Re: 2009 Chicago Blackhawks

[UMFan83]

Did anyone read this article? It's basically a long article about how awesome the Blackhawks are

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=burnside_scott&id=4804652

[UMFan83]

I'm reading a Bruins message board about the game, and their fans are funny. Whoever said the other team's announcers are gushing over the Hawks is right. Half their posts are ripping on their announcer for sounding so excited about the Hawks.

 

Oh and this comment sucks:

How the heck did Chicago leap-frog us? We were both so mishandled for so long and we had some pretty good picks and youth, just like they did...

 

Why do we have to continue to be mediocre while they get to be contenders? It makes me grumpy.

 

Shut the hell up Boston fan, your teams have won almost every championship last decade, it's our turn to actually be really good at something for once. I know it's probably the guy's favorite sport and team but if he's from Boston he's had more than enough success to not bitch for a couple years.

[NewUserName]

the bruins announcer just said the hawks better win it this year because the team is "going to be blown up" this offseason

 

ummmmm, what?

 

I think you guys are understating how much cap issues the Hawks are going to have the next couple of years. That is basically what the announcer was talking about.

 

no, i understood what he was talking about, and i understand we're going to lose some guys. i was referring to the "blowing up" part.

 

yeah that was dumb, but this is probably the only year that the hawks are truly loaded with a number of guys near their prime. they can't keep this team together because of the cap. they should still be really good in the future, but i would like them a lot more if they didn't have campbell and hossa.

 

I agree with campbell but disagree with hossa. hossa is worth his cap hit(for a couple of years at least) if he stays healthy. Very similar players to campbell and huet could easily be had for half the price.

[NewUserName]

the bruins announcer just said the hawks better win it this year because the team is "going to be blown up" this offseason

 

ummmmm, what?

 

I think you guys are understating how much cap issues the Hawks are going to have the next couple of years. That is basically what the announcer was talking about.

 

no, i understood what he was talking about, and i understand we're going to lose some guys. i was referring to the "blowing up" part.

 

Blowing up may not be the right phrase, but I think Hawks fans should consider the situation Anahiem was in 2 yrs ago and Tampa Bay right after they won the Cup. Both teams seemed destined to be powers for years but were hit by the cap by overpaying some mediocre players. Both teams still have large pieces of the core group of players that they won the cups with, but lack the overall depth to be cup contenders now.

[Magnetic Curses]

Keep hoping, there, champ

[TruffleShuffle]

i don't think it's accurate to say that they will fall to where tampa is now, but they'll have to be very smart about their personnel decisions in the next two years to remain a top team. they could easily drop back to middle of the pack.

[Soul]

i don't think it's accurate to say that they will fall to where tampa is now, but they'll have to be very smart about their personnel decisions in the next two years to remain a top team. they could easily drop back to middle of the pack.

 

Yeah, but every good team needs to do that or they'll fall back. Never easy to stay near the top.

[jersey cubs fan]

i don't think it's accurate to say that they will fall to where tampa is now, but they'll have to be very smart about their personnel decisions in the next two years to remain a top team. they could easily drop back to middle of the pack.

 

I doubt that. They could easily fall from the top spot, where they are now, but middle of the pack? Their core is still very young with huge upside. And while Hossa might be a problem in 5 years, he easily earns his cap hit. They have two problem contracts, Campbell and Huet. Huet's is more or less meaningless as he doesn't have much time left on it and they can replace him internally. And Campbell isn't exactly useless, and there are options for getting rid of him.

 

It's one thing to be up against cap trouble when you're a team like the Redskins who isn't good in the first place. Or in hockey, you have the Rangers who spent a crapload on non-elite free agents and didn't develop much of anything internally. But when you are great, and young, you can live tight to the cap and stay in contention for a while.

[kujay]

With the core they already have signed long term, this team is a contender for the next several years. I'm not saying they'll have a ring for each finger, or even make the finals more than a few times. But they will be in the running. That's about all you can ask for in a capped system.

[gflore34]

i don't think it's accurate to say that they will fall to where tampa is now, but they'll have to be very smart about their personnel decisions in the next two years to remain a top team. they could easily drop back to middle of the pack.

 

I doubt that. They could easily fall from the top spot, where they are now, but middle of the pack? Their core is still very young with huge upside. And while Hossa might be a problem in 5 years, he easily earns his cap hit. They have two problem contracts, Campbell and Huet. Huet's is more or less meaningless as he doesn't have much time left on it and they can replace him internally. And Campbell isn't exactly useless, and there are options for getting rid of him.

