Theo Fox: Why Stop There? A look at where the Blackhawks stand currently with the roster after a busy week of transactions, what could be in store moving forward, and how to evolve even more.

Plus, a brief look at 2020 5th rounder Isaak Phillips.

Hey first first! Theo, a big thanks for the content you are putting out. It’s outstanding. I feel so long as Stan is our Gm we will remain very average because he’s very average. He simply can’t stick to one plan. Let’s draft all small fast guys. No let’s draft all big tough guys. Let’s bring back all ex Blackhawks. Let’s bring in all failed first rounders etc. it’s exhausting. Just take a look at what Rick Hahn has done with the Sox. No, they haven’t won anything yet but it’s one plan and it seems to be on track.

Thanks for the great blog T, as always.
If the d-pairs go like that, who are the puck movers, pp-guys and offensive d-men? I assume Jones is one, but who are the others, especially if Kalynuk is not on the roster, which he absolutely should be. Who else has that in their game? C Jones?

The logjam at forward is pretty bad as it is. I would like Kurashev to play center or with GoJohnnyGo and Kubes. That could work. Strome out and Borgström to the 3rd line C and Entwhistle and Hardman to the 4th... Too many variables as it stands.

Would wish the Fleury thing was resolved earlier than later. He seems to be gone, so retire....or accept a trade.

No matter which he decides, I think Stan needs to take the 7 million and get a cheap vet goalie...not to play a pile of games, maybe 15 or so....but to help mentor Lankinen. With a vet, split could be like Lankinen 42...Subban 25....Vet 15. Or there-abouts. If they could get that vet at 2 million or so, that is 5+ million to maybe add a D-man and sign those last couple contracts with Hagel and Nylander. Not sure what the Hawks have in Cap space BEFORE they re-gain the Fleury amount, but it can't be much.

Anyway....just need Fleury to decide so we can finalize our last few moves!

Would wish the Fleury thing was resolved earlier than later. He seems to be gone, so retire....or accept a trade.

No matter which he decides, I think Stan needs to take the 7 million and get a cheap vet goalie...not to play a pile of games, maybe 15 or so....but to help mentor Lankinen. With a vet, split could be like Lankinen 42...Subban 25....Vet 15. Or there-abouts. If they could get that vet at 2 million or so, that is 5+ million to maybe add a D-man and sign those last couple contracts with Hagel and Nylander. Not sure what the Hawks have in Cap space BEFORE they re-gain the Fleury amount, but it can't be much.

Anyway....just need Fleury to decide so we can finalize our last few moves!
- hawk35

From what i can figure at the present, about 3.2 million in cap space, if they make full use of the Shaw LTIR. Sign Hagel and (for some reason) Nylander and we will be left with pocket change, if anything at all

Would wish the Fleury thing was resolved earlier than later. He seems to be gone, so retire....or accept a trade.

No matter which he decides, I think Stan needs to take the 7 million and get a cheap vet goalie...not to play a pile of games, maybe 15 or so....but to help mentor Lankinen. With a vet, split could be like Lankinen 42...Subban 25....Vet 15. Or there-abouts. If they could get that vet at 2 million or so, that is 5+ million to maybe add a D-man and sign those last couple contracts with Hagel and Nylander. Not sure what the Hawks have in Cap space BEFORE they re-gain the Fleury amount, but it can't be much.

Anyway....just need Fleury to decide so we can finalize our last few moves!
- hawk35

Why would there be three goalies, especially one of them Subban who is who he is and is likely not getting any better.

Good morning Theo and another nice write up. I have not seen C Jones play, however I have seen Kalynuk play and from what he showed he should absolutely be in the top six. I’m also high on Kurashev and would like to see him on the third line, he seems to be defensively responsible and battles along the boards, and then, that shot…

Nice write up Theo!

Lot of "ifs", but I like the look of your forward lines...

DeBrincat - Dach - Kane
Nylander - Toews - Kubalik
Johnson - Strome - Hagel
Gaudette - Borgstrom - Kurashev
Connolly - Khaira - Carpenter

If Toews is ready, If Nylander and Borgstrom realize their 1st round potential, If Dach is fully healed and can build on his performance in the bubble, if Dcat and Kubs keep growing their 200'games, etc...

And that's just the offense but I'm looking forward to S. Jones and McCabe in a Hawk jersey and hopefully a team that's fun to watch and tougher to play against.

A couple people pointed it out the other day but after the Murphy hit on Cernak early in the season, Tampa consistently took liberties with Hawk players during play and after the whistle with pretty much no pushback.

