We really shouldn't be laughing at the Maple Leafs but it really is too hard to resist.

From their jersey and refreshment sales at home games they could fund the annual deficits of teams like Florida, Arizona and New Jersey. But they can't figure out a way to put a winner on the ice.
- RickJ

Oh I don’t mind laughing at it. They deserve it. The arrogance of just thinking they can spend all this money and lock up all these guys and not win…..too bad. Especially now when their top earning guys are mostly no shows come playoff time.

The other teams you listed I don’t disagree with.

It really comes down to 1 question, are we a better team with Seth Jones or without? Stan made this team significantly better, hate to say it because i am a big fan of Keith's, by trading for a younger player in the wee stages of his prime who's going to chew up 25 minutes a night and be hard to play against.

And there isn't many guys out there who can put Tom Wilson on his ass.
- BetweenTheDots

Can he put Marchand on his ass as well? 👍🏻

I hated seeing Boqvist, the 2021 1st round pick, 2022 1st round pick and the 2021 2nd round pick go. Almost as much as I hate the $9.5 million X 8 years extension.
- DarthKane

The Jones trade is going to be impossible to ever convince you haters of.

Either you’ll hang on to the picks and give said players an infinite amount of time to pan out and/or you’ll hang your hat on his deal. Guy has no chance already and he’s never played a game. Remarkable.

The fact that they make so much money is the reason they aren’t motivated to win. You Steve and I could play on a line and the team would make a fortune on sales of our jerseys and bobble head dolls.
- paulr

Hahaha. You’re likely right.

If we were in Boston we’d also sell a poop ton of t shirt jerseys as well.

Yes, And big 4 directional skating top pair right handed defenseman that actually play solid all around game are hardly on the market.
A GM decides when they come on market if their team's current need / pipeline is in need, and goes from there to get in the discussions.

I just go back to how exceptionally solid Jones looked before getting selected.
I don't the he lacks offensively ability.
It is tough to try a gauge the contract before you see the on ice results to the team.
- wiz1901

By the narrative of some on this board they acquired Boris Mirinov, signed him to a lifetime deal, and gave up picks that cost them the right to draft the next Crosby, Keith, and ovechkin. Because all picks materialize into franchise building blocks.

Truly remarkable. May need to go do my own research and see if I can dig through previous drafts of 1st round picks but then it still won’t matter if it’s proven it’s less than 40% success rate picking at 12 and likely middle teens next year because minds are already made up.

The Jones trade is going to be impossible to ever convince you haters of.

Either you’ll hang on to the picks and give said players an infinite amount of time to pan out and/or you’ll hang your hat on his deal. Guy has no chance already and he’s never played a game. Remarkable.
- SteveRain

I don’t mind Jones, I just don’t like the deal. The club still have a lot of holes and that’s a lot to give up for a d-man who, while good, may not move the needle that much. Plus, the hefty contract doesn’t help the team’s long term cap flexibility. I could live with either the extreme price OR massive contract, but not both.

I’ll still cheer for Jones and want him to succeed, he can’t be held accountable for the trade or contract.

For 21/22 the collective impact of McCabe, Fleury, Johnson and the continued development of Kurashev, Dach, Hagel, Stillman and Kalynuk will contribute more than Jones. It would have been nice to have included Boqvist in the mix too.

I don’t mind Jones, I just don’t like the deal. The club still have a lot of holes and that’s a lot to give up for a d-man who, while good, may not move the needle that much. Plus, the hefty contract doesn’t help the team’s long term cap flexibility. I could live with either the extreme price OR massive contract, but not both.

I’ll still cheer for Jones and want him to succeed, he can’t be held accountable for the trade or contract.

For 21/22 the collective impact of McCabe, Fleury, Johnson and the continued development of Kurashev, Dach, Hagel, Stillman and Kalynuk will contribute more than Jones. It would have been nice to have included Boqvist in the mix too.
- DarthKane

I just briefly went through 2007-2021 1st round picks and there are as many names I’ve never heard of as there are guys I immediately recognize. There a crap ton of bad misses. BY a wide range of teams. I think at best it’s a little better than 60% a 18 yr old hits the lofty goal of ever reaching his level.

