[A] Streaking: CHI 1, CAL 3

[Shantz My Pants]

The Hawks are the worst in the league with 112 goals against 5 on 5.



We are 26th in the league for Hits.



Again, our even strength defense is terrible. If we can fix that (easy to do by playing D) this team can create more opportunites in the long run.



Bowman's first move is to get 2 quality defensemen into this line up that can take the load off of Seabs and Keith.

 

[the canadian dream]

I though you were talking about the 6 blueliners. **** off i have a toothache again.



Bottom 6 forwards stink besides meyers froliks fine on defense but if you aren't shipping in on offense on the 3rd line in today nhl you belong on the 4th. Q has already fucked bolland by not playing him with skilled players. Shaw can be very usefull....heads above Bickell and frolik. And Hayes can be too. There are 2 guys that can help big time with bottom 6. No room for Morrison in the top 6 that's for sure. I still don't know why he is here if kruger can play center....they both suck not sure why we need more suck. Brunette was fine enough 4th lining but now with him gone who the **** knows. There are too many roster players right now and too many out if position. To start fixing someone needs to go. Bickell....its not a saving grace move but it could start some cleaning and organising. The club is cluttered. I really don't care if he becomes a waiver claim..i know Rocky probably does. Honestly does anyone care if Bickell gets claimed with no return? He isn't going to sweeten some trade and alone he's worth about a meal voucher. Just clear space already.

 

[Ton]

Rocky won't pay anything unless someone snatches him on re-entry waivers... otherwise if someone picks him up the first time, he's off the books completely.



I also agree TCD, Bowman loaded the bottom 2 lines with a bunch of marginal players. Why do we need Morrison, Kruger, Frolik, Bickell, Brunette, then of course the revolving door of Scott, OD and Lepisto?



They are just taking up space, without being useful. Pick 3 of those forwards and one of those defenseman to stay on the roster, the rest... just get rid of them and replace them with that "cap space" Bowman saved for the deadline. The time is now.



Stalberg/Toews/Kane

Sharp/Bolland/Hossa

(empty)/Morrison/Shaw

Mayers/Kruger/(empty)



With our $15M in cap space, we surely can find a 3rd line LW and 4th line W too at the very least.



Keith/Seabrook

(empty)/Hjalmarsson

Leddy/Montador



If we can find a #3 dman, I don't see how Bowman passes that up. We have the space to do it so fucking get those phones ringing!



Joel isn't off the hook either IMO, because he would never put Bolland on the 2nd line or Kruger on the 4th line nor do I think he would take Leddy off the 2nd pairing, but ideally this would be the best line-up he can mash together.

 

[PatrickShart]

26min a game is not too much for Keith. Any top Dman/Norris winning type plays that much. Lidstrom in his prime would play 28min a game.



Keith was a +30 one year...played over 25min a game

+33...again..over 25

+21...over 26...won the Norris



Chara is over 25

Bouwmeester 26

Lidstrom just at 24...and he's 41yrs old

Campbell over 26

Doughty just under 25

Weber over 26

Suter over 26

Girardi over 27

Mcdonagh over 25

Karlsson over 25

Letang over 26

Boyle over 25

Pietrangelo over 24

Phaneuf over 25

Wideman over 24





Seabrook's 23+ minutes is just average for any top pairing. I guess all theses teams/coaches have some explaining to do in not wearing out these defenceman as well.

 

[Ton]

25+ minutes per game is OK, when he starts creeping on 30+ minutes is when I start to have a problem.



I honestly don't have a problem with Keith this season, or Seabrook for that matter.

 

[Pez68]

Rocky won't pay anything unless someone snatches him on re-entry waivers... otherwise if someone picks him up the first time, he's off the books completely.



I also agree TCD, Bowman loaded the bottom 2 lines with a bunch of marginal players. Why do we need Morrison, Kruger, Frolik, Bickell, Brunette, then of course the revolving door of Scott, OD and Lepisto?



