What Do The Hawks Need To Do To Get More Physical?

[MassHavoc]

 

[Shantz My Pants]

I agree with HeHateMe which is exactly why Bickell is underapreciated here come playoff hockey, or even the last 6 weeks of the season as teams fighting for playoffs up the intensity and the top teams jockey for home ice.

If Bickell turns up another level for a third year in a row, I want everyone to shut their damn mouths about him. Its a team decision to keep him fresh for when it counts, and when we need a power enforcer who can lead the league in hits every playoffs.

Bickell is such a good fighter that nobody wants to fight him either, he is way more important than he gets credit for precisely because Toews is an undersized hero, Kane is an undersized hero, while Sharp-Saad-Versteeg-Richards-Tuevo are all stick skill and skate based hockey players. Hossa is well rounded but too old to be a true enforcer, and too risky to ask him to. He does what he can in his area.

But HeHateme, this team does have Bickell and he is every bit as physical as we need him come the stretch run and playoffs. They are saving him, imo, I believe it to be a team and doctor decision to control his style of play for 4 months each season after the injury issues of 2-3 years ago. He is a beast, but they know he can't be a beast for 6 months and play his best hockey when it counts. Thats physics and biology.

A guy like Carcillo takes the brunt of alot of opposing team heat and may not even be in rotation come playoffs barring injury, but he is doing his role beautifully of agitating and taking shots that might otherwise go at others.

I would also like to point out this teams toughness comes from their defenders. The Swedish block machine might be the toughest guy in NHL. Keith, Seabrooke, both tenacious physical players. They do what needs to be done and do it forcefully when necessary.

I played on an excessivly smallish rugby team, and size doesn't always look tough, but to get up after a bigger man hits you the way these little forwards do makes me believe the Hawks are the mentally toughest team in the NHL.

The Bruins are brutes, the Blues are Brutes, etc......the Hawks are tough. And they have to be to endure the brutes. But as long as Bickell is around, and those top 3 defenders plus Shaw, Kruger, Smith, Carcillo we won't be lacking in physical play. We aren't. god speed.

I think you made maybe one good point, but everything else was wrong in this post.

My biggest disagreement is that the Hawks are holding Bickell back during the regular season. The **** kind of logic is that? Also if that was the case, which for fucksake it's not, but if it was, there would be so much turmoil and animosity in that locker room everyone would know about it.

Also, what the **** is a power enforcer, and why would any one expect Hossa, Toews or Kane to fight?

I hope you were just being sarcastic, because if so you must not understand hockey.



Sent from my Texas Instrument Calculator

 

[Variable]

Rask whether you're doing a doing a bit or not, the Hawks can no longer afford to have a guy like Bickell and the cap hit he has who does as little as he does throughout the regular season anymore. That's basically what it comes down to.

 

[ClydeLee]

Next year, yeah they can't afford him and that's no issue. I think some people drastically undersell how he can be traded, some people proclaim you'll need to package a 2nd with him which sounds silly to me.

Adding the combo of ready to part time contribute or stick if taking a leap guys like McNeil, Ross, Hartman, Danult, etc. will be enough to boost them in the extra forceful department, but it's going to leave some potential holes to see if a playoff net role can be formed.

Maybe it won't even be needed as much if Saad keeps developing his PF elements to his game. He's lately be getting in front of the net and generating lots of rebound shots on net from it despite not many goals coming out of it. If he can do it more and more it may no longer be that aspect they need to worry about a slagging inconsistent role player to deliver. Be that Bicks or Buff

 

[Variable]

That's a bigger issue than you think. He has a modified NTC, so he has at least some say in where he gets traded. That was the same problem they had with trying to move Rozi, he has a full NTC I believe. So you've got a limited number of options of where to trade him to begin with because of that and only then do you get into whether or not those teams would even would want him or would even have the cap space necessary to take him.

 

[ClydeLee]

Then again, that's the problem I'm saying is opposite. I'm saying that type of claim is the "false" big issue. Especially comparing a 35+ over 2 Mil caphit player who is a bottom of the roster 6th at best Dman is the most unjustified logical comparison of what a under 30 year old middle of the lineup and playoff preforming player is offering. They both have the ability to deny the 5 Canadian teams or Buffalo like many others across the league, but people act like there would be no desire for Bicks like there would be for Rozi. Despite his value being immensely more than Rozi and at a caphit less than double. Really only a raw capeater team would be in a role for a 2.2 mil 6/7th defenseman.

He really compares more to recent around the league shifters like a guy like Briere who has that type of view despite being nearly 10 years older than Bickell, and is older than Rozi can still draw the same caphit in FA that Bickell got. That's not an over the top or difficult to move contract during a whole offseason and draft day scenarios.

 

[Variable]

So then you trade him to that cap eater team for a bag of pucks. But they had no chance of even doing that over last offseason. And Bickell and Rozie are in different situations with their contracts though. Rozi's is done after this season, he has an expiring contract. Bickell still has 2 more years with that cap hit. I was just saying that those NTCs are part of the reason why the Hawks are in the situation they are in now. Can't just keep handing those out.

And teams know the Hawks are cap fucked going into next year, why would they want Bickell when you can get Sharp? The Hawks HAVE to move somebody. He has a bigger cap hit yes, and for two more years, same as Bickell, but a MUCH more productive player. Because of the harder sell it would be to move Bickell and teams knowing they have to move a sizable contract, they stand to lose a much more important player in Sharp or perhaps even Seabrook (though I doubt they would trade him before Sharp). This is what I'm talking about when I say the Hawks fucked themselves with the kind of deals they've signed over the last couple seasons.