And The Winds Begin To Howl...
by SamFels on Nov 4, 2009 1:34 PM CST
61 comments
So, saw this both on Hockey Buzzz (many grains of salt needed) and Kuc picked up today too.
It's obviously something we'll be hearing and dealing with all year. We all know the Hawks have to shed salary at some point and doing it as early as possible is a good idea when you're not so desperate. However, either Whitney or Brind'amour make no sense. We have too many forwards as it is, and Stan must know that. Plus, John Madden would be the better, not-completely-finished-as-a-player version of Brind'Amour.
Kaberle is interesting. He is what we would like Barker to be, but he makes $1 million more than Cameron and has one year left on his deal after this one, so he doesn't really clear up any salary. Unless he would be moved again this summer, which is possible. Joe Corvo is a wife-beating schmuck who's clueless in his own zone and does not belong here in anyway.
I'm tremble at the idea of moving Campbell. The Hawks don't have anyone else who can do what he can, and since being paired with Hammer his play has really been beyond reproach. Don't confuse Keith's speed with a similar skill-set as Campbell, and Duncs doesn't have near the hands or vision that 51 Phantom does. Barker can go depending on what returns I suppose, along with the development of Shawn Lalonde. But Lalonde is probably not going to be ready next year, so there'd be a gap.
As for who would go, I've made no secret that Buff would be my first choice, as I won't let one superb playoff series performance cloud my vision. I was ready to ship VERSTEEG! off before this year, but if this level of play continues, he is the Hawks second best playmaker and they don't have another one. This town would flood with tears if Sharp were to go, but we've been discussing his usefulness for days, and I really wonder if a lot of guys wouldn't flourish on Kane's wing.
Bowman needs to see what this team looks like when Hossa comes back (other than totally awesome). We also need to see what Toews and Bolland's long-term health outlook will be. We need to see if Sharp's floating act continues for a while or is just and early-season blip. It's too early to make a move, and I hope Stan knows that.
Oh, also, Captain Marvel was back on the ice today. Good news. Might play tomorrow then.
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trades??
Buff is fine with me as I do believe we can replace him within the system (even Akim Aliu or Troy “oh shit I have the puck” Brouwer, plus there are other big men are less expensive and likewise to buffs lovely contract) would be an option, rough as it may be or whatever in between rough patches may come from line fluency and rapport.
Barker I do not want to see go by any means, but in the interest of bringing in someone else, and the hopeful subtraction of the Kopecky salary if he doesn’t get going would make Kaberle a doable part. I do like Barker’s shot from the point but hate his defensive awareness against another teams top boys.
I absolutely love watching Dunc play, and after seeing him for over a year at Michigan State I have no doubt his abilities, but he has looked less able of late and still begs if he is 100%. I was at the game last year against Buffalo where he had his clock cleaned, I saw him against the “Wangs” in that onslaught game in the playoffs. He may be a little damaged. I hope not obviously but I am throwing it out there as it begs to be asked or noticed.
When it comes to obtaining anyone the Blackhawks may need a little help, which is already on the IR. Toews is awesome all around, its no secret he is a Cup kinda guy. Eager provides a perfect role on that 4th/3rd (sometimes) role of being a tough guy slash some flashes of his 1st round pick status.
Joe Corvo is a local guy. Maybe he could put it together, but I doubt it.
I love John Madden, if he continues his play it begs the question of what to do with him next year as he is making a HUGE difference.
My dad taught me three thing at my first hockey game at age 5:
Always buy the Blue Line..
Dino [Ciccarelli] is a queen-o
Detroit Sucks!!
HOW ABOUT SOPEL?
I say we trade him to some canadian team for a case of labatt blue and a box of tim hortons donuts.
Pain is a good reminder you are alive
by Bad Ass Burish on Nov 4, 2009 2:02 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
Let's make it Sleeman's Honey Brown
… and call it a day. Might be tricky to find someone willing to pick up this tab though.
"Call Detroit, tell dem... BULLSHIT!"
