Yes, I think you have to be 20 to play in the AHL, so it would either be the NHL out the gate or back to juniors for them.
- TommyHawk

I think if a player turns 20 by December 31 of any calendar year he can play in the AHL or NHL that season. Also, if he has 4 years in juniors, he can play in the AHL or NHL. If he is less than (EDIT) 20 years, he can play a 9 game stint in the NHL than be returned to his junior team.

So...

Boqvist will be 19+ by December 31, 2019. It's either juniors or a 9 game trial or a full year with the Hawks this upcoming season.
Beaudin will be 20+ by December 31, 2019 and has 4 years in juniors so he is eligible for the AHL or NHL.
Byram and Cozens have three years in juniors. The 19-20 season will be their 4th. Unless they are phenoms and show they can play in 19-20, they will be eligible to play in the AHL or NHL in 20-21.

Or he can sign an offer sheet with another club this summer and the Rangers collect a few more draft picks.
- -Doh-

can you imagine if they got a 1st, 2nd, 3rd round pick plus Lemieux for Pionk, losing a UFA, and a 5th. That is what the Hayes trade would equate to

I heard this as well and that was why Button dropped him in his rankings. The fact that teams didnt know what he would be best at pushes them to pick sure thing C's in place of him. I really think Stan is playing games. I think Byram is their pick and he is floating out interest in other options to see what buttons he can press to see who is desperate to move up.
- nickmo2699

So Button makes this discovery about wing vs center (and puck handling at speed previously noted elsewhere....he slows down). This does not mean he cannot be a good center. If Button watched tape and didn't just run with other people's lists, then maybe he could have known this.

That is one example why wiz has better lists thsn Button.
Wiz formed opinion based on studying tape and had a list out one year before Button even had a list. Yes Button takes other lists then talks to some scouts. Then Button makes his list.

Wiz has been studying tape & asking questions for a few decades..He knows a lot of people and or has spoken with many for a long time. Button by contrast is really a johnny come lately. And wiz accuracy had always come out ahead.

If he says Cozens and has concerns about.Byram, i believe him.. He is the authority..

Say hawks do land lee and saad gets traded what would the hawks be looking for in return?
Saad + for pesce type of deal?

Or he can sign an offer sheet with another club this summer and the Rangers collect a few more draft picks.
- -Doh-

Oh right, I thought he had time left on his deal, but I see he is RFA now. Rangers will be okay either way. They won't lose him for nothing.

It is a bit steep, but they are late round picks. So it is more like a 3rd and a 4th.

Do you think Dmen that actually play D will have higher value than D that are subpar defensively and are above average offensively.

It should be interesting to see the trade value of Gus, our marginal NHL defensemen (Forsling, Koekkoek, Dahlstrom), and 2nd tier prospects (the lower level prospects than the 4 horseman). I imagine some of them will be moved.

Maybe after this signing period with silly dollars being thrown at defensemen Seabs contract will not seem so bad.
- -Doh-

Not really that 2nd round pick is #41, who knows what the 2020 pick will be. Can’t remember which teams but remember hearing a couple would entertain moving their first round pick for the right deal.

Will the Blackhawks finally take advantage of a cash strapped team ??

If so who ?
- mrpaulish

Vegas or tampa would be my choices for what is anybody guess all comes down to needs and what those have to give up.

So Button makes this discovery about wing vs center (and puck handling at speed previously noted elsewhere....he slows down). This does not mean he cannot be a good center. If Button watched tape and didn't just run with other people's lists, then maybe he could have known this.

That is one example why wiz has better lists thsn Button.
Wiz formed opinion based on studying tape and had a list out one year before Button even had a list. Yes Button takes other lists then talks to some scouts. Then Button makes his list.

Wiz has been studying tape & asking questions for a few decades..He knows a lot of people and or has spoken with many for a long time. Button by contrast is really a johnny come lately. And wiz accuracy had always come out ahead.

