Hawks and Wings Cap Situations heading into Summer '10

[ShanahanMan 473]

Players need to be re-signed : Lidstrom - May (Just like this season) - Lilja (If healthy) - Helm - Abdelkaber.

Players that need to examined this year : Holmstrom - Bertuzzi - Williams.

Players that musn't be resigned (100%) : Lebda - Maltby.

Yes Holmstrom is benefiting to be on a line with Dats - and Zetts, I wouldn't mind having him in the lineup next season but let's go with 1 year contract with him from now on just in case.

Lids needs to also be on a one year contract considering his age and unfortunately the past two seasons he seems to be a step down from 2-3 years ago.

Bertuzzi and Williams need to be examined on how they play both offensive and defensively. Wouldn't mind keeping them as 3rd line - 4th line players but not both please.

Maltby is too old and wasting a space on the roster.

Lebda ... oh come on do I need to say.

Holmstrom - Zetterberg - Datsyuk

Leino - Filppula - Franzen

Helm - Draper - Cleary

*** - Abdelkader - ***

Lids Rafalski

Kronwall Stuart

Ericsson Kindl

Lebda shouldn't only not be resigned, but should be banned from the NHL all together.

[Brevard 6]

Some clarification for you guys (response to various things posters wrote in this thread.

1) Toews and Kane cannot hit ALL bonus clauses this year. One of them is ROY which obviously can be hit in only yr 1. it has already been pointed out both will leave some bonus money on the table as clauses they have written in are not gimmes like say the old Thornton deal.

Also understand that at the opening of the season you technically don't have a roster so when Hossa was placed on LTIE any deal can be used as it's "replacement" deal. There were articles during camp about this. Rumor is that "on paper" Sharp is Hossa's replacement. This means that you total all otehr contracts. Then add Sharp's. The amount that Sharp's contract put you over the cap doesn't count against the cap while Hossa is on LTIE. It counts to the cap but not beyond it. So right now the Hawks are technically at the cap and not over it.

After Hossa returns they may end up over it (with bonuses) for a while but that number will come down when bonuses are not hit and it is also only partial year amounts (remember the cap is calculated daily).

2) As far as cap hell goes, well having too many good players is better than the alternative but most would agree the Hawks have movable assets that will garner interest if placed in front of 29 other GM'S.

Many predict both Kane and Toews to get over 5 mill. (your 4 mill # was nice but I don't think so) Richards, Getzlaf and a few others are benchmarks both sides can use. So if (guess) Toews and Kane get 5.2 each and Keith gets 5.0 that totals 15.4 million. The 3 already have a combined hit of 8 million so we are really only talking 7 million in new space.

Too much you say? Well many agree Chicago has a slew of kids ready, In fact Hockey news recently stated the problem in Chicago is not talent it is finding a place for all the kids to play.

Try this, Madden is a on a 1 year deal @ 2.750m per. end of year he can re-up at a mill or is replaced by a kid on an ELC. Savings 1.750m

Sopel either goes to the AHL or is traded with a 2nd rd pick for a 3rd rd pick. Savings 2.333m (already carry 8 D-men won't replace)

Curtis Brown buyout ends. ... savings .456m, .............. total savings 4.539 million.

Now is where decisions have to get made. 2 guys have to move from a group that includes Sharp, Versteeg, Byfuglien, Bolland and Barker. All would have considerable open market value. I thinnk who they decide to move depend part on how well those guys play this year and also how well the kids who would be coming in on ELC's do and what roles they can be projected to replace. (if it's Beach, maybe you move Byfuglien. If it is Makarov you could move Versteeg. if Danis-Pepin is growing into the next Chara then Barker goes. ... something like that)

For sake of argument lets make it Versteeg and Barker. This takes about 6.15 mill off the cap. this means over 10.6 mill in cap space and probably 3.3 mill in space after the big 3 are signed. Leaves money to replace the 2 missing pieces with ELC's and give small raises.

