Re: NHL (Blackhawks included) offseason thread

[kujay]

I forget where I read it today, but I saw somewhere that Beach is unlikely to crack the Hawks' roster this year because his cap hit would be around $1M. So, yeah, thanks [expletive].

 

it's more than reasonable to fit beach under the cap. however, they would have to trade reasoner, which i don't understand why they haven't yet. we don't necessarily need some old, stalwart defensive center on the 4th line. it can be a young, offensive-minded center as well.

 

You mean like John Madden? I'm actually fine with keeping Reasoner.

[Flames24Rulz]

I'll be furious if we trade Sharp. Nothing like trading four pretty solid forwards (including one real good one in Sharp) over trading one single defenseman who's making a ton of money over the next five years.

 

And yes, I realize we wouldn't have been able to keep all four of the forwards. But we would've been able to keep Sharp and one of the other three for sure.

Edited July 13, 2010 by Flames24Rulz

[jersey cubs fan]

I'll be furious if we trade Sharp. Nothing like trading four pretty solid forwards (including one real good one in Sharp) over trading one single defenseman who's making a ton of money over the next five years.

 

You can only trade the guys that other teams will trade for.

[Flames24Rulz]

I'll be furious if we trade Sharp. Nothing like trading four pretty solid forwards (including one real good one in Sharp) over trading one single defenseman who's making a ton of money over the next five years.

 

You can only trade the guys that other teams will trade for.

 

Right, but I refuse to believe that there's zero interest for Campbell. He came off a very solid playoff run and showed his worth. Couple that in with the Islanders needing to just reach the salary floor and I have an extremely difficult time believing that there hasn't been an offer for him.

[jersey cubs fan]

I'll be furious if we trade Sharp. Nothing like trading four pretty solid forwards (including one real good one in Sharp) over trading one single defenseman who's making a ton of money over the next five years.

 

You can only trade the guys that other teams will trade for.

 

Right, but I refuse to believe that there's zero interest for Campbell. He came off a very solid playoff run and showed his worth. Couple that in with the Islanders needing to just reach the salary floor and I have an extremely difficult time believing that there hasn't been an offer for him.

 

An offer, maybe. But then you have no idea what the offer could be. I think they would have traded him if they could have.

[Magnetic Curses]

I'll be furious if we trade Sharp. Nothing like trading four pretty solid forwards (including one real good one in Sharp) over trading one single defenseman who's making a ton of money over the next five years.

 

You can only trade the guys that other teams will trade for.

 

Right, but I refuse to believe that there's zero interest for Campbell. He came off a very solid playoff run and showed his worth. Couple that in with the Islanders needing to just reach the salary floor and I have an extremely difficult time believing that there hasn't been an offer for him.

 

i don't think campbell would approve a trade to the isles.

[kujay]

I'll be furious if we trade Sharp. Nothing like trading four pretty solid forwards (including one real good one in Sharp) over trading one single defenseman who's making a ton of money over the next five years.

 

You can only trade the guys that other teams will trade for.

 

Right, but I refuse to believe that there's zero interest for Campbell. He came off a very solid playoff run and showed his worth. Couple that in with the Islanders needing to just reach the salary floor and I have an extremely difficult time believing that there hasn't been an offer for him.

 

i don't think campbell would approve a trade to the isles.

 

Does he have an NTC? If so, ouch. I wouldn't want to leave if I were him, except maybe for a chance to go home and play in Ontario.

[Flames24Rulz]

I'll be furious if we trade Sharp. Nothing like trading four pretty solid forwards (including one real good one in Sharp) over trading one single defenseman who's making a ton of money over the next five years.

 

You can only trade the guys that other teams will trade for.

 

Right, but I refuse to believe that there's zero interest for Campbell. He came off a very solid playoff run and showed his worth. Couple that in with the Islanders needing to just reach the salary floor and I have an extremely difficult time believing that there hasn't been an offer for him.

 

i don't think campbell would approve a trade to the isles.

 

Does he have an NTC? If so, ouch. I wouldn't want to leave if I were him, except maybe for a chance to go home and play in Ontario.

 

He has a limited NTC.

[Wilson A2000]

Can the Hawks afford Niemi now that they signed Hjalmarson? If they don't sign Niemi due to Hjalmarson, Bowman should be fired. The Hawks don't have a superstar on offense. The won with depth, and now that depth has been seriously depleted.

