Maybe KD can be as creative as Armstrong was, and use some of his draft capital for promising RFA's rom cap strapped teams, as opposed to taking on a dead weight overpaid player in a cap dump trade.
- LAHawk

Sorry, I'm just so used to seeing these I thought that's all that was available.

Ehlers isn't the point. The point is don't trade all these assets for someone that is very similar to a UFA that's available for free. And while we're talking about money since you brought it up, Kyle will have a war chest to work with and needs to bring in vets that can (frank)ing score. Pay Rantanen whatever it takes to get him to Chicago and sign another UFA scoring forward this offseason as well. Only scorer Kyle has in his precious prospect pool over 3 drafts is Lardis and he's still in juniors.
- Assman22

I agree on not moving assets UNLESS you move them to improve the team.

My point about Ehlers can be applied to Rantenen, or anyone else. Is he worth $10-13M over seven years with a NMC at his age? How does he project in three to five years? Is he projected to maintain his current abilities or is he projected to start plateauing or dipping? GMs make the most mistakes at the TDL and in free agency. KD has to be very careful whoever he acquires isn’t just a guy he settles on but rather a guy who he can build around.

I agree with Chunk here. I think management envisioned them both as 3rd-line wingers who could play as 2nd line wingers. With a healthy Hall, it was expected that even with 3 additional wingers on the lower end of top 6, we'd generate more offense than the dumpster fire last year. Unfortunately, even with Donato scoring more, both Kurashev and Richardson have produced significantly less than last year. Subtract Johnson and you have about the same amount of offensive production as last year.
- Popsghostly

I don't think the Hawks envisioned TT as a third line player. Excluding missed games due to injury, TT is a 60pt plus player. Played Top 6 in Carolina. Except for his hot streak in mid-December where he had 10 pts in 4 games, TT has been a disappointment.

He had a 13 games stretch with 1g and 0 ast. Unacceptable for someone who is a veteran and the 2nd best forward on the team.

Interested to see where Dach slots in and for who. Maybe give Frank a familiar face?
- Chunk

Has his skating improved at all? Haven't paid much attention to his development over the last year plus.

Has his skating improved at all? Haven't paid much attention to his development over the last year plus.
- bhawks2241

It has. He's not really fast, but he has been quicker. The main improvement that I've seen is that he wins more pucks than he loses and puts himself in better positions both on offense and defense.

I don't think the Hawks envisioned TT as a third line player. Excluding missed games due to injury, TT is a 60pt plus player. Played Top 6 in Carolina. Except for his hot streak in mid-December where he had 10 pts in 4 games, TT has been a disappointment.

He had a 13 games stretch with 1g and 0 ast. Unacceptable for someone who is a veteran and the 2nd best forward on the team.
- bhawks2241

Considering there isn't much else to draw attention on this team, TT is about where he was expected. The whole team is dreadful. Last year in CAR, he had a couple streaks of 9 games with only 1 point, and that team played a much better team game and had tons more talent.

My main argument for bringing in a guy like Pettersen (or Marner - don't skewer me yet) is that he would be able to provide consistent offense with Bedard. They don't have another guy like that who is close to NHL ready. They need to be able to score a lot more to move up the standings and there is precious little of that available.
- Chunk

When bringing in players the question isn't "are they better than what we have?" The question should be "can we win with them?" Otherwise you're just taking up cap space and fooling yourself. Somewhat like this year.

Most people here thought this year was simply going to be a tank of a different name after seeing what KD added.

Taking a step back and looking at the big picture, the Hawks are still very much in transition. Most of the young prospects, rookies/sophomore types we have that are getting NHL playing time are still Bowman's picks and KD's first draft picks are still a bit green at the pro level. I'm just saying, the jury is still out on KD's picks panning out, it takes time.

He has made some signings and trades to varying degrees of success, but I'd argue that Kyle Davidson is still a work in progress too. They didn't name an experienced GM to succeed Stan Bowman and he is probably going to have some misses or mistakes to learn from. They didn't bring him in to be a quick fix "right the ship" GM, but it's been pretty clear the plan is long term.