It will be tight but i think Red Wing fans understand what we Hawk fans are just now stating to see. When you are good it is always a battle. Some hawk fans are devastated that we will lose a few pieces because of the cap. That is another area where you folks have experience and know this happens. The key will be Bowman getting a good mix of picks and prospects back to keep a pipeline. flowing.

[Earthhuman 8]

All the more reason to enjoy the Hawks while we can. I am honestly surprised to see them lose games. They seem stacked up and down the lineup, Huet not included (whatever happened to those .930 save %s?). The bright side of the cap is, if you don't like a good young team, it's bound to be dismantled in a couple of years. All's fair.

[Tommy_Like_Wingy 25]

Some clarification for you guys (response to various things posters wrote in this thread.

1) Toews and Kane cannot hit ALL bonus clauses this year. One of them is ROY which obviously can be hit in only yr 1. it has already been pointed out both will leave some bonus money on the table as clauses they have written in are not gimmes like say the old Thornton deal.

Also understand that at the opening of the season you technically don't have a roster so when Hossa was placed on LTIE any deal can be used as it's "replacement" deal. There were articles during camp about this. Rumor is that "on paper" Sharp is Hossa's replacement. This means that you total all otehr contracts. Then add Sharp's. The amount that Sharp's contract put you over the cap doesn't count against the cap while Hossa is on LTIE. It counts to the cap but not beyond it. So right now the Hawks are technically at the cap and not over it.

After Hossa returns they may end up over it (with bonuses) for a while but that number will come down when bonuses are not hit and it is also only partial year amounts (remember the cap is calculated daily).

2) As far as cap hell goes, well having too many good players is better than the alternative but most would agree the Hawks have movable assets that will garner interest if placed in front of 29 other GM'S.

Many predict both Kane and Toews to get over 5 mill. (your 4 mill # was nice but I don't think so) Richards, Getzlaf and a few others are benchmarks both sides can use. So if (guess) Toews and Kane get 5.2 each and Keith gets 5.0 that totals 15.4 million. The 3 already have a combined hit of 8 million so we are really only talking 7 million in new space.

Too much you say? Well many agree Chicago has a slew of kids ready, In fact Hockey news recently stated the problem in Chicago is not talent it is finding a place for all the kids to play.

Try this, Madden is a on a 1 year deal @ 2.750m per. end of year he can re-up at a mill or is replaced by a kid on an ELC. Savings 1.750m

Sopel either goes to the AHL or is traded with a 2nd rd pick for a 3rd rd pick. Savings 2.333m (already carry 8 D-men won't replace)

Curtis Brown buyout ends. ... savings .456m, .............. total savings 4.539 million.

Now is where decisions have to get made. 2 guys have to move from a group that includes Sharp, Versteeg, Byfuglien, Bolland and Barker. All would have considerable open market value. I thinnk who they decide to move depend part on how well those guys play this year and also how well the kids who would be coming in on ELC's do and what roles they can be projected to replace. (if it's Beach, maybe you move Byfuglien. If it is Makarov you could move Versteeg. if Danis-Pepin is growing into the next Chara then Barker goes. ... something like that)

For sake of argument lets make it Versteeg and Barker. This takes about 6.15 mill off the cap. this means over 10.6 mill in cap space and probably 3.3 mill in space after the big 3 are signed. Leaves money to replace the 2 missing pieces with ELC's and give small raises.

It will be tight but i think Red Wing fans understand what we Hawk fans are just now stating to see. When you are good it is always a battle. Some hawk fans are devastated that we will lose a few pieces because of the cap. That is another area where you folks have experience and know this happens. The key will be Bowman getting a good mix of picks and prospects back to keep a pipeline. flowing.

Interesting post. When you break it down it doesn't seem like the situation is all that dire for Chicago, granted they'll still lose a couple really good supporting guys.

Funny how a post that has legitimate numbers negates all of the "LOL Hawx are 1n teh c4p h3ll!!! They n33d $2974670247290 to res1gn evry0ne!!!!!!111!!"

It'll be interesting to see if Bowman can pull it off or completely screws the team over.

