Confirmed with Link: 3 year extension for Bollig, $1.25m per year cap hit

[Pepe Silvia]

Based on Bollig's play this season, I don't see how anyone can have a problem with this signing. $1.25m AAV isn't that big of a deal, especially if he continues to play as well as he has.

And if he was so awful defensively, he wouldn't be out on the ice in the final minutes of a game when the Hawks have the lead.

 

[here come the]

Shutdown line? Morin is better defensivly than Bolliig if you want to talk shut down. Bollig is the worst defensive player on the team. You have Smith and Kruger which cycle the puck very well, they need some one with them that can compliment that play.

Bollig is absolutely not the worst defensive player on the team. Bickell and current Versteeg are worse for sure and there are definitely games Kane is worse. Bollig is very positionally sound, that whole line is seeing how much they have to play in the d-zone.

 

[MTP]

Shutdown line? Morin is better defensivly than Bolliig if you want to talk shut down. Bollig is the worst defensive player on the team. You have Smith and Kruger which cycle the puck very well, they need some one with them that can compliment that play.

Not even close to being true. Bickell and Handzus say hi.

 

[Pepe Silvia]

Not even close to being true. Bickell and Handzus say hi.

Handzus is pretty reliable defensively, which is why he gets a lot of minutes on the PK, and why I don't get pissed off when I see him in the lineup.

 

[MTP]

Handzus is pretty reliable defensively, which is why he gets a lot of minutes on the PK, and why I don't get pissed off when I see him in the lineup.

He definitely knows what to do defensively and he's a pretty solid PKer, but staying in your own zone and getting in lanes to take away shots is a different story than playing full shifts coast to coast. Handzus' age really has caught up with him in this department and makes him somewhat of a liability at even strength play. Not that +/- is the be all end all of measuring defensive play, but he's a -1 on the season through 48 games having spent the majority of his ice time with Kane, who is a +8 and scoring at a PPG pace. Handzus has fallen off defensively.

 

[Pepe Silvia]

He definitely knows what to do defensively and he's a pretty solid PKer, but staying in your own zone and getting in lanes to take away shots is a different story than playing full shifts coast to coast. Handzus' age really has caught up with him in this department and makes him somewhat of a liability at even strength play. Not that +/- is the be all end all of measuring defensive play, but he's a -1 on the season through 48 games having spent the majority of his ice time with Kane, who is a +8 and scoring at a PPG pace. Handzus has fallen off defensively.

Definitely agree about him falling off and being a liability at times in the offensive zone, and he should never see the second line, but he can still be effective in the right role. Coaches don't put defensive scrubs on the PK, and saying he's one of the worst defensive players on the team doesn't make sense IMO.

 

[clydesdale line]

Definitely agree about him falling off and being a liability at times in the offensive zone, and he should never see the second line, but he can still be effective in the right role. Coaches don't put defensive scrubs on the PK, and saying he's one of the worst defensive players on the team doesn't make sense IMO.

Agreed. He's slow, which makes him in-able to get to passing lanes in the zone (both offensive and defensive) but he's still a pretty good defensive player. That's like saying John Madden was one of our worse defensive forwards among regulars during our cup year when he was a -2 with all of our players (minus Byfuglien) as plus players. Simply not true. I'll definitely agree with Bickell though. His D-zone coverage and hockey sense at times are just bad, even worse than Bollig, although his talent level is miles better. Steeger isn't bad at all, he just gets caught staring at the play/puck instead of reacting. When he actually gives a **** in the D-zone, he's pretty effective. Still want to see what he can do next season though with a year+ off ACL surgery.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Bollig is absolutely not the worst defensive player on the team. Bickell andcurrent Versteeg are worse for sure and there are definitely games Kane is worse. Bollig is very positionally sound, that whole line is seeing how much they have to play in the d-zone.

I don't see this

I also don't understand the hate Steeger is getting from some

He has been solid secondary player for Hawks since trade

 

[Bubba88]

based on this year, this is a great signing. Based on last year too, he is a good teammate and guy that will help you win. He's about everything you want on your 4th line.

 

[MTP]

Definitely agree about him falling off and being a liability at times in the offensive zone, and he should never see the second line, but he can still be effective in the right role. Coaches don't put defensive scrubs on the PK, and saying he's one of the worst defensive players on the team doesn't make sense IMO.

He's absolutely effective in a fourth line/PK role but like I said, there's a huge difference between playing PK and playing defense at even strength. He has the defensive awareness to be effective in his own zone, but lacks the speed and physical ability to keep up with the play unless he's playing limited minutes.

 

[Marotte Marauder]

It's pretty easy to be solid defensively when the expectation of you is to chip out, hopefully gain centerline and chip it in.

Much different if you are actually expected to create something.