I would offer Eberle 4 yrs at 5.25M AAV per
I expect as UFA he will get better offers
NMC saves money. If it's about the Cap Hit you always have to consider it.No NMC for anybody, not even Panarin. At best, I'd offer a limited (say 5-7 teams a player can outright say no to a trade to) NMC but no full NMC.
If it was up to me full NMC/NTC would be banned from negotiations.
I would offer Eberle 4 yrs at 5.25M AAV per
I expect as UFA he will get better offers
I'd take that money and sign Gus with it instead. Way better use of the money. No thanks.
This icetime split doesnt work to give Keith easier time. If they play together again the icetime is gonna be high but some less matchup duties again.During the regular season, Nick Leddy was pretty much neck and neck with Pulock for most EV TOI on the Islanders.
Leddy was the #1 defenseman in even strength ice time the two previous seasons.
Can we get by for the next few years with Gustafsson as our #1 defenseman, like Leddy is/was for the Islanders? Maybe pair him with Jokiharju as our top-pairing?
That would allow Keith to take on a little lighter of a load on the second-pair, which could end up making him even stronger. (I'm putting this in here because I really don't want to get into a Keith debate, I'm asking about Gustafsson independent of Keith to assess Gus' value to this team)
Either way, is Gustafsson our #1 D stopgap in a Leddy-type way until Boqvist or Byram knock him out of that spot a few years from now?
This icetime split doesnt work to give Keith easier time. If they play together again the icetime is gonna be high but some less matchup duties again.
Because if Gus plays a lot of icetime and Keith does... who does Murphy or whoever pair with to matchup against top lines? I dont think that style comp fits
yea but theres a reason that its considered a weird playoffs right now. because this is not the norm. usually its maybe 1 or 2 wildcard teams. weird year this year but i can see a San Jose Bruins final after all the first round craziness.Some thoughts after the first round, and how it may impact expectations for next year.
1. I think it’s crazy to believe this team can’t be a contender next year. Look at the teams still alive, how far are the Hawks talent-wise from some of these teams (Islanders, Canes, Stars, Avs, BJs)? I’ll concede they aren’t close to the Knights, Lightning, and Caps on paper, but all three of those teams are at home the same way the Hawks are now. With a better defense, the Hawks could be a contender like these surprise teams.
2. So called “one-line” teams aren’t getting rolled over, and instead are upsetting deeper teams. Colorado, Dallas, and to a lesser extent (because they now have a bit more depth) Boston are all now onto the second round despite being dismissed earlier as “one-line” teams. Being a one-line team doesn’t seem like the playoff death sentence it was just a few years ago.
I see a lot of call for Dzingel, probably the most common name after bringing back Panarin. To me Panarin is too costly given our cap structure and adds an ingredient we have a lot of in the lineup (smallish, skilled, primarily offensive). Dzingel to me is again a similar ingredient (all be it at a cheaper rate). To me, if you are going to invest 4.5-5 million per into Dzingel, I would rather chip in another 500K-1 million and grab Andres Lee or Brock Nelson from the Islanders.
Some thoughts after the first round, and how it may impact expectations for next year.
1. I think it’s crazy to believe this team can’t be a contender next year. Look at the teams still alive, how far are the Hawks talent-wise from some of these teams (Islanders, Canes, Stars, Avs, BJs)? I’ll concede they aren’t close to the Knights, Lightning, and Caps on paper, but all three of those teams are at home the same way the Hawks are now. With a better defense, the Hawks could be a contender like these surprise teams.
2. So called “one-line” teams aren’t getting rolled over, and instead are upsetting deeper teams. Colorado, Dallas, and to a lesser extent (because they now have a bit more depth) Boston are all now onto the second round despite being dismissed earlier as “one-line” teams. Being a one-line team doesn’t seem like the playoff death sentence it was just a few years ago.
Assuming they're even available, I agree on Anders Lee, but I'm not quite as sold on Nelson.
1. I don't think anybody is disagreeing with you in principle, it's just a difference of opinion on just HOW MUCH better the Blackhawks D needs to get, what the realistic options for improving is, and what a realistic timetable is. Almost all the teams left are at least very good defensively, while the 2019 Blackhawks are statistically one of the worst defensive teams of the cap era. So yes, we can contend if we improve our D. A lot. If we improve our D a ****ing LOT.
2) As parity increases, every team is going to have weaknesses, and typically that manifests as a lack of depth at one position (or weak goaltending). The teams you listed aren't really similar though. Colorado is leaning on one line for offensive firepower, Dallas has stacked one line with their best players, but the team as a whole (including those players) plays a very defensive, low-event style, and relies on defense and great goaltending from Bishop to win (though they did win one lop-sided 5-0 game...my recollection is that their young D drove most of the offense that night, I may be mistaken). As far as Boston, I'm not sure anybody wrote them off as a one-line team? Less offensively deep than Toronto certainly, but they have depth... and it took Cassidy 1 and a half games to break up that top line. And I'd argue they were slightly favored over Toronto regardless. I don't think they fit the bill honestly.
Fair points, and I don’t have much to argue.
On the improving a lot defensively point, I think the Islanders have shown that you can take a huge leap from one year to the next without significant additions. We just need a coach (in our case it will be an assistant) to come in and rework the defense and penalty kill.
Phillip Kurashev is my dark horse prospect who could make this team this year and be a top 6 forward and i would not be surprised if he plays on line with Toews and KaneWith no major forward additions:
Kahun-Toews-Kane
DeBrincat-Strome-Kubalik
Perlini-Anisimov-Saad
Caggiula-Kampf-Highmore
Kane continues to be sheltered by playing with Toews, also Kahun’s numbers show he’s more defensively responsible than you’d think.
The DeBrincat-Strome line gets sheltered by getting heavy offensive zone starts. I don’t think one two-way forward is going to suddenly make that line defensively responsible, so I’d rather not waste a guy there for that losing battle. Put Kubalik there and give him the easiest opportunity to produce offense in his first season.
Kurashev is no doubt a very good prospect, but I dont see him making the roster until atleast the 20/21 season. Especially considering we could potentially have 2 if not 3 forwards coming over from Europe in Kubalik, Wedin, and Mikheyev.Phillip Kurashev is my dark horse prospect who could make this team this year and be a top 6 forward and i would not be surprised if he plays on line with Toews and Kane
We also need a healthy, playing well, Crawford. Robin Lehner (and Greiss) was huge for the Isles this year, instead of the inconsistent goaltending they had last year.Fair points, and I don’t have much to argue.
On the improving a lot defensively point, I think the Islanders have shown that you can take a huge leap from one year to the next without significant additions. We just need a coach (in our case it will be an assistant) to come in and rework the defense and penalty kill.