Isn't it time for your jello and a bed time story?
- paulr

Paul, why the rudeness? You got problems at home, take them out elsewhere, not here.

Yeah, Hawks wouldn't miss Crawford at all.
- Dunconn_Smythe

Not saying they wouldn't miss Corey, just can't see the cap going up much the next few years. This would less the next few summers sales on Madison street.

Bottom line...would you rather have Saad at his current contract, or the players you got for him?
- djamon

It doesn't matter what I want...

...the bottom line is Saad at 6M plus was unworkable, the man got too good too fast and was able to skip the usual modest bridge deal.

I admit to wishing he were still a Blackhawk, but the hard cap is a reality.

Now Saad must prove he's worth it, playing on a club with less talent. Time will tell who got the better value.

I don't remember who, but had a Leaf fan come on isles thread and talk about Kadri is comparable to Tavares....
- Ur Not Me

That was kadri's camp saying that I believe as to how much he should get paid

It doesn't matter what I want...

...the bottom line is Saad at 6M plus was unworkable, the man got too good too fast and was able to skip the usual modest bridge deal.

I admit to wishing he were still a Blackhawk, but the hard cap is a reality.

Now Saad must prove he's worth it, playing on a club with less talent. Time will tell who got the better value.
- ArlingtonRob

Hawks came out ahead then to be saddled with 6m for him

>>The one thing the team will do in all of those scenarios is re-sign Marcus Kruger, who Quenneville believes is essential to any realistic shot at a Cup this year.<<<

Let that sink in...a "4th line/PK guy" @ about 2.5 mil per is deemed essential for another cup run.

>>The one thing the team will do in all of those scenarios is re-sign Marcus Kruger, who Quenneville believes is essential to any realistic shot at a Cup this year.<<<

Let that sink in...a "4th line/PK guy" @ about 2.5 mil per is deemed essential for another cup run.
- bogiedoc

For you to be confused on that issue, you really must not watch many Blackhawks games.

Defense in the NHL has become so important for cup contenders, and the more forwards - centers in particular - a team has that can lock down the opposing team's first line, the better you are at winning the cup.

Just ask Anaheim and Tampa how important Marcus Kruger was to the Hawks winning the cup - maybe their players can explain it so you can understand.....

U sure bout that....??
- Ur Not Me

Yes. And they have the 30th ranked prospect pool as well. Lou ain't here to build anything...those days are done for him.

The point is elite teams have elite players and as of now Toronto doesn't have an elite player or a prospect who is projected to be an elite player.
- paulr

No, the point was that you don't have to be elite to be a contender.

Here's my question: are you sure they Hawks were all that interested in re-signing Oduya? Since teams can exceed the Cap by 10% in the summer, why not just re-sign him to this cap-friendly deal and then work on moving salary as the summer progresses?
- djamon

I'd guess the Blackhawks didn't go over the cap to sign Oduya because it would have put them in an even worse position to get a decent return on Bickell and/or Versteeg. As of right now, the Blackhawks don't absolutely have to move anyone from a cap perspective, they could (but won't, I'm just saying...) just renounce Kruger or sign him to a minimal contract for next year and move one of the others off the roster so they can just wait for whatever it is that they are waiting for (Bickell and/or Versteeg healthy enough to pass physicals, I'm guessing.)

Same Leaf fan wherever you go. Even after half a century of disappointment they somehow remain delusionally optimistic.
- paulr

And another Hawk fan who forgets that they had sucked for decades until 7 years ago.

Reilly did not have the season most would have expected of a 4th overall pick. Maybe it was partly due to the donkeys he was paired with, but he was not very good at all.

And that's why nobody dialed his number when Hockey Canada was picking the team for the World Championships.

I expect big time improvement under Babcock.
- RickJ

Sigh. He was asked and declined. But that alone means nothing. It was his 2nd year in the league and he was very good, right until the end.

Yes. And they have the 30th ranked prospect pool as well. Lou ain't here to build anything...those days are done for him.
- djamon

If you read my other post in comparing the roster, sorry but I differ, don't care what rank is whatever/whoever prospect pool is....

As a fan you sort of need to be, right? I'd call both of their systems pretty light but a few of the younger guys now with NJ look pretty solid. Not so many on the Leafs yet.
- tredbrta

NJ has been ranked at or near the bottom of prospect rankings for years. Toronto's is viewed as top 10 after the Marner draft.

If you read my other post in comparing the roster, sorry but I differ, don't care what rank is whatever/whoever prospect pool is....
- Ur Not Me

Fair enough, the opinion of people who do this for a living means nothing, but yours does. Good to know!

