2018-2019 Blackhawks Roster

[Pez68]

Carlson isn't what this team needs. I'd pass for what he'll cost.

Not to mention, Q would have him killing penalties, and playing limited time on the 2nd PP unit, anyway.

See: Brian Campbell.

 

[ClydeLee]

Not to mention, Q would have him killing penalties, and playing limited time on the 2nd PP unit, anyway.

See: Brian Campbell.

In what imagery existence is that? Campbell didn't pk nearly at all for the Hawks. He did far more for Florida and Buffalo. The only year he had more than the off chance pk glimmer of averaging 10-20 seconds for the hawks was 10-11 and thats it.

Yet Carrlsson is a top pair Pker most of the time for the Caps going back the last 4 years and has good success at pk. He's been more consistently a top pair pker than top unit PP player.

I get it people who want to bash coaches can do it but you can stick to reality doing it just as well.

 

[AmericanDream]

In what imagery existence is that? Campbell didn't pk nearly at all for the Hawks. He did far more for Florida and Buffalo. The only year he had more than the off chance pk glimmer of averaging 10-20 seconds for the hawks was 10-11 and thats it.

Yet Carrlsson is a top pair Pker most of the time for the Caps going back the last 4 years and has good success at pk. He's been more consistently a top pair pker than top unit PP player.

I get it people who want to bash coaches can do it but you can stick to reality doing it just as well.

I misspell names all the time on here, but wasn't sure if you were over exaggerating his name because he is such a pimp, or you simply thought he was from Sweden!! Just saying, either way is cool - please continue bashing/defending our coach to ALL from 6 years ago lol!

 

[Rolo]

LAK owns Voynov's rights.
@migi

 

[Thucydides]

Bowman needs to get on the phone and try and pry Nick Ritchie out of Anaheim for cheap. He needs a change of scenery . Think a big power forward would fit in well with Chicago. Throw him on a line with Kane and let him create havoc in front of the net.

 

[Pez68]

No he doesn't. NHL is moving towards speed, speed, speed. Ritchie is a slug.

 

[TLEH]

Nick Ritchie lol. Josh Anderson is the modern power forward. Big guy who can skate, score and play physical. Not Nick Ritchie the slowpoke who can't keep up with the play.

 

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

If we are to be taken seriously, we HAVE to upgrade our D. Forget about forward upgrades...we have enough raw talent and experience to suffice if we had adequate D. Our problem is, IMO, there’s no affordable UFA or prospect that could reasonably step up to fill that role. We are stuck in a defensive purgatory, for next season.

 

[TLEH]

I think next season is another lost season. All of Q’s offseason quotes strike me as a guy who doesn’t understand why they weren’t succeeding. Seabrook the last 20 games played the 2nd most minutes behind Keith. That’s the opposite of what should be happening. The season is already over?

Said it was because “he couldn’t trust the other guys”...

Just. Idk man.

 

[Blackhawks]

I think next season is another lost season. All of Q’s offseason quotes strike me as a guy who doesn’t understand why they weren’t succeeding. Seabrook the last 20 games played the 2nd most minutes behind Keith. That’s the opposite of what should be happening. The season is already over?

Said it was because “he couldn’t trust the other guys”...

Just. Idk man.

Meh the other guys are garbage anyway. Q really didn’t have much to play with.

This team needs 2 top 4 D, preferable 3 as after Keith there is nothing other than bottom pairing guys if you compare them to contenders.


Stan is the real culprit here...

 

[Ace Card Bedard]

Just want to chime in and say I was impressed with Sikura's play at the end of the season.
He looks like a promising young talent.

 

[AmericanDream]

Just want to chime in and say I was impressed with Sikura's play at the end of the season.
He looks like a promising young talent.

I hope you stop getting sent to other teams, I think you are a curse lol!!! you could become the king of sweep!

 

[CallMeShaft]

I hope you stop getting sent to other teams, I think you are a curse lol!!! you could become the king of sweep!

