NHL Free Agency: A Look Around The Blackhawks New Division
Here’s a breakdown of the player movement in the Blackhawks’ new division for the 2013-14 season so far in free agency:
| Staying | In | Out |
| Michal Handzus | Nikolai Khabibulin | David Bolland |
| Michal Rozsival | Viktor Stalberg | |
| Nick Leddy | Michael Frolik | |
| Ray Emery | ||
| Rostislav Olesz | ||
| Staying | In | Out |
| Patrick Bordeleau | Cory Sarich | David Jones |
| Alex Tanguay | Shane O’Brien | |
| Nate Guenin | ||
| Andrew Benoit | ||
| Nick Holden | ||
| JT Wyman | ||
| Guillaume Desbiens |
| Staying | In | Out |
| Jordie Benn | Tyler Seguin | Loui Eriksson |
| Christopher Nilstorp | Rich Peverley | Joseph Morrow |
| Shawn Horcoff | Reilly Smith | |
| Sergei Gonchar | Matt Fraser | |
| Curtis Hamilton | Philip Larsen | |
| Ryan Button | Eric Nystrom | |
| Dan Ellis |
| Staying | In | Out |
| Stephane Veilleaux | Matt Cooke | Matt Cullen |
| Niklas Backstrom | Keith Ballard | Pierre-Marc Bouchard |
| Steven Kampfer | Nino Niederreiter | Devin Setoguchi |
| Marco Scandella | ||
| Drew Bagnall |
| Staying | In | Out |
| Kevin Henderson | Viktor Stalberg | TJ Brennan |
| Joe Piskula | Matt Cullen | Hal Gill |
| Matt Hendricks | ||
| Eric Nystrom |
| Staying | In | Out |
| Kevin Shattenkirk | Maxim Lapierre | Andy McDonald |
| Patrik Berglund | Mark Mancari | Kris Russell |
| Jordan Leopold | Keith Aucoin | |
| Taylor Chorney | Alexandre Buldoc | |
| Adam Cracknell | ||
| Cade Fairchild |
| Staying | In | Out |
| Grant Clitsome | Devin Setoguchi | |
| Al Montoya | Michael Frolik | |
| Andrew Gordon | ||
| Adam Pardy | ||
| Jerome Samson |
As if the Blues weren’t already a team of douche bags…they add Lapierre.
My exact thoughts on Lapierre when I saw that, John. He and Matt Cooke are now in the division, just awesome.
J.Wangsauce — …finger on the pulse! (It looks to me that St.L may have improved? Dallas? – they certainly changed a lot of names…and, Colorado?)
I think Nashville is going to be much improved in 2013/14. Trotz will have the new pieces placed into the puzzle and I expect them to be a playoff contender.
St. Louis will be tough too but whether they’re improved over last season will probably depend on Tarasenko getting back to his pre-concussed form and a couple of their big guns actually being big guns – Oshie and Stewart.
Colorado, with their speed game, was a load for the Hawks to handle last season and they just added another blazer with #1 pick MacKinnon.
Minnesota is depending on the kids to take a step forward – who knows?
Dallas – jeez … another “who knows”?
Winnipeg should be better by adding two solid players with Setoguchi and Frolik. Will Buf be buff or puff?
More Cooke and Laperierre, Bollig willl probably play bit more during next season.
Kahbibulin at $2.0mm plus $300k possible bonuses
Emery to the Flyers at $1.65mm
Did SB make a mistake here. I am sure Emery wants more play and is happy to go to Philly. But he said he would be happy to stay and play 20-25 games with the Hawks. Those who said the Hawks will PU a vet as a backup were right, obviously……so why not keep Emery.
According to capgeek, Hawks have $4.2mm MINUS whatever Rosival got and still has to sign Kruger. I suspect there will be some trades this summer.
I know it is a done deal and no looking back. I was just one who said keep Emery. 30 games for him is perfect. I wish him well in Philly
Interesting that Hawks have not disclosed Rosey’s pay yet… seems to me it is pending/waiting to see what 16 is going to cost/and who else they might be able to move 13 or 17???
Mike- No knocks on Emery- But I think he was speaking “double-talk”- what he really meant to say is- I am still young, and I want to start and make starter’s money ( two year’s from now)… The Hawks/Crow situation wouldn’t allow that…
Crow is an above average Goalie… in every practice I ever attended- Emery let up WAY more goals than Crow… I think the Hawks know deep down that Emery is not a starter!!! And Emery knows the Hawks know!!! Great position goalie- Who wants to start eventually.
