John Madden to Minnesota Wild

[Guest mindfly]

http://wild.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=535652&navid=DL|MIN|home

It's ok hawks till got their COREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

"It's not every day you can add a three-time Cup winner to your roster," said Fletcher. "John will bring a lot to this team at both ends of the rink, and he will also bring a lot of character to the locker room."

Edited August 6, 2010 by mindfly

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Good character signing by Minnesota.

[MotorCityMadness 388]

seems like a good signing given his defensive forward tendancy and how Minnesota seems to be a bit more defensive minded (though they claim there more offensive)

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros 1,029]

Great signing. Minnesota has a real cluster of forwards...

Latendresse

Havlat

Brunette

Sheppard

Miettinen

Koivu

Kobasew

Brodziak

Clutterbuck

Nystrom

Madden

Staubitz

Bouchard(?)

Earl

Kassian

Possibly a trade on the way?

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

So, did Chicago overpay (by a lot) last season or did Minnesota get a "demon deal"?

[Guest mindfly]

It's a great deal, they got him for $1Mil...

[Broken 16 381]

Wish I was handy enough to change the word "earth" to "glory".

Edited August 6, 2010 by Broken 16

[Guest mindfly]

Do they really expect Stålberg, Beach, Skille, Vishnevsky, Lalonde etc to take over for Madden, Ladd, Versteeg, Bufyglien etc?

Edited August 6, 2010 by mindfly

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

In a word, yes.

[Tommy_Like_Wingy 25]

Do they really expect Stålberg, Beach, Skille, Vishnevsky, Lalonde etc to take over for Madden, Ladd, Versteeg, Bufyglien etc?

I wouldn't say expect. Hope is more like it. But what choice do they have?

[Sprsquirt7 45]

Do they really expect Stålberg, Beach, Skille, Vishnevsky, Lalonde etc to take over for Madden, Ladd, Versteeg, Bufyglien etc?

I've never understood their rationale of having players not able to crack their line up last year be better than the ones they are replacing essentially. Proven NHL'ers is VERY VERY different from good AHL and other minor league players. They are just hoping and they have a very homerish view that "they'll be fine" with the kids.

[zombi 43]

[Sarava 55]

John Madden was out of gas the latter part of this past season. Like many Hawk fans, I thank him for his contributions towards winning the cup, but there wasn't a need to bring him back. The guy is about done. I wish him well in Minnesota.

[Sarava 55]

I've never understood their rationale of having players not able to crack their line up last year be better than the ones they are replacing essentially. Proven NHL'ers is VERY VERY different from good AHL and other minor league players. They are just hoping and they have a very homerish view that "they'll be fine" with the kids.

You're absulutely right. We are hoping....it could be worse though. The Hawks could be in this situation with little to nothing left to replace these guys. There's reasons to have hope for a lot of these guys.

Remember, Versteeg wasn't highly regarded 2 years ago. He finished 2nd in the Calder voting out of the blue...it can happen again. But yeah I agree, there will probably be struggles this coming season.

If any Hawk fan says the Hawks won't miss a beat next year, they aren't telling the truth. The bulk of the hurt will probably be felt in the playoffs, because we've seen over and over that teams can still excel in the regular season with just 2 strong lines. It's in the playoffs where that often gets exposed (see Vancouver and San Jose for example).

The potential struggles ahead doesn't mean we Hawk fans have to act like sourpusses over it, though. I'm excited to watch this team try to defend the cup...even if 1/3 of the cup winners are gone. The future is still bright IMO. With prospects like Jeremy Morin, Kyle Beach, Dylan Olsen, Marcus Kruger, Kevin Hayes and more...there's a lot to look forward to in Chicago, besides what currently is on the roster. The guys I just mentioned are all at least a year away from the NHL, with the possible exception of Kyle Beach. He may or may not play with the Hawks this year.

[Broken 16 381]

You're absulutely right. We are hoping....it could be worse though. The Hawks could be in this situation with little to nothing left to replace these guys. There's reasons to have hope for a lot of these guys.

