It doesn't matter.. I mean I get the idea but there was way to much talent on this roster to ever think it was possible. I think the biggest weakness this team has right now if the D... and well that doesn't really concern me much after what we saw Keith, Hammer and Seabrook do last playoffs. Its about keeping healthy... that's it.
I get what you're saying, but I don't think they can skate those guys that much in the playoffs again and expect to win a cup. Replacing Oduya with Daley was not like for like. Gotta think they're hoping Bickell will play well enough until the deadline to try and swap him for defensive help.
The defense is definitely a problem. I just don't know how you fix it this year without Daley simply playing much better.
#Blackhawks have acquired defenseman Rob Scuderi from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenseman Trevor Daley.
Hossa is ageless. Nice to see TT emerging especially since Anisimov is pointless over the last 7 games. Also looks like Saad rediscovered some form all it took was benching Johansen
Teravainen keeps banging at 1LW and we are 3/4 of the way to being back completely w/o any trades or changing course at all. Panarin, Teuvo, Dano, TVR.
Dano needs to get better. Still think they need a 2nd pairing defenseman. Don't want TVR getting 20 minutes in the playoffs.
Chicago Blackhawks @NHLBlackhawks 4m4 minutes ago Marcus Kruger had surgery today to repair a dislocation of his left wrist. Anticipating return to hockey activities in approx. 4 months. Damn. Just in time for the playoffs I guess.
love Kruger. Gives his body up. Sometimes am amazed how him and Hammer tough it out. Will be interesting to see how Stan uses the LTIR.
April 9th is the Hawks last regular season game. Looks like this will be another scenario where the Hawks are able to use the LTIR and then hopefully bring Kruger back for the playoffs when the cap drops off.
with the Daley move and the Kruger injury how much money are we looking at for available trades? Are we talking enough to get a major piece like we did last season?
Brian Hedger@BrianHedger Make that injured reserve for Kruger, not LTIR. No cap space saved etc., just a roster spot. #Blackhawks
That is really unorthodox and I don't know the cap rules well enough so I'll sound stupid trying to figure it out but I think that with that little clue you could damn near unpack everything Stan is doing. My kneejerk is that you cant bank space if you have a player on LTIR. So IR allows them to bank some space (every cap dollar now is 2-3 dollars at the deadline) now if they have a specific cap hit they are going after at the DL. Also don't know the rules on trading players on IR vs. LTIR. Maybe Kruger, himself, is on the block like EKane was when he was injured last year. Anyways if there was a beat worth a shit they could figure out this move... it smells.
yea I think the reason is that once you LTIR a player, you're locked in at that $ of Cap Savings. So Stan is still setting up a trade to get as close to the cap ceiling as possible. There is definitely a difference b/w IR and LTIR. We all learned last year w/ Kane. LTIR designation means the player has to sit out a minimum # of games and other conditions, in turn you get extra cap space above the salary cap in the amount of that player's salary. IR just opens up a roster spot. Whether Rundblad clears or gets claimed, Stan should have ~1.6m to acquire someone.
In retrospect, Stan should have just dumped Sharp and not tried to get something back for him in return. This team is a lot better if they brought Oduya back.
Daley being a selfish prick who would rather get his vs winning a Cup isn't something he could of really factored in. You would think a player would "buy" into the team after its proven dominance. But nope.
Daley was always a gamble though, he's been pretty bad defensively his entire career. I think the hope was a change of scenery could change his ways and his skating would be an asset.
Daley is flat out not good and always seemed like a turd we had to take back in return for Sharp salary dump to me.
#Blackhawks have acquired forward Richard Panik from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forward Jeremy Morin.
Did not know Kane has never scored a goal against Pittsburgh Did not know Crawford has already set a career high for shutouts in a season
Stan seems to be high on Gustav Forsling. He did well with that trade. http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/podcastplayer2.htm?pid=27