Blackhawks offseason plan discussion

[GRADEN]

Crazy wing depth... So many guys gonna be mad when not on roster


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[ADDinChicago]

Oduya gone

At least that's finally settled. It's a shame he had to go too.

[TNBT]

Yep, it's a shame he's gone. I'd have loved him to come back and then we'd use Daley on the 3rd pairing. Daley would be a brilliant 3rd pair guy, but not so great when you use him on the 2nd pair.

[GRADEN]

Dang that's a lot of money.... 2/7.5 which is a 450k raise and in income tax free state

Dallas Niemi sharp johns and Oduya in just a few weeks

They look pretty good... Maybe a 100+ team


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[johnnyvann840]

Dang that's a lot of money.... 2/7.5 which is a 450k raise and in income tax free state

Dallas Niemi sharp johns and Oduya in just a few weeks

They look pretty good... Maybe a 100+ team


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Yeah, Dallas is for real.

[GRADEN]

Kesler signed a 6/42.5 6.875 ext today at age 30.... Gotta say that deal is going to haunt them real quick

It's a yuck deal to a guy that Toews owned all series....


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[GRADEN]

41.25 sorry.... Still waaaaay too much

IMO worth 4/22.5 range


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[ADDinChicago]

Yep, it's a shame he's gone. I'd have loved him to come back and then we'd use Daley on the 3rd pairing. Daley would be a brilliant 3rd pair guy, but not so great when you use him on the 2nd pair.

Daley would have had to had been moved to retain Oduya. They couldn't find a buyer and Oduya's price remained too high.

[TNBT]

Yep, it's a shame he's gone. I'd have loved him to come back and then we'd use Daley on the 3rd pairing. Daley would be a brilliant 3rd pair guy, but not so great when you use him on the 2nd pair.

Daley would have had to had been moved to retain Oduya. They couldn't find a buyer and Oduya's price remained too high.

So you're thinking that we could have only kept one, so we went with the not as good but less expensive option?

[ADDinChicago]

Yep, it's a shame he's gone. I'd have loved him to come back and then we'd use Daley on the 3rd pairing. Daley would be a brilliant 3rd pair guy, but not so great when you use him on the 2nd pair.

Daley would have had to had been moved to retain Oduya. They couldn't find a buyer and Oduya's price remained too high.

So you're thinking that we could have only kept one, so we went with the not as good but less expensive option?

Yes, just one. And I think it was a combination of cost and not being able to move Daley (Bowman tried). Finally they told Oduya it just wasn't possible and to take a deal.

[TNBT]

I was just reading an article on Dano where he said that he's comfortable playing on either wing, but it would be difficult to move back to C as he hasn't played there in years. Now I had him at C on the 3rd line between Tikhonov and either Versteeg or Garbutt. Now if he's not really capable of centering that line, I thought maybe we move Teravainen (who I had as the LW on the 2nd line) to center that 3rd line and move Dano to LW instead?

That way we could use Panarin on the LW on the 3rd line, with Teravainen and Tikhonov. That could be an explosive line, but not exactly a defensive line like you'd expect from a third line. That would leave us with the top 3 lines being more offensive, or at the very least two-way.

Versteeg - Toews - Hossa
Dano - Anisimov - Kane
Panarin - Teravainen - Tikhonov (Tikhonov and Teravainen could switch, depending on who's more effective at C)


So what I'd like to know from you guys is are you ok with rolling 3 scoring lines like that and using just the 4th line (ADJ - Kruger - Shaw) as our only real shutdown defensive line? I know that 4th line worked really well last season, but I'm wondering if you'd be ok with that, or would prefer the 3rd line also be more defensive?

[molepharmer]

Versteeg - Toews - Hossa
Dano - Anisimov - Kane
Panarin - Teravainen - Tikhonov (Tikhonov and Teravainen could switch, depending on who's more effective at C)

So what I'd like to know from you guys is are you ok with rolling 3 scoring lines like that and using just the 4th line (ADJ - Kruger - Shaw) as our only real shutdown defensive line? I know that 4th line worked really well last season, but I'm wondering if you'd be ok with that, or would prefer the 3rd line also be more defensive?

I'm not very optimistic about the chances of moving Bickell (injured or no interest from other teams). So I don't see all of Versteeg, Shaw and Kruger on the roster. Somebody has to go for Kruger to come back.

Too early to tell who gets moved. Possibly move Versteeg so you can re-sign Kruger. Maybe you have to move Shaw as well, replace him with Garbutt and save another ~ $1 mil.

Either way, if Vertseeg is here I don't see him being on the first line, at all. I'd think Panarin or Dano more likely.

[ADDinChicago]

I can't see Versteeg playing on that first line all season (if at all). It'll be Tuevo or Panarin eventually. With Q using Kane on occasion.

And as I said earlier, if they get Kruger back, it sounds like Anisimov & Dano are now a lock to play together on the third line like they did in Columbus. Versteeg stays on the 2nd line. Shaw (if still here as he might be the odd man out if Bicks can't be moved) on the 3rd and so on. Losing Saad and Sharp really throws a monkey wrench into things.

