Is CC done for the year? Why not LTIR him. Take that space and eat a bad expiring contract from another team for a decent pick.
- z1990z

I think they expect him to maybe return.

Tankathon Lottery Simulation still has the Hawks drafting 8th at worst after doing over a dozen lottery simulations....that's with a 5 game win streak. Ducks will win some games, Devils will win some games when Hall is back, I expect them to finish 4-8 in the lottery and they will get a FUTURE game changer in that slot per Wiz's expert scouting on this year's draft. There is no Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Austin Matthews or Connor McDavid that the Hawks are missing out. Someone on TSN recently compared Jack Hughes to Nico Hiscier in terms of NHL impact early on....Nico Hischier is a nice player, but he's most likely not a future Hall of Famer. There is going to be a really good player for the Hawks to draft from 4-8, and it's great to see guys like Strome, Cat, Dahlstrom, Murphy, Caggiulla, and Gustafson improve their play. Mark Scheifele was drafted 7th overall and he's the 1C on the best team in the Central Division. You can find a great player there. All indications are that Boquist will be an impact player from #8 spot. Jokiharju was 30th overall pick....


The Hawks are better off establishing a team culture, structure, and chemistry that comes with winning opposed to the literally atrocious stretch o fplay that had them 31st in the NHL about a month ago. It will ultimately come down to UFA signings and trades to help the defense and scoring depth to have the Hawks winning while Kane is still the best RW in the World.

Would anyone really be upset if they drafted the #1 ranked Dman at 8 in Broberg?? Big, mobile, hard to play against and probably close to NHL ready??? I was all aboard team tank when they looked like an AHL all star team, but damn its fun to watch this team score a bunch of goals and play exciting games...and winning!

Can we wait a few years to see how Boqvist, Zadina, and Tkachuck and other picks pan out?

Zadina has 22 points in 38 games in the AHL and is a minus 14.
- -Doh-

And looked like poop in the WJC

Problem is Gus is the only D we have that is a true weapon on the PP. Gus's play has been one of the factors in this improved PP. The return would have to be really good. I for one would not trade him.
- z1990z

That's the point. If the pp goes back to garbage they won't win as much. And you have Mitchell, Boqvist, Beaudin, and even Lil Henry who have all QB'd the pp with good results at their respective levels.

Gus has also never scored like this ever in his career so trying to say this year is the norm or an outlier is difficult.

With the guys in the pipe id say move now while his stock is high and can help out a team that will actually make the playoffs.

It's true, because tanking isn't a good strategy. Some teams have finished near the bottom for years and failed to build much of anything. Other have been in the playoffs or near them for years and continue to be strong. Good drafting over tanking every time.
- breadbag

But the hawks already have significant pieces and the top three picks are NHL ready players. Maybe 4 if including Cozens.

So add a NOW player with high end talent and no monies + trade of some sorts and maybe a FA signing and they are in way better shape.

Not getting a NHL ready player in this draft pushes back yet another year and another body. Picking 15th will not help. That player shows up in 3 years. Need guys to contribute in next 2.

Justin posted this earlier on Twitter. Im not sure how to post a GIF with this message so i will just include the link - maybe someone can repost the GIF?

Thx Justin

Beautiful play and goal by Blackhawks prospect Adam Boqvist.

https://t.co/PT8rXdj0bz
#OHL #Blackhawks https://t.co/lQRRehPuzl
(https://twitter.com/elite.../1093144464128966656?s=03)

That's the point. If the pp goes back to garbage they won't win as much. And you have Mitchell, Boqvist, Beaudin, and even Lil Henry who have all QB'd the pp with good results at their respective levels.

Gus has also never scored like this ever in his career so trying to say this year is the norm or an outlier is difficult.

With the guys in the pipe id say move now while his stock is high and can help out a team that will actually make the playoffs.
- fattybeef

That is the fun part of being a GM. Is Gus's play suggestive that he has turned the corner and will be a consistent weapon or is it an anomaly??

But the hawks already have significant pieces and the top three picks are NHL ready players. Maybe 4 if including Cozens.

So add a NOW player with high end talent and no monies + trade of some sorts and maybe a FA signing and they are in way better shape.

