Blackhawks, IceHogs Blue Lines Opening Options
The competition for ice time as a defenseman at any level of the Chicago Blackhawks organization will be fierce when the 2014-15 season begins.
At the NHL level, the Chicago Blackhawks already have seven defensemen under contract for next season. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook would figure to be back together to open the season, with Niklas Hjalmarsson a lock for the opening night roster as well. After those three are Johnny Oduya, Nick Leddy, Michal Rozsival and David Rundblad, all of whom are in the final year of their respective contracts.
Given the Blackhawks’ current relationship with the salary cap (they’re over it), this being a position of depth figures to play into future transactions made by GM Stan Bowman to cut dollars.
Within the organizations prospect collection, another seven were already signed and likely headed for Rockford. Stephen Johns, Adam Clendening, Klas Dahlbeck, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Dillon Fournier, Viktor Svedberg and Mathieu Brisebois had contracts with the NHL club heading into the new league year.
On Wednesday, the Blackhawks announced the signing of veteran defenseman Kyle Cumiskey, and the IceHogs announced an AHL deal with Zach Miskovic.
If the Hawks look to make a move, the older two defensemen they could potentially move – Oduya and Rozsival – both have modified no trade clauses on their current contracts. (Reminder: Brian Campbell had a NTC. Most players, when asked, will waive it once they know they aren’t wanted any longer.)
Here are the cap hits associated with the one remaining year for the four defensemen on the Hawks’ NHL roster:
- Oduya: $3.375
- Leddy: $2.700 (RFA)
- Rozsival: $2.200
- Rundblad: $785k (RFA)
The Blackhawks need to cut approximately $2.5-3.0M off their current cap number to be compliant before the regular season begins.
@Tab Do you see the Hawks moving both Oduya and Rozie? or just one?
Appropriate analysis Tab. There is a big logjam on Defense. I believe Cumiskey was “hired” to help out with the young guys in Rockford. If the Hawks are looking for Clendening, Johns, Runblad and maybe Dahlbeck to step up, Rosy, Oduya and Leddy are expendable. Two of the three are probably on the move. Question is, which two?. Rosy is a tough sell at 2.2 and I don’t think the Hawks can afford to hold any of that salary unless absolutely necessary to make a deal . Oduya and Leddy are both very marketable. Hawks may also have to move a piece from their Forward ranks to make room for Richards.
Next several days/weeks should be interesting.
re: Beachpig – I think Oduya and/or Rozsival could be a good fit w/ the Islanders
I’m looking forward to following the progress of the newbie D-men in Rockford. Johns got a taste at the end of the season (8 gms, 1 goal + 4 assists), but both TvR and Fournier will be making their pro debut. Both of them are coming off leg injuries that ended their season early last year – hopefully both are healed and ready to rumble when the puck drops. We kind of know what we’ll get with Dahlbeck and Clendening but these three are intriguing.
Speaking of the Islanders Tab, they signed Jack Skille to a 1 year deal today…if that doesn’t put the Isle over the top, nothing will.
I have concerns about Fournier. I knew he was injured, didn’t know it was a leg injury. In 12/13 he missed time. In 11/12 he also missed time with a shoulder injury. He was drafted 1st overall twice in the Q. Has decent size at 6-2″ 187, and has put up points on bad teams.
It looks to me like the Hawks are going to move 2 defenseman. Maybe both Leddy and Oduya are on the way out and Bowman and Q are ready to let Clendening and Dalbeck step into jobs, with Runblad and Cumiesky as the insurance policy. And maybe the Hawks get a relatively inexpensive blueliner if they send Leddy and Oduya out.
My only concern with keeping Leddy over Oduya is this: Leddy if resigned cannot be qualified for anything LESS than 3.4mil (his actual salary this season). Oduya on the other hand could (and this is something I don’t know and therefore trust Bowman to make the right decision) take less money on his next contract if extended this offseason. That aside, I see Oduya as a player that would be content taking a 2 year deal (something that would bridge the gap between 14/15 and when the next wave is truly ready) while Leddy, having just finished a bridge contract is going to be looking to get term.
It goes without saying that every dollar and cent are going to count on this team starting (well, realistically this year, but more to my point) 2015/16 going forward. Being able to rotate quality EL contract player or players on bridge contracts is going to be huge until the cap rises enough that Toews/Kanes new contracts look like deals (2017/18??).
