Whole lotto suckin’ (Blackhawks 2023 offseason)

[bukie]

Bedard was on another level at this year's World Junior Hockey championships:

 

 

[PosterToBeNamedLater]

7 hours ago, UMFan83 said:

As a Chicago fan, the coolest thing about this is that it moves the Blackhawks into the fold of teams I have some excitement for.  Previously I didn't expect to be excited to watch them for at least another 2-3 years.  Now, while I still expect the Hawks to be bad next year, I will at least have some enjoyment watching them as soon as next fall. Bedard is literally the only person the Blackhawks could have gotten to move them up that timeline.  

The Bulls are now the only team that I have no excitement about.

1. Bears

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2. Cubs

3. Blackhawks

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-

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4. Bulls

I was just thinking this today.  Its weird, I guess the bulls have technically been the most successful the past two years and yet they aren't fun at all and have no future. The bears won 3 games last year and I was more into that season than almost any other season of theirs that I have been watching.  It was fun watching fields and hoping he can become a star.  It felt like watching the cubs in 2014 and then 2015, thinking about what they might become as the young players were coming up.  Like you said, Bedard is the one guy that will make me excited enough to watch the blackhawks next year even if they aren't actually winning games.  

[BigbadB]

7 hours ago, PosterToBeNamedLater said:

I was just thinking this today.  Its weird, I guess the bulls have technically been the most successful the past two years and yet they aren't fun at all and have no future. The bears won 3 games last year and I was more into that season than almost any other season of theirs that I have been watching.  It was fun watching fields and hoping he can become a star.  It felt like watching the cubs in 2014 and then 2015, thinking about what they might become as the young players were coming up.  Like you said, Bedard is the one guy that will make me excited enough to watch the blackhawks next year even if they aren't actually winning games.  

I disagree about the Bulls. They were fun to watch when they won. It's the losing that wasn't fun. Unfortunately, they lost more than they won. And you are correct that they are mired in a situation where they will be worse before they get better.

[UMFan83]

2 hours ago, BigbadB said:

I disagree about the Bulls. They were fun to watch when they won. It's the losing that wasn't fun. Unfortunately, they lost more than they won. And you are correct that they are mired in a situation where they will be worse before they get better.

They were legitimately fun when they started 39-21 last year but have been a joyless slog to watch going 49-61 since then.  Even when they were playing well, their ceiling was always capped imo.  But where they are at right now, stuck in NBA hell by design with it being unlikely that they get out of NBA hell any time soon unless they luck into a top 2 pick somehow, there is no excitement around the Bulls for me.  The less I think about them the better.

[Tim]

I have approximately a 1.7% hope for the Bulls being interesting next year.

[jersey cubs fan]

Scott Powers from the athletic wrote a "what's next" article for the athletic. He talks about planning for the future when the multiple rookies that will play this year will need new contracts by 2026. To that end he mentions overpaying for a free agent on a short-term deal, as well as taking bad contracts from other teams (plus the draft picks for the effort). The one player he mentioned was Tyler Bertuzzi, who was traded from Detroit to Boston for a 1st and a 4th.  Another article suggests 6/36 is what Bertuzzi wants. Would he take 3/24? Would the Hawks really want to overpay in that fashion? He'd be a free agent again at 31. He's had injuries but a career spent in Detroit and then Chicago with an unceremoniously early exit with Boston means he won't have a lot of playoff miles on his legs by then. Of course, he was the most famous vaccine refuser.

 

 

[Tim]

It was an interesting article, for certain. If not Burtuzzi, I think there will be a number of other options available to the Hawks. I do think they start the shift from "rebuilding" to "building" now that they get Bedard. As mentioned, they'll still be trying to accumulate assets, but they'll also want to start surrounding the young guys with vets who will make that transition easier.

As for this draft, I'd be very interested in how far the second tier of players extends. The top 4/5 players are said to have separated themselves from the field, but I'm curious about the next group of players. Does that next tier last through 19? Or do the Hawks need to package some picks to move up into that tier? Time to start reading up on the mid-first round guys.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

The next tier doesn't extend that far, but this isn't the NFL draft, it's not as easy as packaging extra picks to move up.  The value drops too quickly 

[17 Seconds]

the real question is why he wears his visor like that

[jersey cubs fan]

10 minutes ago, 17 Seconds said:

the real question is why he wears his visor like that

Because he’s under 18 and it’s required 

the full mask is required. The fishbowl is preference. Lots of kids wear them. They are odd though. You hear differently. 

Edited May 11, 2023 by jersey cubs fan

[17 Seconds]

12 minutes ago, jersey cubs fan said:

Because he’s under 18 and it’s required 

the full mask is required. The fishbowl is preference. Lots of kids wear them. They are odd though. You hear differently. 

I'm talking about the way his visor is kind of tilted up. do they all wear them like that?

Edited May 11, 2023 by 17 Seconds

[17 Seconds]

some toronto talking head suggested auston matthews and a 1st for bedard, and some leafs fans are running with it and actually believe that would be a fair trade

[UMFan83]

10 minutes ago, 17 Seconds said:

some toronto talking head suggested auston matthews and a 1st for bedard, and some leafs fans are running with it and actually believe that would be a fair trade

Matthews is a fine player but I'll take my chances with a guy who is 7 years younger with the potential to reach a higher ceiling.  There's risk that he won't of course but given where the Blackhawks are at, there's no way I would even consider it.

Edited May 12, 2023 by UMFan83

[17 Seconds]

7 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Matthews is a fine player but I'll take my chances with a guy who is 7 years younger with the potential to reach a higher ceiling.  There's risk that he won't of course but given where the Blackhawks are at, there's no way I would even consider it.

not to mention matthews only has 1 year left on his deal and the hawks are years away from being competitive 

but sign me up for signing matthews in FA. it's a bit early, but with his age and the money we have to spend going forward, it would be pretty great

Edited May 12, 2023 by 17 Seconds

[17 Seconds]

who the hell is going to be captain next year? might as well just give it to an 18 year old bedard i guess

[Rex Buckingham]

1 hour ago, 17 Seconds said:

who the hell is going to be captain next year? might as well just give it to an 18 year old bedard i guess

Connor Murphy? Seth Jones?

[Brian707]

1 hour ago, 17 Seconds said:

who the hell is going to be captain next year? might as well just give it to an 18 year old bedard i guess

Might as well. Toews was 20 I think 

[17 Seconds]

16 minutes ago, Rex Buckingham said:

Connor Murphy? Seth Jones?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

imo, always let the players vote on a captain.

[Tim]

Just go without one this year

[17 Seconds]

if you were to do a trade value ranking (Simmons style) after the draft, bedard would be #2, right?

[jersey cubs fan]

Scouting, still creepy

[CubsLeaf]

On 5/12/2023 at 2:10 PM, 17 Seconds said:

who the hell is going to be captain next year? might as well just give it to an 18 year old bedard i guess

I think they went without a captain in Toews and Kane's rookie year.  Wouldn't mind that this year and then handing it over to Bedard in his 2nd year

[Banedon]

4 hours ago, CubsLeaf said:

I think they went without a captain in Toews and Kane's rookie year.  Wouldn't mind that this year and then handing it over to Bedard in his 2nd year

Welcome to the board!  

[jersey cubs fan]

Beat writers have speculated that Jones is in line for the gig. In theory it makes sense that he would be for the next 2-3 years. But eventually he won’t be the obvious choice and stripping him of the C would be more difficult than just never giving him one.