Not to mention his avatar keeps on getting uglier and uglier the more teams he bandwagons.

 

[Ace Card Bedard]

I hope you stop getting sent to other teams, I think you are a curse lol!!! you could become the king of sweep!

What? It’ only 4-0 in the 1st period lol

I hope I don’t have to put a Knights helmet on this BlackhawksDuckShark avatar.

 

[Ace Card Bedard]

Watching Ehlers carry the puck up ice in this WPG-NSH game tonight just makes me shake my head.
I hope Q is watching.

 

[jls24]

Watching Ehlers carry the puck up ice in this WPG-NSH game tonight just makes me shake my head.
I hope Q is watching.

I'm sure he thinks it's just a fad, 5 man units are for the birds.

 

[Marotte Marauder]

I'm sure he thinks it's just a fad, 5 man units are for the birds.

Watching Ehlers carry the puck up ice in this WPG-NSH game tonight just makes me shake my head.
I hope Q is watching.

We are a long ways from hanging with those teams.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

A few pre-lottery day-drinking thoughts for next year:

Blackhawks need a set lineup. Nashville’s top line has been an item for nearly two full years, Boston’s stays consistent as well. Toews has not been shy about saying the line shuffling screws him up, so just stop f***ing with it.

Hawks do not need to be aggressive in the forward market to make this team a contender. The talent is there, it’s about the production matching that talent. I think proper lines that mesh, and putting guys in proper PP slots with an NHL caliber system will go a long way.

The defense MUST be better. Regardless of whether Crawford returns and is the Vezina-caliber goalie he was (not putting my money on it), and has the league’s third best save% on high danger chances, the defense can’t be a disaster in its own zone again. I don’t think there’s a simple solution here, but Pittsburgh did win two cups with an average at best defense. So maybe it’s possible to make chicken salad out of the parts currently on the roster, but I’m not putting my money on that either.

This team will go as the Toews line goes. If his line doesn’t return to neutralizing top scoring lines, with each guy putting up 60+ points, I don’t think all the Kane goals in the world will carry this team to contention. There’s only one team in the league that can get away without loading up its top line, and that’s because they have a generational talent in Sidney Crosby. I don’t like Kane on the Toews line, but a scorer must be on that line. I think DeBrincat should be the one to complete that line and give it a passer (Toews), power forward (Saad), and sniper (DeBrincat).

Anisimov may be expendable, but be careful. He was good for this team when he was with Kane, but his impact isn’t nearly worth $4.5 million when he’s away from Kane. With that being said, he’s still a very solid low-2/high-3 center. If you’re going to move him, you have to be pretty sure one of David Kampf or Victor Ejdsell can replace his offensive production. This team can not afford to lose any 3rd/4th line offensive production, it needs to find a way to get more offense out of the lower lines.

Be ready for Crawford to not be the same. This goes with the defense needing to be better, but this team must be ready to handle Crawford play 30 or fewer games, or being less than Vezina-caliber. Bowman has said multiple times that he expects Crawford to return next year as the high-end goalie he was. If Bowman is truly banking on that (I don’t believe he is, and think he is just delivering PR lines to the media) then he’s setting this team up to fail. This team needs some sort of better goalie plan in place, and I think it should include Forsberg being the third goalie.

 

[Ace Card Bedard]

Woohoo! My sweep streak ends at 9 games.

 

[LordKOTL]

A few pre-lottery day-drinking thoughts for next year:

Blackhawks need a set lineup. Nashville’s top line has been an item for nearly two full years, Boston’s stays consistent as well. Toews has not been shy about saying the line shuffling screws him up, so just stop ****ing with it.
Agreed, the only floating variable should be responsibilities. Set the lineup, but if a line/pairing can't handle it try someone else in that role: i.e. if we're losing with Keith soaling up minutes, try someone else since the wost that happens is we continue to lose.