Toronto are at least four years, probably seven and some luck before they are a contender. What would they want a $6M goalie for this early in their rebuild?
- paulr

To entice Stamkos and other free agents - these days, with all the movement, it's a long shot to build a serious contender via the draft only.

Sigh. He was asked and declined. But that alone means nothing. It was his 2nd year in the league and he was very good, right until the end.
- djamon

He stunk like the every other player on the Leafs did last season. He just happened to be a little better than the worst.

And he was never called by Hockey Canada.

Fair enough, the opinion of people who do this for a living means nothing, but yours does. Good to know!
- djamon

No problem, anytime....

But if you want to just judge by a teams prospect pool and automatically think there better, then ur discounting the overall roster too, right..?? Bc ur statement meant (or as I took it) that LOU left a lousy roster/team for a better one, so I took it as a whole roster aspect..

As a junior I've seen Tavares play over 30 games live, I have seen Stamkos play about a dozen games live and I've seen McDavid six or seven times live and McDavid is better than both and by allot. McDavid is the best most dominat junior player I have seen since Eric Lindros. McDavid will be in the same category as those players and he will prove it this coming season. In two to three years he will be the best player in the world.
- paulr

I think that was pretty much the same as Gretzky said...

And a reason Lindross was so dominant in Jr's was because of his size, players were afraid of him...I don't see McDavid instilling the same fear.

>>The one thing the team will do in all of those scenarios is re-sign Marcus Kruger, who Quenneville believes is essential to any realistic shot at a Cup this year.<<<

Let that sink in...A "4th line/PK guy" @ about 2.5 mil per is deemed essential for another cup run.
- bogiedoc

"A" 4th line/pk guy. Just any old run of the mill 4th line guy that will play some PK. I believe that's the point you're stressing here, isn't it? Technically, you're right - he does play on the "4th line" and he does play on the PK. But that's where you stop with your description of Kruger. And from that perspective, you're justified in your incredulity of the idea that Q deems him "essential to any realistic shot at a Cup this year".

But that is where your perspective is different than many of your fellow Hawks fans and supposedly the opinion of Q as well. While you're technically correct with your description of Kruger, it doesn't convey the reality of the role Kruger plays for the Hawks. His 4th line is used as a shutdown line and is so effective the Q plays the "4th line" against the opponents top line. The 4th line starts the majority of their shifts in the d-zone, often times against the opponent's top line - not typical for a typical 4th line, which is the point. Q uses Kruger's line differently that any old run of the mill 4th line that most other teams have.

Then there is Kruger's role on the PK. He wins draws, sells out to make plays, and has the quickness and anticipation to make him a great PKer. Not easily replaced and not something to be taken for granted.

So on the face of it, stating a 4th liner is essential for a Cup run sounds kind of ridiculous. But Kruger is a 4th liner in name only. In reality he plays a bigger role than generally ascribed to "a 4th line guy".

Would a Bickell for Clowe deal work w/ NJ?

Then put Clowe on the LTIR. He sounds unlikely to return after concussion issues.

I think that was pretty much the same as Gretzky said...

And a reason Lindross was so dominant in Jr's was because of his size, players were afraid of him...I don't see McDavid instilling the same fear.
- Al

Lindros was a man of linebacker size dimensions at 18 - that's why he played for Team Canada in the Canada Cup in 1991 before he had ever played an NHL game for the Flyers.

McDavid looks to be great and will put up points but he won't walk thru the NHL right off the bat.

I love the part that came back that is Dano. Anisimov on the other hand is going to have to earn my acceptance.
- Katana777

I'm not worried about Anisimov at all...he'll be fine. My hope is that he excels playing with the Hawks top end talent.

Lindros was a man of linebacker size dimensions at 18 - that's why he played for Team Canada in the Canada Cup in 1991 before he had ever played an NHL game for the Flyers.

McDavid looks to be great and will put up points but he won't walk thru the NHL right off the bat.
- RickJ

Yep Lindross was a man among boys...

>>The one thing the team will do in all of those scenarios is re-sign Marcus Kruger, who Quenneville believes is essential to any realistic shot at a Cup this year.<<<

Let that sink in...a "4th line/PK guy" @ about 2.5 mil per is deemed essential for another cup run.
- bogiedoc

It comes down to depth Bogie...

...when the Hawks have 4 solid lines they are tough to beat, and Kruger is dynamite at his job and ridiculously durable.