Zack Smith’s Two Goals Lead Blackhawks Past Canadiens
There were only two games on the national slate for the NHL on Wednesday evening. In years past, Chicago at Montreal would have been the headliner. In 2020, each team is trying to find a way back into the playoff picture.
Chicago took the train from Ottawa to Montreal after Zack Smith was warmly welcomed back by the Sens on Tuesday night. Smith didn’t pick up a point but was on the winning side in Ottawa. He made up for it early in Montreal.
Smith had two goals in 40 games to start the season with Chicago .
He scored twice in the opening nine minutes against the Habs.
At 5:42 into the first period, Charlie Lindgren made an awful play behind his net and Drake Cagguila set up Smith for a short-handed goal to open the scoring.
Less than three minutes later Smith parked himself in front of the net and neatly redirected a shot into the top corner of the net to give him – and the Blackhawks – two goals in the first period.
Montreal out-shot the Hawks 13-12 in the first but Chicago had the only two goals in the game.
The Canadiens didn’t waste much time going to work in the second, however. Former Blackhawks prospect Phillip Danault scored 54 seconds into the middle frame to cut the lead in half.
Ten minutes later, Max Domi decided to take a hilariously stupid penalty for mugging Matthew Highmore in front of the Blackhawks bench. Chicago quickly took advantage. Alex DeBrincat scored his 12th of the season, a power play goal, to extend the lead back to two.
Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane stayed hot; they were credited with the assists on the DeBrincat goal. The assist for Kane extended his personal point streak to eight games and gave him 998 in his career.
Kane also ties Phil Housley for the 2nd most career 60-point seasons by a US-born player (Most: 13- Mike Modano) & also Bobby Hull for the 2nd most such campaigns in #Blackhawks history (Most: 14- Stan Mikita) https://t.co/5MErMXtXe6
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) January 16, 2020
The hitting escalated all over the ice in the second period. When 40 minutes were in the books, Montreal had out-hit the Hawks 30-6. But Chicago had a 3-1 lead on the scoreboard.
In the middle of the third period it appeared Toews had scored a power play goal on the doorstep but a review clearly indicated the Hawks captain had kicked the puck into the net. Unfortunately, the goal was taken off the board. But Chicago wasn’t done.
Cagguila was having a terrific night and was rewarded for the effort at 11:41 into the third. He picked Jordan Weal’s pocket and took it the distance, beating Lindgren for his fourth of the season and the fourth of the night for the Blackhawks.
Cagguila’s goal was unassisted but gave him two points in the game.
Corey Crawford has owned his hometown team during his career and he made some impressive saves during this game to keep the Hawks in front. He made a great save with about six minutes left in regulation on what was the last really good chance for the Canadiens.
As the final seconds came off the clock the boos came down from the fans in Montreal. The finals core: 4-1 Blackhawks.
Smith had five shots on net in six games in January coming in; he had four in Wednesday night’s game. He also led the Blackhawks with three hits. Only three Blackhawks forwards were credited with a hit.
Duncan Keith led Chicago with six blocked shots in the game. Erik Gustafsson was credited with four.
Toews won 12 of 20 at the dot.
With the win, Crawford improved to 6-0-2 in his career at Montreal.
Corey Crawford stopped 32 of 33 shots for a save percentage of .970.
Just another day at the office for No. 50 in his hometown of Montreal. #Blackhawks https://t.co/lRdt8ctquO
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 16, 2020
Well done, 3 games they should’ve won and took care of business. Now see if they can do their 2 out of 3 goal against Leafs, Panthers and Jets and put an exclanatiin on it heading into break.
Bottom 2 lines and pk score along with pp goal, need that sometimes. Good all around effort.
A nice calm solid victory. We ll take it.
Smith nomination for Art Ross Trophy.
Thought Cagguila was a beast tonight. If Nelander and Sikura had heart like Cagguila they would be stars in this league because they have talent. Good win.
