Blackhawks Place Jan Rutta On Waivers
On Thursday the Blackhawks placed defenseman Jan Rutta on waivers.
Rutta, 28, signed a new one-year deal with the Hawks in March with a $2.25M cap hit. He has two goals and four assists in 23 games this season.
On Thursday the Blackhawks placed defenseman Jan Rutta on waivers.
Rutta, 28, signed a new one-year deal with the Hawks in March with a $2.25M cap hit. He has two goals and four assists in 23 games this season.
It’s unimaginable that a team would pick up his contract. What do the other GMs understand that Stan apparently did not?
Now they need to get a sucker (sorry, trade partner) to take Manning off our hands. His contract was more of a head-scratcher than Rutta’s.
Rutta will likely clear, then might be moved to a team for an AHLer. Number of contracts is also a factor when a team considers claiming a player.
Unfortunately Stan is poor at waiver claims. Pontus Aberg was on waivers from Nashville earlier this year. Anaheim nabbed him and he has like 9 goals. So he was good enough to play for Nashville in the playoffs at key times over the last couple of years, but not good enough to play in the Hawks top 12. Hmmmm.
Dmitri Jaskin looked darn good on Washington’s 4th line the other line, fighting for pucks in the corners. St. Louis waived him. So he can play a role for the Stanley Cup champs but the Hawks would have no interest ? Hmmmm
Well at least we have Kunitz. Brutal !
Davidson was a fall back plan because Manning was so bad. We can ship him off too while we are at it.
Help me understand this.
Why is a person (Stan) who deserves to fired this spring making decisions that effect the team today? Broom the upper management now and let the NEW brain trust make roster decisions moving forward.
Wonder if intent if he clears is to send him down to a crowded Rockford or release him.
Why would anyone claim Rutta when they can get him for free once he clears waivers. Stan is the biggest idiot GM in the NHL. I always gave him the benefit of the doubt, but once he signed Rutta, Manning, and Gustafson to those deals, I knew he was driven to work in the short bus! Just look at how well our defense played once Rutta and Gustafson were not in the lineup, and imagine how much better we will be once Forsling gets back and Manning is on waivers?
Reg-whether it’s warranted or not (it seems a lot do think it is) it might make the most sense to do just that. Confidence has been lost!
That was then, the good and bad of it, now onto/into the future.
Your point about decisions impacting the near and long term should be done by whoever will be there then. The coaching decision, and who knows where that goes, shows making a change just for change sake isn’t always best. The right people.
Clearing waivers so Rutta can be sent down could be a condition of trade if a team wanted him for depth. May not be but a possibility.
Teams can claim Rutta for free (meaning they don’t have to give the Hawks any compensation although they still have to pay his salary) while he’s on waivers not after he clears waivers. If he clears waivers his rights are still with CHI.
In fact there’s a chance he gets traded after he clears waivers because the team acquiring him doesn’t have to put him on waivers themselves – they can send him directly to their minor league team
A team might do this because their minor league team needs help on D and for insurance in case injuries hit the NHL club (he could then be called up)
Bet he’s headed back to the Czech Republic!
well said my fellow committed Indians
Wrap thats the point i was making, might be worth for a team to give up similar player or low pick to have him go through waivers first.
He played well to start last year. He was a nice surprise. Then the whack on the bean and he turned into Mr. Hyde. Too bad. Even though I soured on Stan a long time ago, I thought Rutta might be okay this year (although the re-up should have been at about half the money). At least it was only for one year.
Next up: 23, 56.
We need to play Forsling, Murphy and Dahlstrom big minutes the rest of the year to see if they are part of the solution going forward. Stop wasting any time with Manning.
That’s a shame because he has good offensive instincts but he simply chokes in the d-zone too often to not be a net liability. Unlike Kempny, who made mental mistakes but could handle the physical part of the game, Rutta seems intimidated by getting into physical battles so he makes bad plays out of panic or desperation. Time to cut bait.
