DangleDangleBeach 16 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568277 http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568016 odonnel, mayers, carcillo.... hell, even montador still have bickell, bolland, scott as returning grit very tough team being put together.... not going to be easy to play against. we may beat them.... but i would expect them to physically take it to us. thoughts? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pondrocket 35 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568277 http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568016 odonnel, mayers, carcillo.... hell, even montador still have bickell, bolland, scott as returning grit very tough team being put together.... not going to be easy to play against. we may beat them.... but i would expect them to physically take it to us. thoughts? I absolutely agree. I think they will be really fun to watch this year. I wish the Red Wings forced other teams to pay a price when they played them! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shaman 713 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 Meaner and didn't address their horrible PK. Hope Crawford enjoys facing 40 shots a night 4 hooon, TheDetroitRedWings, stevkrause and 1 other reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevkrause 1,247 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 Meaner and didn't address their horrible PK. Hope Crawford enjoys facing 40 shots a night Agreed to an extent, Montador is a tremendous PK d-man... 1 newfy reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Hatethedrake! Report post Posted July 5, 2011 http://blackhawks.nh...s.htm?id=568277 http://blackhawks.nh...s.htm?id=568016 odonnel, mayers, carcillo.... hell, even montador still have bickell, bolland, scott as returning grit very tough team being put together.... not going to be easy to play against. we may beat them.... but i would expect them to physically take it to us. thoughts? It might matter if it were 1996 again. The Hawks have become older, slower and not as hard to play against. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest echos myron Report post Posted July 5, 2011 Agreed to an extent, Montador is a tremendous PK d-man... All of the players except for Carcillo are decent PKers at the least. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hooon 1,089 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 (edited) I might be a bit biased when it comes to them, but I'm not that impressed by the Hawks off season. Bunch of 1 year replacement contracts to generally mediocre players. Grit doesn't replace all the scoring they lost (assuming they don't re-sign Frolik and Stalberg). Crawford had a good year, but IMO is still a question mark. Many, many goalies struggle their second season. And they don't exactly have a reliable backup. I think they'll be right around where they were last season - right on the cusp of the playoffs and a 1st round exit at best. A single long-term injury to one of their CORE guys could be devastating for them. I read a quote a few days ago saying that some of the Hawks players were pretty upset about a lot of the off-season moves. Not sure of the exact quote or context or who said it, though, so take with a grain of salt. Edited July 5, 2011 by hooon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest echos myron Report post Posted July 5, 2011 Getting Brunette and Olesz (if he stays healthy) pretty much makes up for any potential lost goals there. The only thing Stalberg has is his speed, though Frolik looked really good for them last year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DangleDangleBeach 16 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 yeah i do think they did get older, but that may be just what they were going for. hossa is the only returning blackhawk above 30.... (sharp is 29) odonnel (39) brunette (37) mayers (36) montador (31) carcillo(26) aside from mayers, brunette and hossa..... all of chicagos forwards are born in the 80's aside from odonnel and montador (and nick leddy... fricken 91 birthdate)..... all of chicagos dmen are born in the 80s I might be a bit biased when it comes to them, but I'm not that impressed by the Hawks off season. Bunch of 1 year replacement contracts to generally mediocre players. Grit doesn't replace all the scoring they lost (assuming they don't re-sign Frolik and Stalberg). Crawford had a good year, but IMO is still a question mark. Many, many goalies struggle their second season. And they don't exactly have a reliable backup. I think they'll be right around where they were last season - right on the cusp of the playoffs and a 1st round exit at best. A single long-term injury to one of their CORE guys could be devastating for them. I read a quote a few days ago saying that some of the Hawks players were pretty upset about a lot of the off-season moves. Not sure of the exact quote or context or who said it, though, so take with a grain of salt. "They traded away Brian Campbell, Troy Brouwer and Tomas Kopecky, but still have three restricted free agent deals to be resolved with Michael Frolik, Chris Campoli and Viktor Stalberg – all of whom Bowman expects to sign with roughly $7 million left under the League's $64.3 million salary cap." from OP article Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rking72 13 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 I think the Hawks are going to have some cap flexibility and trading chips at the deadline. I don't think they are better right now then they were last year, but still have the room to get better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NeverForgetMac25 483 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 Another word for "Meaner" in this case would be "s***tier." They'll be like playing the Ducks 4 years ago without the back-end talent. We'll pot goals early and often and then roll four lines the rest of the way. They'll be fine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xtrememachine1 795 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 I don't see Chicago's acquisitions making them better. I thought when they moved Campbell and Kopecky, they were planning on doing something good with that money like extend Patrick Sharp or get a good UFA or make a trade. All these moves are relatively minor. They'll be more physical than they have been with these players, but they had pretty good success a couple years ago with a team that wasn't all that physical. 1 hooon reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