Not getting a NHL ready player in this draft pushes back yet another year and another body. Picking 15th will not help. That player shows up in 3 years. Need guys to contribute in next 2.
- fattybeef

IIRC, the Hawks had like the 9th or 10th odds in the Lottery when they won the Paddy Kane sweepstakes...can someone verify this..I know they were 6+ at least in the lottery.

Also true - a shorter term view can also be pursued IF the right pieces can be acquired.

So, what do they REALLY need?

How do they get those pieces?

What do they have to give up to get them?

If the could get Mark Stone as the big piece to play with 19/88, a guy like Tomas Nosek from Vegas to play with 12/17, a Riley Sheahan to play with 20/91, make Kahun Hayden and Kampf the fourth line, and find one decent D guy....

That would be a much better team.
- Return of the Roar

If you want Stone to play with 19/88, that means you want Stone to play his offside for the first time in his life?

That is the fun part of being a GM. Is Gus's play suggestive that he has turned the corner and will be a consistent weapon or is it an anomaly??
- z1990z

There is the wisdom in having him at $1.2MM next year as well. Time to find out if he is the real deal.

That said, if they can tilt the ice back enough to get the SOG against to more like 25-28 a night, perhaps his value his higher to retain even if only to role play on the PP.

If you want Stone to play with 19/88, that means you want Stone to play his offside for the first time in his life?
- LAHawk

OK play on 12/17 and move ADB to his natural side with Strome. Either way its a huge upgrade.

How good are the Oilers now after a near decade of top picks?

Getting close (see '09 Hawks) is more important to the "team" than one player who may or may not be a difference maker.

There is the wisdom in having him at $1.2MM next year as well. Time to find out if he is the real deal.

That said, if they can tilt the ice back enough to get the SOG against to more like 25-28 a night, perhaps his value his higher to retain even if only to role play on the PP.
- Return of the Roar

I mentioned this before. Gus is similar to Kempny. Played in the right spots, they can be very effective. They have weaknesses too, but the skill on the point working a PP is legit. Mobile with booming shots.

How good are the Oilers now after a near decade of top picks?

Getting close (see '09 Hawks) is more important to the "team" than one player who may or may not be a difference maker.
- Brownie's_Purse

Chiarelli.

(mic drop)

Sure they can wait. But what is left of 19/88 in year three?

And who are the next 19/88, and where do they come from?
- Return of the Roar

They come from the draft.

I've been following the recent tank/don't tank comments.

Professional hockey players, very competitive in nature, do not want to lose on purpose. Therefore the term "to tank" is to imply losing games, not on purpose by throwing games, but by trading away assets, sitting key players and playing younger inexperienced players.

So then to all the posters on the tank side of the discussion, how do the Hawks tank?

What assets could be moved that would make the Hawks a worse team? Don't say Kane, Toews, Keith and Seabrook since they are not going to get traded. Would trading Ansismov and Kruger guarantee a few more losses this season? Only candidates that come to my mind are Saad and Gus, but I doubt if Stan trades them. Trading them at the TDL would probably cost the Hawk a few wins throughout the remainder of the season, but then you have a couple more holes to fill down the road. Saad may bring back a top 4 defenseman, but what contender will move a d-man at the TDL.

Are you going to limit ice time to or sit Toews, Kanes, Strome, Debrincat, Keith, Murphy?

Playing younger players? What do you think the Hawks have been doing this year? Want to see Sikura, Fortin and Ejdsell and Joki on the team or they should stay at Rockford and develop there? Wait, Joki will make the team better, don't want to promote him.

The Hawks have shown me a lot during this winning streak and are a different team than the November-early December period. They probably won't finish in the running for a top 5, unless they get a lucky lottery ball bounce, and may or may not make the playoffs. They are what they are, a tweener team in my opinion, like about half the league.

There is definitely work to be done, most likely in the off season. I would like to know what Stan has up his sleeve to further improve this team.

They come from the draft.
- ObeseOprah

And good scouting. A GM who drafts well

IIRC, the Hawks had like the 9th or 10th odds in the Lottery when they won the Paddy Kane sweepstakes...can someone verify this..I know they were 6+ at least in the lottery.
- EnzoD

5th I think. And it was even more of longshot then because only a lottery for the 1st pick. Now it's top 3 picks, and like last year when Carolina won it to move past a lot of teams to get #2, better chances to strike gold. Even if a team tanks to the worst ranking, they still can end up with the 4th pick.

