Is Chicago finally starting to crumble?

[vayeate]

Everyone cumbles once in awhile, it's only natural

 

[Go Wings]

Can't wait til McDavid gets $14M, and Chicago is no longer everyone's favorite team to talk about regarding cap problems.

20 million is bigger than 14 million sorry buddy.

 

[sharkhawk]

20 million is bigger than 14 million sorry buddy.

Add in drai at 7+. And they're making more than trews and Kane.

 

[blankall]

Kane is still in his prime. The main issue for the Hawks will arise when Kane loses his fire.

 

[LAKings88]

Still a world class core....but the cap will always come back to take it's due unless gms are willing to be ruthless before giving out retirement contracts.

Three cups in such a short time is a overflow of grace for a franchise and fan base.

 

[Hockeyholic]

Maybe fix your spelling a bit.

Yes they are crumbling. Giving boat anchor contracts will do that.

 

[YoSoyLalo]

This thread just became shockingly relevant

 

[Tasteless Beaver]

The Hawks cumbling before our very eys

Didn't think I'd say this, but if they trade Panarin for Saad....LOTTERY TEAM!!!

 

[TheKingPin]

Add in drai at 7+. And they're making more than trews and Kane.

I think it will be 8+. Plus it's not like the others won't want more with inflated stats.

Chicago won't crumble. They prob have a year or two more of a window. Depends on the D IMO.

 

[Phion Keneuf]

Yup. I'd say so lol

 

[Very Stable Genius]

I'm lost on what Bowman is doing.

 

[Martinez]

Their defense definitely is

 

[Go Wings]

Chicago days of winning cups are over for quite a while.

 

[WarriorOfGandhi]

I'm lost on what Bowman is doing.

cumbling

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Still a playoff team but after the past week they certainly don't look like a cup contender.

 

[ponder]

They played a **** series against the Preds, but going into the playoffs many had them pegged as a cup favourite. Losing Hossa for the season, and maybe forever, is a big loss, and I'm not so sure about the Hjalmarsson for Murphy/Dauphin deal they just made. However, they still have one of the strongest cores in the league - Kane/Toews/Panarin at forward, Keith/Seabrook on d, Crawford in goal. Their depth is a bit weak, but not awful. I think they're still a solid playoff team next year, though not a top 3-5 team in the league anymore. The longer term picture is starting to look a bit more bleak, though.

 

[ponder]

Oh ****, just saw that they also dealt Panarin for Saad. That's a significant downgrade IMO, just like the Hjalmarsson trade. Even still, they're probably a playoff team next year, but man, they are really ****ing themselves with some of these deals.

Earlier this morning their core was:
Kane/Toews/Panarin
Keith/Seabrook/Hjalmarsson
Crawford

And now it's:
Kane/Toews/Saad
Keith/Seabrook/Connor Murphy
Crawford

That's a pretty big downgrade in a very short amount of time, and they weren't even able to significantly improve their depth. Maybe I will hop on this "cumbling" train after all ...

 

[LetsGoBLUES91]

Oh ****, just saw that they also dealt Panarin for Saad. That's a significant downgrade IMO, just like the Hjalmarsson trade. Even still, they're probably a playoff team next year, but man, they are really ****ing themselves with some of these deals.

Earlier this morning their core was:
Kane/Toews/Panarin
Keith/Seabrook/Hjalmarsson
Crawford

And now it's:
Kane/Toews/Saad
Keith/Seabrook/Connor Murphy
Crawford

That's a pretty big downgrade in a very short amount of time, and they weren't even able to significantly improve their depth. Maybe I will hop on this "cumbling" train after all ...

With how deep the Central is top to (almost) bottom now, I'm not so sure.

If they weasel out of the Hossa contract with no punishment they can add a decent piece that could help. But on paper, RIGHT NOW, is that team really better than Nashville/Dallas/STL/WPG/MIN? I don't know.

 

[Castle8130]

Omg! The hawks traded great players and got horrible returns, so yes we cumble hard. Like a cookie!

 

[Burke the Legend]

Omg! The hawks traded great players and got horrible returns, so yes we cumble hard. Like a cookie!

A poorly baked cookie !

 

[ponder]

With how deep the Central is top to (almost) bottom now, I'm not so sure.

If they weasel out of the Hossa contract with no punishment they can add a decent piece that could help. But on paper, RIGHT NOW, is that team really better than Nashville/Dallas/STL/WPG/MIN? I don't know.

Yeah, you could be right. I started writing my first comment only knowing they'd lost Hossa, and thought "that sucks, but they're probably OK." Then noticed they'd made that nasty Hjalmarsson trade, and then the Panarin deal shortly after. In total they're losing Hossa, Panarin and Hjalmarsson, and basically replacing them with just Saad and Connor Murphy, that's a massive downgrade, especially for a team that had been relying on a strong core of stars to carry mediocre depth.

Agreed that a big wildcard is "can they get out of the Hossa deal, and if so, can they make good use of that cap space?" I think another big wildcard is Toews - he sucked last year, but not long ago he was one of the top centres in the league, and he's just 29 and healthy. If Toews can bounce back, and if they can somehow turn Hossa's LTIR into a good player, then playoffs seem quite possible. However, if they make no significant acquisitions, and Toews continues to suck, then you likely are right that they miss the playoffs.

 

[Booba]

I don't think it's as bad as it looks.

Panarin and NickH are scheduled to become UFAs in 2019 and re-signing them would have cost at least 13 millions per season.

No question Saad and Murphy are downgrades but both are signed long term to "cost controlled" contracts and they allow the team to remain competitive.

Also, Dauphin and Forsberg shouldn't be overlooked.

Dauphin is a fine bottom 6 player who makes Kruger (and his 3.1 salary) even more expandable.

As for Forsberg, Chicago has basically zero depth behind Crawford. All that they have is veteran minor leaguer Jeff Glass and two prospects with very little chance to reach the NHL (Ivan Nalimov and Wouter Peeters).

Gambling on a young guy like Forsberg instead of signing a UFA goaltender could mean cap savings between 500K to 1.5M for Chicago.

 

[ChiHawk21]

depends on what Schmaltz Debrincat and Murphy are made of. If they are good the hawks will be very good. If not crumble time.

 

[ChiHawk21]

I don't think it's as bad as it looks.

Panarin and NickH are scheduled to become UFAs in 2019 and re-signing them would have cost at least 13 millions per season.

No question Saad and Murphy are downgrades but both are signed long term to "cost controlled" contracts and they allow the team to remain competitive.

Also, Dauphin and Forsberg shouldn't be overlooked.

Dauphin is a fine bottom 6 player who makes Kruger (and his 3.1 salary) even more expandable.

As for Forsberg, Chicago has basically zero depth behind Crawford. All that they have is veteran minor leaguer Jeff Glass and two prospects with very little chance to reach the NHL (Ivan Nalimov and Wouter Peeters).

Gambling on a young guy like Forsberg instead of signing a UFA goaltender could mean cap savings between 500K to 1.5M for Chicago.

I dont view saad vs panarin as a downgrade at all. Kruger will still be delt. The hawks are about to sign Cal Pederson goalie out of Notre Dame for even more stability at goalie. I dont know a about this hammer trade.

 

[Erndog]

Didn't think I'd say this, but if they trade Panarin for Saad....LOTTERY TEAM!!!

Are you being serious?