55fan 5,133 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 Whatchutalkin'bout meaner? They ditched Kopecky! Besides, our power play will get them right where it hurts. Or something. Or maybe one of the new guys will actually fight. Or we get Downey back at the deadline. Or they won't make the playoffs and we'll respond by just laughing at them. That would be cool. They have taken another step waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down this offseason. They got pretty far this year. Much further than I would have thought they would. They still have talent, but there's only so much the Core can do. Plus we have Kronner to Havsplat them. Stuie does some good hitting. The new guys aren't exactly pansies. And Pavel can embarrass them with his puck work. As long as they don't concuss us or anything, it's the final score that counts. As a fight slappie, it hurts to say that, but unfortunately we can only play with what we have. 1 Namingway reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 (edited) Meaner? No. Dirtier? Yes. But we got a little bigger and meaner too, we'll be fine. Still wish we hadn't re-signed Miller and opted for a Konopka type, but what are you gonna do now. Hopefully with the cap space we got we'll trade for a big winger at some point in the season Edited July 5, 2011 by Detroit # 1 Fan 2 stevkrause and hooon reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mmamolo 287 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 Getting Brunette and Olesz (if he stays healthy) pretty much makes up for any potential lost goals there. The only thing Stalberg has is his speed, though Frolik looked really good for them last year. Brunette is a sweet signing. I always liked that guy and for $2M he'll get you 40-50 pts for sure. Olesz is a massive disappointment so far in his NHL career. Stahlberg had a disappointing season - no doubt. He only netted 12 goals. However, Olesz (even if he was brought here to replace Stahlberg which I doubt) has never scored more than 14 goals or 30 points. Not mention his salary is $3.4M in 2011/12, $4M in 2012/13 and $4.25M in 2013/14. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jusek 437 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 (edited) Okay, let's sign MacIntyre and just let him play against Chicago to beat the crap out of those guys. Edited July 5, 2011 by Jusek Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hooon 1,089 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 yeah i do think they did get older, but that may be just what they were going for. hossa is the only returning blackhawk above 30.... (sharp is 29) odonnel (39) brunette (37) mayers (36) montador (31) carcillo(26) aside from mayers, brunette and hossa..... all of chicagos forwards are born in the 80's aside from odonnel and montador (and nick leddy... fricken 91 birthdate)..... all of chicagos dmen are born in the 80s "They traded away Brian Campbell, Troy Brouwer and Tomas Kopecky, but still have three restricted free agent deals to be resolved with Michael Frolik, Chris Campoli and Viktor Stalberg – all of whom Bowman expects to sign with roughly $7 million left under the League's $64.3 million salary cap." from OP article If they sign those three, they will have too many players on their roster. Another trade coming as well? Is Florida's phone ringing? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Crymson Report post Posted July 5, 2011 I think the Hawks are going to have some cap flexibility and trading chips at the deadline. I don't think they are better right now then they were last year, but still have the room to get better. They're going to nearly have zero cap flexibility if they re-sign all of Stalberg, Campoli and Frolik. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shaman 713 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 I think the Hawks are going to have some cap flexibility and trading chips at the deadline. I don't think they are better right now then they were last year, but still have the room to get better. What chips? Their farm rosters have been rushed to the NHL level, most of them have underachieved, then they signed players that other GMs didn't want. On top of that Chicago is starting to get a reputation of being a team that has buyers remorse, a couple more waiving or trading players they regret signing for more than they are worth they will become a team no one wants to play for. I don't see Chicago being a huge player at the deadline unless its trading Sharp. 1 hooon reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bring Back The Bruise Bros 1,029 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 (edited) It might matter if it were 1996 again. The Hawks have become older, slower and not as hard to play against. If it didn't matter anymore, these types of guys wouldn't be getting offers at all. Edited July 5, 2011 by Bring Back The Bruise Bros Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shaman 713 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 If it didn't matter anymore, these types of guys wouldn't be getting offers at all. I could make an argument that because of the last couple expansions the NHL talent pool has become more watered down. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cusimano_brothers 1,655 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 Shame about that "dynasty" thing not happening. Did Chicago make these signings because Florida didn't? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest echos myron Report post Posted July 5, 2011 I can see them getting: Stalberg - 1 mil Frolik - 1.75 - 2 mil Campoli - 1.5 - 2.5 mil Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jollymania 162 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 Those 4 guys aren't really that mean, Carcillo is, but not montador, odonell, or mayers. O'Donnel and Mayers once were nut they are washed up now, though I do like O'Donnel as a veteran presence. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cusimano_brothers 1,655 Report post Posted July 5, 2011 If these signings have been held up because of Brian Campbell... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites