Maybe you haven't been paying attention the last couple years, teams have quite obviously tanked. Here's an article on one instance: https://thehockeywriters....ffalo-sabres-tank-roster/
- ObeseOprah

And I granted that the front office could throw out a bunch of trash on the ice as the only plausible option. Do you think a team with Toews, Kane, Seabrook, Keith, etc. would put up with that (or the paying public)?

With the players we have on the team right now, and the position we are currently in, do you think anyone is thinking that they will do anything but play their best and try to get in the tournament?

They aren't going to go to 88 and 19 and say "we are going to shut you down so we can hopefully get a top 5 pick".

A slight correction. They would have 16.5M. Horton would be moved to LTIR. He isn't currently. Still a tough task. They also have to sign Kapanen.
- Elbows15

Doesn't LTIR have to happen after the 1st game of the year?, so in reality they only have $11.5M to sign players before the first game?

Doesn't LTIR have to happen after the 1st game of the year?, so in reality they only have $11.5M to sign players before the first game?
- LAHawk

LTIR can happen at anytime. How and when you do it determines how much of the salary can be used over the cap number. To get the full benefit of LTIR cap relief, then it would have to happen after the first game of the season.

Your plan works great if we're playing NHL19 and there's no salary cap. There is one 'Top Pairing Defense' available this offseason: Karlsson. He'll cost somewhere around $10M.

The next best defensemen available are:
Myers, Stralman, Gardiner, Coburn, and a whole bunch of guys who were top 4 guys five years ago but are over 33 now.

Gandalf is not coming over that hill to save us as a UFA. He's coming via a top draft pick. HughesGandalfPhotoshop.jpg
- ObeseOprah

Last year's top draft picks were highly respected defenders. There are others in the system too that could be top pairing defenders too.

The Hawks have cap room. So that is not a major factor.

Some people are just locked in on tanking. It is like the Dem's and Republican's they just fail to see that there are other ways of doing things. They just know there is just one way (their way) and everyone else is stupid and just don't get it. Sheesh.

They don't think they have cap problems. They think if they get through next season, everything will okay,

Take a look at CapFriendly. Even if Marner gets 9M, it leaves them about ~25M pending cap increaes the next two seasons. Which sounds okay. The problem? They would only have 9 players signed.
- Elbows15

That sounds like a Ditka-ism, Bears win SB 99-0. Only reason why they didn't get 100 is because they only played half the team the whole game.

Really? I could be reading the stats wrong but it looks like Kempny does not have a PP goal or assist in his NHL career.
- -Doh-

I was talking about skill sets, not current point totals. Stats don't always tell a complete story. All things considered, I would still like to have Kempny on this team.

I was talking about skill sets, not current point totals. Stats don't always tell a complete story. All things considered, I would still like to have Kempny on this team.
- z1990z

Yeah we'll feel the same way when somehow Rutta ends up a top 4 on the Stanley Cup winning Lightning lol.

Yeah we'll feel the same way when somehow Rutta ends up a top 4 on the Stanley Cup winning Lightning lol.
- Popsghostly

Kempny is 5/12 on the season and a +23. Has wheels and some edge to his game. How would the Hawks not want or need that on the blue line?!?! Zero similarity to Rutta's game.

So, just wondering, but will all this positive energy coming from the team and its recent, winning ways, does this change the TDL focus for Stan? If theres a chance at the playoffs, do the Hawks all of a sudden not want to trade Anisimov or Gus or anyone else in fear of disrupting the current chemistry? What would the message be to the core if there was even a minor sale? The core was probably already ticked after kicking their long time coach to the curb, but if Stan were to torpedo their current efforts at making the playoffs, how much more pissed would they be?
- CamRusselsJock

Nope, Stan needs to stay the course, he has good idea who he's keeping and trading, he thought he was a buyer in 16 and 17, both 1st round exits, I'm sure he's a realist and has the mind set, if we make the playoffs great but we need to stay the course.

Not really. Under-performed and fired their coach in mid-December, hired Daryl Sutter a week later. They were 10th in the conference with a month to go and had to win on the last day of the season to get into the playoffs. They had a very young defense in Doughty, Martinez and Voynov who were all 24 or under. They were shutoput a league leading 10 times that season. Trading for Jeff Carter jump started their offense at the end of the season, but the main reason for them winning was an incredibly hot Jonathan Quick.

