2024-25 Roster…too soon?

[BHawk21]

Over spending on big FAs doesn't work. Be crappy for a couple of more years, see what you have, and go from there.

It doesnt happen because elite players on never on the market.

 

[Hawkaholic]

You have to get better starting now.

Why?

 

[BHawk21]

Why?

Waiting around being crappy hoping draft picks work out isnt a plan.

You already have Bedard Vlasic Levshunov Korchinski Nazar Rinzel Moore Vanacker Boisvert +++++ in the system plus 2 1st rounders this year.

What are you waiting for?

 

[Hawkaholic]

Waiting around being crappy hoping draft picks work out isnt a plan.

You already have Bedard Vlasic Levshunov Korchinski Nazar Rinzel Moore Vanacker Boisvert +++++ in the system plus 2 1st rounders this year.

What are you waiting for?

It kind of is a plan. It's pretty much what every contender has done to get to being a good team.

Waiting to see who is actually going to be something in the league is a good idea. No one knows if even half the players you mentioned are anything more than depth players. Once you have a good idea of who will be a player for this team, then you can start building around them.

 

[Giovi]

He just turned 25

We have futures we can afford to give up if we can put a pick package (Hawks 2025 1st + Leafs 2025 1st) + secondary prospect package (Dach, Thompson, Harding, etc)

Tkachuk would be able to improve team now and be part of core going forward while our best prospects join team in coming years

If Sens want our top prospects (Nazar, etc) + Picks then yeah likely not interested in trade

Tkachuk would probably demand to be made captain if he came to Chicago. He did it with the Sens. Given the Hawks are likely to make Bedard captain at some point, I don't know how a Tkachuk trade would work.


"According to what Radio-Canada journalist Martin Leclerc reveals in the latest edition of the «Tellement hockey»podcast, it would seem that the explanation behind this nomination is quite different and that it would not go over very well with his teammates.

"I don't know if Claude Giroux will be able to help this, but it seems that there is a problem with the leadership of the Senators. Brady Tkachuk became captain because he had that clause in his contract and it doesn't seem to have gone over very well with his teammates." - Martin Leclerc, Via GoHabsGo.com""

 

[BHawk21]

It kind of is a plan. It's pretty much what every contender has done to get to being a good team.

Waiting to see who is actually going to be something in the league is a good idea. No one knows if even half the players you mentioned are anything more than depth players. Once you have a good idea of who will be a player for this team, then you can start building around them.

We have already sat around to be bad. We have had the #1 pick, #2 pick, #7 pick, #13 pick, with another top 5 pick coming this year and 3 other mid 1st rounders + a million 2nd rounders.

Why does waiting to see what Oliver Moore becomes in 3 years help you? Hes either good, bad, or somewhere in the middle. We know Marner is good.

 

[Hawkaholic]

We have already sat around to be bad. We have had the #1 pick, #2 pick, #7 pick, #13 pick, with another top 5 pick coming this year and 3 other mid 1st rounders.

Why does waiting to see what Oliver Moore becomes in 3 years help you? Hes either good, bad, or somewhere in the middle. We know Marner is good.

What does Marner even do for this team? Make you finish 25th instead of 30th? Be a middling team for 3-5 years, and not get any good draft picks? Seems like a solid plan. We are literally on year what, 2 or 3 of the rebuild? A rebuild takes 5 years or more.

 

[GIADF]

Yeah, I mean they're still a terrible roster, so yeah Marner + x + x is a better use of cap space today, but it's not like it's next year or bust.

At some point you need to invest in guys who are going to help Bedard and co play better instead of just hitting the cap floor. We are going on year 4 of them being a tire fire. Spend some money after this season to finally start to turn this thing around.

No to mention a 7 year deal for Marner has him for his age 28-35 seasons. It's not like he's going to fall off a cliff during that span.

 

[BHawk21]

What does Marner even do for this team? Make you finish 25th instead of 30th? Be a middling team for 3-5 years, and not get any good draft picks? Seems like a solid plan. We are literally on year what, 2 or 3 of the rebuild? A rebuild takes 5 years or more.

After this draft the players are all in the system to get better.

Marner gives you an all star 100 point player in your top 6. It slots everyone down the lineup. We wont have Hall or Foligno playing significant top 6 minutes.

You are looking to be last place again next year?

 

[Hawkaholic]

After this draft the players are all in the system to get better.

Marner gives you an all star 100 point player in your top 6. It slots everyone down the lineup. We wont have Hall or Foligno playing significant top 6 minutes.

You are looking to be last place again next year?

No, looking to be a bottom 5ish team that competes every night and learns how to play the right way while watching your young players hopefully get better and take the next step to eventually push you up into a borderline playoff team and then assess from there. They just need NHL talent to weed out the non-NHL talent, much like what they did this past off-season.

 

[BHawk21]

Not tragic, but losing a 2nd and a 1st, essentially paying a cap hit of almost 10m the first two years, then 7.5m the next 5 years... for a guy who likely gives you around 40-50 points a season... is lunacy.

Necas 11 points in 8 games so far playing great hockey and on the top power play.

Blackhawks sitting on 5 million unused cap space this year and about 20 million in space next year.

 

[BobbyJet]

After this draft the players are all in the system to get better.

Marner gives you an all star 100 point player in your top 6. It slots everyone down the lineup. We wont have Hall or Foligno playing significant top 6 minutes.

You are looking to be last place again next year?

I will be shocked if Leafs trade away Marner. Their entire offense revolves around him, IMO, the most creative player in the league. If he lined up with Bedard, look out league. At 27 I think he has plenty of hockey left in him but if he goes on the trading block teams will be lined up.

