Here's my projected offseason for the Chicago Blackhawks. I have the Hawks re-signing Pius Suter (2.5x2), Brandon Hagel (2x2), Alex Nylander (1.5x1), David Kampf (1.25x2), and Adam Gaudette (1x1). I also signed Max Shalunov (1x1) to a contract. I decided to let everyone else walk (most notably Vinnie Hinostroza). I do think that before the expansion draft they probably try to move Nikita Zadorov or re-sign him. I opted to trade him to the Winnipeg Jets (who had interest in him at the deadline) for Kristian Reichel (cousin of Lukas) and the Jets 2021 2nd Round Pick. The Jets in turn sign Zadorov to a 4x4 deal. For the expansion draft, I chose the 7-3-1 method. I protected Toews (NMC), Kane (NMC), DeBrincat, Nylander, Hagel, Borgstrom, Strome, Keith (NMC), Murphy, Stillman, and Lankinen. That leaves the likes of Kampf, Carpenter, Gaudette, Connolly, de Haan, Subban, and Delia (among others) unprotected. I have Seattle taking Gaudette, but I could see them taking a different player too. After the expansion draft, I have the Hawks trading away Carpenter, Strome, and de Haan. Strome had a tough year with the Hawks, and I think he could use a change of scenery. The same could be said about Ethan Bear. Bear is a good player, but Edmonton seems to only be giving him third-pairing minutes. A change of scenery could do both players well. Because of this move, de Haan is on the outside looking in, so I moved him to Ottawa. The last trade I made was moving Carpenter out. The Hawks have way too many forwards, so I think trading Carpenter could make sense. I also made two free agent signings. I brought in a veteran defenseman and goaltender. I chose to sign Mark Pysyk as the defenseman. He's solid at both ends of the ice and can come in and out of the lineup. The goalie who I chose was David Rittich. I think it's very reasonable that he could come to Chicago and provide a bit of stability behind Kevin Lankinen. So onto the final lineup. The first line of DeBrincat, Toews, and Kubalik has the potential to be deadly offensively. Toews and Kubalik undoubtedly have great chemistry together, and DeBrincat has spent time on Toews' wing before. The second line might be a bit farfetched, but I think Reichel will get the opportunity to make the team out of camp. The puck pursuit game of Reichel would really complement both Dach and Kane's game. The third line is a bit of a wild card. The only known piece on that line is Suter, but all three of these guys bring something to this line. Suter is reliable at both ends of the ice, Borgstrom is a magician with the puck and Nylander has great playmaking skills (he just needs to give more effort). Finally, we have the fourth line, with Hagel, Kampf, and Kurashev. I really wanted to give both Kurashev and Hagel more ice time, but I couldn't really put them anywhere else. Both Kurashev and Hagel are fast, so I believe that they could form an energy line. The defense is pretty self-explanatory. I have Kalynuk with Murphy, Keith with Bear, and Stillman with Boqvist. Kalynuk and Murphy make a ton of sense together in my opinion. Kalynuk is very flashy and good offensively, while Murphy is great defensively and plays a safe game. Keith and Bear also make sense as a pairing. Keith is still good at driving offense and moving the puck, but his defense has fallen off as of late, Bear can also move the puck pretty well, but unlike Keith, he posted good defensive numbers. Stillman and Boqvist are very similar to the Kalynuk-Murphy pairing. Stillman is physical and solid defensively while Boqvist could carry the pairing offensively. I decided to go with a more balanced approach on the power play, and I think it'd be the best option for the Hawks. I went with a similar approach for the penalty kill as well. For the goalies, you have Lankinen as the 1A and Rittich as the 1B. My scratched players are Brett Connolly, Pysyk, and Malcolm Subban. I also set up the AHL lineup where I'd like players to play. Max Shalunov, MacKenzie Entwistle, Mike Hardman, Ian Mitchell, Nicolas Beaudin, and Collin Delia would be my first callups if someone got hurt.
Any time I see "Realistic" in the AGM title I always assume it's anything but, most of the time I'm right, but I have a hard time finding anything really wrong with those trades although I'll wait to see what WPG fans say. They have a very mixed response when you send them LD's. lol
Any time I see "Realistic" in the AGM title I always assume it's anything but, most of the time I'm right, but I have a hard time finding anything really wrong with those trades although I'll wait to see what WPG fans say. They have a very mixed response when you send them LD's. lol
I think I did a pretty good job being realistic haha. I was a little iffy on the Strome-Bear trade (Idk if Edmonton would take that or not) and the Zadorov trade. But all things considered, I was pretty happy with it.
I think I did a pretty good job being realistic haha. I was a little iffy on the Strome-Bear trade (Idk if Edmonton would take that or not) and the Zadorov trade. But all things considered, I was pretty happy with it.
Strome would be a huge get for EDM in terms of getting a very good middle six center. It's not like Bear is some crazy good prospect, but he's a decent player. Do I think he's going to be a 2nd pairing dman? Totally possible, but I think at the worst he's a very good 3rd pairing dman which is still good.
I already know Jets fans are gonna hate that Zadorov deal. It’s hard to really know how front offices value him. The eye test community hates him and the analytics community thinks he’s just “fine”. Reichel and a 2nd seems a little much for me but I think that the team fit makes a lot of sense. The contracts seem fair to me, Hagel might get less (even though he’s definitely worth 2) and Suter might get more but I think it’s pretty fair. I think you can get more than just Bear for Strome and I also think anything that takes icetime from Boq is not in the best interest of our team. I do think a full year on the top pair in Rockford for Beaudin and Mitchell might be the best plan at least for the first couple months. No need to rush them when their rookie performance was only okay. I also think Kurashev might be an AHL 1C option too. Rather him do that than play on our 4th line because it would be a great opportunity to rebuild some confidence he seemed to lose by the end of the season. Overall, fairly accurate, but I also think the hawks should look to weaponize more cap. They have 15 mil in space after what you put together so I think they can get Neal in the bear Strome deal and also get a great pick or prospect from EDM.
Strome would be a huge get for EDM in terms of getting a very good middle six center. It's not like Bear is some crazy good prospect, but he's a decent player. Do I think he's going to be a 2nd pairing dman? Totally possible, but I think at the worst he's a very good 3rd pairing dman which is still good.
It all just depends on our ability to backfill Bear. As of now, the Oilers only have 2 RHD capable for the NHL under contract (Bear, Bouchard). Larsson sounds likely to re-sign but have to think Barrie walks and can't imagine us landing anyone big. Strome would be a great asset to trade for, just would need to be confident we wouldn't be robbing Peter to pay Paul.
The Bear trade is too much for me, I guess I have a higher value on Strome then most but if he isn't in the plans I think we could get something different in a trade package or just get a 2nd and 3rd as we did for Janmark.
I have to feel that Beaudin and Mitchell are going to get some NHL time this year also so would prefer them in over Pysyk.
Hagel deserves more ice time as you say and I think he will get a chance before Reichel in that top 6. Reichel I too am high on and think he will break into the lineup but I would like to see him spend some time in the AHL and adjust to the NA ice.
As for Rittich, I think thats a sensible get and agree he can play that tandem. I watched him a fair bit when he was with the Flames and liked what I seen. I was surprised when they moved him but understand it was due to the contract situation.