They didn't just give Faber to the kings, they got Fiala back who has posted 72,73 points the last 2 years with the Kings. Both teams got what they wanted. Good for Faber taking advantage of his opportunity. If he was still with the Kings, he probably would be their 6th defenseman right now.
- LAHawk

Thanks for the correction LA, forgot about that part. Maybe tied up with that awful DuBois trade.

KD did make a big push to get Guentzel over the off-season but we lost out to TB. Similarly, for next year he tried getting the Demidov pick but couldn't give up enough.

Does this mean we go all-in on Marner next summer to play with Bedard?
- Popsghostly

Is this true, or is this like the Cubs, who always seem "in" on the big free agents, but never land them because in reality the team is not going to spend the money, but it is good PR to say you were "in" on the top fre agents.

Is this true, or is this like the Cubs, who always seem "in" on the big free agents, but never land them because in reality the team is not going to spend the money, but it is good PR to say you were "in" on the top fre agents.
- LAHawk

It's been reported in several places, so I'd give it more credence than an E4 from Ek.

No! Marner has proven he’s not a playoff performer.

Stay the course and sign that big Free Agent when Davidson knows what the team needs and when taking on an older player fits with the timeline of the guys who are drafted and are on the roster. Marner will be 28 next season. The majority of upcoming prospects won’t be making the Hawk roster for two to three years. Marner will be 30-31 making $15M on a 7 year deal and still won’t be a playoff performer. Not sure I see the fit other than to appease a few impatient fans?
- paulr

Think that's what I was getting at about Marner. Doesn't stop my Pops from talking about it and how much he hates both KD and LR. As to KD maybe that's for not making Kaner a Hawk again.

Never mentioned that Detroit was a team to model after.

And no they did not. You're not reading my posts.

My point is none of these teams were poopty on purpose except for the Penguins and they were all very quickly competitive again. NONE of them had a 5 year playoff drought after they drafted their best player. Zero. They had a 1 in 5 or one in 6 year run but none were sustained awfulness.

They were all organically bad for 2 years, did not waste those picks, got into the playoffs immediately with the previous core and then decided you know what we need to retool because this just isn't working - got another 2 or 3 years of picks and went at it again.

Other than the Blackhawks and Penguins - all the other teams that built "through the draft" have done it that way the last 20 years. And to win their other Cups the Hawks and Penguins had to have significant roster turnover between them. Unless we want to talk about LA or Vegas where they went out and bought everyone but no one here wants to do that.

Sure it may take 10 years to win a cup but it shouldn't take 5 to get into the playoffs.
- fattybeef

You keep repeating this but i got to keep repeating this, no team has been this aggressive in a rebuild and because of it they are real bad right now, they basically started from scratch. They ditched all their top 6 forwards and top 4dmen other than 1. Going into the 26-27 season I'm really curious where this org will be. I have a feeling you will see a transfer in power the teams that are cellar dwellars right not half of them will most likely be pushing out teams that have been going to the playoffs for years.

Is this true, or is this like the Cubs, who always seem "in" on the big free agents, but never land them because in reality the team is not going to spend the money, but it is good PR to say you were "in" on the top fre agents.
- LAHawk

As good as he is, I wouldn't gamble $700M on Shoeni Otoeni (sp) either.

As good as he is, I wouldn't gamble $700M on Shoeni Otoeni (sp) either.
- rpeters01

Winning the World Series is so overrated.

Winning the World Series is so overrated.
- LAHawk

Back to back, but it took many years for them to win the world series. The Yankees have an unlimited budget and they just can't seem to win one since George left the team.

My bad not back to back

Back to back, but it took many years for them to win the world series. The Yankees have an unlimited budget and they just can't seem to win one since George left the team.
- BetweenTheDots

They one the first year they signed Otani. With TIX sales, swag, endorsements, etc. he alreay has paid for his contract.

The buzz Otani has generated is much bigger than Fernandomania.

That sounds great, but there are far too many variables to consider to plan for that (injuries, luck, hot goalie, etc). I think the best you can do is build a balanced roster with players who play a fast, aggressive, high event game. Build as much depth as you can and hope that a couple of the guys you select turn into offensive monsters. They seem to have at least one offensive monster. They have a lot of lottery tickets for the second. They also have a lot of possible really good to great D-men.

Beyond that, go out and get what you need. I am very comfortable saying that if the Hawks want to wait for all of their prospects to turn into NHL players, it will be a complete waste of time and they will take far longer to get competitive.

The funniest thing for me... the goaltending is the steadiest position for this team at the moment.
- Chunk

If you're the GM or the President and your goal isn't doing what it takes to win multiple cups, you are in the wrong job.

