Agreed about Saad, I have zero interest in trading him. There’s no need to trade Saad and every need to keep him. If Stan upgrades the 3C position the Hawks will have a really solid 3rd line with Saad.
- DarthKane

I agree here if the Hawks could scoop up a center from one of cap teams they will have three solid lines
What are your thoughts on Kadri
Or as others have suggested Miller from Tampa
I think either one would look good playing with Saad.

Who cares, the Hawks are drafting Caufield anyway.
- DarthKane

Funny you are darth i give you props for sticking with your guy.

I agree here if the Hawks could scoop up a center from one of cap teams they will have three solid lines
What are your thoughts on Kadri
Or as others have suggested Miller from Tampa
I think either one would look good playing with Saad.
- HamiltonHawk

For 3C my preference would be Adam Lowry.

I’m surrounded by morons.
- Ogilthorpe2

Way to take one for the team (the rest of us).

Agreed about Saad, I have zero interest in trading him. There’s no need to trade Saad and every need to keep him. If Stan upgrades the 3C position the Hawks will have a really solid 3rd line with Saad.
- DarthKane

Who is playing lw with toews and kane?

? Toews kane
Dcat strome perilini
Saad AA(IF not traded) kauhn
Kubalik kampf Caggulia
Hayden
Keith joki
? Murphy
Gus Seabrook
Koko
Crawford
?
So thats 3 spots not filled plus the lack of physical players and players who help with the pk rather have solid pk than a solid pp. So bowman needs to make this team into a contender not just a good regular season team big difference. Time will tell what happens. Saad is only traded if a top 3 d man is coming back other than that no his size speed and game are taliored for the playoffs.

Who is playing lw with toews and kane?

? Toews kane
Dcat strome perilini
Saad AA(IF not traded) kauhn
Kubalik kampf Caggulia
Hayden
Keith joki
? Murphy
Gus Seabrook
Koko
Crawford
?
So thats 3 spots not filled plus the lack of physical players and players who help with the pk rather have solid pk than a solid pp. So bowman needs to make this team into a contender not just a good regular season team big difference. Time will tell what happens. Saad is only traded if a top 3 d man is coming back other than that no his size speed and game are taliored for the playoffs.
- Scott1977

(if no trades)
Sikura-Toews-Kane
Cat-Strome-Kahun
Saad-AA-Kubalik
Caggiula-Kampf-Perlini

Oh.

I forgot points are all that matters. Playing a 200 ft game with speed and power mean nothing without the points.
- Ogilthorpe2

Oh I forgot. At the end up the day, they talley up the 200ft games of speed with power and not goals. I thought you had to score more than the opponent. My bad.

Oh I forgot. At the end up the day, they talley up the 200ft games of speed with power and not goals. I thought you had to score more than the opponent. My bad.
- PatShart

Yes, outscoring the opponent involves scoring yourself, but you also have to prevent them from your opponent. Adding Kessel to this Hawks team does not make them better, subtracting Saad at the same time is a net loss.

I would agree my concern lies....

1. Bringing back the dumpster fire D corps for a 2nd go around hoping the "system" fixes what ails their awfulness from this past year.....

2. That all the young prospects are still NOT NHL ready...…

3. Was Koekkoek really somebody they needed to bring back? Or this Bowman staying with a guy he traded for to justify it?

For me it's hard to get sold that this team is playoff caliber without adding at least 1, if not 2, proven NHL D men...and stop slotting guys far beyond their abilities.

Also...anyone else notice how out of place Chara looks out there? Reminds me a lot of Seabrook. Great career, but the game and speed has passed him by and they really need to evaluate why they are still playing when it will likely damage their legacies of what they accomplished in younger years.
- SteveRain

Koekkoek’s underlying numbers were significantly better than Forsling and Dahlstrom. Sea brook too, for that matter. He’s a cheap 6-7 that allows you to move Forsling for something at the draft.

(if no trades)
Sikura-Toews-Kane
Cat-Strome-Kahun
Saad-AA-Kubalik
Caggiula-Kampf-Perlini
- EbonyRaptor

Sikrua is not a top 6 player plus hawks won't make it out of the 1st round with that lineup imo.

not much for all this draft and trade speculation however:

1. draft a center not another scoring wing
2. a guy who can play now...not college bound
3. no dman

there i'm done
- bogiedoc

Hawks need NHL quality players now, not in 2-3 years, and anyone not picked 1 or 2 isn’t helping next season.

Not saying this is the exact deal, but how about #3 to Carolina for Jaccob Slavin and Carolina’s 1st rounder?

