Absolutely 100% SPOT ON SR. If Stan doesn't have the know-how to rebuild this summer with all the assets he has, the February time frame you speak of is accurate. As for SAAD, once again, he is the most valuable asset they have along with maybe Conner Murphy.......... and who brought those guys to the team in 2 terrible trades ? Enough said. STAN is on the clock !!!!
- Hawkytalk

Also Saad and Murphy are valuable trade chips because the GM's that signed them to their existing contracts did not include NTC or NMC clauses.

That would be sending them out....the deals were done.

Believe what you want....you know it everything Paul.

The fear of losing Saad and the Hawks impending derailment rivals the time Stalberg got benched in the 2013 playoffs and how Q lost the room......
- SteveRain

If the deals were done, why did he wait until the last day to send them out? Maybe if he wasn't nursing a hangover he would have been in the office. He was the GM. Its his job to make sure things are done when they are suppose to be. Like he couldn't have picked up a phone to check that they were sent?

It was his fault. Accept it.

I can't see Cozens being a bust, I think he will either be a star or a just a guy but I think his game, speed, size, shot, defense and work ethic is perfect for the NHL it's just a question of what his ceiling is.
- paulr

If he is picked top 5 and becomes just a guy, thatssa a bust.

Dude. Seriously. Hagg is terrible. Guy gets caved in every time he is on the ice. Hawks need guys who spent less time in their own zone. Not more.
- Elbows15

Ok thats your opinion i have seen him play a lot some of what you say is right but there is room to devlop his game he is a bottom pairing d man yes i think there is more there to give.

The rumors on Gardiner don't surprise me. He's going to panic and be forced to pay for a top D man on paper....and how that player translates into this roster is beyond me.

I still think a trade route is the way to go, but nobody is taking John Hayden, 7th round picks, and F prospects to give one up.

I wonder if Dale will try to push to get Panarin's rights and sign in S Florida. No state income tax, high Russian/Cuban population and get Bob as well.
- SteveRain

Yes I believe he will. We all know how much Q loves his veterans. My question is whether he has any interest in either Keith or Seabrook ?

Thought of him as well.

Victor Hedman is still my number one choice.

Matthew Tkachuk and Kyle Connor would look great on this team, as would Mark Stone.
- TommyHawk

Rasmus Dahlin

Anthony Mantha from Detroit. Gigantic Center with 3.3 cap hit.
- Hawkytalk

Except he is a winger.

Either Barkov or Scheifele
- DarthKane

Those guys are too tall to be your choice.

Also. Frolik sucks.

Say what you will about Craig Button but he's spent a long time watching and evaluating hockey players and I thought what he said about Cozens is very interesting. When asked why he dropped Cozens down in his ranking, his answer was it was due to not sure if he is a center or should be a winger. He elaborated by saying that Cozens is a very good skater but he doesn't use his skating as well when he's making plays like a center would. He said he kind of slows down and doesn't make "center type plays" at full speed, whereas he receives passes at full speed very well like a top end winger does. He thinks he will be a better winger in the NHL than a center.
- EbonyRaptor

Because the Hawks don't need a punishing power right winger either?? If that is Cozens' downside its all the more reason for me to want to pick him.

Honestly, how many more "puck moving" D guys with no notable defensive resume does this team need to have?

Read the Bowman interview again and what you do get from it is that their prospects are going to be developed over time and that they are largely going to work with what they have today as their NHL roster unless they can find a budget friendly player or two to sign via FA or a deal or two.

The expectation bar has officially been lowered which is a good thing for the long-term rebuild of the team. Making the playoffs next year will again be very probabilistic, but I'm cool with that. I'd much rather see them be deliberate in the development of their prospects and not worry about much else.

Maybe but I bet he go in the top 5 if not 3rd
- oldduffman

He's falling like a stone.

Those guys are too tall to be your choice.

Also. Frolik sucks.
- Elbows15

Ok thats your opinion i have seen him play a lot some of what you say is right but there is room to devlop his game he is a bottom pairing d man yes i think there is more there to give.
- Scott1977

Hawks don't need anymore bottom pairing guys who get caved in. He is flat out terrible.

Loungo's situation will be interesting this summer. It's not certain the Panthers want to bring him back. If he retires his cap hit goes back to the Canucks (he has one of those contracts). That would be a cap hit of $5.33 (ish) per season for the next three years.
- DarthKane

Damn...I would LUV that!!!

If he is picked top 5 and becomes just a guy, thatssa a bust.
- Elbows15

Poor choice of words on my part. He will either be a star or a solid secondary player. Kind of like Patrick Sharp was. I can't see Cozens being a bust.

If the deals were done, why did he wait until the last day to send them out? Maybe if he wasn't nursing a hangover he would have been in the office. He was the GM. Its his job to make sure things are done when they are suppose to be. Like he couldn't have picked up a phone to check that they were sent?

It was his fault. Accept it.
- Elbows15

Of course it was fault.....but as a boss you also delegate and take the credit and blame when major things happen on your watch.

Yes I believe he will. We all know how much Q loves his veterans. My question is whether he has any interest in either Keith or Seabrook ?
- Hawkytalk

Maybe Seabrook but I don't see a bomb contract on the Panthers this side of Luongo….so the Hawks would have to retain salary Im guessing.

You know who would love Keith? Toronto.....how they make it work is a calculus problem but they need D.

Loungo knee it was coming and moved into place almost before Toews let go of the pass. No way Sharp was ever going to beat him on that particular play.
- StLBravesFan

I havent' seen that highlight in years...….burned in my head though. I want to say there was room short side up top as Luongo stretched over to his right....but its done.