This season they were never going to be a 80+ point team, that was never a likely outcome, but they realistically could have been high 60s to low 70s. They've thrown that off with a few games (3-5ish) that have gotten away from them. Anders Sorensen may or may not be the answer, he is an interim coach at this point anyway, so he definitely has to "prove it" before they commit to him anyway. If things don't improve we'll see someone new in the offseason.

Right now, it seems to me like three things are going on

1) Our goalies are on a cold streak
2) After a good start to the season Jones has struggled at times in his first handful of games back.
3) Teams we are facing have countered the adjustments Sorensen made to the team's game plan in the middle of the ice and we haven't had the defensive strength or goaltending to survive the transition/rush attacks against. I think it's some of our weaker/slower D who struggle more to defend the blueline with less support. We don't exactly have a very solid defensive group of forwards, outside of a few guys, so it just seems like often, we attack, lose the puck and the opposition makes a stretch pass and they are over our line with possession. It's looked to me like it's just too easy for them to turn it around on us with regularity, but especially the Minnesota, Buffalo and St Louis games in particular.

When bringing in players the question isn't "are they better than what we have?" The question should be "can we win with them?" Otherwise you're just taking up cap space and fooling yourself. Somewhat like this year.

Most people here thought this year was simply going to be a tank of a different name after seeing what KD added.
- rpeters01

What is your definition of "winning"? If it is winning a cup, then how do you determine that unless you only sign players from cup winners?

Taking a step back and looking at the big picture, the Hawks are still very much in transition. Most of the young prospects, rookies/sophomore types we have that are getting NHL playing time are still Bowman's picks and KD's first draft picks are still a bit green at the pro level. I'm just saying, the jury is still out on KD's picks panning out, it takes time.

He has made some signings and trades to varying degrees of success, but I'd argue that Kyle Davidson is still a work in progress too. They didn't name an experienced GM to succeed Stan Bowman and he is probably going to have some misses or mistakes to learn from. They didn't bring him in to be a quick fix "right the ship" GM, but it's been pretty clear the plan is long term.

This season they were never going to be a 80+ point team, that was never a likely outcome, but they realistically could have been high 60s to low 70s. They've thrown that off with a few games (3-5ish) that have gotten away from them. Anders Sorensen may or may not be the answer, he is an interim coach at this point anyway, so he definitely has to "prove it" before they commit to him anyway. If things don't improve we'll see someone new in the offseason.

Right now, it seems to me like three things are going on

1) Our goalies are on a cold streak
2) After a good start to the season Jones has struggled at times in his first handful of games back.
3) Teams we are facing have countered the adjustments Sorensen made to the team's game plan in the middle of the ice and we haven't had the defensive strength or goaltending to survive the transition/rush attacks against. I think it's some of our weaker/slower D who struggle more to defend the blueline with less support. We don't exactly have a very solid defensive group of forwards, outside of a few guys, so it just seems like often, we attack, lose the puck and the opposition makes a stretch pass and they are over our line with possession. It's looked to me like it's just too easy for them to turn it around on us with regularity, but especially the Minnesota, Buffalo and St Louis games in particular.
- breadbag

We could sure use a hot goalie. It may not mean much but Jones left playing for Richardson and came back playing for Sorensen? The defense we're currently icing are go figure "big and slow" who'd have ever expected that? Throw in they're really young and you're looking at a ticking time 💣.

Taking a step back and looking at the big picture, the Hawks are still very much in transition. Most of the young prospects, rookies/sophomore types we have that are getting NHL playing time are still Bowman's picks and KD's first draft picks are still a bit green at the pro level. I'm just saying, the jury is still out on KD's picks panning out, it takes time.

He has made some signings and trades to varying degrees of success, but I'd argue that Kyle Davidson is still a work in progress too. They didn't name an experienced GM to succeed Stan Bowman and he is probably going to have some misses or mistakes to learn from. They didn't bring him in to be a quick fix "right the ship" GM, but it's been pretty clear the plan is long term.

