. Q got away with trying to be the smartest guy in the room last game with those bizarre lines to start the game, but this is the best possible lineup and line combinations that we could ask for at this point.

On a side note, I really liked Versteeg's Game 4 in the limited minutes he saw. He made a real smart play on the shift right after TB's goal, especially in light of the Hawks' tendency to give goals up on the shift after scoring. Nothing dramatic, but he got the red line, got to the blue line, and just fired a shot on Vasilevskiy to get an offensive zone draw and relieve any immediate pressure.

The lines at practice are prrfect.

Perfect

#Blackhawks lines at practice: Sharp-Toews-Hossa; Saad-Richards-Kane; Versteeg-Vermette-Teravainen; Desjardins-Kruger-Shaw
- mrpaulish

Fixed.

Watched the game again last night. Hawks are on to something with the Top 6. Richards, Saad, Kane was pretty damn effective after Q cobbled that together in game.

When that line was flying, Tampa had a problem on their hands. Dunno what they're putting in Richards' pre-game smoothie, but my 54 year old a-- could use some!

Yep. Q got away with trying to be the smartest guy in the room last game with those bizarre lines to start the game, but this is the best possible lineup and line combinations that we could ask for at this point.

On a side note, I really liked Versteeg's Game 4 in the limited minutes he saw. He made a real smart play on the shift right after TB's goal, especially in light of the Hawks' tendency to give goals up on the shift after scoring. Nothing dramatic, but he got the red line, got to the blue line, and just fired a shot on Vasilevskiy to get an offensive zone draw and relieve any immediate pressure.
- BreakoutHockey

Wow. You are so right. I mean, Pierre pointed it out too. But that's well, Pierre.

The minute he did it I thought: what a smart, simple play. And NOT what you've come to expect from #23 over the years either.

Interesting adjective that I will not ask you to expand on .....
- paulr

Expand ?

This gives the Hawks another chance to reconsider their position on the value of NON-SKATERS, i.e. Goalies. IMO, the Hawks have no other choice but to trade Crawford this off season while his value is high, and then take that money (a la SCOTTY Bowman) and put it into strength at Centre and a deep defensive core. Right now, against a backdrop of ZERO Cap space, the Hawks have 3 championship calibre DMen coming back. That leaves FOUR (count them, 1, 2, 3, 4) crucial roster spots to fill without much of any money to do it!

Now, for sure Sharp will be traded, (the Hawks don't have any other options and Teravainen is ready to fill that role) and they would love to dump Bickell's contract, but it might come at a price. Could they move Versteeg at $2.2 million? I think so, but they might not want to, as he becomes a good "affordable veteran" to split time with a rookie forward (12th/13th man) play 50 games, stay fresh, be counted upon during the playoffs and fit upon occasion on every line. However, my preference would be Desjardins, as he is even more flexible IMO (being a true Centre) and can play this role for HALF that amount.

After resigning Saad and Kruger (both might see offer sheets), finding a 2nd line Centre, and perhaps resigning Desjardins if they trade Versteeg, the trades of Sharp and Bickell/Versteeg STILL aren't enough! And please consider this...Coach Q can only pull so many miracles with his defence corp, he needs to be able to count upon a top notch group of FOUR, not three! Oduya needs to be resigned because the cost of replacing him will be THE SAME or even more with someone else of that ilk, plus Oduya IS ALREADY A HAWK and knows what it takes to win a championship! We simply do not possess a player in our organization who is ready to take this spot just yet. Johns (if healthy) will be given every chance as our #5 DMan, and based on what I have observed he is more than ready. TVR will be given every chance to become our steady #6 DMan. BUT, both are inexperienced rookies and both have a history of INJURIES, and in the case of TVR, major injuries. The Hawks MUST acquire a veteran #6/7 DMan who has a history of playoff success. That won't cost a mere million dollars.

