Dreger reporting Bergevin may blow things up and look to shop Pacioretty.
- tredbrta

That would be amazing. His deal is pretty cap-friendly for three more seasons after this one.

Best candidate yet for 1LW. Talk about guts.
- Return of the Roar

I think TT, a second, and either Schmaltz or Dano should get it done.

Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer: It’s hard to see the Hurricanes and Eric Staal reaching a contract extension that makes sense for both sides. The same can be said for Cam Ward. The Hurricanes only sit a few points out of the playoff race.DeCock thinks it’s time for GM Ron Francis to get whatever he can for Eric Staal, Cam Ward, John-Michael Liles, Kris Versteeg and maybe Jeff Skinner, Jordan Staal or Ryan Murphy.
Even if they have to retain some salary on a pending UFA, getting something is better than nothing. Francis can’t lose Staal or Ward for nothing.
- walleyeb1

Plus, because of Staal's DRAMATIC decrease in production and his last contract, there may NOT be a lot of interest in him this summer by Cap-strapped GMs. Thus, similar to Ladd in WPG, there is a real possibility that Staal will end up right back in CAR (next to his brother) with a MUCH MORE Cap friendly deal. As I stated over a month ago, its guaranteed that CAR will trade Staal. And the same guarantee can be made on Versteeg as well, this is exactly why Francis acquired him from the Hawks in the first place...he got a smart, veteran hockey player (at half his salary) to shore up their top 3 lines, and a TRADE CHIP come the deadline. Why would CAR resign Steeger this summer? And if so, why wouldn't they get something from him now?

Personally, I think that CAR should keep Jeff Skinner as part of their core. Sure he's had two "registered" concussions, but he's not even 24 yet, and has played a lot of games and has scored a lot of goals. Give him some "real" line mates, and he should be a consistent 30+ goal scorer annually. But, they ARE looking to move Skinner and his salary. Should the Hawks be interested in him, even with his concussion history? IMO they would be crazy NOT to. If Francis would be willing to take back close to half of Skinner's deal (a number he can afford and may actually help him reach the Cap floor this summer) then the Hawks could afford to keep him throughout the rest of his contract and would resolve a HUGE issue for them. Because understand this, if the Hawks want to beat the Blues, Ducks, Kings and Lightning this time around, they NEED to have Kruger back healthy and Andrew Shaw as a bottom 6 winger...and don't think for a second they don't know this.

I think TT, a second, and either Schmaltz or Dano should get it done.
- busmaster

I'd do it

I'm just going to throw this out there, something I looked up earlier this year, of the 16 playoff games the Hawks won last year they were out shot in 12 of those wins

Honestly the Hawks losing streak many players looked like crap, TT and Keith really stood out and not in a good way

The other thing I noticed which drives me crazy, against the neutral zone trap Lines 1 and 2 insist on trying to carry the puck in instead of dump and chase,
- BetweenTheDots

yes...and that goes to an earlier point...their team D, puck possession, and shot suppression has been trending down since last year....CC and Darling's great play were critical to them winning the cup last year as it is to them winning this year.

CC is number 1 or 2 in 5 on 5 save% over the last 2 years and high quality saves...if he is midland in those categories the hawks dont win cup 3 and they certainly are not near the top 2-3 teams in the nhl this year....

What's disappointing is in last year's playoffs...Not a big sample but the most crucial time of year...TT was dependable enough on both sides of the puck.
- Al

So true Al, he even took hits along the boards just to chip the puck out into the neutral zone...small but crucial stuff that he isn't doing this season.

Dreger reporting Bergevin may blow things up and look to shop Pacioretty.
- tredbrta

He's under an enormous amount of pressure. I think he done a great job in MTL, but his job is surprisingly "on the line". What to do???

So true Al, he even took hits along the boards just to chip the puck out into the neutral zone...small but crucial stuff that he isn't doing this season.
- MexicoHawk

What are the chances that he has "Bickellitis"? Kinda floats through the regular season and turns it on in the playoffs knowing that he can't take the pounding for a full season? He did show that tenacity in the finals last year...

I think TT, a second, and either Schmaltz or Dano should get it done.
- busmaster

For Max P ?


Dano , TT , picks , Svedberg , Bickell to make the $ work ?


WOW

Dreger reporting Bergevin may blow things up and look to shop Pacioretty.
- tredbrta

Marc gets a 5 year contract extension 3 months ago and is now at blow things up? Either pretty ballsy or Dreger is over exaggerating.

Dreger reporting Bergevin may blow things up and look to shop Pacioretty.
- tredbrta

Excuse me. In a post 9/11 world, we don't "blow things up".

