The Hawks set free a host of hopefuls today, primarily veterans attempting to latch on to an already crowded lineup. Tomas Kopecky, Daniel Paille, Lubomir Visnovsky join Jan Hejda, released yesterday, on the unemployment line. I guess it's no use pondering how bad Hejda and Visnovsky would have been in comparison to Rozsival.
Brandon Mashinter and Cameron Schilling were assigned to Rockford, as well.
Chillingly, Kyle Cumiskey is now indicated as a roster player rather than a PTO.
So, who's left? Kyle Baun, who's had some success in the preseason, so far, along with Garret Ross, Dennis Rasmussen, Vincent Hinostroza and Ryan Hartman are the remaining forwards not yet assured a spot. One could argue that Panarin belongs in that group but I expect that, if he's healthy enough to play, he'll get every opportunity to fail by receiving 8 minutes per game on the fourth line before bolting for The KHL. On defense we have Viktor Svedberg, Erik Gustafsson and, presumably, Kyle Cumiskey, who has yet to suit up for a pre-season game, I believe. It's possible that one of these three could squeeze out Rundblad or Van Riemsdyk but I don't see that happening.
You're Here by Accident. Make the Best of It.
A Mostly But Not Entirely Chicago Blackhawks Thing.
Monday 28 September 2015
Friday 25 September 2015
Waiver Wire
Evidently, The Hawks placed forwards Jeremy Morin and Corey Tropp on waivers earlier today for the purposes of assigning them to Rockford of The AHL. For Morin, this is merely the latest and not likely the last indignity he will suffer from The Hawks. As for Tropp, I guess all I can surmise is that if The Hawks insist on having an untalented bench warmer on the roster to "keep things honest" then Mashinter or, heaven forbid, Labrie are in the catbird seat for that gig.
The Elephant in the Room
For various reasons I have avoided saying much about the Patrick Kane situation, but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to understand how I feel about it all.
It has been revealed that the mother of the accuser planted the now-infamous evidence bag in her own doorway. There's a whole story about how she came to be in possession of an evidence bag and, given the circumstances, I cannot believe she thought she would be able to pull this off and why she would do this is completely beyond comprehension. If an actual crime took place one would think she would have zero reason to pull a stunt like this, as she has now pretty much destroyed any credibility her daughter's claim may have had. The daughter's attorney, who quit the case last evening before the evidence bag thing was declared a hoax, did them no favours, either, by not making 100% sure it was legit before calling a bloody press conference.
I'll bet Kaner is never charged in this fiasco.
I don't know what to think about this. It's looking slightly more possible that some or all of the complaint is BS, for the purpose of profit, or to "get" Kane for some reason. On the other hand, though, I could completely buy into Kane doing something nasty. He could even just be the victim of his own reputation, with his terrible public behavior in the past paving the way for someone to try to capitalize on the perception that he's an asshole/misogynist/whatever.
It didn't help that Kane biffed his press conference at the beginning of training camp. His detached, almost chipper attitude was unsettling at best, infuriating at worst. I wonder if "I appreciate the question" will spring to his mouth if this thing goes to a Grand Jury.
Team President John McDonough biffed it even worse, and he effectively undid many years of PR and marketing genius by a) not suspending Kane pending resolution of the case and b) allowing him to attend training camp. McDonough changed the subject from Kane to winning championships so fast you wonder why he chose to address the Kane topic in the first place. Some folks have spoken up to suggest that not allowing Kane to go about his usual hockey business labels him guilty; not so. Guilty or not, Kane is IN this situation, whether it is his fault or not, and to now behave like nothing is happening is disrespectful toward the justice process, Hawks fans everywhere and, not least, his accuser. I'm not entirely impressed with The NHL's handling of this all, either; there has been no acknowledgment of the case on the NHL website and their failure to step in and suggest that Kane should be excluded from training camp, which would not necessarily be a suspension, is the epitome of having their head in the sand.