So with Kruger inheriting the #3 Centre role and Danault taking over the #4 Centre position, that still leaves the CRUCIAL #2 Centre spot to fill. This is why I mentioned yesterday that the Hawks will have to have a discussion with Brad Richards about reprising his role one more time at $2 million a year. While he is slow and aging, he doesn't have a great history of injuries, has a great relationship with Kane on and off the ice, and he has played his heart out this post season. Richards LIKES Chicago a lot, and from what I have heard, he wants to stay centring Kane. Thus, this scenario has to be explored because Teravainen is NOT ready to be our 2nd line Centre, if ever. That doesn't mean that Teuvo isn't a good player, he is, but not at Centre. I see his future as the "heir apparent" to Patrick Sharp. And for those not willing to believe that Richards would take another $2 million contract, think again, the Rangers bought him out of his massive deal last year, he isn't playing hockey for the money, he's playing it for Championships and the love of the game! Centring Patrick Kane on the Chicago Blackhawks fills both of his prerequisites!

So the first line stays the same with Saad, Toews and Hossa. The second line becomes Teuvo/Panarin, Richards, Kane. The third line becomes Tuevo/Panarin, Kruger, Baun, while the fourth line will be Desi/Versteeg/Rookie, Danault and Shaw. Consider this, if Panarin "pans" out, the Hawks will be every bit as good at the forward position as they were this year, which was the best in the NHL.

So again, the key becomes defence and goaltending. I firmly believe that Scott Darling is the "real deal", a true steal that fell into the Hawk's laps. He is still young, very mature, a "flat line" personality, possesses a HUGE frame, but with incredible agility and athleticism. Plus, his rebound control and crease positioning are both already better than Crawford's. Raanta makes an excellent 1B goalie who can take a lot of starts and both are young with affordable and controlled contracts. So the true key comes down to resigning Oduya for 2 more years and finding that solid third pairing defenceman who can rotate with Johns and TVR. And to achieve this (along with Saad, Kruger, Richards and Desjardins) means that Sharp, Crawford, Bickell and Versteeg would all have to go. This would give us a CAP total of $68 million leaving space for any dollars we might have to eat with Bickell and allowances for the CAP not increasing to $71 million. It also gives us flexibility for the trade deadline next year should more needs arise, or if any key player gets injured.
- MexicoHawk

Wow. You are so right. I mean, Pierre pointed it out too. But that's well, Pierre.

The minute he did it I thought: what a smart, simple play. And NOT what you've come to expect from #23 over the years either.
- John Jaeckel

Haha yeah, thankfully I did not have to hear Pierre from my seat in the 300 level! If THAT Versteeg could roll out of bed every morning, he'd be a damn effective player at $2.2mil.

Wow. You are so right. I mean, Pierre pointed it out too. But that's well, Pierre.

The minute he did it I thought: what a smart, simple play. And NOT what you've come to expect from #23 over the years either.
- John Jaeckel

When he is north south and.not.afraid to dump it in and live to fight another day he is the perfect 2.2 m aav player.

Fixed.

Watched the game again last night. Hawks are on to something with the Top 6. Richards, Saad, Kane was pretty damn effective after Q cobbled that together in game.

When that line was flying, Tampa had a problem on their hands. Dunno what they're putting in Richards' pre-game smoothie, but my 54 year old a-- could use some!
- John Jaeckel

Agreed on Richards - he's not getting much fanfare but he has been my favorite Hawks forward to watch all playoffs. He is flying out there, making so many subtle plays that have contributed to goals-for. Makes the decision to not trade Teuvo+ for Kesler look even better than it already did.

Yep. Q got away with trying to be the smartest guy in the room last game with those bizarre lines to start the game, but this is the best possible lineup and line combinations that we could ask for at this point.

On a side note, I really liked Versteeg's Game 4 in the limited minutes he saw. He made a real smart play on the shift right after TB's goal, especially in light of the Hawks' tendency to give goals up on the shift after scoring. Nothing dramatic, but he got the red line, got to the blue line, and just fired a shot on Vasilevskiy to get an offensive zone draw and relieve any immediate pressure.
- BreakoutHockey

[img]

Its like Q has this habbitnof trying to win with less than his best line up or lines.

