Dave82RWS

Thats the common response from a wings fan whenever he/she is actually incapable of debating the sport/game/hit etc. I said he should have gotten a penalty for boarding. CLEARLY. But if JP head had never smacked the glass, there wouldnt be all the debate over whether the hit was dirty/legal, whatever. By the way, a clear hit from behind would not have caused someones head to go sideways. Pominville looked, saw him coming, and never braced for it. 1 game suspension max. Shouldnt be anymore then that, maybe less, as in nothing.

How can he be behind him when there upper bodies are parallel and NH's leg is actually in front of JP's? Had his head not smacked the glass I wonder what the call would have been. A minor for boarding? Interference? Even Lindy Ruff didnt think it was a dirty hit.

No hit from behind at all. Mostly from the side and some from the front as this pic shows. The puck in most of the replays is about a foot from JP's stick. The hit was timed pretty well IMO but not perfect. The reason he was taken off on a stretcher is because of his head smacking the glass. There was no elbow or any kind of cheapshot to the head. Suspension? Shouldnt be, but since even other hits around the league in the past that have actually been clean or cleaner warrant a suspension, Im sure Hjalmarsson will get one. 1 game. Book it.

What are you basing this on? The fired Dale Tallon? Yep, its not like goalies ever get beat or anything.

I didnt realize they were replacing Keith, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson and Campbell. I love all of the Turco criticism. Did any of you actually watch the whole game? Without him, the hawks dont get a point that game.

Hawks might have lost to Nashville last playoffs if Campbell didnt come back.. Speaking of which, both he and Boynton(suspension?) werent out there obviously. Hendry, Scott and a 19 year old Nick Leddy were on D. That is bad enough right there. I do. Almost like the year before when Hossa, Hudler, Samuelsson and a few others went bye bye.

Anyone remember last year when the hawks lost their first game of the season to the Florida Panthers?? Season over!!! (sarcasm)

Now your putting words in my mouth. Never said he wasnt talented, but dont think his point totals would be the same if he didnt have the best most dynamic player along side. People who base s*** just on points shows a persons actual hockey knowledge.

Wow. 6 Hawks and only 4 wings. Total homerism!!! Not to mention this list is basically based on last year, so I would say its pretty reasonable. Keep basing it strictly on points though! Last year- Toews wins the Cup, Conn Smythe and was voted best forward in the Olympics. Guess what? He has accomplished quite alot for a 22 year old and is recognized by players, coaches and media as one of the best young leaders in the game. Hes also not a whiny little s*** like Crosby. Funny that the responses so far almost exclusively deal with how Kane and Toews should be nowhere near as high as they are. I hears Backstrom is better, thats a good one. Is it because he plays with Ovechkin and racks up assists then chokes come playoff time? Same for the Sedins? Total ******* when it matters most? This list isnt a list of top 50 of the past 5-10 years, its the 50 best heading into the 2010-2011 season. Some of you guys are so bitter towards anything hawks, or non wings its ridiculous. WHAAAA Datsyuk is #7 not #1 WHAAAAAA. Lidstrom is 40 years old, how can he be only at #26 WHAAAA

Why is that funny? The hawks have screwed around with players for the past 20 years, obviously with the old management mostly, and the guy that overpaid Huet and Campbell is long gone now. Then they sign a goalie who turned down more money and more years from another team just to play for the hawks, and whether Pisani or John Scott are even any good, they accepted much lower pay to play in Chicago as well. I guess we will have to wait till NEXT year to see if Huet moving to a swiss team will result in free agents NOT wanting to come to Chicago. Silliness. Really??? (They can be carrying a 22 man roster right now if they wanted with still a million in space left. Even more if Toivonen beats out Crawford for the backup) CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR FORWARDS Troy Brouwer ($1.025m) / Jonathan Toews ($6.300m) / Patrick Kane ($6.300m) Viktor Stalberg ($0.850m) / Patrick Sharp ($3.900m) / Marian Hossa ($5.275m) Fernando Pisani ($0.500m) / Dave Bolland ($3.375m) / Jack Skille ($0.600m) Bryan Bickell ($0.541m) / Jake Dowell ($0.525m) / Tomas Kopecky ($1.200m) Igor Makarov ($0.552m) DEFENSEMEN Duncan Keith ($5.538m) / Brent Seabrook ($3.500m) Brian Campbell ($7.142m) / Niklas Hjalmarsson ($3.500m) Nick Boynton ($0.500m) / Jordan Hendry ($0.600m) John Scott ($0.512m) GOALTENDERS Marty Turco ($1.300m) /Corey Crawford ($0.800m) CARRY-OVER BONUS PENALTY: $4,157,753 CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (these totals are compiled using the bonus cushion) SALARY CAP: $59,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $58,495,757; BONUSES: $65,000 CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $969,243