This season they were never going to be a 80+ point team, that was never a likely outcome, but they realistically could have been high 60s to low 70s. They've thrown that off with a few games (3-5ish) that have gotten away from them. Anders Sorensen may or may not be the answer, he is an interim coach at this point anyway, so he definitely has to "prove it" before they commit to him anyway. If things don't improve we'll see someone new in the offseason.

Right now, it seems to me like three things are going on

1) Our goalies are on a cold streak
2) After a good start to the season Jones has struggled at times in his first handful of games back.
3) Teams we are facing have countered the adjustments Sorensen made to the team's game plan in the middle of the ice and we haven't had the defensive strength or goaltending to survive the transition/rush attacks against. I think it's some of our weaker/slower D who struggle more to defend the blueline with less support. We don't exactly have a very solid defensive group of forwards, outside of a few guys, so it just seems like often, we attack, lose the puck and the opposition makes a stretch pass and they are over our line with possession. It's looked to me like it's just too easy for them to turn it around on us with regularity, but especially the Minnesota, Buffalo and St Louis games in particular.
- breadbag

Really good synopsis. I'll add (again) that they are not winning any/many 50/50 pucks. Mikheyev, and Foligno when he is actually fast enough to make it a 50/50 are the two that seem decent at it, but most everyone else just sucks.

Hawks lines at practice:

Bertuzzi - Bedard - Mikheyev
Hall - D!ckinson - Foligno
Dach - Nazar - TT
Maroon - Donato - Smith

Shev and Reichel extras

I guess, they saw the same thing I did, that Reichel is back to his invisible days.

Up until these last two games he went seven games without a shot on goal. If they are going to ease in more kids this year, they will have to launch a vet or two.

What is your definition of "winning"? If it is winning a cup, then how do you determine that unless you only sign players from cup winners?
- Chunk

It's subjective but "is this a guy who could carry us through a playoff round or do they up their game" in big games.

Hawks lines at practice:

Bertuzzi - Bedard - Mikheyev
Hall - D!ckinson - Foligno
Dach - Nazar - TT
Maroon - Donato - Smith

Shev and Reichel extras

I guess, they saw the same thing I did, that Reichel is back to his invisible days.

Up until these last two games he went seven games without a shot on goal. If they are going to ease in more kids this year, they will have to launch a vet or two.
- Chunk

Maybe I missed something but is our leading scorer playing 4th line? When did Dach get called up?😴

Maybe I missed something but is our leading scorer playing 4th line? When did Dach get called up?😴
- rpeters01

Dach got called up today (read my earlier posts lol).

No, the leading scorer is still on line 1 (Bertuzzi).

PP units:

Bedard, TT, Donato (bumper), Bertuzzi (net front), Jones

Nazar, Hall, Smith (bumper), Dach (net front), Vlasic

unfortunately, this highlights the fact that the Hawks have no one close to resembling a true PP Qb at this point in time.

Maybe I missed something but is our leading scorer playing 4th line? When did Dach get called up?😴
- rpeters01

Well you can nickname the 4th line as the gone at the TDL line, or if cannot be moved not on next year's roster line.

Taking a step back and looking at the big picture, the Hawks are still very much in transition. Most of the young prospects, rookies/sophomore types we have that are getting NHL playing time are still Bowman's picks and KD's first draft picks are still a bit green at the pro level. I'm just saying, the jury is still out on KD's picks panning out, it takes time.

He has made some signings and trades to varying degrees of success, but I'd argue that Kyle Davidson is still a work in progress too. They didn't name an experienced GM to succeed Stan Bowman and he is probably going to have some misses or mistakes to learn from. They didn't bring him in to be a quick fix "right the ship" GM, but it's been pretty clear the plan is long term.

This season they were never going to be a 80+ point team, that was never a likely outcome, but they realistically could have been high 60s to low 70s. They've thrown that off with a few games (3-5ish) that have gotten away from them. Anders Sorensen may or may not be the answer, he is an interim coach at this point anyway, so he definitely has to "prove it" before they commit to him anyway. If things don't improve we'll see someone new in the offseason.

