Agree on a lot of the positives mentioned from last night.

I was severely disappointed that the hardest hit Manson took after the dust up with Dcat was from Kane behind the net. I would think if Hayden has any understanding of his role, the next time he was on the ice with a chance to lay the body on Manson he should have done so with full effort. The fact that he didn't tells me he thinks he is more of a scorer, than a physical guy. Until he fixes that mentality, he will bounce in and out of the lineup.
- hereismike1

Manson is a tough customer but is not completely like his Dad; he's a solid D with some toughness rather than an enforcer. There was some pushback though, it's just that unless you were at the game, you maybe couldn't see it. At the end of the period, Manning was jawing with Manson between the benches. Standing up for teammates is a good point of Manning, who as a 6th D with very limited minutes, isn't too bad.

I'd like to bench Kunitz but he's a Q guy it seems, a proven character player with some grit and skill like Madden, Burish and Wingels. IF we make the playoffs, it's where those intangibles will be more valuable over the skills of a younger player. But during this 82 game season, wouldn't mind to see him sit at times.

If they do anything for a D-man, I think it will be for immediate help and not necessarily for the future. They seem to be really happy with their pipeline of talent, and they have a need right now for a Defenseman who is worth his contract.

If you are trading Schmaltz, I would think you would need to get another center back. I would like to see a true center who can be responsible on both ends and put up 50-60pts. Unfortunately, those typically are expensive and rare.
- Chunk

This isn't a snarky question but what do you mean by true center? I would argue that Schmaltz is responsible on both ends of the ice and capable of putting up 50-60 points. Is it faceoffs and physical element?

And faceoffs. ANA 54% CHI 46%.

And we can't even blame Schmaltz who was 50/50.
- Rota's Rooter

My concern on FOs would be in the PP (3 for 9) and the PK (5 for 9) - so that we’re 8 for 18 total - not great but acceptable.

I would expect a few trades to be coming.

1) Forsberg/Delia: One of these guys has to be traded. Ward should not be here next season, so one of these guys needs to get the constant reps to become the backup. There's enough fodder to stack the lower levels and Rockford next year. But one of these guys has to be given the opportunity to develop and play. Don't care who it is, but management needs to believe in 1 guy.

2) Davidson/Manning/Rutta/Gus: I don't care what we get for them, cash, doesnt matter. I think with Murphy coming back soon, he needs to be in the lineup and given a complete shot at being a Top 4 this year. Cut off the fat at the bottom to prevent the want to switch in and out players. Again, commit to your guys. The hope here would be to have Murphy play like a Top 4, so going into next year, you have Keith, Seabs, Murphy, Jokiharju along with a few of the young guns coming up. I was hesitant to throw in Gustafsson, because I actually do like his game. But if you need to package him in order to get rid of someone else, I'd make that trade.

Saad was "awesome" because he did the things everyone was saying he wasnt doing previously- he went to the net with/without the puck, he drove the play, he played between the dots ...and did it all game.

Which he didnt do consistently last year, and didnt do it the first few games of the year.

To be a "6mil dollar man", he needs to do that every game...or goes back to being an overpaid passenger, which shouldnt be acceptable
- PatShart

I agree that Assad was “awesome” last night. What he did last night has to become the game-in, game-out performance from him. As “awesome” as he was last night, he didn’t do anything that he shouldn’t be able to repeat daily.

If you don't have to go out of your way to make a hit, and it separates the puck, then by all means go for it. But gong after Manson because he is a bully and pushed ADB around won't do anything but likely get a penalty. You've got Hayden, and maybe Manning and Seabrook that are big enough to actually do anything (since Martinsen isn't playing).
- Chunk

I've been thinking about this lately on why it's important for all players to have hitting or checking in their utility belt of defensive moves along with the omnipresent stick checking. One reason I heard about why Q doesn't like hitting is because it takes the Hawks out of the play. Don't get that reasoning, to be honest.

If you hit another player to cause separation, then yes you are out of the play temporarily but theoretically so is the opponent who was just hit. Even if the opponent isn't immobilized, the hit slows him down enough to disrupt his flow so you can get back in to the play.

Contrast that with stick checking or sweeping at the puck. There's a lot more room for error, i.e. totally missing the poke or sweep, which slows you down but the puck carrier is still carrying on with speed and bypassing you quite easily. In that case, you are out of the play while the opponent is not only still in the play but able to dictate the play.

I will never like the Ducks, but they sure seemed like a lesser bunch of douches without Perry.

I actually wasn’t joking about idea of trying Gus out at forward. Very unlikely to happen, I agree, but thinking about:

- general impression around here that he is not a good D-man
- the Big Buff situation where it happened in reverse
- the lack of more than 4-5 forwards that people seem to have confidence in this year.

Kane seems to have mind meld type chemistry with Gus. That’s been rare for him outside of early Toews and Panarin.

I've been thinking about this lately on why it's important for all players to have hitting or checking in their utility belt of defensive moves along with the omnipresent stick checking. One reason I heard about why Q doesn't like hitting is because it takes the Hawks out of the play. Don't get that reasoning, to be honest.