15 and 91 got the team off to an accustomed fast start.Good to see that from the other side of it.Along with 36 those guys were intense and pressured hard.8 was solid and keeps getting to the right spots.The defense played pretty well and were where they were supposed to be.68 had some really nice jump and great gap to his game.I know they have lots of injuries and were playing a rookie goalie but that is the worst Montreal Canadien team that I have seen.
Domi, like father like son.
I liked that instant at the end of a play where Jonny put his arm around Kube and had something to say to him. They are building chemistry and to me it looks like they are willing to work hard for each other. Kube could have easily had one in the first period – lots of chances.
Dach could have had one too and you could see his frustration after. Young dude, don’t worry. You are playing good hockey and the points will come.
One nice thing about winning is that (hopefully) it makes re-signing more attractive to Kubalik and Lehner. Re-upping these guys is going to be very important.
Solid effort all round.
Good all around effort by everyone tonight. Hard to say anything negative about the Hawks effort, so I won’t. The Habs are just another hockey team nowadays.
Great win! One minor correction to your post. #91, tonight’s number 2 star of the the game spells his name Caggiula NOT Caguila. The picture at the top of the post shows his name on the jersey. He adds a lot of grit to the Hawks game, something they’ve been lacking.
Good road win – pretty amazing record in 2nd games of back to backs. Crowd seemed really quiet all night. No matter what you think of our problems it has been a rough stretch for such a great franchise in Montreal.
Line combinations matter. Nah.
Crow always plays really really good in MTL. Shutouts half the time good.
91 makes the 4th line better.
Imagine having that for each line/to make it better.
Unless we donot show up to play, NJ, were going to win most against bottom 10 teams. Theres no way were top 5 pick before lottery draft. Were a mid tier team that has holes and needs more top 10 draft players to fill thsoe holes.
It is good that Wiliam Marten above is hear to corect speling misteaks. Spare me.
A couple times over the past few years, the Hawks have gone on decent streaks and given us hope, only to break our hearts. This 4 points on a back to back is good, even though the competition is not high quality.
A very good point was made above by Jorday and that being that hopefully these good efforts are convincing Kubalik and Lehner that they want to be part of the future with this team.
The PP is starting to move and players are changing places and looking better. They had some great chances tonight and DeBrincat’s snipe was beautiful. Stick raised waiting for the pass telling the goalie, “Stop this if you can!” He couldn’t. I think DeBrincat shot that off his back foot and it was still unstoppable. The PK was good too. Of course, the Canadians helped by having a bad PP.
Highmore and Sikura make smart plays. They are probably gone when Strome and Saad get back but they have played pretty well. The Zach Smith haters had a rough night tonight.
Way to go, Boys. Let’s do it again Saturday.
KooKoo looked like an NHL D man tonight – more of that please
Not sure what prompted JC to go to 8-19-88 half way through the game but he did – I was worried he’d wait until MTL tied it up so credit there although the unexpected goals from 15 made it easier to keep Kane off of that line for the first period
Nylander had some nice plays but I think he gets a bit nervous as the pressure ramps up in the third – hope he figures that out
Dach and Boq with good games – they’re coming along nicely
Happy for Crawford! Most underrated goalie the last decade!
Sikura, there has to be a better player in Rockford, he is useless! No impact, no grit, scared of his own shadow, average skater and way too light!
92 is awful in his zone but he can hang on to the puck in the offensive zone and can skate…… but still has no grit!
Why 88 continues to play with 22 is ridiculous. He got his point on the PP and was by himself with no impact until the 3rd period when he played with 19 & 8!
Lehner will face 50 shots against the LEAFS saturday night! Roster too weak at the moment!
And Highmore? AHLer.
Was at the game (first in the Bell Centre). Overall good game from the Hawks.
I really liked Dach’s game – good awareness on the ice, active stick. Had a couple good stops/takeaways. Needs to improve on the boards – he’s still getting pushed around.