Never said they shouldn't go out and get what they need, my only point was they in my opinion they needed to start from scratch. If you are asking me about rebuilding when Stan was in charge, that may be different, but that ship had sailed.

I have no problem with them trading a youngster or picks for Brady Tkchuk or overspending on Ranntenan.

Just saying it had to be taken down to the bare bones and completely started over.

If you're the GM or the President and your goal isn't doing what it takes to win multiple cups, you are in the wrong job.

Never said they shouldn't go out and get what they need, my only point was they in my opinion they needed to start from scratch. If you are asking me about rebuilding when Stan was in charge, that may be different, but that ship had sailed.

I have no problem with them trading a youngster or picks for Brady Tkchuk or overspending on Ranntenan.

Just saying it had to be taken down to the bare bones and completely started over.
- vabeachbear

I’d steer clear of Ranntenan strictly because of age. He’d be 30-31 by the time the prospects are in the lineup then you’re looking at the downside of his career before the team is ready to make a push to contender. Now Tkachuck on the other hand …. The cost would be steep but could be a difference maker.

If you're the GM or the President and your goal isn't doing what it takes to win multiple cups, you are in the wrong job.

Never said they shouldn't go out and get what they need, my only point was they in my opinion they needed to start from scratch. If you are asking me about rebuilding when Stan was in charge, that may be different, but that ship had sailed.

I have no problem with them trading a youngster or picks for Brady Tkchuk or overspending on Ranntenan.

Just saying it had to be taken down to the bare bones and completely started over.
- vabeachbear

I'm not arguing this at all, and I agree. My point is that doing what it takes to win multiple cups is what we all just got done yelling at Stan about. Then the Hawks were out of prospects and picks and they bottomed out.

Great, they tore the whole thing down and started from scratch. They had more cap space left over than any other team the last couple years. Why not use some of that to bring in players that aren't throwaways and AHLers? I'll give them one year of tanking to get Bedard (even though I loathe the practice), but after they landed him, KD should have started to at least started to surround him with competence. Last year and this one are quite a waste in my eyes.

The balance that needs to be struck is when a player's contract demands outsize their performance and utility, they need to move on. That means keeping enough draft picks and prospects developing so that they can eventually supplant those that leave. A tightrope for sure, but one that must be walked to stay relevant for a long time.

You keep repeating this but i got to keep repeating this, no team has been this aggressive in a rebuild and because of it they are real bad right now, they basically started from scratch. They ditched all their top 6 forwards and top 4dmen other than 1. Going into the 26-27 season I'm really curious where this org will be. I have a feeling you will see a transfer in power the teams that are cellar dwellars right not half of them will most likely be pushing out teams that have been going to the playoffs for years.
- BetweenTheDots

Columbus, Anaheim. San Jose and Chicago have been drafting well and their respective GM appear to be making solid moves. We could get a glimpse of our betterment, our future when some prospects receive SOME time in the NHL next season. Perhaps as early as the season after next Rinzel too will be in the NHL. Moore and Greene could become good players although not necessarily L1 producers. We know some other prospects have the goods but will it transfer to the NHL level? DK the answer but hopefully at least two out of three forwards drafted in ‘25 and ‘26 should become L1 forwards.

Columbus, Anaheim. San Jose and Chicago have been drafting well and their respective GM appear to be making solid moves. We could get a glimpse of our betterment, our future when some prospects receive SOME time in the NHL next season. Perhaps as early as the season after next Rinzel too will be in the NHL. Moore and Greene could become good players although not necessarily L1 producers. We know some other prospects have the goods but will it transfer to the NHL level? DK the answer but hopefully at least two out of three forwards drafted in ‘25 and ‘26 should become L1 forwards.
- jhawk59

Even with good draft choices KD construction job not finished. We need a power forward and probably a veteran scorer to go with all the kids. Hopefully we will be ok in net

Winning the World Series is so overrated.
- LAHawk

Haha.

The Cubs were all in on him though. Even the in-laws in Japan said the news there was mentioning the Cubs as a serious suitor especially with Suzuki and Imanaga.

He always wanted to be a Dodger anyway though.

If you're the GM or the President and your goal isn't doing what it takes to win multiple cups, you are in the wrong job.

Never said they shouldn't go out and get what they need, my only point was they in my opinion they needed to start from scratch. If you are asking me about rebuilding when Stan was in charge, that may be different, but that ship had sailed.

I have no problem with them trading a youngster or picks for Brady Tkchuk or overspending on Ranntenan.

Just saying it had to be taken down to the bare bones and completely started over.
- vabeachbear

Yes, they needed to rebuild. The prospect pipeline was below mediocre. The team tried to retool on the fly multiple times without any real progress. The vets/good players we had didn't want to be here through a rebuild and they tried rebuilding around them and failed enough times.

