Official Blackhawks 2024 Offseason Thread-Bedard owns Chicago

[Raskolnikov]

Sorenson sucks at lines.
You have to spread out our young strong and old strong to protect the 4 little puppies.

Danato/Mickeyev/Dach/Slaggert are your engines.
Maroon, Foligno, Dickinson, Bertuzzi are your gritty geezers.
Teuvo, Nazar, Bedard, Reichel are your puppies.

Just go for 4 balanced lines because this is fairly cut and dry. Micheyev has really grown on me. We don't have a choice.

Michaeyev-Bedard-Bertuzzi
Danato-Dickinson-Nazar
Dach-Teuvo-Foligno
Slaggert-Reichel-Maroon

I know it's not perfect, it's just the best we can do without a proper elite power forward for Bedard. Bedard would have loved Shaw and Bickell as his wings.

Please try it?

Hate it @LordKOTL ?

If it fails you can try flipping Slaggert and micheyev, or Bertuzzi and Foligno . Or Danato and dach to try and match styles of play. Lastly Teuvo and Bedard can be flipped potentially to see what it does(that's when the AI metrics can go to work to iron out best fits) But you can never play two pussies together is the #1 rule. We keep trying the three hole hooker and it's trashed every time. Wasting their skill and demoralizing them while allowing opponent to goon them and then torch our goons with a top line.

Micheyev holds onto the puck alot. Bertuzzi is a skilled screener. Dach is a left handed power shot. Finding synergistic traits isn't as hard as Sorenson is making it look. You have to have a clue about where to start and then let AI metrics finish the nuances of synergy.

 

[LordKOTL]

Sorenson sucks at lines.
You have to spread out our young strong and old strong to protect the 4 little puppies.

Danato/Mickeyev/Dach/Slaggert are your engines.
Maroon, Foligno, Dickinson, Bertuzzi are your gritty geezers.
Teuvo, Nazar, Bedard, Reichel are your puppies.

Just go for 4 balanced lines because this is fairly cut and dry. Micheyev has really grown on me. We don't have a choice.

Michaeyev-Bedard-Bertuzzi
Danato-Dickinson-Nazar
Dach-Teuvo-Foligno
Slaggert-Reichel-Maroon

I know it's not perfect, it's just the best we can do without a proper elite power forward for Bedard. Bedard would have loved Shaw and Bickell as his wings.

Please try it?

Hate it @LordKOTL ?

If it fails you can try flipping Slaggert and micheyev, or Bertuzzi and Foligno . Or Danato and dach to try and match styles of play. Lastly Teuvo and Bedard can be flipped potentially to see what it does(that's when the AI metrics can go to work to iron out best fits) But you can never play two pussies together is the #1 rule. We keep trying the three hole hooker and it's trashed every time. Wasting their skill and demoralizing them while allowing opponent to goon them and then torch our goons with a top line.

Micheyev holds onto the puck alot. Bertuzzi is a skilled screener. Dach is a left handed power shot. Finding synergistic traits isn't as hard as Sorenson is making it look. You have to have a clue about where to start and then let AI metrics finish the nuances of synergy.

I don't think the Q-O-matic line-blender is going to work with the group we have. I think what it's going to take is getting some real help for Bedard--someone who can play to his strengths in the offseason. Sorenson definitely isn't doing well to address the issues the team has (of which there are plenty), but almost every player played with Bedard lacks any chemistry with him (except maybe Nazar), and even so Bedard is still tops in points on the team...as a 19 year old.

I still think the brass has to handle whatever is happening with Bedard better. If he's hurt he should be sitting. But, going into next season we have an imperial buttload of cap, draft capital, and prospects. KfC certainly can pull someone--probably multiple someones in to play with Bedard with what he has to offer.

 

[Raskolnikov]

I don't think the Q-O-matic line-blender is going to work with the group we have. I think what it's going to take is getting some real help for Bedard--someone who can play to his strengths in the offseason. Sorenson definitely isn't doing well to address the issues the team has (of which there are plenty), but almost every player played with Bedard lacks any chemistry with him (except maybe Nazar), and even so Bedard is still tops in points on the team...as a 19 year old.

I still think the brass has to handle whatever is happening with Bedard better. If he's hurt he should be sitting. But, going into next season we have an imperial buttload of cap, draft capital, and prospects. KfC certainly can pull someone--probably multiple someones in to play with Bedard with what he has to offer.