Something I'm struggling with was the focus of an article that I linked to here a week or two ago that asked How can we still be proud to root for The Blackhawks?. Indeed. It's not even so much a case of "did he do it?" and, if he did, that's obviously about Kane rather than The Hawks. To me, though, it's become more about how I feel about the manner in which The Hawks have conducted themselves throughout the investigation; behaving as if nothing is amiss and getting back to business as usual just feels wrong. It would be a shame if seven or eight years of hard work, three championships and the resurrection of a left-for-dead franchise all comes apart for the sake of a ham-fisted attempt to save face. Right now, I feel like the only way I can get behind The Hawks is if they were to get Kane off the ice, and they can call it a suspension or a "time out"...whatever. I don't doubt that The Hawks are taking this matter seriously, it just feels like their concern is for the reputation of the team and nothing else, and utterly trivializes the larger concern that a terrible crime may have occurred. At this point, maybe the wisest move would be to trade his ass, which may seem extreme, but if they're actually serious about how they portray themselves publicly it would sure send a clear message as to where the team stands. As it is right now I find myself wondering if this will be an Islanders or Panthers (ha!) blog before long.
Monday 21 September 2015
Was This Always Going to Happen? Blackhawks agree to terms with Rozsival.
From blackhawks.nhl.com, fer goodness' sakes.
The Chicago Blackhawks announced today they have agreed to terms with defenseman and two-time Stanley Cup champion Michal Rozsival on a one-year contract, which runs through the end of the 2015-16 National Hockey League season.
Rozsival, 37, notched 13 points (1G, 12A) in 65 games with the Blackhawks last season en route to the 2015 Stanley Cup championship. He also tallied one assist over 10 playoff games. Rozsival has totaled 33 points (2G, 31A) in 134 tilts with Chicago over the past three seasons, including the 2013 Stanley Cup championship.
The Vlasim, Czech Republic, native has recorded 293 career points (66G, 227A) over 890 career games with Pittsburgh, the New York Rangers, Arizona and Chicago. Rozsival was selected by Pittsburgh in the fourth round (105th overall) of the 1996 NHL Draft.
600 large for one more trip around the sun...
Wednesday 16 September 2015
Hawks Training Camp Roster Revealed
First:
2015-16 Training Camp Roster
Well, there are a few unwanted surprises there on defense. Earlier today The Hawks revealed that Kyle Cumiskey, Lubomir Visnovsky and (gasp) Michal Rozsival would attend camp on Professional Try Out (PTO) deals. Granted, the defense ranks are a little thinner than in previous seasons but, omigosh, if you're going to hedge your bets in case TVR and Rundblad cannot carry the mail I'm not sure if this is the direction to go. I've had a sneaky, icky feeling that Cumiskey would end up in camp, likely on Quenneville's insistence. I'm a little surprised that Visnovsky would choose to have a go at what will amount to a barely-above-minimum-wage gig but, desperate times and all that... Assuming Visnovsky's head is reasonably clear I see he and Jan Hejda as the frontrunners in the 5-6-7D battle.
Continuing in the "please, no" vein, The Hawks' Back To The Future movement extends to the forward ranks, as well, with Jake Dowell and Tomas Kopecky also being invited to compete for a non-existent roster spot with Daniel Paille already in the queue ahead of them.
Finally, The Hawks' roster opportunities may have gotten a little smaller, too, as Patrick Kane is expected to attend camp. For now.
2015-16 Training Camp Roster
Well, there are a few unwanted surprises there on defense. Earlier today The Hawks revealed that Kyle Cumiskey, Lubomir Visnovsky and (gasp) Michal Rozsival would attend camp on Professional Try Out (PTO) deals. Granted, the defense ranks are a little thinner than in previous seasons but, omigosh, if you're going to hedge your bets in case TVR and Rundblad cannot carry the mail I'm not sure if this is the direction to go. I've had a sneaky, icky feeling that Cumiskey would end up in camp, likely on Quenneville's insistence. I'm a little surprised that Visnovsky would choose to have a go at what will amount to a barely-above-minimum-wage gig but, desperate times and all that... Assuming Visnovsky's head is reasonably clear I see he and Jan Hejda as the frontrunners in the 5-6-7D battle.
Continuing in the "please, no" vein, The Hawks' Back To The Future movement extends to the forward ranks, as well, with Jake Dowell and Tomas Kopecky also being invited to compete for a non-existent roster spot with Daniel Paille already in the queue ahead of them.
Finally, The Hawks' roster opportunities may have gotten a little smaller, too, as Patrick Kane is expected to attend camp. For now.