 

Any word on whether the Hawks will send Huet down to the minors? Would Rocky eat 5 million to save Niemi?

[17 Seconds]

Can the Hawks afford Niemi now that they signed Hjalmarson? If they don't sign Niemi due to Hjalmarson, Bowman should be fired.

 

Why? Hjalmarsson is a well above average d-man, and Niemi is an average goalie. Choosing him over Hjlmarsson because of a good few rounds in the playoffs would have been dumb. We don't compete next season without Hjalmarsson on the second pairing with Campbell.

 

The Hawks don't have a superstar on offense.

 

Lol what? Yeah, it's not like they have had a forward on the cover of the NHL games for 2 straight years. And that's not even mentioning Hossa. This is just a ridiculous thing to say.

 

Any word on whether the Hawks will send Huet down to the minors? Would Rocky eat 5 million to save Niemi?

 

If they weren't going to do that, we wouldn't have even been able to keep Hjalmarsson, soooo

[17 Seconds]

I'll be furious if we trade Sharp. Nothing like trading four pretty solid forwards (including one real good one in Sharp) over trading one single defenseman who's making a ton of money over the next five years.

 

And yes, I realize we wouldn't have been able to keep all four of the forwards. But we would've been able to keep Sharp and one of the other three for sure.

 

 

I really don't understand why people think the Hawks can choose to trade Campbell if they want to. Nobody wants his contract, AND he has a NTC.

 

If they were able to move Campbell instead of doing all this other stuff, you don't think they would have? Of course they would have.

[Magnetic Curses]

Can the Hawks afford Niemi now that they signed Hjalmarson? If they don't sign Niemi due to Hjalmarson, Bowman should be fired.

 

Why? Hjalmarsson is a well above average d-man, and Niemi is an average goalie. Choosing him over Hjlmarsson because of a good few rounds in the playoffs would have been dumb. We don't compete next season without Hjalmarsson on the second pairing with Campbell.

 

The Hawks don't have a superstar on offense.

 

Lol what? Yeah, it's not like they have had a forward on the cover of the NHL games for 2 straight years. And that's not even mentioning Hossa. This is just a ridiculous thing to say.

 

Any word on whether the Hawks will send Huet down to the minors? Would Rocky eat 5 million to save Niemi?

 

If they weren't going to do that, we wouldn't have even been able to keep Hjalmarsson, soooo

 

yeah, that's just silly. no superstar? "hey do you think they'll send huet to the minors? do ya do ya do ya?"

[Wilson A2000]

Yes I genuinely do wonder if they will send Huet down. It's a fair question that the administration hasn't answered yet. The way Bowman has been handing the offseason, nothing would surprise me.

 

Niemi is not an average goalie. He was fourth in the NHL in save percentage last year and was stellar in the playoffs. You are hockey stupid if you think arguably the most important position in professional sports is less important than your fourth-best defenseman. Have fun with Huet as your full-time goalie next year. You don't compete without your fourth-best defender? Hahahahhaha. Not saying he isn't important, but he sure as heck isn't more important than Niemi.

 

Toews and Kane are stars, not superstars.

[17 Seconds]

Yes I genuinely do wonder if they will send Huet down. It's a fair question that the administration hasn't answered yet. The way Bowman has been handing the offseason, nothing would surprise me.

 

Niemi is not an average goalie. He was fourth in the NHL in save percentage last year and was stellar in the playoffs. You are hockey stupid if you think arguably the most important position in professional sports is less important than your fourth-best defenseman. Have fun with Huet as your full-time goalie next year. You don't compete without your fourth-best defender? Hahahahhaha. Not saying he isn't important, but he sure as heck isn't more important than Niemi.

 

Toews and Kane are stars, not superstars.

 

stupid? you know, i could have easily called the stuff you said stupid, but i didn't.

 

HUET IS BEING SENT DOWN AND WONT BE OUR GOALIE NEXT YEAR. seriously, go on capgeek and take 2 minutes to look at the roster and it's completely obvious he's being sent down. this is njot an issue.

 

oh, and Niemi didn't have the 4th best save percentage in the NHL. he wasn't even close. he was tied for 19th, right behind MARTY TURCO

 

http://espn.go.com/nhl/statistics/player/_/stat/goaltending/sort/savePct/year/2010/seasontype/2

 

edit: and btw, hjalmarsson is not our 4th best d-man. he's third, and would be second on most teams.