Kubalik gave me heartburn. I counted 6 gift-wrapped opportunities he missed. You could feel Kane’s annoyance in the third.
Crow was great.
Caggiula’s take and goal was pure thievery. It was beautiful.
I really wanted Zack to get the hat trick. :)
Jesus. A certain someone must have an absolute miserable existence. Life’s too short, enjoy the win. The team is missing 3 top 6 probable top 6 forwards.
Rockford is hurting for healthy forwards right now. They’ve been playing Ben Youds at forward (he’s a defenseman).
“The smoke screen works for those who don’t know hockey but the proof is in Rockford.”
Seems if you knew anything about Rockford you’d realize how depleted they are…due to injury and extreme youth. Signing guys off the street just to fill out a roster.
Kurashev, Wedin, Hakkarainen, Fortin, Soderlund all injured.
Hagel, Kurashev, Entwistle are all first year pros and only one being 21. Hagel probably gets recalled if/when Sikura gets sent down.
If Chicago didn’t have injuries at forward Rockford would have players like Sikura and probably Nylander. Highmore has proven his salt as a 4th line player. Adding Saad, Strome, and Shaw to 19,88,8, and 12 really helps.
You rail against Nylander. We all do. But you know who he reminds me of? Perlini. The guy you still bring up despite having 2 assists in 24 games for Detroit. How did they let that kind of talent slip through the cracks?! How could they ever recover?
Oh and Hull…Joe Veleno has 13 points in 31 games. Thought he was a can’t miss??
Missed the game but watched Tab’s fantastic replays, as always. Surprised that there were hardly any posts about Caggiula’s ELITE goal. You will rarely see a 1st liner make a play like that. Stunningly beautiful!
Crawford is Hell for the Habs.
I dont think Kane is aggravated with Kubalik but I do think he is going to regress a little and maybe not have that Puck Luck.We will see how he reacts.If Kane were agitated he would be shooting a alot more.He passes up open shots quite often.I also dont understand why Nylander would be squeezing the stick tight in the offensive zone.There are no consequences for his lack of goal scoring except maybe an odd scratch.I would say that there is no chance of Shaw coming back so I would assume Sikura gets sent down and Highmore stays as the extra forward subbing in when Nylander stops moving his feet and coughs up the puck.
2-and-0 in a crucial 5 game stretch. Toronto, Winnipeg and Florida before 10 days off. If the Hawks can get two of those, Great.
2-and-o with 14 to go before the trade deadline.
Hmmm. I still think “selling” Gustafsson at the deadline is the right thing to do. Teams like Vegas, Pittsburgh perhaps Toronto, maybe Boston are so intent on getting deep in the playoffs that they are ripe for getting fleeced by giving up draft picks or prospects for a rental.
Saw the game on TV- Hawks, missing what $21M worth of first string players on the DL- playing a very weak team. Good win regardless. Price in nets would have made a difference- he can play the puck behind his own bet ( BTW Crawford can’t!), he rarely loses his stick AND blocker ( that’s 2 goals) . Weber’s pocket Ickes? That’s 1 goal. Yes 2 bottom 6-8 teams collide and Hawks win – good for them – but this is the real test ( as Earl, I think, mentioned) they play 3 good teams who will physically challenge, and put a lot of pucks on net!
Let’s go Hawks- I’m at the game Saturday and , for me, Leafs are a MUST WIN!
PS: JC still can’t remember until mid-game , that Kane goes with Toews ?! What is wrong with him?
I believe I know why JC doesn’t start 88 with 19 and 8. He thinks that this will disrupt the other teams defensemen pairings. Genius he is, genius.
Getting ready for a either a 9 to 7 Leaf victory or 9 to 2 Leaf victory. (Using Freud) Either way it should be a game you play them forget about and move on.
Must play offensive players. D is going to get a workout.
8 19 88
12 77 36
95 22 92
15 64 91
2 56
27 68
6 5
It’s a nice win-I’m around a lot of Habs fans so it’s always nice to see how quiet they are when I see them.