Monday 14 September 2015
At This Rate I'll Get a PTO
Free agent forward Daniel Paille has been invited to The Hawks training camp on a PTO.
Paille is known as a checking winger and has played for Boston for the last six seasons.
I can only surmise that they are serious about not giving Jeremy Morin the time of day.
Not sure what's going on here and I don't wanna know.
Paille is known as a checking winger and has played for Boston for the last six seasons.
I can only surmise that they are serious about not giving Jeremy Morin the time of day.
Saturday 12 September 2015
Jan Hejda Offered PTO by Blackhawks
Evidently, veteran defenseman Jan Hejda has been granted a Professional Try Out by The Hawks.
While I am aware of Hejda and have seen him play many times...I have no clear recollection of what he did. This is probably a good thing being that he's considered a stay-at-home defenseman.
At age 37, though, he had better not cause me any flashbacks. The first time he flatfoots a one-on-one and I scream "F8CKING ROZSIE" he's dead to me.
Jan Hejda, 1978 - ???
While I am aware of Hejda and have seen him play many times...I have no clear recollection of what he did. This is probably a good thing being that he's considered a stay-at-home defenseman.
At age 37, though, he had better not cause me any flashbacks. The first time he flatfoots a one-on-one and I scream "F8CKING ROZSIE" he's dead to me.
Friday 11 September 2015
What Took So Long: Kruger Re-signed
Once again, from blackhawks.nhl.com
The Chicago Blackhawks announced today they have agreed to terms with forward Marcus Kruger on a one-year contract, which runs through the end of the 2015-16 National Hockey League season.
Kruger, 25, recorded 17 points (7G, 10A) in 81 games with the Blackhawks last season en route to the 2015 Stanley Cup championship. He added four points (2G, 2A) over 23 postseason games, including a triple-overtime tally in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final against the Anaheim Ducks. Kruger led team forwards with 180:01 of shorthanded time on ice in the regular season and ranked second with a 53.3 faceoff win percentage.
The Stockholm, Sweden, native has totaled 84 points (28G, 56A) over 287 career NHL games, all with Chicago. He was also a member of the Blackhawks’ 2013 Stanley Cup championship team. Kruger was drafted by Chicago in the fifth round (149th overall) in the 2009 NHL Draft.
No terms were made available and generalfanager.com hasn't got the figures yet, either, but I expect the deal to be around or slightly under $2mil, as it's a one-year deal with the expectation of a richer & longer deal next summer.
Okay, then, training camp.
Not sure what the umlauts are for.
Everybody Exhale
From blackhawks.nhl.com
The Chicago Blackhawks announced today they have acquired defensemen Dennis Robertson and Jake Massie and a fifth-round selection in the 2017 National Hockey League Draft from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forwards Kris Versteeg and Joakim Nordstrom and a third-round selection in the 2017 NHL Draft.
Well, that takes some pressure off. After Versteeg's Houdini act that coincided with Kane's injury last winter this was always a likely and desired move. The $2mil he would have earned will be far better spent on re-signing Marcus Kruger. Kind of sorry to see Nordstrom go, as he always worked so hard. What he was working on was often anybody's guess, but that's for the folks in Charlotte to figure out, now.
As I said, the immediate pressure is off, and Stan Bowman won't be forced to barter Bickell for a set of gently-used snow tires. This also opens up the roster a little; today's deal leave The Hawks with 12 forwards including Kane and Morin, so at least one of the fellas from Rockford and beyond will likely begin the season in Chicago, possibly two if Quenneville is still not buying what Morin is selling. We know it won't be Danault, who seemed the best-positioned to make the leap, so I expect Hartman and Panarin to get long, long looks when training camp starts.
The Chicago Blackhawks announced today they have acquired defensemen Dennis Robertson and Jake Massie and a fifth-round selection in the 2017 National Hockey League Draft from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forwards Kris Versteeg and Joakim Nordstrom and a third-round selection in the 2017 NHL Draft.
Well, that takes some pressure off. After Versteeg's Houdini act that coincided with Kane's injury last winter this was always a likely and desired move. The $2mil he would have earned will be far better spent on re-signing Marcus Kruger. Kind of sorry to see Nordstrom go, as he always worked so hard. What he was working on was often anybody's guess, but that's for the folks in Charlotte to figure out, now.