Its game 5 and Q seems to be goig with his absolute best options at every position on every line. This is bad news for the Bolts and the rookie G that didnt play as well as all the talking heads said he did. Game 4 was an inch and a half from.being 5-1 [/img]

Are we thinking there will be a change on the blue line in Game 5?
I hope not. Was liking what I saw, except, I need some more cow bell! Wait sorry, Timonen**.

I don't know if it definitely only happens after a concussion, but mine did start after I hit my head a few times after having a few too many pops. My head hasn't been right ever since, going on about 2 and half years, the vertigo (general dizziness that can eventually feel like you're on a tilt-a-whirl) comes and goes with no regularity. It gets bad a few times, maybe once a year for me, but the rest of the time my head just doesn't feel right. Don't know how it is for others who have had it, but this has been my experience. (frank)in sucks, and the medicine recommended for it doesn't work.
- BlazinMike

Off Topic: Head injuries/Vertigo

Hey BM, you may want to look into hyperbaric therapy if you haven't tried it yet. A colleague of mine injured in a static line jump in the 90s had an out of the box thinking doc that threw him into a HB chamber after 18 months of vertigo/nausea and it did wonders. Oddly enough, his son had a head/neck injury (getting his jump wings too) last year and dad took him in as a precaution even though the docs didn't think it was needed. Told me his son kept going for 3 months - helped a lot. This is a link to the the place in Virginia but it will give you some general info on it - they may be able to refer a place near you. FYI - he told me these places have to be careful about saying what it helps with but he and his son swear by it.

http://hrhyperbaric.com/our-therapies/about-hbot

Agreed on Richards - he's not getting much fanfare but he has been my favorite Hawks forward to watch all playoffs. He is flying out there, making so many subtle plays that have contributed to goals-for. Makes the decision to not trade Teuvo+ for Kesler look even better than it already did.
- BreakoutHockey

Yep, sometimes the best deals you make are the ones you don't.

Now, that said, Kesler on this team, minus Richards and TT, AND assuming his nonsense was not too huge a distraction? I think this series might be over. But THAT'S adding him into the Hawks' mix, not just on any team. IMO.

Agreed on Richards - he's not getting much fanfare but he has been my favorite Hawks forward to watch all playoffs. He is flying out there, making so many subtle plays that have contributed to goals-for. Makes the decision to not trade Teuvo+ for Kesler look even better than it already did.
- BreakoutHockey

Him being moved in game 4 was the move that made me scratch my head. He was doing everything he could to give Kane some space. Plus he is smart enough to take advantage of the extra space the coverage Kane is getting.

Yep, sometimes the best deals you make are the ones you don't.

Now, that said, Kesler on this team, minus Richards and TT, AND assuming his nonsense was not too huge a distraction? I think this series might be over. But THAT'S adding him into the Hawks' mix, not just on any team. IMO.
- John Jaeckel

Except it would have cost more than just subtracting those players to make his cap hit fit. So who knows.

In the cap world cap space is a valuable trading acquisition. Bowman went out and signed some College free agents and there is talk Reilly will also sign on with the Hawks. Getting only cap space back for Bickell and Sharp is fine especially with the cap issues the Hawks will have. Look at Bickell going to Phoenix.
- paulr

Honest question, do you think that the Hawks and other teams for that matter with a developed core, would rather sign more NHL ready older college players, vs draft and Junior guys?

This has to be strategic. The college prospect is going to be who he is rather quickly. Meaning, you are not going to wait 3 years for a 23 year old to be ready. he is either close and serviceable or not?

Are we thinking there will be a change on the blue line in Game 5?
I hope not. Was liking what I saw, except, I need some more cow bell! Wait sorry, Timonen**.
- BURDA13

I didn't think Timonen was terrible. The penalty was almost forgivable, not blatant, more circumstantial. I thought he played pretty decent at times. I would not use him MORE, but how they used him was fine. And he is not bad on the point even in his diminished state.

Except it would have cost more than just subtracting those players to make his cap hit fit. So who knows.
- Elbows15

True