Caggs has been a huge boast to this team, not sure what line he ends up on but he is a big part of the energy on the Hawks. Trying to see value of Sikura but it’s hard, paid attention to his shifts-there are a lot of guys that can skate like him and just do more-Hagel please.
Nylanders’ brother went thru a tough patch in Toronto last year, but he just seems like a more explosive skater and better scorer. Willy has played with very skilled players, but so has Alex at times. Who knows it may still come but I wouldn’t bet the house.
Good to see Hawks beat two not so great teams on the road. Apart from the slow start in Ottawa the night before, Hawks have put up 5 pretty darn good periods. I love the effort Cagguila brings and was happy to see him as well as Smith get rewarded on the scoresheet. Bottom 6 have played well for Hawks past 2 games. Toews looks energized and what more can we say about Crow playing Montreal other than wow. He owns Bell Centre! Habs tried to run the Hawks out of the building last night. Refs let em play and I swear Weber could have easily been called for 2 crosschecks, a slash, as well an interference. That guy gets away with nasty well placed crosschecks whenever I watch him play. Good for Highmore to resist taking the bait from dumb ass Domi. The PP goal Hawks scored shortly thereafter was extra sweet pay back. More of that please!
This goofy Hawks squad continues to confound us as fans. We just don’t know what we are going to get period to period, game to game. One thing for sure, they seem to struggle against fast hard forechecking teams that make d zone exits rough and shut down passing lanes in neutral ice. Teams that back off and give Hawks neutral zone with some speed tend to pay, and Hawks score 3 or more goals in those games. I don’t know if it’s because Ottawa and Habs are not very good offensively, but strangely Hawks seem to be giving up less scoring chances down the middle lately. If this is a trend it’s a very good thing moving forward as this has been a massive problem for a very long time.
Dach and Boqvist have upside. Dach is lacking in points recently, but he is doing well winning board battles and keeping plays alive. He goes to right places when he doesn’t have the puck. Yes he gets knocked down alot, but hey he’s 18! That body will get bigger and stronger. Boqvist is gaining confidence and I think will become a pillar of the future as the point man on Hawks PP. He makes defensive mistakes, but with Duncs back there to guide him he should improve. Speaking of improvement Koekkoek has been a good Hawks d man last few games too. Noticeably better. I hope JC leaves Kane with Kubalik and Toews. These guys generate scoring chances.
I still think playoffs are still a stretch for this team, but I’m enjoying the good stuff we have seen on this recent stretch, especially considering the injuries. Pity these guys can’t figure out how to play better at the UC, especially to start games!
Let’s Go Hawks!
If 88 stays with 8 and 19, Strome goes back to 12 and 77 line, then 20 and 91 could make a good set of wingers. Having 17 and 77 both playing center as both primary faceoff guys for their lines may not be an upgrade. If the plan is to continue to force feed Nylander then may have too, although 64 between 20 and 91 may make roster stronger. With 15, 22 and 36 anchoring checking line.
Did anybody really wonder who might win this game? CC in Montreal is the safest bet that I know of. It’s remarkable what he’s done against them.
Boqvist’s play has really improved. It’s clear he’s focused on becoming sound defensively and it shows in his play. Getting more comfortable and will hopefully add some offense to his game.
Not a dig, but I smiled when hearing Habs fans booing their team off the ice last night.
Let’s Go Hawks!
This team is currently loaded with players who play all out (caggiula, Smith, highmore, kamps, etc) and occasionally that is even more important than raw skill in getting a win, especially when certain players like kubalik are snake bitten.
I’m thinking colliton is just trying out first line combinations without kane because strome is coming back soon, but its starting starting to get really annoying watching have not give a sh** when he’s not on the ice with who he wants to be.
