If Crawford ups his game to the level that it was at last spring, a Conference Finals or even SCF berth isn't out of the question. Of course, it all depends on who we match up with.
IF this team gets 6th and then faces the Canucks in round 2, I am going to be pissed if they don't put those two teams way. I don't see any reason why they shouldn't be able to do those two things. Then, we go from there. The road is looking good as of now.
IF this team gets 6th and then faces the Canucks in round 2, I am going to be pissed if they don't put those two teams way. I don't see any reason why they shouldn't be able to do those two things. Then, we go from there. The road is looking good as of now.
I think it would be hilarious if San Jose held onto 8th and bounched Vancouver in the first round.
I think it would be hilarious if San Jose held onto 8th and bounched Vancouver in the first round.
Whomever draws San Jose in the 1st round is going to get screwed. I know they haven't played well lately but they are a big physical team. Niemi can get hot as well. I would have picked them to upset St. Louis but I still think VC gets past them. It's still not an easy 1st round match up.
I'm not all that impressed with Vancouver either. Hawks match up well against them. Only reason they are in contention for the President's trophy is that cream puff division they are in.
I think it would be hilarious if San Jose held onto 8th and bounched Vancouver in the first round.
Yes, it definitely would. I thought they looked awful against Vancouver last year though so that would be an epic upset IMO. The only game I thought they played really well in was actually the game they got eliminated in.
I'm not all that impressed with Vancouver either. Hawks match up well against them. Only reason they are in contention for the President's trophy is that cream puff division they are in.
Agreed. Put them in the Central and they have the same record as the Hawks IMO.
It's not hating on Bowman. We expect this team to come out of the West and don't agree with the course Bowman has chosen to get there this year. But that's on him, we don't have to agree or disagree but that doesn't change the result we are looking for. That hasn't changed since before July 1st for us. So, if we do come out of the West, I promise you that myself, Jet, Sarava and whoever else will be anxious to post that Bowman indeed knew what he was doing and he did indeed did enough to get the job done, even if he could have done more. Just produce that result and all is forgiven.
Well said, or to be more blunt … Someone, perhaps Stan (or is it Rocky) is trying to win a SC seemingly on a budget. After doing nothing to address our deficiencies, at the TD what does Stan do? Exactly as I thought he would do. He picked up another soft player that we will need to overpay to keep, ignoring the real needs of this team that we have all re-hashed for months. The talented core we have at the moment deserves more than what Stan has provided since the end of last season. However, as Coldice says if Hawks go to the finals, all will be forgiven. Even if they win 2 rounds, many a fan will be satisfied. (I’ll be surprised but not happy knowing we have had cap space since last June and it went unspent).
Well said, or to be more blunt … Someone, perhaps Stan (or is it Rocky) is trying to win a SC seemingly on a budget. After doing nothing to address our deficiencies, at the TD what does Stan do? Exactly as I thought he would do. He picked up another soft player that we will need to overpay to keep, ignoring the real needs of this team that we have all re-hashed for months. The talented core we have at the moment deserves more than what Stan has provided since the end of last season. However, as Coldice says if Hawks go to the finals, all will be forgiven. Even if they win 2 rounds, many a fan will be satisfied. (I’ll be surprised but not happy knowing we have had cap space since last June and it went unspent).
It's not even close to being a budget team. You have to look at the payroll Rocky is shelling out vs. the cap hit. Also keep in mind Huet and Olesz's contract.
There wasn't much available at the trade deadline as many teams still thought they had a shot. Everything else would have been a huge overpayment IMO.
Whomever draws San Jose in the 1st round is going to get screwed. I know they haven't played well lately but they are a big physical team. Niemi can get hot as well. I would have picked them to upset St. Louis but I still think VC gets past them. It's still not an easy 1st round match up.
I'm not all that impressed with Vancouver either. Hawks match up well against them. Only reason they are in contention for the President's trophy is that cream puff division they are in.
It's not even close to being a budget team. You have to look at the payroll Rocky is shelling out vs. the cap hit. Also keep in mind Huet and Olesz's contract.
There wasn't much available at the trade deadline as many teams still thought they had a shot. Everything else would have been a huge overpayment IMO.
Why even debate it? Those of us on this side, the ones with high expectations, don't give a rats ass for the excuses. We're fixated on achieving the goal, and it seems the players are too, which is a good sign, but we'll see if there is enough there to make it happen or not shortly.
It's not even close to being a budget team. You have to look at the payroll Rocky is shelling out vs. the cap hit. Also keep in mind Huet and Olesz's contract.
Exactly. I agree 100%. Lets also not forget that the CBA is set to expire and no one knows what will happen to the cap. The Hawks have their entire core and most of the supporting cast under contract for next year already and still have cap space to play with even if the cap is rolled back.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HawksFan74
There wasn't much available at the trade deadline as many teams still thought they had a shot. Everything else would have been a huge overpayment IMO.
Again I agree 100%. I'll ask the same question I always ask and never get an answer to. Who did you (the people complaining about Bowman) want him to sign or trade for (that actually got moved. No pipe dreams of Roy or Iginla)? You complain about what he did so you obviously must know how he could have done better. Please enlighten the rest of us.
Again I agree 100%. I'll ask the same question I always ask and never get an answer to. Who did you (the people complaining about Bowman) want him to sign or trade for (that actually got moved. No pipe dreams of Roy or Iginla)? You complain about what he did so you obviously must know how he could have done better. Please enlighten the rest of us.
Get Oduya AND Kubina. Get Downie for a better 1st than Detroit was offering. Hell, there is your deal right there, Downie and Kubina for our 1st, 2nd and 3rd this year. Tampa gets better picks (at least they would have been much better at that time), we get toughness, add some scoring punch, more depth on D, still have next years 2nd and 3rd to make the Oduya trade.
