Chicago Blackhawks will go broke!

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

I guess, since this seems to have run it's course, it's time to post another question:

Who do the Blackhawks part with after this season? Which players do they have going UFA or RFA?

Eagar, Hendry, Fraser, Ladd, Hjalmarsson, and Niemi are all RFA's on July 1; Burish and Madden are UFA's

[19Wingsfan4ever 0]

I just realized that this topic was supposed to be called: "Chicago Blackhawks will go FOR broke!"

...makes a world of difference.

Didn't realize it was a typo. Mean't to put FOR before broke.

Anyways thanks for a lot of the responses on this topic here on letsgowings forum wing fans.....

[KonstantAdvisor 4]

He had Hull, but that was about it. He was an assistant with Colorado when St. Louis had Gretzky.

We also shouldn't forget that the '96 Wings looked absolutely immortal during the regular season but then ran into trouble in Round 2, and then ultimately lost in Round 3.

Just gonna troll this thread right here (nothing to do with Chicago). Claude Lemieux got a two game suspension for sending Draper to the hospital in Game 6 of that WCF.

Michael Peca got a 10 game-suspenion (later reduced to five games) for trying to get the ref's attention and making physical contact with a ref. Every time I look into the Peca suspension, I basically get the idea that a

(Morrow trips Peca on a 5-on-3 in Dallas, then he gets a goal to tie the game 1-1) blew up into a "make hockey players act like businessmen on Wall Street, put the integrity of individual ref calls over the perception of recorded video" (NFL-style) type of solution and Peca just figured he would retire. Otherwise Columbus could be making a playoff run right now (they started 12-6-3 without Peca). Peca on the PK might have avoided the 9-1 pasting they got from Detroit this year - it would have been only 7-1, much easier on the confidence level of young guys who just saw their career +/- and value as players hit the s***ter in one game, just because they are young.

It makes no sense because the NHL has always relied on video replay to be accurate, too. I mean, sure it doesn't get as much money every year when Florida or New Jersey is in the Finals for checking tight and getting garbage goals all year, but I think the NHL needs to be consistent about the difference between clean hits that result in injury (double-edged sword, the Red Wings know) and cheap shots that result in weaker teams winning more frequently. People watch NASCAR, they will enjoy tight checking if every player on the ice is highly skilled. And they really are, now.

The NHL continues letting cheap shots go if it fits a Cinderella-story narrative while handing out hefty suspensions for what can only be described as poor, but not dangerous, conduct (Peca was a serious dumbass for touching the ref, but wtf Morrow doesn't even get 2 minutes and the goal counts?) - certainly no personal risk in comparison to a linesman jumping into the middle of a scrap. I think that's lame because it puts players at more risk of injury and encourages irresponsible conduct on the ice by people portrayed as 'enforcers.' If they want to start handing out suspensions for open-ice, concussion-rendering, hits that get the crowd on their feet, people will understand it's for the better, just like helmets. Hockey doesn't need to prove it's as tough as any other sport, I think - it's a proven fact. If players put their emotion on the ice, the crowd will get into it. Good players

and people cheer at AHL and junior games both. I guarantee if they had the tech in the 1950s to do multi-angle video replay, they would have put cheap shots in the past long before they put masks on the goalies.

What the NHL should start playing up is that

if they work at it consistently. Anyone can be a star no matter who tells them they suck. Anyone can be a star no matter how long it takes.

But seriously,

, it seems sometimes, and that doesn't get fans fired up to watch hockey. Detroit can't sell out playoff games? If it's a small market 'old city' team and it attracts star players for less expensive contracts, it's bad for NHL owner receipts, I get that. If it's a blown call, though? Instead of trying to balance ***-for-tat on ref calls, why not just institute mandatory power plays if replay finds something the refs miss. And have the refs call the mandatory penalties right before the period ends, when the penalized team will get hurt the worst if they get a PP goal scored on them right before they go back to the dressing room. Addressing the issue

would be calling into question all those past decisions, though, right? Got to keep up appearances.

So I predict Chicago and New Jersey in the Finals, Chicago wins - all the kids have been trained in the art of being professional off the ice. It probably won't matter whether they acquire someone or not, because San Jose (or whoever puts up the challenge) just has to let them win, like Detroit let Pittsburgh win last year. As long as they don't talk to the press they can make the rules up as they go along, clear $2 mil/year easy even if they never get to the 'next-level' and count on a great health plan if an

lands them in the hospital. Make a stink about fairness? Kiss your career goodbye.

[Travis 576]

I feel like that entire post was an excuse to cleverly sprinkle links throughout.

[Guest Lidstromboli]

tl;dr

[KonstantAdvisor 4]

tl;dr

Check this bench clear from 1991. The announcer estimates a 10 game suspension when Probert clocks a guy after the game is over. A team doesn't get to that point if they feel like things were fair on the ice.

Now, compare with Peca's situation. "Set back hockey 30 years" is also part of the announcer rhetoric, but the fact is that the only guy at serious personal risk in the 1991 game won his fight. Boston And Detroit fans ate it up. The guy at risk in the Columbus-Dallas game? Not only did he lose his argument with the ref, but the guy making the dirty play in the game did not get penalized either.

I was just trolling the thread, though, because it's Chicago. Chicago just needs Roenick to come out of retirement and sign a "No speaking to the press" contract so Bettman feels like it's okay for him to win.