Tyler Cameron: "Best of" Blackhawks Armchair GMing – Part 2 Presenting on to our 2nd edition of Blackhawks Armchair GMing. This week features DOH!'s lineup and see what he would do as your GM.

First maybe eh? ...good morning. Staying home...rinks all closed. Thanks for the new blog

Nylander is a big wildcard, one that I don't like the situation. His flashes of ability are impressive and get me thinking this guy could be awesome, but I wish he would be a more consistent player. As a gm or especially a coach of an NHL team looking to compete, bring me this Nylander when he is fully ready. I know this is a retooling time but still. If he isnt looking good after 10 games in I hope he gets sent down and if he cant deal with it then it's a problem.

Like the signings but don't think Jersey would make that trade

My three cents.

Why would NJ accept damaged goods in Shaw? Even if he is cleared to play over the summer and goes off LTIR, everyone knows, including the NJ GM, that is one hit away from either another extended stint on LTIR or the end of his career. If he's included in the trade as a salary dump, the Hawks will have to add a sweetener, especially to land Palmieri.

Too much youth on the blue line IMO. Beaudin and Mitchell with a total of one 1 game of NHL experience and Boqvist with about half a season. I am a fan of all three, but not yet all in the line up next year.

Lastly, a minor point. Where's Highmore? I would think he's higher in the depth chart than Hagel.

My three cents.

Why would NJ accept damaged goods in Shaw? Even if he is cleared to play over the summer and goes off LTIR, everyone knows, including the NJ GM, that is one hit away from either another extended stint on LTIR or the end of his career. If he's included in the trade as a salary dump, the Hawks will have to add a sweetener, especially to land Palmieri.

Too much youth on the blue line IMO. Beaudin and Mitchell with a total of one 1 game of NHL experience and Boqvist with about half a season. I am a fan of all three, but not yet all in the line up next year.

Lastly, a minor point. Where's Highmore? I would think he's higher in the depth chart than Hagel.
- boilermaker100

Offset by the mentoring of Keith, Seabrook, Murphy, and (hopefully an un-injured) deHaan.

I have no idea if the three rookies (including Boqvist) will be anywhere near ready for the Show next season - Boqvist has shown progress - Mitchell might need pro-time in Rockford for a while - but this is a needed rebuild on the blue line, whatever it means for the playoff chances for next season.

All locked down and everyone inside. We have a very good watchdog (not a guard dog). A couple week supply of paper products and a full fridge. We're good.

Regarding the trade with NJ, keep the 3rd round draft pick and bundle Fortin with the other 2. Hawks have enough 4th liners.

My three cents.

Why would NJ accept damaged goods in Shaw? Even if he is cleared to play over the summer and goes off LTIR, everyone knows, including the NJ GM, that is one hit away from either another extended stint on LTIR or the end of his career. If he's included in the trade as a salary dump, the Hawks will have to add a sweetener, especially to land Palmieri.

Too much youth on the blue line IMO. Beaudin and Mitchell with a total of one 1 game of NHL experience and Boqvist with about half a season. I am a fan of all three, but not yet all in the line up next year.

Lastly, a minor point. Where's Highmore? I would think he's higher in the depth chart than Hagel.
- boilermaker100

I will let DOH! clarify, but I believe he has Highmore in the AHL and Hagel beating him out.

I for one, would love to see Highmore and Hagel on a 4th line together. Those puckhounds would be a pain in the butt for opposing dmen.

All locked down and everyone inside. We have a very good watchdog (not a guard dog). A couple week supply of paper products and a full fridge. We're good.

Regarding the trade with NJ, keep the 3rd round draft pick and bundle Fortin with the other 2. Hawks have enough 4th liners.
- Rota's Rooter

Good to hear you and the family are safe and healthy, Rota!

Like the signings but don't think Jersey would make that trade
- HamiltonHawk

Agreed. I mentioned Miles Wood in the blog and I think if he could regain his scoring touch (had 19 goals in 2017-18) and his physicality, he could be a more realistic addition.

I do think DOH! is on to something though with the quality of scorer that Palmieri is.

CHI had trouble scoring at times last year and a guy like Shaw was brought in to help with secondary scoring but he might be done (or traded in DOH!'s scenario), the Hawks could use another weapon in the top 6 IMO.

Decent proposal. Trades are always hard to gauge but this proposal is fairly realistic.

The one piece that's hard for all of us to capture would be European and college free agents. I think Stan will dip into this market, more so with a European FA or two.

I will let DOH! clarify, but I believe he has Highmore in the AHL and Hagel beating him out.

I for one, would love to see Highmore and Hagel on a 4th line together. Those puckhounds would be a pain in the butt for opposing dmen.
- Tyler Cameron

I like the idea of Highmore and Hagel centered by Carpenter on the 4th line. Those are the type of 4th line makeups on opposing teams that burned us last year. JC needs to stop dropping down top 6 wannabes into that role.

It's fun being an armchair GM, but this off season will be a real headache for the real GM's.

There are so many things up in the air for them to decide how to shape their rosters for next season. To name a few:

Will play begin again sometime in the next couple of months and when will the playoffs end starting the start of the off season?

What is the cap amount for next year?

Will there be a compliance buyout or two?

When is the start of free agent signings?

When will NMC's kick in this off season for players that have that written into their contracts?

Long time lingerer, nice work on the blog!

My 2 cents is that this season is done and not coming back, if it does, I would be estatic, but don't think its realistic to expect that.

If this is indeed the case, all of those TDL acquistions for rentals are going to be tough for some teams to swallow. The picks for pending FA's are going to only benefit the teams that were sellers vs buyers, unless something is done by the league due to the circumstances.

