I personally thought it was borderline dirty. The flex of the elbow arm coming up like he's doing shoulder flys at the gym, showed me Smith just didn't catch him with the shoulder/upper arm.

Good response by the Hawks.....love the fire we see from Kurashev at times. Again, was refreshing to hear from Tinordi speaking how Foligno drives the bus in the room and how important he is where when he does talk guys listen.....vs a Murphy and Jones in the past few years.

I am ok with them signing Foligno and having him their defacto captain as they bring in young guys and he shows them how to be a professional.

I'd also love to know what 89 did to his groin to be out this long....seems a little soft on his end.
- SteveRain

His main (only) asset is his speed. If he's not 100% there is little reason for him to be out on the ice.

Feel we are going to drop 2 spots regardless of where we finish. Lotto gods give and take and we got a lot of luck last May.
- Popsghostly

The Lotto gods spoke to the injury gods and said "do your worst".

I personally thought it was borderline dirty. The flex of the elbow arm coming up like he's doing shoulder flys at the gym, showed me Smith just didn't catch him with the shoulder/upper arm.


- SteveRain

Regardless of whether or not the hit was dirty the result is the same. A player got a broken jaw and in this case that player is a cash cow for the NHL......

And, if it wasn't dirty it tells us this will continue to happen. The only way it reduces, it can never stop cuz of the nature of the sport, is to adopt IIHF rules. If any contact is made with the head it's a 5 minute Major, game ejection and suspension.

That means in the Smith hit he would not take the chance of hitting Bedard and instead impede him. .....

$51M for Marner, Matthews, Nylander, Tavares and Reilly.
- paulr

I just did a quck calculation in my head and it looks like $54M.

The Lotto gods spoke to the injury gods and said "do your worst".

- Chunk

The law of averages bit Bedard. x amount of times outa 10 you'll take a hard hit if your head is down if even for a second. ...... Bedard is a tough kid, I hope this doesn't effect that part of his game.

To be honest I've been wondering when the league would get more physical with him. He's taken his share I guess but the amount he has the puck, especially in the Ozone, I would have expected a lot more hits.

I hear you, Pops. Indeed, the Hockey Gods (law of averages) are always present. Add too good to be true is why I didn't think the Hawks would end up with the #1 this last draft...... Always thought it would be Fantilli a Hawk, not Bedard.

Count me as a Celebrini guy and think he goes #1, and although it's too early to say, but it looks like landing high enough to draft Eiserman or Lindstrom will be just fine.

Getting the #1 last yr is much better than getting it this yr it would seem but as it sits today my hope is a top 3 pick.
- Mr Ricochet

Hey Rico, hope the New Year is going well for you.

I had the same feeling too about Fantilli- or Smith being a Hawk. Other than the jokes using Tankathon, I couldn't even imagine the Hawks getting a generational talent.

It'll be interesting seeing the movement of the prospects. A few years ago I remember Wright being the consensus #1 right up to a few weeks before the draft. Last year, it looked like Benson would go much higher.

The Lotto gods spoke to the injury gods and said "do your worst".

- Chunk

Ha ha. Good one Chunk. The injuries amaze me to the point its almost comical, I mean Player A injures Player B. Player C goes after Player A and then is injured as well.

I wonder if KD will resign Foligno. I wouldn't mind bringing him back given what he provides to the team.

I am shocked they signed him. Well.....I take that back, based on his playoff numbers and fast start this year.......I guess I am not blindsided, but I just don't see how they think this is the answer when their backend is a disaster.

That leaf management team, Shanahan, seems to love to operate in insanity. I get the cap is going up....but another 13% allocated to 1 guy on top of Matthews, Marner, Tavares.....remarkable cap management.
- SteveRain

If you think about the Hawks though

Toews, Kane, Hossa, Seabrook, Keith, Sharp took up a lot of the cap space even before the wonder twins got their 10 million dollar deals. Crawford wasn't overly expensive but wasn't cheap either. There wasn't a lot of money to fill out the second and third cup teams but they had some young players step up and the right veterans fall into their hands. Keith and Hosea's cap circumventing deals certainly helped a little though.

The Hawks were over the Cap before the 2014-2015 season started. The Avs right now are dry humping the Cap. What are they going to do, not pay MacKinnon, Mikko, Makar and Toews?

It's the reality of the NHL and Toronto like the Oilers, Panthers and Rangers - who haven't won anything yet - are still cup contending fun teams to watch which is all you can hope for unless you can squeeze in a deep run before guys need to get paid like the Hawks and Avs did for their first cups. The parity in the league really does make it up for grabs and a lot of luck and good fortune is involved in winning it all.

One thing I could see happening is if Chicago gets the number one overall they move it for a later number one and a solid NHL player or good prospect. If of course the team they are dealing with really covet one of the top draft eligible players.
- paulr

Nah, you take Celebrini. He's gonna be a very good player.

Then you buy someone or two with the other 12 first and second round picks over the next 3 years and try to get at least one run in Bedards contract year.

I personally thought it was borderline dirty. The flex of the elbow arm coming up like he's doing shoulder flys at the gym, showed me Smith just didn't catch him with the shoulder/upper arm.

