No Steve Cohn has dark hair.

He plays and sings the Blues but not professionally.
- wiz1901

The hair is now white.

I want Bedard for all of his prime. Right now he is 60+ point player. You sign him for a 2 year deal at $7 million per and tell him that if he becomes a point a game guy and keeps improving his all around game the next deal will be a max term which will now by 7 years and max dollar deal which will probably be around $20 million at that point making him the highest paid player in the league at that point. Ask him to bet on himself. See what kind of guy he is. Then you will get his best years and he will make as much as any NHL player can dream of.
- stevefrmglencoe

I think they start at 9.5 and work up....but your son's idea, stated above, works nicely....

The hair is now white.
- stevefrmglencoe

Oh, I forgot we are both old.

I am at Marla Gordon's house, a friend of your sister Nancy's.

Never heard what you thought of drafting Anton Frondell...

I want Bedard for all of his prime. Right now he is 60+ point player. You sign him for a 2 year deal at $7 million per and tell him that if he becomes a point a game guy and keeps improving his all around game the next deal will be a max term which will now by 7 years and max dollar deal which will probably be around $20 million at that point making him the highest paid player in the league at that point. Ask him to bet on himself. See what kind of guy he is. Then you will get his best years and he will make as much as any NHL player can dream of.
- stevefrmglencoe

Me likey this thought process.

I want Bedard for all of his prime. Right now he is 60+ point player. You sign him for a 2 year deal at $7 million per and tell him that if he becomes a point a game guy and keeps improving his all around game the next deal will be a max term which will now by 7 years and max dollar deal which will probably be around $20 million at that point making him the highest paid player in the league at that point. Ask him to bet on himself. See what kind of guy he is. Then you will get his best years and he will make as much as any NHL player can dream of.
- stevefrmglencoe

If there is one thing i know Connor needs no motivation he's a self driven young man, with his talent and drive he will be the face of the league one day.

I wouldn't disrespect him by giving him a 2 year contract, unless that's what he wanted. $7 mil is a little light in my book

Great question. In a couple of years when he has lots of time, KD will write a book about his time as GM and can address the big swings that missed.

As for a few days ago, two teams almost as historically bad as the teams KD has iced were able to convince veterans to sign reasonable deals. I think the Hawks desperately need a solid Dman or 2 to bridge the gap until all the young guys play. I am also of the belief that Murphy will not play 82 games and will not be resigned. Orlov signed with San Jose for 2 years for $6 plus. That is a guy that with more money and another year of term could play minutes against the monster top lines in the West until KK, Lev, and others are ready.

I think the team is very weak in the top 6. I am not convinced there is a legit top 6 guy besides Bedard. Nazar might be the guy but players get figured out and he won't be surprising anyone this year. TT and Bertuzzi would be better suited on a 3rd line. Dvorak is not Marner, but he signed a 1 year deal in Philly. Would a few more dollars and another year have convinced him to come here and get big minutes with Bedard? Kurashev got 18 with Bedard I think Dvorak would do better.

The bell will not ring one day and whoever is GM here will sign 5 top FAs and fleece GM's for 4 players in their prime. I think they need to make incremental steps and improve.

As for trades, the Canadians traded 2 first rounders and a mid level prospect for Dobson and signed him long term. The Hawks used 2 first rounders on 2 guys that realistically won't be competing for roster spots for 3 years at best. Could those picks and more have been packaged to Dallas for Robertson? Where there is smoke there is fire, I think he is available.

There are still lots of prospects in the pipeline but I would have preferred going into the season with some more significant changes at the NHL level than Burakovsky and Lafferty 2. It would also make the team look better to FA next year if any of the big boys last long enough to be bribed to come here.
- stevefrmglencoe

But isn't this also an admission that our prospects are not working out the way we hoped, because after that they traded Mailoux for Bolduc. This reeks of oh poop we suck at drafting kids.

I think Rinzel was worth the wait. I think KK is right around the corner. And when this team is beginning to ascend those 2 late round firsts hopefully at least one of them is going to be pushing for a roster spot to make the overall team better.