I remember watching caggiula when he was on a wing with mcdavid and draisaitl. I was ecstatic when I saw bowman traded MANNING for this guy. I think this will prove to be one of bowman’s best trades. glad to see this underrated player getting some love
8 19 91
12 17 88
20 77 65
64 22 15
Ted L. – I was going to make a similar comment. I have been impressed that Boq has focused on defense and made big strides as an undersized 19 year old. Very nice to see from a prospect who supposedly wasn’t trusted in key defensive moments for his junior team last year.
As others have said – Hawks winning against Ottawa and Montreal is nice but not an indication that the so-called corner has been turned. At most it indicates the Hawks are one of the better non-playoff teams.
What to do when Strome and Saad return to the lineup? If Dach is not going to play center, then either Kampf or Carpenter is the 3rd line center which means the 3rd line will not have an offensive center. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing because this team isn’t built to be an offensive run and gun team so focus on defense needs to be as priority. The top offensive players are Kane, Toews, Cat, Strome, Kubalik and who – pick one between Saad and Dach.
Maybe a top-6 of: Kubalik-Toews-Dach and Cat-Strome-Kane.
19 and 8 give Kane a strong possession line to create and lead the offense from. 12 and 17 give more of a quick strike counterpunch line, which Kane can put up numbers from to, just like chemistry happening now with 19 and 8.
Dach has played center since he moved up with 12. Strome and Kampf since 17 got hurt have played wing and taken bulk of fos. Ok with continuing that when Strome returns.
Whoever would play with 29 and 17 will be primary fo guy and Kampf been most dependable there after 19, plus played well with 20 early in season. Then 15 and 22 can share fos on the other line.
Meant whoever plays with 20 and 91 sorry
It would be ridiculous if Gus isn’t traded at the TDL no matter how close to a playoff spot the Hawks might be
They can’t afford him past this year anyway and 27 has already taken over PP1 – Keith can play PP2 as lone D man
Gus hasn’t been turning the puck over as much lately and he can skate the puck out of the D zone so that’s all good as far as the return goes on trading him
Once he’s gone either Gilbert comes back in or maybe Carlson in RKF gets a look
Here’s what I’d like to see eventually:
8-19-88
12-17-77
20-22-36
15-64-91/65
Rusty, appreciate your reasoned approach to the constant flood of negativity from you know who. Sad sack of a fan he is.
I thought the depleted roster would be our undoing, but it has actually created some nice chemistry. This team seems to be defying the odds right now, and that is due to hard work and a power goalie tandem. And Kubalik, all I can say is holy crap that kid was a steal. Looking forward to the return of Saad and Strome.
A less than glowing review of Hawk prospect Evan Barratt this morning.”Lacks speed and acceleration.Skills wont translate to the Pro Level”.
The Beaudin review from the Toronto scouting source not encouraging either.”When a prospective NHL Defenseman states that he needs to be tricky and smarter than his opponents to succeed due to his size,you may have a problem”.”Undersized for pro game”.
If we add the following:
Is there a top six forward who is UFA the Hawks could target?
Is there a top four DEF who is UFA the Hawks could target?
I would like to see what people think if this would be enough to get into the playoffs. There is $10+M in cap space available and we could trade GUS as well.
Would adding a top 4 D and a Top6 O give us a shot at the cup if everyone else is healthy?
Next year UFA,s that might be worth looking at: Dadanov LW-FLA Pagaeu-LW OTT Kassian-RW-Edm Eakins-Center-Vegas Bogosian-D-Buff-I know,too expensiove Injured Etc. but if healthy and affordable he could be protection for some of our smallish young D men.I would say Krug and Petrangelo but I dont think they would leave Bos and STL.I would check into a couple of bigger defensive centers that could come in trades.Kreider is going to want too much,not a big fan of Taylor Hall,he wants badly to go to Calgary anyway.If you had a vision I could see a really solid team molded out of what is out there.Big time luck would help,Seabrook,Shaw,not coming back.Dehaan comes back completely healthy and you move Crawford or he walks.