As I said, the immediate pressure is off, and Stan Bowman won't be forced to barter Bickell for a set of gently-used snow tires. This also opens up the roster a little; today's deal leave The Hawks with 12 forwards including Kane and Morin, so at least one of the fellas from Rockford and beyond will likely begin the season in Chicago, possibly two if Quenneville is still not buying what Morin is selling. We know it won't be Danault, who seemed the best-positioned to make the leap, so I expect Hartman and Panarin to get long, long looks when training camp starts.
Wednesday 9 September 2015
World Cup of Hilarity
Hockey and sports news websites seemed to have ramped up the chatter today regarding the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. While the handful of articles I sampled this morning were largely informational, speaking of the various teams that will participate and the appointment of Peter Chiarelli and Stan Bowman as managers of Team North America, TSN was quick out of the gate with what appears to be the first of approximately 9,826,371 internet articles projecting the lineups of the various teams. The article itself is pretty straightforward and I'm not going to pay too much attention to their predictions until at least the 9 millionth article is posted but, oh man, the comments section below the article is chock-full of comedy gold.
This lad doesn't seem to realize that Team Canada and Team USA players will all be age 24+, as Team North America has exclusive dibs on those 18-23 year-old players.
It will be interesting to see if McDavid can play himself onto this team.And at whose expense. My guess would be Duchene or O'Reilly.
There seems to be a bit of confusion as to what Team North America is for. Will there be Mexicans?
Where's McDavid?
Conner will play his way onto this team and replace Taylor Hall
Now, I wonder which one of these centers Sean Monahan is supposed to supplant? Ha ha ha
Maybe they're in Mexico, having fake I.Ds made so they can play for Team Canada?
You may be surprised to learn that this poster has a Leafs logo on his avatar-thingy.
I'm really surprised that Dion Phaneuf and Bernier are not on this projected roster. There is no doubt in my mind that they should be on Team Canada. Why? Phaneuf is an excellent D-man, a bonifide leader and an excellent hitter. And as for Bernier, he's a Vezina Calibre Goalie.
One would expect a presumed Leafs fan has watched a game or two the last few seasons, as Phaneuf successfully led Toronto to a "bonifide" (sic) 15th-place last year. As for Bernier, I intend to refer to him exclusively as VCG from here on.
Ryan orally plays for team BUG??
I don't even know how to respond to this.
Ummm, I think Ryan O'Reilly plays for Buffalo, not Bulgaria.
Ah, there we go, at least partly. I'm still concerned about anyone except horn players that are playing "orally".
At least these guys were trying to be funny.
NDP candidate in Montcalm riding is in favour of Quebec national teams. Does the NDP and Tom Mulcair endorse this position?
No Mike Richards? The nerve of Team Canada not wanting Mike Richards on their team!
I love it when my sarcasm is served with a dash of current events.
m really surprised that Dion Phaneuf and Bernier are not on this projected roster. There is no doubt in my mind that they should be on Team Canada. Why ? Dion Phaneuf is an excellent D-man , a bonifide leader and an excellent hitter. And as for Bernier , he's a Vezina Calibre Goalie.
Where's McDavid?
This lad doesn't seem to realize that Team Canada and Team USA players will all be age 24+, as Team North America has exclusive dibs on those 18-23 year-old players.
It will be interesting to see if McDavid can play himself onto this team.And at whose expense. My guess would be Duchene or O'Reilly.
There seems to be a bit of confusion as to what Team North America is for. Will there be Mexicans?
Where's McDavid?
Conner will play his way onto this team and replace Taylor Hall
Now, I wonder which one of these centers Sean Monahan is supposed to supplant? Ha ha ha
Maybe they're in Mexico, having fake I.Ds made so they can play for Team Canada?
You may be surprised to learn that this poster has a Leafs logo on his avatar-thingy.
I'm really surprised that Dion Phaneuf and Bernier are not on this projected roster. There is no doubt in my mind that they should be on Team Canada. Why? Phaneuf is an excellent D-man, a bonifide leader and an excellent hitter. And as for Bernier, he's a Vezina Calibre Goalie.