[Viking_Erection 1]

Some clarification for you guys (response to various things posters wrote in this thread.

1) Toews and Kane cannot hit ALL bonus clauses this year. One of them is ROY which obviously can be hit in only yr 1. it has already been pointed out both will leave some bonus money on the table as clauses they have written in are not gimmes like say the old Thornton deal.

Also understand that at the opening of the season you technically don't have a roster so when Hossa was placed on LTIE any deal can be used as it's "replacement" deal. There were articles during camp about this. Rumor is that "on paper" Sharp is Hossa's replacement. This means that you total all otehr contracts. Then add Sharp's. The amount that Sharp's contract put you over the cap doesn't count against the cap while Hossa is on LTIE. It counts to the cap but not beyond it. So right now the Hawks are technically at the cap and not over it.

After Hossa returns they may end up over it (with bonuses) for a while but that number will come down when bonuses are not hit and it is also only partial year amounts (remember the cap is calculated daily).

2) As far as cap hell goes, well having too many good players is better than the alternative but most would agree the Hawks have movable assets that will garner interest if placed in front of 29 other GM'S.

Many predict both Kane and Toews to get over 5 mill. (your 4 mill # was nice but I don't think so) Richards, Getzlaf and a few others are benchmarks both sides can use. So if (guess) Toews and Kane get 5.2 each and Keith gets 5.0 that totals 15.4 million. The 3 already have a combined hit of 8 million so we are really only talking 7 million in new space.

Too much you say? Well many agree Chicago has a slew of kids ready, In fact Hockey news recently stated the problem in Chicago is not talent it is finding a place for all the kids to play.

Try this, Madden is a on a 1 year deal @ 2.750m per. end of year he can re-up at a mill or is replaced by a kid on an ELC. Savings 1.750m

Sopel either goes to the AHL or is traded with a 2nd rd pick for a 3rd rd pick. Savings 2.333m (already carry 8 D-men won't replace)

Curtis Brown buyout ends. ... savings .456m, .............. total savings 4.539 million.

Now is where decisions have to get made. 2 guys have to move from a group that includes Sharp, Versteeg, Byfuglien, Bolland and Barker. All would have considerable open market value. I thinnk who they decide to move depend part on how well those guys play this year and also how well the kids who would be coming in on ELC's do and what roles they can be projected to replace. (if it's Beach, maybe you move Byfuglien. If it is Makarov you could move Versteeg. if Danis-Pepin is growing into the next Chara then Barker goes. ... something like that)

For sake of argument lets make it Versteeg and Barker. This takes about 6.15 mill off the cap. this means over 10.6 mill in cap space and probably 3.3 mill in space after the big 3 are signed. Leaves money to replace the 2 missing pieces with ELC's and give small raises.

It will be tight but i think Red Wing fans understand what we Hawk fans are just now stating to see. When you are good it is always a battle. Some hawk fans are devastated that we will lose a few pieces because of the cap. That is another area where you folks have experience and know this happens. The key will be Bowman getting a good mix of picks and prospects back to keep a pipeline. flowing.

Your post sounds very, VERY optimistic. Perhaps overly optimistic.

(using your big-3 numbers)

Big three....15.4

Hossa.........5.275

Kopecky..... 1.2

Campbell.....7.142

Seabrook....3.5

Huet............5.625

__________________

Total...........38.142

(not too mention Niemi is going to get a nice little raise -- Hawks need this kid to cover Huet's ass)

So you have over $38 million tied up in only 8 players -- and you need to dress 15 more players, that only allows Bowman to spend about 1mil per player on average to stay under cap. Okay, so Blackhawks have some good players in the system that is ready to go, however having 15 rookies on one team for a full year is.... insane. Hawks would be better off with 16 Kopecky's. Lol.

In all seriousness, no matter how you slice it, Hawks are losing major,major depth and key players. How well the kids from the farm perform in the big league is yet to be seen.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Your post sounds very, VERY optimistic. Perhaps overly optimistic.

