biittner77

Defeating the forces of fascism?

I think all the solutions have problems. I hate shoot outs, but I understand those who want the game to resolve somehow. To me just calling it a tie is fine. My biggest fear is that shoot outs will eventually become part of playoff hockey. I think those who dismiss this as a possibility under-rate how dumb the NHL can be sometimes. I doubt it would ever come to that (shoot outs in playoffs). If you're going to eliminate loser points than get rid of the shoot out too. 3 points for regulation win. 2 points for OT win and each side gets 1 for a tie game. That's plenty of incentive to win the game in OT.

Is this code for something?

As opposed to trading them for low A prospects? It seems to me that keeping them signals more of a win now mentality. Or am I missing something?

Hawks sign Winchester. That should probably send the go ahead and retire message to Mayers. It would be great if they could bring him back as a coach in some capacity.

Eh, personally, I think he had more coming to him than having to sit out the 2nd half of a lost season... Well, I have to imagine that he had to sign something agreeing that this counts as a second offense and the next one makes him permanently banned, so it is a little more severe than just missing 65 games. I'd have loved to see more, but I think it's a decent compromise to make sure you nail his ass for cheating. Plus, his name is complete mud among fans, players and media now. Total pariah. But how long will that last? If he comes back- as it seems he will- and puts up all star numbers will people really remember?

So much for him taking less money for a shot at the cup- unlesss someone really believes that the Devils are a good bet to win whatever they're calling the eastern conference now.

I'll be shocked if Handzus winds up playing more than 50 games next season. Not that Q won't throw him in on the 2nd line some but it's pretty clear that Pirri is going to get every chance to win that #2 C job.

So who makes the Hawks roster? Here's how I see it: Obvious choices: Forwards: Bickell, Toews, Kane, Hossa, Sharp, Shaw, Saad, Kruger, Handzus Defense: Keith, Seabrook, Leddy, Hjammer, Roszival, Oduya* Goalies: Crawford, Khabibulin Likely: Bollig-The Ryan Reeves' of the world aren't going to fight themselves Pirri- He led the AHL in scoring and this team really needs him to show some of that at the next level Smith- was the 1st choice to play of the Black Aces and is versatile. His abaility to kill penalties will be important. Morin- decent size, can score and is not afraid to get physical Brookbank-uinless he gets traded, the 7th defenseman spot is his to lose. Decent chance: Ryan Stanton: could beat out Brookbank for that 7th defense spot. I wouldn't be surprised if management wanted to work him in by splitting time with Roszival the same way Brookbank did last year Jimmy Hayes: He has size but seems afraid to use it. He lacks the speed to keep up with some of the top forwards. Outside chance: Philip Danault: he's a defensively sound center that can win face offs. He looked good at prospect camp. He may need a year in the AHL before he's ready. He's part of the reason why they traded Bolland. Dillon Olsen: he had a terrible year at the Rock last season but he was a high round pick and offers size on the back end. Drew Leblanc: Mr. White, as I will insist on calling him, is in the same boat with Danault and McNeil. Long shots: Kyle Beach: The Hawks gave him a new contract. He could beat out Bollig for the designated goon role, presumably with more talent. Mark McNeil: Another center that works hard in his own end but needs more time. *At some point, I wonder if they might trade Oduya to make room for a younger player and to get get some room under the cap to make a bigger move at forward.

Now that the roster is more or less set for the time being (I can't see how the Hawks could sign any of the remaining UFAs) we can start looking at what the lines look like and what moves maybe still could be made. More than last year, the line blender will be in full effect. The difference this season is that it might not cause nearly as much outrage. Bickell-Toews- Kane: They're will be a lot of pressure on Bickell to score. Putting him here will help. Sharp-Kruger-Hossa: This line will get the assignment of matching up with the other team's top offensive line. These are 3 defensively responsible forwards who can also put up some offense. I don't love Kruger in that role but unless Danault makes the team he's the 2nd best defensive center the Hawks have. Saad-Pirri-Morin: This line has a nice balance of offense and defense. This is not a traditional checking line but ought to be able to hold their own. The 4th line will be a mix of Either Handzus or Shaw at Center, Bollig when they need a staged fight, and one of the other forwards. For example, with Zus at Center, Shaw probably plays RW on the 3rd line, Morin and Smith/ Bollig are on the wings.

