I will say this though...the only player I wish the Hawks did sign this summer that they didn't was Vern Fiddler. He would have fit perfectly and would have given the team some good depth at center and an insurance policy against Bolland getting hurt because he's so good in that checking role.

Posted by andru2797 on 10/8/2011 10:48:00 AM (view original):

Posted by moy23 on 10/8/2011 9:40:00 AM (view original):
I'm repeating the hawks PR Manta..... and anytime a team loses talent without replacing it it is not a good thing. The flyers lost talent (Richie, carts, leino) but they at least replaced it with talent - Bryz, Schenn, Couturier, Simmonds, Jagr, Voracek. The hawks lost talent (Versteeg, Buff, Ladd, Brouwer, Campbell, Neimi) and replaced them with Brunette, Monty, Frolik, Stalberg, SOD, Carcillo, Scott, etc. The only talent they got to replace the loss in talent was Crawford. Spin it any way you want but that's what you got.

Well moy, there's a difference between the Flyers and Hawks. The Hawks had the best roster in Franchise history. I don't care who you bring in, they simply had no chance in matching that.

Crawford was obviously a nice addition and I believe an upgrade over Niemi because he is more consistent.
Versteeg was a casualty of the RFA snafu, otherwise I believe they'd still be Hawks.
The Byfuglien trade brought in Jeremy Morin and the draft picks that became Kevin Hayes and Justin Holl. Until we see all 3 prospects get a shot at full-time duty in the NHL, it's simply impossible to gauge that deal.
Troy Brouwer brought in a first rounder that became Phil Danault. Same argument as the Buff deal here...won't know until Danault plays.
Ladd again, brought in a decent prospect in Adam Clendening (2nd rounder from ATL) and Ivan Vishnevskiy. Same thing here.
Campbell brought in Olesz and sever cap relief to a team that needed it, in order to keep it's core players together while the deep prospect pool acquired previously matured.

So there you have it moy. The reason the Hawks don't necessarily have replacements in the lineup today for all that they lost is simply because, with such a young, talented core group, they can afford to wait for the bevy of prospects they have to mature and make several more runs at the Cup, hopefully keeping some of the role players this time and not having any RFA ridiculousness happen again. Even if 6-7 of the 20+ legitimate NHL prospects they have make it, that would be a job well done by Mr. Bowman and co. imho, while signing short-term, stop-gap veteran players to keep the team competitive. It's ultimately good cap management to build the bottom half of your lineup this way than to sign veterans as replacements imo because the younger guys have more upside at a cheaper price. Of course this is only possible because of the young age of Toews and co. Not every team has the luxury of having such a young core in place.

Look, I'm a big believer that the team that usually wins a trade is the team that gets the best player in the deal, and we simply won't know if the Hawks did that until/if those players play in the NHL. 

That's great.... where are those guys on the current NHL roster? You lost NHL talent and replaced it with AHL prospects.... how does that help the club this season? Your core wont stay intact forever.

Posted by mudbone1969 on 10/8/2011 10:28:00 AM (view original):
Yeah.  The original bet was so un-Kahuna like I couldn't live with myself.

And just to clarify, I mean top 5 in points, NOT playoff seeding.  That avoids a potential issue due to division champs getting top 3 seeds automatically, though I doubt it would come into play.

I like this bet.... tiebreaker for points will be seeding (or you can make it wins + non-so ot wins like they do for seeding) if the teams are on the 5-6 cuff and 8-9 cuff.

Fair enough.  Playoff seeding will be the tiebreaker for 5-6.  We don't need a tie-breaker for 8-9, as 9 is out of the playoffs.

Posted by mudbone1969 on 10/8/2011 12:52:00 PM (view original):
Fair enough.  Playoff seeding will be the tiebreaker for 5-6.  We don't need a tie-breaker for 8-9, as 9 is out of the playoffs.

Done. I like this bet. Quite creative and fair.

Agreed. 

Now if we can just get that idiot randle to stop talking out his ***, we can all be happy!!

moy, if you consider that the core of the team is locked up for the next 3-5 seasons, I'd say that's a big enough window for the prospects to mature.

Posted by andru2797 on 10/8/2011 2:08:00 PM (view original):
moy, if you consider that the core of the team is locked up for the next 3-5 seasons, I'd say that's a big enough window for the prospects to mature.

In 3 seasons from now Hossa will be 36 w/ a few more years at $5mil AAV, Kane and Toews will be in contract negotiations, Hjalmarrson would have gone UFA. Teams that always play for the future seem to do just that.... right NOW the hawks are throwing away 3 great opportunities with FA garbage... '10-11,'11-12, and if these 'prospects' don't pan out '12-13 and maybe longer.

Posted by mudbone1969 on 10/8/2011 12:57:00 PM (view original):
Agreed. 

Now if we can just get that idiot randle to stop talking out his ***, we can all be happy!!

 Dont be a hater muddy ,i only speak the truth about your 11th place lame *** team

 how is it watching the ice being pink with those rose coloured glasses?  few joints and some draft beers that would be a weird ride...11th place isnt nothing to be ashamed of

Your team is better than the author of this post's team, randletard44.  His team has won ZERO Cups.

No punchline needed.  The 0 Cups IS the punchline!!  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Suck it, haters.

Posted by mudbone1969 on 10/9/2011 1:31:00 AM (view original):
Your team is better than the author of this post's team, randletard44.  His team has won ZERO Cups.

No punchline needed.  The 0 Cups IS the punchline!!  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

ZERO Cups?  Really?    Because the way he spouts off, I thought they just retired the Cup in the Canucks name. 
So you're saying this randle dude is running his mouth with nothing to back it up?
What a dumbass.

Posted by jiml60 on 10/9/2011 2:50:00 AM (view original):

Posted by mudbone1969 on 10/9/2011 1:31:00 AM (view original):
Your team is better than the author of this post's team, randletard44.  His team has won ZERO Cups.

No punchline needed.  The 0 Cups IS the punchline!!  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

ZERO Cups?  Really?    Because the way he spouts off, I thought they just retired the Cup in the Canucks name. 
So you're saying this randle dude is running his mouth with nothing to back it up?
What a dumbass.

Yep.  Apparently, the Hawks are a joke who fluked into a Cup they didn't deserve.  Meanwhile, his "captain" is such a ***** that he takes diving penalties in the Finals, his supposed all-world goalie craps himself in crunch time EVERY time and his glorious franchise has won as many Stanley Cups as my hairy arsehole has.  Our team is loaded with talent with more on the way and will compete for a decade or so.  His team is a laughingstock that will never win anything.

When you read it, it sure makes him look even dumber.