(using your big-3 numbers)

Big three....15.4

Hossa.........5.275

Kopecky..... 1.2

Campbell.....7.142

Seabrook....3.5

Huet............5.625

__________________

Total...........38.142

(not too mention Niemi is going to get a nice little raise -- Hawks need this kid to cover Huet's ass)

So you have over $38 million tied up in only 8 players -- and you need to dress 15 more players, that only allows Bowman to spend about 1mil per player on average to stay under cap. Okay, so Blackhawks have some good players in the system that is ready to go, however having 15 rookies on one team for a full year is.... insane. Hawks would be better off with 16 Kopecky's. Lol.

In all seriousness, no matter how you slice it, Hawks are losing major,major depth and key players. How well the kids from the farm perform in the big league is yet to be seen.

Not to mention the fact that the big three numbers are very, very generous concessions on the part of the players. Kane's already acting like a diva outside the rink (being the inexplicable cover model for the NHL 10 game doesn't help deflate his ego), I have a hard time imagining him taking 5 million on a short term contract.

Here's the thing-- these contracts are the first big money contracts for all three players-- no way their agent will tell them it's a bright idea to sign a long term contract when they're no where near their peak value. Signing a guy like Hossa who's in his prime to a 400 year deal is much easier than convincing a kid and his agent he won't get better. None of those three want to be huge cap bargains in 2 years, and they certainly don't want to pass their peak while playing on the discount contract.

I'm not saying they'll get 7 million contracts because none of them are close to worth that aside from the possible exception of Keith (D like him are very well paid, plus look at how much his inferior teammate gets paid to turn pucks over to Samuelsson), but I do think more than one of them will expect 6 million a season.

[Buppy 1,720]

Interesting post. When you break it down it doesn't seem like the situation is all that dire for Chicago, granted they'll still lose a couple really good supporting guys.

Funny how a post that has legitimate numbers negates all of the "LOL Hawx are 1n teh c4p h3ll!!! They n33d $2974670247290 to res1gn evry0ne!!!!!!111!!"

It'll be interesting to see if Bowman can pull it off or completely screws the team over.

Keep in mind that the numbers and players he singled out would leave the team with a little over $6.3 million (assuming that the cap doesn't change, and they have no carry-over from this year's bonuses, and also that his numbers are close...reality could turn out better or worse) to sign: A backup goalie, 4 defensemen, and 4 forwards. (I didn't include the 'entry level' kids, since he didn't really call for anyone specifically.)

It's not a completely hopeless situation, and the Hawks will undoubtedly remain a good team, but it is as bad as any contender has had to face. As bad as what we had to deal with this summer, or worse.

[egroen 384]

I'll be shocked if a single one of the Big 3 signs for less than $6m a year.

Simply look across the NHL at similar talent at a similar age and it is all $6m+.

Ultimately, I think the best move for Chicago is simply to get whatever they can for Kane's rights.

I did not realize Campbell had a no-movement-clause. Wow.

[ComradeWasabi 109]

I'll be shocked if a single one of the Big 3 signs for less than $6m a year.

Simply look across the NHL at similar talent at a similar age and it is all $6m+.

Ultimately, I think the best move for Chicago is simply to get whatever they can for Kane's rights.

I did not realize Campbell had a no-movement-clause. Wow.

!!!

Me neither until you said that.

:lol: :lol:

[wings1110 184]

If they dont win it this year there screwed, and there in cap hell

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

http://www.letsgowings.com/forums/index.ph...t=0&start=0

[Echolalia 2,961]

Not quite.

[ltgator333 3]

Well by the OP summary of their cap situation (haven't looked, it can't be good) they're screwed then- defense and goaltending DOES win championships these days and they have neither so far.

[Tommy_Like_Wingy 25]

Well by the OP summary of their cap situation (haven't looked, it can't be good) they're screwed then- defense and goaltending DOES win championships these days and they have neither so far.

Isn't Chicago towards the top of the league in shots blocked and goals allowed? I'd say their defense isn't a problem. Their goaltending on the other hand is a joke.