Hopefully not too awesome, tbh Fair point. It seems to me that, If I were Toews, I'd rather play anywhere but for the home team. That way he can return a hero every summer and not get any of the negative attention that hometown heroes tend to get.

I have to agree with one minor change. Jagr winning a cup on the Blackhawks would be one of the coolest things ever, if just to piss off Pittsburgh fans. I can get on board with that. They were all rooting for the Hawks because he was in Boston this year. Didn't that have more to do with Boston pantsing them than Jagr being a Bruin? Jagr won a cup as a Penguin so it's not like he's Lebron or anything.

Jagr could possibly help on the PP but it's not like the Hawks lack talented forwards. In fact, they have too much talent in the sense that they stand around waiting for the perfect pass instead of moving to create shooting lanes. Not that it matters. Someone in the East will offer Jagr ~$3.5-4 million and top 6 minutes. The Hawks can't and won't give him either of those things.

I can't see Jagr taking less money to win a cup. Nor do I see him as a good fit for what the Hawks try to do which is a nice way of saying he's not fast enough. Hockey Buzz, from what I've seen, throws S at the wall to see what sticks. Of course the Hawks would like to trade Brookbank since they have younger guys that would be cheaper and couldn't be any worse.

Stan is Moses except instead of water to wine he turns crap into 5th round draft picks. Next step is to unload Stanley Cup winning defenseman Sheldon Brookbank on some defenisvely challenged team.

When Handzus isn't in the lineup- which likely will be about half the time- either Shaw or Pirri will have to kill penalties unless Denault or McNeil make the team. That's going to be interesting.

Pirri and Smith in also. Well yeah I just meant from outside the org Stalberg too. Jamal Mayers too.

Pirri and Smith in also.

Good. They could afford to lose Kruger or Frolik, but both would have been tricky. If nothing else, this move gives McNeil and Denault more time to develop- if they need it. I hope McNeil makes the team as the 3rd line center and pushes Shaw back to wing.

The goal is the same size though the depth of the net *might* be different. They've discussed making the NHL net 6" shallower to give more room to play behind it. European rinks look huge in comparison to what we're used to seeing NHL teams play on.

It's early and a lot of things can happen but they're likely going to save their money for Toews, Kane and Saad. The Bowman strategy has always been not to pay goalies. The Hawks are now a place where vets will take less money on a short contract to get a ring. To anyone wondering why Raanta isn't the back up, it's simple: he's never really played on the smaller rinks of the NHL. it's an adjustment that would be better made in the AHL for at least a half season.

yeah, hopefully his next transgression doesn't come at the expense of a hawks player http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/matt-cooke-permitted-wear-derek-boogaard-no-24-155633633.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter Clutterbuck is a great hockey name but not the name of a great hockey player or even a good one. On purely skill, Cooke is much better at the hockey than Clutterbuck. As far as dirty play, Cooke is at least trying to put the past behind him.

They had 7 goalies in camp so hopefully it's no big deal Potentially a bigger deal, Kevin Hayes wasn't at camp due to an injury but tweeted that he was playing golf with his brother. Oops.

Jerome Iginla signs with Boston in an attempt to be the next Marian Hossa.

Handzus probably slots into Mayer's role last year and will spend a lot of time in the press box. For the money, he'll be fine in that role. Roszival getting 2 years doesn't excite me, nor will it keep me awake at night. It buys more time for the young guys to develop. Roszival was good this year, we'll see what he brings next year over a full season. Both of these guys played better than we could have expected, particularly in the playoffs. I'm a little skeptical that they can do it again but neither will hurt the Hawks. Instead they'll provide some balance between youth and veterans.