Lucic. Fixed, haha.
- I Am The Breadman

It's Chiarelli...maybe we can get more.

It's Chiarelli...maybe we can get more.
- HawkintheD

Very good point. But we gotta do something about that Adb slouch....

I've been saying it for awhile now that you can see that this team is starting to trend in the right direction playing together and building chemistry under JC. It's good to see them at least play good solid full games instead of being manhandled all game long making it almost impossible to watch.

I'm one of the few who refuse to ride the waves game in and game out and can see the light at the end of the tunnel for this Hawks team where we can get back to the Playoffs with a few more solid trades, a good (or great) FA signing, continued development from our ("average") system, and another top draft pick.

Hopefully we continue to see the team play well enough to gel and build off of but also still land a Top 5 pick in the draft

https://www.secondcityhockey.com/2019/1/7/18171841/stan-bowman-blackhawks-could-potentially-sign-prospect-philipp-kurshev-world-juniors-qmjhl
- SoftServe

With how he played in the World Juniors it does not surprise me one bit that he could sign his ELC this spring or summer and have a shot to make the team in Training Camp. He might be better suited to play some time in Rockford to continue to develop his game but Kurshev could be playing his way into a 3rd line Center role on this team in the not so distant future

I would think Forsling would be the one going down. As per CapFriendly, he's still waiver exempt unless I'm reading this incorrectly: https://www.capfriendly.c...r/gustav-forsling#results

He still has 62 games remaining.

He's just so young still at 22 years old, he needs to be playing.

I thought Davidson played alright yesterday and now that he's back and healthy, he's a perfect 7th defenceman. A veteran guy that is on an expiring contract that you can have sitting in the press box for 90% of games.
- Justin Lowe

I think it makes sense. Rather than rotating Forsling, Dahlstrom, Gus, and Joki sending Forsling down to Rockford to play Top 4 minutes every night and use Davidson as our 7th D-Man seems like the right move to make. I know we got a TON of depth in Rockford right now on the backend, but getting Forsling plenty of playing time should be a priority for the Hawks to continue to develop his game for the team going forward or as a trade chip

Very good point. But we gotta do something about that Adb slouch....
- I Am The Breadman

True...he's a bum!

I agree that Forsling should be the one sent down when Jokiharju returns. He really struggles against the forecheck at this point.

For all the talk about Murphy, I seem to remember he struggled with the back injury last year.

Murphy looks great. I think he was secretly happy when Q was left go. Not because he hated the guy, but needed a fresh start under a new coach. He's thriving and should help solidify the Hawks top 4 for a while IMO.
- Justin Lowe

Murph looks very happy to be playing in this system, smiles a lot on ice which is a good sign!!

I agree with Paul, you gotta change your avatar to someone more permanent, SoftServe, like Kunitz.

Idk if you've seen the movie, Good Burger, but he reminds me of the crazy mute from the nut house.

I can understand the talk about sending Forsling down, because he does not need to pass through waivers, but they did already put Davidson on waivers. Makes me think that they still plan to send him down.

This is a deeply flawed roster (IMO no shot at playoffs) but at least the level of hockey is palatable. I think the reason they are competitive enough to tune in is largely due to 1) Delia playing out of his mind and Ward frankly being solid and 2) Connor Murphy's great play/pairing with Dahlstrom making the D more respectable.

I think all games from now through 3/1 TDL will have some element of "showcasing" guys that might be a nice option for a contender (Kruger, D depth, AA, etc.).

Man, Bowman must really think highly of Colliton. Going with the 33yo coach when your buns are on the line and a "win now" window with Toews/Kane prime hanging in the balance the next couple of years. I think a major move has to be made pretty soon.

I like your optimism Justin. This is still a young team and with this comes inconsistent play. They are 2 teams right now, the one i enjoy watching which is physical, they go to the tough areas, take a hit to make a play then there's the other team that avoids contact, plays along the boards and watches the opponent on front of the goalie. Murphy is better in this system but fast forwards really give him trouble. Seabrook is a pylon, Keith doesn't like JCs tie up the dman in front of the goalie strategy.

I still can't believe you managed to get rid of Manning.

True...he's a bum!
- HawkintheD

Thank you for those who corrected me on the timing of DeBrincat's next contract. The serious question begs: how much value will he have with his "plus" shot and not a ton of other aspects of his game that are showing up? Think the Hawks will re-up him early, move him, or do a "wait and see" like they did (wisely) with Schmaltz?

I still can't believe you managed to get rid of Manning.
- BINGO!

"Believe it" -Blue Collar Man.

Thank you for those who corrected me on the timing of DeBrincat's next contract. The serious question begs: how much value will he have with his "plus" shot and not a ton of other aspects of his game that are showing up? Think the Hawks will re-up him early, move him, or do a "wait and see" like they did (wisely) with Schmaltz?
- phantasmo

That 1.

I think the third line is very pivotal in the success of this team. If you notice, as the game wears on, minutes on the third line and the fourth line decline. Debrinkat on the third line is fine, but he needs to be out there more at even strength. He would thrive more with a playmaking center, which Kampf is not. Kampf appears to be a good 4th line center, gives you a little bit of everything. Check the minutes played the past few games and the minutes of the players on the third and fourth line is quite a bit less than the other two. If the Hawks could roll out four lines throughout the course of the game, think they would be more successful

I still can't believe you managed to get rid of Manning.
- BINGO!

I'm sure Bowman made Chia pinky-promise no take-backs.

