Pretty sure that Bowman would get fired if he just rolled out the same roster as last year and made not 1 "big" move this offseason. I do agree that Panarin is not that move and Bowman was smart to trade him last year because I think ultimately he is going to ask for a fortune after this year that will probably be close to $9 mil per.

3 things the Hawks will do this offseason
1. trade Hossa's contract
2. Sign a significant Free Agent
3. Trade one or multiple of these players (Saad, Anisimov, Murphy)

Plus Wahlstrom is already committed to college again this year.

Funny, I heard the exact same BS when Saad was traded and I insisted he would be back.

Panarin WILL BE BACK..

Do you really think Bowman just traded Saad for Panarin without giving himself a good chance to bring Panarin back??...... Bowman is a very mathical GM.... Bowman made that trade damn well knowing Panarin would be a UFA in the summer of 2019, with the possibility of bringing him back at this upcoming seasons TDL, if not signing him next summer..... The fact Panarin doesn't want to talk about extensions right now speaks volumes....

I would bet anything that when Bowman traded Panarin he told him he planned to bring him back as a UFA in the summer of 2019..... It's obvious Bowman didn't want to trade Panarin in the first place but he did so for cap reasons - because Saad was signed much longer and the Hawks would be in a better cap position in the summer of 2019 (which they will be).... Like I said Bowman is a very mathical GM.......

And the best part of all of this is that Bowman is KNOWN for bringing back his "cap casualties"..... Panarin is only 26 (will be 27 next summer) so it's not like the kid will be "over the hill".. Bringing Panarin back would be wise.

Bowman isn't trading the Hossa contract unless it's for an asset because he doesn't need to, Hossa's cap hit can be spent this summer..

I agree Anisimov or perhaps Murphy will be traded (or both) but I don't see Saad traded unless it's for another top 10 pick or in a deal that moves the Hawks up into the top 5 and then some...

As far as Panarin, he will be back...... Probably not at the draft (I wouldn't be shocked if he was traded back to the Hawks at the draft tho) but he will be back at some point between now and July 1st of 2019 if he doesn't sign an extension with Columbus... Heck, he may be back at the trade deadline (if he doesn't sign an extension with Columbus)..

And this isn't wishful thinking on my part....... I have a feeling it was Bowman's plan all along to bring Panarin back, same goes for Saad when he traded Saad the first time.

Again I say Hossa's contract WILL be dealt and yes that can be for an asset. As for Panarin NO WAY they trade for him. If anything maybe they find a way to sign him next year. I put Saad as the least likely of the 3 to be traded this summer just because of how bad last year was for him; I think his value is not as high as it could be. That being said I could see him going over in the possible Canes deal for Faulk; or using him to move up in the draft to land Tkchuck and probably more from the Habs.

Yeah I just didn't feel like doing that, but I completely agree.

Why rush him?

We don't have the money. And yes, say we do with Hossa's contract being traded and the cap being raised. The Hawks won't handcuff themselves in another big contract.

Hossa's contract doesn't need to be traded.... Bowman is free to spend Hossa's cap hit regardless if he's traded or not. But I do think he will be traded because quite a few teams will want that contract to save cash money and/or hit the cap floor.

I agree the first and foremost priority of Bowman should be to make sure he has cap space to get Schmaltz and DeBrincat bridge deals or get them signed long-term... But if the Hawks can afford JvR, they could afford Panarin...

Then again if the Hawks draft Tkachuk or Wahlstrom - Panarin would be redundant, however presently the Hawks need a legitimate top 6 LW so... It would be nice to get JvR on a 3-year 6M deal (until Wahlstrom or Tkachuk are ready to step in) but I doubt he would sign for that term.... I'm sure JvR would sign a 3-year deal for 7 or 7.5 but that is just too much and the Hawks have too many holes to fill to spend that on JvR for 3 years...

Neal or Perron? maybe - they'll sign 3-year deals given their age but are they really worth it and can the Hawks beat out the competition?

Rick Nash seems to be a real option..... It looks like Boston is chasing Kovalchuk, and IMO - I think Nash could be one of the last of the major UFA wingers (JvR, Kovalchuk, Perron, Neal etc) to sign with a team..

Of course Vanek is always an option, he's still putting up .50 ppg numbers and he could be signed for cheap (1-year 1M)..

Either way, the Hawks need some scoring depth on the left wing and ideally a legitimate top 6 LW.

IMO, trading Hossa to Ottawa for Ryan (50% retained 3.75M per) would be ideal for both Ottawa and the Hawks, Ottawa is desperate to dump Ryan's contract, and with Hossa only making 1M (insured) and Ryan making 7.5 per, Ottawa still ends up saving 3.75M in real cash on that contract... It's a lot better than Ottawa having to add an asset to Ryan's contract as incentive for a team to take it on...... Not only that but I would toss Duclair in the deal too..... Just saying that is one creative way to acquire a 2nd line LW... And Ryan at 3.75M per for the next 4 years is perfect because Wahlstrom or Tkachuk will need a couple of years to develop and I guess both are committed to college so the timeline there works out pretty well, and you could always bump Ryan to the 3rd line if Wahlstrom or Tkachuk is ready before that...

Saad-Toews-DeBrincat
Ryan-Schmaltz-Kane

Looks like a pretty good top 6 to me.