Blackhawks offseason plan discussion

GRADEN · Post #1 » by **GRADEN** » Mon Jun 29, 2015 7:57 pm

Well the draft is over and we only moved Raanta for Haggerty... A solid deal although you can argue we gave up a nice backup (to them) for a guy that will likely start in Rockford (for us)...

Just look at the FA pool... It's crap. I think the waiver / buyout / cut wire will yield better assists this offseason...

For us... Richards, Vermette, and Oduya highlight our UFAs that will likely sign for larger deals elsewhere. Truthfully only Oduya is a tough loss. Tuevo deserves more ice time and McNeil should be called up as well. Panarin should see some good opportunity as well. We have drafted highly skilled centers / forwards lately so the AV / BR loses won't hurt as much. Oduya and Rozy will though unless TvR and Pokka get primed for 14-16 a game in a hurry.

More than likely we bring in a Dman vet willing to take less.

Now in order to do all this we still need to move at least 1 of steeger Bicks or Dirk digler.... Steeger is obviously the easiest to move and thus I expect it.

I'd also like to resign ADJ but he may prove too costly now.

Report: Runblad signed for 2 more years..... IMO he has a wicked shot but his decisions are poor in defensive alignment

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ADDinChicago · Post #2 » by **ADDinChicago** » Tue Jun 30, 2015 6:56 am

Sounds like Richards will be back if he takes the bare minimum. Dejardins is not gone just yet either. Oduya, it would take an act of God to return. Vermette & the Hawks both knew the situation with him when he was acquired. Thanks for the help, now go get paid.

The big domino is going to be what kind of offer sheet Saad signs. And I couldn't care less what he said with a camera in his face about "taking a discount". Kid has earned it and you best bet his agent is going to get him a strong offer that the Hawks will have to match. Krueger possibly too. That's going to be what really determines where the Hawks go and what they can do. Cap going up a tad helped.

Sharp, Bickell & Versteeg will most likely be gone at some point this summer. Clearly the offers either weren't there during the draft or Bowman thinks/has been been told he has better offers down the line. That's how they're going to get D-men in here. Via trade unless they want to or have to dip into that weak free agent pool.

Runblad coming back just shows how bad the market is. Like you said, he can shoot but is a liability. But if he's your 5th or 6th d-man, it could be worse. Now if he's their 4th replacing Oduya, we might be in trouble.

As usual (and usually right), Bowman probably feels he has the answers somewhere in their system. So again, I trust what he thinks is the right thing going forward.

We know where I stood heading into the summer with Crawford's trade value never being higher and I hate, hate, hate his cap number. But it is what it is and he has 2 Cups on his resume now. Bowman and Q love him. I wish Raanta the best in NY. I wouldn't be shocked if Darling's gone by this time next season too now. It's a good problem to have for the Hawks.

ADDinChicago · Post #3 » by **ADDinChicago** » Tue Jun 30, 2015 9:20 pm

Well, Saad traded to Columbus.

Between not being able up move Sharp & Bickell, it makes sense. Just sucks to see him go.

Word is Bowman was hearing the offer sheets about to be presented. Way too much for the Hawks to match.

Bulls Fan 23 · Post #4 » by **Bulls Fan 23** » Tue Jun 30, 2015 9:25 pm

That is a shocker. Time to tap the Rockford pipeline. Graden, what do you think of the talent they got back?

ADDinChicago · Post #5 » by **ADDinChicago** » Wed Jul 1, 2015 5:57 am

Bulls Fan 23 wrote:That is a shocker. Time to tap the Rockford pipeline. Graden, what do you think of the talent they got back?

It's hardly a shocker when you see the money he was offered. The Hawks did quite well on the return. Dano is good for the spot he'll be in and Anisimov is a quality 3rd line center. This also could help the Hawks build the rest of the roster. Kruger (separate deal), Richards, Dejardins & even Oduya now could all be in the cards to be retained. Now Vermette is the only lock to leave via free agency. Again, it sucks Saad had to be traded, but the big picture to not give him $40 mil is a good outlook. Bowman knows what he's doing. Most people were livid with the 3 deals he did around the deadline and it resulted in another cup.