And that's not even mentioning another goalie which was a slam dunk move.
People would have lost their mind trading a 2nd and 3rd for a 34 year old 6th defenseman in Kubina. I'm not convinced Kubina is a big upgrade over Olsen at this time.
Get Oduya AND Kubina. Get Downie for a better 1st than Detroit was offering. Hell, there is your deal right there, Downie and Kubina for our 1st, 2nd and 3rd this year. Tampa gets better picks (at least they would have been much better at that time), we get toughness, add some scoring punch, more depth on D, still have next years 2nd and 3rd to make the Oduya trade.
So you wanted Bowman to gut the next 2 drafts for those 3 guys? Oduya I understand. Kubina I understand. But Downie is just crazy to me.
For what purpose would you trade a first round pick for Downie? He's a smaller, less physical, less talented version of Troy Brouwer. Where would you put him in the lineup? Who would he repalce? Stalberg? Nope. Shaw? Nope. Bickell? Maybe, but that upgrade isn't worth a first round pick. Who would Downie replace that would make him worth a first round pick to the Hawks?
So if we forget about that trade you are still giving up the Hawks second and third round picks in back to back years for 2 UFA's knowing that you can't afford to sign both. Weren't you one of the people who kept saying that overpaying for Oduya was a waste if he wasn't resigned? So you think making that trade once is a waste, but making it twice is well worth it? Either way one of those guys would be gone at the end of the year and two consecutive drafts are gutted. Please explain your reasons for wanting this done.
So you wanted Bowman to gut the next 2 drafts for those 3 guys? Oduya I understand. Kubina I understand. But Downie is just crazy to me.
For what purpose would you trade a first round pick for Downie? He's a smaller, less physical, less talented version of Troy Brouwer. Where would you put him in the lineup? Who would he repalce? Stalberg? Nope. Shaw? Nope. Bickell? Maybe, but that upgrade isn't worth a first round pick. Who would Downie replace that would make him worth a first round pick to the Hawks?
So if we forget about that trade you are still giving up the Hawks second and third round picks in back to back years for 2 UFA's knowing that you can't afford to sign both. Weren't you one of the people who kept saying that overpaying for Oduya was a waste if he wasn't resigned? So you think making that trade once is a waste, but making it twice is well worth it? Either way one of those guys would be gone at the end of the year and two consecutive drafts are gutted. Please explain your reasons for wanting this done.
Downie is basically a more expensive version of Andrew Shaw
As far as the picks go, we got a bunch of high picks for the players we traded after the Cup. If you want to sit here and tell me you question Bowman's picks of Kayes, Jayes (trade of 2nd) Rensfeldt, Danault, Clendenning etc., so our prospect pool is not as deep as people think and we need to replenish it, that I can understand. But nobody is saying that.
So you wanted to trade a first round pick for an upgrade on the fourth line? Great asset management there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by coldsteelonice84
As far as the picks go, we got a bunch of high picks for the players we traded after the Cup. If you want to sit here and tell me you question Bowman's picks of Kayes, Jayes (trade of 2nd) Rensfeldt, Danault, Clendenning etc., so our prospect pool is not as deep as people think and we need to replenish it, that I can understand. But nobody is saying that.
Not all of those prospects are going to reach their potential. Some will be traded, some will get injured, and some will just never put it all together. Having a deep prospect pool allows Bowman to be more aggressive and flexible, but not wasteful. Trading a first round pick for a player who be a marginal upgrade to the top 9 is just a total waste of resources.
Considering that STL, VAN, NSH, DET, CHI, and i guess LA are all perfectly capable of beating eachother, i really have no expectations for this postseason.
To phrase it better, if the Hawks lost in the 1st round, i'd be more empathetic than dissapointed i guess.
The Hawks are either going to get Detroit, Nashville, or Los Angeles in the 1st round. Nobody in their right mind EXPECTS the Hawks to beat any of those teams. Now, i think the Hawks are certainly capable of beating any of their 1st round opponents but i'm not expecting a victory.
-Nashville is built to beat the Blackhawks
-Detroit has given us tough games all year, if we're a #5 seed we'd have to go against home ice advantage in one of the worst arenas for away teams in the league
-Los Angeles has beaten us all year long, and now they've added Carter.
I said this two months ago and i'll say it again. It wouldn't surprise me the least to see this Hawks team make it to the WCF's or even the Stanley Cup, but it also wouldn't surprise me to see the 2011-2012 Chicago Blackhawks lose in the 1st round.
Not ready to write off the idea of the Hawks getting the 4 seed. Detroit has to play at St. Louis. If they lose to St. Louis and the Hawks win @Minnesota, they can pass them if they win the last game of the season. Nashville is going to have to get upset a few times though. They have to finish 1-1-1 for the Hawks to pass them.
It's not even close to being a budget team. You have to look at the payroll Rocky is shelling out vs. the cap hit. Also keep in mind Huet and Olesz's contract.
There wasn't much available at the trade deadline as many teams still thought they had a shot. Everything else would have been a huge overpayment IMO.
I was talking budget, salary cap wise. Yes, Rocky has had to dole out extra bucks outside of the cap payroll, but that is no excuse. Stan made it perfectly clear last summer when he dumped Campbell and his salary and didn't bother to negotiate with either Campboli or Brouwer, that that extra cap space would be spent to better the team. It simply didn't happen, even though he had months to work out something, what does he come up with ..... Brendan Morrison and then JO at the TD. In a few short weeks, we'll see just how good (or bad, I fear) this team really is.
