If they were going to bring in vets and have the kids be in rockford they should have brought in not poopty older players.

If they're place holders to tank again then I don't know how you can hold Richardson accountable for the team going 3-8 or 4-7 over the first month.

What the organization is saying vs what it is doing are two different things.

It's a meritocracy except when you're paying someone 4 million dollars or you don't think they'll clear waivers.
- fattybeef

All fair and valid points. I can't disagree... I also think the players they brought in were strategic. I still think they are going to be better than last year... with that said, the majority of players that WE probably agree on or label as "over the hill" won't be around long after this year.

I want to believe that KD didn't want to handcuff the team with any bad money or contracts long-term so that when the time is right, they will be able to fill out this roster and their youth with players who can plug gaps at a high level.

well Richardinson and Foligno were both signed for 2 years at bloated salaries, so there is 2 of the 6 that will still be around next year.
- LAHawk

And one of those players has been named as their captain... so that alone speaks volumes about how they feel about him and his value to their organization during this time.

Also, what are they winning right now with this roster and those two contracts? Based on the 'timelines' I read from a lot of posters on this board, they are still a few years out from being competitive in the ways we hope. By that time, those contracts will be gone.

I also wasn't thinking about those two players compared to some of their other off-season signings this summer. I didn't view their summer pickups as game-changing acquisitions... to me, they just came off as short-term plug ins.

If they were going to bring in vets and have the kids be in rockford they should have brought in not poopty older players.

If they're place holders to tank again then I don't know how you can hold Richardson accountable for the team going 3-8 or 4-7 over the first month.

What the organization is saying vs what it is doing are two different things.

It's a meritocracy except when you're paying someone 4 million dollars or you don't think they'll clear waivers.
- fattybeef

Of the guys who got 1-year deals around the league this year, which ones would have agreed to join the Hawks and which would have been better than what they signed.

For the record, I'm with LA on this that there is no reason that Brodie should have been signed for two years. They wanted to have better players in place so that prospects who weren't ready didn't have to fill these spots and they would have people in place instead of finding guys on waivers or signing FA's.

well Richardinson and Foligno were both signed for 2 years at bloated salaries, so there is 2 of the 6 that will still be around next year.
- LAHawk

Hall
AA
Kurashev
Maroon
Smith
Donato

Martinez

All coming off the books next year. Not to mention I'm sure there will be a trade or two.

Hall
AA
Kurashev
Maroon
Smith
Donato

Martinez

All coming off the books next year. Not to mention I'm sure there will be a trade or two.
- Chunk

Hopefully Kurashev resigns, he is an RFA with arb rights.
Who replaces the others? Do you think 5 prospects will be ready to replace the forwards next year.

On defense, they will have plenty to choose from.

Imagine this for a second. The Hawks still have Kane, ADB, Dach, Toews (if he was healthy), but still got shut out on opening night. Just imagine the meltdown we'd have here.

That's basically what they have in Pittsburgh.

Imagine this for a second. The Hawks still have Kane, ADB, Dach, Toews (if he was healthy), but still got shut out on opening night. Just imagine the meltdown we'd have here.

That's basically what they have in Pittsburgh.
- Chunk

And Toronto?

Hopefully Kurashev resigns, he is an RFA with arb rights.
Who replaces the others? Do you think 5 prospects will be ready to replace the forwards next year.

On defense, they will have plenty to choose from.
- LAHawk

I'd say they'll have two for sure (Slaggert and Nazar). Ideally, Reichel gets his head out of his ass, but I'm not holding my breath. Dach probably will push his way into the conversation. Who knows about Moore/Greene. They seem to like Lardis, and if Spellacy learns to actually play hockey...

And Toronto?

- LAHawk

Oh poop. I didn't even see that score for some reason.

Reichel spent the requisite time in the AHL so with how valuable that league is and how much the guys learn developing there its unfathomable as to why he can't figure it out.
- fattybeef

Maybe he's simply not very good and is what he is?

You can also say the bottom 6 is full of a bunch of guys who probably won't be around next year... when a lot of these young players will be up.

As an organization, I want to believe that they think their young players should start at Rockford to begin the development process- they aren't in a rush this year to win at the NHL level.

Korchinski was an example of the main point that is being discussed. They aren't competing for a playoff spot this year...why rush the development of all these kids? Alex Vlasic seemed to pan out pretty well based on their process with him.

To your point about the youth movement... I wouldn't be surprised if, by the end of the year, there were 3 to 5 players currently in Rockford who are up with the Hawks based on their individual development and what is happening at the NHL level (trades, etc).

I don't think they are taking a step back this year with any movement or plans for their rebuild. Look at the talent that they have drafted- it is now in their system. With time, it will all begin to surface.
- frafra

I’m just grumpy bc I can stomach bad seasons when I can get excited about watching young players develop.

Hawks said they wanted to get better. Ok that fine… if it’s vets to help guide the young players. Instead, the team is almost entirely made up of vets for what reason? To pick 7-10 range instead of top 3?

We don’t even have a reclamation project on the NHL roster. Hawks couldn’t find a former 1st rounder out there that struggled with another franchise?

I think the point is to have korchinski play better than brodie and martinez
- LFS

By learning in the AHL after spending an entire season in the NHL? Hawks weren’t worried last year about rushing him to the NHL but now they are?

If they were going to bring in vets and have the kids be in rockford they should have brought in not poopty older players.

If they're place holders to tank again then I don't know how you can hold Richardson accountable for the team going 3-8 or 4-7 over the first month.

What the organization is saying vs what it is doing are two different things.

It's a meritocracy except when you're paying someone 4 million dollars or you don't think they'll clear waivers.
- fattybeef

I don't think things are much different internally than last year. To the fans they're calling it something different. KD has created flexibility to play young or old guys. In the meantime, he got Bedard a couple new toys.