If he says Cozens and has concerns about.Byram, i believe him.. He is the authority..
- jhawk59

I'm not a big believer in what Craig Button says either - but lets's be fair in assessment, he has been a GM, a Director of Scouting and a Director of Player Personnel with a couple of NHL teams so I do think he can spot a player when he sees one. I can live with disagreeing with him occasionally on young players.

So Button makes this discovery about wing vs center (and puck handling at speed previously noted elsewhere....he slows down). This does not mean he cannot be a good center. If Button watched tape and didn't just run with other people's lists, then maybe he could have known this.

That is one example why wiz has better lists thsn Button.
Wiz formed opinion based on studying tape and had a list out one year before Button even had a list. Yes Button takes other lists then talks to some scouts. Then Button makes his list.

Wiz has been studying tape & asking questions for a few decades..He knows a lot of people and or has spoken with many for a long time. Button by contrast is really a johnny come lately. And wiz accuracy had always come out ahead.

If he says Cozens and has concerns about.Byram, i believe him.. He is the authority..
- jhawk59

I respect Wiz’s analysis and POV, but he is the only guy I’ve seen who doesn’t view Byram as a slam dunk Top pairing 25 minute per night NHL Defenseman. We will find out on Friday night if The Hawks agree with Wiz or not.

Elliotte Friedman's thoughts on the cap situation the next 2 years.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/...l-salary-cap-get-tighter/

I don’t think the Rangers have an agreement with Trouba since legaly they cant talk to him until he is officially traded. That said, GMs talk to agents all the time so something may have been said.
- golfbard

Ahh but you can negotiate with his fiancé to get her into a local medical school like she wants. Thus Trouba would likely not sign for more then one year and then sign here the next.

The cap is killing the league, fairly soon half the teams will be in cap hell
something needs to change outside of the obvious.
- gazza53

They will have compliance buy outs just like after the last negotiation/lock-out. That is when Seabrook's contract will be dumped.

They will have compliance buy outs just like after the last negotiation/lock-out. That is when Seabrook's contract will be dumped.
- LAHawk

No.

No compliance buyouts.

No reason to have them: the cap will not be going down like it did after the last CBA was negotiated.

I think if a player turns 20 by December 31 of any calendar year he can play in the AHL or NHL that season. Also, if he has 4 years in juniors, he can play in the AHL or NHL. If he is less than (EDIT) 20 years, he can play a 9 game stint in the NHL than be returned to his junior team.

So...

Boqvist will be 19+ by December 31, 2019. It's either juniors or a 9 game trial or a full year with the Hawks this upcoming season.
Beaudin will be 20+ by December 31, 2019 and has 4 years in juniors so he is eligible for the AHL or NHL.
Byram and Cozens have three years in juniors. The 19-20 season will be their 4th. Unless they are phenoms and show they can play in 19-20, they will be eligible to play in the AHL or NHL in 20-21.
- boilermaker100

I believe those rules don't apply to Boqvist because he was drafted out of his Euro team - not out of the CHL. Boqvist can play anywhere in 2019/20.

The cap isn't killing the league actually. It's as profitable as ever in its history. It's keeping teams in the league that otherwise couldn't survive or compete. You want a 6 team league again? What is the obvious you are referring to?
- GPHawksfan

The obvious would be Bettman going away.

No need for a 6 team league, but what good is it that
more teams every year are entering cap hell, imagine
the poor poor owners giving the players 10% more, so
the players can share a measly $8 mil more per 23.

Yep, they'll scream bloody murder.

Id draft a center before a defender in most cases.

STL and Vegas certainly don't have a stud number one. Id argue Boston doesn't either but all have strength up the middle.

Also, predominantly in the post cap era the teams that go deep have strength up the middle. Some have that one stud defender - but timely goaltending seems to be more of a deciding factor.

I think there are more bust no 1 defenders then no 1 centers. If he was that much of a sure thing I'd expect him to go second not third.

