So many Scotty doubters. Wings stayed competitive and still won Cups well into Yzerman/Lidstrom et al's hockey old-age with Bowman running things.

why do you hate freedumb? this is America, it's our Constitutional right to shit-post.

That's what I'm saying. They will be good but I'm not going into this season thinking they are going to win the cup. That's been my default the last several years.

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It's unsustainable to be able compete for the Cup on a yearly basis in the current NHL. Success is eventually crushed by the Salary Cap. That's what the league wanted and that's what they got. I hope the Hawks have the talent, can stay healthy and find the right mix of transient players to contend for the next 10 years. If they can make deep dives into the playoffs a couple years straight, it's understandable that they may be exhausted and end up on the outside looking in for a year or two in between. It's going to be an interesting year, for certain.

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"the team has a critical lack of scoring"
"hurr durr blooze"

But whatever, I guess I got owned online because you referred to the team the Hawks couldn't beat in a series.

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I do believe I referred to the team that you said was going to run away with it last season - yes, the team that had to go all the way to a Troy Brouwer "lookee what I found" shit goal with five minutes to go in Game 7 to beat the Hawk. The same team that had to go seven to beat a Dallas team that suddenly lost their offense AND their defense. The team that got their asses handed to them against the Shark because your beloved Tarasenko decided to go into the shitter (along with their goaltending).

That's why your pre-preseason gloom and doom trolling is so laughable - you have already jumped to conclusions based on a previous down season, and without a puck being dropped. And now, instead of having the Blues win based on what's on the roster, you are already declaring the Jets the better team on paper. Until the Jets can win a playoff series, let alone get into one (one playoff in 5 seasons since the move), your comparison between the Jets and the Hawks means absolutely nothing.

I have no illusions of the Hawks winning the Cup this season, and I said the same thing last season - but, they still have a good core, and can still contend.

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Not a mult.

Glad to see CH is in mid season form and it is not even Sept 1st yet.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I declared nothing. I said they might be better depending on how the rest of the roster shakes out (not to mention I'm operating under the premise that they'll bury Ondrej Pavelec in a cornfield before the season starts). I don't think assessing the Hawks "on paper" is unfair, given their tendency in the regular season has been to underachieve relative to how they look on paper. To say "this is how they should do based on stats and name recognition" is actually giving the Hawks undue credit.


This is where I am too, even though I sound dire. The catch now is that not only do the Hawks have to get hot in the playoffs, they have to get there in the first place, which is no guarantee when Dallas and Nashville are loaded, St. Louis is still very good, Minnesota and Winnipeg can be pretty good, and Colorado is no longer coached by a retard. That's to say nothing of rising wild-card threats from Edmonton and Calgary. A full year of McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nugent-Hopkins with competent goaltending and the Hawks won't catch the Oil.

Two things conspired to shut the Hawks' window: the Canadian dollar dropped precipitously, fucking up all the salary cap projections, and the highest-paid player in the league turned into a third-liner.

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PLAYERS LOVE CHICAGO EVERYONE WANTS TO COME HERE



Weise is a character guy who was loved in Vancouver, loved in Montreal, and loved enough by Philly to get 9.4 over 4, and he just shat all over the Hawks. That's why we're sitting here praying we can get Jiri Tlusty to sign a training camp invite. People don't want to come here to work hard, have no fun, and get treated like shit.

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Dale Weise is a fucking nobody. Who gives a shit?

Be better if you want ice time with a dynasty franchise. Play within the system. Contribute.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

He's the archetypal Good Dressing Room Guy. He's also a better player than Brandon Mashinter.

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And yet Mashinter knew the system and was able to play better within it.

I don't root for archetypes. I root for the Blackhawks.

I'm not sure what you root for.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

I'm gonna have to agree with IMU here. Weise is an awful hockey player. I'm sure the front office agrees that his time here was a disaster too.

I'd like for the Blackhawks not to collapse like a house of cards, which is what they appear to be doing this summer with this pop-gun offense and free agents avoiding us like we're Ottawa.

Weise wasn't awful in Montreal. He was an ideal third-line wing.

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What do you expect a guy to say that got stapled to the bench? I loved being in Chicago and not playing!

Plenty of other guys have appreciated their time here.

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Kris Versteeg couldn't get insurance to play in Switzerland, seems to be heading to Edmonton on a tryout. Hawks might want to swoop in and sign him; I don't think rightsholding teams have a right to match on PTOs like they do with RFAs. I'd rather have Versteeg at something near the league minimum than bums like Mashinter and Tootoo. Versteeg might score goals while the other two won't. We need pucks in nets badly.

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Laugh out loud. That's awesome!

Free agents really avoid us when they take 40% of what their old team offered on an extension to come back here.

You can expect Sharp to probably come back on a cheap deal as well next year.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

lol no

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THN preview has the Hawks in fourth behind Dallas, Nashville, and St. Louis, but ahead of Winnipeg, with the Central sending three. I'd flip the Hawks and Jets but the rest is hard to argue.


The projected forward lines, if that's too small to read:

Panarin - Anisimov - Kane
Panik - Toews - Hossa
Desjardins - Kruger - Hartman
Kero - Schmaltz - Tootoo
Some of Mashinter - Rasmussen - McNeill as spares

Oh my God, this team isn't going to score any goals. You're getting substandard production from all four centers + Hossa, and that whole bottom six is wretched, simply wretched. This can't be allowed to be accurate. That bunch can't crack 200 unless Panarin and Kane both pot 50 each.