[MadMan Mark 0]

If Chicago can get rid of Campbell and Huet somehow they might be ok, but I'm not sure who in their right mind would take either of those contracts.

Hawks are stuck with these two for the duration of the contracts. If Huet somehow gets it together, Hawks fans will view it as "worth the money", same with Campbell. If they both screw the pooch (which is how I feel), no one will take those contracts off the Hawks hands.

Regarding the 3 RFA's, Hawks should let Kane go and sign Toews and Keith. However, since the Hawks made Kane their poster boy. They will keep him and his one-dimensional game. They should keep Keith, D-men like him and at that age are tough to find, thus leaving Toews out there. I may be wrong, but I see NO WAY, given the current situation AND they fact they most likely will overpay on bonuses, the Hawks re-sign all 3.

If the cap drops significantly, Hawks may have to part with 2 of the 3.

[Viking_Erection 1]

Hawks are stuck with these two for the duration of the contracts. If Huet somehow gets it together, Hawks fans will view it as "worth the money", same with Campbell. If they both screw the pooch (which is how I feel), no one will take those contracts off the Hawks hands.

Regarding the 3 RFA's, Hawks should let Kane go and sign Toews and Keith. However, since the Hawks made Kane their poster boy. They will keep him and his one-dimensional game. They should keep Keith, D-men like him and at that age are tough to find, thus leaving Toews out there. I may be wrong, but I see NO WAY, given the current situation AND they fact they most likely will overpay on bonuses, the Hawks re-sign all 3.

If the cap drops significantly, Hawks may have to part with 2 of the 3.

You are correct, out of the "big" 3, Kane should be the first to go. However, the way Chicago Blackhawks are run over there, they think "income / ticket sales / popularity" first and winning a far second... and with Kane being their poster boy, he's probably locked for the future of the franchise.

Toews is also very, very popular for the team, so I am sure he's as important to sign for the Hawks as Kane is.. that leaves Duncan Keith as the odd man out.

Duncan Keith would be a perfect fit on the Red Wings, and perhaps, a suitor for Lidstrom's replacement (though nobody can replace Norris-Nick).

Personally, I'd take Keith over Toews just because Wings already have a solid top 3 unit. With Lids getting up there in age, he's likely going to retire soon. We'll need a solid (scoring) dman that can fill the void.

[Buppy 1,720]

Hawks are stuck with these two for the duration of the contracts. If Huet somehow gets it together, Hawks fans will view it as "worth the money", same with Campbell. If they both screw the pooch (which is how I feel), no one will take those contracts off the Hawks hands.

Regarding the 3 RFA's, Hawks should let Kane go and sign Toews and Keith. However, since the Hawks made Kane their poster boy. They will keep him and his one-dimensional game. They should keep Keith, D-men like him and at that age are tough to find, thus leaving Toews out there. I may be wrong, but I see NO WAY, given the current situation AND they fact they most likely will overpay on bonuses, the Hawks re-sign all 3.

If the cap drops significantly, Hawks may have to part with 2 of the 3.

They'll keep all three and dump salary elsewhere...Versteeg, Sharp, Buffy, Bolland, Barker, Seabrook. There's no shortage of tradable salary.

Probably get them all cheaper than $6 million too. Unless one or more of them have killer seasons, arbitration won't give them that much. Few if any teams would give up a 1st, 2nd, & 3rd round pick for any of the three, much less another 1st if they sign much over $6 mil.

If I had to guess, I'd say they each get similar short deals, 2 or 3 years in the $5-5.5 range. They'll dump Sopel, Versteeg, and probably Bolland.

[Viking_Erection 1]

They'll keep all three and dump salary elsewhere...Versteeg, Sharp, Buffy, Bolland, Barker, Seabrook. There's no shortage of tradable salary.

Probably get them all cheaper than $6 million too. Unless one or more of them have killer seasons, arbitration won't give them that much. Few if any teams would give up a 1st, 2nd, & 3rd round pick for any of the three, much less another 1st if they sign much over $6 mil.