The goal right now for the team is to build for long term success and to have a pipeline of young players ready to step up and fill in holes as they come up. That is primarily done via the draft. That has costs to it, which was tearing down the team and turning that back around takes time. Even more considering the state of the teams D core when KD took over. Rebuilding the D takes even longer. If it was so easy to go out and "buy" or trade for good D, lots of teams in win now mode would have done it.

IMO there is very little value in overpaying even more for "better" UFA players right now to build a team that still won't be a contender and might land us with a bad contract down the road. I mean, make no mistake, Bedard is not ready for playoff hockey. We aren't 2-3 higher profile signings away from being a top team.

Does KD want to be saddled with bad contracts when Bedard is age 23-26 because he handed out money when he was 18-19 when they weren't going to win anything anyway? All of a sudden they are probably stuck with one or more expensive 30+ players who is struggling/under-performing and he has to give up young players as sweetner to move them. There is a lot of competition for guys in their prime and they aren't lining up to join a rebuild. The Hawks would seriously have to pay in term to an older guy and/or money to a younger guy.

We need the young pieces to build around to be NHL ready to have the foundation to build from. We have 1 bonified star player right now and that's it. I would be worried if we had 3 budding star players and we weren't trying to legitimately build around them, but we don't yet.

The goal isn't to try to luck into a Cinderella run when Bedard is young, it's to build a team that will be great while he is in his prime. I'd much rather they build the team to avoid having to tear down and rebuild so much during his prime years when he will actually be a difference maker and maybe able to win some championships.

14 million for Rantanen.

In all seriousness I'd rather see them pay 3 guys 2.5 million then give Donato 4 or 5.
- fattybeef

I expect them to move Donato at the deadline. The $2 mill cap hit is cheap enough for someone to bite. Coach's son having a career year. Fifth team at age 28.

They need to keep cycling through players. Some will be busts. Some will turn into fixtures. Some will develop enough to be traded at the deadline for more swings at the pinata.

Even with good draft choices KD construction job not finished. We need a power forward and probably a veteran scorer to go with all the kids. Hopefully we will be ok in net
- jhawk59

Your comment about a power forward reminds me of some thoughts watching guys like Kurashev get rubbed out along the boards often, I think just how much we miss guys like Toews, Hossa, Saad, etc who could fight through a check along the boards those couple times a game, come out of it with possession of the puck and make a play to create a good scoring chance. We've got a few guys who can fight through a check, but they have a lack of speed/skill to do much with the puck. It would be nice to find a long term piece or two that has that ability to protect the puck and the skill to do something with it. It can be tough to find that kind of piece to the puzzle.

I expect them to move Donato at the deadline. The $2 mill cap hit is cheap enough for someone to bite. Coach's son having a career year. Fifth team at age 28.

They need to keep cycling through players. Some will be busts. Some will turn into fixtures. Some will develop enough to be traded at the deadline for more swings at the pinata.
- 333inthe3rd

Adding to the last part, the ultimate cycle through example was when the Habs added Sean Monahan plus a 1st in exchange for future considerations, and eventually traded him away for a 1st.

Your comment about a power forward reminds me of some thoughts watching guys like Kurashev get rubbed out along the boards often, I think just how much we miss guys like Toews, Hossa, Saad, etc who could fight through a check along the boards those couple times a game, come out of it with possession of the puck and make a play to create a good scoring chance. We've got a few guys who can fight through a check, but they have a lack of speed/skill to do much with the puck. It would be nice to find a long term piece or two that has that ability to protect the puck and the skill to do something with it. It can be tough to find that kind of piece to the puzzle.
- breadbag

And that’s why KD drafted Boisvert, Vanacker, Spellacy, Mustard and Henry last draft. Big physical guys who thrive in the trenches.

And that’s why KD drafted Boisvert, Vanacker, Spellacy, Mustard and Henry last draft. Big physical guys who thrive in the trenches.
- paulr

I thought we already established those guys were busts though...

Fine then it's 2. It certainly isn't one. The tear down started when they moved Hagel for 2 picks and 2 bodies.
- fattybeef

The tear down ended the minute Bedard was drafted 1yr and 23ish games ago.

I thought we already established those guys were busts though...
- Chunk

I keep forgetting…..

I thought we already established those guys were busts though...
- Chunk

We did. The moment the Hawks drafted them!

It's been reported in several places, so I'd give it more credence than an E4 from Ek.
- Chunk

Yes but this doesn't support the narrative that KFC is in over his head; and even though he has a plan, needs to scrap said plan to make the Hawks better today. Because!