One interesting side note, they were the first team since the 2003-4 Calgary Flames to beat the 1st, 2nd and 3rd seeds to advance to the cup, the Flames were also coached by Sutter.
- TheTrob

Whoops! I got confused between the 2014 team, which was the one I was referring to. The 2012 team still finished 3rd in the league in corsi, so was pretty good statistically, but that wasn't reflected in their record.

The Hawks don't have the underlying numbers or the elite goalie that the 2012 Kings team had.

Kempny is 5/12 on the season and a +23. Has wheels and some edge to his game. How would the Hawks not want or need that on the blue line?!?! Zero similarity to Rutta's game.
- z1990z

Yeah but the Kempny we had seemed to be different than the Caps' Kempny; however, I need stats to verify this other than a hunch. I'd take him back too.

Rutta played a promising game for the first 15 or so games of 2017-2018 until well until he became the Rutta he is now. Players play differently depending on the players around them- with the abundance of skill around him in TB, Rutta may be different although he'll likely not even crack the lineup.

They don't think they have cap problems. They think if they get through next season, everything will okay,

Take a look at CapFriendly. Even if Marner gets 9M, it leaves them about ~25M pending cap increaes the next two seasons. Which sounds okay. The problem? They would only have 9 players signed.
- Elbows15

Marner is signing for what Matthews got or very close to it. I'd argue Marner is the Leafs' best player and given his stats, the fact he stays healthy, is more physical, kills penalties and who's ever like he plays on is the most dangerous I'd say his Agent has very good case.

Marner is signing for what Matthews got or very close to it. I'd argue Marner is the Leafs' best player and given his stats, the fact he stays healthy, is more physical, kills penalties and who's ever like he plays on is the most dangerous I'd say his Agent has very good case.
- paulr

Honestly, Marner will recieve 11 million dollar offer sheets and the Leafs will lose him. Watch the playoffs last year. He was their best player then too!

Honestly, Marner will recieve 11 million dollar offer sheets and the Leafs will lose him. Watch the playoffs last year. He was their best player then too!
- nickmo2699

Or do they make trades in the off season to free up $$$ to sign him?

Honestly, Marner will recieve 11 million dollar offer sheets and the Leafs will lose him. Watch the playoffs last year. He was their best player then too!
- nickmo2699

No one will give up 4 firsts.

Personally don't want Kampf moving to wing. I want him to stay at center. AA would definitely provide more offense with Saad. Which is fine by me cause Kampf has all the makings of being a vg shutdown center.

Too bad Perlini is "injured". Maybe Sikura or Johnson gets called up in a couple of weeks to play the wing on the 3rd line.
- Elbows15

With you on both points. Kampf should remain a center, ideally 4C. Okay with him playing 3rd line this year due to lack of depth. However, moving forward and assuming a 3C is solidified before next season, he could very well end up being a stellar shutdown 4C.

As for your other point, I have a feeling Sikura will be the Hog forward to get called up in the latter part of the season. He is a top-9 talent with vision, hockey sense, and two-way play.

Johnson is redundant with Kampf and Kruger. Fortin doesn't bring much besides speed (don't know why he was called up in the first place). Nilsson was inconsequential during his call-up. And no please to Edjsell.

Or do they make trades in the off season to free up $$$ to sign him?
- z1990z

Z, I can see Nylander being moved and possibly Zaitsev, but they wont move Willy without wanting solid pieces back which cost $ and Zaitsev wont be moved without retention, so I find it tough. Plus they have said Marleau may be someone they move out but he is really important to their locker room and the young guys!

I think they are in a bind.

No one will give up 4 firsts.
- riozzo

Say you are a team like Dallas, if you have four firsts in the next four years that are high picks, you have a serious problem. They continue to lobby that it is win now mode. I can see them doing it especially with Spezza coming off the books.

Look at Vegas, likely will be a team that can play to at least the second round the next four years. Those picks possibly are expendable for a top player and true superstar to build the franchise around.

Then there is Ottawa. They lose out on Stone and Duchene and get a guy to put buts in the stands and keep them relevant.

So, I disagree.

Yeah but the Kempny we had seemed to be different than the Caps' Kempny; however, I need stats to verify this other than a hunch. I'd take him back too.

