Niemis Arbitration

[Guest]

[quote name="MassHavoc"]honest question, who the hell are these guys?



Brian Connelly ($0.875m) / Ivan Vishnevskiy ($0.821m)



Connelly is a prospect I believe? both of them are I assume?[/quote]



Connelly was signed UFA while at Colorado I think. Played at the end of the Hogs season.



Vshnevskiy was acquired in the Versteeg trade.

 

[PatrickShart]

What do you tink of that lineup RK?

 

[Guest]

[quote name="pmxc12873"]What do you tink of that lineup RK?[/quote]





I think that line up would be exciting to see.



So far other than losing Ladd, I'm not the slightest bit worried about the path to a repeat, assuming health finds the guys all year.

 

[Central PA Hawk Fan]

[quote name="R K"]



Connelly was signed UFA while at Colorado I think. Played at the end of the Hogs season.



Vshnevskiy was acquired in the Versteeg trade.[/quote]

Vishenvsky was aquired in the Ladd deal...

 

[Guest]

[quote name="Central PA Hawk Fan"]

Vishenvsky was aquired in the Ladd deal...[/quote]



Yea I was thinking of Stalberg.

 

[bookjones]

[quote name="bierboy"]Niemi talks at a standstill.[/quote]





Well if that's the case, "Nice knowin' ya Antti. . .Hello Hannu + {{{Insert New G Name Here}}}!" **** it. The thing about hardball is that sometimes your bluff WILL be called. At first this arbitration was just a minor annoyance to me but I'd have to say that now after the past week of dumbass "Is Sharp on the block?" rumor-mongering it's just worked my last goddamn nerve. Seriously. That the thought of trading Sharp for fucking Niemi ever even got an iota traction is BEYOND ridiculous and ultimately insulting to #10 that it had to be de-bunked in the first place IMO.

 

[bookjones]

[quote name="pmxc12873"]CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR



FORWARDS

Igor Makarov ($0.552m) / Jonathan Toews ($6.300m) / Marian Hossa ($5.275m)

Viktor Stalberg ($0.850m) / Patrick Sharp ($3.900m) / Patrick Kane ($6.300m)

Tomas Kopecky ($1.200m) / Dave Bolland ($3.375m) / Troy Brouwer ($1.025m)

Bryan Bickell ($0.600m) / Jake Dowell ($0.525m) / Jack Skille ($0.600m)



DEFENSEMEN

Brent Seabrook ($3.500m) / Duncan Keith ($5.538m)

Brian Campbell ($7.142m) / Niklas Hjalmarsson ($3.500m)

Brian Connelly ($0.875m) / Ivan Vishnevskiy ($0.821m)

John Scott ($0.512m)



GOALTENDERS

Hannu Toivonen ($0.550m)



CARRY-OVER BONUS PENALTY: $4,157,753



CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)

(these totals are compiled using the bonus cushion)

SALARY CAP: $59,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $57,100,757; BONUSES: $352,500

CAP SPACE (20-man roster): $2,651,743



....left to sign Niemi .....sign him for around 2 - 2.25 mil per, and have some play room[/quote]



Man, I seriously love those lines/combos. There's no reason the Hawks have to de facto accept some sort of "naysayers defeat" and not roll a strong 3rd line that can score. I'd be totally on-board and excited for the Hawks to at least attempt to ice THAT action Pmxc!

 

[Ton]

The only problem I have with that line-up is that the LW looks extremely weak.

 

[Kerfuffle]

Niemi is basically telling the organization to get rid of someone else in order to keep him. I still don't believe Sharp is an untouchable. Remember when Junior said a few weeks ago "no additional moves are needed" and then proceeded to deal guys left and right? So I'm not confident Sharp will be kept. Or maybe Bolland is the odd man out now.

 

[Kerfuffle]

[quote name="R K"][

So far other than losing Ladd, I'm not the slightest bit worried about the path to a repeat, assuming health finds the guys all year.[/quote]

Don't get too overconfident. We will be fielding half a team of superstars and half a team of AHL players. There's something to be said about chemistry and even though you can replace role players, you can't replace the chemistry of the club by switching out bodies. Ladd, Buff, and Versteeg were big losses and Eager > Scott. I see Scott playing most of the games this year from the press box. I want this team to stay highly competitive but I'm concerned. We will see.

 

[Guest]

[quote name="Kerfuffle"]

Don't get too overconfident. We will be fielding half a team of superstars and half a team of AHL players. There's something to be said about chemistry and even though you can replace role players, you can't replace the chemistry of the club by switching out bodies. Ladd, Buff, and Versteeg were big losses and Eager > Scott. I see Scott playing most of the games this year from the press box. I want this team to stay highly competitive but I'm concerned. We will see.[/quote]



Really? Who's to say they aren't NHL ready? Dowell or Bickell > Eager.



A fourth line of Bickell-Dowell-Skille would be more appealing that Eager-Frazer-Burish IMO.



You think about them what you like and I'll think about them what I like. There are still PLENTY of Character guys on this team with a Ring. Namely the Captain! I like that there are people like you and the "experts" questioning them. That's what builds character.