My point is this, if Oduya buys the Hawks cap flexibility with an extension, then, if I’m signing the cheques, he is my man. Leddy is a nice player but rolling him over into a 1st round pick or high quality prospect is something else that this organization needs to accomplish. 2 birds, 1 stone? Yes, please.
Just an afterthought, if Oduya were going wouldn’t it have been done at the draft in all probability?
RE: Oduya & Roszival’s Modified NTC’s – I read that for Oduya’s Mod. NTC he had to provide the Hawks with a list of 10 teams that he will NOT go to…all other teams are fair game for Bowman to trade him to without even asking him. Rosival’s Mod. NTC is similar except the list he provided was less teams (5 or 6) that he would NOT go to. Unfortunately I can’t find the article again. My point is that the NTC’s are not nearly as big of a deal as people make them out to be. However it’s probably fair to assume that the teams on their NTC lists are the bottom dwellers of the league which might be the very teams willing to take on salary…but as Tab has pointed out, if Bowman tells either of them that the Hawks are going in a different direction, they will waive it and go. It won’t be a problem especially since they are on 1 year deals. As far as Roszi, if Bowman can move Bollig for the 83rd pick in the draft, and Scott for a 5th rounder, then he can definitely move Roszival at $2.2. Million on a 1 year deal…their are teams that will value his experience from the Stanley Cup team and I think Bowman won’t have much trouble moving him…especially if Bowmans willing to let him go for nothing. I would think that Bowman would move Roszival & Versteeg for salary cap reasons before dealing Oduya, but if they believe that Dahlbeck is ready, and that Leddy can move to the second pairing…not to mention Johns/Clendening no doubt knocking on the door by seasons end or before..then it might be the right time to pull the trigger on an Oduya trade for some future value while at the same time giving the Blackhawks another $3.375 Million of Cap flexibility.
Here’s another part of the dilemma – if it’s Leddy that gets traded instead of Oduya, then another player has to be traded too because Leddy alone won’t get us back under the Cap unless they play with a 22 man roster with no spare change in their pocket. So if the question is to trade Oduya or Leddy – then it really is to trade Oduya or Leddy and someone else. If it came down to one or the other I would choose to keep Oduya and trade Leddy because I think Oduya is the better d-man right now. But unless Rozsival or Versteeg is the other player traded along with Leddy (same deal or separate deal – doesn’t matter), I think I try to get under the Cap by losing only one player instead of two.
Dump Bickell problem solved!
As I read the cap situation the Hawks can move #32 ($2.2 M) for a draft choice (just need the trading team to take his salary) and start the season with TT at Rockford. That puts the Hawks under the cap. Rockford Shuttle can be utilized a limited number of times and still keep the Hawks compliant.
Problems arise later when (if) injuries occur and additional players are needed from Rockford to fill in for 10 game periods (assuming LTIR does not come into play). Those situations would probably put the Hawks over the cap limit. At that point another player would need to be moved to keep the Blackhawks cap compliant.
ER,
If Leddy goes and TT is sent down and then Leddy is replaced with Dahlbeck and TT with Mashinter the Hawks would be cap compliant for the start of the season.
Along with Rufus I can see the Hawks moving two of the current d-men. In that scenario I can also see them bringing back Brookbank to also play the role of designated tough guy. I am having a hard time seeing Mashinter in the lineup on a regular basis unless he has some upside that isn’t apparent. You do have to wonder why a trade wasn’t made during the draft prior to the start of free agency. It seems like the Hawks have lost some leverage now that everyone knows that they must clear cap space.
Name, although it would be under the Cap, I don’t think that gives Stan enough spare change to comfortably get through the season. So this CapGeek lineup send TT down and replaces Leddy with Dahlbeck for a 22 man roster and a little breathing room.