Right now, it seems to me like three things are going on

1) Our goalies are on a cold streak
2) After a good start to the season Jones has struggled at times in his first handful of games back.
3) Teams we are facing have countered the adjustments Sorensen made to the team's game plan in the middle of the ice and we haven't had the defensive strength or goaltending to survive the transition/rush attacks against. I think it's some of our weaker/slower D who struggle more to defend the blueline with less support. We don't exactly have a very solid defensive group of forwards, outside of a few guys, so it just seems like often, we attack, lose the puck and the opposition makes a stretch pass and they are over our line with possession. It's looked to me like it's just too easy for them to turn it around on us with regularity, but especially the Minnesota, Buffalo and St Louis games in particular.
- breadbag

This. We had that 3-game win streak that we seemingly were faster and had better chances and boom 5 games in a row of being behind by at least 3. Sorensen will need to adjust, but will this cause us being stuck only scoring 1-2 goals a game?

Dach got called up today (read my earlier posts lol).

No, the leading scorer is still on line 1 (Bertuzzi).

PP units:

Bedard, TT, Donato (bumper), Bertuzzi (net front), Jones

Nazar, Hall, Smith (bumper), Dach (net front), Vlasic

unfortunately, this highlights the fact that the Hawks have no one close to resembling a true PP Qb at this point in time.
- Chunk

Also, Martinez back practicing, and Murphy skipping practice with a sore groin. Mrazek took a shot up high early in practice but seems fine.

Really good synopsis. I'll add (again) that they are not winning any/many 50/50 pucks. Mikheyev, and Foligno when he is actually fast enough to make it a 50/50 are the two that seem decent at it, but most everyone else just sucks.
- Chunk

That's true. We don't have a ton of guys who win board battles. Maroon is kind of like the next stage of Foligno, he can win battles but too slow to get there often and doesn't play many minutes anyway. I do agree with those saying that Chicago needs to add a bit more size with a few of the skilled players. No pun intended, I know it's a tall order to find sometimes, but one or two guys with the combination of speed/size/skill to slot in up front would be helpful. I wish Bertuzzi was a bit better skater and more solid on his skates, he would help more if he wasn't a step behind or falling over in battles.

Dach got called up today (read my earlier posts lol).

No, the leading scorer is still on line 1 (Bertuzzi).

PP units:

Bedard, TT, Donato (bumper), Bertuzzi (net front), Jones

Nazar, Hall, Smith (bumper), Dach (net front), Vlasic

unfortunately, this highlights the fact that the Hawks have no one close to resembling a true PP Qb at this point in time.
- Chunk

There may not be a powerplay QB but the Hawk’s powerplay is pretty respectable 12 in the league and their PK, thanks to that 0 for 40 run, is sitting at number 4.

The biggest problem I see is the team doesn’t try to win puck battles. There are so many guys who just don’t compete hard enough to try to get the puck. Too many guys are content feebly waving their stick at an opponent instead of engaging him physically trying to use their body to separate the opponent from the puck. The team is too easy to play against. Hopefully Dach comes in and without being stupid is a guy who gets involved physically.

Taking a step back and looking at the big picture, the Hawks are still very much in transition. Most of the young prospects, rookies/sophomore types we have that are getting NHL playing time are still Bowman's picks and KD's first draft picks are still a bit green at the pro level. I'm just saying, the jury is still out on KD's picks panning out, it takes time.

He has made some signings and trades to varying degrees of success, but I'd argue that Kyle Davidson is still a work in progress too. They didn't name an experienced GM to succeed Stan Bowman and he is probably going to have some misses or mistakes to learn from. They didn't bring him in to be a quick fix "right the ship" GM, but it's been pretty clear the plan is long term.

This season they were never going to be a 80+ point team, that was never a likely outcome, but they realistically could have been high 60s to low 70s. They've thrown that off with a few games (3-5ish) that have gotten away from them. Anders Sorensen may or may not be the answer, he is an interim coach at this point anyway, so he definitely has to "prove it" before they commit to him anyway. If things don't improve we'll see someone new in the offseason.

