Oduya was good for the Hawks because he fit into Coach Q's system. Oduya was never known as a top defender before coming to Chicago. I suspect that Trevor Daley will also benefit from Coach Q's system and will be a decent replacement for Oduya. It would have been nice to keep Oduya because he knows the system but so far Daley has been saying all the right things so we can hope that he really buys into the system. If he does, the Hawks likely gain that missing offensive d-man to round out the top 4 by acquiring Daley.

At least in 2010 we actually didn't have to trade prospects. It's way different now.

Imagine having to move Hammer back in 2010 just so someone would "take" Andrew Ladd?

This year feels way different.
- kwolf68

You know I am getting tired of the one after another posts about how they Hawks had to pay Dallas with Stephan Johns.

Did you ever think that Johns may just be a big physical guy who loves to attack, but has still not developed a strong defensive side? Well, that is basically it.

Now if you want to say Bowman traded Johns to ensure landing Trevor Daley, as a cost cut, I have no problems with that assessment.

They will find a way out of Bickell without giving away a precious minor leaguer.

And while I am at it, I am really tired of the "Oh, NO!, Not Danault" posts, about his guaranteed future as an NHLer.
The kid scored THIRTEEN GOALS in the AHL last year, and SIX the year before.

You all have to loosen up on the reigns...

You don't need to buy in completely to my evaluations but don't get too hung up that the folks in charge actually have better evaluations and know what they are doing when trading kids away...

Can't we send Bickell and Versteeg to Europe to play with Huet?
- hockey nut 28

Sure!

Just be prepared to prepared to have a $4.3M cap hit for the two.

Expect there is NOT ONE SINGLE GM who feels as you do. They ALL believe he is garbage. The only way they want him is to cherry pick our best players.
- kwolf68

WHo thinks he is garbage as a GM? Nobody has said that. They do, however, know he's not worth 4 million. He's a 2-2.5 million player, and he's getting offers as such. the TT offer was most likely just a dismissal.

I agree with this ikeane. I think Dallas is MARKEDLY better now. Oh yea, they are in our division. The Blues, Wild and Preds are going nowhere. The Jets? Strong. Now Dallas. The Central was a dog fight last year, it's gonna be worse next year. Yes, our core is the best in the world and it's not really close, so that keeps things sane around here.
- kwolf68

Sharp and Oduya has make this team better yes but you gave up a defenceman and gained a similar defenceman but their defense as a whole is still bad, don't really have a number 1 or 2, Blues, Wild, and Preds do

Sadly for them, I think they're still 5th in the Central.
- CBHawks88

The gap last year between Chicago (3rd) and last in the Central was 12 points.

There is not a bad team in the Central, and it will be another dog fight just to get into the playoffs.

What if Erhoff comes in a 1.5? I'd jump ALL over that.
- kwolf68

Yes! AND Rozy too, as a #7D.

How ironic would it be if the Stars knockout the Hawks in the playoffs?!

You know I am getting tired of the one after another posts about how they Hawks had to pay Dallas with Stephan johns.

Did you ever think that Johns may just be a big physical guy who loves to attack, but has still not developed a strong defensive side? Well, that is basically it.

Now if you want to say Bowman traded Johns o ensure landing Trevor daley, I have no problems.

They will find a way out of Bickell with giving away a precious minor leaguer.

And while I am at it, I am really tired of the "Oh, NO!, Not Danault" posts, about his guaranteed future as an NHLer.
The kid scored THIRTEEN GOALS in the AHL last year, and SIX the year before.

You all have to loosen up on the reigns...

You don't need to buy in completely to my evaluations but don't get too hung up that the folks in charge actually have better evaluations and know what they are doing when trading kids away...
- wiz1901

And I thought you knew that every prospect in the Hawks' system is a top end superstar just waiting to emerge.

Rozi could barely get up to speed with a good ankle last year. He will be a lead weight this year.
- JRoenick97

In the POs, I saw an aging guy who KNEW his role, played it well, didn't panic in his own zone and gave Q 18min TOI.

DISCLAIMER: I have no idea how well he is healing. He could be toast. However, if he's OK, or is going to be OK come October and SB can land him for sub-$1M, it would be crazy not to have that insurance policy.

I ran on the lake front yesterday for an hour and all I could think of is why didn't Stan take the 2 2nds and a few prospects for sharp. He does that and SAAD has less power, Bickell and Steeg have more value. It just Makes no sense. I think Stan sits and looks at the wall to long. When you are defending champs you need to take the 1st offer that is reasonable acceptable. If you think anybody is going to Let you win Big on a Trade (and get blasted in the press and by the fans) you have been hit in the head to many times. People talk about Johns and injuries as one of the reasons it was OK for him to go. TVR has had more injuries then John's. When TVR came back after his 1st injury last year it was often reported that he was no where as good as John's in Rockford. I think TVR is a serviceable 6-7 defender but giving up a big RH D man Really hurts. If we have to give up a good asset to get Bickell off the books I may need to go out for a liquid lunch. I wish I could get over Stans Botch but I have not been able to.

How ironic would it be if the Stars knockout the Hawks in the playoffs?!
- Chicago_Sean

Or keep them from even making the playoffs?

There isn't a team that is for sure going to make the playoffs in the Central.

Is anyone else kind of leery about signing Ehrhoff? The injuries have kind of piled up for him.