Retool, overhaul the entire roster, send a bunch of guys packing...

On TV ?


Dont see that on the twitter machine
- mrpaulish

Dreger:
Let's be clear. This was a very speculative topic and not based in any way on Intel they are considering this...

Might Habs move Pacioretty? Let's talk to @DarrenDreger next on #TSN690. LISTEN: player.montreal.tsn.ca

Would love to get either Kris "Shot-Blocking Machine" Russell or Ron " Member of Only All-American D-Corp" Hainsey.

He made some decent plays last night but I agree he has regressed some the last few weeks. Last night was sort of an anomaly of a game. Hard to see it as a turning point. Good to see the 72 -88-15 line clicking again though.
- tredbrta

I don't see anything wrong with Rasmussen's game. However, since the winning streak ended, Q has saddled him with minuscule amounts of ice and a revolving door of wingers...Mashinter can't skate at an NHL level and Sekac is like a lightning bolt. Panik's his RW, then LW, then on the 2nd line, then the first line, etc...

The trade of Garbutt isn't getting near enough attention right now from Hawk fans. Garbutt was keeping Mashinter out of the lineup and the Hawks were rolling 4 lines and winning hockey games. Rasmussen has suffered a ton from the Garbutt trade!

Yea be still my heart on that....holy cow Pach on that line....it would cost a bucketload.
- kwolf68

Just going crazy here, but...

Pokka, TT, McNeil (or Hartman or like prospect), 2016 1st rounder, 2017 2rd and Bickell for Pacioretty, Gilbert, a lower prospect like a Dalton Thrower, and a 2016 3rd round pick?

Didnt do math on cap, so not sure how that would work exactly, but seems like it might be close.

TT/Pokka/2016 1st and 2017 2nd would represent some meat to for the future if they do blow it up..

I'd do it
- kwolf68

One of the few guys I would move Dano for...

That's what I said about 20 minutes ago.
- walleyeb1

And I've been saying and agreeing with you for two weeks—there could be precursor moves before putting Kruger on IR

Just going crazy here, but...

Pokka, TT, McNeil (or Hartman or like prospect), 2016 1st rounder, 2017 2rd and Bickell for Pacioretty, Gilbert, a lower prospect like a Dalton Thrower, and a 2016 3rd round pick?

Didnt do math on cap, so not sure how that would work exactly, but seems like it might be close.

TT/Pokka/2016 1st and 2017 2nd would represent some meat to for the future if they do blow it up..
- gnosox1986

I heard somewhere several months back that the Hawks had discussed a package including Thrower with the Habs, reported here

Ok everyone needs to take a deep breath and eat one of these:



You guys are suffering from:

He's under an enormous amount of pressure. I think he done a great job in MTL, but his job is surprisingly "on the line". What to do???
- MexicoHawk

Has been scouting the Hawks hard personally and by proxy the last week or so

Gaborik out long term for the Kings. Sure the Kings will free up some cash and put him on LTIR. Stan better move quick! The deadline is going to be interesting!

http://www.latimes.com/sp...yoffs-20160215-story.html

Long time listener.......

With Gaborik going down do the Hawks become much more urgent beating LA to the punch?
If he is healthy for the playoffs and they are 6 mil over the cap again, they are a handful.

The following is my own speculation, and doesn't come from anything that I heard...

Keeping Marko Dano in Rockford right now lends me to believe that the Hawks may very well deal him before the deadline to make a big trade possible. Dano has been the #1 player inquired about from opposing teams because he is in Rockford! GMs don't see this as being something to do with his game, they see it as the Hawks hoping that he can become a top 6 LW in the near future...and there are a lot of NHL teams that would like to see Dano playing RW with them right now.

By not promoting Dano when Hoss got injured, it ensured that his "play" wouldn't become an issue suddenly (presuming he had a couple of rough games this week). If the Hawks really wanted to improve their hockey team while Hossa was out, they would have brought Marko Dano up to play RW...instead they promoted a 160 lb. guy that's been "solid" in Rockford...something doesn't quite add up to me.

IMO, Dano should have been playing this entire season as a RW, with a long leash as he developed his positioning and 200' game. I am not a fan of what the Hawks have "done" to him this year, and I would be happy for Marko to go somewhere where he was valued and would play right away.

One of the few guys I would move Dano for...
- southernhawk

Yep me too. I love Dano, but Max P is incredible. Imagine what he'd do with far superior offensive players around him?

Has been scouting the Hawks hard personally and by proxy the last week or so
- John Jaeckel

Yep, there's a player that they like an awful lot on the Hawks roster that isn't as of yet part of the core...