1-Well they obviously didnt need Barker. Who knows how Johnsson would have done if he wasnt hurt. 2-Madden they dont need anymore as the younger guys know how to win now. 3-Ladd is a nice player but replaceable. They even won a few games when he was hurt against SJ and then Philly. 4-Sopel and Hendry/Boynton was Chicagos 3rd pair D. That was weak in itself but they got by just fine i would say, no? This year the 3rd pair will be no better but may be worse. Dont know how much it will matter. 5- As far as injuries. Hossa missed 2 months, they won anyway. Bolland was out for 4 months, they won anyway, Burish was out the whole year, throw in a few others, they never really missed a beat. Compared to what it was for so long, I would say they have a right to be positive. And the guy who screwed all the contracts up (Tallon) was let go. I would say THAT was a smart move and I would say that the past couple years they have moved in the right direction winning a cup and locking up the core instead of losing it. I suppose we should rip Red Wings management for signing guys like Bertuzzi, Williams, May and for considering bringing back oldies like Maltby??

See lines above. They have their 4th line replaced already. (upgraded in fact) They have Stalberg, they have Scott, Hendry, and potentially Beach or Makarov. Others if they go the Turco route.

CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR FORWARDS Troy Brouwer ($1.025m) / Jonathan Toews ($6.300m) / Patrick Kane ($6.300m) Viktor Stalberg ($0.850m) / Patrick Sharp ($3.900m) / Marian Hossa ($5.275m) Igor Makarov ($0.552m) / Dave Bolland ($3.375m) / Tomas Kopecky ($1.200m) Bryan Bickell ($0.541m) / Jake Dowell ($0.525m) / Jack Skille ($0.600m) DEFENSEMEN Brent Seabrook ($3.500m) / Duncan Keith ($5.538m) Brian Campbell ($7.142m) / Niklas Hjalmarsson ($3.500m) John Scott ($0.512m) / Jordan Hendry ($0.625m) GOALTENDERS Antii Niemi ($2.750m) /Hannu Toivonen ($0.550m) CARRY-OVER BONUS PENALTY: $4,157,753 CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (these totals are compiled using the bonus cushion) SALARY CAP: $59,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $58,720,757; BONUSES: $65,000 CAP SPACE (20-man roster): $744,243 OR.. (supposedly if they let Niemi walk they have an agreement with Turco)- Then things look a lot better. CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR FORWARDS Troy Brouwer ($1.025m) / Jonathan Toews ($6.300m) / Patrick Kane ($6.300m) Viktor Stalberg ($0.850m) / Patrick Sharp ($3.900m) / Marian Hossa ($5.275m) Free Agent ($1.000m) / Dave Bolland ($3.375m) / Tomas Kopecky ($1.200m) Bryan Bickell ($0.541m) / Jake Dowell ($0.525m) / Jack Skille ($0.600m) John Scott ($0.512m) DEFENSEMEN Brent Seabrook ($3.500m) / Duncan Keith ($5.538m) Brian Campbell ($7.142m) / Niklas Hjalmarsson ($3.500m) Free Agent ($1.000m) / Jordan Hendry ($0.625m) GOALTENDERS Marty Turco ($1.150m) /Hannu Toivonen ($0.550m) CARRY-OVER BONUS PENALTY: $4,157,753 CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (these totals are compiled using the bonus cushion) SALARY CAP: $59,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $58,568,257; BONUSES: $65,000 CAP SPACE (21-man roster): $896,743

Wings fans should know better then anyone that as long as you keep your core together, a championship one at that, that losing players and replacing players whether through FA or from within and remaining competitive becomes a whole lot easier. Players fit in usually pretty well. The hawks have 3 or 4 players that are NHL ready and have had sniffs of it but have not been able to crack an already full lineup for a good 3 seasons. What the hawks will miss more then anything is Byfuglien and not for his regular season play but for his impact in the post season. Niemi on the other hand, should they lose him would suck also, though no one knows if he can be the goalie he was this year for the rest of his career. If he goes, and they get a less expensive goalie like Turco, they will still compete and may have room for some of the depth they lost. Will they repeat? Who knows, probably not considering no team has in the cap era, or in 12 years for that matter. Also, people need to stop putting Huet on their projected hawks lineup. He is as good as gone.

I suppose you believe Drew Miller, Patrick Eaves, an aging Draper, Bertuzzi and Holmstrom are as good as any of Versteeg, Byfuglien, Ladd, Burish, Eager? They sure proved it this past year didnt they? 2 of those guys 3 years ago or beyond and I might agree with you. What is worse for you? That the hawks won a Stanley cup, or that they Wings and their solid depth had to go 7 with the coyotes, and then got smoked by a Sharks team that in turn, got swept by Chicago?

I know most here are blatant homers and cant accept the fact that the hawks and Hossa have a cup, and that them losing to the wings the prior year was actually the best thing that could have happened to them, but how is keeping your teams core together and having decent prospects fill in after 3 years of having no room for them make it horrible for the hawks? Any intelligent hockey fan can look at that teams roster and see that it can be capable of winning more then one stanley cup. Most of that core is still 3-4 years from hitting their primes.

