It is about the return relative to the asset given up. Perhaps you are right, but you don't deal one of the best defensive defensemen in the game with three cups under his belt at age 30 and receive back, after three years, a wannabe 2nd pair guy (who has not proved it consistently) and a throw-in that is/was garbage.

If Murphy becomes that clear 2nd pair guy this year, we can talk. And I'm talking legit 2nd pair in the league, not 2nd pair because the Hawks blue line is trash (aka the last two years). Murphy is nowhere near the PK asset that #4 was, and that has to be part of the litmus test.
- jrsamu

#4 was very good at what he did but still a 2nd pair guy on a cup team. We're not talking Norris Trophy here. Sold high he's just about worthless trade value now.

FWIW, when we're discussing Coach Q playing Murphy, we aren't talking about last season. Coach Q was fired November 6th. Murphy was activated form the DL December 8th.

Q played Versteeg over Vermette in a playoff game. Q often had strange line ups in games 1-4 of playoff series. Like he was just trying to see what happened.

Hossa covered up a lot of Qs mistakes.

We’ll see how Q does in Florida. Just like Tallon. How good of a coach is Babcock in Toronto without Datysuk and Zetterberg ?

Coaches get too much credit sometimes . IMO
- mrpaulish

I, for one, am thrilled that Versteeg will be at the Rock. I think it's a smart move to bring back a proven veteran to show work ethic and compete at the AHL level. SHould be plenty of hungry kids trying to prove their way into the Big Club lineup. If I recall Versteeg's "prime" - (2011-2013, before injuries), he could dangle/skate/snipe but was tenacious and had a high compete level. Perfect fit for the minor league club.

One thing I will say is that regardless of how our expectations for the season will differ from fan to fan, it’s exciting to me as a fan to see the infusion of youth and talent over the last two years that we haven’t seen in over a decade.

We rode the coattails of our NHL roster for so long that we didn’t put much stock in our [underachieving] draft picks over the years because we just had Stan round out the roster on the fly.

But now that we’ve got the likes of Strome, DeBrincat, Dach, Nylander, Boqvist, Beaudin, Mitchell, Kurashev on the horizon of taking the reigns from 19, 88, 2, and 7, it’s going to be really bittersweet to see the turning of the chapter in Hawks history as the baton gets passed from one generation to the other.

That’s why I’m taking everything in stride and enjoying as much of the current core as I can, because before we know it, they’ll be gone.

I, for one, am thrilled that Versteeg will be at the Rock. I think it's a smart move to bring back a proven veteran to show work ethic and compete at the AHL level. SHould be plenty of hungry kids trying to prove their way into the Big Club lineup. If I recall Versteeg's "prime" - (2011-2013, before injuries), he could dangle/skate/snipe but was tenacious and had a high compete level. Perfect fit for the minor league club.
- phantasmo

Thanks Mr. Versteeg. 🤣

- DarthKane

Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby is fantastic. Adding Aidan Gillen as Aberama Gold in season four was a super move and made it the best season yet.

I hear season five is done, with Tom Hardy gone there will be some new blood including Sam Claflin, Emmett J Scanlan and Anya Taylor-Joy. Not sure how they top season four.

Sorry, go ahead and carry on with hockey stuff.

#4 was very good at what he did but still a 2nd pair guy on a cup team. We're not talking Norris Trophy here. Sold high he's just about worthless trade value now.
- rpeters01

Did you see his stat line last year, % of d-zone possessions, how often he was out against the top line and work on the PK? And keep in mind he did so on a poopty Arizona team where most of the other d-men were big time minus in the plus/minus 5v5 world. Agreed that selling high was the right move. The return was far from high.

Overall, the Hawks should be a much more exciting team to watch this year, because they should still be able to score, and now they can defend better with better goaltender depth. Whether it is enough in a brutally tough division, we'll see. But no question that they have improved for 19-20, Jokiharju deal or not.