Shootdabull · Post #6 » by **Shootdabull** » Wed Jul 1, 2015 1:01 pm

So sad to see Saad go. I was hoping he was part of the core and would be here for a long time. He has a lot of very good years ahead of him. I really thought it would be sharp & bickell that would be moved - congrats to him on the nice contract.

Post #7 » by **TNBT** » Wed Jul 1, 2015 2:06 pm

Well we've already screwed up my number 1 goal for the off-season (dump Sharp and Bickell and re-sign Saad), so it can only improve from here. It's hard to talk about the plan going into next season as even though Saad is gone, there will likely still be more moves made by the time camp starts.

Also, I heard Anisimov just agreed to a 5 year extension worth around $22 mil.

Post #8 » by **TNBT** » Wed Jul 1, 2015 9:47 pm

Just heard now that Richards has signed with the Red Wings for $3 mil on a one-year deal, so I guess any chance of him returning is gone. I wouldn't mind seeing Desjardins back either, but it's no great loss if he leaves. It would open up a spot on one of the lower lines for a kid like Hartman or Danault.

Post #9 » by **TNBT** » Wed Jul 1, 2015 10:04 pm

Based on an article I was reading earlier, which assumes that we can dump Bickell, then we have a potential line-up looking like this:

Sharp - Toews - Hossa
Teravainen - Anisimov - Kane
Panarin - Dano - Versteeg
Shaw - Kruger - Hartman

Now if Desjardins returns, then he takes Hartman's spot on the 4th line. We could switch Versteeg and Shaw, depending on your preference. Outside of those few possible changes, I'm pretty ok with that line-up. That obviously assumes that we dump Bickell for cap relief and don't make any other moves, but I expect that we'll see more trades and signings between now and training camp, so this line-up will continue to be a work in progress.

GRADEN · Post #10 » by **GRADEN** » Wed Jul 1, 2015 10:08 pm

Just signed SKASTP - KHL center Viktor Tikhonov to a 1 /1m deal!!!!

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GRADEN · Post #11 » by **GRADEN** » Wed Jul 1, 2015 10:10 pm

Fantastic signing..... But could spell Krugers departure I fear

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GRADEN · Post #12 » by **GRADEN** » Wed Jul 1, 2015 10:23 pm

Kessel Malkin and Sid.... That's soooo much cash to 3 guys

Recap on offseason so far guys:

Gone:

Saad, Richards, Broadhurst (p), Paliotta (p), Carey (p), Regin, timonen (retired), Raanta, Carruth (p)

Staying / coming in:

Anisimov, Dano, Runblad, Labrie (p), Haggerty (p), morin, Tropp, 2016 4th from CBJ, Tikhonov

Likely leaving

Oduya, Vermette, Rozisval, Carcillo

50/50 Kruger / AdJ but maybe less likely now with Dano / Tikhonov

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Post #13 » by **TNBT** » Wed Jul 1, 2015 10:24 pm

I saw that as well, but am completely unfamiliar with Tikhonov. You've usually got some pretty accurate profiles on everyone we sign, so what do you have to say about this guy? What sort of strengths/weaknesses does he have? What kind of player is he? What role do you see him playing on this team?

GRADEN · Post #14 » by **GRADEN** » Wed Jul 1, 2015 10:50 pm

Oh feel free to get excited about our 1 year rental of Viktor...

First off I'd like to say something on hockey and me.... I am in no way an expert on the cap, I refuse to be and I'll say this much.... I prefer to put all my energy into how a guy plays and how he plays within our scheme... To worry about the cap IMO takes away from love of this game and therefore I miss the point when it comes to losing guys like saad I deep down knew we'd likely lose....

Ok so here is my 2 cents....

C Viktor Tikhonov

Came up with the Coyotes and was in between the AHL and NHL a few years mainly because he forced some shots I feel when a play needed to develop... Since then played a lot better in the KHL as a legit goal scorer that developed a solid rep as a two way forward

Has good size and a quick wrister and should play more wing for us then anything.... Could be our 3rd line RW guy

He will have a good season and score some impressive goals.... Maybe needs a little more board battle refinement but his skating ability and toughness appear top notch to compensate this

Overall it's a fantastic deal

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Post #15 » by **TNBT** » Wed Jul 1, 2015 11:03 pm

So would it be fair to say that this deal is a chance for him to show what he can do at NHL level and try and earn a longer contract this time next year?