CAPGEEK.COM ARMCHAIR GM ROSTER
CapGeek Armchair GM Roster
FORWARDS
Patrick Sharp ($5.900m) / Jonathan Toews ($6.300m) / Marian Hossa ($5.275m)
Brandon Saad ($0.764m) / Brad Richards ($2.000m) / Patrick Kane ($6.300m)
Bryan Bickell ($4.000m) / Andrew Shaw ($2.000m) / Jeremy Morin ($0.800m)
Kris Versteeg ($2.200m) / Marcus Kruger ($1.325m) / Ben Smith ($1.500m)
Peter Regin ($0.650m) /
DEFENSEMEN
Duncan Keith ($5.538m) / Brent Seabrook ($5.800m)
Johnny Oduya ($3.375m) / Niklas Hjalmarsson ($4.100m)
Klas Dahlbeck ($0.613m) / Michal Rozsival ($2.200m)
David Rundblad ($0.785m) /
GOALTENDERS
Corey Crawford ($6.000m)
Antti Raanta ($0.750m)
BUYOUTS
Steve Montador ($0.000m)
Rostislav Olesz ($0.000m)
BONUS OVERAGE
$60,000
——
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $69,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $68,235,962; BONUSES: $283,333
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $764,038
ER – I think you are on the money with your roster. The only position I think might be tweaked is Rosival. If we retained $700k of his salary could he be moved for the remaining $1.5m? If so, I still see a shot at Brookbank returning since your roster does not include a designated tough guy. Also if Runblad falters I think we send him down with the expectation he may be claimed on waivers and replace him with Clendening who could step in for Leddy on the 2nd power play unit. We are going to have to get some of the young d-men some significant experience since Oduya will be gone by the end of the year and Seabrook may have to be moved before the following year to make way for the new Toews and Kane deals (although Sharp is the more likely move).
Haven’t been on recently but I really like the Richards signing. I brought it up when Richards was bought out that he would be a nice pickup and I’m glad he is here now. Perfect bridge player until TT is ready. Happy to see Bollig leave and Regin brought back too. The Hawks are have very quietly put together a very deep roster.
I am very curious to see who moves off of the roster. According to cap geek the Hawks are 2.2 million over now and that’s w Richards and TT on the active roster. They also have 14 forwards on their active roster(its July so take it for what is worth)
There are really only a few forward candidates for being traded at this stage. They are as follows:
Steeger 2.2 million
Bickell 4 million
Sharp 5.9 million
Kruger 1.3-very unlikely
Every other forward is either locked up or is getting locked up.
As for the backend its a complete crapshoot. Keith and Hammer aren’t going anywhere and I really don’t think Seabs gets moved. So that leaves 3 choices.
I really think Leddy should be traded. He would bring the biggest return value and I have serious doubts the Hawks can even afford him or will sign him after his contract runs out. Winnipeg got kicked in the sack this FA period I still feel like E Kane can be had if SB makes a strong offer. That’s a desperate team that NEEDS to do something. They are actively shopping for a young defensemen.
However,IMO Rosy gets moved, that’s the safe move. SB rolls the dice w Oduya for a final season and Runbad & Regin take turns wearing their best suits during the season. Should be interesting to see how the roster shapes out.
Just the clarify if the Hawks were to trade Leddy to Winnipeg for Kane it would be Leddy and take a pick of a forward listed above plus Leddy in order to get under the cap.
Leddy and Rosival or Oduya and Rosival please. I think Leddy and Oduya is losing too much from our blueline. Removing Oduya and Leddy then skating Rosy or BB everynight, we lose speed, puck handling, Oduya on PK and Leddy on PP.
Rosival is essentially untradeable. I can’t see any team being interested in a long in the tooth veteran who, at this stage of his career, is best suited to play 40 to 50 games max.
Versteeg is going to be hard to move too, even with Florida still paying part of his salary. Plus other teams know the Hawks need to shed salary and would love to dump Versteeg. Maybe if the Hawks included a semi-okay prospect in a package they could get somebody to bite on Versteeg, but that seems like a long shot.
The better strategy is to move Leddy, and include Versteeg in the deal at part of what the other team is going to have to accept.
Still think we have to move Sharp – the most replaceable forward we have at the right time and age. And as Tab pointed out, moving Oduya this year and Leddy next makes the most sense so we get something for both of them. Sharp and Oduya should net us a decent 3rd line center so Shaw can move to a wing, and still save us enough cap space. If you can move Rosy or Steeger that would be great but realistically that would be hard to do.
As bad as Rundblad looked last year does anyone think he can make the big club this season? I know he can’t be as bad as he played in the games I saw but geez he was bad.
Has Stan not made it completely obvious that he doesn’t want to take anyone on that’s signed for more than a year? He’s flat out said it multiple times. Evander Kane isn’t happening, and that conversation wouldn’t start without Saad and/or TT, whom Bowman has said HE IS NOT MOVING.
Mike57… completely agree on Runbad… He played/looked like Theon/Reek from “Thrones”… just a nervous, beaten ball of fear!!!!
