Speculation: Justin Faulk?

[BK]

Shmuck implies JJ is a bad guy. I can honestly say he isn’t. I don’t agree with many of his takes but he and Gate aren’t a bad podcast. The guys they bring on are clueless (Except Mario) though. Just fans doing a podcast. Do I think he has an inside connections with the Hawks? Not really but he might know someone who knows someone who knows someone opposed to him having an inside source in management like Powers or Bobby Mac.

 

[JaegerDice]

What a stupid, baseless and insulting post.

JJ does love his physicality tho... Hmmmmmm.




Seriously though, JJ is worthless. Literally anybody on twitter pulling **** out of their *** has a similar hit rate to him and his 'insider information'.

Faulk may be the guy available. If we could get him for 27 + Anisimov you have to do it. That'd be a no brainer.

Well yeah, if THAT'S the deal, then obviously you take that deal.

 

[CallMeShaft]

I'm not saying that Powers is copying or anything but I was reading this board and JJ's site/twitter and he had that rumor before anyone posted a thing about Faulk here. I trust Powers more than JJ, to say the least but you gotta give the guy credit for breaking that Hawks/Canes were discussing Faulk. Maybe he does actually have sources with the Hawks. Honestly, I don't think he could have left Eklund's site and started his own if he didn't actually have independent Hawks sources, but suit yourself. I used to think he was making stuff up, but I started reading him in 2016 and he's nailed a bunch of trades, including Ladd and Saad before anyone else had them.

I remember seeing some proposal's on the HF trade section that predate JJ's Faulk Tweet. Everyone was calling Ladd to Hawks before it happened. And one of the mods here (Sarava maybe?), brought up a Panarin for Saad trade days after we were bounced by Nashville.

And having a site requires very little. I used to dabble in web design. I could literally get a Hawks blog with it's own name (so not a blogspot or .wordpress.com type of site), for under $100 a year and have it up and running with ads in two weeks (and I'm pretty slow at web design).

And my earlier comment was maybe a bit poorly phrased, so I'll clear something up a second. Powers is a guy with real, legit sources. He doesn't write a million trade proposal's hoping he's right. I, like you apparently, doubt he has ever stolen an idea from this site ever. I respect him. Not JJ.

 

[Kaners Bald Spot]

I remember seeing some proposal's on the HF trade section that predate JJ's Faulk Tweet. Everyone was calling Ladd to Hawks before it happened. And one of the mods here (Sarava maybe?), brought up a Panarin for Saad trade days after we were bounced by Nashville.

And having a site requires very little. I used to dabble in web design. I could literally get a Hawks blog with it's own name (so not a blogspot or .wordpress.com type of site), for under $100 a year and have it up and running with ads in two weeks (and I'm pretty slow at web design).

And my earlier comment was maybe a bit poorly phrased, so I'll clear something up a second. Powers is a guy with real, legit sources. He doesn't write a million trade proposal's hoping he's right. I, like you apparently, doubt he has ever stolen an idea from this site ever. I respect him. Not JJ.

I treat JJ this way: I read his stuff, and if I hear the same thing from a more credible source such as Powers, Zawaski, or a TSN/Sportsnet source I tend to believe it. Otherwise, massive grain of salt. Also, The fact that 30-40% of his stuff matches up makes me believe he knows someone, even if it is an indirect source, maybe a Friend of a Friend type thing.

 

[Blue Liner]

JJ doesn't seem like a bad guy on a personal level in my limited exchanges with him. I don't often agree with his takes and I take his rumors with a heavy grain of salt, but him and Gate have a solid blog overall and I personally like Gate a lot as a guy so I give them some of my attention once in a while. They do hit on stuff every once in a while, but I still remain pretty skeptical until I hear others that are more "established" confirm.

 

[ChiHawks10]

Seems like there's a little more to this than we thought.

 

[Rolo]

Yup, seeing more sources come out.

Maybe Crawford is... done?

Why else would Darling be considered.

 

[BK]

If they take Darling then I would be willing to bet that Crow and his contract are off the books.

 

[Kaners PPGs]

I can't imagine how the Hawks acquire Darling unless the Hawks know something is wrong with Crow. Looking around the league, most teams are spending 5-8 M in net. Unless Carolina wants to cut their losses and eat half of the Darling's deal, I don't see it happening. The Hawks are already top-heavy are they really going to be one of the highest spenders in net too?