Remember, Versteeg wasn't highly regarded 2 years ago. He finished 2nd in the Calder voting out of the blue...it can happen again. But yeah I agree, there will probably be struggles this coming season.

If any Hawk fan says the Hawks won't miss a beat next year, they aren't telling the truth. The bulk of the hurt will probably be felt in the playoffs, because we've seen over and over that teams can still excel in the regular season with just 2 strong lines. It's in the playoffs where that often gets exposed (see Vancouver and San Jose for example).

The potential struggles ahead doesn't mean we Hawk fans have to act like sourpusses over it, though. I'm excited to watch this team try to defend the cup...even if 1/3 of the cup winners are gone. The future is still bright IMO. With prospects like Jeremy Morin, Kyle Beach, Dylan Olsen, Marcus Kruger, Kevin Hayes and more...there's a lot to look forward to in Chicago, besides what currently is on the roster. The guys I just mentioned are all at least a year away from the NHL, with the possible exception of Kyle Beach. He may or may not play with the Hawks this year.

You greatly underestimate the burden of defending a Cup during the regular season. Every game is going to be a playoff game for the Hawks. Two lines might be fine for a team under the radar. No such luck for you guys. Lol. Good luck with Turco.

[Lidstrom for life 20]

You greatly underestimate the burden of defending a Cup during the regular season. Every game is going to be a playoff game for the Hawks. Two lines might be fine for a team under the radar. No such luck for you guys. Lol. Good luck with Turco.

I would be surprised if the hawks won the central, but I would also be surprised if they didn't make the playoffs comfortably. Turco actually had a slightly better save % than Niemi did last year and they still have the reigning Norris trophy winner leading a pretty solid group of defesemen playing behind those two good lines.

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros 1,029]

What's their situation with Seabrook?

[Lidstrom for life 20]

What's their situation with Seabrook?

He is signed through the end of next year.

[Broken 16 381]

I would be surprised if the hawks won the central, but I would also be surprised if they didn't make the playoffs comfortably. Turco actually had a slightly better save % than Niemi did last year and they still have the reigning Norris trophy winner leading a pretty solid group of defesemen playing behind those two good lines.

I don't think next season is gonna be a walk in the park for the Hawks by any stretch. I could be wrong though. Like I said, if they stumble coming out of the gate, they are gonna be in trouble. You saw how hard it was for us to gain ground last season and we were the hottest team in the league. We'll see what kind of coach Q really is, that's for sure.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

You're absulutely right. We are hoping....it could be worse though. The Hawks could be in this situation with little to nothing left to replace these guys. There's reasons to have hope for a lot of these guys.

Remember, Versteeg wasn't highly regarded 2 years ago. He finished 2nd in the Calder voting out of the blue...it can happen again. But yeah I agree, there will probably be struggles this coming season.

If any Hawk fan says the Hawks won't miss a beat next year, they aren't telling the truth. The bulk of the hurt will probably be felt in the playoffs, because we've seen over and over that teams can still excel in the regular season with just 2 strong lines. It's in the playoffs where that often gets exposed (see Vancouver and San Jose for example).

The potential struggles ahead doesn't mean we Hawk fans have to act like sourpusses over it, though. I'm excited to watch this team try to defend the cup...even if 1/3 of the cup winners are gone. The future is still bright IMO. With prospects like Jeremy Morin, Kyle Beach, Dylan Olsen, Marcus Kruger, Kevin Hayes and more...there's a lot to look forward to in Chicago, besides what currently is on the roster. The guys I just mentioned are all at least a year away from the NHL, with the possible exception of Kyle Beach. He may or may not play with the Hawks this year.

I just wanted to chime in and say welcome to the boards (or welcome back? after seeing your join date). In the other thread I thought you might be a Hawks troll, but it's good to see fans of other teams making civil and well thought out posts here. Even the much hated Hawks.

As I've said before, it's nice to have Chicago be a good enough team to properly despise once again. I've missed that.

Edited August 7, 2010 by haroldsnepsts