I posed this question on JJ's other thread (sorry if some of you already saw it)

Why haven't we heard an announcement yet on the releasing of Mike Kitchen? I think this is the easiest move they can make at this time in the offseason.

Are they waiting for the Finals to be over with so as to not take focus away from the teams who are still playing?
- powerenforcer

Bet the brass is trying to avoid any knee jerk reactions that appear to scapegoat any one person. But if I was Rocky...i'd have booted Kitch to the curb YESTERDAY.

So you're going to trade a stay at home defenseman and your best defensive forward all in the name of getting better defensively?

There's no way in Hell the Hawks are signing Suter. Oh sure, i'm sure they'll be interested. it's good press to be interested. Hell the Hawks were "interested" in a lot of players at the deadline. Jeff Carter, Ales Hemsky, and others. But they're not signing Suter.

First of all, there's the whole outspending other teams thing, and Stan has "outspent" a GM when??????????? Anybody?????? BEULLER?????????? He hasn't. And I doubt he will.

Because the one thing Stan bowman has yet to do, and one of my pet peeves about him, is he NEVER admits mistakes. And signing Suter would be admitting that Brian Campbell was a giant mistake. And while Suter is a better player than Campbell ( albeit not as much as people think.) that's not the point. Stan said the ONLY reason he traded Campbell was that in this day and age, you can't afford to have a 7 million dollar defenseman on your second pair. And now we think he's going to go out and contradict everything he believes?

Again, would love to wind up being all wet about this, but this ain't happening. Just like Jeff Carter was never happening. I'm sure there will be talk. There might even be interest. But money will talk in the end. And unless McD comes down and plays one of his power "whatever it takes" moves, which, given the CBA, I think Suter goes somewhere else and Bowman gives a very disingenuous "we tried" to the media on July 1.
- yahoodi

Basically I'm in agreement with you about Suter but if you look at the Hawks salary structure and commitments it makes you wonder just what they may have up their sleeve:

5 players on EL contracts under $1.0M - Kruger, Shaw, Hayes, Leddy, Olsen (and Bollig coming off an expiring EL - not in line for much of a raise if he stays).

3 Players signed for under $1.0M - Stalberg, Bickell, Carcillo.

Huet's contract is up; Brunette, O'Donnell, Lepisto all gone; Mayers probably gone. Only real dog contract is Olesz.

If they don't/can't resign Oduya and he goes that leaves Frolik, Crawford, Montador, Bolland and Hammer making between $2.3M - $3.5M which is pretty average money these days.

I think they plan to spend somewhere even if it isn't on Suter.

You guys have to much money locked up in secondary scoring... You should have Toews Kane Hossa being paid 5 mil plus in the forwards, thats all... Get rid of Sharp or Hossa. Clear some space, because your cap space isnt being spent in the right places. You should have that money in either a 2c or a solid d man or a goalie.
- Bar-South

The Leafs sure are spending their money wisely...

$4.75 for Tim Connolly ?

$4.5 mil for Mike Komisarek ?

BUMS.

I feel Danault being a shut down guy is about par with people who thought Kruger would be a legitimate second line center last year. Which he was serviceable at at times but didn't do anything special to win the job either.

Danault was also moved to wing last year. Can he win a face off? Can he compete with the Throntons, Keslers, Sedins or Datsyuks in the league? Sounds to me like another little guy who tries really hard. Which is fine (See Shaw) but doesn't address any of the gaping holes in the roster and not a good gamble for an organization with Stanley Cup aspirations.

Again, back to my rationale that they will introduce us to 2-3 more rookies next year and plan to make a run two years down the road.

Unless they make a move for a BIG power forward or a LEGITIMATE 2C with a strong second pairing defender it is a "transition/rebuild" year again IMO.
- fattybeef

From the few games that I saw Danault play in Rockford at the end of the season, it appeared to me that he didn't look out of place taking faceoffs. Actually, he looked pretty good at the dot. Also, I was impressed with his two-way play, and really didn't look out of place or position when on the ice.

Also, from what I saw of Danault, I don't think he's ready to make the jump to the NHL yet. As far as I'm concerned, both he and McNeill could still use another year in Junior. Unless either one of those two are really lighting it up in training camp and in preseason, that's exactly where they will be next season.