They are just taking up space, without being useful. Pick 3 of those forwards and one of those defenseman to stay on the roster, the rest... just get rid of them and replace them with that "cap space" Bowman saved for the deadline. The time is now.



Stalberg/Toews/Kane

Sharp/Bolland/Hossa

(empty)/Morrison/Shaw

Mayers/Kruger/(empty)



With our $15M in cap space, we surely can find a 3rd line LW and 4th line W too at the very least.



Keith/Seabrook

(empty)/Hjalmarsson

Leddy/Montador



If we can find a #3 dman, I don't see how Bowman passes that up. We have the space to do it so fucking get those phones ringing!



Joel isn't off the hook either IMO, because he would never put Bolland on the 2nd line or Kruger on the 4th line nor do I think he would take Leddy off the 2nd pairing, but ideally this would be the best line-up he can mash together.

Leddy actually got bumped down last game, but instead of putting Montador up, he puts OD up there with Hammer... Genius. We all know how Q loves his terribly slow and ineffective #6 defensemen, so it's really no surprise. The Keith/Leddy pairing at the beginning of the season absolutely killed the Hawks too.



The problem is Q won't adjust his lines, strategy, or matchups to the players he has. It's obvious to everyone but Q that he's not going to pull that dangerous shutdown line out of his ass. So stop fucking with Bolland, bump him up, and play that line as the checking line. Play the top six 15-20 minutes a game, and split the other 20-25 between the third and fourth lines. Q is just too fucking stubborn. There's also no reason that Keith/Seabrook can't play 25 minutes a game, Montador/Hammer around 20, and Leddy/OD around 15. The only special teams Leddy should be playing is the PP. Take him off the fucking PK already. Let the top two lines play their puck possession game, and tell the 3rd and 4th lines to dump and chase and grind it out. Tell the forwards to stop running around in the defensive zone, and cover their fucking points. Take the body. I don't understand what's so difficult about this. The Hawks don't have the team to play puck possession every shift of every game, so change things around and simplify. And for ****'s sake, tell Kitchen to just stand there and look like an idiot, and stop letting him have ANY feedback on ANYTHING.



On the subject of trades, there are only a handful of teams that will be sellers, and the guys they're selling likely aren't worth a shit. Any decent top 4 defenseman or third liner is going to draw a king's ransom, as 20 other teams are also looking to upgrade those positions... It isn't as simple as just finding a guy and making a trade.

 

[Rex]

only top D man I could think of that is potentially available is Ryan Suter, and we would have to sell the farm for him.



so **** that



on a cheerful note, Brandon Saad with another 3 points tonight!

26GP 18G 27A 45PTS



i look forward to two years from now when he is playing on Pirri's wing

 

[Pez68]

Another thing on the Hawks fixing everything with a trade... there's a ridiculous amount of competition. Of the teams they're chasing, only Vancouver doesn't have the cap space to make a significant move. St. Louis, Detroit, and Nashville can all afford to upgrade at or before the deadline. They have loads of cap space too. Most of the teams that are looking to make a run at the cup do, actually. So it's going to be a MASSIVE sellers' market. The teams currently 10 or so points out of a playoff spot, and likely sellers:



Edmonton

Anaheim

Columbus

Montreal

Carolina

Buffalo

Islanders

Tampa Bay



There are only a handful of decent players on those teams that would likely be moved, and there are five times as many teams looking to grab those players.

 

[Ton]

You mean a massive buyers market, or massive returns for sellers, very few teams are selling but that number will grow as the deadline approaches.



Also, the fact that there are a lot of teams in the hunt should only motivate the Blackhawks further to make a move to get ahead of the pack. By remaining active, they are not only improving the team but potentially hurting another teams chances of acquiring the piece they need. Giving up on a deal would be the worst thing Stan can do just because there are droves of buyers.