Hawks do not need to be aggressive in the forward market to make this team a contender. The talent is there, it’s about the production matching that talent. I think proper lines that mesh, and putting guys in proper PP slots with an NHL caliber system will go a long way.
I agree especially on the fact that talent is useless if not brought to bear, and one can say whatever talent the skater core has left isn't being brought to bear. Even though every FWD not named Debrincat had a lacklustre year, D should be a larger priority.

The defense MUST be better. Regardless of whether Crawford returns and is the Vezina-caliber goalie he was (not putting my money on it), and has the league’s third best save% on high danger chances, the defense can’t be a disaster in its own zone again. I don’t think there’s a simple solution here, but Pittsburgh did win two cups with an average at best defense. So maybe it’s possible to make chicken salad out of the parts currently on the roster, but I’m not putting my money on that either.
Agreed, but what drives the change? What makes the D better? How much more can we expect out of Keith and Seabrook, and who else is there who can start taking on added responsibilities? Jokiharju? That's a lot for a rookie to handle and it might not be a net positive outcome. Granted, Keith not playing lobotomized already makes the team better, but I'm not expecting a miracle.

This team will go as the Toews line goes. If his line doesn’t return to neutralizing top scoring lines, with each guy putting up 60+ points, I don’t think all the Kane goals in the world will carry this team to contention. There’s only one team in the league that can get away without loading up its top line, and that’s because they have a generational talent in Sidney Crosby. I don’t like Kane on the Toews line, but a scorer must be on that line. I think DeBrincat should be the one to complete that line and give it a passer (Toews), power forward (Saad), and sniper (DeBrincat).
I think the experiment with sparkplugging Toews has to be over. He had Hossa, who didn't work and played better when he got demoted to the 3rd line--even with the offensive black hole known as Kruger weighing him down. He had Ladd and that didn't work either. He had a overachieving Panik that still didn't help, as well as Saad. The only common theme among all of that is Toews under-performed, so maybe the problem is Toews. I think we have to stop trying to sparkplug Toews and put him in roles he can work in--if that means a Bolland/Kruger like shutdown only role, so be it. Leave the sparkplugging for guys like Kane and Debrincat who are actually doing well.

Anisimov may be expendable, but be careful. He was good for this team when he was with Kane, but his impact isn’t nearly worth $4.5 million when he’s away from Kane. With that being said, he’s still a very solid low-2/high-3 center. If you’re going to move him, you have to be pretty sure one of David Kampf or Victor Ejdsell can replace his offensive production. This team can not afford to lose any 3rd/4th line offensive production, it needs to find a way to get more offense out of the lower lines.
I agree. If Toews simply doesn't have much O in him we'll need further C support--especially centers who can win draws.

Be ready for Crawford to not be the same. This goes with the defense needing to be better, but this team must be ready to handle Crawford play 30 or fewer games, or being less than Vezina-caliber. Bowman has said multiple times that he expects Crawford to return next year as the high-end goalie he was. If Bowman is truly banking on that (I don’t believe he is, and think he is just delivering PR lines to the media) then he’s setting this team up to fail. This team needs some sort of better goalie plan in place, and I think it should include Forsberg being the third goalie.
Agree and disagree. I agree that in all likelihood Crawford does not come back as a .929 goalie. If anything he should have the same expectation coming into 2019 as he did coming into 2018: .920. That would still be top-10 netminding and really, what more could you ask of any top-10 netminder?
Where I disagree is being prepped for Crawford going down. You simply can't predict that and given the D of last season, there are very few goalies who could have guarenteed come in and played at the same level--and you'd be paying 6M or more for them. Any team that loses a top-end goaltender is going to be in a world of hurt, just like the Habs in 2016 when Price went down.
That being said, I do think a fundamental mistake Q/Stan did was all but hand the backup slot to Forsberg. Glass/Berube were not in serious consideration as 2B/2C. One thing I think Stan needs to acquire is a definite 2A/2B netminder who can drive Forsberg and possibly replace him as the backup. The problem is cap space. The 'hawks should never put themselves in Dallas-level goalie cap hell, so there will be a gamble here, but you want a guy who has a serious shot at dethroning Forsberg, and has a realistic shot of taking the reins over in 2021, and let Forsberg and him slug it out. Even if they're not as good as Crawford, some internal competition like Raanta/Darling certainly can't hurt.

