2018-19 Blackhawks Roster Part 2

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

I’d be ecstatic if he turned into Chimera

 

[Bubba88]

I hope we see a trade or to to get spots open for our young D's.
Problem is I don't want Q to coach them away all the skating abilities by not allowing to do anything other than stretch passes

 

[boxcar65]

Hey guys, no I'm not Manning and I'm not related to him. I just appreciate a guy who was undrafted, worked hard in the minors for a few seasons, and then finally made it to the big show. He doesn't have the talent or skill level of some, but he works his butt off, sticks up for teammates, and is always very popular with the guys. He was the captain of his junior team and an "A" for a while in the AHL.

Plus, he was unfairly made the scapegoat by many of the fans in Philly. His corsi has always consistently been near the top half of all D-men in the league. The problem with Mandog is that he usually makes one highlight reel bad play per game, and everyone goes bananas. He pinches too much on occasion, but I think that was a reflection of Dave Hakstol's coaching philosophy with his D. He was also overused at times and asked to do more than he should have been.

Manning will be fine in a third pairing role playing 15-17 minutes/game. Give him a chance.

 

[AmericanDream]

Hey guys, no I'm not Manning and I'm not related to him. I just appreciate a guy who was undrafted, worked hard in the minors for a few seasons, and then finally made it to the big show. He doesn't have the talent or skill level of some, but he works his butt off, sticks up for teammates, and is always very popular with the guys. He was the captain of his junior team and an "A" for a while in the AHL.

Plus, he was unfairly made the scapegoat by many of the fans in Philly. His corsi has always consistently been near the top half of all D-men in the league. The problem with Mandog is that he usually makes one highlight reel bad play per game, and everyone goes bananas. He pinches too much on occasion, but I think that was a reflection of Dave Hakstol's coaching philosophy with his D. He was also overused at times and asked to do more than he should have been.

Manning will be fine in a third pairing role playing 15-17 minutes/game. Give him a chance.

most of us are, just ignore the few that think this signing was the end of the world - as long as he plays better than Oesterle, which he will, we will be happy overall and those hating on him will be as silent as can be on here....

I think he will play good for us, he shouldn't and hopefully Q doesn't overuse him, but 17-18 minutes a night for him and Seabrook would help both of them be used properly. He would be our #2 scoring dman from his totals last year, there is room to grow here and a fresh start could continue to help him.

Regardless of what happens, he is the least of our problems!

 

[Kaners PPGs]

Problem is I don't want Q to coach them away all the skating abilities by not allowing to do anything other than stretch passes

Except for possibly the Joker, Q will be gone before any of them reach the Hawks.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Leave Joker in Rockford until Q is gone.

 

[Cubs2024WSChamps]

Why do I get the feeling out of all the defensive prospects Mitchell will be the best of the bunch?

 

[BK]

Why do I get the feeling out of all the defensive prospects Mitchell will be the best of the bunch?

Even better than Boqvist? Doubt that.

We have quite a few D prospects that have legit top 4 potential. HJ, Mitchell, and Boqvist has legit top 2 potential but I think Boqvist is the only one that has star/elite #1 potential. Beaudin seems like he will be a really good #3 with high PP ability.

Even after our 5 top prospects we still have Krys and as few other who could be good 2nd pair D.

 

[ClydeLee]

I hope we see a trade or to to get spots open for our young D's.
Problem is I don't want Q to coach them away all the skating abilities by not allowing to do anything other than stretch passes

What player did he coach away that ability from that? He limits them and coaches them to not do it under him but people act like he's ruined these players.

If Q is gone soon that wont hamper him anyway. Having 9-10 legitimate prospects on the ahl team pushing some to echl play is more likely to be a ruining force.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

Ejdsell-Schmaltz-Kane
Anisimov-Toews-Saad
Sikura-Hayden-DeBrincat
Kunitz-Kruger-Kampf

Edit: I f***ing hate my own lineup

This instead:

Ejdsell-Toews-Kane
DeBrincat-Schmaltz-Saad
Sikura-Anisimov-Hayden
Kunitz-Kruger-Kampf

 

[Ace Card Bedard]

Why is Edjsell anywhere near a top line?

 

[RememberTheRoar]

Why is Edjsell anywhere near a top line?

Because he’s big and provides a net front presence and can do the corner/board work while Toews can be a skill player again with Kane. Him or Hayden there, doesn’t really matter.

Why are you against it? (Not criticism of your comment, actually asking for your view of it)

 

[Toews2Bickell]

I’ll bite on a lineup w/ players that shouldn’t be in top 9.

Saad-Toews-Hayden
Fortin-Anisimov-Kane
DeBrincat-Schmaltz-Sikura
Kunitz-Kruger-Kahun

 

[Toews2Bickell]

@boxcar65 have you ever played forward? Thinking of putting you with Kane.

Saad-Toews-Hayden
Mad Dog-Anisimov-Kane
DeBrincat-Schmaltz-Sikura
Kunitz-Kruger-Kahun

 

[BobbyJet]

I wonder how long it will take some folks to realize that Kruger does not belong in the NHL?

It certainly didn't take Canes long.

 

[BK]

I wonder how long it will take some folks around here to realize that Kruger was just a piece that the needed to be taken back in order to move the Hossa deal.

It certainly didn't take most of us this long to realize that this trade was not about this coming season but the long term cap gains for the Hawks.