Agree ER – for a big guy 6’3″ I think he didn’t handle the physical play very well at all
I haven’t missed not having Gus in the line up either and I agree with MS’s sentiment – play Forsling and Dahlstrom
How about going forward the hawks for the rest of the way just roll with
Keith/Jokiharju
Dahlstrom/Murphy
Gustafsson/Forsling
Extra Seabrook taking the Michael rosival role when he first signed just rotating in.
Waive manning.
MS, I think we will. A wk ago those guys said they would trade 44 and 23 and so.
Manning should be waived, but then the Hawks need to trade for a good young veteran. Joki, Fors, Gus, and Dahl are very young and need a lot more experience. Too early for them to carry a full-time load, which could hurt their development. That’s why Q played Rosival (although too much), which frustrated all of us.
After the hot start, Duclair has been a healthy scratch in four straight games. We lost nothing by not re-signing him.
Maybe Rocly is too loyal or nice to can SB midseason. But Craig N is right, SB can’t be trusted to pull off the pivotal tradeoffs required this year.
So I propose the following: Rocky does an “Accountemps” move and hires a crafty NHL guy to pull off the trades, while SB Keeps his job through the season. When season ends, SB fired.
Ps-I know this is idiotic. I just think we have to trade away some assets now, and get maximum return so we can rise again. Too important to blow this. So who could do it in SBs place?
A transaction was made by the general manager; where is he to address it in the media — especially in light of yesterday’s recall of Sikura & Dahlstrom as well? He was all over the place after the Schmaltz trade, I thought Perlini was a faster version of Secord the way Bowman described him.
Bowman must be a fan of hide and go seek. We would like to hear his views on the 8 game losing streak, and how it relates to his proclamation that the Hawks are “a playoff team” after he showed Q the door. If by some miracle the Hawks go on a winning streak (let’s say 5-6 games), Bowman will likely reappear on the airwaves and in print.
Original, I love Rozy.
Being on the same team as you, is all the padding I need Rozy.
Here’s the thing, you get rid of SB and that allows someone new to come in and accurately judge the talent and slot the players as is based on todays skills and numbers. Any sane GM, one who had no affinity for past mistakes, would look at the coach trotting out players for 20+ minutes with the same results would call bs. Stan can’t do that cause he caused this predicament.
Bring in a new guy. Ask that he judge the talent on the ice today. Give new guys the opportunity to step up without the malice of instant results. We gotta look down the road. The core should be admired and allowed to carry less weight as they age. Expecting some sort of renaissance doing the same thing with the same players in the same game situations ain’t gonna happen. That’s why we are at the bottom.
I’m not suggesting you take the core behind the woodshed. What I am saying, is if we are going to get the next wave, Seabs, Keith, Toews, Kaner and Crow will be important parts but most likely in a different capacity. We’ll never know if we keep playing them like they are 23 years old in their prime. Assess them as they are today and put them in a position to succeed while allowing younger talent the opportunity to grab the mantle.
I think you have to start with JC. He is in the wrong place wrong time. Need a coach who can develope youth and motivate the core at the same time. JC is not that guy…….yet
Baby steps …..nice post cincod 1 .
Once again I find myself agreeing with cincod1’s post.
You do NOT sit Seabrook to play Gustafsson. That’s silly.
Gustafsson would not be in the NHL if it were not for the Hawks. He would not play for any other team in the league. He is that bad at playing defense. For all the offense he brings, he is terrible at defense and gives up way more on that end than he generates on the offensive end.
HereisMike… your last paragraph… Re: Gus
Ironically- I find myself saying the same thing (especially when u consider Caphit)
about #7
just sayin
Cincodi agree and have said before assessing who you want to keep off this roster, and a transitioning of the core, not all now but individually what role they need to have over a couple years is what is could be done not a complete housecleaning.
The Panarin rumors persist and reuniting him with Kane and AA. Plus a top 5 pick who can play with Saad and Toews combined that with Debrincat ,Strome and the compliment winger could be a good top 9 as soon as next season. Acquire or develop a defenseman to play shutdown role with Murphy behind Keith and Jokiharju would be much better lineup to start next year. Then use the pipeline to reenforce on the go.