I would even settle for a case of moosehead
Pain is a good reminder you are alive
by Bad Ass Burish on Nov 5, 2009 11:58 AM CST up reply actions
while we're talking about moose
binny’s has a beer from montana called “moose drool”
not surprisingly
it tastes just like Moosehead.
by Crease Monkey on Nov 5, 2009 12:43 PM CST up reply actions
Sorry, but....
we are keeping (Matt) Mo(u)lson. He may be dorky looking, but he scores goals and he is a FOJT (friend of John Tavares). I keep thinking they ought to call Moulson—Tavares—Okposo the Golden Line, but it hasn’t caught on just yet.
I hate talking about this so early...
We’re a month in, we haven’t even seen our team at full-strength yet, and we’re already talking about taking this group apart. Yeah, I know we’ve always got salary-cap armageddon in the back of our minds, but I’d love to see this team—the one we have on paper right now—play together for a couple months and see how they gel together. See if Barker can learn to play defense again. See if VERSTEEG! can keep it up past Christmas. See if Sharp can produce when Kane isn’t on the ice. See if Hossa is really a 40-goal guy when he’s not in Scum’s “system”. And see if Kopecky can figure out what to do when he’s out there. It’s rare that I agree with Sam, but he’s right: It is way, WAY too early to make any moves. Let’s figure out what we’ve got first. Stop talking about trades. Stop it! Now!
by Preacher000 on Nov 4, 2009 2:27 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
Preacher...
You’re preaching to the choir. I hate thinking about this and I hate talking about this. Yes, I know the cap issues are real and must be dealt with. But even with the shortcomings of certain players, I really like this group of guys and I want to see what they can do “as is”, especially when healthy. So, I’m going to bury my head in the sand and pretend this doesn’t exist, and hope in the meantime the salary cap rules change, or go away, or something.
Totally agree
with you,waaaaay to early to be discussing this….lets see what this team will look like with toews hossa,and eager back,and maybe play for like a month together,then you can prolly start assessing who should stay and who should be traded
by csm on Nov 5, 2009 4:01 AM CST up reply actions
Can I have a sidebar
to address what the crap is going on in that picture? It’s not just the positioning, what really makes it is the look on Madden’s face.
Damn if you gotta do it...
go for the 2 point reversal. I would rather be giving than receiving.
Improvise, adapt, overcome!
by thepuckstopshere on Nov 4, 2009 3:54 PM CST up reply actions
That is the look of surprise
at what is known as “the forbidden hello.”
Occam's Razor keeps the cutting clean.
by russellguldin on Nov 4, 2009 5:08 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
hahaha @
The photo, caption, and these comments. Well done.
by ITypedforMiles on Nov 4, 2009 6:41 PM CST up reply actions
just posted a link
to an article outlining some of the options Bowman has re: RFAgency, but here it is for anyone who’s interested:
http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hockey/comments/the_blackhawks_cap_crisis_fact_or_fiction/
by gmh on Nov 4, 2009 2:33 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
good article but...
what is up with this?
However, when Brian Campbell’s and Cristobal Huet’s playoff mistakes against Detroit were underscored by a four-games-to-one Conference Final defeat, one could sense the clock was indeed ticking for Dale.
Campbell & Huet’s playoff mistakes? I thought campbell might have been our best player that series and huet only played one full game. And in that game, he was awesome.
Other than that, very good read.
Huet only played one full game because he got yanked after playing so poorly in game 4. He was incredible in game 5, however.