Why is that funny? The wings struggled to finish off the Coyotes and then got creamed by San Jose, and they have done exactly what with their roster that is going to put them over the top? Hudler? lol Top 6- Franzen, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Hudler, Fillpula, Cleary Top 6- Kane, Toews, Sharp, Bolland, Hossa, Brouwer Edge= Chicago- 4 of those guys are still in their early 20's Top 4- Lidstrom, Kronwall, Rafalski, Stuart (Last years whipping boy) Top 4- Keith, Seabrook, Campbell, Hjalmarsson Edge = Hawks D is much younger, skilled and faster, but the Wings, barely, only because Lidstrom is still better then all of them combined. Goalie- Niemi Goalie- Howard Edge= Niemi. Stanley Cup. As far as depth, well, to start, any team that has Todd Bertuzzi is only going to go so far, you can make up your mind as to who is better amongst the rest, Ritola, Dowell, Skille, Meech, Lalonde, Miller, Eaves, Kindl, Kopecky, Stalberg etc.

Lets say Niemi gets 2.7 mil. Here is the hawks lineup. Overall, they retain their top 6 forwards, top 4 and #7 defensemen, and their #1 goalie. (In other words, they retained their core). Burish and Eager are replaced with Dowell and Bickell. (Upgrade IMO). Lalonde is a promising prospect as well. Stalberg < Byfuglien Makarov < Versteeg Skille < Ladd They lost 3 solid players and at the very least need one of the replacements to match the 35-50 pts Byfuglien or Versteeg would have put up. All in all though, not bad. They will still be a top 4-5 team in conference. Not quite the depth to make another cup run however, but nor do the Red Wings. CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR FORWARDS Troy Brouwer ($1.025m) / Jonathan Toews ($6.300m) / Patrick Kane ($6.300m) Viktor Stalberg ($0.850m) / Patrick Sharp ($3.900m) / Marian Hossa ($5.275m) Jack Skille ($0.600m) / Dave Bolland ($3.375m) / Tomas Kopecky ($1.200m) Igor Makarov ($0.552m) / Jake Dowell ($0.525m) / Bryan Bickell ($0.650m) John Scott ($0.512m) DEFENSEMEN Brent Seabrook ($3.500m) / Duncan Keith ($5.538m) Brian Campbell ($7.142m) / Niklas Hjalmarsson ($3.500m) Jordan Hendry ($0.625m) / Shawn Lalonde ($0.773m) GOALTENDERS Antii Niemi ($2.700m) /Hannu Toivonen ($0.550m) CARRY-OVER BONUS PENALTY: $4,157,753 CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (these totals are compiled using the bonus cushion) SALARY CAP: $59,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $59,552,423; BONUSES: $285,000 CAP SPACE (21-man roster): $132,577

FAIL This year - Bickell - 16 games plus a few playoffs, Dowell 3 games 2pts, Skille 6 games 2pts. Last year Skille actually made the team out of camp I do believe.

Why are some makin an issue over the chemistry of the hawks? Dowell, Bickell and Skille have all seen time with the hawks the past 3 years and have contributed. They also skated with the team during the playoffs, Bickell even saw time. Its not as if they are foreign to the team and the current roster is foreign to them. All those guys get along great with the rest of the team. Dowell and Bickell are actually upgrades over a concussed Eager who doesnt fight, and Dowell is easily an upgrade over Fraser both in terms of faceoffs and size and physicality.

Yea, makes sense to trade a Norris winner or his partner which helps make that one of if not the best D pairings in the league. Im sure everyone would love that! If someone would take Brian Campbell on the other hand, the hawks would trade him. If it was possible, they wouldnt lose anybody else other then Huet, Sopel and a couple scrubs and would actually have money to improve on last year. Dont Keith and Hossas front loaded cap hits start to go down after next year? They will be in far better shape in 2011-2012 then they are this year.

So what did and what does that mean the wings are?

I thought he sucks. Seriously though, no hawk fans wanted to see him go for that very reason. He is an unmovable object in front of the net and is a very beneficial player to have in the playoffs. That will be hard to replace but its not impossible to compete without him.

So far all they have lost is Buffs 34 regular season points, 2 4th liners who at times couldnt even crack the lineup, and an aging overpaid, slow #6 defensemen. Nobody knew 2 years ago who Buff was, Brouwer, Bolland, Versteeg, Keith, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson etc. Who is to say that Jack Skille, or Kyle Beach or any other younGER player coming up wont be productive, such as the prospect they just got from Atlanta, or future draft picks? Some fans act as though since its the hawks who won the cup, they are now doomed till eternity. I dont think you need reminding how players and production have been lost from the Wings as well as every other team in the league. Maybe the hawks wont win the cup in the next 2 years like the Red Wings after they won 3 years ago, but could very well win another cup or two in the not to far future.