Shane Wright is a true center which would make sense for the Hawks but highly doubt Seattle would give up on him now. That's what Hawks need in there system true centers Boisvert and green seem to me the only two but I might be missing someone. And this whole thing winger/ center make my eyes roll your either a center or not same with a winger your either a winger or not. It's nice to have versatility but imo its one or the other.
- Scott1977

I saw Wright a few times at Coachella Valley. He is not spectacular but is extremely solid. Very good defensively and makes the right play’s in the offensive zone. especially since his coaches with the Firebirds have been promoted to the big club, IMO Wright is a lock to make the Kracken this year.

Parekh, Sennecke and Catton sign ELCs. So it's back to Juniors, the parent club, or the magical mystery tour for them next season.

And Caleb Jones signs with the Kings.

Jaxson Stauber signed on with Utah. So probably he will break out and get a shutout against us next year.

Jaxson Stauber signed on with Utah. So probably he will break out and get a shutout against us next year.
- breadbag

I’m fully convinced that the only thing you can really scout with goalies is the fundamentals. The end result is so dependent on team fit, mental state, moon phases and voodoo magic that it’s a 50/50 shot at best.

JFresh has the Hawks with 77 points this year, a 25 point improvement than last year. Still last in yhr central, 4th worst in the league.

JFresh had the Hawks with 67 points last year

JFresh has the Hawks with 77 points this year, a 25 point improvement than last year. Still last in yhr central, 4th worst in the league.

JFresh had the Hawks with 67 points last year
- LAHawk

I hope this year is an underestimate, as opposed to last year's overestimate.

JFresh has the Hawks with 77 points this year, a 25 point improvement than last year. Still last in yhr central, 4th worst in the league.

JFresh had the Hawks with 67 points last year
- LAHawk

FWIW, Tankathon has them 5th behind San Jose, Cloumbus, Anaheim and Calgary.
6-6-6-6-6

I always look at the GF and GA number to go by how a team performs. GF = GA could get you in the high 80's to low 90's point range.

Last year Hawks had 179 GF and 290 GA. You would think Bertuzzi and TT would account for around 40. Maybe a healthy Hall gets 15 more. Then there's added production from Bedard, maybe 10-15 goals. Kurashev stays about the same at 18. Reichel hopefully up his totals and accounts for T. Johnson's 17 goals. I doubt if D!ckinson or Foligno match their 22 and 17 from last year, but let's say the new bottom 6 and D-men score about the same. So 70 more goals.

Defense should improve with better back up goaltending and better depth in Brodie and Martinez over Megna, Tinnordi and Zaitsev. Call it 30 less goals.

Have to factor in injuries, but in a perfect world maybe 250 GF and 260 GA this season. That probably gets them 80-85 points and around 7-10th from the bottom.

Ben Pope bit and now the future of the franchise has been circumvented to a conservative original six type philosophy when the Hawks are simple saying come in don't exp-ect a job, just WIN one!

Anyboidy with a brain knows Lil Frankie will come in ready for an 80 game pro schedukle and that he can help at the NHL level.

There are 95 days untiul we start back up.

I am spending my free time reading Fredik Backman's swedish small toewn hockey novel, Beartown soon to be adapted for HBO, and the just released Lisa Jewell novel about suiper hero Jessica Jones in Breaking the Dark that takes place after the Purple Man messed with her mind in the Netflix series now on Disney?

I gotta read them before DeathSantis bans them. (that was reality not political, wads.)
- wiz1901

Free country America, you oculd move out of Fl

I hope Tinordi lands in a place where he can help somehow. Dude goes to the mat for his club every time out. He'll brawl first game back from a busted jaw. ....... At 32 yrs old with only 200 NHL games and 430 AHL games he's very easy to root for.
- Mr Ricochet

Just not here!

What did they do the other years?

I didn't say anything about their overall talent - I said they don't have high end talent. And they don't. They don't have any dominating players. They have a bunch of guys who are pretty good and were certainly disappointing this year.

There isn't anyone on that roster you'd take over Tkachuk or Barkov especially. Or MacKinnon or Rantanen.

If Thompson strings together 4 +PPG seasons between now and when he turns 31 that would be neat but there isn't a lot in his history to say he is anything more than an inconsistent big guy who would be great as a secondary player on a good team but I don't think is who you want as your No. 1.