 

[BHawk21]

No, looking to be a bottom 5ish team that competes every night and learns how to play the right way while watching your young players hopefully get better and take the next step to eventually push you up into a borderline playoff team and then assess from there. They just need NHL talent to weed out the non-NHL talent, much like what they did this past off-season.

Nope time to start to learn to win with real talent already in the system and joining a club that will be on the rise. 2026 draft picks wont matter for 4 years.

I will be shocked if Leafs trade away Marner. Their entire offense revolves around him, IMO, the most creative player in the league. If he lined up with Bedard, look out league. At 27 I think he has plenty of hockey left in him but if he goes on the trading block teams will be lined up.

I dont think they will trade him because they are trying to win a cup but if hes sick of being the whipping boy for the playoff struggles he may test free agency.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Lost in all this draft v FA thing is the fact you also gotta take chances on other teams prospects who they have soured on and guys in need of change of scenery

4 notable from Cup teams that fit this

Sharp
Versteeg
Ladd
Leddy

To this day its still baffling how Fletcher gave up so quickly on Leddy after drafting him. Though there were whispers he was sorta forced into it by ownership given the Leddy MN boy thing

 

[GIADF]

What does Marner even do for this team? Make you finish 25th instead of 30th? Be a middling team for 3-5 years, and not get any good draft picks? Seems like a solid plan. We are literally on year what, 2 or 3 of the rebuild? A rebuild takes 5 years or more.

Well the most impactful thing he would do is provide legit top line playmaking ability to get the puck to Bedard so we can see that lethal shot more often.

This also pushes TT to a potential 3rd wheel on the top line, which is a much more appropriate slot for him. We no longer have to see Bedard having experimental linemates like Foligno, Donato, and other plugs that need to be in the bottom 6.

 

[statswatcher]

i can see what marner would bring to the table, i just really don't want to be the highest bidder on that auction.

 

[WarriorofTime]

At some point you need to invest in guys who are going to help Bedard and co play better instead of just hitting the cap floor. We are going on year 4 of them being a tire fire. Spend some money after this season to finally start to turn this thing around.

No to mention a 7 year deal for Marner has him for his age 28-35 seasons. It's not like he's going to fall off a cliff during that span.

You can go for middle free agents, improve the team without investing into anything too long-term.

 

[BHFAN92]

If I am KD I am ringing the Islanders to see what it would take to land Barzal. He would be incredible alongside of Bedsy and Turbo

 

[WarriorofTime]

2026 draft picks wont matter for 4 years.

So when Connor Bedard is 25? Yeah, having some good cheap talent on the team then as Bedard is entering his absolute prime sounds super appealing to me.

No need to have a Buffalo 2015 season, where they decided "it's time to stop losing, we picked 2nd and 1st the last two years, now we need to learn how to win"

Traded 3 prospects and a 2nd for Ryan O'Reilly, then gave him a 7-year extension
Traded a 1st for Robin Lehner and David Legwand

They improved their goal differential from -113 to -26. Jack Eichel got to learn how to play "competitive hockey". They had a real player in O'Reilly leading the charge. They finished 8th to last and subsequently got to watch Matthews, Laine, Tkachuk and Keller all get taken ahead of them, but were rewarded for all that "learning to win" with Alex Nylander at the 8th pick.

They continued "learning to win" by signing Kyle Okposo the following offseason to a 7-year contract. But their goal differential slipped to -36. They finished 6th to last, and because of ping pong balls and an expansion team, they picked 8th. This time they got to watch Hischier, Heiskanen, Makar and Petterson all get taken ahead of them, but were rewarded for continuing to play "competitive hockey" with Casey Mittelstadt at the 8th pick.

...The reality is every draft slot gives you an incrementally more difficult odds of landing a high impact player. Oh sure, you have a good chance of getting a decent enough player that will stick around the NHL for a while and provide some good value here and there as they run their course through various teams around the League... but the nature of the beast is the superstars have a way of concentrating themselves at the top of the draft board.

 

[GIADF]

You can go for middle free agents, improve the team without investing into anything too long-term.

Hawks need a legit top line player with Bedard, not more middle 6ers. The last easy chance to get that guy is with the 2025 pick who could end up being 3-4 years away from even being Bedard's legit top line guy.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Nope time to start to learn to win with real talent already in the system and joining a club that will be on the rise. 2026 draft picks wont matter for 4 years.

They are learning how to win lol, they don't need to finish 9th last and miss the playoffs every year for the next 3 years to "learn to win"

2026 draft pick could matter as soon as 2026-27, or the year after. Not to mention, they have lots of time, what's the rush?

 

[ChiHawks10]

Hawks need a legit top line player with Bedard, not more middle 6ers. The last easy chance to get that guy is with the 2025 pick who could end up being 3-4 years away from even being Bedard's legit top line guy.

Most players picked in the top 5 aren't waiting 3-4 years to make the jump to the NHL.

 

[GIADF]

Most players picked in the top 5 aren't waiting 3-4 years to make the jump to the NHL.

I'm not talking about making the jump to the NHL, I said as being a legit top linemate for Bedard. It's basically one full year at a minimum before that pick might even play, and likely 2-3 more for them to develop into a legit top liner if we're lucky.

Looking at the 2021 draft there is arguably one top line player right now from that draft in Beniers.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Please show me what team signed big UFAs when they were crappy, and became a legit contender from doing so in a short period of time after? I can't think of any, but could be missing some.

 

[TLEH]

Literally every single situation is different. Hawks signed Hossa to a 9.2% of the cap deal during UFA and won three cups. They signed Soupy to a deal worth 12% of the cap in 08. One worked amazing, one kinda worked. Minnesota used UFA and was a good team for a long time with Parise and Suter, just ran into the Hawks every year. Signing UFAs aren't going to flip you to be good immediately but they also can be around when you are good.