Thanks Theo for your excellent work.

An I reading between the lines, are you saying that Stan should maybe change coaches?

Thanks Theo for your excellent work.

An I reading between the lines, are you saying that Stan should maybe change coaches?
- powerenforcer

If so, who's waiting in the wings to replace JC? Marc Crawford would seem the likely choice. If the plan is to go all in this year, would they bring in Torts? He seems to be successful with a team early in his coaching stint before he wears out his welcome in year 3 or 4.

Boudreau is out there too, but I read he bought a piece of a junior team.

Nice write up Theo!

Lot of "ifs", but I like the look of your forward lines...

DeBrincat - Dach - Kane
Nylander - Toews - Kubalik
Johnson - Strome - Hagel
Gaudette - Borgstrom - Kurashev
Connolly - Khaira - Carpenter

If Toews is ready, If Nylander and Borgstrom realize their 1st round potential, If Dach is fully healed and can build on his performance in the bubble, if Dcat and Kubs keep growing their 200'games, etc...

And that's just the offense but I'm looking forward to S. Jones and McCabe in a Hawk jersey and hopefully a team that's fun to watch and tougher to play against.

A couple people pointed it out the other day but after the Murphy hit on Cernak early in the season, Tampa consistently took liberties with Hawk players during play and after the whistle with pretty much no pushback.
- HawkintheD

We need another proven top 6 winger. Are any of these feasible?

Tarasenko (50% retained) for Connolly and 3rd
Kessel (50% retained) for Connolly and Delia
Zucker + DeSmith for Fleury (50% retained) and Connolly
Domi (50% retained) for Strome

I would love to see a change in systems. Colliton is widely known as a bad defensive coach. I think Bowman brought in the really solid d-men he has to help get those shots against down.

Would be nice to dump Strome. Then, Johnson could center the third line, and you put someone like Kurashev on the other wing. There would be 3 lines that could score.

I think the MAF decision is slowing down Bowman at this point. He probably has Devin Dubnyk's agent on speed dial just in case he needs a plan B. Also, Dallas has a glut of goalies. They can't keep Bishop, Khodobin, and Holtby. I'm sure they are looking to move one of them. Not to mention they would probably love to see Oettinger get some playing time. Dallas has absolutely no cap space, so maybe Bowman trades basically nothing (Galvas?) to get one of them and hopefully gets a pick for his trouble too.

I would love to see a change in systems. Colliton is widely known as a bad defensive coach. I think Bowman brought in the really solid d-men he has to help get those shots against down.

Would be nice to dump Strome. Then, Johnson could center the third line, and you put someone like Kurashev on the other wing. There would be 3 lines that could score.

I think the MAF decision is slowing down Bowman at this point. He probably has Devin Dubnyk's agent on speed dial just in case he needs a plan B. Also, Dallas has a glut of goalies. They can't keep Bishop, Khodobin, and Holtby. I'm sure they are looking to move one of them. Not to mention they would probably love to see Oettinger get some playing time. Dallas has absolutely no cap space, so maybe Bowman trades basically nothing (Galvas?) to get one of them and hopefully gets a pick for his trouble too.
- biskit67

Signing of Holtby is very indicative of Bishop being injured and unable to play this season. And they would probably rather have Oettinger be a starter than a back up - hence he'll spend another season in the AHL

I would love to see a change in systems. Colliton is widely known as a bad defensive coach. I think Bowman brought in the really solid d-men he has to help get those shots against down.

Would be nice to dump Strome. Then, Johnson could center the third line, and you put someone like Kurashev on the other wing. There would be 3 lines that could score.

I think the MAF decision is slowing down Bowman at this point. He probably has Devin Dubnyk's agent on speed dial just in case he needs a plan B. Also, Dallas has a glut of goalies. They can't keep Bishop, Khodobin, and Holtby. I'm sure they are looking to move one of them. Not to mention they would probably love to see Oettinger get some playing time. Dallas has absolutely no cap space, so maybe Bowman trades basically nothing (Galvas?) to get one of them and hopefully gets a pick for his trouble too.

biskit67

Wouldn't they bring in a new defense coach? The HAWKS HAD No problems changing defense coaches under Q, why has Brookbank still have a job?

Hey first first! Theo, a big thanks for the content you are putting out. It’s outstanding. I feel so long at Stan is our Gm we will remain very average because he’s very average. He simply can’t stick to one plan. Let’s draft all small fast guys. No let’s draft all big tough guys. Let’s bring back all ex Blackhawks. Let’s bring in all failed first rounders etc. it’s exhausting. Just take a look at what Rick Hahn has done with the Sox. No, they haven’t win anything yet but it’s one plan and it seems to be on track.
- PitMartin7

You bet, Pit.