One would expect a presumed Leafs fan has watched a game or two the last few seasons, as Phaneuf successfully led Toronto to a "bonifide" (sic) 15th-place last year. As for Bernier, I intend to refer to him exclusively as VCG from here on.
Ryan orally plays for team BUG??
I don't even know how to respond to this.
Ummm, I think Ryan O'Reilly plays for Buffalo, not Bulgaria.
Ah, there we go, at least partly. I'm still concerned about anyone except horn players that are playing "orally".
At least these guys were trying to be funny.
NDP candidate in Montcalm riding is in favour of Quebec national teams. Does the NDP and Tom Mulcair endorse this position?
No Mike Richards? The nerve of Team Canada not wanting Mike Richards on their team!
I love it when my sarcasm is served with a dash of current events.
m really surprised that Dion Phaneuf and Bernier are not on this projected roster. There is no doubt in my mind that they should be on Team Canada. Why ? Dion Phaneuf is an excellent D-man , a bonifide leader and an excellent hitter. And as for Bernier , he's a Vezina Calibre Goalie.
Where's McDavid?
It will be interesting to see if McDavid can play himself onto this team. And at whose expense. My guess would be Duchene or O'Reilly.
It will be interesting to see if McDavid can play himself onto this team. And at whose expense. My guess would be Duchene or O'Reilly.
It will be interesting to see if McDavid can play himself onto this team. And at whose expense. My guess would be Duchene or O'Reilly.
It will be interesting to see if McDavid can play himself onto this team. And at whose expense. My guess would be Duchene or O'Reilly.
if they weren't doing this ridiculous young guns thing mcdavid would be on this team.
Thursday 3 September 2015
Don't Cling too Tightly to Your Heroes
Especially the flawed ones.
This may all, of course, be premature but this story asks some tough questions.
How can we still be proud to root for The Blackhawks?
This may all, of course, be premature but this story asks some tough questions.
How can we still be proud to root for The Blackhawks?
Wednesday 2 September 2015
No Sooner do I Say it...
...and I am proven wrong.
From blackhawks.nhl.com:
From blackhawks.nhl.com:
The Chicago Blackhawks announced today they have agreed to terms with forward Joakim Nordstrom on a one-year contract, which runs through the end of the 2015-16 National Hockey League season.
Nordstrom, 23, tallied three assists in 38 regular-season games and appeared in three postseason games en route to the 2015 Stanley Cup championship with the Blackhawks last season. He has recorded six points (1G, 5A) over 54 career NHL games, all with Chicago.
The Stockholm, Sweden, native also registered 16 points (9G, 7A) in 23 regular-season contests with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League last season. Nordstrom has 52 career points (26G, 26A) in 72 games with Rockford over parts of the past three seasons. He was selected by the Blackhawks in the third round (90th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft.
Catching Up and Catching Our Breath
I thought it might be a therapeutic exercise to summarize the changes that The Hawks have undergone in the last two months and to try to look ahead to what still needs to be done.
OUT
Brandon Saad
Patrick Sharp
Brad Richards
Johnny Oduya
Antoine Vermette
and
Stephen Johns
Kimmo Timonen
and almost certainly
Michal Rozsival
Daniel Carcillo
Kyle Cumiskey
and possibly
Joakim Nordstrom
The first five players in this list represent significant contributors, and I guess we can can include Rozsival in that group, as well, simply down to the amount he played.
Despite not having cracked The Hawks' lineup it was expected that Johns would nail down a spot this season, so we'll count him as a lost asset.
The other four did not play significant roles, really. I suspect that The Hawks would like to re-sign free agent Nordstrom, as he appears to be liked and trusted by Coach Quenneville, but unless a current roster player is dealt or waived successfully there is simply no cap space to accommodate him.
IN
Marko Dano: Everyone wants to believe that this young fella will ably fill the gap vacated by Saad and, while I expect he will get the opportunity to assume Saad's place in the roster (i.e. first or second line duty) he is not likely at Saad's level just yet. As Saad continues to develop and slides into even more of a go-to role in Columbus, Dano may disappoint in the short term. A lot will depend on how Dano starts the season; if he clicks early, earns the coach's trust and gets a shot at quality minutes with quality linemates, Dano may well offset the loss of Saad quite nicely. If he starts slowly and/or fails to enter Quenneville's Circle of Trust he'll end up mired on the third or fourth line and traded to Dallas in a year or two. Dano put up decent numbers on a weak Blue Jackets squad, but their late-season re-ignition coincided with the young Slovak's insertion in their top-six, so I'm cautiously optimistic.