Maybe Granato was a moron and some of that stuff improves with Ruff but I don't see any kind of top tier player there. Some pieces that would be nice secondary adds - Thompson is more at the Nichushkin level then MacKinnon. Which is fine - but thats a big part of why they're at where they're at.
- fattybeef

they are cursed or something. i don't see them much, but with all that talent, they should be at least cracking the playoffs. You think they'd be able to shut everyone down with that D.

Something tells me the rating of their players is on paper and not on the ice

FWIW, Tankathon has them 5th behind San Jose, Cloumbus, Anaheim and Calgary.
6-6-6-6-6

I always look at the GF and GA number to go by how a team performs. GF = GA could get you in the high 80's to low 90's point range.

Last year Hawks had 179 GF and 290 GA. You would think Bertuzzi and TT would account for around 40. Maybe a healthy Hall gets 15 more. Then there's added production from Bedard, maybe 10-15 goals. Kurashev stays about the same at 18. Reichel hopefully up his totals and accounts for T. Johnson's 17 goals. I doubt if D!ckinson or Foligno match their 22 and 17 from last year, but let's say the new bottom 6 and D-men score about the same. So 70 more goals.

Defense should improve with better back up goaltending and better depth in Brodie and Martinez over Megna, Tinnordi and Zaitsev. Call it 30 less goals.

Have to factor in injuries, but in a perfect world maybe 250 GF and 260 GA this season. That probably gets them 80-85 points and around 7-10th from the bottom.
- boilermaker100

5-2-5-1-6

JFresh has the Hawks with 77 points this year, a 25 point improvement than last year. Still last in yhr central, 4th worst in the league.

JFresh had the Hawks with 67 points last year
- LAHawk

If Bedard stays injury free I think they break 80.

JFresh has the Hawks with 77 points this year, a 25 point improvement than last year. Still last in yhr central, 4th worst in the league.

JFresh had the Hawks with 67 points last year
- LAHawk

Imo 65 to 70 points is where I have the Hawks finishing. Most likely top 10 pick again. Plus injuries will happen so we will see what happens. Also think Davidson is not done improving this roster, a possible trade before training camp could happen.

they are cursed or something. i don't see them much, but with all that talent, they should be at least cracking the playoffs. You think they'd be able to shut everyone down with that D.

Something tells me the rating of their players is on paper and not on the ice
- vabeachbear

I just think they are young, that dcore is really going to be good especially if they get forwards who are going to be hard to play against, 300 GA in 22, 244 GA last year, get Samuelsson back, they are so close, man if they signed Pesci....

Powers @ The Athletic total on :
"Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson didn’t come out and say all that Friday, but it’s apparent he understood last season wasn’t the ideal development situation for the future. His hands were a bit tied with where he put Korchinski last season, but it’s also arguable the Blackhawks defensive group wasn’t good enough to support Korchinski.
Regardless, Davidson’s long-term plan hinges on the development of Korchinski, those other young players and many more, and last season wasn’t the perfect development environment for his prospects at the NHL or AHL level. To be fair, injuries played a part in that as well."
So Martinez, and "less-so" TJ Brodie are the added tutors?

Does this developmental fate of KK get decided in the preseason games or do they have him hang around until they see lack of growth (or loss of confidence) and send him down as the season starts rolling?

You have to think they would love to love to bring their new Belarussian toy up from Rockford, because he simply is not out of place with the NHL journeymen opposition. Yeah, and I think they all are in agreement he won't go back to school.


You know what is REALLY refreshing?

After all thise years of being Blackhawk fan under the Wirtz-Norris families, who never got that when the on-ice product was bad, you didn't try and make one splash at a new add, but take the cash and make a flash, and Kyle and the "new" ownership leaders saw the one ice product and realized the kid needs us and the fans need us to ice a team that isn't a transition heap of crap to get another high draft pick; next year's pre-draft will hopes to win the lottery but be comfortable with where ever the first of the two picks lands.
They won't come in the drfat with as many bullets as they were afforded this year to wheel a couple deals to secure a 3rd first by using those seconds.

They will wait for luck to be with them at the lottery.
It'll come with less lottery balls and odd, but still a chance for luck.

