Departing "D": Rundblad, Cumiskey Set Sail

David Rundblad, the project I always hoped would work out but, alas, the lad could never skate nor think fast enough to get the job done.  I don't suppose we could just keep his shot....?
Anyway, Rundy and The Hawks agreed to terminate his contract, so that's done.

Meanwhile, Kyle Cumiskey has chosen to sign with a Swiss or German team for the upcoming season, thankfully eliminating any chance of Coach Q "jumpstarting things" by inserting the too-small-and-too-slow veteran, for reasons unknown to all but Q himself.

Rockford-a-Go-Go

As in "Ville Pokka and Kyle Cumiskey, go to Rockford".
This is two days after Pokka was summoned from Rockford.  Viktor Svedberg, sent down on Tuesday, had been re-summoned to the front.  I hope The Hawks are reimbursing those two for the tolls they've been racking up on the I-90.
The important thing here, though, is Cumiskey is in Rockford.

In other news, The Panthers released Martin Havlat yesterday.  Hmmm...

It's not the beard on the outside that counts, it's the beard....oh, of course it's the beard on the outside.

Getting Tighter

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.  

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.

More, Please: Hawks 3, Panthers 0 and Thursday's Big Boy

Okay, let's not get too excited...it was just The Panthers again.  But, hey, this time The Hawks kept the pressure on and didn't let the 'Cats get back into it during the third period.  If this was a television news program tonight's lead story would have to be...
ROZSIVAL SCRATCHED - HAWKS DEFENCE NOT TERRIBLE.

- Sorry to dump on the old boy but his ship has sailed.  Even with Cumiskey, Rundblad and Erixon (!) in the lineup things looked (mostly) under control.  Cumiskey had one or two adventure time moments but managed to skate his way out of trouble, Erixon had a couple of nervous shifts but was otherwise fine and Rundy found himself chasing a faster guy driving toward the net...and got his stick in there to break the play.  There is nothing wrong with any of that.
- Teuvo's goal made me feel, just for a few seconds, that Ghost of Patrick Kane had smiled down upon him and It Was Good.  Then I remembered that Kane isn't dead and resumed marveling over Teuvo's no-look shot to open the scoring.
- Speaking of, that Teravainen - Bickell - Shaw line wasn't terrible.  Their best stuff was in the first period but even their "poor" shifts were hardly disastrous, just ineffective, really.  See what happens when Shaw gets to play on the wing - 8 hits, for what that's worth, and more chaos than his caused at center in any game this season.
- I was certain that Smith and/or Nordstrom would pot one tonight.  Both wingers had several excellent shifts with Nordstrom, particularly, getting some creative passes done.  Sadly, his linemates lacked the finish to do much with these gems, but that's life on the checking line, mate.
- Hossa was a bull tonight and it pleased me to no end that he picked a couple of helpies.  Hoss seemed to be fighting the puck a little bit but, holy smokes, he was determined.

So, yeah, More of All This, please.

Yeah, Crow got the shutout and those first-liners each had two points, but this kid's goal earned him the right to eschew suspenders forever.  Being a Finn, you just know he owns suspenders.

                                                    Sillä housuni, you know...?

6:24

How's that Kyle Cumiskey workin' out for you, Q?  Confident, are we?

File Under "Incomplete": Hawks 3, Devils 1 and Friday's Big Boy

Straight away, any compliments or encouraging things I might type tonight must be tempered by the fact that The Hawks were playing the dismal Devils.  Anything less than a win tonight would have been unacceptable yet, for two periods, The Hawks took their chances with losing to these oldtimers.

Good
- Ryan Hartman was not terrible.  I expect that his first-shift crushing check on Zubrus may well define whatever career he makes for himself, but he clearly has a good motor and the behind-the-net pass to Bickell was as good a set up as any tonight.  If Hartman shows any indication that he has NHL-quality hands AND he refrains from taking dumb penalties I think we may assume that Andrew Shaw will be dispatched in due time.
- Corey Crawford was solid again and, thankfully, was rewarded with a win.
- Lighter minutes for Duncan Keith for a second straight game.  It's impossible to tell if this is an effort to go easy on the lad or if Quenneville has a beef with Keith.  