Rutta played a promising game for the first 15 or so games of 2017-2018 until well until he became the Rutta he is now. Players play differently depending on the players around them- with the abundance of skill around him in TB, Rutta may be different although he'll likely not even crack the lineup.
- Popsghostly

Kempny was asked to do different things on the Hawks than he was asked to do on the Caps. Same issue with Daley when he went from the Hawks to the Pens. Q was very specific in what role he wanted his defensemen to play. Caps and Pens were completely different.

I would imagine that both those players would have an easier time under JC than they did under Q.

LTIR can happen at anytime. How and when you do it determines how much of the salary can be used over the cap number. To get the full benefit of LTIR cap relief, then it would have to happen after the first game of the season.
- TheTrob

LTIR doesn't come off the books until after the first day of the season. As we learned with Hossa, and other teams have learned. So if you have a $5M hit on your books, he will be there on day one, and only after that day can you put him on LTIR.

In earlier pages of the message board, there were 2 comments made that I feel may pay dividends in the long run in terms of attracting free agents to sign with the Blackhawks.

1) Soft Serve talked about how amped up the players were as Toews greeted them on the bench as they filed back into the locker room after last night's win. It's a minor thing but after each win I wait and watch that post-game interaction to observe the energy and body language. Last night you really could sense a strong positive aura around them.

2) I believe it was PDX (maybe it was someone else) who posted a tweet about how the Hawks were playing music loudly and chanting in the locker room after the game. Who knows, maybe they do this to some degree or other after every game or at least after wins, but again the fact that a reporter who I assume follows the team throughout the season had a need to point this out possibly because it was different than the norm is a very good sign.

These 2 things could be "aces in the hole" to entice free agents to consider the Blackhawks. It's one thing for a GM and other team brass to give the marketing pitch but it's another to get the raw details from their peers.

Even if the team is a sub .500 team here on out and end up near or at the bottom, as long as this energetic and optimistic atmosphere exists amongst the players and coaches, then it's a great way to tell a free agent that they believe in each other and are confident they're on the right path towards contending soon.

Couple that with playing with the likes of Toews and Kane as well as the other multi-Cup winners in Keith, Seabrook, and possibly Crawford (who knows about his status) plus several upward trending young pieces, that's the making of an influential sales pitch.

Per Friedman:

There is an update coming from the Minnesota Wild soon...but, unfortunately, it does not sound like good news for Mikko Koivu, who was injured last night.

Wonder if they’d be interested in AA.

In earlier pages of the message board, there were 2 comments made that I feel may pay dividends in the long run in terms of attracting free agents to sign with the Blackhawks.

1) Soft Serve talked about how amped up the players were as Toews greeted them on the bench as they filed back into the locker room after last night's win. It's a minor thing but after each win I wait and watch that post-game interaction to observe the energy and body language. Last night you really could sense a strong positive aura around them.

2) I believe it was PDX (maybe it was someone else) who posted a tweet about how the Hawks were playing music loudly and chanting in the locker room after the game. Who knows, maybe they do this to some degree or other after every game or at least after wins, but again the fact that a reporter who I assume follows the team throughout the season had a need to point this out possibly because it was different than the norm is a very good sign.

These 2 things could be "aces in the hole" to entice free agents to consider the Blackhawks. It's one thing for a GM and other team brass to give the marketing pitch but it's another to get the raw details from their peers.

Even if the team is a sub .500 team here on out and end up near or at the bottom, as long as this energetic and optimistic atmosphere exists amongst the players and coaches, then it's a great way to tell a free agent that they believe in each other and are confident they're on the right path towards contending soon.

Couple that with playing with the likes of Toews and Kane as well as the other multi-Cup winners in Keith, Seabrook, and possibly Crawford (who knows about his status) plus several upward trending young pieces, that's the making of an influential sales pitch.
- AEL_Fox

To point #2, I think it was Tommy Hawk.

I said they strike me as a team playing for each other. Bowman seems to be big on guys bonding and getting/signing/trading for players who have played with each other while developing.

I was talking about skill sets, not current point totals. Stats don't always tell a complete story. All things considered, I would still like to have Kempny on this team.
- z1990z

I was/am a huge Kempny fan. I would be glad to have him as a 2nd pairing defender at $2.5 mil for the next 3 years. But his skill set and style of play is very different from Gus.

LTIR doesn't come off the books until after the first day of the season. As we learned with Hossa, and other teams have learned. So if you have a $5M hit on your books, he will be there on day one, and only after that day can you put him on LTIR.
- ObeseOprah

Everything you want to know about LTIR or maybe a little more:

https://www.capfriendly.com/ltir-faq