Here is a win/win trade for Hawks… 23, two of 27,32,8 to Isles for Nielsen (2 @ $2.75)
Hawks dump a shit load of Money this year (leaving some wiggle room for late season rental)… pretty much cap neutral for next year (signing of 19/88/20)…
Hawks get great 2 way 2nd/3rd C… and will Have SOLID 4 lines on both sides of ice…
Isles will get MUCH needed D side help +++ they have top 3 Centers all ready – Strome, Tavares, Grabo…
In addition, heard Hawks are trying to find a way/price to get BBank back… BBank will easily fill in for 0ne of the 8,32 – in my proposed trade- which means Hawks- only Have to skate 1 rookie at a time on D!!!!
Request: stop w/ the trade proposals for centers (specifically Frans Nielson). ICYMI, the Hawks A) are over the cap and B) have a 2nd line center signed. At this juncture, the Hawks are looking to deal for picks/prospects, not for NHL roster players.
re: Brookbank – yes, the Hawks like him and would have interest in bringing him back… but this article is pretty clear that there are about 3 defensemen too many between Chicago & Rockford at this time so it appears he’ll have to look for work elsewhere. Unless the Hawks dump Oduya, Rozsival AND Leddy (which isn’t happening)
JS is right. Evander Kane isn’t happening. Nor is any veteran going to be acquired unless it’s on a one year deal.
Leddy and/or Oduya are going to be moved. Safe to conclude that. Versteeg might move, but it’s going to be hard to accomplish unless Stan gets creative.
Keith – Seabrook
Leddy or Oduya – Hjalmarsson
Clendening / Dahlbeck – Rosival
Depth….maybe Brookbank, Runblad, Cumiesky
Saad – Toews – Kane
Sharp – Richards – Hossa
Bickell – Kruger – Shaw
Morin – Smith – Versteeg or Nordstrom
Depth…Regin
Tab- A trade/cap reasons… pretty much has to be made…
While it doesn’t HAVE to be for Center- as explained – Hawks will have to Purge from the D side due to cap this year and next….
Hawks have more “ready” D guys then Centers…
Richards – is a One year 2nd C
Nielson- gives them 2 yr. option- and the “proposed trade” is Cap Neutral for 2nd Yr. and Cap Positive – this year!!!
+ The Hawks should/would get him + a draft pick!!!
Let’s try this again, for wall’s sake
The Blackhawks are over the cap. Nobody is saying the Hawks won’t make a trade, but I am saying they aren’t in the market for more NHL roster players. Right now, the Hawks have Toews & Richards penciled in as their top two centers, and Kruger as a third (either on 3rd or 4th line). They also have Regin, Smith, Shaw on their NHL roster as potential centers.
Making a trade for an NHL roster player, while already $2.3M over the cap, means the Hawks would have to move more players off their roster to accommodate the addition financially. If you factor in approx $1M in “wiggle room,” the Hawks would have to move at least $5.5M to afford Nielson. Now you’re subtracting at least two, if not three players from the Hawks’ NHL roster… and you’re assuming the Islanders will take back Versteeg as “dead weight” in the transaction (highly unlikely unless overcompensating with a top tier prospect).
The reason the Hawks signed Brad Richards is because Teuvo Teravainen has given every indication that he has the ability to be a star in the NHL. But the organization doesn’t want to rush him, so they found a 50-60 point bandaid in Richards for one season. That’s all the Hawks want/need to fill at the center position. Nielson’s a fantastic player, but he doesn’t make sense for the Blackhawks financially.
(not to mention why the hell would the Islanders want to move a quality player w/ a great cap number?)
Well said Tab.
Toews, Richards, Kruger and one of Shaw, Smith, Regin, or Teravainen will be the Hawks centers to start 2014/15.
Now they need to shed salary and shore up the d-corps.
Wall is having fun trying to find a way to get Nielson on the roster…just a “what if”…Bowman will soon make a move to clear the necessary CAP space and then make his final decisions…Oduya will be one, and Versteeg may be two…by keeping Versteeg, you have Nordstrom and Rasmussen with no place to go but Rockford, so we will see…I can’t see the Hawks signing BB even if we move 2 DMen as TWO Hogs have to be given every chance in the world to show that they are more than ready to make the Hawks roster. Nothing will be “given” in this organization, all prospects, including TT and Clendening, are going to have to fight to show they belong…which will make for a great TC and will only make us better as a team.
