I think stan bowman has done a phenomenal job. Incredible. To trade campbell without having to give up a first rounder or top prospect is truly amazing.

Bowman also kept the core together throughout the entire purge and subsequent re-stocking of the system.

TSN reports the deal is done.....Campbell for Olesz

I wouldn't say he is 'crushing' right now.  More like the hawks decided its truly time to rebuild.  As of right now the hawks are WAY WAY WAY weaker in 2011-2012.   Their D goes 3 deep, Brouwer is gone.  They gained nobody.  Prospects being rushed up does not help them in 2011-2012.  

We shall see what he does from here in FA.  He's running out of 'non-core' players to trade.  

From CI - point blank summary I can agree with.


http://committedindians.com/brian-campbell-traded-to-florida-panthers/

Bottom LINE!!!

Hawks are better without Campbell and his albatross of a contract..........Period enough said!!

$14 mil for 7 players is still not a lot of money considering team needs (stud C + stud D + 5 more).   Its better than you were at however, much much better.

Posted by juskay on 6/24/2011 11:34:00 PM (view original):
Bottom LINE!!!

Hawks are better without Campbell and his albatross of a contract..........Period enough said!!

totally agree from a long term team management standpoint... but from the short term team performance standpoint they will feel it.  Look how they played last season w/o Campbell in the lineup.  I said I'd give up Campbell and a 1st for a few pucks.... thats how bad I thought that contract was.  Its one of those bittersweet losses.

I'd surely say Stan crushed the evening.  He made tons of cap space that portend some serious movement and drafted two character players with high-end talent in the 1st round.  I can't say enough about what he did tonight.

Posted by mudbone1969 on 6/24/2011 11:47:00 PM (view original):
I'd surely say Stan crushed the evening.  He made tons of cap space that portend some serious movement and drafted two character players with high-end talent in the 1st round.  I can't say enough about what he did tonight.

yeah - but that high-end talent from the draft shouldn't even be breaking into the nhl for 3 more seasons - hossa and sharp will be old men by then - even Keith will be over 30.  To put it in perspective - brayden schenn, a #5 pick, has spent 3 seasons in the minors.  besides this was a 'weak draft' by most standards.  

I like the dump of campbells contract.... but to get a guy to play like campbell the next 3 seasons it will cost $4 mil per year... or the diff between campbells $7 mil and the worthless $3 mil player they got... Its almost a wash until season 4 from now - unless they can dump the new guy.  

I liked brouwer a lot - and thought the hawks needed more players like him - not less.  


How is that CRUSHING?

this is the way I see it.

The Blackhawks are in the enviable position of having Toews, Kane, Keith and Seabrook be young enough to form the core of teams that will stay competitive through multiple restructures. This is just the first one.

Brian Campbell's contract had to go to ensure the long-term health of the franchise and the fact that Stan Bowman did it without giving up a draft pick is a win in my books. Much like, but to a much lesser extent, Claude Giroux and JVR made Richards and Carter expendable, Chris Campoli and Nick Leddy's emergence as a potential dual replacement made Brian Campbell expendable. They are very similar players and combined could probably eat Campbell's minutes. That said, they still need another solid dman in the mix.

Keeping their first rounder enabled them to grab Mark McNeill, who was rated much higher and projects to a "Jonathan Toews lite" if you will, that is to say a player who can win faceoffs, play all situations, has tons of heart, character and determination and someday be a nice 2nd or 3rd line center.

Then they basically took a 7th round pick (Brouwer) and developed him into a servicable, NHL forward who was given every opportunity to crack the top 6. He couldn't do it on a consistent basis and I don't believe he has the build to keep throwing 200 hits per season and stay in the league very long. They turned him into a first round pick who most likely has way more upside and is less of a "project" than Troy Brouwer was on draft day. If Philip Danault ends up being a bust, all the Hawks did was trade a 3rd or 4th line winger to get the pick. If he pans out, I believe the Hawks get a player who projects to be the proto-typical 3rd line player they lack in their system, that is responsible defensively, can chip in offensively and plays all 3 zones well, and always finishes his checks.