Anyways, it seems Bowman is high on the idea of Saad being in Chicago next season, and with Kruger, Shaw and possibly Jimmy Hayes being there as well I would think that should cover the 2-3 rookies you're talking about.

I could see Danault being in Chicago starting in '13-'14 taking over for Bolland, unless he's really showing that he is ready to go for this season.

So you're going to trade a stay at home defenseman and your best defensive forward all in the name of getting better defensively?

There's no way in Hell the Hawks are signing Suter. Oh sure, i'm sure they'll be interested. it's good press to be interested. Hell the Hawks were "interested" in a lot of players at the deadline. Jeff Carter, Ales Hemsky, and others. But they're not signing Suter.

First of all, there's the whole outspending other teams thing, and Stan has "outspent" a GM when??????????? Anybody?????? BEULLER?????????? He hasn't. And I doubt he will.

Because the one thing Stan bowman has yet to do, and one of my pet peeves about him, is he NEVER admits mistakes. And signing Suter would be admitting that Brian Campbell was a giant mistake. And while Suter is a better player than Campbell ( albeit not as much as people think.) that's not the point. Stan said the ONLY reason he traded Campbell was that in this day and age, you can't afford to have a 7 million dollar defenseman on your second pair. And now we think he's going to go out and contradict everything he believes?

Again, would love to wind up being all wet about this, but this ain't happening. Just like Jeff Carter was never happening. I'm sure there will be talk. There might even be interest. But money will talk in the end. And unless McD comes down and plays one of his power "whatever it takes" moves, which, given the CBA, I think Suter goes somewhere else and Bowman gives a very disingenuous "we tried" to the media on July 1.
- yahoodi

Because's a privileged A S S HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLE.

Sad to see Bergevin go after 7 years with the Hawks' front office. I thought if Stan was canned, he'd definitely be in line to take the job and do well there. Good luck to him in Montreal, they got a very smart hockey guy.

Ryan Suter. Here's a thought: if you sign him to a deal similarly structured to Keith's, at maybe a 5-5.5 cap hit, you've got Keith, Seabrook and Suter anchoring a defence for the next 5-7 years at least, which is the strongest trio in the league by a mile. You've also got an organization that is very deep in bottom pairing prospects on defense like Lalonde, Johns, Clendening, Olsen, Holl, Lavin and of course Leddy.

You've also got a situation where the cap will likely continue to rise year over year regardless of what comes of the new CBA.

So...you've got about 17 million committed to 3 defensemen, and another 23 million or so in the "fantastic 4" (Toews, Kane, Sharp, Hossa). That's 40 million committed to 7 players over the next 3 years at least.

Add to that Crawford, Emery, Leddy, Montador, Olsen, Shaw, Hayes, Bollig, Bickell, Carcillo, Kruger, Stalberg, Frolik, and maybe Ben Smith all back for at least next season, if not beyond.

Assuming a cap of 65 million, that leaves about 6.5-7 million to find some size up front, a good penalty killer or two at forward and a bottom pairing defenseman to fill out the roster. I just don't see how that's possible unless coming out of the CBA negotiations, we have a 70 million dollar cap, or you count on a guy like Kyle Beach or Jeremy Morin coming in next season and being the "size" up front, which I don't think anyone would be comfortable with.

And we haven't discussed the Bolland/Hjalmarsson trades that would need to happen to facilitate all this.

Too many "IFs" in order for Suter to be a Hawk next season if you ask me.

So have the shin pads of forwards on 29 other teams...

Sometimes I wonder if he's gonna stop and have a coffee and a Danish before he tees it up. Wow !!

Should just send DK a tape of the dozens of times Savvy was on the half boards and fed Willie for one of his Howitzers as he faded from the point to the deep slot. No d!cking around, no over-thinking, just moving to an open lane and one-timing it. Of course it helped Rocky was right in front of the goalie and Grandpa was there on the off-wing.
- blackhawk24

Loved the 80's Hawks.

Because's a privileged A S S HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLE.
- philco28

Just curious...when was the last time anyone saw ANY GM admit his mistake publicly? Not gonna happen in any market that cares.

From the few games that I saw Danault play in Rockford at the end of the season, it appeared to me that he didn't look out of place taking faceoffs. Actually, he looked pretty good at the dot. Also, I was impressed with his two-way play, and really didn't look out of place or position when on the ice.