I also noticed a ton of 1st round picks bowman took fliers on via trades….quenneville, koekkoek, dehaan, leddy, Connolly, Murphy, maata, subban, zadorov, Dano, Perlini, strome, nylander, and borgstrom….how many of those guys have actually panned out for the hawks? Murphy and leddy….and the rest? No gm would trade 2 of those guys presently and a random 2nd for Seth Jones and another fringe nhl player.

Those guys range all over the board. Koekkoek was drafted 10th!!!!

I get the price was steep but let’s look at this way….do we trust Stan and their staff to draft people because lately they aren’t lighting it up with their own picks and all these guys I am assuming his scouts and analytical guys loved.

As far as the money argument…..toews isn’t resigning for 10.5 Aav when his deal is up. If they do that, bowman should be fired on the spot. I love toews but he’s no where near that money now. You also freed up Keith’s, and seabrooks long term hits as well. So Jones slides in as a new core piece, likely debrincat, and Kane again. Leaves room for him to find other pieces.

I get it but the draft pick argument holds little water for me. The money is valid but out of the 8 years I am hopeful 5 or 6 are wins for the hawks.

IMO hawks are in far better shape than Toronto or Edmonton who have young stars but have multiple 10+ aav deals.

I don’t mind Jones, I just don’t like the deal. The club still have a lot of holes and that’s a lot to give up for a d-man who, while good, may not move the needle that much. Plus, the hefty contract doesn’t help the team’s long term cap flexibility. I could live with either the extreme price OR massive contract, but not both.

I’ll still cheer for Jones and want him to succeed, he can’t be held accountable for the trade or contract.

For 21/22 the collective impact of McCabe, Fleury, Johnson and the continued development of Kurashev, Dach, Hagel, Stillman and Kalynuk will contribute more than Jones. It would have been nice to have included Boqvist in the mix too.
- DarthKane

The jury is still out on Boqvist so you are really complaining about one f'ing draft pick in reality.

Good points all around.

Another perspective to think about is that Jones' performance could improve if he has a supporting cast not only as his partner but also on the other pairs to help carry the load at both ends.

That's a tall order, though, so that could amplify the probability of him gripping his stick tighter and not perform up to his potential because of the pressure to be the #1 on the team and compensate for weaker D mates.
- Theo Fox

So Werenski isn’t a good partner or supporting cast member? In fact Werenski was better than Jones and probably the #1 over Jones. I will err on the side of LBR’s statistical analysis (i.e. Science) and see Jones as a mistake. A big expensive mistake.

So Werenski isn’t a good partner or supporting cast member? In fact Werenski was better than Jones and probably the #1 over Jones. I will err on the side of LBR’s statistical analysis (i.e. Science) and see Jones as a mistake. A big expensive mistake.
- Diamondhands

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics." I'll take Mark Twain over your science

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics." I'll take Mark Twain over your science
- rpeters01

Sorry, not an original Mark Twains quote. It was an anonymous from a British news paper in 1891. But the jist of the reference stands. Lets see what we have on the ice before we start arranging jump spots on the ledge.

New blog! A look at whether the Blackhawks coaching staff has job security or is on borrowed time as the team recalibrates its direction from rebuilding to fast tracking.

Plus, thoughts on Riley McKay and the IceHogs team toughness.

https://bit.ly/2VMLwtV

So Werenski isn’t a good partner or supporting cast member? In fact Werenski was better than Jones and probably the #1 over Jones. I will err on the side of LBR’s statistical analysis (i.e. Science) and see Jones as a mistake. A big expensive mistake.
- Diamondhands

My post was only looking at Jones in relation to who he'll be playing with in Chicago and not taking a deeper look at who he played with in Columbus.

With that said, your argument is true that Werenski was a solid partner for Jones and many argue he carried Jones for quite some time.