Trade Rumor

[gmalis1]

its winning the cup this year, but knowing they are actually considering the future here. You see in the article they dont even mention Clendening as one of the d men they are high on. He is pretty much the duncan keith in rockford.

I still say we might be a little farther ahead with Hayes, Pirri and definitely Teuvo in the mix for the upcoming seasons. Trade Oduya, yeah I get that, I cant say how much I cant stand Hammer playing at a weakness of needing to clear on backhands every time.

I just wonder what these players think. We have three 6th d men that are not good enough to play every day, but can consider trading both Leddy and Oduya for another forward? I just wonder what the team feel about Kane asking management to get Kessler, considering two or three of his team mates may have been needed to go to get him here.

Players that might be gone after the end of the season:

Handzus---an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. His career is at the end of the road.
Brookbank---alson an unrestricted free agent. Hawks depth at defense most likely makes him expendable (see Clendening and Rundblad as replacement possibilities).
Rozsival---still has one year left on his contract. Hard to believe. Easily replaceable.

Ben Smith is a restricted free agent at the end of the season. He will likely be asked back. In my opinion, he's had a nice season as a situational fourth liner. Would like to see him move up to third line or second line center opportunity. He's solid defensively and has some offensive firepower.

Peter Regin is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Probably won't make a difference whether he sticks or leaves. Maybe, just maybe, someone from Rockford can break out of the AHL and make a difference with the big team. Of course, everyone is hoping beyond hope that Teuvo Teravainen makes the Hawks either towards the end of this year or full time next year. That would be a huge addition to the team. More speed and more skill. Yep, that'll work.

As to Oduya being traded, he has another year left on his contract. Oh and by the way, since joining the Hawks the team has only lost 21 regular season games he has played in.

The Hawks record WITH Oduya:

83-21-23 in the regular season (as of Feb 14, 2014)
106-24-23 total, including the playoffs.

I would think that's pretty damn good. Not gonna mess with that Swedish chemistry with Hjamarlsson.

As to Hammer, I get tired of him backhanding the puck. But remember, he has to play on his off side, so backhanding the puck is what he usually has to do from his side. What is maddening though, is that when he has a clear shot at clearing the puck, he'll still backhand the puck rather than make a forehand clear. I'm not happy with that.

I'm hoping that Clendening makes the jump next season, along with Teurovainen. Morin and others still stuck in Rockford. Looks like Bickell is here to stay. We'll see what he can muster up in the playoffs.

 

[ChicagoIrish]

its winning the cup this year, but knowing they are actually considering the future here. You see in the article they dont even mention Clendening as one of the d men they are high on. He is pretty much the duncan keith in rockford.

I still say we might be a little farther ahead with Hayes, Pirri and definitely Teuvo in the mix for the upcoming seasons. Trade Oduya, yeah I get that, I cant say how much I cant stand Hammer playing at a weakness of needing to clear on backhands every time.

I just wonder what these players think. We have three 6th d men that are not good enough to play every day, but can consider trading both Leddy and Oduya for another forward? I just wonder what the team feel about Kane asking management to get Kessler, considering two or three of his team mates may have been needed to go to get him here.

I like the Hjalmarsson/Oduya pairing.

We need a 2nd line Center more than anything. And getting Kesler, who is one of the best Centers in the game gives us the very best top 6 in the NHL. We've had a need for production so badly that we even tried Kane at Center, what was that last season? The season before maybe?

We sit around and do nothing while the Kings add Gaborik, the Blues add Miller etc.

 

[gmalis1]

I like the Hjalmarsson/Oduya pairing.

We need a 2nd line Center more than anything. And getting Kesler, who is one of the best Centers in the game gives us the very best top 6 in the NHL. We've had a need for production so badly that we even tried Kane at Center, what was that last season? The season before maybe?

We sit around and do nothing while the Kings add Gaborik, the Blues add Miller etc.

I know where you're coming from. StanB wants to stand pat. He's petrified of making a big move and/or feels he doesn't need to...but I disagree. The Hawks need someone to cement that second line center job and give Kaner a stable presence. You can see how Kane's play has suffered with the revolving door lately. And Versteeg is NOT a good enough wing to play on the same line with Kane.