Good response by the Hawks.....love the fire we see from Kurashev at times. Again, was refreshing to hear from Tinordi speaking how Foligno drives the bus in the room and how important he is where when he does talk guys listen.....vs a Murphy and Jones in the past few years.

I am ok with them signing Foligno and having him their defacto captain as they bring in young guys and he shows them how to be a professional.

I'd also love to know what 89 did to his groin to be out this long....seems a little soft on his end.
- SteveRain

I thought the hit was clean for one reason. Bedard ran into Smith. Other than position himself to make the hit Smith really did nothing. It was a fluke injury.

Nah, you take Celebrini. He's gonna be a very good player.

Then you buy someone or two with the other 12 first and second round picks over the next 3 years and try to get at least one run in Bedards contract year.
- fattybeef

Like any situation you take Celebrini unless what you get back is more valuable. If for example Anaheim covets Celebrini and were willing to trade their first and Mason McTavish for the first overall and say Phillips, you do the deal.

They'll have $21 million to spend on 11 roster spots this summer. Gonna be interesting to see how they handle this.
- 333inthe3rd

Easy question to answer - Step 1 is to blame the coach and fire him for mishandling all of the talent he was given. Step 2, they sign as many $800K/year players as possible to max out their cap space. When that doesn't work out so well, Step 3 is fire the General Manager because they have no cap space and no trade assets left to improve the team. He's an idiot and its his fault.

But none of this really matters in Toronto, there never are unsold seats. Season ticket holders never revolt about paying yearly price increases because they would never get their tickets back and they desperately want to be there when the Leafs finally win their Cup. So the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment's cash register keeps going kaching, kaching year after year.

I thought the hit was clean for one reason. Bedard ran into Smith. Other than position himself to make the hit Smith really did nothing. It was a fluke injury.
- paulr

Nothing dirty about that hit. Bedard got his "welcome to the National Hockey League" greeting. I have some sympathy for the kid, but I sure hope he learns from it. Head down trying to waltz NHL defenceman is a very dangerous dance step.

Hey Rico, hope the New Year is going well for you.

I had the same feeling too about Fantilli- or Smith being a Hawk. Other than the jokes using Tankathon, I couldn't even imagine the Hawks getting a generational talent.

It'll be interesting seeing the movement of the prospects. A few years ago I remember Wright being the consensus #1 right up to a few weeks before the draft. Last year, it looked like Benson would go much higher.
- Popsghostly

A fine beginning of the New Yr, Pops. Thanks for asking. Hope the new yr brings the best to you and yours..........

Yea man, it helps to remember Wright, and Allen (PHI top pick) too, when talking about draft picks. There is no such thing as a lock.

The WJC starts my following more closely of prospects. For those interested here are multiple reports of Lindstrom, although they're written at the beginning of November.

http://www.mynhldraft.com...profiles/Cayden-Lindstrom

They'll have $21 million to spend on 11 roster spots this summer. Gonna be interesting to see how they handle this.
- 333inthe3rd

I think they're going to have to convince Taveras to waive his NMC. And I absolutely wouldn't mind him at all with the Hawks for 1 year. They might be the only team with the cap space (and budget) to absorb his full $11M salary. Plus a nice sweetener, of course.

There's your second line center who can still put up some points and should help the dreadful PP.

Is this year's projected top 3 viewed as franchise players? I keep hearing good things on Celebrini (spell) and saw some clips on WJ Canada. Not sure he has as much top end talent as Bedard, but looks like he could play with him and not be out of place. If that makes any sense.

I think you are correct as I could see Davidson using some draft capital to possibly find a NHL player to plug in right away.

I just dont see how you go into 2024-25 with Bedard centering a broken down Taylor Hall and some out of place F playing well above his comfort level.

That's before you even explore who should be on line 2.....again, not everything has to be solved next year but to help Bedard continue to press against his ceiling he needs help.....those PP where teams literally had a guy shadow him because they weren't afraid of the 4 vs 3 remaining matchup on the ice.....isn't going to stop.
- SteveRain

Celebrini isn't scoring quite at the rate that Fantilli did but he's also a year younger as a 17 year old freshman.

They 100% have to add but they should probably use the other 12 assets they have in the first and second rounds over the next 3 years to get it.

To be fair, Reichel did pretty well paired with Bedard, but it didn't stay together very long. The more I watch him, the more I think Reichel's trajectory will closely match Kurashev's. I think he'll get a very minor bump on a 2 year contract to see if the light turns on. I personally think it will. For some reason, He amps his game up when there is less talent on the team. He looked a ton better when Kane was traded, and looked much more engaged the last two games (despite passing up a golden opportunity to shoot).
- Chunk

I think the Kurashev comp is a solid one......I just don't see the explosive plays even when playing with bedard that makes me think he's a LT solution as a top 3/top 6 player and a guy you build a line around. Again.....73 games, but man I was hoping he would be a huge bright spot on this roster and so far.....it isn't there. Production wise.

I think they're going to have to convince Taveras to waive his NMC. And I absolutely wouldn't mind him at all with the Hawks for 1 year. They might be the only team with the cap space (and budget) to absorb his full $11M salary. Plus a nice sweetener, of course.