If you hit another player to cause separation, then yes you are out of the play temporarily but theoretically so is the opponent who was just hit. Even if the opponent isn't immobilized, the hit slows him down enough to disrupt his flow so you can get back in to the play.

Contrast that with stick checking or sweeping at the puck. There's a lot more room for error, i.e. totally missing the poke or sweep, which slows you down but the puck carrier is still carrying on with speed and bypassing you quite easily. In that case, you are out of the play while the opponent is not only still in the play but able to dictate the play.
- AEL_Fox

Add in the higher risk of penalties. See one Marcus Kruger. Hawks have had several tripping calls this year because of poke checks/sweeping stick checks along the boards where they could've easily just taken the body.

Gus and Schmaltz Conversation Pieces:

Gus

Yes, he is a great and talented offensive D man who can both carry and distribute but like I said many times before, his "offensive" read is outstanding with being a great weak side outlet to relieve pressure as 3 or sometimes 4 man. His chemistry (maybe too much) is also awesome with Kane. However, his D zone work leaves a little bit to be desired which includes engagement (focus and priority) and physicality. At bare minimum just get goal side with a strong active stick. So the solution would be for Gus to get lots of TOI on 4v4 , 3v3, and any PP watch the shifts at ES. At this point, you have to accept the risk/reward ration with Gus!
- D2D

I've seen him make some good defensive plays this year. Yes, he still makes mistakes, but a lot less than years prior. I'm liking his play so far this season.

I like the way you think, Scott, great lines. I think a d trade is coming for some picks soon too, maybe not 3 weeks soon, but when Murphy comes back, I would guess. Your first question, I have been asking too, I don't know. Second question, I'm sure there are entertaining offers/discussions all of the time, but trading Schmatlz is something that I would not like to see.
- I Am The Breadman

I was just throwing it out there about smaltz someone in management has to hear Eddie and foley bashing smaltz for bailing out and his play so far as not been stellar there is a lot of talent there but need to see more before i would give him a big contract. If a team came calling say philly for example for sanhiem and a prospect i would give a serious thought.

I agree that Assad was “awesome” last night. What he did last night has to become the game-in, game-out performance from him. As “awesome” as he was last night, he didn’t do anything that he shouldn’t be able to repeat daily.
- Spec41971

Which is what I was saying all along.

And if he is unable to bring that every night, he's not worth the contract and hurts the team much more than Kunitz, Manning, Davidson, etc

I actually wasn’t joking about idea of trying Gus out at forward. Very unlikely to happen, I agree, but thinking about:

- general impression around here that he is not a good D-man
- the Big Buff situation where it happened in reverse
- the lack of more than 4-5 forwards that people seem to have confidence in this year.

Kane seems to have mind meld type chemistry with Gus. That’s been rare for him outside of early Toews and Panarin.
- pdx2ord

I kind of think you need Gus on D. Only Keith and Joki can carry the puck in transition. You need more than 2 puck moving d-men.

Rutta needs to go away. I think he has some skill but the NHL game is to fast for him. He looks solid when he has time but when he gets pressured yikes.

There are d-men who are very good defensively and offensively. There are d-men who are good defensively but not good offensively. There are d-men who are not good defensively but good offensively. And then there are d-men who are not good defensively and not good offensively. The most we can hope for with Gustafsson is that he is transitioning from the not good at either category to the good offense but bad defense category. And that would be a welcome development because if he can consistently make good offensive plays then his poor defense is tolerable.

I was just throwing it out there about smaltz someone in management has to hear Eddie and foley bashing smaltz for bailing out and his play so far as not been stellar there is a lot of talent there but need to see more before i would give him a big contract. If a team came calling say philly for example for sanhiem and a prospect i would give a serious thought.
- Scott1977

The kids bails out sometimes yeah. What about the 2 on 1 battle he won along the boards to clear the puck during the Ducks 6 on 4?

If Saad keeps up his play then I would move Schmaltz back to 2C. I don't like that line with Anisimov and Saad. Kane looks better with another playmaker to work with. If Saad is out there in beast mode clearing space that is a lot of room for Kane and Schamltz to work.

This isn't a snarky question but what do you mean by true center? I would argue that Schmaltz is responsible on both ends of the ice and capable of putting up 50-60 points. Is it faceoffs and physical element?
- AEL_Fox

I admit it's a bit nebulous. The best way I can describe it is the difference between AA and Schmaltz. Aside from Face-offs, AA checks all of the boxes. sound defensively, goes to the front of the net, can anchor and not get moved out of the way while being able to set up/make room for others.

Schmaltz has always been more productive at wing, and it seems that they are forcing him in at center. He tends to get lost in the defensive zone, and lose his responsibility. He is really good in the neutral zone and back checking, but he often looks out of place playing defense.

On offense, he tends to stay to the outside a lot of the time, or fly by the net. I'm probably contradicting myself a bit here, but it could just be that I find him to be much more effective at W than at C.