Campbell was our best D-man in the playoffs, but many chose to ignore that and instead point to his turnover that led to a game winner (I forget which game). So in his case it’s a continuance of the age old battle of Forest vs Tree.
http://accordingtwomey.blogspot.com
Agreed
Campbell was our most physical defensemen in the Detroit series and Keith and Seabrook had an uncharacteristically bad series against Detroit. I’m still shocked to type that sentence but it’s true. Campbell used the body — and effectively — and repeatedly. Keith and Seabrook were excellent against Calgary, and Seabrook was exceptional against Vancouver, but give credit where credit is due on Campbell.
the entire team
was flu-stricken by the end of the Detroit series, or so it was reported, I thought? Keith in particular looked weakened in the playoffs. I thought Campbell was superb at times, but unfortunately, it’s the crucial mistakes that stand out for some people.
by gmh on Nov 4, 2009 5:58 PM CST up reply actions
Trade Cambell
you have to trade Campbell, he is a huge cap hit at $7 M. yes he is valuable but at what cost?? i wish we could have our cake and eat it too but not going to happen with the cap get ride of him and everything opens up.
SIGH
What Campbell is is a necessity on a championship caliber team, Carolina notwithstanding. Teams need an elite puck rushing defenseman to make things move in June. Look at the cup winners.
2002-2003 – Scott Niedermayer NJ
2003-2004 – Dan Boyle – TB
2005-2006 – Carolina was a fluke
2006-2007 – Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger – ANH
2007-2008 – Nick Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski – DET
2008-2009 – Sergei Gonchar – PIT
Now look at all those salaries. Brian Campbell is getting paid market value for a core component of a championship team. Can we please end this discussion forever?
www.secondcityhockey.com
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a goddamn shame.
I'm going to have to disagree
there with one point, specifically the 2007-2008 year. I’m pretty sure they just cancelled the Stanley Cup that year and no one one. I don’t actually recall there being a Stanley Cup awarded that year, must have been a fire drill day or something.
“Grammar Rodeo” should be capitalized, since it is a particular event, signified by “the.”
Occam's Razor keeps the cutting clean.
by russellguldin on Nov 4, 2009 5:10 PM CST up reply actions
carolina fluke...
Carolina had a goalie stand on his head, the defense corps did just enough to keep the puck away from the net (with the exception of 2 games that got out of hand).
Long story short I agree with McClure, but in more depth each team needs a ying for a yang. For every defenseman that McClure named there was also a defenseman that knew how to clean up the slot and kill off penalties.
Do I think we overpaid for Campbell….yes a little bit.
But the initial cost eventually led to the fact we have ability to sign other top talent, not necessarily at rediculous prices. The initial cost will take care of itself as other star talent will want to play in Chicago knowing it wants to win.
Economics relation to hockey…who-da thunk??
My dad taught me three thing at my first hockey game at age 5:
Always buy the Blue Line..
Dino [Ciccarelli] is a queen-o
Detroit Sucks!!
I’m definitely cool with ending the Campbell discussion, however the whole – Campbell is being paid ‘market value’ also could stand to be curbed. Other teams fiscal responsibility (or in some cases lack thereof) isn’t really a sound argument simply considering the relativity of the alternatives. In the Hawks case, Streit($4.1M) and Wideman($3.8M)….and hindsight and all, but you can make a compelling case that Wideman was the 2nd best all-around D-man in the NHL last year. Personally I preferred Streit at the time because the $3M per year difference could have been allotted towards acquiring a second line play making C, but otherwise Phantom is what he is, and he’s been great aside from some of his defensive meltdowns early last year. But it’s all about value over replacement level in a cap sport and the Hawks could have conceivably signed both Streit & Wideman and then traded Barker for a draft pick or two and they’d still save $2M over what they pay Campbell & Barker together. FWIW, Gonchar was barely a factor in the playoffs last year playing on one leg after the Ovechkin knee shot. Guerin was playing the point down the stretch for the Pens with Letang handling a lot of the puck moving.
by Crease Monkey on Nov 5, 2009 12:09 AM CST up reply actions
At least the Dumbass
talk about trading Huet to ATL will stop…. Kari is out for 2 months with bad back.
ATL
Ondrej Pavelec will be fine for them for the mean time. If need be they can always hit the scrap heap, or like they really should do is unload Ilya Kovalchuk and get a couple of primo options and a serviceable goalie.