We are loaded, and ready to make another run at the Cup with Richards in tow…the only dressing still to be completed is how exactly the D will look…but you have to KNOW with Bowman as GM and Q as Coach, we will have 7 very good DMen ready to play.
I smell another SC this coming season.
Current Salary Cap Math
Teravainen in Rockford
Oduya dealt for pick(s)
Dahlbeck promoted to Chicago
13 forwards, 7 defensemen, 2 goaltenders.
approx $1.3-1.4M in cap space
Current Salary Cap Math
Teravainen in Rockford
Oduya dealt for pick(s)
Dahlbeck promoted to Chicago
13 forwards, 7 defensemen, 2 goaltenders.
approx $1.3-1.4M in cap space
Done. Someone get Tab a beer!
I’m going to have to politely disagree.
Leddy should be the one to be moved. Oduya’s been around the block and understands he’s in a great position and “could” be willing to sign for less to stay in Chicago. Leddy on the other hand is young, been benched multiple times by Q and wants to get his money while he can get it. That said he has tremendous value for many NHL teams.
Do the Hawks really need additional picks? No
They just drafted a slew of players going the NCAA route, so they didn’t need to sign them this or next year.
Do the Hawks need prospects? No
Bam pointed out the D cupboard is pretty well stocked for this season. I believe the Offensive side is as well.
Get out of Cap hell? Yes
So the appropriate trade offer be Leddy and taking on the salary of Versteeg/Roszival for a 6Th or 7th pick or low level prospect.
So who would consider a deal like this ?
Calgary? Still below the cap floor so maybe
Ottawa? Below the floor but doubtful
Columbus? less than 1M below the floor but need’s help on D
Detroit? They need D and nobody is signing there these days. This might just be a deal with the devil.
Montreal? they have the space and I believe Bergiven was a big Leddy supporter during his time here.
Oh well food for thought.
Even after they move Oduya, they have to also move someone signed for 2015-2016 or no Toews and Kane extensions.
I understand that those who desperately want to dump Nick Leddy will continue making the case to keep Johnny Oduya, but his cap number isn’t big enough to get the Hawks under the cap by himself. Oduya becomes the preferred dump because the Hawks can keep the rest of their roster together (at least to start the season) with only one removed.
re: JS’s comment about someone signed for 2015-16 & Kane/Toews extensions – tagging space could present an issue but that depends on who’s on the NHL roster and what the cap hits are for their new deals.
Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe the tagging space in regards to re-signing players in the last year of their contracts is that the new contract amount(s) added to the Cap payroll on the books for the next season must not exceed the Salary Cap of the current season. The Hawks currently have 13 players under contract for 2015/16 and their cap hits add up to $44,757,628. Therefore by subtracting that amount from the current year Salary Cap ($69,000,000 – $44,757,628) – the Hawks currently have $24,242,372 tagging space. So unless the T&K deals are more than $12M apiece, there is enough tagging space to re-sign them now.
Borje – On Leddy : “That said he has tremendous value for many NHL teams.”… Yet you want to move him “for a 6Th or 7th pick or low level prospect.” Its a good thing you arent GM…
Even if Leddy leaves the team at the end of the year next year… (and we qualify him, which Stan will)… we are going to get something like a 2nd or 3rd round pick in 2016. but you want to move him for less than half that, and get rid of a good body in Versteeg. I’ll admit Versteeg is nothing more than a low end 3rd liner… but will need bodies if we get hit by the injury bug. He is body. Moving Oduya gets us under the cap, and then this team can roll on. If Oduya is so happy (and Q/Stan want him to sign an extention)… they can just try to get him back in the off season.
@Tab
With respect, moving Leddy and demoting TT creates enough cap space to be cap compliant. I don’t need or particularly want to make a case for he vs. anyone re:trade options – but it is simply untrue that his salary alone wouldn’t be enough.
Name- Yes it would get us Cap compliant. But with under 640K to play with, you are asking for trouble. Say Shaw and Morin bang knees and both need a night off. With such a low cap number, we wouldnt be able to call up Rasmussenn, TT, etc to fill in… our options are limited to people with under 640K cap hits.
By moving oduya, we will have over 1M and have plenty of room to have to Rockford shuttle ready to go.
We’d be cap compliant with 14 forwards and 7 D, what’s the problem if some needs a night off?
