Were the Blackhawks treated unfairly with the Bickell trade?

[ChiHawks10]

What happened with Bickell sucks but that's one of those situations I look at and just go "eh, what can you do...stuff happens."

Also the league really wouldn't be "helping out" Chicago if Hossa is legitimately unable to play as a result of a medical condition. That would just be using LTIR for it's intended purpose. The only people who would consider that some sort of special favor from the NHL are the HF doctors who have already professionally diagnosed Hossa as being capable of playing but just not feeling like it.



I agree with the general point that people always mislabel this trade as being Bickell and TT for literally nothing, but the pick they got in return wasn't the DeBrincat pick. They got pick #50.

This made me lol. So true.

The rest of the thread, though... yeah. Ridiculous. No reason the Hawks should get a pick out of Bickell and the lack of a MS diagnosis in Chicago.

 

[Roboturner913]

Do you know anything about MS? My dad has it. There is no actual test for MS. You basically have to rule out everything else until you are left with MS as the possible cause.

I know lots about MS actually. And what you just said illustrates exactly why the Blackhawks handled it so bsdly. Who has time to make a proper diagnosis, just get his cap hit off the books, right.

 

[JaegerDice]

Blackhawks fan.

No.

They were not treated unfairly.

Nobody was stopping the Blackhawks from pulling out all the stops to try and figure out what was wrong with Bickell and get the correct diagnosis. They didn't/couldn't and paid for it.

Frankly, I respect the hell out of Carolina for going beyond standard hockey logic of 'he's not tough/determined/passionate' enough, and saying 'if you say something is off, we're going all the way to figure out why'.

 

[Unspecified]

They were forced to carry Bickell, who was essentially a 4M dead cap hit, then forced to trade him with their top young player, Teravainen, just to get rid of him. As it would turn out, Bickell couldn't play well because he had MS. I think the Hawks should have been given a sandwich pick in the draft a la MLB. A sandwich pick is an extra draft pick between the 1st and 2nd round. Well, that did not happen, but don't be surprised if the league is helping them out now with Hossa. It's for this specific reason that I would not be surprised to see Hossa return for the playoffs this year for a proper send off before moving back to LTIR. At the absolute least, I expect no push back from the league with regards to how Chicago handles Hossa and the reallocating of his cap dollars into new players.

The crap that Chicago is pulling with Hossa's all of a sudden condition makes anything else they think they are entitled to irrelevant.

 

[zytz]

Maybe the docs in Chicago are just incompetent?

Couldn't figure out Bickell had MS probably misdiagnosed Hossa. The Raleigh area is know for having great docs we'd be happy to offer a second opinion on Hossa. :grin:

Some of the most cutting edge MS research in the world is taking place in Chicago, but I'm sure the carolinas are also renowned for their prestigious neurologists

 

[Prairie Habs]

What happened with Bickell sucks but that's one of those situations I look at and just go "eh, what can you do...stuff happens."

Also the league really wouldn't be "helping out" Chicago if Hossa is legitimately unable to play as a result of a medical condition. That would just be using LTIR for it's intended purpose. The only people who would consider that some sort of special favor from the NHL are the HF doctors who have already professionally diagnosed Hossa as being capable of playing but just not feeling like it.



I agree with the general point that people always mislabel this trade as being Bickell and TT for literally nothing, but the pick they got in return wasn't the DeBrincat pick. They got pick #50.

Hossa, the poor man who was so afflicted that he decided to play in the WCoH last year for one of the gimmick teams...

 

[No1]

No, every team is going to want a sandwich pick for some reason or another.

Do Canucks get one for Luc Bourdon...

No, **** happens and you need to deal with it.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Some of the most cutting edge MS research in the world is taking place in Chicago, but I'm sure the carolinas are also renowned for their prestigious neurologists

Actually yes, the Raleigh area is known for its medical sector. Having two major university hospitals and one of the biggest biotech/pharma concentrations in the world will do that.

 

[Esq]

Some of the most cutting edge MS research in the world is taking place in Chicago, but I'm sure the carolinas are also renowned for their prestigious neurologists

They actually are.

 

[Lempo]

Blackhawks fan.

No.

They were not treated unfairly.

Nobody was stopping the Blackhawks from pulling out all the stops to try and figure out what was wrong with Bickell and get the correct diagnosis. They didn't/couldn't and paid for it.

Frankly, I respect the hell out of Carolina for going beyond standard hockey logic of 'he's not tough/determined/passionate' enough, and saying 'if you say something is off, we're going all the way to figure out why'.

It's kind of nice to think, with the grievous side of it all notwithstanding, that Carolina got a karma Darling out of it. Apparently Bickell had plenty of good things to tell to him prior the signing.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

Blackhawks fan.

Frankly, I respect the hell out of Carolina for going beyond standard hockey logic of 'he's not tough/determined/passionate' enough, and saying 'if you say something is off, we're going all the way to figure out why'.

You are making a big assumption there. Because Bickell wasn't diagnosed in Chicago doesn't mean the Hawks didn't care or were somehow negligent.

 

[TorstenFrings]

Compensation picks for regretting a trade are not a thing. Ask Boston.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

NHL is giving Chicago a make up call with Hossa going on LTIR instead.

 

[JaegerDice]

You are making a big assumption there. Because Bickell wasn't diagnosed in Chicago doesn't mean the Hawks didn't care or were somehow negligent.