Well it looks like Bedard is hard to find linemates for.
He definitely needs someone big and fast, and someone gritty and skilled and fast. That's why I saw Shaw and Bickell. Or like Podz and Marner. Podz and Petterson.

I just think when you put him and Nazar together as teens basically it's too easy to junk line our skill guys and super line our mid lines.

 

[LordKOTL]

Well it looks like Bedard is hard to find linemates for.
He definitely needs someone big and fast, and someone gritty and skilled and fast. That's why I saw Shaw and Bickell. Or like Podz and Marner. Podz and Petterson.

I just think when you put him and Nazar together as teens basically it's too easy to junk line our skill guys and super line our mid lines.

I think that it wouldn't be too hard to find Bedard quality linemates--just not with the players we have right now (or the development level for the other prospects now). We are in the early stages of the build. So, comparing the previous one it's like having Keith and Seabrook playing with Havlat and Sharp--when Sharp broke 20G for the 1st time in his career. The rest of the roster was lukewarm anal seepage (at least the players as they were at the time; yes, Bickell and Buff turned out to be monsters but at the time they were not forces to be reckoned with).

Just like now.

As aforementioned, it looks like KfC is starting to trim out the roster as we start finding out which kids might have it, and which don't. That will tell us what we need to acquire moving forward.

Flipping back to the 2007 season & roster, it shares a lot of parallels with the current one: We have a small amount of kids who likely will be great, a vet or two who who aren't completely worthless, some players who, at the time might not be much but still need a lot of development, and the rest is a bunch of has-beens or never will be's.

But looking back at that roster, or the 2006 roster, there was just no saving it with the players we had. That's why I think just using the Q-O-Matic line blender with what we have does nothing right now. The season is lost and has been for awhile. What the coaching staff should be doing now is trying to see who has some chemistry and who doesn't--and if they don't acquiring someone that can play there is paramount in the offseason. So, in terms of Bedard, what I've seen is a lot of guys who just can't play on his level. Playing musical chairs just like we've done this entire season is not going to help him. Identifying players who we can target in the offseason and going after them will.

 

[Raskolnikov]

I think that it wouldn't be too hard to find Bedard quality linemates--just not with the players we have right now (or the development level for the other prospects now). We are in the early stages of the build. So, comparing the previous one it's like having Keith and Seabrook playing with Havlat and Sharp--when Sharp broke 20G for the 1st time in his career. The rest of the roster was lukewarm anal seepage (at least the players as they were at the time; yes, Bickell and Buff turned out to be monsters but at the time they were not forces to be reckoned with).

Just like now.

As aforementioned, it looks like KfC is starting to trim out the roster as we start finding out which kids might have it, and which don't. That will tell us what we need to acquire moving forward.

Flipping back to the 2007 season & roster, it shares a lot of parallels with the current one: We have a small amount of kids who likely will be great, a vet or two who who aren't completely worthless, some players who, at the time might not be much but still need a lot of development, and the rest is a bunch of has-beens or never will be's.

But looking back at that roster, or the 2006 roster, there was just no saving it with the players we had. That's why I think just using the Q-O-Matic line blender with what we have does nothing right now. The season is lost and has been for awhile. What the coaching staff should be doing now is trying to see who has some chemistry and who doesn't--and if they don't acquiring someone that can play there is paramount in the offseason. So, in terms of Bedard, what I've seen is a lot of guys who just can't play on his level. Playing musical chairs just like we've done this entire season is not going to help him. Identifying players who we can target in the offseason and going after them will.

Look, I know I learned line principles from the Q-O-Matic Slot pull, but it's still important for their development to be in the best position to succeed.

I like the last line I constructed, I was just being humble and acknowledging some metric analysis on a few nuances of placing the engine group. Danato, Mickeyev, Slaggert, and Dach.

I think Bedard needs protection and physicallty and speed to be effective, but giving your best passer predictable weapons makes sense.

Dach-Bedard-Danato
Would be the second line I might explore to blow up my proposed structure? (If only we had anything else resembling a first line to place hold).

Or Mickeyev Bedard Danato.

Foligno plays well with him, I just think he isn't as good playing that many minutes per night(same could be said for any 19 year old in this league).

I'm not opposed to Foligno and Maroon sharing a top line slot with Bedard and Danato if that's possible.