Im sure Roberto will have some sort of rash and get medically OK'd to walk off into the sunset without cap ramafications.

Absolutely 100% SPOT ON SR. If Stan doesn't have the know-how to rebuild this summer with all the assets he has, the February time frame you speak of is accurate. As for SAAD, once again, he is the most valuable asset they have along with maybe Conner Murphy.......... and who brought those guys to the team in 2 terrible trades ? Enough said. STAN is on the clock !!!!
- Hawkytalk

Truthfully the draft doesn't do much for me as unless this kid is ready to go in the NHL now....he's just another prospect and who knows how he will progress, pan out, and what he may be or not be in the NHL.

the trades around the draft leading up to UFA is what excites me. Time for methodical Stan (see Powers article on STan) to become aggressive, smart hockey trade Stan.

Do we honestly think that Uncle Dale didn't delegate and have somebody ready below him to send him fed ex envelopes out? Come on......and if that horrible blunder was strickly on Uncle Dale would the team go out of its way to reward him with a ring following the 2010 cup win?

I would be SHOCKED if Saad is ever traded. Bowman loves to hold on to his favorites for as long as humanly possible. I brought up the idea of trading 3-4 blogs ago as one of the few PROVEN nhl assets on this team a team may be willing to go after AND one the Hawks may be wiling to trade (if the return was right).

I brought up Kessel because I fear outside of 88/12 you will see a decline in offensive from many guys who had "career" years including the captain, Gus, and Strome.

We went through the Kessel debate, I doubt he also comes here, but what he lacks in defense he makes up in offense, and believe it or not his playoff performances trump Saad, who apparently is the poster child for NHL playoff players by so many on here.

To me it's simple.....Saad played his @ss off in 2015....wanted huge money, got it from Columbus, fell into a half-@ss routine (read APs article from Columbus paper or athletic) and got traded back here.....where he is far too inconsistent offensively to be counted on in a top 6 role. Hell, you could argue the trade was made to help Toews live up to his offensive abilities (argument for another day) and truthfully.....the trade has been a bomb. Forsberg is astrocious and likely gone. Panarin continued to blossom and is a LEGIT NHL star and Saad.....is a try hard some nights, float other nights, 6 million AAV on a team that can't afford floaters and guys not carrying their weight.

This team needs defense.....and signs that their are in replacements for 2/7 on the roster who can play top end minutes against the premier NHL players and hold their own. They still don't have any....and that's what kills them. That and their awful PK....

IMO, if this offseason doesn't amount to a playoff appearance and a tick up where everyone can see the improvement, then you have to blow this thing in February and put high end guys on the market and start building around a new core of younger guys. Yes, that means I would listen on 2/19/88/50 if you are in the same spot this year as last year when the deadline approaches.

Bowman's trade of Hammer for Murphy and Panarin for Saad/Forsberg put this team further into a spin then what transpired that April when Nashville flat out embarrassed them, and the Hawks have YET to recover from both of those situations.
- SteveRain

The situation that happened was unpreventable. The Hawks were all old at the same time and they were also in a salary cap mess. Bowman balanced both throughout the Hawks cup runs and it all caught up to them. The Blackhawks are still the most successful team in the salary cap era and Bowman deserves credit for the blanacing act while Tallon and Mike Smith deserve credit for building the base of the team.

I think Bowman's biggest blunder was giving that contract to a Seabrook. The term on that deal was a huge mistake.

I wouldn't be shocked. I think Stan realizes that he has to make the playoffs this upcoming season. He can't tinker around the edges of the roster and hope that Kane, Toews and Debrincat have repeat career seasons and that the existing team defense will improve because Colliton and staff will have the whole training camp to implement their system.

Saad is a valuable trade chip. He can be part of a package to return a top 4 D man. Yes he will have to be replaced, but if Saad is traded it won't happen in a vacuum and Bowman will make other moves to fill that hole.
- boilermaker100

Same page Boilermaker.

- DarthKane

If the Hawks get Frolik and draft your boy Caufield....are you going to need a room?

Hawks don't need anymore bottom pairing guys who get caved in. He is flat out terrible.
- Elbows15

Hawks have wannabe top 4 guys that are terrible so lets avoid anymore logs to this fire.....

He's falling like a stone.
- Elbows15

Most of these players havn'r played in weeks yet they are moving all over the place in the draft lists. Caufield and Byram seem to have risen the most while Cozens and Turcotte seem to be dropping. Did the combine cause this or are the people rating them trying to place them where they think they'll wind up instead of rating the actual player?

Maybe Seabrook but I don't see a bomb contract on the Panthers this side of Luongo….so the Hawks would have to retain salary Im guessing.

You know who would love Keith? Toronto.....how they make it work is a calculus problem but they need D.
- SteveRain

Seabrook for Luongo straight up. Hawks get 2.3M in cap relief and a contract that's 2 years shorter. Luongo can back up Crawford this year and Delia/Lankinen the following season. Or maybe he'll retire before than.

Hawks have wannabe top 4 guys that are terrible so lets avoid anymore logs to this fire.....
- SteveRain

Hagg is barely a wannabe NHL D-man. I don't care who the D-men are if they don't get better play from the forwards on the defensive side of the game. That has been a huge problem. Far too often D-men get the puck and have no outlet options as they are being pressured. Defense starts in the O-zone once the puck is lost and the Hawks' D-men are facing teams coming at them with speed and numbers far too often.

Unless that changes, and it did somewhat the last half of the year, you can have 6 HoF guys on defense and they are not going to look too good.

More than ever, the game is predicated on playing as a 5 man unit.