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Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees Stan Will Have His Picnic

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Never let it be said that the Hawks aren’t completely aware of how to manipulate reaction to stuff like this, because I don’t think it’s any coincidence that they dumped the news of Patrick Sharp and Stephen Johns getting dealt to Dallas (where Johns can pound on all their forwards for the next decade five times a year) for Ryan Garbutt and Trevor Daley. Nice try Stan, but we’re always watching.

There’s so many factors in this I’m not sure where to start, so I’ll go player by player. We knew Sharp was likely to go, even after Saad had to be tossed overboard because the math didn’t work with both Sharp and Oduya. No one expected a great return on Sharp, but I can’t help but think Stan Bowman overplayed his hand a bit here. While we won’t ever know what exactly was on offer before and at the draft, we know that there were discussions with several teams while Stan reportedly chased a 1st and a prospect. What he ended up with was an aging, one-way d-man (and not the right way) and a middle aged 4th liner, and he had to toss in Stephen Johns for the privilege of that. Would a 2nd and a 3rd round pick really have been any worse?

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Free Agency Primer

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It may seem like the Hawks are going to have a quiet free agency, just like they had a quiet draft. Of course, if they don’t get Saad and Kruger locked up by Wednesday, it could get pretty interesting in a hurry. It’s already started a bit, as David Rundblad was signed to a two year extension today at a $1M cap hit. It may seem strange, and we didn’t see him in the picture, but as we’ve said before Stan is absolutely loathe to lose any asset for free if he doesn’t absolutely has to. We saw this with Scott and Bollig and others. Especially assets he had to give up other assets to get. He’s probably praying day and night that Rundblad can show just enough to be some throw-in in a deadline deal. Rundblad could also be sent down and only 75K would count against the cap, but just for shits and giggles that puts five d-men for sure on next year’s roster in Keith, Seabrook, Hammer, Johns, TVR, and Rundblad. If Paliotta or Pokka or Svedberg or unforeseen underdog can wow in camp, that probably puts Rundblad in Rockford.

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Angry At Numbers: The Cap Edition

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Ok, so it’s time to get detailed. I’m not sure any of this will be anything you don’t already know, but we have to get through it anyway. So let’s do this. For this exercise, I’m going to assume the cap is at $71 million as that’s the number I keep hearing and even though the players have made serious noise about not using their escalator, I would be surprised if they didn’t help out their free agent brethren by bumping it a little, as well as the owners having the option of doing so as well and these guys want to sign their own and other players as well because they do want to win for the most part (and at this point, it feels like Rocky should say he wants it at $71 million and everyone else will fall in. Certainly Bettman should listen to the owner of his league’s signature franchise at the moment. This is all half in jest).

Ok, so let’s do it.

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High On The Hog: Call In The Hogs, Season Over

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The Rockford IceHogs 2014-15 season came to an end Sunday afternoon, when they were eliminated from the Calder Cup Playoffs by Midwest Division rival Grand Rapids. The Griffins halted Rockford’s postseason in the conference semifinal in five games with a 5-3 win.

In reality, the Hogs were pretty much done in the previous Thursday.

That’s when Grand Rapids took command of the series with a 2-1 overtime victory. Tyler Bertuzzi’s second goal of the contest came 13 seconds into extra time and proved to be the backbreaker in what had been a pretty evenly played series.

Rockford had itself a nice run this season. Ultimately, however, it culminated in the IceHogs losing to a team that was superior at this stage of the spring. Why is Grand Rapids still playing hockey while the Hogs start cleaning out their lockers? Let’s explain.

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High On The Hog: Postseason Thoughts

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The Rockford IceHogs have hit a postseason roadbump in the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. Rockford dropped the first two games of their Western Conference Semifinal in Grand Rapids last week.

Red Wings forward prospect Teemu Pulkkinen was the harvester of sorrow in Games 1 and 2, torching the Hogs for five goals and six points in the two Griffins victories. A strong Grand Rapids showing at home was not unexpected. However, the IceHogs have their work cut out for them as the series shifts to Winnebago County.

Here’s my take on the way the postseason is developing for the IceHogs as they look to hold serve at the BMO, starting with Game 3 Wednesday night.

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High On The Hog: Grappling With The Griffins

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The Rockford IceHogs face a familiar opponent in the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. After completing a sweep of Texas at the BMO this past Wednesday, the IceHogs will be facing off in Grand Rapids this Wednesday and Friday in the first two games of the Western Conference Semifinal.

The Griffins battled back from an 0-2 deficit against Toronto, winning three straight home games to advance to the second round. The best-of-seven series will feature a 2-3-2 format, meaning that Rockford plays host in Games 3, 4 and 5 should it go that far.

The way things have gone between the two teams this season, it should go at least that far. This really shapes up to be a high-octane series.

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High On The Hog: Up A Pair On The Texas Stars

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The Rockford IceHogs got their quest for the 2015 Calder Cup off to a bang-beat, bell-ringing start down in Texas over the weekend. The Hogs took the first two games of their AHL Western Conference Quarterfinal from the Stars in games on Friday and Saturday.

As a result, I’ll be heading to the BMO Harris Bank Center Wednesday night to watch the IceHogs try and wrap up the best-of-five series. Now…who’s coming with me?

Well…maybe not as many as management would like. I’m sure the Rockford brass isn’t completely happy with the league schedule makers.

Texas, who averaged just over 5,000 fans this season in their building in Cedar Park, drew 4,375 Friday and 4,978 Saturday. The IceHogs, who set an attendance record this season by packing an average of 4,834 into the BMO and have “home ice” in the series, get to host a weeknight game. The challenge for the Rockford area is clear; can they fill the house without dollar hot dogs?

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High On The Hog: Gone To Texas

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The Rockford IceHogs will begin postseason play for the first time in five seasons this weekend. The AHL has a different idea of what “home ice” entails, so the boys will begin the opening round of the playoffs in Texas.

Rockford, who finished the season as the fourth-seed, will play Friday and Saturday night against the fifth-seeded Stars. The remainder of the five-game best of will take place at the BMO Harris Bank Center.

How do we feel about the opponent the Hogs have drawn? Well, they did everything they could to make this series happen.

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High On The Hog: Hot In Rockford

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The Rockford IceHogs seem to be peaking at the perfect time of the season. Winners of eight of their last ten games, the Hogs have assured themselves of the team’s first trip to the AHL postseason in five years.

The IceHogs have avoided lengthy slumps that have doomed past campaigns. The worst stretch of hockey for Rockford came from November 28 to January 19, when the team was 8-9-4-1 in 22 games.

The Hogs tend to jell in the spring and this season has been no exception. What has been the difference is the team’s 15-4-0-1start. With 41 wins this season with seven games to play, the AHL franchise high water mark of 44 victories (set in 80-game seasons in 2007-08 and 2009-10) is certainly within reach.

You can point to a lot of factors that have gotten Rockford to this point. Here are some players who have provided a recent jump in the step of the IceHogs.