Just to be clear: that’s TWO extra forwards and one D
FORWARDS
Patrick Sharp ($5.900m) / Jonathan Toews ($6.300m) / Marian Hossa ($5.275m)
Brandon Saad ($0.764m) / Brad Richards ($2.000m) / Patrick Kane ($6.300m)
Bryan Bickell ($4.000m) / Andrew Shaw ($2.000m) / Ben Smith ($1.500m)
Jeremy Morin ($0.800m) / Marcus Kruger ($1.325m) / Kris Versteeg ($2.200m)
Peter Regin ($0.650m) /
DEFENSEMEN
Brent Seabrook ($5.800m) / Duncan Keith ($5.538m)
Niklas Hjalmarsson ($4.100m) / Johnny Oduya ($3.375m)
David Rundblad ($0.785m) / Michal Rozsival ($2.200m)
GOALTENDERS
Corey Crawford ($6.000m)
Antti Raanta ($0.750m)
BUYOUTS
Rostislav Olesz ($0.000m)
Steve Montador ($0.000m)
BONUS OVERAGE
$60,000
——
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(estimations for 2014-15)
SALARY CAP: $69,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $67,622,628; BONUSES: $130,000
CAP SPACE (21-man roster): $1,377,372
Thats 13/6. Which 2 players are you calling up with 1.377M? For argument sake, Yes, you could call up Dahlbeck ($613,333) and Nordstrom (616,666) and get under the cap… but what if you want to call up TT instead? or if Nordy is hurt? You cant! Same with Rasmussen, Danualt, McNeill, Carey, Broadhurst, Ross… All those guys are LOCKED in the AHL due to cap space. you would then be stuck with Mashinter, Leblanc or Bass…
That would be BAD roster management.
I believe the cap rosters are 23 players. Would someone please confirm?
Just a Fan – maximum is 23 players until that restriction is lifted after the TDL. The minimum is 20 (12F/6D/2G) – so having a 21 or 22 man roster is OK.
Tab- Like JS said- they need to dump more Cap for 19/88/20 year… (yes- it does make more sense to collect Picks)… But like Brad understands… I am not a Versteeg fan after last year… It might be 50/50 that 23 skates better… BUT it is 100% that he makes a couple of STUPID TO’s every other game leading to Odd-man’s for the other team!!!
So I am just trying to Rid SB of that mistake- take my chances w/ Moose, or Kid for 30% of the Cap hit!!!
@tim
A team only need have 23 men under the cap for a certain date. Thereafter, a team, like the Hawks can go with a 20, 21, 22 OR 26 man roster as the team sees fit. So, after proving that they are cap compliant on said day the Hawks could then send down Nordstrom and/or Dahlbeck and start recouping cap space for later in the year – when they could want/need to call up someone more expensive than Mashinter, Nordy etc.
If the Hawks trade Leddy expect a scenario similar to something I just described.
So again, yes it’s possible to move ONLY Leddy. And, no it wouldn’t put the team in cap hell.
Not saying it will happen, though it is possible and certainly my preference assuming Oduya wants to re-up at something like 2yrs, 6million (or less).
Name – pretty much wrong across the board, but especially w/ the “a team, like the Hawks can go with a 20, 21, 22 OR 26 man roster as the team sees fit” bullshit. The NHL has a roster max of 23 players until the trade deadline. This isn’t new, and shouldn’t surprise anyone.
Furthermore, moving Leddy & demoting TT leaves the Hawks w/ 6 defensemen including Rundblad, Oduya & Rozsival (aka worst case scenario) and barely enough for a minimum salary. Name’s math is wrong again.
Anyone that wants Rozsival as an 82 game 6th defenseman is diluted. With 6 NHL defenseman that leaves nothing for injuries, and unless this is NHL 14, their will be. Rozsival can’t stay healthy and probably isn’t good enough to play 82 on this team. You want to take advantage of the 23 whenever possible. You don’t want kids in the press box but that’s where guys like Rozsival and Regin would step in.
What’s in a Name? Certainly not much upstairs.
Tim G
Yes you are correct I would make a horrendous GM.
My assumption of a 6th or 7th round pick is based off the following: TB traded Teddy Purcell, then Sam Gagne and BJ Crombeen for a 6th rd pick to basically remove 5M from their cap for a 6th Rd pick and retaining 1.6M of Gagne’s Cap hit. Moving Leddy and Versteeg is more of a cap hit.
I’m a huge Leddy fan and think they will regret not keeping him around. But the Hawks are in a sticky spot. 88,19,20,16 and 8 all needing a raises next year, someone will need to move on.