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

[quote name="Kerfuffle"]

Don't get too overconfident. We will be fielding half a team of superstars and half a team of AHL players. There's something to be said about chemistry and even though you can replace role players, you can't replace the chemistry of the club by switching out bodies. Ladd, Buff, and Versteeg were big losses and Eager > Scott. I see Scott playing most of the games this year from the press box. I want this team to stay highly competitive but I'm concerned. We will see.[/quote]



What team doesn't have a lot of AHL players? Not only that but the ones coming up for the most part have shown they can play at the NHL level. Especially if Skille plays well and plays up to his TRUE potential we're going to have a very solid roster that can stack up to most.

 

[Guest]

[quote name="Kerfuffle"]Niemi is basically telling the organization to get rid of someone else in order to keep him. I still don't believe Sharp is an untouchable. Remember when Junior said a few weeks ago "no additional moves are needed" and then proceeded to deal guys left and right? So I'm not confident Sharp will be kept. Or maybe Bolland is the odd man out now.[/quote]





Man he would be a real scum bag after he told the guy not to worry, go get married, you are part of the core, and then traded him.



They deal either one of those guys this team is FUCKED. Because of the position they both play. You go with what you have right now. There is one more rumor I heard from the inside today. I don't like it. We'll see if it pans out.

 

[Guest]

[quote name="Stu Grimson"]



What team doesn't have a lot of AHL players? Not only that but the ones coming up for the most part have shown they can play at the NHL level. Especially if Skille plays well and plays up to his TRUE potential we're going to have a very solid roster that can stack up to most.[/quote]





What team has a core like the Hawks? I can't name one. Maybe the Caps? With no defense though.



Pens, not so much.



What team.... Again it's good to have skeptics out there. Makes it better when they show consistency. Similar to last year when the Hawks were talked about, but not.

 

[Guest]

[quote name="Ton"]The only problem I have with that line-up is that the LW looks extremely weak.[/quote]





I thought about that too, but the RW and Centers look awesome!

 

[roshinaya]

With most of these guys already familiar with each other from the AHL, I doubt chemistry will be an issue. And the guys already on the big team are all character guys with a good work ethic. And with half the roster new, hopefully the Cup hangover wont be too bad . And they will probably be deemed as the underdogs after the roster turnaround instead of the Champions with a target on their back.

 

[Kerfuffle]

[quote name="R K"]

Really? Who's to say they aren't NHL ready? Dowell or Bickell > Eager.



A fourth line of Bickell-Dowell-Skille would be more appealing that Eager-Frazer-Burish IMO.



You think about them what you like and I'll think about them what I like. There are still PLENTY of Character guys on this team with a Ring. Namely the Captain! I like that there are people like you and the "experts" questioning them. That's what builds character.[/quote]

I'm not questioning their character - I'm just a worried wort / nervous Nelly. I want them to do well but I get scared of change and right now there's been a lot of it. Chemistry is so important. I fear what our 3rd and 4th lines will become. We may end up a 2 line team like many other NHL clubs. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

[quote name="R K"]





What team has a core like the Hawks? I can't name one. Maybe the Caps? With no defense though.



Pens, not so much.



What team.... Again it's good to have skeptics out there. Makes it better when they show consistency. Similar to last year when the Hawks were talked about, but not.[/quote]



Kane - Toews - Hossa

Brouwer - Sharp - xxxxxx

xxxxx - Bolland - xxxxx



Keith - Seabrook

Hjalmarsson - Campbell

xxxxx - xxxxx



xxxxxx

xxxxxx



vs.



Ovechkin - Backstrom - xxxxx

Semin - Laich - xxxxx



Green - xxxxx

xxxxx - xxxxx

xxxxx - xxxxx



xxxxx

xxxxx



Pretty much put any player into that Hawks lineup and you're pretty much a contender... the Caps? Well that's why they almost got beat by the Rangers in the playoffs two or three years ago and why they got beat by the Canadiens this year.



When your core consists of 4 top 4 d men and your two top forward lines are pretty much set... you can fill in the rest. And the guys coming in are very capable of being productive at the NHL level.

 

[Kerfuffle]

[quote name="R K"]There is one more rumor I heard from the inside today. I don't like it. We'll see if it pans out.[/quote]

I'll take a stab and guess that Seabrook is on the chopping block. God I hope not. But if you look at the roster on what the possibilities are to cut that are left it's gotta to be either him or Brouwer at this point as everyone else is untouchable.

 

[roshinaya]

[quote name="Kerfuffle"]

I'm not questioning their character - I'm just a worried wort / nervous Nelly. I want them to do well but I get scared of change and right now there's been a lot of it. Chemistry is so important. I fear what our 3rd and 4th lines will become. We may end up a 2 line team like many other NHL clubs. I hope I'm wrong.[/quote]



The depth the Hawks had last year was something extraordinary in today's NHL, so we fans got a little spoiled by that. The Hawks are now just as any other team dealing with the cap. The good news is the core of the Hawks rivals any of the other top tier teams in the league.