Tankathon Lottery Simulation still has the Hawks drafting 8th at worst after doing over a dozen lottery simulations....that's with a 5 game win streak. Ducks will win some games, Devils will win some games when Hall is back, I expect them to finish 4-8 in the lottery and they will get a FUTURE game changer in that slot per Wiz's expert scouting on this year's draft. There is no Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Austin Matthews or Connor McDavid that the Hawks are missing out. Someone on TSN recently compared Jack Hughes to Nico Hiscier in terms of NHL impact early on....Nico Hischier is a nice player, but he's most likely not a future Hall of Famer. There is going to be a really good player for the Hawks to draft from 4-8, and it's great to see guys like Strome, Cat, Dahlstrom, Murphy, Caggiulla, and Gustafson improve their play. Mark Scheifele was drafted 7th overall and he's the 1C on the best team in the Central Division. You can find a great player there. All indications are that Boquist will be an impact player from #8 spot. Jokiharju was 30th overall pick....


The Hawks are better off establishing a team culture, structure, and chemistry that comes with winning opposed to the literally atrocious stretch o fplay that had them 31st in the NHL about a month ago. It will ultimately come down to UFA signings and trades to help the defense and scoring depth to have the Hawks winning while Kane is still the best RW in the World.

Would anyone really be upset if they drafted the #1 ranked Dman at 8 in Broberg?? Big, mobile, hard to play against and probably close to NHL ready??? I was all aboard team tank when they looked like an AHL all star team, but damn its fun to watch this team score a bunch of goals and play exciting games...and winning!
- EnzoD

I would be. I want 3 or 4 years of fun not 3 or 4 weeks.

Love the seasonal trend by Preds to bring guys in to help them get over the hump in the playoffs and it never working out

I don't think the addition of these guys gets you past a team like the Jets. They're just big, fast and can play.

I think they expect him to maybe return.
- breadbag

If you decide to tank, do you tell Kane stop doing Kane things?

Is CC done for the year? Why not LTIR him. Take that space and eat a bad expiring contract from another team for a decent pick.
- z1990z

He's been practicing and looking like he's aiming to come back before the end of the season.

I think that would something worth trying, they could actually be effective
especially if Hayden can play that role. Maybe even Perlini instead of Kampf.

I like you think he's trying to do to much in the Dzone. His head is always
on a swivel when playing D.
- gazza53

I like Kampf as a 3c/4c. I would not move him to a wing to experiment with Hayden at c. If you want to experiment with Hayden at center Rockford is the place to do it.

Chiarelli.

(mic drop)
- Return of the Roar

It's a fair point, Oilers aren't the only team who have gotten high draft picks and still aren't a playoff team. Avs, Coyotes, Panthers, Sabres, irony Avs did get McKinnon with the #1 pick but they got Rantanen with the 12th pick. Almost every year there are players that slip through the draft.

How good are the Oilers now after a near decade of top picks?

Getting close (see '09 Hawks) is more important to the "team" than one player who may or may not be a difference maker.
- Brownie's_Purse

The Oilers are one of the worst run organizations in all of professional sports. You pointing to them as the 'tank model' is pretty bad.

Teams that have tanked and succeeded:
-Leafs haven't won a cup yet but are consensus 'great'
-Penguins tanked for Crosby and Malkin, and have over a dozen years of winning to show for it
-The Sabres tanked, then tried to accelerate a rebuild, then tanked again. Now they're good and will be very good in the coming years (Multiple first rounders this draft, still have good prospects developing)
-Jets tanked in 2015-16, traded Ladd for a 1st, got Laine at 2nd overall, had Ehlers and Scheifele coming up, they had decent vets but knew they weren't a cup contender (Wheeler, Buff)
-Avalanche have tanked multiple years and received their entire top line out of top ten picks (MacKinnon, Landeskog, Rantanen). They traded a very good player away for a first (Duchene) and that pick could be in the top 4 with how bad Ottawa is. They have other great top ten pick prospects on the way from their losing seasons (Jost, Makar)

All these teams at one point went into their season saying 'we can be a playoff team', but ended up tanking once the cup was out of the picture. The Leafs were quite clearly tanking from the second Lou showed up.

If you want game changing talent to arrive for cheap, you can either hit a homerun at the draft and find the Kucherov or Zetterburg or Debrincat. Or you can get a top draft pick (McDavid, Eichel, Matthews, Laine, Kane).