I liked Saad-Toews-Shaw. And personally, either Sharp or Kruger should be centering the second line. I don't know what in the world Q has got up his butt but he won't move either of them there.

And as to StanB making any kind of a move, the Hawks land Versteeg, Regin and Rundbland. None of them are game changers or even someone who couldn't be replaced by someone else, even from the AHL.

Since Stan has been here, he only wants to find tiny bits and pieces. For some reason beyond us, he overvalues the worth of his players and really overvalues the worth of his AHL'ers, who never make it to the big team anyways.

I'm frustrated...to say the least.

 

[anotheridiot]

I like the Hjalmarsson/Oduya pairing.

We need a 2nd line Center more than anything. And getting Kesler, who is one of the best Centers in the game gives us the very best top 6 in the NHL. We've had a need for production so badly that we even tried Kane at Center, what was that last season? The season before maybe?

We sit around and do nothing while the Kings add Gaborik, the Blues add Miller etc.

They play well together, there is no question in that, but the turnovers Hammer makes are because he is on the backhand and when a pair switches sides and oduya is on the righty side, his clears are usually up the middle that end in icings or turnovers in the middle.

I really dont know what the rockford problem is, whether its stan not bringing them up because he knows Q is not gonna play them or Q not playing them because he knows stan is just gonna send them back down again. Its just maddening when quality players are gonna be playing every nite in Vancouver and Florida.

My vote for second line center is still Ben Smith, but when the rotation is first line, fourth line, second line, first or fourth line, its tough to break them up. Krueger had his chance on the second line, but both he and kane look to pass first. thats why I would like to see Morin on that line because you know he is gonna send the puck to the net. The only two that really look clearly on the same page out there are Toews and Saad, I would at least like to see Sharp play with Kane a few games, preferably with Ben centering it.

 

[ChicagoIrish]

So we're all in agreement that we desperately need a 2nd line Center.

Surely Stan has to realize this too, right? All he's done so far has been making moves for so called "depth" players. Depth isn't our problem, a legit 2nd Center is.

 

[anotheridiot]

we are definitely all in agreement, I worry about that article that there is a private workout scheduled for Teuvo with the Cannucks before draft day and they expect this move that was not just made to be done on draft day, leddy, bickell and teuvo for Kessler. still dont like it, would prefer Teuvo over Kesler, but seems its more maneuvering to keep Kane here when they try to extend him and Toews next year. For some reason, I just dont see Toews and Kane taking the matching deals again and think Kane wants to go to buffalo.

 

[gmalis1]

So we're all in agreement that we desperately need a 2nd line Center.

Surely Stan has to realize this too, right? All he's done so far has been making moves for so called "depth" players. Depth isn't our problem, a legit 2nd Center is.

Yes, agreed. Hawks have been looking for a second line center since Tommy Lysiak left the Hawks in the '80's.

Stan has done absolutely NOTHING to fill that spot. ZERO. ZILCH. It's ridiculous already. It's the same crap every year. Pick up scraps from other teams to fill in the mortar between the same core players that are the bricks.

You know what? Eventually those bricks start getting older. They have more injuries (see Hossa for an example). Their production wanes.

So far in Stan's command the Hawks have added Crawford, Leddy, Ben Smith, Kruger, Bollig, Saad from Rockford. Should have had at LEAST three to four more.

And instead of trying to add a second line center (damn, there must have been a first or second line center in Rockford all those years) from the Ice Hogs, he continues to try and shove a square peg into a round hole by adding some crap player that can't even make a lousy team.

I loved Stan's rationale for trading Pirri for a third and fifth round pick to Florida. To paraphrase: "Well, we like Brandon's game, and well he might have been good enough to start for us next year, but then again we were afraid we would lose him because he was an restricted free agent and if he went through waivers what if someone would pick him up and we get nothing. So we just decided to trade him".

That explanation blows. Big time. Here would have been a simpler solution. Bring the guy up from Rockford AND PLAY HIM! Simple as that. He was certainly no worse than Regin, who couldn't score if he had a net the size of Soldier Field. Everyone else...everyone...in the NHL has their top prospect playing with their big club. But not the Hawks. They're content drafting and developing blue chippers and then giving them away to improve OTHER teams.