Interesting. 2 years 7.5...that is 3.725 per. Much less than thought. Plus term less than. I guess the Hawks were indeed looking for a REAL discount to what he made last year. Because it was not term he took in Dallas.

And I thought you knew that every prospect in the Hawks' system is a top end superstar just waiting to emerge.
- RickJ

I did, and also knew that Rosy was so slow that he never should have been allowed on the ice...until we desperately needed him to be after his injury.

Expect there is NOT ONE SINGLE GM who feels as you do. They ALL believe he is garbage. The only way they want him is to cherry pick our best players.
- kwolf68

He does have a NTC but of course that wouldn't limit Bowmans options, I know the Hawks think he has value since they didn't buy him out either?I know you're frustrated with him but he still has a role on this team

Is anyone else kind of leery about signing Ehrhoff? The injuries have kind of piled up for him.
- Hank3Henshaw

His defensive side is the concern...

In the POs, I saw an aging guy who KNEW his role, played it well, didn't panic in his own zone and gave Q 18min TOI.

DISCLAIMER: I have no idea how well he is healing. He could be toast. However, if he's OK, or is going to be OK come October and SB can land him for sub-$1M, it would be crazy not to have that insurance policy.
- blackhawk24

Yes, in the playoffs he did well. I don't think he can sustain that in the entire season, mostly because he didn't do it last year. Seeing how a foot injury from the playoffs hampered Oduya for half a season, I think Rozi's ankle is a big issue.

You know I am getting tired of the one after another posts about how they Hawks had to pay Dallas with Stephan johns.

Did you ever think that Johns may just be a big physical guy who loves to attack, but has still not developed a strong defensive side? Well, that is basically it.

Now if you want to say Bowman traded Johns o ensure landing Trevor daley, I have no problems.

They will find a way out of Bickell with giving away a precious minor leaguer.

And while I am at it, I am really tired of the "Oh, NO!, Not Danault" posts, about his guaranteed future as an NHLer.
The kid scored THIRTEEN GOALS in the AHL last year, and SIX the year before.

You all have to loosen up on the reigns...

You don't need to buy in completely to my evaluations but don't get too hung up that the folks in charge actually have better evaluations and know what they are doing when trading kids away...
- wiz1901

Some fans seem to focus on a prospect but lose perspective about the propect's value. Everything I have heard and read about Johns suggests a mid range prospect with some upside, same as Danault. It's the blue chip prospects the hawks need to keep and now that TT has graduated to the Hawks they have a few good but not great prospects with the possible exception of Nick Schmaltz.

No thanks to Rozi. His ankle was decimated. No way he's 100% coming back, and was super slow already. Look how a foot injury hurt Oduya for the first 1/2 of the season.
- JRoenick97

Decimated his ankle? So it was a sniper after all!

Oduya not signing with Hawks was a foregone conclusion after Daley arrived, no room for that many top 4 d men. I assume Cumiskey's contract will be renewed otherwise some 1 million to 1.25 million dollar d man will get signed. At that point it will be pretty close to the same quality defense they had last year with perhaps a little more fire power. Looking forward to watching them this year.

Anyone know if Bickell passed any physical yet this summer?

How ironic would it be if the Stars knockout the Hawks in the playoffs?!
- Chicago_Sean

In a world the NHL wants, that of parity, it's not out of the question. But I'll still put money on the Hawks to out perform Dallas.

Oduya signed somewhere else - GOOD! Not that I wouldn't have preferred he re-signed with the Hawks - because I had hoped he would re-sign. But it was pretty apparent when Daley came back in the Sharp trade that there wasn't going to be cap space for Oduya so it's good we can stop thinking about it and move on.

It also removes the time element from Stan's trade possibilities. He is no longer under the gun to clear cap space before Oduya signs somewhere else. Kruger is an RFA so he's not going anywhere unless he receives and signs an offer sheet which the Hawks can match if they choose to do so. So the heat is off ... well maybe not "off" but at least turned down lower.

Another thing - Bickell is regularly raked over the coals and if there is a Hawk fan against trading him I haven't seen evidence of it. But, when he's healthy he's not a bad player - he's just not worth $4M. I watched Game#4 of the Wild series last night and Bickell was on a line with Richards and Kane and he played pretty good. I find it hard to believe that Bickell at $2M or even $2.5M can't be a good player for some team. Even if Stan retains salary - he should still be traded and it shouldn't take TT to sweeten the deal.

The price you pay for success. You can't keep everybody in the hard cap NHL. The hope is you can keep enough key pieces and blend them with youth and cheap veterans to remain competitive. This year it's Sharp and JO, next year it's Crawford and (fill in the blank), the year after, etc., etc. We as fans can have all the opinions we want and be armchair GM's. But there are people in the Hawks organization that make a lot more money than I do that have more of a pulse on the cap, trades and personnel than most of us. With some of the talk around here it's a good thing there aren't any tall bridges around otherwise we'd be pushing the entire Hawks organization off of it.

Interesting. 2 years 7.5...that is 3.725 per. Much less than thought. Plus term less than. I guess the Hawks were indeed looking for a REAL discount to what he made last year. Because it was not term he took in Dallas.
- TrueGrit

It's very possible (at least to my mind) that Stan told Oduya that he probably couldn't get enough cap space to sign him EVEN to the $3.75 that was out there.

It looks like Stan didn't want to trade Crawford for Oduya, and I doubt he gets enough cap space for Bickell and Versteeg (and even Shaw) to do more than sign Kruger.

I hope he gets that....