Artem Anisimov: I'm less sure about this one. His stat line suggests he's about on par with the departed Vermette; quite a bit bigger, maybe with more offensive skill, but not as quick or as good on faceoffs. Still, Anisimov was used on the penalty kill in Columbus and his offensive numbers were a bit lower than usual due to missing some time with an injury. Historically, he's been a 40-point guy pretty much his whole career. Is that enough for a projected second line center? He's also filled a similar role to that of Vermette, and that guy topped out at third line in Chicago. Again, if he gets good minutes with good players he'll probably be fine, but a slow start could well see him drop in the lineup.
Ryan Garbutt: Not sure what to think about him. It would appear that his best days, which were not scintillating in the first place, are behind him. Where do you put him? I would like to see the Kruger - Shaw - Desjardins trio start the season together, but I guess that will depend on whether Kruger returns or not. (Now I'm obsessing about Shaw having to play center.) I think he'll be a useful spare part and little else.
Trevor Daly: This has been done to death but I'll reiterate it here: he's slow, he's defensively ambivalent, he's getting on in years but he's capable of pushing the play out of the defensive zone. He'll get a crack at power play minutes but let's look at who he's replacing - Johnny Oduya, who played hard minutes against the opposition's top lines and was a mainstay on the penalty kill. Daly cannot do those things.
Jeremy Morin and Corey Tropp: Unlikely to make The Hawks out of the gate, so let's just move on, shall we?
Artemi Panarin: Is he ready? Is he remotely as good as some say he is? I firmly believe he'll get every opportunity to show what he's got, particularly if Kane is "unavailable". I still see Panarin as an unknown quantity of the highest order but I also find it intriguing that he may well be the Hawks prospect most like Kane. Still, I recall reading stuff like this about that Makarov kid a couple of years ago, and where is he now? Seriously...where is he?
Viktor Tikhonov: Another question mark. I half expect he won't make The Hawks to begin the season but wouldn't shocked, either, to see him on the third or fourth line in a banger role. He actually put up okay numbers on a decent SKA St. Petersburg squad the last few seasons but he's not going to be used as a top-six guy as he was in the KHL, so we'll have to wait and see if he can bring another dimension to his game.
Stepping Up?
Teuvo Teravainen: As with Panarin, he may find himself in a position to assume Kane's role and, as an incumbent on the roster, he'll get first crack at it. I wonder if, given the opportunity that Kane was afforded when he first arrived in Chicago, Teuvo would already be a top six forward with 50 or 60 points under his belt. His playmaking skills are likely as good as Kane's were back in 07-08 but I worry that he will never be the finisher that Kane evolved into. He displayed a greater nose for the net during the playoffs so perhaps with more icetime and consistent linemates we'll see his scoring touch continue to develop.
Trevor Van Riemsdyk and David Rundblad: Here's the 5D and 6D to start the season, I believe. I don't want to write these guys off before the puck even drops but they have a tough, tough row to hoe. Let's remember that Daley is not going to play the minutes that Oduya did and will be of no use on the PK or in a shut-down role, so one or both of TVR and Rundblad are going to have to pull slack, bigtime. I love Rundblad's shot and I think that, if he improved his skating and reaction skills (gotta be more decisive with that first jump) he could be a real asset and could see power play time. Is what we see, now, what we're going to get, though? As for TVR, he came out of nowhere, basically, to make The Hawks last year and how that occurred has never been clear to me, as he has never appeared especially strong in any facet of the game, but competently average in most regards. The fact that he only managed 18 games last year because he was hurt so badly, so often, is also a concern.
Lurking in the Weeds
Ville Pokka, Viktor Svedberg and Erik Gustafsson: Just as TVR did last season any of these guys could spring a surprise and actually make the roster in the coming weeks. Pokka had a decent first season in the AHL last season, seeing his level of responsibility increase steadily as the year progressed. The Hawks appear determined to give Svedberg a shot, despite his slow progress over two seasons in Rockford. Well, he's 6'8", which is pretty tantalizing. Gustafsson is virtually unknown to me. And there's Robin Norrell, as well, but would be an extreme long shot simply due to his small stature in relation to the third pairing role he would be competing for.
