Re: NHL (Blackhawks included) offseason thread

[Banedon]

Huet to the minors seems like a foregone conclusion, but nobody has actually confirmed with the Hawks that they'd be willing to do it. But it's hard to imagine them fielding a roster if they don't.

 

They may still be hoping to package him in a trade with a valuable player.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Huet to the minors seems like a foregone conclusion, but nobody has actually confirmed with the Hawks that they'd be willing to do it. But it's hard to imagine them fielding a roster if they don't.

 

They may still be hoping to package him in a trade with a valuable player.

 

I just don't see how. He was completely awful in the second half, and there's a billion goalies on the market this offseason. Plus, I don't think anyone on the Blackhawks is *that* valuable. They have some nice players, but all of them are getting paid pretty much what they are worth, so there's no extra value.

[jersey cubs fan]

http://www.nhl.com/league/ext/pdf/2010-11byteam_ET.pdf

 

NHL schedule by team.

[UMFan83]

I'm assuming Niemi has to be sent to the minors or to the KHL to make that happen...or is that a foregone conclusion at this point?

 

Niemi, or Huet? What would sending Niemi down accomplish?

 

Obviously meant Huet. I'm brain dead today.

[kujay]

http://www.nhl.com/league/ext/pdf/2010-11byteam_ET.pdf

 

NHL schedule by team.

 

The one thing that jumps out at me is there is no hellish road trip in February. Six games, but that's not bad. Of course there is the west coast trip when the circus comes through in late November.

[UMFan83]

Games that stick out for me

 

10/7 @ Colorado - First game of season

10/9 vs. Detroit - Home opener/Banner raising night

10/13 vs. Nashville - First game against Nashville after playoff series

10/20 vs. Vancouver - First game against Vancouver after playoff series

11/1 @ NY Rangers - O6 team

11/24 @ San Jose - First game against San Jose after playoff series

1/23 vs. Philadelphia - Only SCF rematch of the year

3/5 @ Toronto - O6 team

3/13 @ Washington - Revenge against Ovechkin?

3/29 @ Boston - O6 team

4/5 @ Montreal - O6 team....no O6ers at home besides Detroit this year damn.

4/8&4/10 @ Detroit/vs. Detroit - Our typical home and home against Detroit to end the season. Playoff positioning.

[jersey cubs fan]

3/13 @ Washington - Revenge against Ovechkin?

 

Campbell may be a Capital by then.

[kujay]

3/13 @ Washington - Revenge against Ovechkin?

 

Campbell may be a Capital by then.

 

Haha I was thinking the same thing when I read that.

[kujay]

no O6ers at home besides Detroit this year damn.

 

That's a bummer. Even though the Blues aren't an O6, when those teams come to town I always want to go. It doesn't really make any sense, especially with a crap team like Toronto. It's just something about those teams.

[Banedon]

My hockey newbness is going to show here, but I just don't understand the significance of an O6 team. There's no other sport that holds certain teams as somehow more important like that. There's no big significance to a Cubs-Reds game, for example. Just trying to understand it...

[Magnetic Curses]

My hockey newbness is going to show here, but I just don't understand the significance of an O6 team. There's no other sport that holds certain teams as somehow more important like that. There's no big significance to a Cubs-Reds game, for example. Just trying to understand it...

 

there's no real significance to it, in my mind. the original 6 aren't even the original 6, really. they were just what the league was for the 25 years after contraction.

[RedFlash]

Nathan Horton (Flo) traded to Boston, according to Bob MacKenzie. If this is true then Boston got themselves something they desparately needed..........scoring. Despite playing in only 65 games Horton had something like 57 points. Here's the sad part, he would have led the Bruins in scoring.

[jersey cubs fan]

My hockey newbness is going to show here, but I just don't understand the significance of an O6 team. There's no other sport that holds certain teams as somehow more important like that. There's no big significance to a Cubs-Reds game, for example. Just trying to understand it...

 

Original six teams are meaningful in that they are hockey's version of talking about olde tymey stuff. The Packers are more meaningful than the Jaguars. If the Reds got good again, people would talk about the days of old when the Reds ruled, whereas if the Nationals went on a run, there wouldn't be much to talk about. Baseball's expansion was more gradual and arguably more successful. Hockey's expansion is much more recent and drastic. It's also unique to think about a major north american sport with 6 teams in the mid 60's. And how the league basically tripled in size in a few years.

 

Anything pre-1980 is talked about in reverential terms in american sports. For hockey that is Montreal and the Original Six.

[Soul]

There's not additional significance placed on, say, a GB/CHI matchup because of the long history of both teams?

 

Oh, I think there is. I don't think this is a hockey-only thing. It's probably more acute in hockey as jersey said.

[jersey cubs fan]

There's not additional significance placed on, say, a GB/CHI matchup because of the long history of both teams?

 

Oh, I think there is. I don't think this is a hockey-only thing. It's probably more acute in hockey as jersey said.

 

Original Six stands out because of the six part. There were only six teams. The NFL had 12, 13 and 14 in the years before the NHL expanded. MLB was at 20. There's just a whole lot more "original" matchups in MLB and NFL, making any one of them less meaningful.

[Banedon]

There's not additional significance placed on, say, a GB/CHI matchup because of the long history of both teams?

 

Oh, I think there is. I don't think this is a hockey-only thing. It's probably more acute in hockey as jersey said.

 

Well Chi/GB is a division rivarly. I have no issue with Blackhawks/Red Wings hype.

 

But nobody is circling the date for a Chicago Bears/Arizona (Chicago) Cardinals matchup, even though that history goes back just as long as Bears-Packers.

