Ehrhoff's HERO looks great

I guess I'm the only one, I'm okay with Bickell staying in Chicago, Versteeg should be the first one to go since he's always a healthy scratch for the playoffs, 235lb forwards who can skate and does what Q wants him to do, delivers bone crushing checks in playoffs and stands in front of the net is okay with me.

Not sure what people expected from Stan with the position he is in. He is trying to make the best out of a tough situation. it is what it is. Other GM's in the league are not in the business of helping someone else team out. 3 cups in 6 years....I dare another GM to do better. Stan is doing an alright job IMO.
- NedsHead_88

"with the position he is in" I think some of the more legitimate criticism comes from those who don't like the position he put himself in.

"with the position he is in" I think some of the more legitimate criticism comes from those who don't like the position he put himself in.
- gmurban

Isn't that position him posing for pictures holding the Stanley cup?
How could he have avoided the salary cup crunch?

How does it work if we put Bickell on waivers?
- hockey nut 28

I think you can only bury so much of a salary in the minors now, and it's highly unlikely he'd get claimed I would guess.

I want to say the amount you can bury is in the range of 750-950k out of any salary

Edit: Just tested, Bickell would cost 3,050,000 against the cap still

So, instead of getting a high draft pick for Sharp, we traded Daley for Oduya. Sharp for kaput. Gave away Stephen Johns and saved less than 2 million.

Should have let Sharp go for a draft pick. Same with Bickell and Versteeg. I wanna see these kids get a chance. There are only so many spots on a team.

"with the position he is in" I think some of the more legitimate criticism comes from those who don't like the position he put himself in.
- gmurban

Criticism yes legitimate not so much we had a chance to win 3 cups in 3 years, CRITICAL fans is more like it.

How does it work if we put Bickell on waivers?
- hockey nut 28

If - okay WHEN - no one claims him, he can be sent to Rockford. Problem is that will only save them $900k against the cap, leaving more than $3mil of zombie cap space being eaten up by a player that isn't even on your roster.

The one rumor I would like to see substantiated or dismissed is that Stan was offered two 2nd round picks for Sharp with no money retained. If accurate, this was the domino that put us where we are today. If we take those two picks, we have the money to sign Oduya, we have more ammo to include as a sweetener to take Bickell (I would think (2) 2nd round picks and/or Johns would be enough for AZ or FLA to take Bickell off our hands), then we have enough cap room to sign Kruger and no talk of Shaw being added as a sweetener.

What are your expectations for Panarin?
- Dabearshawks

My expecations are that he is skilled enough to play a top-6 role and he plays well enough defensively for Q to use him in the top-6. Points wise? I don't expect him to set the world on fire, but I'll be disappointed if he doesn't reach 40 points (if he plays top-6).

I'm noticing that there is quite a bit of Stan hating based on so called "facts".
There isn't a single person here who knows what the Hawks were or were not offered, be it before, during, or since the draft. Never mind the Hawks just won the cup based on moves Stan made, and I'm guessing he was skewered for by many here based on reactions I'm reading. I'll wait for opening night roster. He seems to know what he is doing based on past performance
- Confederate

No offense, but that sounds like a script written by the Hawks front office. Are you an employee?

Stan gets a lot of credit here. Not just from posters but from JJ as well. Stan is a big boy and he can handle being judged on a deal by deal basis. Stan is a vastly underrated GM IMO but the result of the Dallas deal is a loss. It looks very clearly like a win for Nill now that he signed Oduya. The fact that Oduya was left hanging for weeks and ends up leaving for 2 years at #3.75 aav also deserves a red mark.

The one rumor I would like to see substantiated or dismissed is that Stan was offered two 2nd round picks for Sharp with no money retained. If accurate, this was the domino that put us where we are today. If we take those two picks, we have the money to sign Oduya, we have more ammo to include as a sweetener to take Bickell (I would think (2) 2nd round picks and/or Johns would be enough for AZ or FLA to take Bickell off our hands), then we have enough cap room to sign Kruger and no talk of Shaw being added as a sweetener.
- pierregruska

To continue beating the dead horse, Bickell has a NMC. He has a say on where he is traded, and I am pretty sure the Coyotes are not on his list. A lot of where Bickell goes is his call, not Stan's

Again, unknown. You can NOT project him to replace ANY lost forward. COULD he score 50 points? Yep, he could. Could he totally flame out? Yep he could do that also. The Hawks are now dealing with as many "unknowns" than many other teams they are competing with.

You can "project" elite prospects to do this or that and you'll be playing a fools game that many fans of losing hockey teams roll every year.

I like the "known". Again, NOT saying he won't do well or even great, just saying I won't believe it till I see it, thus the Hawks are more a mystery than at any point since 2011.
- kwolf68

I completely understand you and countless others taking the "I won't believe it till I see it" approach with Panarin. I'm taking that approach with all of the Hawks acquisitions thus far (besides Panarin). I'm just trying to reassure anyone that hasn't seen this kid play besides from YouTube highlights and whatnot that he is an exceptional player. To put it into perspective I saw Teuvo & Panarin play in the World Juniors & to me Teuvo was the best all around player while Panarin was the most dangerous offensively.