And I think everyone is dreaming if you think you are getting Faulk without giving up the 8th or one of our better prospects. If the 27 and Sikura or Mitchell does it, make the deal but I suspect Carolina can find a better deal. Last offseason, Hamonic and a 4th got a 1st, and 2 2nds. And in that trade New York only had a couple teams he could trade him to. And Faulk is a better player IMO.

 

[TLEH]

There literally no way they’re moving Crawford. At 6 mil he’s not that expensive anymore. Itll have to be a 1A 1B thing but I doubt he’s just gone. It’s gotta be like 27+Anisimov+something for Darling at 50 and Faulk. There’s no way they take him back for 4 mil. Not after that season. If they do Stan should be fired

 

[TLEH]

Faulk had a shit season and Carolina bleeds for offense. There’s no way I’m giving up 8 for that guy and I’m not comfortable giving away Mitchell and 27 after what I saw of that kid at Denver. Maybe Sikura and 27 but I don’t love that either. I mean that looks terrible for signing college kids

 

[Kaners PPGs]

There literally no way they’re moving Crawford. At 6 mil he’s not that expensive anymore. Itll have to be a 1A 1B thing but I doubt he’s just gone. It’s gotta be like 27+Anisimov+something for Darling at 50 and Faulk. There’s no way they take him back for 4 mil. Not after that season. If they do Stan should be fired

I agree that he is not that expensive but when you look around the league there are only 6 goalies with a higher cap hit than Crawford last season.

 

[Kaners PPGs]

Faulk had a **** season and Carolina bleeds for offense. There’s no way I’m giving up 8 for that guy and I’m not comfortable giving away Mitchell and 27 after what I saw of that kid at Denver. Maybe Sikura and 27 but I don’t love that either. I mean that looks terrible for signing college kids

I agree. I am hesitant to give up the #8 for Faulk as well. I don't want to give up Mitchell either but 2 years of Faulk gives this core one more chance. There are not a lot of options out there for a top 4 dman and Faulk definitely has 1st pairing potential. I still think Carolina could get more for that.

How about this- #27, 2019 1st round pick, Forsberg for Faulk and 50% Darling? You can still get Wahlstrom/Brady/Kopi at #8.

 

[Robsker]

I agree. I am hesitant to give up the #8 for Faulk as well. I don't want to give up Mitchell either but 2 years of Faulk gives this core one more chance. There are not a lot of options out there for a top 4 dman and Faulk definitely has 1st pairing potential. I still think Carolina could get more for that.

How about this- #27, 2019 1st round pick, Forsberg for Faulk and 50% Darling? You can still get Wahlstrom/Brady/Kopi at #8.

2 years of Faulk does in no way give this core one more chance. The Hawks are a top pairing D-man, and 2nd pairing D-man, a goalie and a top 6 forward away from giving this core one more chance. They are 4 players --- at a minimum --- away from competing in a legitimate way --- and Faulk would just be one of them... and I am not that impressed with Faulk.

 

[Kaners PPGs]

2 years of Faulk does in no way give this core one more chance. The Hawks are a top pairing D-man, and 2nd pairing D-man, a goalie and a top 6 forward away from giving this core one more chance. They are 4 players --- at a minimum --- away from competing in a legitimate way --- and Faulk would just be one of them... and I am not that impressed with Faulk.

LOL- You might be right about that but the Hawks are not going to blow up everything and go full rebuild. There's not a whole lot they can do and going with status quo and rebuilding through the draft is not going to be the plan.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

There literally no way they’re moving Crawford. At 6 mil he’s not that expensive anymore. Itll have to be a 1A 1B thing but I doubt he’s just gone. It’s gotta be like 27+Anisimov+something for Darling at 50 and Faulk. There’s no way they take him back for 4 mil. Not after that season. If they do Stan should be fired

I don’t think people are saying Crawford gets moved in a trade, it think the speculation is that Crawford ends up on LTIR

 

[CanadianHawks]

2 years of Faulk does in no way give this core one more chance. The Hawks are a top pairing D-man, and 2nd pairing D-man, a goalie and a top 6 forward away from giving this core one more chance. They are 4 players --- at a minimum --- away from competing in a legitimate way --- and Faulk would just be one of them... and I am not that impressed with Faulk.