Edited July 14, 2010 by 17 Seconds

[Guest]

Toews and Kane are superstars.

[UMFan83]

Yes I genuinely do wonder if they will send Huet down. It's a fair question that the administration hasn't answered yet. The way Bowman has been handing the offseason, nothing would surprise me.

 

Niemi is not an average goalie. He was fourth in the NHL in save percentage last year and was stellar in the playoffs. You are hockey stupid if you think arguably the most important position in professional sports is less important than your fourth-best defenseman. Have fun with Huet as your full-time goalie next year. You don't compete without your fourth-best defender? Hahahahhaha. Not saying he isn't important, but he sure as heck isn't more important than Niemi.

 

Toews and Kane are stars, not superstars.

 

By 4th you mean 19th right? You are probably referring to 4th in GAA, which is true. But you know who was also in the top 10 until the very end of the season? Huet, who finished 11th in the league in GAA but 42nd in save percentage.

 

Now why would the Hawks goalies have such good GAA numbers but such mediocre (Niemi) to bad (Huet) save %. Hmm...could it be that they play behind a defense that allowed the last number of SOG in the NHL last year? Yeah I think that's it. The defense made it possible for a mediocre goalie like Niemi to thrive. In order to have a great defense, you need to have 2 solid defensive lines. Which by keeping Hammer, you have. If you start removing players from the top 2 D lines, then you start allowing more SOG, and if you allow more SOG, then statistically based on the numbers I showed above, the goalies will allow more goals than the average goalie. Make sense?

 

I can't believe the person who thinks the Hawks don't have one superstar on offense (you're right they have 3), is laughing at others because of his perceived superior knowledge of hockey.

[Wilson A2000]

Yes I genuinely do wonder if they will send Huet down. It's a fair question that the administration hasn't answered yet. The way Bowman has been handing the offseason, nothing would surprise me.

 

Niemi is not an average goalie. He was fourth in the NHL in save percentage last year and was stellar in the playoffs. You are hockey stupid if you think arguably the most important position in professional sports is less important than your fourth-best defenseman. Have fun with Huet as your full-time goalie next year. You don't compete without your fourth-best defender? Hahahahhaha. Not saying he isn't important, but he sure as heck isn't more important than Niemi.

 

Toews and Kane are stars, not superstars.

 

stupid? you know, i could have easily called the stuff you said stupid, but i didn't.

 

HUET IS BEING SENT DOWN AND WONT BE OUR GOALIE NEXT YEAR. seriously, go on capgeek and take 2 minutes to look at the roster and it's completely obvious he's being sent down. this is njot an issue.

 

oh, and Niemi didn't have the 4th best save percentage in the NHL. he wasn't even close. he was tied for 19th, right behind MARTY TURCO

 

http://espn.go.com/nhl/statistics/player/_/stat/goaltending/sort/savePct/year/2010/seasontype/2

 

edit: and btw, hjalmarsson is not our 4th best d-man. he's third, and would be second on most teams.

 

I meant goals against average.

 

So if you don't care for Niemi, who is the Hawks goalie next year? Any way you cut it, getting rid of Niemi because of your fourth best defenseman is hockey stupid when you don't have a better option.

 

The Hawks had one player in the top 10 in the NHL in points (8th with Kane) last year. He is a star, not a superstar. So is Toews. Very good players, not superstars.

 

But there is a very good chance that I am hockey stupid too.

[17 Seconds]

going by points and GAA is like going by RBIs and batting average in baseball

 

umfan's post was really good

[UMFan83]

Yes I genuinely do wonder if they will send Huet down. It's a fair question that the administration hasn't answered yet. The way Bowman has been handing the offseason, nothing would surprise me.

 

Niemi is not an average goalie. He was fourth in the NHL in save percentage last year and was stellar in the playoffs. You are hockey stupid if you think arguably the most important position in professional sports is less important than your fourth-best defenseman. Have fun with Huet as your full-time goalie next year. You don't compete without your fourth-best defender? Hahahahhaha. Not saying he isn't important, but he sure as heck isn't more important than Niemi.

 

Toews and Kane are stars, not superstars.

 

stupid? you know, i could have easily called the stuff you said stupid, but i didn't.

 

HUET IS BEING SENT DOWN AND WONT BE OUR GOALIE NEXT YEAR. seriously, go on capgeek and take 2 minutes to look at the roster and it's completely obvious he's being sent down. this is njot an issue.

