Here’s where the Hawks will probably dabble the least.
With Viktor Stalberg’s inevitable departure and the trade of Michael Frolik, it seems as though many long-marinating Pigs such as Ben Smith, Jeremy Morin, and Jimmy Hayes will get their shot at being full-time NHLers this season. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some intriguing options out there, provided they’re willing to hop on board the Good Ship Blackhawk for cheap
Gonna jump around here a bit, as we’ll get to wingers either later today or on the holiday. But the other pretty obvious gap for the Hawks other than center is a #6-7 defenseman, or at least someone to make sure Sheldon Brookbank has a platoon partner. This could easily be solved by simply re-signing Michal Rozsival, but that comes with a couple risks. One, he may have priced himself right out of it with a superb playoff performance. Two, counting on year-to-year consistency from your bottom pairing d-men usually ends up biting you in the ass. Remember how Brent Sopel went from hero in 2008 to hated in 2009 to loved again in 2010? Essentially, your third pairing is your middle relief, and by its very nature can swing wildly from useful to a giant sucking sound one season to the next. We present Shawn Camp as Exhibit A, your honor.
Emery returning? Chicago Tribune
Prospects ready to pounce: Daily Herald
So this column has a terrible title: Suntimes
Not a surprise: ESPN CHICAGO
Key Vote: TSN
Duh! Sportsnet
They still have no defense or a Goalie: TSN
Even though we’re still wringing out the beer and champagne and tears from our shirts and jerseys, the world of the NHL waits for no one. After Sunday’s draft, the pedal stays to the floor as free agency opens on Friday. Though the Hawks promise to not be big players, or maybe even players at all, that doesn’t mean there aren’t holes to fill. Most likely, Stan will do what he did last summer and wait for the market to bottom out and pick up someone on the cheap, which is how Michal Rozsival ended up here. There are some names that are worth studying for Stan, though.
We’ll start with the men in the middle, as one just went away. It’s obvious that Stan wants to plug Brandon Pirri in there to start next year with as much as he’s mentioned him to the press. Either that, or he’s just bluffing for some purpose yet to be determined. That slots Shaw and Kruger behind him, but the Hawks might be better off getting a veteran to move Shaw to wing to make up for the loss of Michael Frolik. There are some options.
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For those that got in on our first batch of shirts, they’re also being shipped today. Thanks for your patience.
Now is the time for the youngsters to step up: CSN Autoplay
The Hartman scouting report: Blackhawks
Hockey and Golf are forever intertwined: Globe and Mail
Centers of Attention: Sportsnet.ca
Penguins are top heavy: Ottawa Sun
More crazy goalie money: Columbus Post Dispatch
NHL stars lose millions in a financial scam: NY Daily News
Well, Stage 1 of this week’s offseason circus is now in the books. What are we left with?
The big news is obviously the trades of Dave Bolland and Michael Frolik for five picks. Bolland comes as no shock. He’d become to expensive for the role he had, and there are many options as replacements. Frolik was a bit of a surprise, just because it felt like he would have slotted perfectly into Viktor Stalberg’s role on the 3rd line. But again, a $2.2 million 4th liner is not a luxury you can afford for long. Frolik has been an underrated asset, sometimes criminally so, as he’s always driven possession no matter what role he was asked to play. And he’s been asked to play a lot of them in his time here.
Thanks 36 & 67, not a bad way to go out though: ESPN Chicago
Bicks will be back: Blackhawks
Oh yeah and there was the whole draft thing going on: Trib
Drafting Mr. Irrelevant is fun, the Hawks should do it every year: PD
How Gillis still has a job is beyond me: PHT
If you though Bickell got overpaid…: TSN
In news as shocking as finding out Mondays suck (for those of you with real jobs, at least), Dave Bolland found himself the center of a draft day trade to Toronto. The Hawks received the Leafs 2nd and 4th rounder this year and their 4th rounder next year, essentially recouping what they gave up for Johnny Oduya last year. The second round is where Stan might have done his best work, so getting that is a bonus (Saad, Clendening, Johns).
Bolland gets a chance to play for something of his hometown team, as he’s an Ontario boy. Bolland can also slot in behind Kadri and Grabovski in his comfortable #3 center role, at least until round moron Randy Carlyle inexplicably boxes Grabovski up despite all his plus possession numbers.
Could get a little wild, either with or without the Hawks. Will Bolland be shipped for picks? Someone else? Will the Hawks move up or down? We shall see. Discuss all the goings on here, and we’ll be posting stories as they happen, if they happen. Follow along on Twitter as well, @realfansprogram.