The Blackhawks need to forge one path and stick without. My gut is that they're postponing the youth movement by a year but still somewhat contributing to one by having the youngsters develop in the most appropriate places, i.e. NHL vs AHL.

It's something they should have done years ago with Jokiharju and Boqvist, to name key examples.

Yet, some also argue that a true rebuild toward a youth movement would have started with trading Toews and Kane many moons ago, trading Keith and Seabrook earlier, etc. to recoup as many high picks and top prospects as possible.

In that regard, the Hawks haven't really picked a lane and continue to either straddle or swerve between them.

there is no way they would send borgstrom down before connely or Carpenter. I think phillips might have a little higher ceiling then just bottom pair. for a 18 year old rookie to play that well in the AHL I kind of throw out the 5th round selection. he has size, and is a good skater. Is pretty good in both zones. But that is IMO. I still think they move Dehaan, CARP and Strome. Guys Nylander was 21 in his first year as a hawk and was 6th in both EV goals and EV assists in 12 mins of ice time. OFF he haf about the same year as Hagel who was 22 at time and Suter who was 24 and a better OFF year then kurashev who was 21. and he is bigger then all 3 of them. why Trade him for nothing lets give him some time to see if the off season got his body fixed and matured who compete level. his brother was never considered and huge compete type player but he has gotten better with that each year. Kalynuk starts opening Day and CDH gets sent down if you cannot find any takers IMO

"Just take a look at what Rick Hahn has done with the Sox. No, they haven’t win anything yet but it’s one plan and it seems to be on track."


My son had some dealings four years ago with the White Sox and Rick Hahn was in those meetings. My son was told by Hahn in 2017 that 18 and 19 they were not going to be very good. They would make some noise in 20, but watch out in 2021. So far so good. But the thing is they had to suck for a while to acquire the assets for that plan to work out. It's pretty much the same in hockey. But the current hawks brass doesn't have the stones to go through that process like Reinsdorf does. (kills me to say that).

Upfront there is going to be some exciting competition to who us going to stick. Looking at the Vets in the team up front, can there be better? All able to contribute the next 3-4yrs. Zero need to add vets in that time (barring injury)
Toews, Kane, Johnson- all cup winners. Same with Connolly at 29 if he stays. Carpenter is the only other F at 30yrs old. Last year of deal.

Now the remaining players/future core are all around 24 and younger. The only 4 locks identified for future top 6 IMO (look at age, skill, salary/control) are Debrincat, Dach, Kurashev and Reichel. Everything else is up for grabs/playing for roles. The other 2 may not be on the roster yet.

Kubilak is entering an interesting year. He's probably not getting much more from CHI so does he want to be here or want to get paid? That'll more determine what group he goes with (keeper or leaver)

Gaudette, Hinostroza and Suter were all told the same thing. Who wants this $1mil? At their age and the group up front, those 3 (with Carpenter) are fillers and essentially TDL bait or sooner.

Hagel, Strome, Borgstrom, Entswhittle, Hardman, Nylander, etc are all going to be rotated around until they fit a role on the ice AND financially. It's up to then tibfigure out where. Pk, PP, physical, 2 way, but thet better bring something to the table Some guys get moved based on agents wanting more money and ice time.

Think about the backend. The hope for Boqvist was to be a number 1. And they've sheltered him and he couldn't play 16min a game and stay healthy. Z was to be a physical, 26 yr old Dman on the PK. And the Mitchell the hopefully number 3 2way dman

Once Jones became available, he steps into what Boqvist was to be. Z immediately became expendable and McCabe out of nowhere slips into that role both physically, financially, age wise AND has spent years playing with Murphy and Jones. Not to mention an upgrade from Z. All leaders. All 27-28yrs old at the start of the season. 5-6yrs into their career right when Dmen begin to hit their stride.

So the trio of Boqvist-Mitchell-Beaduin is prob what the Hawks wanted Keith-Seabrook-Hjarllmarrson to be. And now Jones-McCabe-Murphy.

Yet the Hawks STILL have Mitchell and Beaudin. They can spend 3 more years in the AHL now until they hit this age and be ready. Until/unless they or their agents want out. So when they do get moved....its not always the GM.

But the core pieces of this team are starting to identify themselves and the competition on/off the ice looks much better today than before the Keihlth trade, set all this in motion.