If the Kruger is healthy and can be somewhat impactful playing the 4th line defensive Center role (winning draws, playing well on the PK, and taking some stress of of Toews) then they can move him at the deadline for a late pick. Let him mentor Kampf and then move on from him.

Sarcasm aside Kruger looked shot last season and no one should expect anything. I am a fan of having a Kruger (Jay Beagle-type) on the 4th line but MK is done at this point.

 

[ClydeLee]

I wonder how long it will take some folks to realize that Kruger does not belong in the NHL?

It certainly didn't take Canes long.

What anybody else but Q realizes doesnt really make an impact there. I think people generally are putting line expected or anticipated combos not their personal would be scenarios.

 

[LordKOTL]

Leave Joker in Rockford until Q is gone.

If a year of Yawney didn't ruin Keith, a year of Q won't ruin the Joker.

 

[AmericanDream]

the way some of the vets played last year, I don't think we can spread this out as much as we like.

if we spread out the lines too far, we have no top line and just weakens us, which IMO means we have to stack up our top 2 lines, and hope the kids and Kruger can solidify the bottom 2 lines.

Saad - Toews - Hayden
DeBrincat - Schmaltz - Kane
Kahun - Anisimov - Sikura
Kunitz - Kruger - Kampf
Edso

That is about as good as I can see it right out of the gate, as we really really need Kahun to be a player this year...without him being ready, that 3rd line is going to be in some trouble or filled with Kunitz...

 

[EbonyRaptor]

the way some of the vets played last year, I don't think we can spread this out as much as we like.

if we spread out the lines too far, we have no top line and just weakens us, which IMO means we have to stack up our top 2 lines, and hope the kids and Kruger can solidify the bottom 2 lines.

Saad - Toews - Hayden
DeBrincat - Schmaltz - Kane
Kahun - Anisimov - Sikura
Kunitz - Kruger - Kampf
Edso

That is about as good as I can see it right out of the gate, as we really really need Kahun to be a player this year...without him being ready, that 3rd line is going to be in some trouble or filled with Kunitz...

The Hawks have only 5 legit top-6 forwards - Toews/Kane/Saad/Schmaltz/DCat. They have one guy that has played top-6 a lot but is more of a 3rd line guy - Anisimov. They have one guy who projects as a top-6 but hasn't proven it yet - Sikura. We don't know what we have in Kahun. Hayden and the other shlebs are not top-6 caliber players, at least not now. So if the objective is to load up the top-2 lines then it has to either Sikura or Anisimov joining the (5) top-6 guys. I prefer to spread the talent out over the top-9 myself so my lineup would be:

Saad-Toews-Kahun
DeBrincat-Anisimov-Kane
Kampf-Schmaltz-Sikura
Kunitz-Kruger-Hayden

 

[Kaners PPGs]

This instead:

Ejdsell-Toews-Kane
DeBrincat-Schmaltz-Saad
Sikura-Anisimov-Hayden
Kunitz-Kruger-Kampf

This is the kind of lineup that has the highest upside if we get a Saad bounceback and young players taking the next step. You have two potentially dominant lines, a 3rd line with potential to outplay projections, and a shutdown 4th line to play tougher minutes. With a Crawford return to health and a supposedly slimmer, in-shape Seabrook, this team could outperform our expectations. A lot of "ifs" but crazier things have happened.

 

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

I just don't have faith that Q will be able to establish and keep a "dominant line". If anyone is hot, he puts them with 1 or 2 guys who need to get going. And it drags down the entire line. And then it cools off the player(s) that is hot.

I would honestly go with the 09-10 approach (certainly with less success based on talent): pairs of F who work well together and someone who might compliment how they work together.

Kane and Debrincat, Toews and (hopefully) Saad, and from there, who knows. We have enough new faces to find good combos... Just gotta let them build trust in each other as linemates.

 

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

Some potentially good news from Kuc’s piece in the Athletic

“To that end, look for Seabrook, holder of the albatross of a contract with a $6.875 million cap hit that could impact the team’s roster moves through the 2023-24 season, to regain his footing. A source said Seabrook has been diligently following strength and conditioning coach Paul Goodman’s workout regimens this offseason and has lost a significant amount of weight. That should help Seabrook recapture the step or two he appeared to lose last season and again make him more than a No. 5 or No. 6 defenseman.”

 

[Pez68]

Some potentially good news from Kuc’s piece in the Athletic

“To that end, look for Seabrook, holder of the albatross of a contract with a $6.875 million cap hit that could impact the team’s roster moves through the 2023-24 season, to regain his footing. A source said Seabrook has been diligently following strength and conditioning coach Paul Goodman’s workout regimens this offseason and has lost a significant amount of weight. That should help Seabrook recapture the step or two he appeared to lose last season and again make him more than a No. 5 or No. 6 defenseman.”

It's about time he got serious about losing weight and getting in shape...

 

[CallMeShaft]

Some potentially good news from Kuc’s piece in the Athletic

“To that end, look for Seabrook, holder of the albatross of a contract with a $6.875 million cap hit that could impact the team’s roster moves through the 2023-24 season, to regain his footing. A source said Seabrook has been diligently following strength and conditioning coach Paul Goodman’s workout regimens this offseason and has lost a significant amount of weight. That should help Seabrook recapture the step or two he appeared to lose last season and again make him more than a No. 5 or No. 6 defenseman.”

Good, because we need him to at least be a reasonable #4 defensemen if we're going to stand a chance.