According to Mrazek, he feels more healthy this season than he has in the last 5 seasons (or however many he said it was). Sounds like all the hate for him was just him battling some nagging injuries. I remember early in his career thinking he had a solid career ahead of him. So, I'm not surprised he is playing this well when healthy. I could take or leave a 3rd round pick, honestly, but I'm happy for him that he has interest from legit teams and could get a chance to play on a team with cup aspirations. By all accounts, the dude is a real pro and a great guy.

Get Reimer too

I've been very critical of Mrazek throughout his career. Not because he's a bad guy or anything real. Just even when he was with CAR...he was consistently inconsistent. BUT what that does mean is sometimes he plays extremely well. You just never know when that other side rears its head. He's Soo aggressive in net. I'd be happy for him that he gets to compete. CAR fans years ago would say how much they absolutely love this guy. To be honest I clearly was the opposite side. He's playing well right now. Hawks fans should get what they can for him. I'm not sure they use a retention slot for anything less than a 2nd though. The retention slot has more value than Mrazek imo.

Those first few years he had with DET, I thought he looked like the real deal. But yeah, after that, I was also critical of him. He could be one of those "better with age" types too. Being more mature, calmer, taking care of his body, and being more humble, can work wonders. Entering adulthood can be insanely stressful for any person, let alone athletes entering the world stage as soon as they hit 18 years old with the pressure and expectations of gigantic fanbases on them. Not to mention kids coming to a completely new country to do that. The money might help soothe those things too, but, also, "More money, more problems". Plus, the money comes with pressure and expectations as well.

I agree with your take on the trade value, though. I was just ignoring that and expressing how I am happy for him that he is having this resurgence after all the years of crap he took from hockey fans.

With retention Mrazek is worth a 2nd or 3rd depending on the goalie market come TDL. I think the Hawks move him regardless, no reason not unless they have other plans for the retention slots. Maybe they move him at full cap hit for a 3rd?

Yeah, maybe. Unless they want to lock him in for another year or two and he also wants to stay. Sure, we could trade him and still re-sign him in the summer, but, generally, once you trade players and they get a taste of a competitive culture with a legit playoff team, they don't go back to the bottom feeder. It's pretty rare that UFA rentals are traded and then go back to the team that traded them. No player WANTS to be a stop-gap, they want to win.

Which is part of the reason I think Mrazek, traded or not, doesn't sign again in Chicago. Players sometimes agree to come on a 1 or 2 year deal to regain confidence and show the league they are an asset to a contender obviously.

For sure. With the kind of attention he has been getting, I wouldn't doubt it if a more competitive team offers him a deal. He's got to know he isn't part of CHI's future plans. Who knows what everyone is thinking, though. He might like CHI and if they are planning on making some splashes over the summer and not tanking again, sticking around could be a bit more interesting.