Still didn't fix the major need CHI has... Keith at 37 will be UNABLE of playing 1st pairing minutes.

1. Mitchell will not be a first line pairing if he even plays in the NHL next year. There are so many defenseman ahead of him for call ups
2. I rather have Strome at the contract you signed him at than Cirelli
3. Cagguila has been great for the Hawks and won't cost much so he should be resigned and put on the roster
4. Why you bought out Maatta is beside me. He's young and relatively inexpensive. He could easily fetch a solid prospect or pick in a trade
5. Buying out smith is going to hurt the Hawks in the long term. You'll get the same cap relief if you put him on waivers and send him to Rockford

1. Who is ahead of him? Gilbert is a 7th defenseman at best. Carlsson looked good but likely has a 3rd line ceiling. Beaudin isn't ready. Everyone else isn't an NHLer. You can probably switch Boqvist and Mitchell here, but he is our next best d-man not in the NHL.
2. This is an overpayment for Cirelli, but he is definitely better than Strome.
3. Correct.
4. Maatta is very likely going to be a cap casualty this summer, and he is by no means inexpensive. He is a #5 defenseman on any good team (aka teams that would trade for him), and 4mil is definitely too much for that kind of guy. The buyout is very cheap and allows us to improve elsewhere.
5. This is incorrect. You save a little over a million when you send guys to the minors, while the buyout would save us over two million over the next two years. No one is going to trade for him, and the extra year of the buyout is not a year where big contracts are due.

No way the Hawks throw in Mitchell straight out of college unless he dominates in preseason. I rather see McCoshen come up and see what he has to offer. I defiantly agree Cirelli is better than Strome but I rather have Strome at the cheaper contract. Plus you have to take into consideration the morale of the team and trading Strome away would make DeBrincat none too pleased. Maatta might be a casualty this summer but it won't be for nothing. If you put him on a team with defensemen who can actually defend, he can be a solid dman. And in terms of the buyout, Smith would cost the Hawks a little over 2 mil playing in the minors before his contract would expire. I rather pay him 2 mil at once rather than over the next two seasons. Saad will be a UFA, Nylander will be a UFA, and unless Lankinen somehow becomes the Hawks next number 1, we need a goalie next season too.

Not enough to get Cirelli

Hawks are going to put Mitchell on the 1st line. Boqvist and Keith are the pairing. Mitchell will likely be 2nd line with either Murphy playing on the left or paired with De Haan in which case Murphy may become a trade asset. Otherwise De Haan moves to the 3rd line with Seabs. I agree, Maatta gets bought out or traded, but likely traded. Koekko/Carlsson are your 7th man.

Kubalik won't get that much. Hawks fans need to remember he is not arbitration eligible, so he won't get full market value. Think $3.5Mish...maybe $4M max. You don't overpay a guy after just 1 season when you own his rights.

Let's not try Kampf at the 3C again, he's a fine 4th liner but should not be part of a scoring line. Love his motor but he can't shoot and his passing isn't great.

So Beaudin played last night and he looked great

I don't disagree that he played well, but you can't use one game to determine if he's ready or not. And even if he can compete on the bottom pair playing 17 minutes a night, it is probably better to continue his develop in the AHL.