Friendly Hawks Fan

Respect for a legend.

Hey all, Longtime lurker making his first post. The Bickell discussion inspired me to register. Anyways, from a Hawks fan's perspective, and as someone who watched him in both Rockford and Chicago, Bickell looks to be done. Not done as in "he's not worth his contract", but done as in "he isn't really an NHL player anymore." The rumor swirling for the past year+ was that he has mild vertigo, possibly the result of a concussion. Of course plenty of fans just think he's lazy but it looks like something is wrong with him. Certainly his contract has negative value, hence the need to move him along with Teuvo who was well-regarded here. I like BB and hope he can find his game in Carolina. Teuvo will be missed. He's exactly the kind of cheap, young guy on the ascendant that the Hawks can use right now with all the big contracts kicking in. It's clear that management got a verbal commitment from Schmaltz well in advance, thus Teuvo became replaceable and it provided a way to shed Bickell's contract. That money will be desperately needed to sign Shaw and Panarin. Who knows if it's just PR manipulation and after-the-fact rationalizing, but reports are surfacing that management had concerns about Teuvo's conditioning and commitment. Even the stoic Kimmo Timonen commented that TT needs to get his butt in the gym everyday if he wants to be great, and that "golf is not a workout" so who really knows? On balance, Teuvo was a good but slightly underwhelming prospect given all the hype. (Yes I know he's only 21). Because of his lack of size and strength and his fear of contact, I'd be surprised if he became a legit top 6 player. I think his ceiling is something like Dave Bolland circa 2009-2013. Hope this gives a bit of insight on the trade from a Hawks' perspective.