Bad
-  Playing Carcillo in lieu of Smith.  What did Carcillo accomplish in his 4:03 ice time?  What did Q think Carcillo would accomplish?  By all means "send a message" if you feel you must, but it's unclear what message this maneuver conveys.
- Only 13 minutes for Sharp, partly because of, I think, the bottom six being reduced to five for most of the game.  Some of those line combos were probably pulled out of a hat.
- Marcus Kruger didn't look good at all, wandering, hesitant and not moving his feet like he usually does.

Ehhhhh
- Yeah, Seabrook had two assists (both secondary, mind) but it seemed to me that after a lot of Devils' chances I saw 7 drifting into view, not in position or being useful in any way.
- Saad was driving hard enough tonight but, boy, he and the puck were not on good terms.
- Nothing apropos of this game, but if Q isn't going to play Teuvo Teravainen the best place for him is Rockford, where he'll at least get minutes on a top line and in all situations.
- Kyle Cumiskey was not great but not a nightmare, either.

                                            Oh, come on, who else could it be?

                                              53% the last four games, bitches.

 

Hawks Hilarity: Opening Night Roster Notes

File Under "I told you so". 

Kris Versteeg and Michal Rozsival are injured, or possibly "injured", heading into tomorrow's season-opener in Dallas.  This could all be legit, but I kinda wonder if there are other things going on, such as Versteeg being on the cusp of being traded.  Back on defense, sure, Rozsie is in all likelihood actually nursing something, but I suspect Stan Bowman and/or Coach Q really just want to play the younger guys, anyway.

And The Hawks are starting the year with eight defensemen, at least until Rozsival can play  -- check last week's post to confirm that even when I'm wrong, I'm right!

The Old Switcheroo

Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya have been separated, with Hjalmarsson practicing with Trevor Van Riemsdyk and the third pairing being Kyle Cumiskey and David Rundblad alternating alongside Oduya.  The change necessitated Hjarmarsson switching to playing on the left side, which I don't remember him doing much since Brent Sopel departed.  It seems all but certain that TVR will play on Thursday and I kind of hope Cumiskey gets the nod on the third pair so that Ales Hemsky can burn him so badly that they conclude the Cumiskey experiment early.

Three Lines Forward, One Line Back

With no disrespect intended toward Kruger & Smith, the forward lines are projected to be:

Sharp -- Toews -- Hossa
Saad -- Shaw -- Kane
Morin -- Richards -- Bickell
Smith -- Kruger -- Carcillo

...unless Versteeg is good to go, in which case Morin sits and moron stays.

Oh, dear: Stan Bowman loses his mind, Leddy traded, Carcillo signed.

The facts are thus:
- Nick Leddy (and minor-league goaltender Kent Simpson) were traded to The Islanders for three prospects not even worth mentioning at this time.
- On the strength of one pre-season game in which he was punched out by Tanner Glass, Daniel Carcillo has been signed to a one-year contract.

Regarding Leddy, sure, something had to give, it just seems weird that it was Leddy to be sent packing and not Johnny Oduya.  This does solve the Cap Crisis but still only leaves $500K cap space.  Perhaps there were no takers for Oduya, or maybe Coach Quenneville made it clear he wanted Oduya to remain; Q had not shown much confidence in Leddy during the last two playoff runs and there certainly some merit in keeping the Oduya/Hjalmarsson pair intact, if only to soak up the hardest minutes and therefore allow Duncan Keith to worry about other things.  I had kind of hoped that Leddy would someday be paired up with Hjalmarsson, which would have allowed Leddy a little more rope to move the puck and, maybe, just maybe, some of Hjalmarsson's good habits would rub off on Leddy.  All academic now, I'm afraid.
Of immediate concern is what now becomes of the third defense pairing?  This move practically forces The Hawks to carry eight defenseman; does anyone think that Michal Rozsival is up to playing any more than 50 games? Three candidates remain in camp; Kyle Cumiskey, David Rundblad and Trevor Van Riemsdyk.  TVR has been, apparently, the surprise of training camp, and that he's still around whilst the likes of Clendenning, Dahlbeck and Johns have been reassigned to Rockford speaks volumes.  Probably.  It appears that GM Stan Bowman is convinced that Rundblad is a sure thing, while Cumiskey is a player known to Coach Q from their days in Colorado.  As good as he has reportedly been, TVR may well be on the outside looking in.  Any way it shakes out (and I picture the coaching staff having a hotel room-key raffle to decide which two suckers will make up the third pairing) the opening night third pairing will be a nightmare.  On the road, in Dallas, The Stars have last change and will have their way with whoever draws this assignment.
Until Rundblad or TVR (the Cumiskey experiment will fail, one hopes) emerges as the go-to guy and the other adopts the role of propping up Rozsie The Hawks are committed to an eight-man rotation. (EDIT: what the hell was I thinking about eight defensemen?  That'll teach me to write these when I'm tired and/or drunk.  Seven.  Seven defensemen.)