You are missing the point.

They have been talking about all this veteran talent to mentor the youngins. Most of the youngins were sent to Rockford, so how are they mentoring them???
- dahawks8819

No one. Brought in for the hawks to be “better”. So we can pick some kid at 9 or 10 instead of another top 3 blue chip prospect.

KD worried about his prospects being shipped out and developing elsewhere then maybe stop shipping them out.

No one. Brought in for the hawks to be “better”. So we can pick some kid at 9 or 10 instead of another top 3 blue chip prospect.

KD worried about his prospects being shipped out and developing elsewhere then maybe stop shipping them out.
- bhawks2241

I see us picking top 3 again... KD's perfect scenario is the Blackhawks picking 1st and Rockford winning a cup.

By learning in the AHL after spending an entire season in the NHL? Hawks weren’t worried last year about rushing him to the NHL but now they are?
- bhawks2241

Maybe the Hawk brass didn't like the results of KK learning at the NHL level ?

Maybe the Hawk brass didn't like the results of KK learning at the NHL level ?
- LAHawk

Their options last year for 2K weren't very good. They gambled putting him in the NHL and got away with it. Now in Rockford he's going to be "the guy." It would be different if he was up with the big team.

By learning in the AHL after spending an entire season in the NHL? Hawks weren’t worried last year about rushing him to the NHL but now they are?
- bhawks2241

They see flaws in his game that they believe are better worked on the in the AHL instead of the NHL. He'll get all situations work and learn to trust his game more so he can be the offensive generator he's been in the past. He was so concerned about his defense last year that he clipped his own wings. The coaches saw the same thing in the preseason.

Speaking of Kurashev, his contract is up after the season, right?
- SC116

I think Kurashev is playing his way to being the long-term contributor the Blackhawks hoped Reichel would be.

Kurashev isn’t the type of forward a team breaks the bank for. But he could be useful on a reasonable 4-5 year deal.

I think Kurashev is playing his way to being the long-term contributor the Blackhawks hoped Reichel would be.

Kurashev isn’t the type of forward a team breaks the bank for. But he could be useful on a reasonable 4-5 year deal.
- DarthKane

45-50 points would be a nice season.

I think Kurashev is playing his way to being the long-term contributor the Blackhawks hoped Reichel would be.

Kurashev isn’t the type of forward a team breaks the bank for. But he could be useful on a reasonable 4-5 year deal.
- DarthKane

He's all they have left from the Hartman trade, aside from Seth Jones being borne out in part by the 8th pick in the form of Boqvist. (Please don't ban me for saying that.)

For those upset at who the Hawks signed this offseason, I think this goes to show that it takes more than just targeting a guy and saying "here's some money".

In his written “32 Thoughts” column on Wednesday, Elliotte Friedman included this Blackhawks-related nugget: “Chicago also took some big swings this summer — making googly eyes at Jake Guentzel.” Guentzel, 30, signed a seven-year, $63M deal with Tampa instead. The Blackhawks used that $9M AAV and a little extra change to sign Tyler Bertuzzi (4 years, $22M) and Teuvo Teräväinen (3 years, $16.2M). But this report does indicate that general manager Kyle Davidson was able and willing to spend big this summer.
The Blackhawks were linked to Guentzel back in June and we discussed the possibility back then. He would have been a terrific addition. I’m not sure I would have done 7 x $9M at this point in the rebuild if I were the GM, but additional confirmation that the Hawks were in the mix for a big free agent again here is encouraging.

Ben Pope
@BenPopeCST
Blackhawks lines in practice have Foligno on the first line and Reichel still out:

Foligno-Bedard-Teravainen
Hall-Kurashev-Bertuzzi
Mikheyev-Richardinson-Anderson
Maroon-Donato-Athanasiou
(Reichel-Smith)

Martinez-Jones
Vlasic-Brodie
Allan-Murphy
(Kaiser-Phillips)

For those upset at who the Hawks signed this offseason, I think this goes to show that it takes more than just targeting a guy and saying "here's some money".

In his written “32 Thoughts” column on Wednesday, Elliotte Friedman included this Blackhawks-related nugget: “Chicago also took some big swings this summer — making googly eyes at Jake Guentzel.” Guentzel, 30, signed a seven-year, $63M deal with Tampa instead. The Blackhawks used that $9M AAV and a little extra change to sign Tyler Bertuzzi (4 years, $22M) and Teuvo Teräväinen (3 years, $16.2M). But this report does indicate that general manager Kyle Davidson was able and willing to spend big this summer.
The Blackhawks were linked to Guentzel back in June and we discussed the possibility back then. He would have been a terrific addition. I’m not sure I would have done 7 x $9M at this point in the rebuild if I were the GM, but additional confirmation that the Hawks were in the mix for a big free agent again here is encouraging.
- Chunk

Got a link to that?

I'm kind of glad they missed out on Guentzel.
Hope this means they go after Marner this summer if he doesn't sign long term anywhere else.

Got the link to the 32 thoughts?

Ben Pope
@BenPopeCST
Blackhawks lines in practice have Foligno on the first line and Reichel still out:

Foligno-Bedard-Teravainen
Hall-Kurashev-Bertuzzi
Mikheyev-Richardinson-Anderson
Maroon-Donato-Athanasiou
(Reichel-Smith)

Martinez-Jones
Vlasic-Brodie
Allan-Murphy
(Kaiser-Phillips)
- LAHawk

Still think Hall should be playing with Bedard and Teuvo.

Martinez back with Jones?
At least AA gets a shot next game,though I'd rather have him replacing Maroon and not Smith.

Edmonton getting their asses handed to them for the season opener didn't make things any easier on the Blackhawks - EDIT- the play the Jets then Edmonton,my fault!