Again, this is the direction they should go, but maybe not the exact deal.

Hawks need to upgrade their NHL players now. jT, Kane and Keith aren’t getting any younger.

This game is nuts! I hate both teams, but I'm happy Nordstrom got a goal.

Oh I forgot. At the end up the day, they talley up the 200ft games of speed with power and not goals. I thought you had to score more than the opponent. My bad.
- PatShart

In simplistic terms, yes outscoring the opponent is how you win. With few exceptions championship teams win because they play a strong defensive game.

I should have bet the over (5.5)

In simplistic terms, yes outscoring the opponent is how you win. With few exceptions championship teams win because they play a strong defensive game.
- paulr

Was it an NBA coach who said defense never slumps? Give me a team that has a GAA under 2.25. They’ll be competitive every game and much more likely to compete for a SC than one with a 3.25 GAA.

It looked like Pritzker sang the anthem.

(if no trades)
Sikura-Toews-Kane
Cat-Strome-Kahun
Saad-AA-Kubalik
Caggiula-Kampf-Perlini
- EbonyRaptor

I'm glad you're not the GM !!

In simplistic terms, yes outscoring the opponent is how you win. With few exceptions championship teams win because they play a strong defensive game.
- paulr

FWIW, Boston was #3 in GA/gp during the regular season 2.59. STL was #5 2.68
Boston is #1 in the playoffs at 1.94, STL is #6 2.60

Blackhawks were 31st.

Defense wins.

It looked like Pritzker sang the anthem.
- 6628

aka Jabba the Hutt

Was it an NBA coach who said defense never slumps? Give me a team that has a GAA under 2.25. They’ll be competitive every game and much more likely to compete for a SC than one with a 3.25 GAA.
- scottak

"Defense never slumps" excellent quote and so true.

It looked like Pritzker sang the anthem.
- 6628

I was hoping for a special appearance by Rene....

Hawks need NHL quality players now, not in 2-3 years, and anyone not picked 1 or 2 isn’t helping next season.

Not saying this is the exact deal, but how about #3 to Carolina for Jaccob Slavin and Carolina’s 1st rounder?

Again, this is the direction they should go, but maybe not the exact deal.

Hawks need to upgrade their NHL players now. jT, Kane and Keith aren’t getting any younger.
- scottak

Carolina would never do this. Why trade a #1 in Slavin for the 3rd pick who could be a flop. I get your point though.

The fact is.....no team is going to trade their top dmen because they're few and far between.

Do you think Edmonton would trade Darnell Nurse to us for Brandon Saad ????
Not a chance.
We'd be lucky to get a number 4 dman for him.

My take on Caufield is that he is the best goal scorer in the draft but not the best player available when you consider all around play so not the option to go with in the 1st round picking 3rd. Instead, consider (in no particular order) Cozens, Turcotte, or Byram assuming Hughes and Kakko go 1st and 2nd.

If either Hughes or Kakko aren't taken 1st or 2nd, you take him.

Krebs and Zegras are considerations at 3rd but likely still boils down to Cozens, Turcotte, or Byram.

Carolina would never do this. Why trade a #1 in Slavin for the 3rd pick who could be a flop. I get your point though.

The fact is.....no team is going to trade their top dmen because they're few and far between.

Do you think Edmonton would trade Darnell Nurse to us for Brandon Saad ????
Not a chance.
We'd be lucky to get a number 4 dman for him.
- Hawkytalk

There is little chance the Hawks will be able to acquire a young defenseman who's already proven himself. But what about a defenseman who's stuck behind a logjam in his organization, or hasn't proven himself yet? Those are the guys I'd like to see the Hawks target.

Weighing in on the Saad-Kessel debate, not sure why one has to be trash for the other to be gold. Both are good players to have as they bring different strengths to the rink so it depends on what your team needs.

The Hawks are fine in the scoring department but sorely need to ramp up team defense and the PK. Saad is a cog that can help fulfill both quotients while also providing scoring at a 20-25 goal clip in an average season and 30ish if he can bang on all cylinders for most of the season.

Saad is one of the better PK forwards with his speed and defensive game. He creates turnovers to flip the ice. While it would be cool if he could convert more SH chances, the primary purpose of those ice-flipping moments is to shave time off the clock which he has shown he can routinely do (sometimes twice in the same PK shift). Scoring a SHG is icing on the cake.

Kessel would be really helpful for a team that needs primary scoring help. Again, that's not the Hawks. Sure, the Hawks could use more secondary scoring but you don't bring in a primary scorer like Kessel to provide secondary scoring. That's where someone like Miller, Killorn, or Frolik could come in.