Bertuzzi should work I think his habit of getting sucked up so deep in every possession just exposes too much of Bedards soft defense.

That's why it probably has to be
Slaggert/Bedard/BerruzziorDanatoorDach

Because like Mickeyev and Bertuzzi will straight up leave Bedard alone on defense, and you better choose their blue line correctly for that.

 

[greg23]

I love all the line suggestions

The problem is the team currently has about 13 forwards who are 3rd/4th line edward scissorhsnds and Bedard + maybe nazar/reichel who are top 2 line forwards (guess maybe bettuzzi but he ain't a top 6 fwd on a playoff type.team)

Team has a long way to go and need an infusion of talent up front.....maybe they could find a hagel/breadman/young tuevo/shamaltz/etc....

Oh wait.....we.had to get rid of all those guys

 

[Probie2429]

Regardless if it works or not, KFC has the right plan. After next season the Hawks have 80 million plus in cap space currently. The roster will be completely different in another season.

 

[LordKOTL]

Regardless if it works or not, KFC has the right plan. After next season the Hawks have 80 million plus in cap space currently. The roster will be completely different in another season.

We hope. The 'hawks have something like 26M that they need to spend to reach the cap floor next season. It should be for mid-to-long-term improvement of the team--hopefully some some Bedard/Nazar help. KfC can still screw this up. The groundwork has been laid but KfC now has to get players who aren't as worthless as a social media influencer to come here.

The other thing is that need needs to gut the coaching staff. Sorenson isn't working that much better than LR, King is still here for some reason.

 

[MassHavoc]

7 goals.... Save some for future games.

 

[Bigfoot]

7 goals.... Save some for future games.

Owner won’t score in the next 2

 

[hester247]

I really hope KD goes after a younger vet player like LaFreniere in offseason. Marner is such a pipe dream and nobody else really is worth contract it would require to come here

 

[MassHavoc]

Untapped potential and confidence: What we’ve learned about Chicago Blackhawks rookie Artyom Levshunov

Rookie defenseman Artyom Levshunov hasn’t scored a goal, but Chicago Blackhawks teammates say his offensive instincts are already making an impact.

www.chicagotribune.com

 

[MassHavoc]

Welp.....

Chicago Blackhawks shelve Jason Dickinson for the rest of the season with a wrist injury

Forward Jason Dickinson will sit out the Chicago Blackhawks’ final 11 games, but defenseman Alec Martinez and forward Colton Dach have more optimistic outlooks.

www.chicagotribune.com

 

[wonky73]

Hey there's finally a Hawks game on my tv....

they give up 2 goals in a minute..

yelp

 

[MassHavoc]

Rockford to Chicago prospect pipeline continues with Blackhawks’ addition of Kevin Korchinski, 20

Kevin Korchinski returns to the Chicago Blackhawks after playing nine games in December.

www.chicagotribune.com

 

[MassHavoc]

I wish I was more confident that Danato was a building block after the incredible season he's having

 

[MassHavoc]

6 goals and 8 points in last 4 games for Donato.

After scoring 7 goals in a win 4 games ago they have lost 3 straight with a total of 8 goals.

 

[MassHavoc]

Both goalies getting shelled. Can't even evaluate them at this point.

 

[LordKOTL]

Both goalies getting shelled. Can't even evaluate them at this point.

Coaching, in my opinion.

Sorenson solved a couple of issues that LR had, but not all of them. I'm hoping for a real NHL coach this summer and not a sycophant.

 

[MassHavoc]

Coaching, in my opinion.

Sorenson solved a couple of issues that LR had, but not all of them. I'm hoping for a real NHL coach this summer and not a sycophant.

I won't say anything bad about Jimmy Waite, I think he's the right guy there, and we've seen him do some really good things with little in net. Which leads me to believe it's either the Offense or Defense.... I'm not smart enough to know which, and most people will go, offense what are you talking about, it's obviously the defense. But you can have your offensive style have inadequate personnel to oversell or not protect the neutral zone, all sorts of things which puts even more pressure on the D who are expected to jump in different places or do different things than just be stay at home D. I'm not saying that's the case here, as it could just as easily be the shit show of revolving doors and young kids on D.

Needless to say, I expect the #1 pick again this year. Knowing they sold their soul for Bedard though... I bet we somehow drop to 10th.