Oh, I forgot we are both old.

I am at Marla Gordon's house, a friend of your sister Nancy's.

Never heard what you thought of drafting Anton Frondell...
- wiz1901

Send my best.

I am looking forward to seeing Frondell play live and then projecting. I was at 5/3 on Thursday playing in the morning. I could see the food being carted into the locker room for the prospects. I wish they had been coming on the ice next to see what they look like. I'm playing there Sunday morning. 2 years ago, after the prospect "camp" Bedard and others stayed and were skating. I hope they are there on Sunday doing the same thing. Want to see how he moves. I miss the old days at the Edge in Bensenville where we watched the prospects for 5 days in a row and really could see what they looked like on the ice. I saw a couple of clips on social media of other team's prospect camps. Still cannot understand why they don't get them on the ice so the coaches can see what they really look like up close and on their best behavior. KD will have to adress that in his book.

But isn't this also an admission that our prospects are not working out the way we hoped, because after that they traded Mailoux for Bolduc. This reeks of oh poop we suck at drafting kids.

I think Rinzel was worth the wait. I think KK is right around the corner. And when this team is beginning to ascend those 2 late round firsts hopefully at least one of them is going to be pushing for a roster spot to make the overall team better.
- BetweenTheDots

Canadians want to get better now. I like that. Prospects are great but the statistics over time show that the top few picks each year turn out and it thins dramatically after that. When you look a the top 30 scorers each year it is almost entirely top 10 picks.

Rinzel looked great at the end of last season. Let's see how he does in a full season before casting the statue. I watched KK in Milwaukee during the playoffs. Made some awesome passes. Also looked like he's got to be tougher in his own zone. Not sure what corner he is right around.

Canadians want to get better now. I like that. Prospects are great but the statistics over time show that the top few picks each year turn out and it thins dramatically after that. When you look a the top 30 scorers each year it is almost entirely top 10 picks.

Rinzel looked great at the end of last season. Let's see how he does in a full season before casting the statue. I watched KK in Milwaukee during the playoffs. Made some awesome passes. Also looked like he's got to be tougher in his own zone. Not sure what corner he is right around.
- stevefrmglencoe

Well the Canadiens are further along in their rebuild so i should hope so, or did you forget about Bowman trading for Seth Jones and giving up 2 top 10 picks?

What you can't see in the rebuild and many others can't is the depth we are going to have on this team, people are already saying there isn't enough roster spots for our defenseman, the same thing is going to happen with our forwards

Everyone is so worried about our 2nd line center, all our team in time has to do is have more talent than the opponent. Seth Jones looks like a great dman in Florida because he barely had to play defense.

I want Bedard for all of his prime. Right now he is 60+ point player. You sign him for a 2 year deal at $7 million per and tell him that if he becomes a point a game guy and keeps improving his all around game the next deal will be a max term which will now by 7 years and max dollar deal which will probably be around $20 million at that point making him the highest paid player in the league at that point. Ask him to bet on himself. See what kind of guy he is. Then you will get his best years and he will make as much as any NHL player can dream of.
- stevefrmglencoe

So in 2 years, even though he’s likely not the best player, go ahead and pay him like it? Glad you’re A GM behind keyboard only.

So in 2 years, even though he’s likely not the best player, go ahead and pay him like it? Glad you’re A GM behind keyboard only.
- HawkintheD

You know i still wonder who would the Habs want today, Nazar or Dach?

I've watched both players and to my eye Nazar looks like a hockey player you win with especially in the playoffs. I think Frankie will have a better career as well.

Great question. In a couple of years when he has lots of time, KD will write a book about his time as GM and can address the big swings that missed.

As for a few days ago, two teams almost as historically bad as the teams KD has iced were able to convince veterans to sign reasonable deals. I think the Hawks desperately need a solid Dman or 2 to bridge the gap until all the young guys play. I am also of the belief that Murphy will not play 82 games and will not be resigned. Orlov signed with San Jose for 2 years for $6 plus. That is a guy that with more money and another year of term could play minutes against the monster top lines in the West until KK, Lev, and others are ready.