GRADEN · Post #16 » by **GRADEN** » Wed Jul 1, 2015 11:17 pm

Exactly what I'm saying

He is a proven goal scorer over there.... I'd venture to guess he could net 12-15 and 25-30 points for us

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Post #17 » by **TNBT** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 12:15 am

Just heard that apparently Vermette has agreed to a 2 year deal to head back to Arizona. No one really expected he would be back in Chicago, and now we can officially cross him off the list. Vermette and Richards are both gone, now lets see what happens with Oduya...

ADDinChicago · Post #18 » by **ADDinChicago** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 7:06 am

TNBT wrote:Well we've already screwed up my number 1 goal for the off-season (dump Sharp and Bickell and re-sign Saad), so it can only improve from here. It's hard to talk about the plan going into next season as even though Saad is gone, there will likely still be more moves made by the time camp starts.

Also, I heard Anisimov just agreed to a 5 year extension worth around $22 mil.

Just curious, how did the Hawks "already screwed up"? They can't make a trade happen and they are completely stupid if they didn't think Saad was getting a large offer sheet. It's unfortunate, but it was out of their hands. This is what happens to good teams with a hard cap. Thinks didn't fall their way. But they didn't screw anything up. If you're an opposing GM are you honestly offering a lot for Sharp or Bickell with their deals and the seasons they just had?

People seem to forget Saad is a RESTRICTED free agent once a deal didn't get done with the Hawks. That offer was coming no matter what and even if the Hawks had found homes for Sharp, Bickell, Versteeg, etc. they weren't going to match it as they can't pay Saad $40 mil. No good team would.

Absolutely more deals are coming. Sharp will still be moved when the dust settles. Bickell possibly too. Bowman's got a ****storm to deal with the cap going forward. Toews, Kane, Keith & Hossa (only due to age and deal left) are the only guaranteed constants. Everyone else is and can be interchangable in time.

As for Anisimov, that's the kind of deal they were hoping Saad would take. It didn't work out as bad teams will overpay to get a good but not great player like Saad. The open market didn't help the Hawks. That's hardly their fault.

Post #19 » by **TNBT** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 10:01 am

I understand completely that we were stuck in a tough place with our proximity to the cap and Saad's value. However, you asked me how the Hawks had already screwed up? Well I'd stated that my number one priority was getting rid of Bickell and/or Sharp to create enough room to keep Saad, and seeing as how none of those things happened, that's how I say they'd screwed up. They may very well have had a different plan in mind which they have executed perfectly, but in relation to what I was hoping for, that's all screwed now.

As for Saad's salary, everyone knew he was going to get offers. I think the reason for feeling like we had to move him though was because we were so far apart on a potential deal. In the position we were in, we couldn't offer Saad anything near what he was worth, so I'm doubting that Saad's camp ever even considered backing down from their position, as no compromise could be reached. If we'd managed to dump those guys for cap space, then MAYBE it shows his camp that we're really serious, and MAYBE that is enough to bring them to the table and take a compromise deal somewhere between what we were originally offering and what they were originally asking for.

Obviously whether that would have happened that way or not, we will never know. I just would have liked us to have gotten rid of at least one of Bickell and Sharp to open up space, as MAYBE that's enough of a sign of good faith that we're willing to bargain with them.

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GRADEN · Post #20 » by **GRADEN** » Thu Jul 2, 2015 6:52 pm

Greenberg wrote a nice in depth article that sums up my feelings on saad

As for Anisimov.... 5/22 if I remember right... It's a good deal for both sides and it will be only prime 27-32 years so I like it

Remember Seabrook extension looming too

ADD I totally know u are right and see all the logic... Just hard on the heart, but the brain understands lol

Maybe I'm just upset I don't get to speed down a puck on a breakaway in nhl16 now ya know

Working on my preview.... A lot of work!

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