Thanks for the great blog T, as always.
If the d-pairs go like that, who are the puck movers, pp-guys and offensive d-men? I assume Jones is one, but who are the others, especially if Kalynuk is not on the roster, which he absolutely should be. Who else has that in their game? C Jones?

The logjam at forward is pretty bad as it is. I would like Kurashev to play center or with GoJohnnyGo and Kubes. That could work. Strome out and Borgström to the 3rd line C and Entwhistle and Hardman to the 4th... Too many variables as it stands.
- FeatheredFinn

Of course, Finn.

Good question about who the puck movers are. I'd say the Jones brothers are but they're not in the same mold as Boqvist, Kalynuk, Mitchell, Beaudin, or even Krys. Besides Seth and Caleb, that's it. Kalynuk definitely adds that element.

PP will likely be 4 Fs + 1 D with those D quarterbacks being S Jones and hopefully Kalynuk otherwise replace him with C Jones. Not ideal.

This is where adding another veteran D free agent who is more of a puck mover (and affordable) could be on the wish list.

Either that or have Kalynuk plus Mitchell or Beaudin in the starting 6.

Good morning Theo and another nice write up. I have not seen C Jones play, however I have seen Kalynuk play and from what he showed he should absolutely be in the top six. I’m also high on Kurashev and would like to see him on the third line, he seems to be defensively responsible and battles along the boards, and then, that shot…
- Angotti

Thanks, Angotti.

I agree with you and FeatheredFinn that Kurashev should play on the 3rd line and possibly spot duty in the top 6 depending on who plays opposite Kubalik on Toews' line assuming Dach centers Kane and DeBrincat.

Nice write up Theo!

Lot of "ifs", but I like the look of your forward lines...

DeBrincat - Dach - Kane
Nylander - Toews - Kubalik
Johnson - Strome - Hagel
Gaudette - Borgstrom - Kurashev
Connolly - Khaira - Carpenter

If Toews is ready, If Nylander and Borgstrom realize their 1st round potential, If Dach is fully healed and can build on his performance in the bubble, if Dcat and Kubs keep growing their 200'games, etc...

And that's just the offense but I'm looking forward to S. Jones and McCabe in a Hawk jersey and hopefully a team that's fun to watch and tougher to play against.

A couple people pointed it out the other day but after the Murphy hit on Cernak early in the season, Tampa consistently took liberties with Hawk players during play and after the whistle with pretty much no pushback.
- HawkintheD

Thanks, D.

Those F lines are a good start. A few of them may not be around once training camp starts so the deck will be reshuffled a bit with some prospects in the mix.

I'm also looking forward to a top D pair of S Jones and McCabe.

If each player plays up to their potential, this could be a really good lineup top to bottom but that's a tall order.

Thanks Theo for your excellent work.

An I reading between the lines, are you saying that Stan should maybe change coaches?
- powerenforcer

You're welcome, PE.

Yes, either Colliton and crew adapt and change up systems, schemes, and strategies when things aren't going well or it may be time to look for a new coach.

I'd love to see the top 6 start as -
Debrincat - Johnson - Kane

The Team USA line! Johnson is better offensively as he took a lesser role the last few years to win Cups (with Pointe taking a bigger role). But he played a big defensive role under Cooper so Kane gets a 2 way C, that can keep up on the ice and with offensive creativity.

Dach/Kurashev - Toews - Kubilak

Dach and Kurashev are going to both love an learn a ton playing with Toews. I'd like to see either of them play wing this year and put up numbers. Work on getting thier offensive confidence going. Preferably start Dach here. I love Kurashev's game but wouldnt mind him and Reichel in Rockford to start.

But the bottom 6....is everyone else in a pool and battle royale away. Guys like Hagel, Khaira, Connolly who have motors and/or high compete levels are going to push the Strome and Nylander's to show up or out. Gaudette, Carpenter are going to compete like hell. They're at an age and salary where they're next contract is on the line.

I dont know, I think this is a solid situation they are now in - once Jones becoming available and they got him.

For the bottom 6..I think it's something now that's (battles per / line)
Hagel/Nylander - Borgstrom/Strome- Gaudette/Connoly

Khiara, Carpenter, Connolly will probably be the 4th line (pending trades) up to the 14th forward. Hardman is probably in this mix as well etc.

There still has to be a move or two left. I wonder how big at this point.

You're welcome, PE.

Yes, either Colliton and crew adapt and change up systems, schemes, and strategies when things aren't going well or it may be time to look for a new coach.
- Theo Fox

Thanks for the answer. Just wondering, how many coaches actually change their schemes, does it happen more/less in hockey than other sports?