So, am I reading this right? We have a first line center (JT) and a fourth line center (Handzus), and no other center. Is that correct?
What we are seeing happen in FA over the past 2 days speaks to the genius of Stan Bowman…and just in time I might add…he played stubborn on the 2nd Centre position knowing full well it was a huge risk and gamble and yet it paid off…the benefit of this gamble is not only another SC but the money necessary to keep what we want and still have money to retool for yet another SC. And the retooling might not look sexy, but it doesn’t have to…its for depth, for insurance, for fresh legs come playoff time…Bowman is able to do all of this because frankly he has drafted better than any other GM in the league over the past 4 years and the Hawks (Barry Smith, et al) have developed better than anyone else in the league…so now, other than minor shopping for depth (Habby, Handzus, Rozy) the Hawks just have to promote from within…the Rockford Icehogs play hockey THE WAY THE HAWKS DO…this is a PLANNED reality…so that when these kids come up, they fit right in…why do you think Ben Smith, Jimmy Hayes, Jeremy Morin, Andrew Shaw get plugged in and have success right away??? Because Toews blows magic smoke rings out of his ass??? Its because that’s all they know how to do…and its because of Scotty and Stan Bowman’s vision, and they have to be given MASSIVE CREDIT today, because the madness over the last 2 days has sunk so many teams (and they can’t even see it) and has only served to push us further ahead.
I said yesterday that these moves by Bowman are designed to repeat next year and create a dynasty, and today I will guarantee it…the Hawks just pushed themselves even further ahead of the pack by what happened over the last 48 hours…and remember, we did very little…
Dominic, we have 6 centres…Toews, Pirri, Shaw, Kruger, Handzus and Sharp (any time he needs to be)…I think we are MORE than okay…and remember, Hartman, Ross, Danault, McNeil and TT are all no more than 2 years away, and most likely only 1 year away…we are now LOADED at this position…as with goaltending…as with Defence…as with…oh wait, that’s everything…
Sr Brad is exactly right. The Bowman’s (Scotty) created the winning formula in Montreal and Detroit. Teaching the system at the AHL level is more important than the Calder Cup. For 22 years the Wings have put out a quality product and their rookies are always 23-25 years old and have 2+ years at the AHL level. The Bowman’s have brought that formula to Chicago. So now I understand the Bulin Wall, Zues and Rosy. They are the insurance that our young guys come up right.
Mike, that’s exactly it…how much any of those 3 play will depend upon how well the Rockford kids play and contribute…Stan just doesn’t want to miss out on another chance to repeat…this is insurance plain and simple…plus it is telling the young kids that they HAVE to perform…
Still letting this new division set in. 4 teams make the playoffs out of this division is that how it works?
Looks like a very tough division – Dallas scares me, Colorado is on the rise, Minny and Winnipeg, and Nashville are solid, and St. Louis is a cup contender. Hawks are still the class of the division though.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs will still consist of 16 teams, eight in each conference, but it will be division-based and a wild-card system has been added as a new wrinkle.
The top three teams in each division will make-up the first 12 teams in the playoffs. The remaining four spots will be filled by the next two highest-placed finishers in each conference, based on regular-season points and regardless of division. It will be possible, then, for one division to send five teams to the postseason while the other sends three.
@southsidehawkman
from NHL.com
The seeding of the wild-card teams within each divisional playoff will be determined on the basis of regular-season points. The division winner with the most points in the conference will be matched against the wild-card team with the lowest number of points; the division winner with the second-most points in the conference will play the wild-card team with the second fewest points.
The teams finishing second and third in each division will play in the first round of the playoffs. The winners of each series will play for the divisional championship.
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got that? ha. I had to read it twice. I am not fond of realignment at all
southside, sorry for above
Blues added Derek Roy too… hate to see that one.
Thanks RyanDale I thought I remembered hearing a wildcard. The Hawks new division looked weak 7 months ago but draft and free agency changed that, however the Hawks last 2 division foes seemed to have improved most CLB and Det, Weiss and Alfie wow!
Not, at all, impressed with SB. Why resign Tallon-bust Kyle Beach, a washed-up Khavibulin, & an under-sized Krueger ? Any one, of several free-agents, ie: Ellis, Bozak, Flippula, Raymond, or Brunner could have helped. I’ve been to IceHog games; and, was very unimpressed. Why not trade for Pheneuf ?