Cincodi I like the spirit but I’m unsure of the practicality. It would be great to play the core in more depth roles than asking them to keep carrying the team. Especially since they are getting older. But that would mean oodles of cap dollars and NMCs to fill out roster depth. Then we need to fill the top of the roster where the core was and there isn’t much cap space to do it.
On the blue line, that might be possible. We might get lucky and fill out a top pair from the four horsemen. Then slide 2 and 7 to 2nd or 3rd pairing. Awesome. But at FW I don’t see cheap possibilities, particularly to replace 19 at 1C. Schmaltz was supposed to be that guy until he wasn’t.
When the decision on which players to play for several positions comes down to a contest of the least bad – you know you have a suckwad team. We have a suckwad team, especially on defense. Yes we beat the Pens, but we still have a suckwad team because we still have a suckwad d-corps.
The win against the Pens was a welcome breath of fresh air after weeks of fetid stink. But let’s not fool ourselves – the Pens are not the type of elite team that give the Hawks fits. They still have elite players but they don’t have the fast forechecking game that smack to courage out of our cute little players. The d-corps is still an assemblage of suckwad which will be on full display against most teams, such as against the Jets tonight.
I sent my Christmas wish list to Santa with one simple request – please keep Stan/McD from trying to fix the 2018/19 team at the cost of the 2019/20 team.
It sounds like everyone here knows what we need to do and agrees. When is Rocky going to. Got to let go to grow.
Travis have to wait and see what the draft brings. A top future center could be what they pick. Starting out out next year with Toews on a wing and transition into number one center over a couple of years as Toews transitions to a checking role. If as alot believe Strome becomes no. 2 center, could be set there and Kane, Denbrincat, Saad and if a Panarin or big fa signed, plus working a current prospect or maybe 2 with future other draft picks, potential is there to maintain a strong forward roster.
The defence is coming, Seabrook can still be a contributor as an offensive pair with less 5 on 5 minutes who plays pp and maybe some pk. Also help late in game when chasing the lead. This could be where Keith Transitions to in a year or 2 also.
Just my opinion on direction i think they take, but time will tell.
I agree with Ebonyraptor, Sissy Crosby and the Penguins are not ‘real men’ like Winnipeg and easier to ‘match up’ to.
I too hope for changes in the roster but I hope desperately it is not SB and JM making them.
Ian- interesting comment on Toews/Wing… several times in last few games I have noticed Kampf in Center position (coverage wise) when paired with Toews…
I assume- that they both have the ability/and greenlight to “cover” for eachother on “Reads”… but notice it much more with JC at helm… and of course with Kampf getting some time with Toews here and there…
seems like it will take some stress/wear-tear of 19… let that Young buck do more of the Dirty work
@travis, understood the concern about the cap dollars invested and NMC’s. We can’t change that.
If you think about where the growth is gonna come from, it has to be the young guys. Expecting Seabs or Keith to get substantially better over where they are today is unrealistic. Running this like the big business it is, the core is a sunk cost, invest in the guys that can come in and show growth. Invest in them and give them the opportunity to seize the top line minutes, Pp ops and overtime minutes. Understand that there is risk there but I think we all know the end result if we keep doing what we are doing in playing the old core like they are in their prime.
Maybe it’s the season but I feel the need to spread some hope and cheer if for no other reason than to counter the negativity I’ve been spewing lately. There is cause for optimism the Hawks can return to contender status within the next few years – IF – things go right. Things going right don’t need to reach the level of miraculous (Seabrook trade), just hitting on draft picks and players reaching their potential. So, with hope in my heart, I present my cheeriest outlook.
1. 2019 draft – select a top-6 forward who is ready to play in the 2019/20 season.
2. 2020 draft – select a top-6 forward who is ready to play in the 2020/21 season.