[TNBT]

I wasn't big on Versteeg being on the 1st line either. I originally had Panarin there with Toews and Hossa. However, if Teravainen is going to center the 3rd line, then I like the idea of Panarin and Tikhonov playing with him, as I think that could be a great line to watch. That leaves Dano and Versteeg to fill the wing spot on the top two lines. Now Dano is the more talented offensive player so you'd think he'd be on the first line... However that would have Anisimov and Versteeg with Ksne, and neither of them are particularly talented enough to effectively utilize Kane's skills. That's why I put Dano there, so he and Kane can work together. Then you have Versteeg on the first line where Toews and Hossa provide the skill and Versteeg is essentially a role player.


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[TNBT]

Like what do we know so far?

Line 1 - Toews and Hossa will play here.

Line 2 - Kane will be here, and Stan has all but guaranteed us that Anisimov is his new center on this line.

Line 3 - Dano could centre this line but has said himself that he'd be better on the wing. That leaves Teravainen to center the line.

Line 4 - Kruger was awesome centering this line last year, so why change it? Assuming we can move Bickell and bring back Kruger, he'll likely be here with ADJ.



So we need a LW on the top 2 lines. Panarin could be great, but there's been a lot of talk that he'll be paired with Teravainen, which means 3rd line. That leaves you with Dano and Versteeg. Dano is the better offensive talent, which is why I pair him with Kane on line two. That leaves Versteeg as a kind of "glue guy" next to Toews and Hossa.

Then with Panarin and Teravainen on line three, who do you put on the other wing? Assuming Bickell is gone, who better to play there than Panarin's former team-mate Tikhonov?

Then assuming Kruger is back and ADJ, then that leaves basically Garbutt, Shaw or a young kid in the 4th line.


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[molepharmer]

Looks like the Hawks just got an overcharge for $750K. Sounds like somebody's (Timonen ??) bonus wasn't taken into account last year. While the $750K doesn't sound like much Blackhawks need all the cap space they can get and this overcharge makes their cap problem even worse. Because of the $750K they are now over the $71.4 number.

[TNBT]

I was just reading an article where Bowman referred to there being "a few" more trades in the works. A few, to me, implies that it's more than one, so that suggests that both of Bickell and Versteeg could be on the way out. In that case, my lines are pretty close to this:

Panarin - Toews - Hossa
Toews and Hossa are locks on this line, and I like Panarin on this line as it allows him to be the third option and opponents will focus on him less with his two line-mates being who they are. That should help Panarin work his way into the NHL style of play, without too much pressure on him.


Dano - Anisimov - Kane
Kane is guaranteed to be here (until Q fiddles with the lines and pairs him with Toews, anyway) and Bowman has said over and over again that Anisimov is that big, long-term 2nd line C that we have been chasing for so long, so both of them should be there. I put Dano on this line because he's a two-way player who has good skills and is talented enough to maximize the chances that Kane creates, and to create chances for Kane in return. He also has experience playing with Anisimov.


Teravainen - Kruger - Tikhonov
Kruger gets to move up to the 3rd line and brings his typical underrated two-way game, while Teravainen provides offensive punch and if he performs like he did in Russia, Tikhonov brings the offensive ability to work well with Teravainen, as well as being responsible defensively and brings a bit of size. This line could be a great balance of offense (Teravainen and Tikhonov) and defense (Kruger and Tikhonov).


Garbutt - Desjardin - Shaw
This becomes a defensive shut-down line. Two thirds of the line that worked so well last year are back, and Garbutt brings more grit and heart to the line.





I'm not set on those lines though... As far as changes go, I could easily switch Dano and Teravainen. Both are young and very talented. I put Dano on that 2nd line because of his familiarity with Anisimov. On that 4th line, Desjardin and Shaw can switch between C and wing, depending on who is the better face-off guy. I don't really know and don't have the stats in front of me, so I'll see what you guys say.

So, any thoughts/alterations on those line?

[TNBT]

I also could switch Panarin and Teravainen, as Teuvo is probably too good offensively and not good enough defensively to stick on a 3rd line, and his lack of size could hurt defensively. Panarin on the other hand seems to be a more two-way player (from what I've heard) and has played with Tikhonov in Russia. I think sticking with players that have experience together like Dano/Anisimov and Panarin/Tikhonov could be very important in helping these new guys adapt quickly.

[molepharmer]

from 7/17/2015...Quenneville on if he sees Teuvo Teravainen on a wing or at center next season. "In my mind right now I'm thinking center."

(Versteeg or Bickell or Garbutt) - TT - Tikhonov
Desj - Kruger - Shaw

But it's anybody's guess who the heck is going or staying. Out of Kruger/Shaw/Versteeg/Bickell, I'd expect two will go and two will stay. Morin and Tropp to be traded for ho-hum picks/prospects or kept in AHL.

[TNBT]

I'd be ok with those bottom two lines, but I was under the impression we were trying to move Kruger off the 4th line?


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