(Watch The Hawks go ahead and re-sign Kyle Cumiskey, though, making it possible to trade any and all of these youngsters next winter...ha ha...)
Stepping Out?
Kris Versteeg and Bryan Bickell: We're probably stuck with them so let's just get used to that idea. Still, in the unlikely event that one or both of these guys are successfully moved along, that would open up many, many roster possibilities. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
In Limbo
Marcus Kruger: What a tough spot for Kruger and The Hawks. The team want very much to re-sign him and Kruger has stated that he is equally interested in remaining in Chicago, but the money just isn't there. The saving grace is that Kruger may be willing to do a lower-cost deal, presumably with the promise of a far better deal next season, when at least Versteeg will be off the books.
Joakim Nordstrom: As mentioned, I suspect The Hawks would like to keep him but will be unlikely to be able to offer any more than an AHL deal.
Patrick Kane: Well, the less said about that the better.
So, with training camp just around the corner, many questions persist. Will Kane be on the ice (or simply "on ice"...groan...) and, if not, will The Hawks receive any cap relief? Will Kruger be in the fold and, if not, who's going to play center? Can GM Stan Bowman do anything about Bickell & Versteeg? Will Panarin or Tikhonov be of any use? I won't even begin to talk about line combos until some of these questions are answered.
OUT
Brandon Saad
Patrick Sharp
Brad Richards
Johnny Oduya
Antoine Vermette
and
Stephen Johns
Kimmo Timonen
and almost certainly
Michal Rozsival
Daniel Carcillo
Kyle Cumiskey
and possibly
Joakim Nordstrom
The first five players in this list represent significant contributors, and I guess we can can include Rozsival in that group, as well, simply down to the amount he played.
Despite not having cracked The Hawks' lineup it was expected that Johns would nail down a spot this season, so we'll count him as a lost asset.
The other four did not play significant roles, really. I suspect that The Hawks would like to re-sign free agent Nordstrom, as he appears to be liked and trusted by Coach Quenneville, but unless a current roster player is dealt or waived successfully there is simply no cap space to accommodate him.
IN
Marko Dano: Everyone wants to believe that this young fella will ably fill the gap vacated by Saad and, while I expect he will get the opportunity to assume Saad's place in the roster (i.e. first or second line duty) he is not likely at Saad's level just yet. As Saad continues to develop and slides into even more of a go-to role in Columbus, Dano may disappoint in the short term. A lot will depend on how Dano starts the season; if he clicks early, earns the coach's trust and gets a shot at quality minutes with quality linemates, Dano may well offset the loss of Saad quite nicely. If he starts slowly and/or fails to enter Quenneville's Circle of Trust he'll end up mired on the third or fourth line and traded to Dallas in a year or two. Dano put up decent numbers on a weak Blue Jackets squad, but their late-season re-ignition coincided with the young Slovak's insertion in their top-six, so I'm cautiously optimistic.
Artem Anisimov: I'm less sure about this one. His stat line suggests he's about on par with the departed Vermette; quite a bit bigger, maybe with more offensive skill, but not as quick or as good on faceoffs. Still, Anisimov was used on the penalty kill in Columbus and his offensive numbers were a bit lower than usual due to missing some time with an injury. Historically, he's been a 40-point guy pretty much his whole career. Is that enough for a projected second line center? He's also filled a similar role to that of Vermette, and that guy topped out at third line in Chicago. Again, if he gets good minutes with good players he'll probably be fine, but a slow start could well see him drop in the lineup.
Ryan Garbutt: Not sure what to think about him. It would appear that his best days, which were not scintillating in the first place, are behind him. Where do you put him? I would like to see the Kruger - Shaw - Desjardins trio start the season together, but I guess that will depend on whether Kruger returns or not. (Now I'm obsessing about Shaw having to play center.) I think he'll be a useful spare part and little else.
Trevor Daly: This has been done to death but I'll reiterate it here: he's slow, he's defensively ambivalent, he's getting on in years but he's capable of pushing the play out of the defensive zone. He'll get a crack at power play minutes but let's look at who he's replacing - Johnny Oduya, who played hard minutes against the opposition's top lines and was a mainstay on the penalty kill. Daly cannot do those things.