I actually wasn’t joking about idea of trying Gus out at forward. Very unlikely to happen, I agree, but thinking about:

- general impression around here that he is not a good D-man
- the Big Buff situation where it happened in reverse
- the lack of more than 4-5 forwards that people seem to have confidence in this year.

Kane seems to have mind meld type chemistry with Gus. That’s been rare for him outside of early Toews and Panarin.
- pdx2ord

It's a totally different animal carrying the puck from the backend as a Dman vs as a winger. Burns and Byfuglien are giant physical specimens with insane skill, so they are definitely outliers.

Looks like Johnson is still the 3C. I wonder what Kampf did or didn't do to get bumped from that spot. Everyone looked like crap in the TB game.

A couple of observations.

AA- His presence in front of both nets was noticeable last night. That is something you do not get with Schmaltz.

Kruger's penalties - They are unusual for him. But on the flip side I feel he is playing more physical and with more of an edge than his last few years. I ike that. Kruger centering Hayden/Kunitz/Martinsen might be ok for a 4th line.

Gus has stepped up, way up. But he still needs to make better decisions on his pinches or drives to the net in the offensive zone. He needed to stay at the blue line on the Anaheim goal. Toews probably should have held onto the puck or dumped it in the corner too. So they should share the blame equally.

It should be interesting to see the next moves.
The press box (Martinsen, Kunitz, Kampf, Davidson, Hayden, Johnson, Fortin)
The Rockford shuttle (Johnson, Forsling, Sikura, Highmore, Fortin, Entwistle)
Murphy's return.
Use of cap space (currently $4.4 mil+/-)
Trades? (My guess is they stand pat. Maybe moving a spare defensemen and minor league goalie for next to nothing in return.)

There are d-men who are very good defensively and offensively. There are d-men who are good defensively but not good offensively. There are d-men who are not good defensively but good offensively. And then there are d-men who are not good defensively and not good offensively. The most we can hope for with Gustafsson is that he is transitioning from the not good at either category to the good offense but bad defense category. And that would be a welcome development because if he can consistently make good offensive plays then his poor defense is tolerable.
- EbonyRaptor

He has played 85 career games. Saying the most we can hope for is "bad defense" is harsh and premature.

Add in the higher risk of penalties. See one Marcus Kruger. Hawks have had several tripping calls this year because of poke checks/sweeping stick checks along the boards where they could've easily just taken the body.
- bhawks2241

Very good point.

The kids bails out sometimes yeah. What about the 2 on 1 battle he won along the boards to clear the puck during the Ducks 6 on 4?

If Saad keeps up his play then I would move Schmaltz back to 2C. I don't like that line with Anisimov and Saad. Kane looks better with another playmaker to work with. If Saad is out there in beast mode clearing space that is a lot of room for Kane and Schamltz to work.
- bhawks2241

I would not move Schmaltz to 2C. I would stick with this 2nd line for a while. Though if Saad plays a few more games like last night I would be tempted to try:
Saad/Toews/Kahun
ADB/AA/Kane

Dcat toews kahun
Saad AA kane
Fortin kampf smaltz
Matinsin kruger hayden
Send Johnson back to Rockford or put kunitz on waivers.

Also IMO there is going to be a trade sometime in the next 3 weeks. So my question to the panel is two part: first what area do the hawks address with said possible trade bottom six scoring or defense. Second do entertain possibly trade smaltz for future d help say like nurse faulk truboa etc.. What would a trade look like what pieces going and coming back.
- Scott1977

From what I've read Nurse isn't getting dealt, he's the Oiler's number
one Dman, Trouba, Faulk might be possibilities, but how about Muzzin
for Schmaltz? Kings like Quack's can't score but Quacks have help on
the way while the Kings don't, so maybe also Murphy Schmaltz for
Muzzin +.

Another possibility Arty for Neideritter, or Arty Schmaltz for Coyle/ Neider

some grit is still needed as well as better D, I can't quite figure out
why Dahlstrom/Hillman didnt get coffee before Manning/Davidson

I've been thinking about this lately on why it's important for all players to have hitting or checking in their utility belt of defensive moves along with the omnipresent stick checking. One reason I heard about why Q doesn't like hitting is because it takes the Hawks out of the play. Don't get that reasoning, to be honest.

If you hit another player to cause separation, then yes you are out of the play temporarily but theoretically so is the opponent who was just hit. Even if the opponent isn't immobilized, the hit slows him down enough to disrupt his flow so you can get back in to the play.

Contrast that with stick checking or sweeping at the puck. There's a lot more room for error, i.e. totally missing the poke or sweep, which slows you down but the puck carrier is still carrying on with speed and bypassing you quite easily. In that case, you are out of the play while the opponent is not only still in the play but able to dictate the play.
- AEL_Fox

But you can sweep at a puck with your stick while you are moving, so you can still stay with the play.

I will never like the Ducks, but they sure seemed like a lesser bunch of douches without Perry.
- Spec41971

There's a lot less scoring too, but that goes into last season as well.