I will not start stating any opinions in the strength of the top tiers this early.
https://www.lines.com/nhl/drafts/2025

We do know that the Toronto 1st rounder and the Blackhawk first rounder are going to be in decent enough draft tiers that if wheeler - dealer Kyle returns, he may try another climb.
(I guess we found out quickly why he was more than willing to trade Columbus for the Demidov pick - slot, as they revamped their roster with thickness that probably would have seen the Bluejackets gets two hawk picks and not the a large chance of the Columbus winning the lottery with that unprotected pick.)

I am predicting that the Dallas second rounder and the Hawk second rounder with not be in the more advantageous second round slotting that the Hawks were in this time, so less capital to send elsewhere for a bigger splash on top.

You wonder what Kyle will be able to do, as he may want less new prospects to have to eventually find room for on his 50 player negotiations list.

After being asked, "No goalie?" Kyle said, 2025 is the better crop.

I would love to see him plant a flag early in the net fortification...he can trade up, use his Leaf second first, or even move up by trading his seconds, but I think that will be a integral part of the build...more possible strengt down the middle in net.

These are the youngsters to watch and don't treat their heights as negatives as the can sprout and fill in:

Joshua Ravensbergen Canada 6’ 4” 180
Ondrej Stebetak Czechia 6’ 1” 172
Isak Sorqvist Sweden 6’ 0” 177
Elijah Neuenschwander Swiss 6 4 185
Pyotr Andreyanov Russian 6’ 0” 205
Love Harenstam Sweden 6’ 1. 185
Gabriel D’Aigle Canada 6’ 4” 209
Jack Ivankovic Canada 6’ 0” 156
Wesley Jefferson Swint II USA 6’ 1”. 176

FWIW, Tankathon has them 5th behind San Jose, Cloumbus, Anaheim and Calgary.
6-6-6-6-6

I always look at the GF and GA number to go by how a team performs. GF = GA could get you in the high 80's to low 90's point range.

Last year Hawks had 179 GF and 290 GA. You would think Bertuzzi and TT would account for around 40. Maybe a healthy Hall gets 15 more. Then there's added production from Bedard, maybe 10-15 goals. Kurashev stays about the same at 18. Reichel hopefully up his totals and accounts for T. Johnson's 17 goals. I doubt if D!ckinson or Foligno match their 22 and 17 from last year, but let's say the new bottom 6 and D-men score about the same. So 70 more goals.

Defense should improve with better back up goaltending and better depth in Brodie and Martinez over Megna, Tinnordi and Zaitsev. Call it 30 less goals.

Have to factor in injuries, but in a perfect world maybe 250 GF and 260 GA this season. That probably gets them 80-85 points and around 7-10th from the bottom.
- boilermaker100

Soderblom was terrible there's a 30 goal against improvement.

A little early for this ...but I bite ,and look:

Hawks

2 - 2 - 2 - 5 - 6


I am done with Tankathon until April now....

Free country America, you oculd move out of Fl
- vabeachbear

I hear Texas is nice.

I hear Texas is nice.
- mohel

Stirring it up I see. 😉

I hear Texas is nice.
- mohel

I lived in Texas for two years. But that was back when Jimmy Carter was the President. The happiest moment of my life was when I moved out. I like to read books, so I won't move to Florida.

Stirring it up I see. 😉
- paulr

I guess I could have said Texas and California, but Wiz said his was a non-political post.

@ByScottPowers

Levshunov’s rep Dan Milstein: “We had a highly productive meeting & several insightful phone calls w/the team & coaching staff at MSU. We are currently in the midst of a thorough process. Although there is no fixed timeline, Arty is expected to make a decision in the near future”

I lived in Texas for two years. But that was back when Jimmy Carter was the President. The happiest moment of my life was when I moved out. I like to read books, so I won't move to Florida.
- bjphawkfan

I'm glad you escaped.

@ByScottPowers

Levshunov’s rep Dan Milstein: “We had a highly productive meeting & several insightful phone calls w/the team & coaching staff at MSU. We are currently in the midst of a thorough process. Although there is no fixed timeline, Arty is expected to make a decision in the near future”
- DarthKane

I hear the first question was, "if I come back, do I have to go to class?".

I lived in Texas for two years. But that was back when Jimmy Carter was the President. The happiest moment of my life was when I moved out. I like to read books, so I won't move to Florida.
- bjphawkfan

Books are overrated.