If I had to guess, I'd say they each get similar short deals, 2 or 3 years in the $5-5.5 range. They'll dump Sopel, Versteeg, and probably Bolland.

In a prior post, I calculated that Chicago have only 8 players that equal to over $38 million dollars combined. Using capgeek.com I can't get the numbers to work in Chicago's favor if they keep the big 3. They'll virtually have to dump 10-12 current roster players and sign players that only make under $1 - $1.2 million... and that just doesn't seem logical for Chicago if they want to make the playoffs again in the next couple of years. No matter how you slice it, Chicago is in big trouble. I guess they could try to trade Hossa (if he doesn't have a NTC) and shed some salary by getting rid of Seabrook, Sopel, Barker, Eager, Ladd, Madden, Buff, Versteeg, Bolland, Sharp and their still pushing it.

I don't know how Chicago fans can be so optimistic about signing the big 3? No matter how I try to work the numbers, Chicago is losing massive amounts of key players, depth, or both. I think it'd be in Chicago's best interest to keep some depth and role at 2 or 3 decent lines. Having one line with little on the back end to cover defense will probably win Chicago a 3rd or 4th overall pick for the next couple of years.

Here's the 8 players I posted in a prior post:

Big three....15.4

Hossa.........5.275

Kopecky..... 1.2

Campbell.....7.142

Seabrook....3.5

Huet............5.625

__________________

Total...........38.142

Edited October 29, 2009 by Viking_Erection

[mjlegend 155]

Campbell is the killer salary in that. If they can find a way to not buy him out, and dump him to some sun belt team with lots of cap room for pennies on the dollar, they can really get ahead in signing the better, younger players on that team.

Of course, then they'd have a pretty big hole on defence, so they'd probably have to lure a free agent by throwing big bucks at him...

[Buppy 1,720]

...They'll virtually have to dump 10-12 current roster players and sign players that only make under $1 - $1.2 million ...

Big three....15.4

Hossa.........5.275

Kopecky..... 1.2

Campbell.....7.142

Seabrook....3.5

Huet............5.625

__________________

Total...........38.142

FORWARDS

* Jonathan Toews ($5.500m) / * Patrick Kane ($5.500m) / Marian Hossa ($5.275m)

Patrick Sharp ($3.900m) / Dustin Byfuglien ($3.000m) / Kyle Beach ($1.200m)

Tomas Kopecky ($1.200m) / Troy Brouwer ($1.025m) / Dan Bertram ($0.850m)

Akim Aliu ($0.846m) / * Andrew Ebbett ($0.500m) / * Danny Bois ($0.500m)

* Mark Cullen ($0.500m)

DEFENSEMEN

Brian Campbell ($7.143m) / * Duncan Keith ($5.500m)

Brent Seabrook ($3.500m) / Cam Barker ($3.083m)

Brian Connelly ($0.875m) / Simon Danis-Pepin ($0.850m)

* Richard Petiot ($0.500m)

GOALTENDERS

Cristobal Huet ($5.625m) / Alec Richards ($0.875m)

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS

ROSTER: 22; PAYROLL: $57.747m; CAP ROOM: $0.265m BONUSES: $1.212m

Some of those additions are just players already on ELCs, or random names from their FAs that I plugged in at minimum. Just using them as generic roster fillers.

Basically, fill out the bottom 4 forwards and bottom 3 defensemen with cheap players.

You lose Versteeg, Bolland, Madden, Ladd, Hjalmarsson, and a few guys who don't really matter.

You could get rid of one of the big three, and keep one of Versteeg or Bolland plus maybe a couple role players. The difference isn't that great. No matter what, they'll be losing some players. They could also move Sharp instead of Versteeg or Bolland (or in additiona to) and pick up more depth. Either way, they could come out with a solid top 4 D, and a decent top 6 forwards. Still a decent team, and possibly better if some prospects pan out.

Of course, if the cap goes down, or they have to pay much in bonus overage, they'd be even worse off and probably would have to give someone up.