Face it, this is the "new NHL" you are witnessing before your eyes. It will never change under the Salary Cap, until that sticks around parity will keep teams in the hunt and willing to buy. If Stan stands still now--after promising to save that Cap space in the summer for a deadline deal--then he's a pussy and it's a sign that he will never be aggressive enough to improve the team.

 

[Pez68]

Technically this team has 29 wins and 24 losses... that's pretty close to .500

If we remove SOs from wins and losses(or ties, as pmx calls them.

), and just count OTL and OTW, this team is actually 25-21.

 

[Pez68]

You mean a massive buyers market, or massive returns for sellers, very few teams are selling but that number will grow as the deadline approaches.



Also, the fact that there are a lot of teams in the hunt should only motivate the Blackhawks further to make a move to get ahead of the pack. By remaining active, they are not only improving the team but potentially hurting another teams chances of acquiring the piece they need. Giving up on a deal would be the worst thing Stan can do just because there are droves of buyers.



Face it, this is the "new NHL" you are witnessing before your eyes. It will never change under the Salary Cap, until that sticks around parity will keep teams in the hunt and willing to buy. If Stan stands still now--after promising to save that Cap space in the summer for a deadline deal--then he's a pussy and it's a sign that he will never be aggressive enough to improve the team.

No, I mean a seller's market. A buyer's market would have a ton of players available really cheap.

I agree with you though. Stan needs to be really aggressive. I'm just saying, there's going to be a ton of competition for those players that are made available. The teams moving them are going to be demanding the moon for them. Getting anything of value back from moving Bickell and Frolik seems to be a pipe dream.. Most of those teams are going to want young, NHL ready talent included in the deals.

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

26min a game is not too much for Keith. Any top Dman/Norris winning type plays that much. Lidstrom in his prime would play 28min a game.



Keith was a +30 one year...played over 25min a game

+33...again..over 25

+21...over 26...won the Norris



Chara is over 25

Bouwmeester 26

Lidstrom just at 24...and he's 41yrs old

Campbell over 26

Doughty just under 25

Weber over 26

Suter over 26

Girardi over 27

Mcdonagh over 25

Karlsson over 25

Letang over 26

Boyle over 25

Pietrangelo over 24

Phaneuf over 25

Wideman over 24





Seabrook's 23+ minutes is just average for any top pairing. I guess all theses teams/coaches have some explaining to do in not wearing out these defenceman as well.

Damn... they were #1/2 in the league for the better part of the beginning of the season.



I guess with the emergence of Del Zotto and the return of Staal those numbers have really taken a dip... can't be surprised with how well the Rangers have been playing.

 

[Ton]

Bickell (25) is young NHL talent, Frolik (23) is also young talent.



Stan needs to sell his players. If he gets ripped off or can't make a deal because he feels ripped off, it's no ones fault but his own. I can't recall any time Stan has made an aggressive move that has impacted this team positively.



So far Stan's tenure has been towards the future. I complied a list of players that Stan has acquired over his tenure that still remain with the club... this means I left players off the list that are no longer in the organization so we can see what each deal has turned into to lead up to the product on the ice we have today.



I'm not going to post it in here, because I believe it's an entirely different topic of it's own so you'll see it soon.

 

[LordKOTL]

One thing I have to point out:



When considering defense (where we are lacking), you abso-fucking-lutley need to consider the 12 forwards on the ream, not just the 6 guys on the back end! I don't care if it is Keith and Seabrook or Lidsrom and Howe out there--2 guys playing defense against an onslaught of 5 players is going to result in a goal, your goaltender getting PTSD, or both.



Now, I'm not about to do a swan dive off of the Golden Gate Bridge with the way we've been playing, but the trick will be moving the dead weight and replacing it with someone that at least gives the effort on the ice. Even if the rumors about Bowman the Younger not being well liked aren't true, it's still going to be a task and a half for him getting gasoline-type players for goat-piss type players.

 

[Rex]

this is the new nhl. It's next to impossible to get something for nothing like you used to be able to 10 years ago.