Posted by andru2797 on 9/30/2011 10:40:00 AM (view original):
I think the biggest news that no one is talking about is that Bolland got dinged up against the Wings too. If he goes down that's big trouble for the Hawks. He is a very important player in all 3 zones.

he seems fine... for now.  he should be back soon but thats a bad omen for an oft-injured player to already be dinged up. 

Posted by mudbone1969 on 9/30/2011 10:30:00 PM (view original):
It's amazing how much better the Hawks are when Bolland is healthy.

perhaps the most important 3rd line player in the league, lol

Word trickling down today that Saad will break camp with the team.  What an accomplishment for such a young kid!!  He may not stick yet, but he will be back sooner or later.

yeah - saad has looked impressive.


what I did not see in camp is any of those "character" players you guys signed.  monty, carcillo, mayers, SOD, and brunette really did not look good at all.  crawford struggled tonight as well.  about the only positive I saw for the hawks this preseason besides saad was hossa looks like he is back.  

GL this season with our bet muddy.  Hawks suck!  Go Flyers ;)

LOL...all I have to say to anyone analyzing the pre-season performance of anyone in the league is remember Brandon Bochenski and Chris Kontos? Yeah, there's a good reason why you shouldn't...

Posted by andru2797 on 10/3/2011 12:02:00 AM (view original):
LOL...all I have to say to anyone analyzing the pre-season performance of anyone in the league is remember Brandon Bochenski and Chris Kontos? Yeah, there's a good reason why you shouldn't...

Figured you'd pull that line..... its fine.... teams that suck in the preseason always play that card.  I mean jeesh.... One would still expect these new guys to show up w all that "competition" you guys bragged about in camp this season.   

I'm not saying preseason is the end all be all, its not, but I would DEFINITELY be concerned if I thought my team was going to be the best in the west and they can't seem to click on D, goalies are leaky, special teams still look bad (PK mostly), and the 'new' guys all played like crap.  If I were a hawks fan I'd be worried my team is more like '10-11 than the '09-10 Hawks.  Reminds me of when Hawks fans kept saying the Hawks will turn it around at some point last season (10 games in, 20 games in, 30 games in, halfway point....) ... and they never did ;)

Posted by moy23 on 10/3/2011 12:33:00 AM (view original):

Posted by andru2797 on 10/3/2011 12:02:00 AM (view original):
LOL...all I have to say to anyone analyzing the pre-season performance of anyone in the league is remember Brandon Bochenski and Chris Kontos? Yeah, there's a good reason why you shouldn't...

Figured you'd pull that line..... its fine.... teams that suck in the preseason always play that card.  I mean jeesh.... One would still expect these new guys to show up w all that "competition" you guys bragged about in camp this season.   

I'm not saying preseason is the end all be all, its not, but I would DEFINITELY be concerned if I thought my team was going to be the best in the west and they can't seem to click on D, goalies are leaky, special teams still look bad (PK mostly), and the 'new' guys all played like crap.  If I were a hawks fan I'd be worried my team is more like '10-11 than the '09-10 Hawks.  Reminds me of when Hawks fans kept saying the Hawks will turn it around at some point last season (10 games in, 20 games in, 30 games in, halfway point....) ... and they never did ;)

By that rationale, Brandon Pirri and Jaromir Jagr should lead the league in goals, and Fedor Tyutin should run away with the Norris Trophy this season...cmon moy, you know better than that...not to mention that Sergei Bobrovsky should be the starting goaltender for your Flyers ;-)

The pre-season is made for trying out new things (like line/d combos, players at different positions, new players, young players, new startegies)...if it was meant to matter, veteran players wouldn't be missing every other game. Anyone who's played the game knows that it's very difficult to find a groove and establish a routine when you have 40-45 players rotating in and out of the lineup.

Am I concerned? Sure. I'm concerned that no one stepped up to grab the #2 C spot. I'm concerned that both Emery and Salak looked like they want to be in Rockford this season. I'm concerned that Bolland is dinged up and that Stalberg is out for 3 weeks. But that's coming from someone who never claimed the Hawks would be the top team in the West. I also think the pieces they added this season are far, FAR greater than the pieces from last summer. Will they be at the level of 09-10? No. It's impossible to expect them to equal the best roster in Franshise history. Will they be better than last season? Much, if for no other reason than the extra rest the core got this summer, which we're clearly seeing has paid off already in some cases (Hossa & Kane especially).

I'm mostly just messing with you. Preseason serves its purpose....

I do think based on preseason and past history jagr will score 30 goals this season. He's a workaholic and he's showing chemistry with Giroux and Briere. I could be wrong but at least preseaon eases my concerns there. Bob has played great and his play eases concerns for the backup gig. Wins and losses don't mean anything in preseason but I do think evaluating players/lines/etc can go a long way.

I could tell you based on the philadelphia eagles preseason they had gaping defensive holes... sure enough they are getting exploited now. I'm letting you guys know there are gaping holes on the hawks defense (and pk) .... fair warning ;)

Emery "wins" the backup goalie job, even though Salak outplayed him by miles.  If Emery tanks, he'll be released and Salak will be recalled.  I'd set the O/U date on this happening at Dec 4th, 2011.

Man, I can't WAIT for Friday and especially Saturday.  My Esposito sweater is all ready to go!!

Kruger sent back down. I think that's what I read. So much for all the hype.

And muddy... I'm with you ... pretty excited about the season. I'd break out the pronger sweater but the flyers always lose when I wear it ;)

As with many young players, perhaps Kruger read his own press clippings a little. He tried to play outside his role and in turn had a terrible camp. At the same time, this is probably the best thing that could've happened to him for his future because if he goes to Rockford and has a solid season, he'll come back much stronger next season and perhaps be ready to seize that #2C spot.

As for Emery, I think if anyone really thought Salak would start the season in Chicago they were kidding themselves. I believe the plan all along was to have Salak be the #1 in Rockford and Crawford start 60+ games. I think they were just looking for a backup that was a good guy in the room, that fit in well with the team and that was a good influence in camp and by all accounts, Emery has been all of those things. He's still got some talent, is young enough to have not "lost a step" as they say and can play at least .500 hockey behind a decent team. If he gets hot, he can also be lights out (like last season's run). That's the perfect back-up description if you ask me.

I agree Jagr will come close to a 30 goal pace, but the reason I don't think he will reach that specific number is because I see him playing 65-70 games at full health, and I definitely don't see him playing regular first line minutes per game (19-20+). It's a tall order to ask Jagr to be a 40+ goal scorer (30 in 60 games) at this stage. My prediction would probably be around the 68-22-42-64 ballpark, with many of those points coming on the PP, which I think would be a very successful season for him and the Flyers.

On another note, has anyone noticed how good Evgeni Malkin has looked? I wouldn't be surprised to see a return to 100 pts and Art Ross form from him this year.