 

oh, and Niemi didn't have the 4th best save percentage in the NHL. he wasn't even close. he was tied for 19th, right behind MARTY TURCO

 

http://espn.go.com/nhl/statistics/player/_/stat/goaltending/sort/savePct/year/2010/seasontype/2

 

edit: and btw, hjalmarsson is not our 4th best d-man. he's third, and would be second on most teams.

 

I meant goals against average.

 

So if you don't care for Niemi, who is the Hawks goalie next year? Any way you cut it, getting rid of Niemi because of your fourth best defenseman is hockey stupid when you don't have a better option.

 

The Hawks had one player in the top 10 in the NHL in points (8th with Kane) last year. He is a star, not a superstar. So is Toews. Very good players, not superstars.

 

But there is a very good chance that I am hockey stupid too.

 

Again, see my post. GAA is very misleading when you consider the fact that Niemi's save percentage was 19th in the league. His GAA was low because the defense allowed the least SOG in the NHL.

 

Points aren't the only defining trait of a good offensive player. Look at Hossa in the playoffs. Was struggling to get points but clearly looked like the best player on the ice, and greatly contributed in goals that he didn't get an assist for. Plus you have Hossa who missed a third of the season and has had 100 and 92 point seasons within the last 4 years.

 

Hammer is much more important than resigning Niemi. There is a FA that no one wants right now named Marty Turco that actually had a higher save percentage than Niemi. A goalie of Niemi's caliber can be replaced. 23 year old defensemen with Hammer's ability to prevent SOG and move the puck up the ice offensively can't be replaced very easily.

[Magnetic Curses]

Yes I genuinely do wonder if they will send Huet down. It's a fair question that the administration hasn't answered yet. The way Bowman has been handing the offseason, nothing would surprise me.

 

Niemi is not an average goalie. He was fourth in the NHL in save percentage last year and was stellar in the playoffs. You are hockey stupid if you think arguably the most important position in professional sports is less important than your fourth-best defenseman. Have fun with Huet as your full-time goalie next year. You don't compete without your fourth-best defender? Hahahahhaha. Not saying he isn't important, but he sure as heck isn't more important than Niemi.

 

Toews and Kane are stars, not superstars.

 

hjalmarsson was a big reason niemi's GAA was low.

[Wilson A2000]

I see your point. If you want to bring in Marty Turco, that's fine. Not sure if he will be any cheaper than Niemi who I think will bring in the most bang for the buck which is a concern with the Hawks salary cap troubles. I just don't want to go back to Huet. Hjalmarson does move the puck up the ice well. So does Campbell. The Hawks had a difficult time doing that in the Nashville series which is why getting rid of Campbell might not be the best idea.

[17 Seconds]

another thing with hjalmarsson is that i don't think people realize how much he masked campbell's deficiencies last season. if you take away hjalmarsson, our defense would have been a complete mess for the 30 minutes a game that Keith/Seabrook are off the ice. I mean, I think it would be REALLY bad, and Niemi isn't the type of goalie that is going to mask poor defense either. he gives up a lot of rebounds and is out of position a lot. the great defense we had last year (well, for most of the year) really made niemi look better than he was.

 

hjalmarsson was just solid, solid, solid. i may be overrating him a tad, but that's only because i think he didn't get enough credit last season. keith/seabrook got all the love, but in reality i think hjalmarsson was almost as good as seabrook last year. he doesn't add much offensively, but he was our most consistent defensive player last year in my opinion. always in position, never caught too deep, great on the PK, excellent shot blocker, and he laid people out when the opportunity presented itself. he wouldn't go looking for hits, but he would devastate you if the timing was right.

[Irrelevant Dude]

I just don't want to go back to Huet.

I thought that was out of question anyway. Aren't all the salary cap projections already figuring that Huet will be sent to the minors or elsewhere, thereby removing him from the cap picture?

[17 Seconds]

I just don't want to go back to Huet.

I thought that was out of question anyway. Aren't all the salary cap projections already figuring that Huet will be sent to the minors or elsewhere, thereby removing him from the cap picture?

 

yeah, i don't know why he keeps talking about huet like it's a possibility.

 

seriously wilson, go look at our roster on capgeek. there is no chance whatsoever they can keep huet. none.

[17 Seconds]

i just looked at capgeek, and we're ALREADY over the cap if you leave huet in there, and that's 6 players short of a full roster.

 

so, yeah..