If not Kovalchuk, because as we always discuss thats a dreamweaver and a little bit of a bang unload guys like White, Slater or other younger talent which is promising and semi-proven in hopes of eventually putting together something cohesive. To me that team is just rediculous jumble of prayers that aren’t going to answered sometime soon without GM intervention or a move to a city who cares. Probably the latter than the former…
My dad taught me three thing at my first hockey game at age 5:
Always buy the Blue Line..
Dino [Ciccarelli] is a queen-o
Detroit Sucks!!
If I had to choose the Players
who are most expendable.
Probably
Bolland, Buff, Eager, Kopecy (obviously).
Not that I don’t appreciate what they do contribute, but in light of Keith, Seabs, Kane, Toews, Barker, Versteeg, etc needing bigger contracts in the near future plus Hossa, Huet, and Campbell’s contracts those guys can go.
Coleslaw, it's what's for Picnic.
Obviously
Most of these guys are making peanuts anyways, but it at least would provide some relief.
Coleslaw, it's what's for Picnic.
I don’t think the Hawks can afford to give up any centers.. so I’d take Bolland off that list.
by Matthew Dirt on Nov 4, 2009 10:40 PM CST up reply actions
i agree with you
Dirt…..keep Bolland….i think he is awesome….wins faceoffs,plays nice D,i would just like for him to cut down his penalties…..Barker-GONE!i hope
by csm on Nov 5, 2009 3:59 AM CST up reply actions
i'm a huge bolland fan
but even I had to lol at “wins faceoffs”— in fact, my friends and I sometimes joke that his nickname should be 36%, for the number of his back and the number of faceoffs he wins (It was actually 44.4% last season, and 78th of 82 Centers in the league, but you know what I mean.)
I don’t think he’s quite there yet, even though there seems to be some improvement with that aspect of his game in recent games (50.5% so far this season). That, or Montreal were just crap at faceoffs, maybe. (He got a 65% for that game alone.) But hey, if FOs are the one thing he’s got to work on, and he improves— imagine the lift that’ll give to the team.
by chiblackhawks on Nov 5, 2009 8:40 AM CST up reply actions
Mancrush
on Eager. Hits people into next week, skates well, 11 goals last year all on hustle and the other team makes a point to notice when he steps on the ice.
Buf ???
Way too much potential to let him go……..We have all seen his “on” games and they are devastating….Having listened to his radio show on the "Score he sounds like he is from California—- really easy going……He needs a "respected’ veteran in his face to challege him every game. While one day Toews will be that guy…..he is still learning the game……who out there commands accountabilty from his fellow players….Iginla? …Any suggestions?
Way too much cap space spent towards a guy whose 'on' games
are sandwiched between a week’s worth of ‘off’ games.
Got more soul than a sock with a hole.
Buff's a nice piece
But he should not be kept if it means losing anyone of the 5 of Kane, Toews, Keith, Seabs, Versteeg
Coleslaw, it's what's for Picnic.
Madden has a death grip on his stick
really where is that guys left hand???
"Let 'em say all those nice things," he says, "but I know my mistakes, and I make plenty of them.-Bobby Orr
Campbell... eh
Why hasn’t our vaunted QB faced any responsibility for an anemic PP?
Knucklehead Barker has been one of the few productive Hawks on the PP. He’s still young and has potential, some of which may emerge between now and March.
Soup plus Nintendo has been very solid but ironically, Hammer’s emergence makes Campbell more expendable.
I like Campbell a lot (seems like a pretty neat guy too) and there’s a hole without him (Hendry or Sopel as #6 is ok, but you can’t have both of them plus Barker lacing up every night), but if we’re talking hard choices ahead, $7.1 million looks ike a bulls-eye.
Toews has had one concussion...
…and we’re already concerned about his “long-term health”? That seems pretty silly, in my opinion.
Well, since you guys are talking about moving Buff...
what would you want for him? Veteran UFAs who would help you in a Cup run? Prospects? Picks? Obviously the idea behind trading him is to shed salary, so you wouldn’t want another veteran under contract next year. And I am assuming that any move would be around deadline time.
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