[Viking_Erection 1]

FORWARDS

* Jonathan Toews ($5.500m) / * Patrick Kane ($5.500m) / Marian Hossa ($5.275m)

Patrick Sharp ($3.900m) / Dustin Byfuglien ($3.000m) / Kyle Beach ($1.200m)

Tomas Kopecky ($1.200m) / Troy Brouwer ($1.025m) / Dan Bertram ($0.850m)

Akim Aliu ($0.846m) / * Andrew Ebbett ($0.500m) / * Danny Bois ($0.500m)

* Mark Cullen ($0.500m)

DEFENSEMEN

Brian Campbell ($7.143m) / * Duncan Keith ($5.500m)

Brent Seabrook ($3.500m) / Cam Barker ($3.083m)

Brian Connelly ($0.875m) / Simon Danis-Pepin ($0.850m)

* Richard Petiot ($0.500m)

GOALTENDERS

Cristobal Huet ($5.625m) / Alec Richards ($0.875m)

Yeah, that looks really good on the 1st line. Decent on the 2nd line. The 3rd line looks like a 4th line and the 4th line... risky.

The defense is suspect (depending how the kids can handle the leap)

And what's most concerning is the big roster change. Wings are learning first hand how much time and losses it takes to gel (adding 9 player- most who are veterans). Hawks are going to add 9? rookies to the roster next year?

That could be disastrous, especially for such a young wet-behind-the ears team.

I guess Hawks brass have to decide at what cost are they willing to keep the big 3. I think they'd be better off with depth and roll 3 decent lines and a 4th line that isn't a risk. Not one big line and a 2nd average line then 2 below average lines with rookies... add to the fact that the defense and goaltending is suspect.

Edited October 29, 2009 by Viking_Erection

[eva unit zero 271]

The problems are Campbell and Huet. And here is how to deal with them.

Assuming Niemi continues to vastly outplay Huet, then step 1 of the solution is simple.

Niemi/Crawford is next year's tandem.

Huet is placed on unconditional waivers, and if he is not claimed, then the Hawks simply terminate his contract. If he is claimed, then he is no longer the Hawks' issue.

As for Campbell, he actually has trade value. There are several teams the Hawks could potentially trade him to and acquire something in return. Even a mid-round draft pick or two would be worth it given the cap space opened and depth of the Hawks' defense.

Now the chances of Huet being gone via this method? Unlikely, unless Stan Bowman asks Lou Lamoirello for advice.

[mmamolo 287]

The problems are Campbell and Huet. And here is how to deal with them.

Assuming Niemi continues to vastly outplay Huet, then step 1 of the solution is simple.

Niemi/Crawford is next year's tandem.

Huet is placed on unconditional waivers, and if he is not claimed, then the Hawks simply terminate his contract. If he is claimed, then he is no longer the Hawks' issue.

As for Campbell, he actually has trade value. There are several teams the Hawks could potentially trade him to and acquire something in return. Even a mid-round draft pick or two would be worth it given the cap space opened and depth of the Hawks' defense.

Now the chances of Huet being gone via this method? Unlikely, unless Stan Bowman asks Lou Lamoirello for advice.

I cant realyl see that Huet situation panning out but I guess it is an option. As for Campbell, by no means do I think he is pure s***, but at that cap hit who do you think would be willing to take him? Let alone for soem picks or whatever.

[egroen 384]

Campbell has an NMC -- he's not going anywhere.

They will be able to get rid of Huet... whether it is through waivers are sending him out with a pick.

But by retaining all 3 RFAs they are a two-line team.

[DMAC 25 18]

And if Kane and Toews get all of their bonus money, they'll be like $4 million over the cap...which will count against next year's cap.

It's about as ugly as you can get. Still, I think they'll end up keeping all three of their big RFAs, and trade some other players like Sharp, Versteeg, Sopel, Campbell (if anyone will take him), or maybe even Hossa.

i wouldnt mind seeing hossa back, he could deffinitly help out with whats going on right now, i just wish they would take howard off our hands and we oculd have hossa