Also, from what I saw of Danault, I don't think he's ready to make the jump to the NHL yet. As far as I'm concerned, both he and McNeill could still use another year in Junior. Unless either one of those two are really lighting it up in training camp and in preseason, that's exactly where they will be next season.

Anyways, it seems Bowman is high on the idea of Saad being in Chicago next season, and with Kruger, Shaw and possibly Jimmy Hayes being there as well I would think that should cover the 2-3 rookies you're talking about.

I could see Danault being in Chicago starting in '13-'14 taking over for Bolland, unless he's really showing that he is ready to go for this season.
- EKolb13

EK...Danault looks pretty lanky to me. Your thoughts ?

Bet the brass is trying to avoid any knee jerk reactions that appear to scapegoat any one person. But if I was Rocky...i'd have booted Kitch to the curb YESTERDAY.
- philco28

I hope that's still going to happen here in the next couple of weeks.

Just curious...when was the last time anyone saw ANY GM admit his mistake publicly? Not gonna happen in any market that cares.
- andru2797

True, but it sure would be nice to see SOMEONE man the phuck up and just say..."i was wrong." It would make them much more human and appealing...IMHO, with the caveat that such mistakes are kept to an absolute MINIMUM.

EK...Danault looks pretty lanky to me. Your thoughts ?
- philco28

I don't think he's ever going to be a big guy. From what I saw of him, he reminds me of Bolland. He's a tough competitor and I can see him being a real headache for opposing teams. Looks to be defensivley resposible and looks to have a good two way game. He skates pretty well. He appears to know what he's doing at the dot. I think he'll be a good faceoff guy. He seems to adapt well to what's going on when he's on the ice.

I could see him being the Hawks shutdown center of the future.

True, but it sure would be nice to see SOMEONE man the phuck up and just say..."i was wrong." It would make them much more human and appealing...IMHO, with the caveat that such mistakes are kept to an absolute MINIMUM.
- philco28

Well, here's the thing. If say Stan Bowman comes out publicly and admits he shouldn't have signed this guy or that guy, or that he made a mistake in not acquiring a specific player at the deadline, or that he didn't shore up certain positions, then he instantly alienates all of his own players, and most of the UFAs out there, if not all.

Not a good idea for a GM. Need to remember that he still needs to attract players and if they know that there is a chance their "market value" aka their potential to earn a living playing in the NHL is impacted negatively by a GM saying that he made a mistake with them, then they won't want to sign with that GM's team in the first place.

I don't think he's ever going to be a big guy. From what I saw of him, he reminds me of Bolland. He's a tough competitor and I can see him being a real headache for opposing teams. Looks to be defensivley resposible and looks to have a good two way game. He skates pretty well. He appears to know what he's doing at the dot. I think he'll be a good faceoff guy. He seems to adapt well to what's going on when he's on the ice.

I could see him being the Hawks shutdown center of the future.
- EKolb13

Wouldn't it be nice if Danault pans out to be just that, and Beach finally figures it out...a Beach-Danault-Shaw checking line would look great.

Sad to see Bergevin go after 7 years with the Hawks' front office. I thought if Stan was canned, he'd definitely be in line to take the job and do well there. Good luck to him in Montreal, they got a very smart hockey guy.

Ryan Suter. Here's a thought: if you sign him to a deal similarly structured to Keith's, at maybe a 5-5.5 cap hit, you've got Keith, Seabrook and Suter anchoring a defence for the next 5-7 years at least, which is the strongest trio in the league by a mile. You've also got an organization that is very deep in bottom pairing prospects on defense like Lalonde, Johns, Clendening, Olsen, Holl, Lavin and of course Leddy.

You've also got a situation where the cap will likely continue to rise year over year regardless of what comes of the new CBA.

So...you've got about 17 million committed to 3 defensemen, and another 23 million or so in the "fantastic 4" (Toews, Kane, Sharp, Hossa). That's 40 million committed to 7 players over the next 3 years at least.

Add to that Crawford, Emery, Leddy, Montador, Olsen, Shaw, Hayes, Bollig, Bickell, Carcillo, Kruger, Stalberg, Frolik, and maybe Ben Smith all back for at least next season, if not beyond.