The idea that Bowman would qualify Leddy and then not attempt to negotiate with him is a terrible situation. His agent would attempt to screw the Hawks everytime he negotiates a contract with the Hawks. This would not be a wise move by Bowman.
Calm down Tab. Seriously. Do you want this to be a place where ideas are discussed in an appropriate way? If so, then lead by example. Nothing I said was bullshit. Clearly there is a max 23 man roster, ever seen a typo?
You said: moving Leddy alone won’t be enough cap relief to become compliant. I demonstrated that it is enough. It doesn’t mean Leddy will or should get traded but don’t tell your readership that it isn’t possible when it is.
Just to be clear: want and able are different things.
Tim G, unfortunately a Rundblad/Rosival 3d pairing will play 5-7 minutes a game. On the road this pair would get crucified. Far too much pressure on the other 4 D men. Besides, Rosival can only be effective playing about 50 games a year. Would much rather pair Cendening with Hammer and keep Leddy on the 3d pair with Rosival/Dalbeck etc
Mike, for me its important to finally get Leddy into that top 4 grouping and let him play bigger minutes for us…so I would prefer this…
Keith-Hammer
Seabrook-Leddy
Dahlbeck/Rozy-Clendening/RunReallyBad
But I can see your desire to have balance on all 3 pairings with Leddy on the 3rd pairing…the only “issue” that I can see with Hammer/Clendening is that Q used Hammer/Oduya against the top lines, leaving Keith/Seabs free for more offence. By having Keith/Hammer take this “shut down” role it would leave Seabrook/Leddy free for more offence, a natural, and have Dahlbeck/Clendening rotate on the 3rd pairing taking less skilled forwards, who are often slower, which will lend itself to the rapid transition game.
Kicking back enjoying a beautiful 4th of July day down south here (beer, brisket, and buds). Love the USA. Moved from Chi Town 20 years ago and miss the hell out of going to games and being surrounded by Hawks (and Sox) fans to hang with. Just want to say thanks to Tab for hosting an informative site and everybody else for contributing so I can stay in touch with real fans.
After digesting what everyone is saying, it seems that Tab is correct, as usual. Leddy stays and OD is the D to go, IF Stan can get the return he feels is right. Even Steeger is up for consideration to go with Leds, again if Stan gets the right return, but I think Stan and Q like Steeger for $2M and 1 more year.
Why OD? He clears the cap on his own, Leddy would need another rostered player. OD gets you max return now as opposed to next year when he goes UFA and the hawks get zip. IF Leds has to be qualified next year and gets a better offer, the Hawks have options. Pay the dude his money if he blossoms and fits the 2015 cap structure or let him go then and get a 2nd for him. Like everyone is saying the D pipe (Dahlbeck, Clendening, Johns, Van Riemsdyk, Svedberg, Fournier) is deep. But everyone seems to be forgetting that Leds just turned 23 in 2014! At his age the extra year to mature with the Hawks will be huge. See what the other new kids do this season and next year you can consider moving bigger money with Sharp or Seabrook if you need to make cap.
Mike- I would!… i was just showing that removing leddy vs oduya leave a lineup that is too close to the cap…
Im all in favor of a Hammer/Dahlbeck 2nd line and Leddy/Clendening 3rd line.
Bring back Montador!!!!!!!
Happy 4th!!!!!!
To read Oduya’s agent today it will not be his client who is traded. Which reinforces my consistent view that Nick Leddy is the player the Hawks will trade. Then they do something with Kris Versteeg somehow.
Sharp’s agent said the same thing. But you hear they were aggressively shopping him too. I don’t believe a thing agents say. In fact, I tend to trust reputable reporters more than agents.
I would prefer to move Oduya and Roszival, but I think Versteeg will be working hard this summer and will be good enough to make the bottom 6. Give him a chance. He wasn’t able to train last summer due to his surgically repaired knee. He obviously was not over his knee surgery this past year.
We can clear cap with T on ahlroster and trade 32 (or 23) contract. Just have to add a prospect to get a Rozy trade done. Rozys only going to play 40-50 games anyways. Leds can do tryouts/experience at the 4th. That way we keep the best roster we possible can. If we were to trade 8, then were not going to have 27, 8 & 32 going forward in a yr… I want to trade 32 & 23 instead of 8. Longterm, longterm, longterm.
My prediction: Roszi traded for a 6th round pick.
Nobody wants Rosival. He’s old, at the end of the line and makes strong money for one more season. Only way you get anybody to take on Rosival and his fill salary is if you include a good prospect in the deal.