I love when the sports pundits then say that Pirri will be a really good player in Florida. So, you're telling me he couldn't be a really good player in Chicago...because the Hawks are that stacked through all four lines? BS.

All I can think of is that Teuvo Teravainen better be the stud player he is projected to be. Because from my viewpoint, the Hawks are somehow putting all their eggs in one basket that Teuvo will be the messiah and be that missing second line center that the Hawks so desperately need. But what if he isn't that good at the NHL level? What if he has no chemistry with Kane, as both seem to be small, speedy, deft passers?

I just don't get it.

 

[gmalis1]

Here's the WSCR 670 interview with StanB's lame comments regarding the Brandon Pirri trade:

Brandon Pirri knew his name was involved in trade rumors leading up to the March 5 deadline, so it likely wasn't a huge shock when he learned he was dealt to the Florida Panthers.

After posting big numbers in the American Hockey League and putting on a strong performance during training camp at the start of this season, Pirri had his good moments with the Blackhawks. But with the depth of the Blackhawks' organization, earning a spot on the big stage isn't easy, and Pirri was unable to crack the roster on a regular basis.

On Friday morning, Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman joined 670 The Score and talked about the decision to deal Pirri for a pair of draft picks.

"It wasn't so much that there were things we didn't see," Bowman said about Pirri. "Players develop at different rates, and I think Brandon is at a point now where he can play in the NHL. We fast-forward to next September, and his contract status is different. He can't go to the American Hockey League anymore, he'd have to be exposed to waivers, and it's very unlikely that he would have passed through waivers. So he was gonna have to automatically be on our team.

"There's a good chance he could have made our team right out of camp, but as we sit here today, I wasn't 100 percent sure he would be the player out — we have (Teuvo Teravainen and) some other good players coming. Because of that, the longer you hold onto him, his value goes down because teams know they're not gonna trade for a player next September when they could pick him off waivers. Some of it is managing the time with things, and I think Brandon's gonna be a good NHL player.

"There's nothing wrong with the way he plays, he's talented and he's put up a lot of offense," Bowman continued. "He's definitely grown. But we've got some good players that we're excited about as well and it's your job to sort of look ahead and be sure. If he's not gonna be on your team, then the timing was right to get some value for him."

 

[gmalis1]

So, please explain to me from that above interview, why in the world didn't the Hawks just play him?

"Brandon's at a point now where he can play in the NHL". Oh, except with the Hawks.

"There's nothing wrong with the way he plays, he's talented and he's put up a lot of offense". But the Hawks don't need a second line center who can score, right?

"There's a good chance he could have made our team right out of camp". But not a good enough chance, right? Instead of saying maybe he could have made the team, or he had a chance of making the team...he says a "good chance".

What a bunch of crap. Somethings amiss here.

And watch how Jeremy Morin is the next one to get traded or lost in waivers or sign as a free agent elsewhere. So that would pretty much gut that entire two year window of draftees that played for Rockford and are now on OTHER team's rosters.

I still don't get it.

 

[anotheridiot]

there are good players behind him and we wont see them either. Its not time to play them early in the season, its not time to play them in the middle of the season, its not time to play them during the final push, but we would have wished we played them more when one guy goes down in the playoffs.

 

[ChicagoIrish]

Yeah I'm not sure why Stan would say Pirri is ready to play when he never really got the chance to play here. It might have something to do with Q.

Off topic, but what the hell ever happened to Kyle Beach, did his attitude get the best of him?

 

[gmalis1]

Beach was released/waived in the first month or two of the season.

 

[anotheridiot]

Beach was released/waived in the first month or two of the season.

No, he was traded on dec 6th to the new york rangers for Brandon Mashinter.

Hockey's Future - Brandon Mashinter

big body forward in the buff mold. His playing time has dropped with his penalty minutes.

Beach wasnt much, but he wasnt lost for nothing, just next to nothing.

 

[gmalis1]

Beach is still playing minor league hockey with Hartford.