I am talking for this year. Can we trade something to get a top4 DEF and top6 Off that will become FA’s after the playoffs to make the playoff this year? We have solid Goaltending. Who would it take to make the Hawks a serious contender?
@Hawks in 2020
If you are talking about the stretch run this year, two names stick out to me:
a.) Sami Vatanen – https://www.spotrac.com/nhl/new-jersey-devils/sami-vatanen-11771/stats-valuation/
b.) Tyler Toffoli – https://www.spotrac.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings/tyler-toffoli-7684/stats-valuation/
We may have to give up some younger talent and/or picks. But, nothing substantial. We have some young defensemen in RFD that could be had in a trade: Krys, Tuuola, Carlsson, etc…we could flip Jake Wise and Delia(G) as I think Lankinen. I just don’t want Stan trading 2-2nd rounders for a guy with blood clots. We have to see where we are at the deadline, and maybe our returning guys are the ones that push us over the edge. We will get 2 huge additions back in Saad and Shaw. Maybe, Stan should just stay the course!
What about Tyler Toffoli and Sami Vatanen…both UFA’s and their teams are not making the playoffs.
Interesting fact – in the 10 games since CHI announced Seabrook was going to have multiple surgeries and be on LTIR for the remainder of the season thus removing the distraction of whether or not he should be a healthy scratch the Hawks are 7-3
Seems like a little more than coincidence to me – maybe he’ll come back in the fall rejuvenated or maybe he’ll retire but for now he’s off everyone’s (the players and Jc’s) minds
Based on his and others (Keith) reaction to his being healthy scratched I think that’s a good thing
Tommy,Good choices.Both are needed.Hawk 2020-My opinion is that this team does not have the Centermen here to go for it and those out of the hunt are not giving up a top 4 d man unless they were sure he was not signing.If you could go out and get Petrangelo,Krug,Pageau,and maybe Kreider at the deadline than I would say go for it.We all know that won’t happen.
Wrap,If you look at the games that they lost in his absence you could have easily been 10 and 0.The schedule after last night gets a lot tougher so we will see.
Tim it should be no surprise that Evan Barratt and for that matter MacKenzie Entwistle will be longshots to ever play in the nhl.
When prospects play on the fourth line for their world jr teams it should tell you something about their skill level.
Now for a sixteen year old playing on the fourth line for their world jr team it would obviously be a different situation.
2020 Are you really serious?
What would it take to make the Blackhawks a serious contender?
Let me try to help you. The hawks odds of winning the cup are 1000/1
That pretty much should tell you that someone who is not a diehard Blackhawks fan is telling you that the hawks are winning nothing this year.
It should be no surprise that all 3rd round pick are long shots. There are studies that have been published showing that the chances of a 3rd round pick playing one game in the NHL are slightly above 50% and the chances of that pick becoming a low level (or better) player are around 30%. Despite what others say, the NHL draft is quite the crap shoot unless you are talking about very high picks.
Might have asked this question before but forgot the answer if I did. Can we trade for Subban for half his contract 4.5 mil the next two years. Then can we trade him for half his contract to another team next year. So only retaining 2.25mil that following year?
I do not anticipate the Blackhawks adding this season unless it’s a veteran w/ a bad, expiring deal that brings a young piece with him.
I really hope we don’t further blow up our future by spending draft picks so we can get clobbered in the first round. If we can trade some of our excess baggage – go for it.
For Tab’s suggested lines above – I like them, but would be willing to change 22 and 64 only because I think 64 will eventually develop better offensive skills. 22 seems to be far more willing to take penalties too, and I would prefer his minutes stay more to 4th line and PK, where he is a big part of the improvement.
I like what 36 is bringing – responsible ice time. Any offense would be a positive help, but having another body that finds his way back with high frequency is important to this group. 20 will work hard with anyone.
tommy,
I like both of those.