 

It's one thing to be up against cap trouble when you're a team like the Redskins who isn't good in the first place. Or in hockey, you have the Rangers who spent a crapload on non-elite free agents and didn't develop much of anything internally. But when you are great, and young, you can live tight to the cap and stay in contention for a while.

 

Not to mention, what, a top five, if not the top, farm (don't know the hockey term) system in the NHL.

[TruffleShuffle]

the hawks are nowhere close to the top 5 as far as non-nhl talent under their control.

[brinoch]

the hawks are nowhere close to the top 5 as far as non-nhl talent under their control.

 

Definitely not. All those guys have graduated to the Blackhawks. And this is one reason why I think that Bowman will trade some of Barker, Sharp, Versteeg, Bufyglien, and Ladd for picks and young talent.

[Magnetic Curses]

the hawks are nowhere close to the top 5 as far as non-nhl talent under their control.

 

Definitely not. All those guys have graduated to the Blackhawks. And this is one reason why I think that Bowman will trade some of Barker, Sharp, Versteeg, Bufyglien, and Ladd for picks and young talent.

 

exactly. people are acting like those players are just going to disappear. well, those players will have multiple buyers, meaning that the hawks, though somewhat over-a-barrel in terms of the salary cap, will have options and won't have to dump those players for nothing. great teams sign their stars and shuffle their good players in and out for other good players. if they draft well and/or are able to routinely extract younger versions of versteeg, barker, buff, etc from other teams, this will be a dynasty.

[gflore34]

the hawks are nowhere close to the top 5 as far as non-nhl talent under their control.

 

Yes, I was way off, saw one site had them 24th - didn't research - I believe they were near the top as recent as last season.

[UMFan83]

That's the thing. It all relies on well the Hawks can replenish lost talent through the draft. I'm not sure if they can. They have a pretty good track record of building this core through high draft picks. Can we trust them to draft well lower down in the draft like Detroit could/can?

[kujay]

That's the thing. It all relies on well the Hawks can replenish lost talent through the draft. I'm not sure if they can. They have a pretty good track record of building this core through high draft picks. Can we trust them to draft well lower down in the draft like Detroit could/can?

 

Well you aren't necessarily drafting lower down if you are taking draft picks in exchange for some current salaries. Sure, you aren't going to end up with a top-3 pick because those teams aren't likely to be taking on salary. But who knows. We aren't dumping guys past their prime. Perhaps a young team that isn't quite there would take on a Barker or Versteeg in exchange for a draft pick that could end up being pretty high.

 

If that makes any sense...

[TruffleShuffle]

yeah the hawks could certainly do some things in the draft if they get some good interest in some of the talented young guys they deem expendable. they won't get picks in the top half of the first round for barker or versteeg. but someone like seabrook? sure.

 

they're in a good position because they have at least two franchise forwards (toews, kane) and two outstanding d-men (keith, seabrook) and don't need to get a malkin or ovechkin in the draft. ideally they could find a franchise goaltender soon, but mostly they just need to draft for scoring and checking depth up front and depth on the blueline.

[jersey cubs fan]

but mostly they just need to draft for scoring and checking depth up front and depth on the blueline.

 

Which is why I think they won't suffer that much. The concern is replacing depth with depth, they don't need any stars anywhere.

[RedFlash]

ideally they could find a franchise goaltender soon, but mostly they just need to draft for scoring and checking depth up front and depth on the blueline.

 

I'm in the camp that Niemi can be that franchise goalies, and because of this I don't think goalie should be a priority for the Hawks. If a real talented goalie falls into your lap, fine, but the presence of Niemi allows the Hawks to take their time with a goalie.

[kujay]

ideally they could find a franchise goaltender soon, but mostly they just need to draft for scoring and checking depth up front and depth on the blueline.

 

I'm in the camp that Niemi can be that franchise goalies, and because of this I don't think goalie should be a priority for the Hawks. If a real talented goalie falls into your lap, fine, but the presence of Niemi allows the Hawks to take their time with a goalie.

 

I'm not sold on Niemi yet. I mean, this team is so good that Huet is one of the league leaders in GAA, for crying out loud. Niemi is benefitting too. But he sure does seem to have that ability to make the tough saves, like that left kick save he made last night. That was pretty.

 

But even if he's not going to be a stud, franchise-type goalie for many years, I agree that he is good enough to get us by for a few years. But we'll only need him for that if we can find someone to take Huet.