Possibly but there were so many factors that made it difficult to fire the second most winningest coach, the coach of three cup wins and the man who coached the Hawks during the best period of Blackhawk history. I'd argue that Bowman should have started moving the core after the 2015 cup win to prevent the team from getting old at the same time. But again how does he do it? The fans and media would have had a meltdown. To me the biggest mistake Bowman made that he had full control over was re-signing Seabrook to that horrible contract.
- paulr

I get the feeling that SB did not have full control on that contract. That seemed more like a grandstanding than a normal contract signing. A Sammy Sosa like grandstanding.

All the mucky mucks took a lot of bows over the last decade, and the higher they are the more bows they took. But after getting humbled the last couple of years maybe all that bullpoop will stop. Perhaps they figured out that it's a bit tougher than it looks and from now on the marketing end will let the hockey end just do their thing. That would obviously be a good thing, and it's about time. All they ever had to do was let hockey be the priority, and not all the other stuff. If the hockey is good everything else will be a breeze. Even with the ridiculous ticket and concession prices the building will still be a place to be.

I still can't believe you managed to get rid of Manning.
- BINGO!

Sssshhhhhh...

Chiarelli thought he was getting Forsling, and we just sent them Manning. We are just waiting to see how ling it takes for him to notice.

I think they will try to trade Kruger at the deadline. He would have some value as a 4th line/13th forward for a team looking to make a run. The Hawks won't get much back though but would be nice to see Krugs have another shot as who knows what his future is beyond this season.

Caggiula took 8 draws last night (only won 2) so I think they will feel him out as a C but I think he's best suited as a W.

Hawks have Luke Johnson, Nilsson, Highmore, etc. who could be called up if Krugs gets moved.
- Justin Lowe

I hope you're right JL because there's absolutely no reason to carry a Marcus Kruger with his 2.7M cap hit for the remainder of the season. If there is a team out there that could utilize his "skills" as a defensive center, then move him as soon as possible. David Kampf should continue to be groomed especially since this team really has NO CHANCE of making the playoffs. Bring the kids along and let them develop and learn. There will be positives a plenty to losing more often than not and developing the young future Blackhawks.

I can understand the talk about sending Forsling down, because he does not need to pass through waivers, but they did already put Davidson on waivers. Makes me think that they still plan to send him down.
- breadbag

It’s an interesting position they’ve managed arrive at. We’re sitting with a 22 man roster as of now. I could see them taking advantage of the situation and playing Davidson for up to the ten game/30 day limit. If he plays half way decent maybe some team will take a flyer on him for a 6th or 7th round pick as an insurance policy. They wouldn’t even have to use a roster spot if they didn’t want to.

I still can't believe you managed to get rid of Manning.
- BINGO!

Lol still surprises most of us.

Speaking of being surprised, I was surprised to hear your Canes may be looking to trade Dougie for some Top 6 help considering he was the centerpiece of trading Hanifin and Lindholm.

IMO, Toronto and Carolina just need to get together already and trade Nylander for one of Dougie, Faulk, etc. to help each other get what they both desperately need

Lol still surprises most of us.

Speaking of being surprised, I was surprised to hear your Canes may be looking to trade Dougie for some Top 6 help considering he was the centerpiece of trading Hanifin and Lindholm.

IMO, Toronto and Carolina just need to get together already and trade Nylander for one of Dougie, Faulk, etc. to help each other get what they both desperately need
- Savetheembers33

Dougie won't be the guy to go. He's been playing hurt since early November according to himself. He's getting more comfortable now and has 4 points in his last 3 games.

Faulk, Pesce or TVR is going to have to go, maybe two of them. They need to open up an NHL spot for Adam Fox who, allegedly, will sign if there's a spot in the lineup for him. Canes have been sending Tim Gleason up to Harvard to work with Fox.

Still think a deal centered around Faulk and Kapanen is going to be what makes the most sense for all involved.

I hope you're right JL because there's absolutely no reason to carry a Marcus Kruger with his 2.7M cap hit for the remainder of the season. If there is a team out there that could utilize his "skills" as a defensive center, then move him as soon as possible. David Kampf should continue to be groomed especially since this team really has NO CHANCE of making the playoffs. Bring the kids along and let them develop and learn. There will be positives a plenty to losing more often than not and developing the young future Blackhawks.
- Hawkytalk

Not advocating keeping Kruger, but what does his cap hit have to do with the argument? The Hawks currently have over $9M in space, and you would have to replace his spot with someone anyway at around $1M.

The question that I have is who do you have at center that would be any better right now? I'm hoping they ride AA out at wing and get to trade him. I don't see him helping at center for this team.

I would rather have Kunitz be the 13th forward than someone who would benefit more from playing in Rockford than sitting in the press box.

Saad - Toews - Kahun
AA - Strome - Kane
ADB - Kampf - Perlini
Kunitz/Hayden - Kruger - Caggiula

My guess is that they are showcasing AA. If they move AA than ADB slides up to Strome's line. Then Perlini moves to LW and Cagg's move to RW with Kampf. 4th line becomes Kunitz, Kruger and Hayden.

Eklund is reporting in his main article right now:

Hitch has interest in bringing Duncan Keith to Edmonton...

This is an interesting one...The Oilers are sliding and Chiarelli and Hitch are looking to be aggressive and bring in some solid help on the backend...Keith is older, but could be the player who sells Hitch's system to the players while mentoring the young D. Edmonton is not going to sit idly by this year and just go into the night quietly...

I have not heard this specifically, but know have mentioned the Keith and Seabs whispers.

The return would have to be solid.