PK would be awesome to add only because he is PK but at $9M or even a 1/4 to 1/3 of that is still a hard one to overcome. Maybe if NJ takes 1/3 of his contract and someone takes Maata that would be alright. I know, wishful thinking.
Maybe Pitts would like to get rid of Alex Galchenyuk and/or Justin Schultz to free up space. BUF would certainly get rid of Zach Bogosian.
I think they need to go a major run, not only next 2 or 3 games but most of February before any big name rentals would be maybe be considered. Something in line if a young player who will be around for long haul in a deal like Tab suggests or by moving a veteran is what seems more likely.
How about we do to Boston what SJ did to us. Give DeBrusk a 4yr $5mil and Bret Ritchie a 3yr 4mil offer sheet. Or we can tell them we will take Backes off their hands for 3mil if they throw in Studnicka. My only problem with Backes is that he will be received like John Starks was when the Bulls got him. If so we can off him to someone else retaining 1.5mil if allowable.
Good lines/ideas Ian.
Wonder if BoQ is getting a in-close view by playing with Dunks on a pair and seeing how he does it first hand. You cant get any closer to learn from Dunks by playing on the pair with him.
This is why Dunks is more important then whereever people want to rank him, pair wise. He can teach o the ice by showing this is the way, to the younger Horsemen.
Roamn, we pull a Nemo on BOS, there fans/people will throw more then garbage on the ice.
Still cant believe BOS fans/people throw grabage in the ice at there own players because they didnt win like the 17th game in a row/w or tie.
Continuing my Dr Evil persona. Hey Edmonton I’m gonna give Nurse a 6yr 6mil offer sheet unless you give me Nugent-Hopkins for Gus, Nylander and Sikura.
Like Tabs line to.
I want to see 8 19 88 & 12 17 77 continue building a recipe.
Hawks2020, we have a shot at playoff now, with all our problems, this system, the good players out-look at what a difference 91 makes/just wait until 20 and 77/27 get more experience.
The reason why we can is because SJ and NAS arnt doing as good as they are-just like us. If those two teams were where they should be, thats 2 & 5 seed in conference, then it would be tuff.
Adding a FW and D like that, and having 91 and 20. Would mean we could win a round or two, like DAL did last yr.
We need a really good system and more roster adjustments.
Bowman with the trade of the yr, last yr, Manning for Cagiluga. And thats not Payton.
Tim, like those ideas of getting roster way better by good moves like those and the players people, here, talked about last few wks like those players/similiar.
I am for adding at deadline, thats an upgrade at the same time as trading 56 others at deadline. Doing both.
We cant win this yr, just do not have a good system and need to make another good wave of roster adjustments. Then 2021 season could be the start.
Hello Don Waddell
Hello Jedi Roman
You are afraid that your goalies are not good enough to make a run in the playoffs.
I’m afraid my goalies won’t cut it in the playoffs
You will give me one of your number 1 and one of your number 2 draft picks for Crow
I will give you a 1 and 2 draft picks for Crawford the goalie
I can go now and you will thank me for Teuvo
You can go now Jedi Roman and thank you for Turbo Teuvo
We do have the oppertunity, this yr, to set ourselves up better for the coming yrs. Trade certain players at deadline so we get returns and take on thsoe 1 yr contracts that come with a good prospect, like Teravainen did.
Young wave is coming. 77 and 27 are good now, BoQ is a yr younger then draft yr players, wait until next yr-thats his real rookie yr.
We can assemble a very good roster, with this draft and ufa and not keeping certain players. Time to upgrade.
The team this yr is in, tank 50/50% mode, by the way we ‘play’ literally in half the games. It doesnt matter who we play. We have beat the top 5 teams more then they have beat us/or call it a split whatever. Its the system and we need more roster to be able to win.
Once we get that, we there again. Its not impossible and wont ever happen kind of thing.
We need to trade certain players this deadline and add those ufa players and get system good on OFF and D. We have good D coming and we need to add another top Defensemen as well, I think.