I am really really hoping things shake out like this for us...
this off season sees the following:
Brandon Tanev - 4 years @$3.5 mil - Winnipeg cannot afford him, he is likely on every teams wish list, we need to overpay to land him, but this is they type of player I am comfortable with over paying as he can go up and down a lineup and his motor never stops. Just watch two or more Jets games and you will come away impressed that this guy just doesn't stop or slow down. He hits, blocks shots and as a team guy...we need this guy period.
Brock Nelson - 4 years @ $5.5 mil - now this is a debatable one in the sense that Dzingel is the better add for this price range, but if he sticks in CBJ then we need someone like Nelson to come in and be able to give us top line LW minutes or 3rd line C minutes when/if we move out AA. Nelson is no scrub, he plays tough down low, big body, good defense, decent at the dot, all the things we could use here as well. he is not the best skater, but he isn't bad for his size either, but he only needs to do enough to get around out there My gut tells me a team is going to give the 27 year a 5 year deal, but maybe we can snag him if we pay a little more for a 4 year deal..I don't know how this market shakes out yet, the more guys that make it to UFA status the better it is to land a guy like him on a bit better term.
Cale Morris - College UFA, sign this kid and bring him in immediately to get big minutes in the AHL, he will be 23 years old soon and could be ready to back up Delia/whoever by the following season.
2019 - Draft:
I am not going to speculate who we draft or where, but here is where a few trades can be made.
Anisimov is sent out - I think the writing is on the wall here and he will get moved, the return will be pick/prospect
We then make a move to acquire Alec Martinez from the Kings. This is THE type of dman we need, he is a LD, on a solid contract that is on shorter term and would help balance out our pairings...he would add that stability we need for guys like Gus/Forsling/Mitchell etc..the cost would likely be a young dman/picks - so potential one of our defenders like Beaudin or Krys could get moved here and I would be okay with it to bring this guy in or an Andy Greene as well.
2019-20 Blackhawks Roster:
Brandon Tanev - Jonathan Toews - Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat - Dylan Strome - Dominik Kahun
Brandon Saad - Brock Nelson - Evan Barratt
Drake Caggiula - David Kampf - Dominik Kubalik
Brendan Perlini - Matthew Highmore - Dylan Sikura/John Hayden
Duncan Keith - Henri Jokiharju
Alec Martinez - Erik Gustafsson
Connor Murphy - Carl Dahlstrom/Ian Mitchell
Gustav Forsling - Brent Seabrook/4K
Corey Crawford
Colin Delia
Cale Morris
IMO, this is a very realistic team, I added 2 UFA's under $10 mil, a college UFA and traded out AA freeing up money to bring in Martinez, signed our RFA's as well...this team is a legit playoff contender right there if Crow can remain healthy. The defense alone is far better with pairings and the depth of our offense would only be rivaled by maybe 1-2 teams in the West.
This is NOT including a top 2019 pick either, this is what we could be looking like next year, better days are coming it is very very realistic.