Long time lingerer, nice work on the blog!

My 2 cents is that this season is done and not coming back, if it does, I would be estatic, but don't think its realistic to expect that.

If this is indeed the case, all of those TDL acquistions for rentals are going to be tough for some teams to swallow. The picks for pending FA's are going to only benefit the teams that were sellers vs buyers, unless something is done by the league due to the circumstances.
- gringointoronto

Welcome aboard. I hope you stay & post more. Nice input. Be safe & the same for my other posters.

Nice blog, TC. I enjoy your work & how you generate discussion. Thanks for the extra work during the quarantine.

I believe it is imperative for the Hawks to get off to a good start next season. We integrated how many rookies and new players last year? I would tinker around the edges, make sure the goaltending situation is solid, and see what this team has.

Yes buy out Smith, I would trade Matta if we could get another UFA veteran D for less money for a year. As mentioned, going to be real hard to be a real GM with so much unknowns, like the salary cap next year, UFA signing window, draft date, etc.

Even if you changed that third to a first jersey would have to seriously think about it.

Long time lingerer, nice work on the blog!

My 2 cents is that this season is done and not coming back, if it does, I would be estatic, but don't think its realistic to expect that.

If this is indeed the case, all of those TDL acquistions for rentals are going to be tough for some teams to swallow. The picks for pending FA's are going to only benefit the teams that were sellers vs buyers, unless something is done by the league due to the circumstances.
- gringointoronto

Welcome aboard. I agree. What would happen if a team playing in the playoffs has a player or coach test positive for COVID-19. Do both teams need to be quarantined for 14-21 days? That would be a disaster. For this reason I can't see them coming back.

Also, if a city is a "hotspot", and has "shelter at home" ordinances in place, and one team does not, how would that work? Would they play all the games in the non lockdown cities?

Long time lingerer, nice work on the blog!

My 2 cents is that this season is done and not coming back, if it does, I would be estatic, but don't think its realistic to expect that.

If this is indeed the case, all of those TDL acquistions for rentals are going to be tough for some teams to swallow. The picks for pending FA's are going to only benefit the teams that were sellers vs buyers, unless something is done by the league due to the circumstances.
- gringointoronto

Welcome aboard. I agree. What would happen if a team playing in the playoffs has a player or coach test positive for COVID-19. Do both teams need to be quarantined for 14-21 days? That would be a disaster. For this reason I can't see them coming back.

Also, if a city is a "hotspot", and has "shelter at home" ordinances in place, and one team does not, how would that work? Would they play all the games in the non lockdown cities?

Not sure what it would take from our end but I’d love to bring in a guy like Josh Anderson from cbj. Had his injury troubles this year but when healthy I think he brings a lot of what we’re missing and he seems to be available for the right price. There arent a lot of guys left with his combination of skill/physicality that could slot anywhere on the hawks lineup.

The thing with New Jersey is they are in a very different situation where they expectations errupted with Subban and Hughes adds...

They need some NOW soon results.

...and help in Goal and room to grow some of the kids maybe even one of the earlier prospects they will draft soon.

So it seems like their GM and staff have lots to decide and the direction with all factors determines if the want a Shaw or how to wisely keep their fan base seeing them in a positive light AND getting some big improvement.

I just think if Kyle Palmieri is a guy the Devils send packing, they can do well to shop around because they can do better....

Agree with the notion that this season will not be finished (quotes aren't working).

One thing no one is talking about but maybe should be - what about next season?

Say a working vaccine is ready next March (this is an optimistic schedule). How long until everyone is vaccinated? A month? More?

What happens next Fall? Say a team member gets COVID-19, you'd have to shut the whole team down. This would have a disastrous ripple effect to the schedule and everything would be wrecked.

Even if we flatten the curve and reduce cases, this virus won't be entirely gone. There will be outbreaks and hot spots cropping up.

Even with an effective anti-viral treatment, it won't go away entirely.

The 2020/2021 season may be jeopardy.

Rocky and Jerry have converted United Center to a PPE supplies distribution center and it may also be tapped by the Governor, Mayor, and Army Corps as a temporary overflow hospital (or worse). Given that, pretty sure this season is called off unless NHL decides it would rather have the playoffs when they resume and a half season in 2020-21.

In meantime, for your listening pleasure, Toews is interviewed on John Scott's podcast. Sounds like he is in Chicago for the quarantine (and maybe a lot longer given border closure).

https://podcasts.apple.co...419742734?i=1000469680816

Long time lingerer, nice work on the blog!

My 2 cents is that this season is done and not coming back, if it does, I would be estatic, but don't think its realistic to expect that.

If this is indeed the case, all of those TDL acquistions for rentals are going to be tough for some teams to swallow. The picks for pending FA's are going to only benefit the teams that were sellers vs buyers, unless something is done by the league due to the circumstances.
- gringointoronto

Thanks for posting gringoinTO... please chime in more often.

The thing with New Jersey is they are in a very different situation where they expectations errupted with Subban and Hughes adds...

They need some NOW soon results.

...and help in Goal and room to grow some of the kids maybe even one of the earlier prospects they will draft soon.

So it seems like their GM and staff have lots to decide and the direction with all factors determines if the want a Shaw or how to wisely keep their fan base seeing them in a positive light AND getting some big improvement.

I just think if Kyle Palmieri is a guy the Devils send packing, they can do well to shop around because they can do better....
- wiz1901

Palmieri would definitely bring a 1st back for NJ at TDL next season.