Quoting: ChiHawk
Bowman is the problem here; it starts and ends with him.
For all your talk about not panicking so early in the season, and worrying about whether Jones was worth two first picks, you're actually going really easy on Bowman. I'll explain, but first, let's praise Bowman where he did well, this offseason:
Khaira, Johnson, and Caleb Jones are better than Keith, Seabrook, and Kampf, overall, in 21-22 through 23-24. That much was good cap management. More total points, over the last two or three seasons. Younger, overall. Fewer injuries. Can't knock any of that. Won't. He shopped two old cap dumps around and got slight positive value back for Keith and less negative value in the Seabrook trade. Bowman cleared cap space and got younger in each move. He found a UFA who has played 4C on a playoff team and can fit right in. Solid, solid moves, all three. Who knows how much Kampf was asking to stay in Chicago, when he had an offer from a division leader on the table. That's not on Bowman. Bowman gets an A on all of this stuff, so far. Some hockey reporters are even questioning how Edmonton let the Keith trade happen, and whether they might need to change management over it. A+ on dumping cap. Bowman understands what's happening, here. No one on this board could come up with deals this good because we don't let each other get away with them. Bowman is at the top of his game. He's an All-Star, so far.
But here's where random fans off the street, with 40 hours a week to discuss this, should have done better:
Under a flat cap, trading an ECHLer with no cap hit for unretained $7M cap dump Marc Andre Fleury, without getting a 1st and a 2nd round pick back for the cap space, was amateur nonsense. Pit paid a pick to dump Fleury's last contract. Fleury was younger and cheaper, then, and the cap wasn't flat. Some Caps fans on this board wanted to trade for Fleury last Spring, but most of us cringed.
Trade Strome and Johnson to Seattle, where Johnson is from, for Vanecek. Seattle lacks center depth and traded Vanecek for a 2nd. Vanecek's GAA is 1.44 right now. Fleury's is 7.06. That's almost one more touchdown allowed per game.
Seth Jones is starting out slightly better than Shane Gostisbehere, this year. Each is -1 per game played. Each is within one percent of 42% corsi. Neither looks good, defensively. Jones has one more point. Ghost hit his career high of 65 points the same year Jones hit his career high of 57, so the difference in value should be defense. Right now, it isn't. Philly paid a 2nd and a 7th to dump Ghost on Arizona this summer. With two teams bidding for that garbage, Chi gives up a 3rd to get Ghost and a 2nd.
Changing just the above moves--getting Ghost and Vanecek for a combined 5.3M cap hit instead of Johnson, Fleury, Strome and Jones for 20.5M cap this year--clears 15M of cap space. Dougie Hamilton signed in NJ at 9.5x7. Chi bids 10.5x7 and gets a guy who is +3 after one game with 66% corsi and one point. Then they don't need to convince anybody to make Werenski or Soucy available to help them out with puck possession. Hamilton has the puck.
Realistic forwards: as above, but why worry if Kampf wants to play somewhere else? Sign E. Staal and you replace most of Fleury's playoff experience at league minimum. Can still lowball Khaira for depth, if he's available.
Realistic blue line:
McCabe Hamilton
Ghost Murphy
DeHaan* Boqvist
C. Jones Zadorov*
*one more year before these two leave as UFAs, opening up $8M in cap space. Can trade away as deadline rentals, if there's no future cap coming back.
Realistic Goalies:
Vanecek
Lankinen
Delia
Realistic UFA target next summer, if they still want him:
SETH JONES!
With 12M of cap space, Chicago can sign Jones next year at the same 10.5Mx7 they paid Hamilton, give Vanecek a raise to 2M for a few years, let Carpenter walk, and give Kubalik a tiny raise, too, even if the cap stays flat.
When you say Bowman gave up Suter, Boqvist two high 1sts and a 2nd to land Seth Jones, I'm saying he actually gave all that up just to miss out on Hamilton and Vanecek. Jones said he would play in Chicago and he was clearly a year away from free agency. Just tell him the job will be there, and go about building a winning team he'll want to join, that will have cap space for him. If he signs in Columbus first, have such a good team that he begs to be traded to Chicago like Hall begged to go to Boston. There's no reason that Chicago can't have Seth Jones, with or without the trade.
So the choice is: Jones, Johnson, and Fleury or Jones, Hamilton, Vanecek, Gostisbehere, Suter, Boqvist and two high 1st round picks. If you take Seth Jones off of each side, since it's the same Seth Jones, and take out P. Suter and T. Johnson since I think they're pretty close in value, Bowman essentially traded Dougie Hamilton, Vitek Vanecek, Shayne Gostisbehere, Adam Boqvist, the 2021 12th overall pick, and another 1st round pick for Marc-Andre Fleury, who currently has a 7.06 goals against average and a $7M cap hit.
At that point, yes, I think you could do better, even if you're too hung up on Suter and Kampf.
But I agree, it's too early to panic.