Jeremy Morin and Corey Tropp: Unlikely to make The Hawks out of the gate, so let's just move on, shall we?
Artemi Panarin: Is he ready? Is he remotely as good as some say he is? I firmly believe he'll get every opportunity to show what he's got, particularly if Kane is "unavailable". I still see Panarin as an unknown quantity of the highest order but I also find it intriguing that he may well be the Hawks prospect most like Kane. Still, I recall reading stuff like this about that Makarov kid a couple of years ago, and where is he now? Seriously...where is he?
Viktor Tikhonov: Another question mark. I half expect he won't make The Hawks to begin the season but wouldn't shocked, either, to see him on the third or fourth line in a banger role. He actually put up okay numbers on a decent SKA St. Petersburg squad the last few seasons but he's not going to be used as a top-six guy as he was in the KHL, so we'll have to wait and see if he can bring another dimension to his game.
Stepping Up?
Teuvo Teravainen: As with Panarin, he may find himself in a position to assume Kane's role and, as an incumbent on the roster, he'll get first crack at it. I wonder if, given the opportunity that Kane was afforded when he first arrived in Chicago, Teuvo would already be a top six forward with 50 or 60 points under his belt. His playmaking skills are likely as good as Kane's were back in 07-08 but I worry that he will never be the finisher that Kane evolved into. He displayed a greater nose for the net during the playoffs so perhaps with more icetime and consistent linemates we'll see his scoring touch continue to develop.
Trevor Van Riemsdyk and David Rundblad: Here's the 5D and 6D to start the season, I believe. I don't want to write these guys off before the puck even drops but they have a tough, tough row to hoe. Let's remember that Daley is not going to play the minutes that Oduya did and will be of no use on the PK or in a shut-down role, so one or both of TVR and Rundblad are going to have to pull slack, bigtime. I love Rundblad's shot and I think that, if he improved his skating and reaction skills (gotta be more decisive with that first jump) he could be a real asset and could see power play time. Is what we see, now, what we're going to get, though? As for TVR, he came out of nowhere, basically, to make The Hawks last year and how that occurred has never been clear to me, as he has never appeared especially strong in any facet of the game, but competently average in most regards. The fact that he only managed 18 games last year because he was hurt so badly, so often, is also a concern.
Lurking in the Weeds
Ville Pokka, Viktor Svedberg and Erik Gustafsson: Just as TVR did last season any of these guys could spring a surprise and actually make the roster in the coming weeks. Pokka had a decent first season in the AHL last season, seeing his level of responsibility increase steadily as the year progressed. The Hawks appear determined to give Svedberg a shot, despite his slow progress over two seasons in Rockford. Well, he's 6'8", which is pretty tantalizing. Gustafsson is virtually unknown to me. And there's Robin Norrell, as well, but would be an extreme long shot simply due to his small stature in relation to the third pairing role he would be competing for.
(Watch The Hawks go ahead and re-sign Kyle Cumiskey, though, making it possible to trade any and all of these youngsters next winter...ha ha...)
Stepping Out?
Kris Versteeg and Bryan Bickell: We're probably stuck with them so let's just get used to that idea. Still, in the unlikely event that one or both of these guys are successfully moved along, that would open up many, many roster possibilities. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
In Limbo
Marcus Kruger: What a tough spot for Kruger and The Hawks. The team want very much to re-sign him and Kruger has stated that he is equally interested in remaining in Chicago, but the money just isn't there. The saving grace is that Kruger may be willing to do a lower-cost deal, presumably with the promise of a far better deal next season, when at least Versteeg will be off the books.
Joakim Nordstrom: As mentioned, I suspect The Hawks would like to keep him but will be unlikely to be able to offer any more than an AHL deal.
Patrick Kane: Well, the less said about that the better.
So, with training camp just around the corner, many questions persist. Will Kane be on the ice (or simply "on ice"...groan...) and, if not, will The Hawks receive any cap relief? Will Kruger be in the fold and, if not, who's going to play center? Can GM Stan Bowman do anything about Bickell & Versteeg? Will Panarin or Tikhonov be of any use? I won't even begin to talk about line combos until some of these questions are answered.
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