My $0.02 on your thoughts.

 

[ChiHawks10]

A few pre-lottery day-drinking thoughts for next year:

Blackhawks need a set lineup. Nashville’s top line has been an item for nearly two full years, Boston’s stays consistent as well. Toews has not been shy about saying the line shuffling screws him up, so just stop ****ing with it.

Hawks do not need to be aggressive in the forward market to make this team a contender. The talent is there, it’s about the production matching that talent. I think proper lines that mesh, and putting guys in proper PP slots with an NHL caliber system will go a long way.

The defense MUST be better. Regardless of whether Crawford returns and is the Vezina-caliber goalie he was (not putting my money on it), and has the league’s third best save% on high danger chances, the defense can’t be a disaster in its own zone again. I don’t think there’s a simple solution here, but Pittsburgh did win two cups with an average at best defense. So maybe it’s possible to make chicken salad out of the parts currently on the roster, but I’m not putting my money on that either.

This team will go as the Toews line goes. If his line doesn’t return to neutralizing top scoring lines, with each guy putting up 60+ points, I don’t think all the Kane goals in the world will carry this team to contention. There’s only one team in the league that can get away without loading up its top line, and that’s because they have a generational talent in Sidney Crosby. I don’t like Kane on the Toews line, but a scorer must be on that line. I think DeBrincat should be the one to complete that line and give it a passer (Toews), power forward (Saad), and sniper (DeBrincat).

Anisimov may be expendable, but be careful. He was good for this team when he was with Kane, but his impact isn’t nearly worth $4.5 million when he’s away from Kane. With that being said, he’s still a very solid low-2/high-3 center. If you’re going to move him, you have to be pretty sure one of David Kampf or Victor Ejdsell can replace his offensive production. This team can not afford to lose any 3rd/4th line offensive production, it needs to find a way to get more offense out of the lower lines.

Be ready for Crawford to not be the same. This goes with the defense needing to be better, but this team must be ready to handle Crawford play 30 or fewer games, or being less than Vezina-caliber. Bowman has said multiple times that he expects Crawford to return next year as the high-end goalie he was. If Bowman is truly banking on that (I don’t believe he is, and think he is just delivering PR lines to the media) then he’s setting this team up to fail. This team needs some sort of better goalie plan in place, and I think it should include Forsberg being the third goalie.

It's possible the Hawks have found their successor in Delia. The kid has been great down in the A. That may be Stan's plan.

 

[ColdSteel2]

We should sign Saros. Gives us a starter now and Nashville no future goalie.

 

[Blue Liner]

It's possible the Hawks have found their successor in Delia. The kid has been great down in the A. That may be Stan's plan.

It will probably be good for him to have a full season in Rockford next year and be the starter from start to finish. This playoff run is great experience as well. He definitely has potential to be an NHL solution down the not too distant road. He's been nothing short of great these playoffs for the Hogs.

 

[LordKOTL]

It will probably be good for him to have a full season in Rockford next year and be the starter from start to finish. This playoff run is great experience as well. He definitely has potential to be an NHL solution down the not too distant road. He's been nothing short of great these playoffs for the Hogs.

I think he, Forsberg (if still around), and a few others get to duke it out for the #2 slot in the preseason--and that's a good thing.

 

[ChiHawk21]

Debrincat-Schmaltz-Kane
Saad-Toews-Sikura
Hayden-Kotkaniemi-Hino
Wingles-Kampf-Edjsell

Keith-Murphy
Jokiharju-Carlson
Forsling-Rutta
Gus

Sign Wingles and Carlson
Draft Kotkaniemi

Nashville 1st and Anisimov to philly for 19th overall

Philly 19th ++ and Seabrook to anyone who will take him