I am not seeing the degree of cap problems that everyone keeps talking about for next year. They have about $64M in cap hits already in the pipe line (keep in mind 88 and 19's salaries are not their cap hits), and I believe the cap is $71-ish.

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/cap-central/team.php?team=CHI

I am not sure what Saad, Nordstrom, and Kruger will cost, but they are RFA's. They'll lose Oduya, I assume. The rest of the roster will be built will fairly cheap guys. Now, if you dump Sharp or Bickell, then you have some money for Oduya.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

$64MM in cap hit for 14 players, including a third goalie, not including Saad. That leaves $7MM for seven or eight players, and Saad is going to command the lion's share of that: at least $4MM, $6MM if his agent is ruthless and/or someone gives fucking Matt Beleskey 37 over 7 or something ridiculous like whatever David Clarkson got. Kruger will get at least $2MM. I don't even want to devote thought to Joakim Nordstrom. Just non-tender him or have him signed to an AHL contract where he belongs. With no Vermette and no Richards, you're thin at center again, and I wouldn't want to fill both slots with prospects unless it's officially a rebuild. This list is kinda not good. The Committed Indian guys will drool over Matt Cullen like they always seem to, but ew, too old. Briere is finished. Rich Peverley is a death risk. Maybe we could be Olli Jokinen's ninth or tenth team. I've wanted Marcel Goc on this team for years, but I wanted Antoine Vermette on this team for years, and that didn't work entirely as planned.

The free agent class sucks this year and someone will pay way too much for Oduya, probably Colorado or Dallas because of how thin they are back there. Only Keith, Seabrook, and Hjalmarsson are on the books. Stephen Johns will be ready, and I'd like van Riemsdyk to have a shot at the bottom pair, but no fucking way Quenneville heads into a season with four unproven defensemen, so you'll be paying at least $1MM for a veteran seventh like Brookbank, plus more for a better vet.

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Ok thanks for the thoughts. The problem is we've been spoiled with relative depth. You're going to have to get used to very weak bottom line defensive pairings and fourth liners. Plus some of the vaunted minor league talent will need to progress.

I don't care if Q is pissed about his defensive options. You ran plenty of youngsters out of town, Leddy being top of mind. You made your bed, now sleep in it. Oh and thanks for all the Cup appearances.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

I think Johns will be close to NHL-ready, like TVR with much higher upside: he's had four years at Notre Dame plus a year in Rockford. I don't think there's much left for him to learn.

Leddy had to go because of the cap. I'm glad we didn't lose him for nothing, and I hope Ville Pokka can contribute soon.

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If they win the Cup this year I can take a couple years of sucking due to the cap hits. 3 cups in 6 years would be something far beyond I thought they'd ever do in my lifetime. Maybe after a couple years they'd retool enough to have one or 2 more go rounds with Toews and Kane before they get old and ouch. About the best you can hope in the salary cap era is what they've done especially if they finish it off this year.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

BR, yes I agree, we have to be satisfied. But in looking at the cap situation, I am not as concerned as others. I knew the Bick and Crow contracts would cause us problems and force us to make choices. Now Crow has proven his worth, so that makes me wrong.

Traditionally, RFA's haven't been that expensive. But if what CH says is true about Saad, then I guess we have a problem.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Pretty much how I feel. They're the best team of the cap era and nothing but a third Kings championship in the next two years will change that, if that.

I think we bridge Saad, 9.5 over 2 or something like that.

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Shoulda won last year.

CH, question for you. What happens to Hossa when his actual salary drops to $1M but his cap hit is still over $5M? Does the cap hit drop away if he retires? I assume the entire $1M salary at the end of his contract was done to spread his cap hit while inducing him to retire towards the end. It looks like he makes $1M a year for four year starting in 2017.

If I am correct, then Hossa is only around for two more years, although his 2016 salary drops off a lot too.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

That was what was supposed to happen until the New Jersey Devils made a mockery of the frontloaded long-term contract with Ilya Kovalchuk. Now if he retires before the end of his contract, the Hawks will be charged dead cap space for the years that they benefited from his cap hit being lower than what he was paid. From a ghost of capgeek, they would be charged $4,275,000 for each of those last four years if he isn't on the roster for them.

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Wow, total suckage. Amazing crap.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Seriously, I'll take my chances on Marian Hossa being a damn awesome fourth-liner rather than eat cap space on no one.

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If Hossa wants to play, he can be valuable. No matter what line he is on.

The Blackhawks need to trade 2 of Sharp/Bickell/Crawford this offseason. Given how the playoffs are going, Crawford may be the easiest to part with, followed by Sharp and Bickell.

The Carolina Country Club would be a good dumping ground for Sharp. No one will care whose wives he fucks. I bet he's already eyeing the Holderness mom.

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The Hawks will never "suck" while Toews and Kane are here. This cap problem is a good problem to have. We just have too damn many great players...and Rockford is fucking loaded.
Would anyone prefer that the Hawks be like Buffalo, Edmonton, or Phoenix?

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

I don't want to be in Buffalo's situation, having already been in it, but that roster is really shaping up. Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, Evander Kane, Girgensons, Ristolainen, Zadorov, Grigorenko if they don't trade him. Don't sleep on them.

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Have you forgotten who their new head coach is?

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

Bylsma? He's not without his faults, but that's every coach. He's better than Ted Nolan.

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No one answered my question in the other thread relating to this. Why can't Hossa play two more years then be "injured" long term. If on LTIR for the balance of the contract no cap hit.

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Elections have consequences.

Don't forget Bogosian who's a solid yet unspectucular 24 y/o defenseman.

Along with Eichel they have the Islanders 1st round and 2nd round picks too.

4 picks in the top 51 for one of the deepest drafts in recent history is nice. The Sabres are going to be really fun in 2-3 years.

Scorehead, Byslma isn't some master tactician like Babcock but he's actually pretty analytical and open to the statistical movement occurring in hockey. Shero never reloaded the Pens depth after their Cup in '09 like Bowman has been able to with the Hawks. Unfortunately for Pens fans Rutherford is an even bigger idiot.

Because the player has a say in the decision? If he wants to keep playing then he get to suit up.

Agree that the Pens were unable to cap manage and fill in correctly after 09 but part of that is on Bylsma. He and Shero kowtowed to Crosby and kept players he liked and that BS. Maybe Bylsma gets a fresh start to do it differently but until he shows me he won't win in Buffalo.

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Elections have consequences.

Rutherford is probably the worst general manager in the league. He doesn't believe in drafting defensemen and misses out on scores of players with the slightest bit of heart because he's deathly afraid of taking incidental penalties. Eric Staal is the anti-Toews.

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Byslma is a good coach. Was too hard for Penguins fans to realise that their two stars are mentally fragile when it matters most so Byslma was the main scapegoat.

Well you are right if you also add that Crosby would tell the coach who his line mates were not the other way around. This was the only reason Kunitz was on the top line.

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Elections have consequences.

However, Bylsma had a peculiar addiction to Craig Adams, a case of old bum love that makes Quenneville look like a youth coach.

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