[UMFan83]

ideally they could find a franchise goaltender soon, but mostly they just need to draft for scoring and checking depth up front and depth on the blueline.

 

I'm in the camp that Niemi can be that franchise goalies, and because of this I don't think goalie should be a priority for the Hawks. If a real talented goalie falls into your lap, fine, but the presence of Niemi allows the Hawks to take their time with a goalie.

 

I'm not sold on Niemi yet. I mean, this team is so good that Huet is one of the league leaders in GAA, for crying out loud. Niemi is benefitting too. But he sure does seem to have that ability to make the tough saves, like that left kick save he made last night. That was pretty.

 

But even if he's not going to be a stud, franchise-type goalie for many years, I agree that he is good enough to get us by for a few years. But we'll only need him for that if we can find someone to take Huet.

 

He's doing really well and making some tough saves, but I have a Randy Wells complex about him. Mentally, I still can't make myself feel certain he's legit.

[RedFlash]

ideally they could find a franchise goaltender soon, but mostly they just need to draft for scoring and checking depth up front and depth on the blueline.

 

I'm in the camp that Niemi can be that franchise goalies, and because of this I don't think goalie should be a priority for the Hawks. If a real talented goalie falls into your lap, fine, but the presence of Niemi allows the Hawks to take their time with a goalie.

 

I'm not sold on Niemi yet. I mean, this team is so good that Huet is one of the league leaders in GAA, for crying out loud. Niemi is benefitting too. But he sure does seem to have that ability to make the tough saves, like that left kick save he made last night. That was pretty.

 

But even if he's not going to be a stud, franchise-type goalie for many years, I agree that he is good enough to get us by for a few years. But we'll only need him for that if we can find someone to take Huet.

 

He's doing really well and making some tough saves, but I have a Randy Wells complex about him. Mentally, I still can't make myself feel certain he's legit.

 

Just like Randy Wells, Niemi isn't being asked to be the #1 goalie (or ace in Wells case), he is being asked to play to his abilities when he numbers is called. And for the most part he has answer the bell. One more year as an understudy to Huet (in 2010-11) and I think he will be ready to be a #1 goalie by 2011-21.

[17 Seconds]

the bruins announcer just said the hawks better win it this year because the team is "going to be blown up" this offseason

 

ummmmm, what?

 

I think you guys are understating how much cap issues the Hawks are going to have the next couple of years. That is basically what the announcer was talking about.

 

no, i understood what he was talking about, and i understand we're going to lose some guys. i was referring to the "blowing up" part.

 

Blowing up may not be the right phrase, but I think Hawks fans should consider the situation Anahiem was in 2 yrs ago and Tampa Bay right after they won the Cup. Both teams seemed destined to be powers for years but were hit by the cap by overpaying some mediocre players. Both teams still have large pieces of the core group of players that they won the cups with, but lack the overall depth to be cup contenders now.

 

pretty terrible comparisons

[NewUserName]

Niemi is also a restricted free agent. How much can the Blackhawks afford to pay him if they make him the franchise goalie?

 

I agree if the Hawks can keep producing productive 3rd line players they will probably be fine. Do consider this though, you are talking about trading Versteeg or Sharp or Barker or Byfuglin, or probaby two of them to just make it under the cap. You will certainly not be able to resign Madden unless he plays for league minimum. That is already 3 key depth guys gone. Also consider if some team offers Hjalmarsson 3-4 million which is a strong possibility. I think the Hawks would have to match but then probably couldnt afford both Ladd and Fraser.

 

I think all of the potential players lost are not big in themselves. But you start adding up 4 to 5 guys and basically having to replace them with AHL players, that is what most of the rest of the league is talking about when they are saying the Hawks are in cap trouble in the future.

[NewUserName]

the bruins announcer just said the hawks better win it this year because the team is "going to be blown up" this offseason

 

ummmmm, what?

 

I think you guys are understating how much cap issues the Hawks are going to have the next couple of years. That is basically what the announcer was talking about.

 

no, i understood what he was talking about, and i understand we're going to lose some guys. i was referring to the "blowing up" part.

 

Blowing up may not be the right phrase, but I think Hawks fans should consider the situation Anahiem was in 2 yrs ago and Tampa Bay right after they won the Cup. Both teams seemed destined to be powers for years but were hit by the cap by overpaying some mediocre players. Both teams still have large pieces of the core group of players that they won the cups with, but lack the overall depth to be cup contenders now.

 

pretty terrible comparisons

How so?