[jersey cubs fan]

There's also the matter of the original six being in the same cities where they were back then. MLB had the Giants/Dodgers move, they've had lots of incarnations of the Braves and Athletics, and multiple teams come and go from places like Philly and Washington. NFL had the Browns and Colts move, the Cardinals and Rams move all over.

[jersey cubs fan]

There's not additional significance placed on, say, a GB/CHI matchup because of the long history of both teams?

 

Oh, I think there is. I don't think this is a hockey-only thing. It's probably more acute in hockey as jersey said.

 

Well Chi/GB is a division rivarly. I have no issue with Blackhawks/Red Wings hype.

 

But nobody is circling the date for a Chicago Bears/Arizona (Chicago) Cardinals matchup, even though that history goes back just as long as Bears-Packers.

 

And the reason, as stated in other posts, is that there are a whole bunch more olde tymey NFL matchups plus the Cardinals aren't in the same city they once were (massive turnover in fan base).

 

There's a whole lot more to talk about on a Monday Night football matchup show when it's Bears/Giants than when it's Jaguars/Panthers.

[UMFan83]

My hockey newbness is going to show here, but I just don't understand the significance of an O6 team. There's no other sport that holds certain teams as somehow more important like that. There's no big significance to a Cubs-Reds game, for example. Just trying to understand it...

 

Well I am not sure, but like mentioned above they were the entire NHL for a ~25 year span so most older people (65+ years old), grew up with those teams only. For some reason, the majority of those teams claim a ton of tradition and very little change in logos, uniforms and colors. Besides the Hawks and Rangers, they all have a ton of championships too. When you think about it, there are only 14 NHL franchises that pre-date the 1979 WHA merger and have stayed in the same city since then. In reality there should be an original 14:

 

Chicago Blackhawks

Detroit Red Wings

Toronto Maple Leafs

Montreal Canadiens

Boston Bruins

New York Rangers

St. Louis Blues

Los Angeles Kings

Vancouver Canucks

Philadelphia Flyers

Pittsburgh Penguins

Buffalo Sabres

Washington Capitals

New York Islanders

 

For historical purposes, the Kings, Canucks, Sabres, Capitals and Islanders have drastically changed their logos/color schemes since their inception making them seem slightly less historical. People love the idea of going to a hockey game or watching one on TV and seeing the teams in the exact same jerseys as they were wearing 30+ years ago. Theres something very old timey about that I guess.

[Banedon]

Ok...thanks guys. I guess I just wasn't aware of some of the history involved....how long it was just the original six, and how fast and drastic expansion was. I still don't know that I'll ever hold the original six in the same reverence that many do, but I suppose I get it a little.

[jersey cubs fan]

Ok...thanks guys. I guess I just wasn't aware of some of the history involved....how long it was just the original six, and how fast and drastic expansion was. I still don't know that I'll ever hold the original six in the same reverence that many do, but I suppose I get it a little.

 

I'm not really sure there's that many people who hold it in that much reverence. SI was touting an original six stanley cup in the preseason, with Boston/Chicago. But their writer, Michael Farber, is one of those older generation of writers who grew up on original six hockey and witnessed the first wave of expansion. I think the real drawing line for reverence are all the southern expansion teams.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

The NHL PA has voted to extend the salary cap by the 5%, and the official number for next season looks like it will be a little over $59 million, about $1 million higher than reported previously.

 

This is *fantastic* news for the Blackhawks. Every little bit of breathing room helps, and I think they may even be able to qualify at least one guy without moving any salary (although they'd like to qualify all of them, so still expect them to move some guys in the next few days).

[Banedon]

Great news!

 

Also there's a rumor that the Canucks are interested in Ladd. Him and Kesler on the same team?

 

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=325347

[kujay]

Yeah that's excellent.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Doing some fiddling right now on gapgeek. The official cap will come out later this week, likely Friday, but early reports are that it's somewhere between $59 and $59.75 million. I'm going to go with $59.5 million, and assume the Blackhawks will take a $3.5 million hit due to the bonus cap issues (estimates have gone anywhere from $2-4 million, only the NHL knows for sure). So our cap for next year would be about $56 million.

 

I still think we'll have to choose between Niemi and Hjalmarsson. I'd prefer Hammer to stay and Niemi to go. There's a flood of goalies on the market this offseason and a lot of teams have some young guys they want to give jobs to. So I think it's very likely you'll see the Blackhawks wait till the end of the offseason and find some vet who has lost the musical chairs game and sign them to a cheap one-year deal.

 

AUTO-GENERATED CAPGEEK.COM LINES

FORWARDS

Jonathan Toews ($6.300m) / Patrick Kane ($6.300m) / Troy Brouwer ($1.025m)

Marian Hossa ($5.275m)/ Patrick Sharp ($3.900m) / Tomas Kopecky ($1.200m)

Kyle Beach ($1.171m) / Dave Bolland ($3.375m) / / * Jack Skille ($0.950m)

* Cheap F ($0.750m) /* Colin Fraser ($0.850m) / * Bryan Bickell ($0.650m)

Jake Dowell ($0.525m)

DEFENSEMEN

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

Brian Campbell ($7.143m) / * Niklas Hjalmarsson ($3.250m)

* Cheap D ($0.900m) / * Jordan Hendry ($0.725m)

* Cheap D ($0.600m)

GOALTENDERS

* Cheap G ($1.250m) / Corey Crawford ($0.800m)

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS

(no bonus cushion is used in these calculations)

ROSTER: 22; CAP: $56.5m; PAYROLL: $55.977m; CAP ROOM: $0.523m

 

Edit to move them around into actual lines