I think Stan Bowman is doing a great job replenishing the cupboard and preparing his team for the future, while giving himself the flexibility to make an impact in the present.

Rostislav Olesz is an interesting player. He has loads of talent but never really translated it into consistent production despite the lack of firepower in Florida. He could be a decent player if he turns it around, but the way I see it even if they bury him in the minors for the entire duration of his contract, they'll still only end up paying him about 2 million more than 1 season of Brian Campbell's salary. I think it's a good gamble considering his skill level and the fact that they cleared the 5-year proverbial noose around the franchise's salary cap neck.

I think what's next are the signings of Frolik, Campoli and Stalberg, probably for a combined 5.5 million or so. That would leave the team with about 8.2 million, according to capgeek.com. I believe one UFA dman they may target is Scott Hannan. He would be a good fit next to Hjalmarsson and would bring some nasty to a highly skilled defense corps. Other possibilities might include Joni Pitkanen or (gulp) Kevin Bieksa.

Then I think they go after someone who can play a 2nd line center role. Perhaps Brooks Laich or Jussi Jokinen.

Afcorse, they may also shock everyone and make a big splash with Brad Richards, but I think Stan would prefer to upgrade multiple positions rather than just one. If he were to go after Richards though, he could conceivably sign him to a 7-8 year deal with a cap hit of 5.5 let's say, leaving nearly 3 million to fill the bottom 3 roster spots. It can be done, but alot will depend on 1, if they are counting on Olesz to be among the top 9 and 2, if they are comfortable with Leddy, Campoli or a combination of both playing a top-4 role this season.

This week is going to be VERY interesting.

Am I reading capgeek correctly - Kane and Toews only have 4 seasons left in Chi-town before becoming UFAs?


good analysis andru.... I think the hawks picked up solid players with their draft picks but even if these guys do play in the NHL right away (which they shouldn't) they are still about 3 seasons from any real productivity.  Beach, Kruger, Leddy, Smith, Bickell, Olson, Frolik, Morin, and Stalberg are all realistically 2-4 seasons from any real productivity.  maybe one of those guys breaks out sooner.  


Hossa is 32 and you got his $5mil hit til he is 41.  The campbell trade HAD to be done.... and believe it our not it also benefits Florida.... a team with so much youth it will be three seasons before the youngsters demand real sums of money... in the meantime the team will have to hit the cap floor of $48 million.  Campbell is a solid player when you don't consider his cap hit (which Florida does not really have to)...  whereas the guy they traded is not a solid player (and costs $3 mil a season).  I can totally see why Tallon did that.... even with Campbells $7 mil they need to sign $26 mil more.  Florida won that trade imo.... but it did benefit the hawks too.  


If the hawks do re-sign Frolik, Stalberg, and Campoli it still doesn't address the fact that they are a low physicality team and they need to improve there if they are serious about another stanley cup.  Wanna stop the Hawks - hit Kane early and he'll be ineffective all game, torpedo Toews all game cause whose gonna protect him? 

Another interesting fact to consider is that the Hawks can simply buy out Olesz at a cap hit of about 650,000 for 6 seasons, which would give them an additional 2,500,000 this season. That would bring their total cap space to about 10,500,000 after signing Frolik, Campoli and Stalberg; more than enough imho to sign everything they feel they need to contend again, or close to it.

Also moy, I respectfully disagree on Leddy, Bickell and Frolik. I think they are NHL-ready players now and can fill important roles. Bickell and Frolik showed good chemistry as a 3rd line with Bolland last spring and Leddy didn't look out of place next to Keith some nights. Although I agree their best days are probably in the future, I think they are all able to contribute consistently now as well.

All respect to moy, the Flyers have been rockin' the league the past couple of days... but how can you praise Holmgren on the one hand and then pick at Bowman for making theoretically similar moves?  You play the cards you're dealt, just so happens that Holmgren has more cards than anyone else right now.

Just sayin'.