Defense and goaltending look really good, at least.

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St. Louis lost some key pieces so It's hard to see them ahead of the Hawks. As for Nashville, Rinne is going to show his age and even with the addition of PK, their window is dependent upon Rinne.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

CH is pretty much spot on. The team will have trouble scoring goals because the bottom 6 is atrocious but the defense should be solid. I expect a rebound year for Keith and Hammer as both weren't as good as they could be last season. Having Campbell back is nice too. Underrated dman who fits our system well.

Making the playoffs will come down to what kind of year we get out of Crawford.

Regardless, watching Hawks games will be a chore again this season because we only have one offensive line.

They lost Backes and Elliott. David Backes is a worthless piece of shit, so that's addition by subtraction. Losing Elliott may sting, but Allen needs to step up. This Binnington guy in Rosemont is supposed to be good as well if it should have to come to that. The rest of their roster is about the same. They replaced Ott and Brouwer with Perron and presumably a full-time Dmitri Jaskin. That's an upgrade.

Winnipeg's roster looks really good. Ehlers/Scheifele/Wheeler is a dominant line, Perreault/Little/Laine is partly an unproven commodity but if Laine is half of what's advertised that's going to be a second lethal line. All I've heard since the '15 draft is what a steal Kyle Connor was, so bump him up with Burmistrov and Stafford for a decent third scoring line, which gives them two more than Chicago has. Matthias/Lowry/Dano will be half a notch above your league-average fourth line. If Trouba is signed and Morrissey steps up, it's still not a better blue line than ours, but with how shit our forwards are, it won't have to be. I believe dumb penalties have been the Jets' undoing the last year or two, while generally staying out of the box has covered a multitude of sins for the Hawks. If the Jets cut the PIMs down, I can't conceive of how the Hawks finish ahead of them with nine of twelve forwards unable to score at levels commensurate with their roster slots.

Minnesota and Colorado will bring up the rear, that's for sure. That Jarome Iginla contract out in Denver. What the fuck was anyone thinking?

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My hope is they realize the flipping a switch is over and they come to play most of the time. I honestly believe that would be more satisfying than what I watched this past year even if they had won it all.

I am hoping with the expansion comes at least 1 player buyout. And IF that happens, it is time Hossa.

Training camp wishlist:

Lauri Korpikoski: decent 40-point project player with those pesky Phoenix playoff teams, good for about 25 points a year the last four years on Phx/Edmo teams that sucked at scoring. Not sure whether this means he didn't have good facilitators or he was only getting the points because someone had to. I'd estimate another 25 playing with the Hawks, maybe 30. I think, if nothing else, he's a good stalking horse for these heralded prospects of ours: make them prove they're better than Korpikoski is.

Alex Tanguay: We probably need another 37-year-old like we need a hole in the head, but he scored 35 points in his age-36 season with Denver/Phoenix, which is semi-respectable.

Mike Richards: I kind of love Mike Richards. Look, if we're going to have a washed-up veteran with substance issues in Jordin Tootoo on the team, let's do one better and have a washed-up veteran with substance issues with some real fucking accomplishments in his career. He helped take the Flyers and Kings to a Final, won one with the Kings, and then was admittedly a passenger on the Kings' second Cup team. He had a decent bounceback year with Washington. Going forth, he's pretty much only a PK specialist, but a Richards-Kruger kill unit could be very effective. Again, far better than Tootoo, and it goes without saying better than Mashinter, who should be left to tearing up the AHL.

Jiri Tlusty: I think he had an injury with Jersey last year that wiped out half his season but he's a wing who can score about 30 points. He's probably the most realistic name on this list.

Luke Lessio: This guy was kind of an up-and-coming prospect with the Coyotes but never panned out and eventually got non-tendered by the Habs after stalling out in St. John's. Maybe someone who can get a look, toil in Rockford, and redeem himself.

John Scott: lol j/k

Honestly, we're all set at defense. The top four are set, Kempny is likely set at #5, and the sixth spot will go between van Riemsdyk and Rozsival. I guess if there's a wish to be made here, it's that Eric Gustafsson redeems himself from his pants-shitting in the Blues series and all but obviates Rozsival, who really has no business playing more than 24 games this year with the hope that he can give us a heroic effort or two in the playoffs. Ville Pokka is supposed to distinguish himself one of these days, too.

We should also keep an eye on guys who get optioned out in camp but have used up their waiver exemptions. There's a chance we could get Philip Danault back from the Habs if they try to send him down.

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Those Tlusty nudes have made you a YUGE fan.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Why is Schmaltz Ice scratched for the rookie games so far?

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Rinne is not done yet. I think they Hawks will chase them all year.

Agreed, we have an improved defense, but some real question marks on offense. This team will contend, but to go anywhere near the cup, #19 has bounce back offensively and there are a few younger wingers than need to break through.

I think the core of this team has one more cup in them, but that window is closing as fast as Rinne's

Fuck St. Louis...they're done.

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Motte with a two-goal game including an unassisted shorty probably clinches him making the team out of camp, at least to start the year. The Hawks were shorthanded because apparently Hjalmarsson fucked Ty Rattie's shit up and now he'll probably get suspended. Last time Hammer got suspended for a dirty hit, he sucked for two whole years.

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