Right now, it seems to me like three things are going on

1) Our goalies are on a cold streak
2) After a good start to the season Jones has struggled at times in his first handful of games back.
3) Teams we are facing have countered the adjustments Sorensen made to the team's game plan in the middle of the ice and we haven't had the defensive strength or goaltending to survive the transition/rush attacks against. I think it's some of our weaker/slower D who struggle more to defend the blueline with less support. We don't exactly have a very solid defensive group of forwards, outside of a few guys, so it just seems like often, we attack, lose the puck and the opposition makes a stretch pass and they are over our line with possession. It's looked to me like it's just too easy for them to turn it around on us with regularity, but especially the Minnesota, Buffalo and St Louis games in particular.
- breadbag

Great post Bread. You are correct, all the young ones on the current NHL roster are Bowman picks with the exception of Bedard. KD cannot abort his game plan, the Hawks need to find out what they have in all the picks from the last three years. I would not trade for Pettersson or JT Miller, they should only give up assets for players that will fit their narrative and will be in their prime when the Hawks are ready to compete. By the end of next season, Boisvert, Moore, Rinzel, Levshunov, and KK should be up with the big club, along with their #1 from this year, maybe then you add an impactful free agent to add more talent. This was a tear down rebuild, this team is not ready for a retool, or you’ll end up like this years Rangers.

Great post Bread. You are correct, all the young ones on the current NHL roster are Bowman picks with the exception of Bedard. KD cannot abort his game plan, the Hawks need to find out what they have in all the picks from the last three years. I would not trade for Pettersson or JT Miller, they should only give up assets for players that will fit their narrative and will be in their prime when the Hawks are ready to compete. By the end of next season, Boisvert, Moore, Rinzel, Levshunov, and KK should be up with the big club, along with their #1 from this year, maybe then you add an impactful free agent to add more talent. This was a tear down rebuild, this team is not ready for a retool, or you’ll end up like this years Rangers.
- Angotti

First bolded: It will be at least three years before you have a realistic understanding of what those players are, if not more.

Second bolded: I'm sorry Lou, but this is just not remotely realistic to consider. If you are talking about getting a cup of coffee, then outside chance at maybe. But to think that all of these players will have a roster spot on the Hawks by the end of next year is not of this world.

Great post Bread. You are correct, all the young ones on the current NHL roster are Bowman picks with the exception of Bedard. KD cannot abort his game plan, the Hawks need to find out what they have in all the picks from the last three years. I would not trade for Pettersson or JT Miller, they should only give up assets for players that will fit their narrative and will be in their prime when the Hawks are ready to compete. By the end of next season, Boisvert, Moore, Rinzel, Levshunov, and KK should be up with the big club, along with their #1 from this year, maybe then you add an impactful free agent to add more talent. This was a tear down rebuild, this team is not ready for a retool, or you’ll end up like this years Rangers.
- Angotti

I just think we need to be patient for a while yet. You hit on what I like most about KD, he seems to stick to the plan/process and isn't doing much "knee jerk" reaction type stuff. I think we are at a low right now because there was obviously some pressure to get the team performing for the Winter Classic and they fell flat. I'm curious to see where we are a month from now.

Great quote from Dach:

Colton Dach said he got dinner with Kirby last night. Their dad is flying into Chicago to watch their matchup against each other tomorrow night.

"I think [I've] found that mentality that I need to have every single night — to play consistent and play heavy — and that’s just what I’ve got to do to get up here."

Great quote from Dach:

Colton Dach said he got dinner with Kirby last night. Their dad is flying into Chicago to watch their matchup against each other tomorrow night.

"I think
- Chunk[I've] found that mentality that I need to have every single night — to play consistent and play heavy — and that’s just what I’ve got to do to get up here."

I hope he can rise to the occasion and get some traction at the NHL level. I was curious about where he might play. I found this via twitter.

Bertuzzi-Bedard-Mikheyev
Hall-Richardinson-Foligno
Dach-Nazar-Teräväinen
Maroon-Donato-Smith

Reichel and Kurashev are extras