Are they interviewing Tulsky?

They aren't going to make anything public, but they'd be stupid not to.

There is also a good chance they will have to wait until CAR is done playing to interview or hire him. Same as about anywhere. To me, Tulsky and Darche should be the top two candidates.

With his injury history and "somewhat suspect" attitude, I can't see the Hawks being interested in a Laine trade unless it's at a bargain basement price. Laine is still a talented offensive player when he's healthy, but lately that's not nearly often enough to justify that cap hit.

Health has been the only issue, and his injuries have been fluky, nothing chronic. He's in the NHL PAP to focus on his mental health, which is very reasonable and admirable considering all the bad luck he's dealt with, and it's no sweat to take time away from a team at the bottom of the standings.

His attitude has been great, i.e. approaching coaches to volunteer to play/learn center to help the team when all centers were hurt, taking Fantilli into his home for his rookie summer, staying in Columbus to play in a 3-on-3 offseason league.

When healthy his point production has been better than it was in WPG and his defensive game has come a very long way. He was statistically the best defensive forward on the team in 2022-23. He's absolutely worth the mild risk of a couple 2nd rounders.

Also, CHI lacks dynamic forwards and need a top line guy like Laine who can play with Bedard. They also have a surplus of picks.

Thanks for the insights on Laine. Puts him in a somewhat different perspective. I know there were Jets fans and even Jackets fans on this site who commented on Laine's lack of effort at times and his seemingly bad relationship w/ the media. As for his fit on the Hawks, Kurashev has been a huge surprise as the RW w/ Bedard. Doubt he's moving off that line. And Hawks still have Taylor Hall, who only got 10 games on LW w/ Bedsy before he got shelved w/ knee surgery. Gotta believe the plan is to put Hall back on Bedard's LW. So that would likely leave Laine playing RW on the 2nd line w/ Reichel on LW and Dickinson at C. Not sure the Hawks want to spend $8.7m on their 2nd line RW. And honestly, I can't see the Hawks trading away two 2nd's unless it's to move up in the draft order or acquire another 1st round pick.

Seconding this, I'd so prefer to have a younger forward-thinking GM who has spent the last few years in a top NHL organization over someone like Hunter, who would be yet another re-hash old-head former GM and true boys club member. The fact that we could have Mark as GM and Dale as coach is terrifying...where would the accountability lie if things go wrong? That just seems like more of the same old s*** that we've had for basically the entire Jarmo era: old-head coaches in an increasingly modern game that mire the team in mediocrity.

Well, he's definitely not personable with the media due to his emotionless Finnish disposition. And yes, at times he can get caught floating and looking for goals, but that is part of his game that his really improved over the last couple years.

As far as lineup fit, Laine has always preferred to play the left side and IMO would be a better fit on the top line since he's younger and can still rip the puck with the best of them. Hall is nowhere near the player he was when he was MVP and as he continues to age, he only becomes more of a middle-six player.

He's an interesting player, but his current injury and mental health struggles really give him an unfair perception. When on the ice, he's still an elite point producer and finisher, and he's rounded out his game a little more in Columbus. Chicago definitely wouldn't regret having him on the 2nd line IMO, even if he's expensive.

I don't know that it makes sense for Chicago since Laine might be juuust a bit older than what works for the desired timeline to compete, or that Columbus should be trading him at his lowest trade value; I just want to see the perception of him change to something that's both a little more realistic than "cap dump" and a little more compassionate than "low-effort media problem child".

Could not agree more, those are my sentiments exactly when it comes to GM.

How do you feel about HC? Stick with Pascal for another year or axe him and let the new GM pick his guy? I'm not totally opposed to a more experienced and proven coach, but I absolutely believe the FO needs a young mind with a fresh perspective and ideas.

To discuss the actual ACGM, too:

1. I agree with nearly all of this.

2. Elvis needs to go, but I think the better option is just buying him out rather than taking on a more expensive goalie. Tarasov is ready, Greaves is nearly there, and signing a couple of UFA 1B/Backup/3rd Goaltender options (a la Martin last year) is probably enough. I wouldn't be mad about a Grubauer swap...but I might be a little disappointed.

3. Boqvist for a 2nd is fine, but I still think he makes sense as the 7th D. He's already proven he can play anywhere in the lineup, and limiting his action may help limit his injuries, all while keeping a young NHL-ready D-man with some upside around. Again, wouldn't be mad if he went for a 2nd, but I don't think he's a "must-move".

4. Texier and Sillinger have started looking really good together, I could see them being 3rd-line staples next year, but that means we should keep Olivier at least to TDL as the 4th-line enforcer who can still pitch in. He, Kuraly, and Danforth can all go at TDL next season; Kuraly I could see coming back in 25-26 as a UFA, but those roles should be replaced by guys like LDBB, Malatesta, and possibly Texier once others like Lindstrom force their way into the top-9.

5. I think it's time to let Jenner cook in a 3LW role. He's not fast enough to keep up with the top playmakers, and he's not a great fit at C due to his lack of speed/playmaking. Let him take faceoffs on a defensive 3rd line, and let KJ take a top-6 role instead.

I think we'd be looking at a forward group like this instead:
JG (playmaker) - Fantilli (gamebreaker) - Marchenko (goal-scorer)
Johnson (playmaker) - Voronkov (Goal/scorer) - Chinakhov (speedy transition guy)
Texier (D-responsible w/skill) - Sillinger (D-responsible with skill) - Nylander (goal-scorer)
Jenner (???) - Kuraly (defensive C) - Danforth (utility player)
Olivier

Post-deadline, we're looking at a forward group of:
JG, Fantilli, Marchenko, Johnson, Voronkov, Chinakhov, Texier, Sillinger, Nylander, Jenner, Malatesta, LDBB, then adding guys like Brindley, Lindstrom (?), and Dumais into the mix in 2025-26, when things really get interesting.

I'm 50/50 on Paz, almost perfectly on the fence.

The argument for: he never got a fair shake, and has clearly helped along players like Texier, Sillinger, Fantilli, Voronkov, etc. Guys that should be here long term. If he's popular in the room, he deserves another season on the bench to see what he can actually do.

The argument against: the flaws are glaring: 3rd period collapses, uninspiring and uncreative play/planning, atrocious special teams, mismanagement of the younger players (Johnson, Jiricek, Chinakhov). It's like the weak points that have plagued this team for years were even more exposed this year, and his flaws don't make up for the benefits he brings. He looks lost and over his head.

I'd be fine either way, but if you're going to fire him, do it as the first move under a new GM and get a new coach in here immediately. If you're sticking with him, ideally stick with him through the year, and possibly give him a one-year extension and let him grow as a coach. The earliest he should be canned if things go south is post-TDL. If he's here as a lame duck through the summer and into November/December we're just setting the franchise back again by pulling the rug out yet again before things even get a chance to stabilize.

I'd rather keep Olivier; I think he's been valuable as a glue guy, and that return is no more than what we paid to get him in the first place. I'd also rather keep Laine around for a possible bounceback. And have no interest in either of those UFAs even though they're intended as press box residents. But otherwise this works pretty well.

I could see the Hawks doing this as his contract expires before they need to sign Bedard and Korchinksi and Laine could be either trade bait or potentially resigned if he develops chemistry with the Hawks.