Babcock is the most overrated coach in NHL history and I will take that thought with me to the grave.
- TommyHawk

1000% agree.

Q played Versteeg over Vermette in a playoff game. Q often had strange line ups in games 1-4 of playoff series. Like he was just trying to see what happened.

Hossa covered up a lot of Qs mistakes.

We’ll see how Q does in Florida. Just like Tallon. How good of a coach is Babcock in Toronto without Datysuk and Zetterberg ?

Coaches get too much credit sometimes . IMO
- mrpaulish

Non of us may like a number of things Quenneville did but he is a Hall of Fame coach. Coaches get too much credit by some not enough by others.

Saying Hossa covered up Q's mistakes is a very easy generalization but without specific examples it just becomes another BOD narrative.

Like it or not Quenneville was the right coach at the right time for the Blackhawks.

Babcock is the most overrated coach in NHL history and I will take that thought with me to the grave.
- TommyHawk

100% agreed

he hasn't won a series in Toronto.

But hey....that ego is nice for the Canadian media to cater to.

Well
When you start cranking the numbers and look at cap room and order of importance to fit under the cap.....it gets dicey quick.

Saad taking a 1 million raise for maybe 5-6 years (which may be too long) is possible. Saad wanting 8+ million for what he brings? Nope.
- SteveRain

Depending on the season Saad has that’s a problem they probably deal with next off season. Too many variables to predict at this point.

Probably - players have to get it done, but coaches need to put them in the right positions / systems / situations to succeed.

As for Q’s strange lineups in games 1-4 of series - he must have been doing something right, considering his Blackhawk teams record in games 4-5-6 of tournament series.

Phil Jackson was a great coach with the Jordan / Pippen teams that were supposed to win. They did. But he probably would not be the coach for a rebuild.

Same with Q - he won with teams that should have won (most coaches don’t / can’t) - but not the right coach for the current Hawks. Maybe Miami...?
- StLBravesFan

why do you say he wasn't the right coach for the team now?

Did you gather this information on him being weak in character when you were playing with him, coaching him or when you had your long interview with him and people associated with him through his teams?
- PatShart

nope none of the above, but you know different from how well they've both done

Bless your heart

I missed the take on Hawks beat writers yesterday...

I can't stand Lazerus. pompous @ss hat. I like Powers a lot, and now with Lazerus on the athletic beat I try hard not to listen to their pod cast or read anything Lazerus writes. hopefully he gets shipped back to ny

You can also throw Uncle Barry Rozner in there....complete mouth piece and takes the most asinine stands....Trent Yawney, Benball Ben Christensen....I used to exchange a lot of emails with the late/great Tim sassone and he was no fan of Uncle Barry swooping in and writing a predetermined slam piece that Sassone had to navigate around.

Chicago media will be a better place once those two are gone.

Non of us may like a number of things Quenneville did but he is a Hall of Fame coach. Coaches get too much credit by some not enough by others.

Saying Hossa covered up Q's mistakes is a very easy generalization but without specific examples it just becomes another BOD narrative.

Like it or not Quenneville was the right coach at the right time for the Blackhawks.
- paulr

Q also played Mashinter over both Vermette and TT in the first 2 games against Predators. He had a soft spot for big people with low skills, Mashinters and Bolligs of the league. This would have costed 2015 cup if not for Darling heroics plus Shea Weber going down in that series. Luck was on Q side in 2015.

Non of us may like a number of things Quenneville did but he is a Hall of Fame coach. Coaches get too much credit by some not enough by others.

Saying Hossa covered up Q's mistakes is a very easy generalization but without specific examples it just becomes another BOD narrative.

Like it or not Quenneville was the right coach at the right time for the Blackhawks.
- paulr

agreed....human nature to have favorites....bowman has/had them, and Q does as well.....

They were the right pair and should have walked out together.....

