Blackhawks 15-16 season

[BigbadB]

Did it ever get explained what #4 did to get an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty?

[kujay]

I haven't seen an explanation.

 

So, Toews wades into (what shouldn't be) controversial territory:

 

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And I fully expect this will get him in more hot water with Hawks fans than Kane's escapades last summer did.

[jersey cubs fan]

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[kujay]

Now that the dust has settled, I wish they'd beefed up the defense. Ehrhoff doesn't count.

 

Apparently they were in on Hamhuis at the last minute but couldn't make it work.

[biittner77]

Now that the dust has settled, I wish they'd beefed up the defense. Ehrhoff doesn't count.

 

Apparently they were in on Hamhuis at the last minute but couldn't make it work.

 

Ehrhoff only has to be better than TVR to be valuable. That's not a very high bar. He also means one less year of Scuderi so that makes the trade worthwhile.

 

Considering people like Roman Polak were commanding 2nd round picks, I could see where there just wasn't a clear upgrade out there. Barring injury, the 3rd pairing will be ok which will take some of the pressure off the 2nd pair. I think we've been kind of spoiled in recent years by having a lot of defensive depth.

[UMFan83]

Now that the dust has settled, I wish they'd beefed up the defense. Ehrhoff doesn't count.

 

Apparently they were in on Hamhuis at the last minute but couldn't make it work.

 

Yeah it sucks because I thought our 2 biggest issues heading into the deadline were blue line depth and 1st line wing. We definitely got the wing, and fortified our 3rd line, which if Sunday's game is any indication will make Tuevo a lot more effective.

 

But yeah blue line depth is a hole still. God forbid Keith or Hammer goes down (and Seabrook although he's having a down year defensively). But like Stan said, there are a lot of young defensive players on the Hawks/Rockford. If we find one halfway decent guy out of that group, I think the Hawks can live with what they have, especially if Crawford keeps up his mostly stellar season.

[UMFan83]

http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/7/71/1364100/2013-comeback-detroit-forged-blackhawks-fire

 

Fun article revisiting the comeback against the Wings.

 

Still get chills remembering the 3rd period of game 6 against the Wings and of course Seabs goal

[biittner77]

But yeah blue line depth is a hole still. God forbid Keith or Hammer goes down (and Seabrook although he's having a down year defensively). But like Stan said, there are a lot of young defensive players on the Hawks/Rockford. If we find one halfway decent guy out of that group, I think the Hawks can live with what they have, especially if Crawford keeps up his mostly stellar season.

 

It's funny, a friend of mine who's a Rangers fan and I were talking about the game Sunday. He was really impressed with the Hawks. Same story with the Pens fans around here too. Perhaps were suffering from a proximity bias.

 

I don't see any meaningful help coming from Rock Vegas this season. Svedberg is too slow. Polkka is interesting but too young/ inexperienced. Seabrook usually plays better in the playoffs. The 3rd pair is better than it was last year with the three headed beast that is Roszy, TVR and Ehrhoff. The X factor will be Gustafson. At times, he's looked really good. Maybe he hit a little bit of a rookie wall there and his play fell off a bit.

 

TCI did an article about the contenders in the west and everyone has their issues, especially on the blue line.

[minnesotacubsfan]

Elite Defensive men are so difficult to find, we're lucky to have 3, arguably

[minnesotacubsfan]

That, and Theo is spoiling us the way he's building the Cobs

[UMFan83]

Yeah its its unlikely that the Hawks will be so exposed that they basically are running out 5 defensemen and 8 minutes of Kimmo's corpse in the playoffs. And even if they do, they managed to win the Cup doing that last year.

 

The issue is that if any of Keith, Hammer or Seabrook goes down, we're in trouble.

[Northsider]

But yeah blue line depth is a hole still. God forbid Keith or Hammer goes down (and Seabrook although he's having a down year defensively). But like Stan said, there are a lot of young defensive players on the Hawks/Rockford. If we find one halfway decent guy out of that group, I think the Hawks can live with what they have, especially if Crawford keeps up his mostly stellar season.

 

It's funny, a friend of mine who's a Rangers fan and I were talking about the game Sunday. He was really impressed with the Hawks. Same story with the Pens fans around here too. Perhaps were suffering from a proximity bias.

 

I don't see any meaningful help coming from Rock Vegas this season. Svedberg is too slow. Polkka is interesting but too young/ inexperienced. Seabrook usually plays better in the playoffs. The 3rd pair is better than it was last year with the three headed beast that is Roszy, TVR and Ehrhoff. The X factor will be Gustafson. At times, he's looked really good. Maybe he hit a little bit of a rookie wall there and his play fell off a bit.

 

TCI did an article about the contenders in the west and everyone has their issues, especially on the blue line.

 

Agreed on Gustafsson. That article about Theo et. al. testing the reaction times of draftees to find guys who can dominate at the upper levels? You can SEE Gusty reacting faster than everyone else on the ice. Give him some development time and I think he'll be better than the big three.

[UMFan83]

But yeah blue line depth is a hole still. God forbid Keith or Hammer goes down (and Seabrook although he's having a down year defensively). But like Stan said, there are a lot of young defensive players on the Hawks/Rockford. If we find one halfway decent guy out of that group, I think the Hawks can live with what they have, especially if Crawford keeps up his mostly stellar season.

 

It's funny, a friend of mine who's a Rangers fan and I were talking about the game Sunday. He was really impressed with the Hawks. Same story with the Pens fans around here too. Perhaps were suffering from a proximity bias.