This all comes down of moving Leddy or Oduya while finding a way to somehow dump Versteeg. It’s not calculus.
Roszival makes strong money? What are you talking about?
Roszival makes $1,750,000 in salary. His cap hit is $2,200,000
For teams not against the cap like the Hawks, the cap number doesn’t matter. $1.75 Million is cheap as a salary for a veteran, only 500k more than Bollig and Bowman got a 3rd round pick for him. Bollig also had a 3 year contract, while Roszi only has 1 year. Bowman got a 5th for Scott for petes sake! You really think he can’t trade Roszi for a 6th? Just like Calgary that took Bollig, teams value Stanley Cup/Playoff Experience and their are plenty of teams that will want Roszival as a veteran, 3rd pairing dman for the experience he can bring to a teams younger guys, especially since it’s only for 1 year. Bowman has repeatedly shown that he can trade these type of guys. Don’t you ever get tired of being wrong Rufus?
Too much herd mentality…sure glad my name isn’t Bollig, Handzus or Rufus T Firefly….Bollig was Q’s choice and served us well, he will do fine in Calgary, Handzus scored the 2OT winner in game 5 or we would have gone home right there and then. Rufus’s opinion is as good as anyone else on this site and its always valuable to have an alternate viewpoint. Keep on keepin on Rufus.
Well now that Canada Day, 4th of July, free agent frenzy opening day madness and about a dozen BBQs as of late are out of the way the big questions still remain and we need to ascertain the following 1) is a Toews/Kane agreement imminent? 2) who goes to get under the cap? 3) are we still competitive/ahead with the improvements in Dallas, Minny, Colorado and the Ducks? 4) can we win the Stanley Cup this upcoming season?
I was reading an article about Michael Del Zotto. He’s had a few rough stops recently but the guy is a player. A few years ago he was downright untouchable. I wouldn’t mind the Hawks taking a flyer on this guy, especially if the Hawks end up moving Leddy, Oduya or Rosy. Considering MDZ is still out there the price tag is coming down by the day. He could be an inexpensive high risk high reward addition. I definitely think he’s an upgrade over Runbad. I can’t see him(Runbad) making any type of positive contributions to the Hawks next season. But at least Runbad isn’t expensive which is where MDZ is headed if he isn’t signed soon.
I’ve come to the position that I think the Hawks should try to keep the team as strong as possible for 2014/15 and worry about purging salary next summer. So I hope Stan trades Rozsival and goes with a 22 man roster (13 forwards), with the top-5 d-men from last season (2, 7, 27, 4, 8) and Rundblad/Dahlbeck taking the 6/7 spots.
Also, remember through most of the 2013 season where Saad played with Toews and Hossa – I’d like to see that happen with Morin to see if he can get jump started playing with 2 excellent possession players. Morin has a top-6 shot and if he can get into scoring positions Toews and Hossa will find him. If Morin can handle the 1st line LW as well as Saad did, that would really enhance the Hawks depth but putting good scorers on every line.
Morin-Toews-Hossa
Saad-Richards-Kane
Sharp-Shaw-Versteeg
Bickell-Kruger-Smith
Have to agree 100% with Ebony….those are some good looking four lines… lose Rozy, thats it…Islanders perhaps.
ER- I suggested Morin is a top 6 sniper a long time back…
Any way I like the idea… BUT Versteeg… if 23 plays like PO’s- he will drag that third line down… Love to see TT, Carey, RasMOOSE before 23!!!
32 or 23 & 86 on ahlroster gives us the cap space for the 2way contract guys to get games.
MOOSE.
Wall, I agree – IF Versteeg plays like he did in the playoffs he shouldn’t be in the lineup. The hope is that more R&R and conditioning on his surgically repaired knee will result in him being closer to the 2010 model than the 2014 model. If he can get his skating back to what it was he will be a very good 3rd liner – if not, he shouldn’t be on the team.
At the risk of opening a can of worms… the hawks COULD use a 21 man roster and just simply bury 27/32/23 and be under the cap. Morin Regin and Moose are the 11th, 12th, and 13th Fwds with Clendening and Dahlbeck as the 5th and 6th Dmen (no 7th dman or 14th fwd though). It leaves us with less than 100k to the cap, but it technically does it in a WORST case scenerio where Stan can move anyone and NEEDS to get under the cap…. Just a thought.
*cant move anyone…