Quoting: ChiHawk
Bingo Exo, not saying he shouldn't be on the team, but Coach C and Bowman are setting him up for failure. At this point, they need to showcase in a top 6 role for nothing more but to bring his trade value up. Package him, Nylander (who also isn't being put in the best position to succeed) and get back a 1st pick or include beaudin or mitchell and go after Lindholm. We have to look ahead and that is without De Haan on the roster. McCabe, Jones, Murphy, Lindholm would be an incredibly good top 4 with Caleb, Kalynuk and Stillman battling it out for last 2 spots. Beaudin + Strome + Nylander and a pick should land Lindholm. With that amount of shut down defenders on the team, it should open up the offense and allow these forwards to flourish.
Regarding asset management, I hope Stan does pull the trigger and trades the 2023 1st, why not? Every first round pick they've drafted between 2012-2018 has been traded anyway (If they didn't trade the pick for a rental beforehand). Teuvo, Hartman, Jokiharju, Boqvist, Schmaltz. At this point, why even bother waiting 3 years to see who they are? Just trade them! They might not have 3 more years of Kane and Toews, so if they're trying to win, it's gotta be this season and the next. What's a 2023 1st going to do when Stan inevitably trades him away in 2025? They have a knack for signing talent from overseas anyway.
This leads me to my next topic. Is $5M a year for Johnson worth it over $3.25M for Pius Suter? Another bloated contract to put next to Connolly's. Eventually, overseas talent will have a different perception of the hawks, considering they never last in Chicago. Kahun looked great, traded him away, fizzled, went back to Europe. Didn't have the stones to pay Panarin, traded him away for Saad. I've legitimately lost track of how many times they traded Saad, it's a complete joke. I'd argue the hawks have one of the least creative front offices in the league, but then I look at Vancouver, Anaheim, San Jose, and Nashville. A lot of teams in this league would benefit greatly from new/younger leaders in the GM roles.