 

I don't see any meaningful help coming from Rock Vegas this season. Svedberg is too slow. Polkka is interesting but too young/ inexperienced. Seabrook usually plays better in the playoffs. The 3rd pair is better than it was last year with the three headed beast that is Roszy, TVR and Ehrhoff. The X factor will be Gustafson. At times, he's looked really good. Maybe he hit a little bit of a rookie wall there and his play fell off a bit.

 

TCI did an article about the contenders in the west and everyone has their issues, especially on the blue line.

 

Agreed on Gustafsson. That article about Theo et. al. testing the reaction times of draftees to find guys who can dominate at the upper levels? You can SEE Gusty reacting faster than everyone else on the ice. Give him some development time and I think he'll be better than the big three.

 

Wait you think he will be better than Keith, Seabrook and Hjalmarsson? That's a bold statement

[BrockLanders]

Toews, Keith and Crawford were selected to honour the crown and defend her majesty's Maple Leaf, as is tradition.

[biittner77]

Toews, Keith and Crawford were selected to honour the crown and defend her majesty's Maple Leaf, as is tradition.

 

I'm interested to see Kopitar with Hossa on his wing for team rest of Europe. Who will the Russians put with Anisimov and Panarin? Ovie would be a lot of fun.

[NewUserName]

Toews, Keith and Crawford were selected to honour the crown and defend her majesty's Maple Leaf, as is tradition.

 

I'm interested to see Kopitar with Hossa on his wing for team rest of Europe. Who will the Russians put with Anisimov and Panarin? Ovie would be a lot of fun.

They always put Ovie with Malkin

[Flames24Rulz]

 

It's funny, a friend of mine who's a Rangers fan and I were talking about the game Sunday. He was really impressed with the Hawks. Same story with the Pens fans around here too. Perhaps were suffering from a proximity bias.

 

I don't see any meaningful help coming from Rock Vegas this season. Svedberg is too slow. Polkka is interesting but too young/ inexperienced. Seabrook usually plays better in the playoffs. The 3rd pair is better than it was last year with the three headed beast that is Roszy, TVR and Ehrhoff. The X factor will be Gustafson. At times, he's looked really good. Maybe he hit a little bit of a rookie wall there and his play fell off a bit.

 

TCI did an article about the contenders in the west and everyone has their issues, especially on the blue line.

 

Agreed on Gustafsson. That article about Theo et. al. testing the reaction times of draftees to find guys who can dominate at the upper levels? You can SEE Gusty reacting faster than everyone else on the ice. Give him some development time and I think he'll be better than the big three.

 

Wait you think he will be better than Keith, Seabrook and Hjalmarsson? That's a bold statement

 

Better than a definite HOF, a fringe HOF, and a really good player...yeah, a bold statement is probably an understatement there. I'm just hoping he can be a quality second pairing defenseman.

[Northsider]

 

Agreed on Gustafsson. That article about Theo et. al. testing the reaction times of draftees to find guys who can dominate at the upper levels? You can SEE Gusty reacting faster than everyone else on the ice. Give him some development time and I think he'll be better than the big three.

 

Wait you think he will be better than Keith, Seabrook and Hjalmarsson? That's a bold statement

 

Better than a definite HOF, a fringe HOF, and a really good player...yeah, a bold statement is probably an understatement there. I'm just hoping he can be a quality second pairing defenseman.

 

Bold maybe; but there are plenty of guys out there who falter once they hit the NHL because they can't play at the speed of the NHL (or MLB, or NFL, &c). I may be wrong, but it looks to me like he's playing 'faster' in that sense than anyone else on the ice - like his whole body is moving to the play before anyone else has even noticed something is going on. That pass last night against the Red Wings was a shining example of how seamless, for lack of a better word, he can be. As with any player there's no guarantee, but I *love* the upside.

[jersey cubs fan]

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[jersey cubs fan]

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[17 Seconds]

that's a lot for a 4th line center.

[biittner77]

that's a lot for a 4th line center.

 

Particularly one that doesn't score much. However, the Hawks don't really need Kruger to score so long as his line can match up against one of the top two lines in the playoffs. This creates a favorable match up for either the Toews line or the Anisimov line not to mention allowing Teuvo's line to bum slay to the extent that that happens in the playoffs.

 

$3 mil per seems like a lot but it's less than they paid Bolland for essentially the same role. While Bolland was more of an offensive contributor Kruger has made himself better at the face off dot and is an integral part of the PK which is really important during the playoffs.

 

I wouldn't go out and but any Andrew Shaw jerseys. If you already have one, keep it since he could be the type of rental piece the Hawks will bring back in 3-4 years.

[kujay]

Yeah, not pleased with the term/dollars but like keeping him obviously. Feels like the Crawford deal. I assume it was necessary, but don't really know at this point.

[biittner77]

Yeah, not pleased with the term/dollars but like keeping him obviously. Feels like the Crawford deal. I assume it was necessary, but don't really know at this point.

 

Speaking of the Crawford deal, if the worst happens and the cap goes down a little, he'd have to be the next member of the core to get traded. That would be a sizeable blow to their ability to win the next cup but Crawford is a really valuable trade chip to a lot of teams. Obviously, no one wants to trade Crawford (the Hawks would be scrambling for a playoff spot without him) but that's the biggest chunk of salary that they could realistically trade and get value in return.

[kujay]

Well if you can move Bickell and Shaw that would solve that problem. I was queasy about Crow's contract at the time, but given today's market and his play, it's a very fair deal.

 

Also, Kane is free like OJ. Again.

 

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