Rather have sikura on that third line than Dzingel . Otherwise everything is ??

Dzingel is a way better player then Sikura as of now....not even close. Sikura's biggest issue is he weighs 159lbs yet is 5'11"....very small frame; he'll be 24 in June, guy has to put on 10 lbs of muscle. Dzingel is 6' and 187lbs and has much more the NHL build. The jury is still out on Sikura but it's not on Dzingel (should be 25+ goals and 50+ point this season). Sikura is a long way from that production.

Obviously ur right in that assessment but would you rather role with sikura on the third line for cheap or throw 3.8 at Dzingel. In terms of cap space, if hawks were making a move in terms of free agents, I’d rather have sikura

Rather have Dzingel. I'm not sure Sikura should be in the NHL at this point, maybe no more then a 4th liner. He really hasn't shown he belongs yet.

I think this year will be different. The Wirtz family doesnt like losing because that's money they lose for a non-playoff team. It depends what the offers are too. I could see a major move happening.........if........they get a good trade

Why not give Dzingel a shot as a 2C with Panarin and Kane? He can play top six minutes and could become a sleeper candidate to score 55-65 points. I also rather DeBrincat with Toews as it seems to draw the offense out of him. I love this AGM team.

The time for conservative has come to an end, after that horrible second concussion to Crow. What a ****ing shame, and an awful sight.

That being said, how does this change the outlook and plans? @ChiHawk you are always high on re-acquiring Panarin... Let's say it is time for Crow to think about his family and hang up the skates... Is there a play to bring both Bob and Panarin to Chicago in free agency? What do you think Bob's agent is looking to get on his next contract?

Yes, horrible...tough to say on Bob but if Crow hangs it up which is a possibility, then Hawks have $10.6M available in this scenario. Certainly they can find a starting goalie for $7M to $8M I would think. Bob is going to be looking for more I have a sneaky feeling.

Maybe the hawks trade AA or Murphy and free up more space?

Appreciate the response, as I always feel you have a better grasp of values and numbers here than any of the rest of us.

The Hawks have 61.5 mil tied up in players next year. If the cap goes up to, say, 82 (since this year's cap fell just slightly under Bettman's projection), Crawford goes to Robidas Island, and they can find a dance partner for Big Artie, then that gives them 25 in cap space before Crow's LTIR bumps that up 6 more. That's a solid chunk of change to play with, and the crop of RFAs who need new deals haven't proven much, so they can be kept for relatively low amounts. If the team can keep the season's cap space floating between 4-5, that should be able to handle all the bonuses and leave them with no overages (right?).

You know how I feel about trading Murph, haha. So let's not do that. Now, considering The Cat and Strome will need new deals in two years, how much of that space do you feel you can safely give up for a netminder like Bob, Panarin, and some D help? Would love to see you put together an armchair GM post like this, as much as I hate what losing Crawford means...

Thank you for the props.

First I think the cap hits $83M, maybe $82.5M. If the Hawks go for Panarin, I think it's a tough call on Anisimov as he and Panarin are friends, and Panarin still relies on a translator if you can believe that. Trading him would be a detractor to Panarin. Let's say they keep AA and get Panarin. You are right, the RFA's haven't proven much. We have Kampf, Forsling, Dahlstrom, Perlini, Sikura and Edjsell; pretty much value in that order as well. We can sign them all cheap but they all need to make raises as they are on ELC's and rules are they are due a 5% increase if signed. We likely need to let either Dahlstrom or Forsling and Perlini, Edjsell or Sikura walk....or be included in trades.

The team definitely needs to leave $4M or $5M in cap room due to bonuses and the rules around floating them year to year. If Crawford goes on LITR, that will make plenty of room to pay the bonuses at 100% this year which will help next year; but I digress.

You are right though, the Hawks will have the room to bring in Bob and Panarin, but I think this also depends on Delia where he is at in his development and how Forsberg and Nalimov do in Rockford once Delia is brought up which should be Tuesday...Nalimov is Russian btw Should be interesting to see, but the Hawks have some goalies in the system and the Hawks have a very strong goalie development program; Crawford, Craig Anderson, Leighton, Niemi, Raanta, Carter Hutton....all goalies Chicago was first to bring to the NHL in the last decade or so...ALMOST FORGOT....Scott Foster! The key to this being, is Ward a 1 and done with the Hawks?

Cat should get $5M to $6M likely on a 3 year bridge type deal. Strome will be more in the $2.5M to $3.5M bridge range....assuming they improve slightly over current production. With the expansion also hitting 2020 offseason and the new CBA, I think the cap raises to $85M at a minimum and also think they allow each team 1 or 2 compliance buyouts and Seabs will be it for the Hawks so that would save significantly and allow the signing of Cat to be a wash against Seabs deal.

This is very interesting though as a good point; Panarin and Bob are both Russian friends...do the Hawks and both those guys agree Chicago is their home of the future? Very possible.

I'm actually in the Matt Duchene over Panarin camp, I would prefer to have a guy who can slot in at both LW and C, and Dutch is great at the dot. "Gives us options," as Q used to say... I think he's the better option for what this team needs and can come at a slightly lower price. At least that was my company line until what happened tonight happened...

Now the Hawks may very well need the next long term goalie, and that changes the dynamics of the pursuit dramatically. I love Delia and think he could well be something in the future, but ready to take the reigns on a team hoping to enter the next (and final) phase of contention with its leaders? Highly doubtful (though you are right, we really ought to bring him up now and see what we've got in him). I forgot about Nalimov, but I thought he had kind of soured on the Hawks after the whole mixup happened. Maybe not?