As for Carcillo...how stupid is this?  I'm not prepared to condemn Brandon Mashinter as he's done nothing to disgrace himself, yet, and I cannot hold him responsible for sucking up a roster spot, but I was prepared for him to get a chance to fail, at least.  Parachuting Carcillo in, ostensibly to fill the role Mashinter had presumably squared away makes absolutely no sense to me.  If one takes Mashinter and Carcillo out of the equation, and The Hawks instead ice the best lineup hey have available, they would easily have the best fourth line in the entire NHL.  Marcus Kruger and Ben Smith are givens, of course, and whether they're trotted out with Jeremy Morin or Peter Regin it's an undeniable winning combination.  Morin has above average hands and an almost reckless willingness toward physical play, while Regin lacks the scoring touch that Morin possesses he does have excellent defensive instincts and never, ever takes a shift off.  Inserting slow, out-of-position and on his way to the penalty box Carcillo is a colossal step backward.
Worst of all, they have to pay this idiot.  Details of Carcillo's contract have not yet been revealed, but chances are good that he'll earn enough to still push The Hawks above the salary cap.  Is another move necessary?  Will Morin and/or Regin be criminally assigned to Rockford?
However it shakes out, GM Stan Bowman had the solution to his cap issues within his grasp, and then let it slip away.  One can only hope there's a Part II to this misadventure.

Holding Pattern

With training camp now underway I'd really like to pop in my predictions on which lineup The Hawks will bring to bear in a few months time, but the picture is still not clear enough.  One or more of the incumbent players still have to be moved or, in what would be a slightly shady manoeuvre, someone would have to be placed on Long Term Injury Reserve while The Hawks' administration figures out an actual solution to being $2.2 Million over the salary cap. The Hawks do not currently have any players on the Injury List but, if pressed, there are a few guys that they could semi-legitimately place on LTIR to obtain some salary cap relief and buy a little more time to make some informed decisions.  Johnny Oduya broke his foot in the final game of the Western Conference Final last spring, a "fact" I had learned only recently, and no one would bat an eye if Marian Hossa was ailing from a back or shoulder injury when training camp concludes.

Hossa would be tapped for the LTIR only if he was actually hurt, I think; I cannot imagine The Hawks wanting to do without Hoss if they can avoid it.  If things do come down to LTIR shenanigans Oduya would be a likely, somewhat legitimate and pretty convenient option.  If Oduya, or any of the top seven defensemen, were sheltered in this way The Hawks would have their chance to evaluate one (or more?) of the young d-men waiting for their chance get some NHL minutes.  The organization seems hell-bent on persisting with David Rundblad, so there's that, and Adam Clendenning, Klas Dahlbeck and Stephen Johns could/should get a look before the All-Star break, if The Hawks know what's good for them.  Terrifyingly, The Hawks acquired one of Joel Quenneville's footsoldiers from Q's Colorado days, Kyle Cumiskey, who could already be assured a spot as the seventh or eighth d-man based on his history with Coach Q.  I'll note that Cumiskey has not played in the NHL in over three years, but one cannot help thinking that he was obtained with some "purpose" in mind, especially with the boatload of defense prospects waiting in Rockford and beyond.