I think the team is very weak in the top 6. I am not convinced there is a legit top 6 guy besides Bedard. Nazar might be the guy but players get figured out and he won't be surprising anyone this year. TT and Bertuzzi would be better suited on a 3rd line. Dvorak is not Marner, but he signed a 1 year deal in Philly. Would a few more dollars and another year have convinced him to come here and get big minutes with Bedard? Kurashev got 18 with Bedard I think Dvorak would do better.

The bell will not ring one day and whoever is GM here will sign 5 top FAs and fleece GM's for 4 players in their prime. I think they need to make incremental steps and improve.

As for trades, the Canadians traded 2 first rounders and a mid level prospect for Dobson and signed him long term. The Hawks used 2 first rounders on 2 guys that realistically won't be competing for roster spots for 3 years at best. Could those picks and more have been packaged to Dallas for Robertson? Where there is smoke there is fire, I think he is available.

There are still lots of prospects in the pipeline but I would have preferred going into the season with some more significant changes at the NHL level than Burakovsky and Lafferty 2. It would also make the team look better to FA next year if any of the big boys last long enough to be bribed to come here.
- stevefrmglencoe

I guess our individual definitions of "big fish" are vastly different, which is fine. When I think of big fish, I'm thinking Necas, Rantanen, Marner. Christian Dvorak? Dimitry Orlov? maybe with the Caps, yes. At this stage of his career? No way. Neither of those guys are going to move the needle.

You have to ask yourself why a guy like Robertson is available. My own personal opinion is, like Marner he's a very good regular season player. Come playoff time he seems to disappear far too often.

I agree with you, their top 6 is on the weak right now. And most everybody wants some instant gratification. So far, the drafting under the current regime has looked promising. I'm willing to let it play out, and see what they have. The time for a big free agent signing is a year or two from now, especially given this year's weak UFA class.

Send my best.

I am looking forward to seeing Frondell play live and then projecting. I was at 5/3 on Thursday playing in the morning. I could see the food being carted into the locker room for the prospects. I wish they had been coming on the ice next to see what they look like. I'm playing there Sunday morning. 2 years ago, after the prospect "camp" Bedard and others stayed and were skating. I hope they are there on Sunday doing the same thing. Want to see how he moves. I miss the old days at the Edge in Bensenville where we watched the prospects for 5 days in a row and really could see what they looked like on the ice. I saw a couple of clips on social media of other team's prospect camps. Still cannot understand why they don't get them on the ice so the coaches can see what they really look like up close and on their best behavior. KD will have to adress that in his book.
- stevefrmglencoe

Problem with skating was they only had one goalie at the camp.

You know i still wonder who would the Habs want today, Nazar or Dach?

I've watched both players and to my eye Nazar looks like a hockey player you win with especially in the playoffs. I think Frankie will have a better career as well.
- BetweenTheDots

Nazar isn't the prototypical Center the Habs were looking for.

You know i still wonder who would the Habs want today, Nazar or Dach?

I've watched both players and to my eye Nazar looks like a hockey player you win with especially in the playoffs. I think Frankie will have a better career as well.
- BetweenTheDots

I do think the Hawks did Dach a disservice by bringing him up his draft year. Time will tell but I won’t be surprised if you’re right.

I think he’ll end up being the better 2 way player too (reinforces your point on player you win with I guess).

You know i still wonder who would the Habs want today, Nazar or Dach?

I've watched both players and to my eye Nazar looks like a hockey player you win with especially in the playoffs. I think Frankie will have a better career as well.
- BetweenTheDots

As of today, I would undoubtedly take Nazar, however I would not sleep on Dach. The key to Dach is his health, if he can stay healthy, and that’s a big if, he could end up being a solid two way center. I watched him a couple of times last year and he was looking real good, using his size along the boards and battling. For the right cost, I would take him back.