I don’t think the Cats trade Hoffman unless they get Panarin

Yep trading Hoffman is contingent on Florida getting both Panarin and Bobrovsky.

I agree, but what if they got Skinner?

Then yes, but they won’t do it unless they already have his replacement

I don't think CHI needs Hoffman if they sign Panarin.
Strome also has good chemistry with Cat, so I'd rather add some gritty RW to their line. Perlini is kind of hit or miss.

You made our offense about equal to what it was while making our defense worse overall.

And you hurt our long term cap flexibility. The Hawks don't need Hoffman or Panarin, and if we're trading a defenseman to FLA, it's Seabrook. As charming as De Haan is, it's not worth giving up our second best defensive forward.

The Vegas trade still makes no sense to me. The potential with Strome is still limitless, he's a lot younger and will probably cost less. Plus the whole connection between him and DeBrincat is pretty special. And I'd rather keep Sikura over Perlini.

As for the other trades, the value is probably there, but I don't think they make the team better when the offense is just fine

Caggs and Entwistle are gritty players. Instead this has 3 front scoring lines that can compete with any of the best ones.

LMAO Not sure what team you've been watching but if you think loosing Saad and Strome and gaining Dzingel, Panarin, Hoffman and Karlsson is hardly equal to the current roster...you must be smoking something.

And there is cap room. Cap will increase again at least $3M, Crow will re-sign for $3.5M to $4M, Boqvist and Mitchell will be ready so Murphy gets traded.

The current team desperately needs at least 1 top winger. On a good team; Caggs, Kahun, Perlini, and Sikura are all bottom 6 players...that's the Hawks biggest problem. We have a bunch of bottom 6 players. Dzingel, Panarin and Hoffman are better then all the players I just mentioned so not sure how you can think that doesn't improve the front 9?

While Karlsson and Strome have similar stats, I truly believe Strome is going to be eventually a 3rd line center; he's simply too slow, his shot isn't good enough and his FO % isn't great. Especially with drafting someone like Cozens; Strome will get passed by in 2 years and unfortunately, the way he played will demand $5.5M roughly next offseason. It's going to be another Anisimov situation where we end up with an overpaid 3rd liner. I hope I'm wrong but I spend a lot of time understanding each players strengths and weaknesses and I think Strome is another Anisimov. That doesn't mean he's bad, he's not but I don't want him anchoring the 2nd line for the next 4+ years and next season he will at least get a 3 year deal (1+3=4 seasons). He's got a great hockey IQ but the league is getting faster and that's Strome's biggest downfall. Think about this; Kane won't play with Strome. That came directly from insiders in the front office and right after that news broke, Kane was moved to the top line and rarely played with Strome again the entire season. I think Kane is a pretty good judge of a center capable of playing with one of the most dynamic wingers in the league. Karlsson is way faster and is a way better complement to Kane and Panarin (again this matters if the Hawks reunite Kane and Panarin); you top lines around players like that you don't build top lines around players like Strome. You also don't build a team or line around Cat; he's a sniper and can play on any line. Snipers are usually highly versatile players and Cat shows that. Panarin - Karlsson - Kane may be a top 3 line in the entire NHL. Insert Strome; not so much. Hoffman - Toews - Cat is a really good line also. Dzingel - Cozens - Perlini (Sikura) could also be an amazing 3rd line. Then your 4th is your gritty checking line; Entwistle is a very physical player and Caggs has an unbelievable motor. These 4 lines are a drastic improvement and not only will play much faster but be a better puck possession team taking pressure off of the defense.

What fans often miss, especially when just looking at stats, one of the main reasons the Hawks defense looked bad is the offense had an unreal amount of turnovers the last two seasons and their possession numbers were way down. Yes, the defense isn't great but bringing back Jokiharju, getting a lock down guy like De Haan and another year for all the guys to play in the newer system will help.

De Haan would be a great add, if an unlikely one and Jokiharju is probably my favorite prospect, can't wait to see what he can do.

I guess my issue with your Vegas trade is that if Strome is the player that you think he will be, I don't have any desire to move him, even if Karlsson is the return. Assuming his PDO evens out, but adding on another ~20 games in Chicago, Strome probably hits 50-55 points next year and is probably in that neighborhood for the foreseeable future. He's been great on the power play, is pretty good defensively (room for improvement, but I'm sure they'll work on it), does a good job getting to the front of the net and has remarkable chemistry with one of the best players on the team. I totally see where you're coming from with the Anisimov comparison, it's pretty spot on, which is exactly why I want to keep him. To me, worst case scenario is you keep a third line center who can play second line, is responsible defensively, scores half a point per game and contributes on the power play. Best case scenario, you have a full time second line center, who may not be able to drive play all the time, but has the playmaking ability to get the puck to guys who can + all the other things I just mentioned. Is Karlsson a better version of Strome. Perhaps, but if that's the case, then I don't see why Vegas trades him, which is a whole other argument. I'll be totally honest with you, the main reason I like Strome so much is because just watching him and DeBrincat for the last five months has been so much fun, but even bigger picture, I think he's a valuable piece to hold onto long term, even if its in more of a support role.

By the way, who do you want us to take in the draft? You mentioned Cozens, who I think is probably my choice as well, but I'd love to hear someone else take on the situation

Cozens is very Toews like. Big center, extremely fast especially given his size, has a great shot, plays the defense zone as well as the neutral and offensive zones. Would be a great addition to the PK and PP. I se Cozens as being the guy that eventually can take the reigns from Toews. I think the Hawks lack a top 2 line center in their prospects. Barratt looks promising but see him as a 3C maybe 2C ceiling. Jake Wise crapped the bed this year. Kurashev is a winger even though he's played center. Hawks have plenty of D prospects and I think because they desperately need a top line winger, they can grab one in free agency, draft Cozens and move Anisimov to free up cap.