The salary dump is still a possibility but the how, who and when questions persist.  The expectation was that someone would be dealt, dispatched or given away during the Draft weekend, which of course did not happen and makes one wonder if no team is interested in the likes of Oduya or Kris Versteeg.  That possibility aside, I see a few other potential storylines here.
- Kris Versteeg: moving this forward clears up the salary cap nuisance at least temporarily, as his salary is precisely $2.2 Million, the same amount The Hawks are exceeding the cap.  I'm not sure what to think about Versteeg not already being dealt; either GM Stan Bowman had no takers for the backsliding winger or there is still some vain hope that Versteeg will return to some sort of form or, at least, play with greater discipline than he did in 2013-14.
- Johnny Oduya: possibly hurt, coming off a so-so playoffs and in the final year of a $3.3 Million contract.  If ANY of the young d-men are remotely ready to play in the NHL dealing Oduya makes the most sense as his sell-before date is rapidly approaching and, if he were to remain with The Hawks into the season, it will be increasingly difficult to trade him as he approaches Unrestricted Free Agency next spring.  Dealing Oduya would solve the salary cap problem and leave room to spare to carry another young forward on the roster, as well.
- Michal Rozsival: dumping Rozsie's $2.2 Million salary would also ensure short term cap relief, but this is a player who is consistent, has actually performed better in the playoffs than in the regular season and seems content to share the seventh d-man spot with another player.  It may also be tougher to get anything of worth for the 36-year-old Czech.
- Bryan Bickell: he gets a lot of grief about not being good value for the $4 Million he earns, especially given that he saw his icetime decrease to a career low last season.  One hopes that he has not lost the trust of the coach and that he was just being allowed to play lighter minutes as he continued to recover from two significant injuries sustained the previous year.  I really don't see another player on the roster who has Bickell's attributes; size, aggression and some scoring touch.  A lot of fans are frustrated by his inconsistent play, which might be due to lingering injuries, but I feel he deserves at least one more opportunity to do his thing.  I have a queasy feeling, though, that the slightest hint of Brandon Mashinter being able to fill Bickell's role may lead to Big Bick's departure.
- Nick Leddy: Bob McKenzie from TSN has been talking up this possibility, citing Adam Clendenning as a ready successor and Coach Q's lack of confidence in Leddy as catalysts toward the young puck-moving d-man being the odd man out.  I don't see this as a particularly viable option except in that The Hawks can expect excellent return in a trade involving Leddy.  Whether or not Clendenning is, in fact, prepared for the NHL will be a big determining factor here.  Also, Bob McKenzie is an idiot who loves the sound of his own voice.

Of course, training camp will determine who earns a spot on the team and who the first call-ups will be in the event of an injury.  Any of players mentioned above, apart from Leddy or Bickell, fall into the camp of guys who may be expendable if any of the prospect players are determined to be a better (and less expensive) option.

Additionally, Bowman may be playing a potentially very smart or very risky game here, lurking in the weeds with several experienced assets, waiting to see if a deal can be made to a team that, after their own training camps, realize they have holes in their lineups.  Training camp injuries, young players not being ready for the jump to the NHL or contract holdout hassles could all contribute to a position such as this.  

Finally, let me mention the hiring of Kevin Dineen as an assistant coach.  On the surface it appears that Quenneville is continuing to surround himself with assistants he knows and presumes to work well with; Q and Dineen have never coached together but were teammates in Hartford some decades ago.  Let me be the first to say that it's possible that Stan Bowman has inserted an agent in the coaching staff, a sort of fox in the henhouse, that could serve as a back up plan if Quenneville is dispatched for lack of results, recalcitrance, insanity...whatever.  My conspiratorial side wonders if Bowman and Dineen have an arrangement in which, as coach, Dineen will defer more readily to Bowman's vision, which may include a whole raft of things that Quenneville is unwilling to accommodate, such as including Bickell on special teams, pairing Leddy with Hjalmarsson, not insisting on a lineup spot being sucked up by the likes of Eager/Burish/Bollig/Mashinter and, for the love of God, allowing Jeremy Morin the chance to succeed.

More later, after the salary cap thing is sorted out.