3. Boqvist ready to play top-4 by the 2020/21 season.
4. Beaudin ready to play top-4 by the 2020/21 season.
5. Mitchell ready to play top-4 by the 2020/21 season.
6. Seabrook 6/7 role, 10 min TOI + PP. Mentor young d-men.
7. Keith 4/5 role, 15-20 min TOI +PK. No PP.
8. Jokiharju top-4 role, 20+ min TOI + PP + PK.
9. Forsling/Murphy 5/6 role.
10. Delia backs up Crawford then eventually replaces him.
11. Kane stays Kane.
12. Toews stays the 2018/19 version of Toews.
13. Saad stays the Saad we’ve seen lately.
14. DeBrincat improves to 35+g/65+p.
15. Strome improves skating/stamina and is solid top-9 center.
16. Sikura is solid top-9 winger.
17. One or two of Barratt/Kurashev/Entwistle make the team.
Hopeful 2020/21 lineup:
Saad-Toews-2019#1
DCat-2020#1-Kane
Kahun-Strome-Sikura
Barratt-Kampf-Entwistle
Hayden
Beaudin-Boqvist
Keith-Jokiharju
Forsling-Mitchell
Seabrook
Crawford/Delia
Wall thats where if Colliton stays he has to have the balls to do what is best and the backing from management to do it.
Might be better if he stays on that Smith is moved back to scout and he brings in an assistant next year.
If such a thing as Panarin does comeback and Hughes isn’t around to draft, Cozens or Dach look like 2 centres potential top 5 picks who could work very well with him and Kane. Toews on wing with Strome and Debrincat. You never know.
I agree that the core isn’t gonna get any better. We need to transition from them to some extent. Also, I’m unsure how we can keep the players we develop if like 30M is tied up in 3 or 4 soon-to-be-depth-ish players. Either we absolutely crush the draft and develop process (notoriously hard to do) or we get another core guy off the books to make some room.
Travis in next 2 years the only younger players not on elcs needing signed to money are Debrincat in sumner of 20 and Jokiharju in 21, Mitchell depends on if is able to burn a year this season, but not looking likely so be 21. Sikura and Kahun etc. are nkt breaking bank yet. Boqvist, Beaudin, and any high draft pick starting an elc next season be 22 before next contract.
Saad and AA ufas in 21 and Myrphy 22. Saad and Murphy may or may not be resigned, cap likely goes up 3m a year roughly.
Toews, Kane and Keith contracts expire in 23, so may mean shorter rfa bridge deals until they expire for a year or 2 but keeping the younger players they want shouln’t be that big an issue.
I think keeping Strome and Debrincat together is wise.
ER, very thorough analysis but keep one thing in mind. Even though it looks like the Hawks will be drafting no lower than 5th, they may want a year or two of development in Rockford. Most GMs select the player they believe has more upside than being NHL-ready. Boqvist and Beaudin are examples. No question that help up the middle is our most pressing need. Also, it is uncertain that Delia will be the answer (or eventually, Gravel), and it may be wise to trade Crawford if he could bring in a nice return. Possibly to a contender whose starter or backup is injured. Ah…patience….
O6H – I concur. There are usually only one or two ready to step right in with maybe another couple close enough to do so in the right situation. If the Hawks are “fortunate” enough to get the #1 or #2 pick – Hughes and Kakko are both probably ready to rumble right out the gate but maybe not the guys that go #3 and later. Likewise in the 2020 draft where it looks like Lafreniere will be an immediate NHL’er and maybe one of two more that rise to the top of the 2020 class.
That’s why I couched my optimism in “things going right” – such as being able to draft Hughes/Kakko this summer and Lafreniere in 2020. The ideal would be Hughes this summer and play him as a playmaking RW ala Kane and then Lafreniere next summer to be the heir apparent to Toews #1C replacement as Toews slots down the lineup.
2019/20 top-6:
Saad-Toews-Hughes
DCat-Strome-Kane
2020/21 top-6:
Saad-Toews-Hughes
DCat-Lafreniere-Kane
We absolutely crush the drafts and trade some older core and add some good/and a high end ufa. Lets get it on!
17 an 12. Yes. Yes.
Original, thought the same about Crow and he can come back as ufa.
Mitchell made Canadian juniors team. Beaudin cut defence set. Entwistle still there but still 2 forward cuts to make.
Gravel 33 save shutout tonight 1st star
Formenton out of tourney injury so only one more forward to cut. Couple have injuries though may not need to. All prospects at wjc teams camps now.
The top 4 overall picks in this years draft have stayed with their nhl teams.