The one rumor I would like to see substantiated or dismissed is that Stan was offered two 2nd round picks for Sharp with no money retained. If accurate, this was the domino that put us where we are today. If we take those two picks, we have the money to sign Oduya, we have more ammo to include as a sweetener to take Bickell (I would think (2) 2nd round picks and/or Johns would be enough for AZ or FLA to take Bickell off our hands), then we have enough cap room to sign Kruger and no talk of Shaw being added as a sweetener.
- pierregruska

Substantiated by whom? Someone here? Ahahaha
Based on what the trade ended up being, it's hard to believe the opening offer was 2 picks and this is what it morphed into

Ebony. I am fine for optimism, but better than Cup winning teams? Give me a break (not saying you say that).
- kwolf68

I think it's too easy to say what coulda woulda shoulda been done differenty if only ... The reality of the situation needs to be dealt with and the Hawks roster is what it is and I'm optimistic the young guys can play well enough to keep the Hawks in the mix and as long as they're in the mix they have a good shot because of their core guys.

Sure I would feel more optimistic if the Hawks could have kept the 2014/15 team together - but they couldn't so I'm just looking at what there is right now and seeing things to be optimistic about.

So, instead of getting a high draft pick for Sharp, we traded Daley for Oduya. Sharp for kaput. Gave away Stephen Johns and saved less than 2 million.

Should have let Sharp go for a draft pick. Same with Bickell and Versteeg. I wanna see these kids get a chance. There are only so many spots on a team.
- hocktock

Incorrect.

I won't disagree but it's worth noting how terrible JO was the majority of last season. He really came around after the injury and in the playoffs, but I wouldn't be shocked if he struggles again.
- CBHawks88

Exactly! Half of the posters on here were trying to run JO out of town for most of the season. He has a good playoff run and now he has moved on, we are doomed. Get real boys. I'll take Trevor Daley any day of the week, just wait and see

I vote Nashville! Ribeiro will be charged with assault… Forsberg will have a major sophomore regression… Mike Fisher is another year older…

Within the division, Dallas is the only other team that got better. WPG, NASH, MIN, STL, and COL all are the same or not as good after having lost strong players.
- DMChi2010

But they got by with a really good D and Rinne, and Jones will only get better. Minnesota was struggling until Duby came on board, and everything clicked. Not sure if they have have enough.

Heck, any of those teams can fall or rise. Injuries change everything. Always a surprise team or three, good and bad.

Stan did great job on the saad deal. We have 3 solid lines and we have more than 3 kids ready to come up. I'm excited to see Kyle Baun. Stans gotta stop asking for bodies. We don't need bodies, we need mmmooonnneeeyyy.

Incorrect.
- HawksHype

Didn't I jsut post how this is the complete wrong way to look at it like 1 page ago? Come on. Oduya was in no way related to the other trade. They are mutually exclusive transactions.

No offense, but that sounds like a script written by the Hawks front office. Are you an employee?

Stan gets a lot of credit here. Not just from posters but from JJ as well. Stan is a big boy and he can handle being judged on a deal by deal basis. Stan is a vastly underrated GM IMO but the result of the Dallas deal is a loss. It looks very clearly like a win for Nill now that he signed Oduya. The fact that Oduya was left hanging for weeks and ends up leaving for 2 years at #3.75 aav also deserves a red mark.
- tredbrta

It's a script because I point out people are bashing the guy over Internet "facts"?
Not a single person here knows what offers were, that's all

If - okay WHEN - no one claims him, he can be sent to Rockford. Problem is that will only save them $900k against the cap, leaving more than $3mil of zombie cap space being eaten up by a player that isn't even on your roster.
- BreakoutHockey

Well that 900k could be used on vet 6/7 Dman.

Substantiated by whom? Someone here? Ahahaha
Based on what the trade ended up being, it's hard to believe the opening offer was 2 picks and this is what it morphed into
- Confederate

I won't base a judgement on rumored or reported offers but it is certainly logical to conclude there were more opportunities out there before and at the draft. Stan appears to be repeating the errors that led to the Leddy dump.... and even if Pokka pans out there is no question now that that was not an adequate return for a young d man with Leddy's talent.

But they got by with a really good D and Rinne, and Jones will only get better. Minnesota was struggling until Duby came on board, and everything clicked. Not sure if they have have enough.

Heck, any of those teams can fall or rise. Injuries change everything. Always a surprise team or three, good and bad.
- howiehandles

Agreed, Duby looked good in Edmonton too at points, then fell off the map. If that happens again, not sure the Wild have the goaltending to contend

I think it's too easy to say what coulda woulda shoulda been done differenty if only ... The reality of the situation needs to be dealt with and the Hawks roster is what it is and I'm optimistic the young guys can play well enough to keep the Hawks in the mix and as long as they're in the mix they have a good shot because of their core guys.

Sure I would feel more optimistic if the Hawks could have kept the 2014/15 team together - but they couldn't so I'm just looking at what there is right now and seeing things to be optimistic about.
- EbonyRaptor

As I said Eb....optimism is fine, but there is delusion that is accompanying much of that optimism.

It pains me to see spin doctors in here saying players lost were not that good, players acquired are now advertised as far superior than their career numbers indicate, prospects lost are brushed off as unproven kids who were not that good anyway, prospects acquired peddled as the 2nd coming.

People are spinning things to make themselves believe the Hawks have actually IMPROVED by erasing Sharp, Saad, Oduya, Richards and Vermette (and possibly more? Shaw?) from the team.

My views on Phil Danault are WELL KNOWN. I have no doubt he's going to be a terrific Line 3/4-C and he'll help the Hawks immensely. SO if he got a spot in Chicago I would ABSOLUTELY be optimistic, but also would understand that the NHL is the big boy league and it stands to reason he (like almost every other single player) will demand a period of adjustment EVEN if he were to make it. Much as I believe in that kid, I just don't know what he can do at the NHL level yet. That view SHOULD be applied across the board and expectations should be adjusted accordingly.