Non of us may like a number of things Quenneville did but he is a Hall of Fame coach. Coaches get too much credit by some not enough by others.

Saying Hossa covered up Q's mistakes is a very easy generalization but without specific examples it just becomes another BOD narrative.

Like it or not Quenneville was the right coach at the right time for the Blackhawks.
- paulr

agreed....human nature to have favorites....bowman has/had them, and Q does as well.....

They were the right pair and should have walked out together.....

A lot of you guys are selling Murphy short IMO.

The guy came back from a serious injury and did a huge amount of the dirty work on D for the team as they turned the season around. He took a lot of the Dzone draws and faced a lot of the other teams top guys so that Ketih/Gus could get the Ozone time. He took the brunt of the PK minutes, playing physical, blocking shots and most of this was with him playing on the ice with a guy who ceiling seems to be AHL D-man as a partner and with the poop coverage the forwards provided.

He chips in a 5 goals and 8 assists in the shortened season which was okay on top. I'm not saying he is perfect, but the guy did a lot last year without much support. Entering his prime years at 3.85 per year, he is one guy they need to keep. Trading him would be a capital "M" mistake IMO, unless the perfect deal came around.

Give him a decent partner and he can play in the top 4 for any team in the NHL.

Ice time, IMO does not equate to consistency

He and Dahlstrom were assigned to be "shut down pair" by JC...and, well, not sure which one of those two heads were further up their own azzess but if others saw "improvement" in him, so be it. I think he is so unaware of play around him and hes always the one on the ice when stretch passes occur behind him but he tries hard, which I understand it's all about the trying and image

I'm sure JC will keep shoving him out there and Seabrook will remain the whipping boy
- PatShart

Did you gather this information on him being weak in own azzess when you were playing with him, coaching him or when you had your long interview with him and people associated with him through his teams?

Both Perlini and Anisimov are listed for the Hawks Convention. Pretty interesting, especially that Perlini is listed and unsigned.

A lot of you guys are selling Murphy short IMO.

The guy came back from a serious injury and did a huge amount of the dirty work on D for the team as they turned the season around. He took a lot of the Dzone draws and faced a lot of the other teams top guys so that Ketih/Gus could get the Ozone time. He took the brunt of the PK minutes, playing physical, blocking shots and most of this was with him playing on the ice with a guy who ceiling seems to be AHL D-man as a partner and with the poop coverage the forwards provided.

He chips in a 5 goals and 8 assists in the shortened season which was okay on top. I'm not saying he is perfect, but the guy did a lot last year without much support. Entering his prime years at 3.85 per year, he is one guy they need to keep. Trading him would be a capital "M" mistake IMO, unless the perfect deal came around.

Give him a decent partner and he can play in the top 4 for any team in the NHL.
- breadbag

if he isn't stable back there they could be in trouble....2/7 are declining....56 is all offense.

5 has to make the leap this year, and if not.....happy trails...….

Habs sign F Joel Armia to a 2 year contract with an AAV of $2.6M. Armia was scheduled to have his Arbitration hearing on July 20th.

Non of us may like a number of things Quenneville did but he is a Hall of Fame coach. Coaches get too much credit by some not enough by others.

Saying Hossa covered up Q's mistakes is a very easy generalization but without specific examples it just becomes another BOD narrative.

Like it or not Quenneville was the right coach at the right time for the Blackhawks.
- paulr

Excuse the ignorance, but I have been meaning to ask for a while, what is BOD?

Question.......Why isn't Brandon Hagel talked about more as a possible Hawk forward this year? He is basically the same age as Nylander. He puts up points everywhere he goes. Maybe Tyler or Wiz can give some feedback on his chances? He seems every bit as productive as any other prospect we have available. For that matter, Entwhistle as well, he seems like a more experienced Dach, big body, hard worker. Are either of these two guys a possiblilty for the big boy team this year?
- Gary0301

My darkhorse to make the team is Entwhistle, supposedly a coaches dream.