If NYI misses the play-offs, maybe.

I don't think The Hawks will ever use a first round pick on a goaltender.

I would consider it. It really depends on where the drop off points are for Mark Kelley and more importantly...where the Hawks end up.

The hawks are looking at potentially falling to bottom 5 with the way the Devils and Ducks have been trending, dont think theyre in a spot to even want to draft Askarov

Don’t be so sure, that’s totally something Our Boy would do. Askarov is just the kind of risk he loves taking.

I know we need a goalie but I don’t think it’s worthwhile to take one in the top 10

I think after yesterday's debacle and #firebowman trending, he is going to be very risk averse for awhile.

If we had great forwards in the pipelines, I would concede that there is a chance he could do that. At D, the Hawks are in pretty good shape, but no one in our young forward is a likely winner. There are several I like and am excited to see what they can do (Kurashev, Hakkarainen, and especially Mac Entwistle), but I doubt any of them have a ceiling beyond middling six (at best). Maybe if the pick is decent enough they can get a Perfetti, Rossi, Raymond, etc. but I would like to see them take Hendrix Lapierre. I think there is way more there than he's shown, and what he's shown is already great.

Anyway, point is we SORELY need a high end forward in round 1 next year.

Trust me, I completely agree with you. Holtz is my guy, but any of the guys you mentioned would be a great add. I’m just skeptical. You never know how Stan is going to handle young guys (Schmaltz, Joki, Dach vs. Turcotte/Byram especially).

All that said, you’d think after a certain point they’d just make the safe decision. Hopefully they go that route this June

Let's never talk about Jokiharju again, or I might have to firebomb the front office at W. Madison St... I was totally fine with jettisoning Smokin' Nick Schmaltz. Even if he's having a down season with the whole team, I still like what Strome brings. I love Turcotte and Byram, but I am starting to be convinced that Stan & Mark made the right choice with Dach. We'll just have to wait and see how high Byram's ceiling goes...