I wasnt trying to imply they were. The hockey thinking I was describing exists around the nhl, among teams, among media, and among fans. Carolina rose above it.

Whether Chicago attempted to or not, I dont know.

I will admit I side-eye the medical staff for the Blackhawks though, given the number of times in the past that guys have been absolutely leveled in the head, but thrown right back out on the ice.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

I wasnt trying to imply they were. The hockey thinking I was describing exists around the nhl, among teams, among media, and among fans. Carolina rose above it.

Whether Chicago attempted to or not, I dont know.

I will admit I side-eye the medical staff for the Blackhawks though, given the number of times in the past that guys have been absolutely leveled in the head, but thrown right back out on the ice.

Fair enough.

I just think it's BS for people (not you) to go all revisionist history on it. Hindsight is 20-20. MS is one of the hardest diseases to diagnose. But yeah lets act like Carolina traded for Bickell because they cared about him as a person, but the Blackhawks didn't. What crap.

 

[Hawksfan2828]

Just because you don't like something doesn't mean it's "ignorant." The signs were there for years. Everything from concussions to alcoholism to plain old laziness were blamed. But somehow over all that time they never arrived at a diagnosis that his new doctors did in a matter of weeks. Face it, the Blackhawks handled his situation very poorly.

Really? MS isn't something that is just diagnosed, there is really no test for it and everything possible has to be ruled out before the MS idea is considered .... It's not like "oh, you have MS"... That diagnosis takes time... Sure, it can be suspected but since there is no test, other ideas are explored....

If it matters the original diagnosis was "vertigo".... I mean it was clear there was something wrong with him, he couldn't keep his balance and would fall unassisted..

I will say this much, I'm shocked the Hawks didn't shelf him when he started falling consistently.

 

[LetsGoBLUES91]

They were forced to carry Bickell, who was essentially a 4M dead cap hit, then forced to trade him with their top young player, Teravainen, just to get rid of him. As it would turn out, Bickell couldn't play well because he had MS. I think the Hawks should have been given a sandwich pick in the draft a la MLB. A sandwich pick is an extra draft pick between the 1st and 2nd round. Well, that did not happen, but don't be surprised if the league is helping them out now with Hossa. It's for this specific reason that I would not be surprised to see Hossa return for the playoffs this year for a proper send off before moving back to LTIR. At the absolute least, I expect no push back from the league with regards to how Chicago handles Hossa and the reallocating of his cap dollars into new players.

Oh I won't be. Because it's the Blackhawks. Not because they are owed one.

Don't sign players to long term terrible contracts and say "oh he got sick it doesn't count".

 

[JaegerDice]

Oh I won't be. Because it's the Blackhawks. Not because they are owed one.

Don't sign players to long term terrible contracts and say "oh he got sick it doesn't count".

You mean like several other teams already have? Lol

 

[garnetpalmetto]

Actually yes, the Raleigh area is known for its medical sector. Having two major university hospitals and one of the biggest biotech/pharma concentrations in the world will do that.

They actually are.

Come now. Don't you know by now that North Carolina is podunk? Or perhaps you meant its known for its veterinary medical sector. I mean I drive to work through dirt roads and mudholes in my 1930s era pick-up truck every day, assuming Farmer Brown's pigs don't escape and start congregating on I-40. It's positively impossible for a metropolitan area with three major research universities (two of which have nationally known hospitals) as well as branch offices of the NIH and several biotech/pharma companies to possibly have top flight neurologists.

 

[THall4]

You should be more concerned that a man is slowly deteriorating from an incurable disease, than what you're owed by his disease inconveniencing your team.

/thread.

some people really cant see beyond their own nose.....

 

[THall4]

You mean like several other teams already have? Lol

Like who?

Pronger that got PCS..and a major eye injury....or Clarkson who has a serious back injury?

Compared to Hossa conveniently cant play anymore after the brunt of the money in his contract is now paid out and hes due to make like a million bucks a year?

And this is coming from a monster Hossa fan...was my favorite player

 

[ColdSteel2]

Like who?

Pronger that got PCS..and a major eye injury....or Clarkson who has a serious back injury?

Compared to Hossa conveniently cant play anymore after the brunt of the money in his contract is now paid out and hes due to make like a million bucks a year?

And this is coming from a monster Hossa fan...was my favorite player

This is the part that I don't understand. Hossa has a bad shoulder and had one of the most brutal concussions in NHL history. We all assumed those would be the reasons for his LTIR. The fact that they went with the skin condition shows just how bad it was in comparison to his other issues.

 

[Lempo]

Like who?

Pronger that got PCS..and a major eye injury....or Clarkson who has a serious back injury?

Compared to Hossa conveniently cant play anymore after the brunt of the money in his contract is now paid out and hes due to make like a million bucks a year?

And this is coming from a monster Hossa fan...was my favorite player

Hossa signed his contract with $1M four last years in July 1st 2009. Pronger signed his with $575k two last years only seven days later, despite the contract starting only from the 2010-11 season.

It's probably one of them coincidences.

 

[2 Minute Minor]

I've thoroughly enjoyed this thread. Best part was the 'big-city' Chicago slam on medical research in the Carolinas.

On a serious note, I really enjoyed Bickell's moment with his wife at the awards ceremony, and her narration of his shoot-out goal. As a Blues fan, I have a prejudice against Blackhawks, but Bickell transcended that.

 

[DeltaSwede]

What's Dean Lombardis phone number?

Give him a call. I've heard good things about making bad contracts disappear.