Although I would not give up 8 in this deal, it is not a stretch to say that if Stan pulls this off, the Hawks are only a Dan Hamhuis/Toby Enstrom addition away from being a contender. This team has weapons up front, with any sort of PP (which Faulk would help tremendously) they will score a lot more next year. Adding Darling (ideally salary retention) will only help ensure competent goaltending. If Q doesn't have this roster in the top 3 in the central he should be canned by Christmas. He is a great coach, but every coach has an expiry date.

 

[TLEH]

To be honest I don’t think any player is going to help our powerplay. We’ve always had the talent for it.

 

[JaegerDice]

I mean, if they're willing to eat like 50% of his salary, then sure, bring him back as a backup.

If Crawford is done, then the team is done, so if that's the case, sure, bring him in at his full contract and let him help us amass top 5 picks for the next 3 seasons.

 

[Kaners PPGs]

To be honest I don’t think any player is going to help our powerplay. We’ve always had the talent for it.

The Hawks have never had a true PP QB, a good net front presence, or anything better than Seabrook's shot on the blueline. Keith has always been below average on the PP and Hossa and Toews's strong suit has never been the PP. While I agree they should have been better over the years, their talent doesn't mesh with the traditional roles of a PP.

 

[Kaners Bald Spot]

The Hawks have never had a true PP QB, a good net front presence, or anything better than Seabrook's shot on the blueline. Keith has always been below average on the PP and Hossa and Toews's strong suit has never been the PP. While I agree they should have been better over the years, their talent doesn't mesh with the traditional roles of a PP.

Forget about Byfuglien much? When he was here playing wing, he was a hell of a net front presence. Part of what made the 2008-10 teams so deadly on offense.

 

[clydesdale line]

Forget about Byfuglien much? When he was here playing wing, he was a hell of a net front presence. Part of what made the 2008-10 teams so deadly on offense.

And Campbell was a hell of a PP QB for us.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Toews when he used to care what a net presence and Shaw loved going in front of net

Frankly Hawks need to show Saad some Shaw videos and tell him "Do that". For a guy who should thrive in front of net Saad certainly rarely goes to it

 

[Kaners PPGs]

Citing Buff and Campbell from 7-10 years ago and Toews and Shaw as net front players is proving my point (I know Campbell played another season and he was on the PP2). The core of the Hawks have not been ideal power play players. Yes, Kane is good on the half wall and Seabrook has a decent slapshot but that is about it. The strength of Hossa, Toews, Saad, and especially Keith are not well-suited for the power play. Some of it probably is inept coaching but when you look around the league at the top PPs (Washington, San Jose, Pittsburgh)- the Hawks personnel just doesn’t match up on the power play. The Hawks have never had a player with a booming shot, a physical net front player, and anyone besides Kane that will consistently enter the zone. Panarin and Sharp to a lesser degree were good snipers but Hossa and Saad were/are mediocre at best on the PP in that role. And Keith? What does he do well on the PP? And he’s been the the most consistent player on the point for the Hawks during this run on the PP. Make no mistake, the Hawks should definitely be better on the PP but the skillset of the core is not perfectly aligned for an excellent power play either.

 

[Robsker]

2 years of Faulk does in no way give this core one more chance. The Hawks are a top pairing D-man, and 2nd pairing D-man, a goalie and a top 6 forward away from giving this core one more chance. They are 4 players --- at a minimum --- away from competing in a legitimate way --- and Faulk would just be one of them... and I am not that impressed with Faulk.

I would prefer to have gone with a new coaching staff now --- and see what this roster could do if deployed in a modern manner and under a new culture with an aggressive new and modern coach. That would be a better test for just how extensive (and when) a rebuild will be implemented.

But... this coaching staff, with this roster, is likely to do exactly what you and I together fear most --- a status quo approach. That said, I would expect similar results to what we have seen now these past few years... some stretches of reasonable competitiveness in the regular season, some dry spells --- and if they make the playoffs it will be just barely and then out quickly --- or miss the playoffs. My point is that this core has no more chances --- they are done. Bringing in Faulk --- might be a good first step in an array of necessary steps. But, Faulk --- who in my opinion is somewhat over-rated (albeit valuable --- but at what cost?) --- well, Faulk alone makes a lousy team somewhat less lousy... but he alone will in no way make the Hawks anything akin to a contender.