That all adds up to the best move for Stan being to get on the horn with their agents and see if they'd entertain the idea of coming together. If you can make it work, pull the trigger, even at the high costs. To me, the cost of filling those two glaring needs outweighs the Dutch approach.

Even if this worked out, there would still be holes to patch on the D, because let's be real, as much we love all of our young D prospects, they aren't all coming in next year to save the team. So where do we go for that?

Also, how mad is Jarmo if in the end, he ends up giving Saad back and then losing Panarin and Bob to Chicago?

I'm with you in that I think Duchene is a much better asset. I just don't see Strome being the future 2c or much less 1c of this team. I get it, he's 21 still, but his acceleration isn't good enough meaning direction changes on the puck. I think he's a solid 3c. I just don't think OTT let's him go to free agency without getting traded first. He does have the Toews connection though. I still love the Panarin - Duchene - Kane line, but realistically, probably unrealistic we can attract two of the biggest names and at a cost of $17M right there. And yes, Saad and Panarin back to Chicago and throw in Bob too...wow! You could forgive Stan if that were to happen.

I don't think the holes on D are as big as everyone makes it out to be...honestly, goaltending hasn't been great this year either; before Crawford got hurt, one of the goals he should've stopped and this I've seen in most of his games. Grant it, the D needs work, but goaltending, despite the announcers opinions and writers, isn't what it was two years ago.

Regarding the D, the arrow is pointing up for Dahlstrom, Forsling, and Murphy. Same with Gus albeit frustrating as he takes 2 steps forward and 1 back and 2 forward and 1 back. I agree, that all young guys won't be ready and maybe none of them next year, but Boqvist has the best shot and i'm betting he does make the team. Chad Krys and Ian Mitchell maybe AHL, but Beaudin is still another year or more. I like Murphy a lot, but where do you find room for him on the right with Jokiharju a lock, Boqvist steps up and Seabs isn't going anywhere for another year. Do you move Murphy to the left, which he did a little bit last year, and then make a decision on Gus, Forsling or Dahlstrom as the 3rd and one as the 7th man and let Chad Krys play another year of college or AHL? All tough decisions. Mitchell and Boqvist are both looking like top 2 line guys on the right, Jokiharju is a solid 2nd line if not 1st line guy; Seabs and Murphy aren't part of the right side future at this point...do they both stay another season...yes, but not beyond that.

While I am willing to concede that Crawford gave up a few questionable goals in the last long stretch here, he also played lights out and made great saves WAY more often. He wasn't what he was, but I think he was heading back towards it. Now, who the hell knows where he'll end up... But the D is, in my eyes, by far the biggest problem. Not going to harp on Dahlstrom, because the kid just got here. Gus is a tire fire in his own end, he's always making terrible decisions in front of the net. We all hate Manning, so no need to discuss that ****. Davidson just doesn't have it. With 2 & 7 getting older, and Murph needing some more time to get back to form, the D has been and will continue to be a massive ****show. Forsling and Boqvist can't save that blueline on their own, and the others will need more experience. Hence, my concern for the blueline...

The Hawks have given up a monstrously offensive amount of goals, and from all the games I've watched, which is just about all of them, 95% of them is on the D without question. Cam Ward was full of stink early in the season, but he worked his ass off and was, on many of those awful nights, the only guy trying and made several 10-bell saves. It just goes largely unnoticed because the team is such ****.

Do we revisit the Justin Faulk thing? I'd at least consider it, make a call, see what turns over... Actually scratch that, I just checked and Faulk is a RD too. Hawks really need a solid LD to come into the organization, STAT!

Maybe the best thing to do with Murph is to keep him until the next CBA (hopefully) gives a compliance buyout, we part with Seabs, and then bring up Boqvist after he's had some more seasoning. Also don't burn off a year of his contract unnecessarily...

Yes, the problem is going to be on the left side if one of Forsling, Dahlstrom or Gus can't step up beyond a 3rd line pairing. Gus is absolutely a liability in his own end, but offensively is good. I think if you pair Gus with a stay at home defender, he can pair well. Seabs and Gus can be your 3rd line. That leaves Dahlstrom or Forsling to pair with Murphy or Jokiharju on the 2nd line and then Keith and either Jokiharju or Murphy on the 1st line.

Would it be a big help to bring in a 1st or 2nd line LHD stay at home guy? Yes, 100%, but other certainly not a 3rd pairing and definitely not a RHD guy. Can Dahlstrom or Forsling grow into a solid 2nd line guy; maybe? I think the decision to move one of Dahlstrom, Forsling or Gus needs to happen by the TDL. Trade Manning for whatever they can and Davidson is nothing more then a 7th guy or AHL player.

In the end, because we have Krys, Mitchell, Boqvist and Beaudin ready in the next 2 years, Seabs likely getting bought out in 2020, I think we stay as is for now on D. The key is finding the pairings quickly and letting these guys develop and develop chemistry with one another. Hawks are terrible about that with always switching the lines up which is part of the problem IMO.

Keith - Jokiharju
Forlsing/Dahlstrom - Murphy
Gus - Seabs

Even if that's the lines next season, and they focus on spending money up front, i'm okay with that. The old way the Hawks won cups doesn't work anymore as the game is an offensive faster game then back then.