There's your second line center who can still put up some points and should help the dreadful PP.
- MartiniMan

Or maybe the Leafs get creative and send a draft choice to get someone on LTIR like Shea Weber or Ryan Ellis, like Tampa did with Seabrooks contract?

I think they're going to have to convince Taveras to waive his NMC. And I absolutely wouldn't mind him at all with the Hawks for 1 year. They might be the only team with the cap space (and budget) to absorb his full $11M salary. Plus a nice sweetener, of course.

There's your second line center who can still put up some points and should help the dreadful PP.
- MartiniMan

WILL NEVER HAPPEN!!

And why would he agree to it? At best, they will have to buy him out.

Regardless of whether or not the hit was dirty the result is the same. A player got a broken jaw and in this case that player is a cash cow for the NHL......

And, if it wasn't dirty it tells us this will continue to happen. The only way it reduces, it can never stop cuz of the nature of the sport, is to adopt IIHF rules. If any contact is made with the head it's a 5 minute Major, game ejection and suspension.

That means in the Smith hit he would not take the chance of hitting Bedard and instead impede him. .....
- Mr Ricochet

I think it's a slippery slope. I just can see how fast the game is, if a guy lowers his head and the defender is already on his way to hit him.....you get a $hit storm.

Blatant shots to the head.....are tough. NFL has got a tough time calling things and then you get a game geared towards offense 100% of the time. Do we want to see a NHL game where it's all powerplays? I don't. Then we know they also let up come playoff time.....and can you imagine a cup win being decided on a head contact play?

If you think about the Hawks though

Toews, Kane, Hossa, Seabrook, Keith, Sharp took up a lot of the cap space even before the wonder twins got their 10 million dollar deals. Crawford wasn't overly expensive but wasn't cheap either. There wasn't a lot of money to fill out the second and third cup teams but they had some young players step up and the right veterans fall into their hands. Keith and Hosea's cap circumventing deals certainly helped a little though.

The Hawks were over the Cap before the 2014-2015 season started. The Avs right now are dry humping the Cap. What are they going to do, not pay MacKinnon, Mikko, Makar and Toews?

It's the reality of the NHL and Toronto like the Oilers, Panthers and Rangers - who haven't won anything yet - are still cup contending fun teams to watch which is all you can hope for unless you can squeeze in a deep run before guys need to get paid like the Hawks and Avs did for their first cups. The parity in the league really does make it up for grabs and a lot of luck and good fortune is involved in winning it all.
- fattybeef

That's fair....identifying the right core of guys and having that diversified more so....fs, and d, and even an elite goalie.

Leafs just went all in on Fs and Reilly and well.......that drought is going to march right on.

Like any situation you take Celebrini unless what you get back is more valuable. If for example Anaheim covets Celebrini and were willing to trade their first and Mason McTavish for the first overall and say Phillips, you do the deal.
- paulr

I think generally speaking that the Hawks have enough assets where they don't need to trade a first overall to get a player of that quality and still offer a better deal than anyone else in the league. So for all intents and purposes that hypothetical situation isn't really a thing.

If the senators were like we'll give you Stutzel or the other the chuck for the first you probably do it it but how realistic is that unless the front office there is really out for blood. Its gonna be a good player who maybe isn't a "core guy" like Norris, who has had some injury history, or Marner if Toronto established he isn't a priority and can get them help on the blue line or Draisaitl because McDavid is the guy and there's only so much money and he wants out of north western Canada.

PLD went for 2 young players and a second and a veteran.

They don't have a lot of young player capital at this point, except on the blue line but I dunno Tampas first and a second + Philips\DelMastro\Kaiser + Reichal for Norris would be acceptable. It would probably have to be two firsts for Marner but that would be fine too.

Sure some team could demand Nazar but I think more teams would prefer to pick their own guy vs an unproven prospect who hasn't played a professional season on that hip yet.

If it's the third or fourth overall then I think it gets more interesting in terms of trading down or moving for an established player especially in a year where the no one is pretty established and then it gets kinda muddy 2-10.

I think the Kurashev comp is a solid one......I just don't see the explosive plays even when playing with bedard that makes me think he's a LT solution as a top 3/top 6 player and a guy you build a line around. Again.....73 games, but man I was hoping he would be a huge bright spot on this roster and so far.....it isn't there. Production wise.
- SteveRain

I don't think he was ever billed as such though. I know it is just one description, but read this from Elite Prospects:

He's an unrelenting forechecker & backchecker, never gives up on a play, and wins battles through second efforts. Reichel is a pretty capable puck-handler too, even at top-speed carrying the puck through a defender's triangle, showing a predilection for outside-in maneuvers, and deploying weight shifts to avoid contact. -EliteProspects 2020 NHL Draft Guide

That sounds like a good complimentary piece, not a line driver. I think he can still be one if he gets a bit more selfish.

WILL NEVER HAPPEN!!

And why would he agree to it? At best, they will have to buy him out.
- RickJ

Buyout of Tavares won't help: https://www.capfriendly.c...t-calculator/john-tavares