I respect Wiz’s analysis and POV, but he is the only guy I’ve seen who doesn’t view Byram as a slam dunk Top pairing 25 minute per night NHL Defenseman. We will find out on Friday night if The Hawks agree with Wiz or not.
- EnzoD

But is he a "Top pairing 25 Minute" guy? or is he "the closest thing to a top pairing 25 minute" guy?

last draft had arguably 5 guys with top pairing potential (Dahlin, Boqvist, Bouchard, Dobson, Hughes). Byram is the ONLY one this year. So I personally think he gets blown up a little bit for value. Yes there is positional scarcity at the top of the draft. But im not fully convinced he's "THAT" much better of a prospect than Cozens/Turcotte/Dach.

Long Term, Dmen hold trade value better, so maybe he is the smarter pick. But like you said, we will find out friday what the Hawks think, and we can only let it play out in front of us.

Hey TC -
Once you're done with all of your reviews and your pick, you should put out a poll to see to see what everyone thinks the Hawks will do with the third pick and who they draft / trade, etc.

No.

No compliance buyouts.

No reason to have them: the cap will not be going down like it did after the last CBA was negotiated.
- StLBravesFan

Too many moving parts to just say "no" IMO.

1) Won't know what the cap will be, last time it was lowered and there is no guarantee that it won't be lowered again. It will depend on the stance either side takes and what will be the bargaining chips. They could vote to take out the inflator or change the way it is calculated which could be enough to trigger compliance buyouts.

2) Buyout rules could change to varying degrees. They could make them part of the agreement to a certain degree or maybe change the way they are done completely.

3) Economic conditions could change for the league. Revenue is usually going up, but there are so many external factors that could mess with the numbers enough.

I just think it will be difficult to predict what these guys will cook up next, especially if there ends up being another work stoppage.

sharks trade braun to flyers for cap relief...you can now put away those dreams of little joe coming to the hawks...

Say hawks do land lee and saad gets traded what would the hawks be looking for in return?
Saad + for pesce type of deal?
- Scott1977

I am having a tough time seeing the logic behind signing Lee. Lee will be turning 29 within 2 weeks. He will command a salary somewhat higher than the 26 year old Saad who is cost controlled for the next couple years. This how clubs get into Cap trouble. The Seabrook contract should have taught us that and there are many other examples of that league wide.

Elliotte Friedman's thoughts on the cap situation the next 2 years.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/...l-salary-cap-get-tighter/
- boilermaker100

When Seattle joins NHL will the cap increase at an even steeper rate with them in league or they have no effect on the rate the cap increases? I hope this question makes sense, LOL.

The Blackhawks draft Dylan Cozens if...they are not idiots. The forward cupboard is bare, the D pipeline is overflowing.

As for SB taking advantage of cap strapped teams....please remember that the Hawks are also a cap-strapped team, unless they use their space on one year deals to fill holes while waiting for youth to emerge.

sharks trade braun to flyers for cap relief...you can now put away those dreams of little joe coming to the hawks...
- bogiedoc

was a fun 48 hour dream

Too many moving parts to just say "no" IMO.

1) Won't know what the cap will be, last time it was lowered and there is no guarantee that it won't be lowered again. It will depend on the stance either side takes and what will be the bargaining chips. They could vote to take out the inflator or change the way it is calculated which could be enough to trigger compliance buyouts.

2) Buyout rules could change to varying degrees. They could make them part of the agreement to a certain degree or maybe change the way they are done completely.

3) Economic conditions could change for the league. Revenue is usually going up, but there are so many external factors that could mess with the numbers enough.

I just think it will be difficult to predict what these guys will cook up next, especially if there ends up being another work stoppage.
- breadbag

I think there will be compliance buy outs, or some kind of cap modifier like the NBA has (veterans exceptions, home town exceptions etc.) It is not good for the league either to have teams having to blow up their team every year or 2 because they are good and have to reward their players.