Assuming a cap of 65 million, that leaves about 6.5-7 million to find some size up front, a good penalty killer or two at forward and a bottom pairing defenseman to fill out the roster. I just don't see how that's possible unless coming out of the CBA negotiations, we have a 70 million dollar cap, or you count on a guy like Kyle Beach or Jeremy Morin coming in next season and being the "size" up front, which I don't think anyone would be comfortable with.

And we haven't discussed the Bolland/Hjalmarsson trades that would need to happen to facilitate all this.

Too many "IFs" in order for Suter to be a Hawk next season if you ask me.
- andru2797

If you're talking about those nifty lifetime contracts that circumvent the cap, forget it. The league has already frowned upon those deals, and I'm sure when the next CBA is done, they won't happen again. If I'm not mistaken, I think there is talk about limiting the number of years a team can hand out to a player for a contract for the CBA.

I don't think he's ever going to be a big guy. From what I saw of him, he reminds me of Bolland. He's a tough competitor and I can see him being a real headache for opposing teams. Looks to be defensivley resposible and looks to have a good two way game. He skates pretty well. He appears to know what he's doing at the dot. I think he'll be a good faceoff guy. He seems to adapt well to what's going on when he's on the ice.

I could see him being the Hawks shutdown center of the future.
- EKolb13

Nice capsule EK...always appreciate your observations, especially on the prospects since you see them live. I've heard nothing but good things about him. Number one theme about Danault: He's got THE HEART OF A LION.

Well, here's the thing. If say Stan Bowman comes out publicly and admits he shouldn't have signed this guy or that guy, or that he made a mistake in not acquiring a specific player at the deadline, or that he didn't shore up certain positions, then he instantly alienates all of his own players, and most of the UFAs out there, if not all.

Not a good idea for a GM. Need to remember that he still needs to attract players and if they know that there is a chance their "market value" aka their potential to earn a living playing in the NHL is impacted negatively by a GM saying that he made a mistake with them, then they won't want to sign with that GM's team in the first place.
- andru2797

Good point Dru...but it's all tied to performance. Brunette DID NOT produce. PERIOD. Whether it was Q who wanted him or Stan Bum is a question i'd like the answer to...but if Bowman brought in a guy and the player failed to live up to expectations...the onus should be on the GM to admit he whiffed. The P.R. repercussions are irrelevant to me.

Problem is they're not going to move either of those guys w/o a notable amount of salary coming back is my guess.

What are the 'Hawks going to do, deal Bolly & Hammer for picks and/or low level prospects? That's the only way the $6.875M is pulled from the books.
- blackhawk24

Considering the Hawks, should they pull this sort of move, would still be approximately $7M under the cap as it stands today. Should it go up, the Hawks would have no problems. Big if there!

The Hawks, according to Capgeek, have 20 players currently on the roster for next season, while being $6.8M under the cap, so they definitely could add the pieces they need by trading those two guys. It all depends on if they want to trade for the pieces they need, or sign UFA's like Campbell, Kelly, Carkner, Konopka type players to reasonable contracts. All of which would be coming in around $800K-1.5M with raises...maybe a bit more for Campell.

If you're talking about those nifty lifetime contracts that circumvent the cap, forget it. The league has already frowned upon those deals, and I'm sure when the next CBA is done, they won't happen again. If I'm not mistaken, I think there is talk about limiting the number of years a team can hand out to a player for a contract for the CBA.
- EKolb13

I'm aware of that, but I think a deal that's say 8 years long, and front-loaded with say 8 million in the first 3 years and 5 million in the final 5 for example would result in a 6.1 million dollar cap hit, which I don't think circumvents anything.

Wouldn't it be nice if Danault pans out to be just that, and Beach finally figures it out...a Beach-Danault-Shaw checking line would look great.
- andru2797

I'm still skeptical on Beach. Sure, he came back from injury and had his head in the game and played decently. He did the same thing at the end of the '10-'11 season, and after getting off to a quick start, he feel back into his same routine of not giving a poop about the game or the team, and then got injured.

At this point, I think the Hawks may hold onto him. If he can show consistant play throughout next season in Rockford, maybe he can be considered a prospect again.

Marc Bergevin to become the Habs new GM

http://www.chicagotribune...-20120501,0,2786635.story