Confirmed with Link: Blackhawks trade Hjalmarsson to Arizona for Connor Murphy & Laurent Dauphin

[TheSting]

but keith and seabrook can still put up offensive numbers. hammer is about to fall off a cliff.

Hammer finished top 10 in the NHL in blocked shots. I wager he's been top 10 since he's been in the league. He does the dirty work coaches and their goalies appreciate. Blocked shots is not a glamour stat so most fans won't care about it.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Yeah, Hammer was awful at clearing the puck out, or getting passes up. Mainly because he played mostly on his backhand, so not really blaming him, but he was far from great at doing it.

I don't think anyone will miss his backhand passes off the boards that got intercepted every time.

 

[Blackhawks]

Yeah, Hammer was awful at clearing the puck out, or getting passes up. Mainly because he played mostly on his backhand, so not really blaming him, but he was far from great at doing it.

I don't think anyone will miss his backhand passes off the boards that got intercepted every time.

Oh ya every time, every single time, what on earth are you talking about? Hammer was the best D-Man this year. Keith had a so so year, Seabrook was Meh, Campbell and Oduya were average at best, TVR and Hammer were the only solid ones with Keith in there as well but not being himself. The trend with you is that every time someone is traded then you get the courage to voice how "awful" they are but when they are on the team then you say nothing critical of them.

 

[BK]

Technically speaking, Hammer was top 2 in giveaways on the Hawks last season (with Seabs; looking at giveaways per game). I think he and Seabs would be top 2 in missed outlet passes but there is no way to truly track that currently. You can look at icings but that would not be completely objective.

Hammer was much better in the first half of the season and then saw a falloff starting in Q3 of the season with a dramatic falloff in Q4 and the playoffs. Is the falloff temporary or is this the age where Hammer's play starts to dramatically declines?

 

[CallMeShaft]

Oh ya every time, every single time, what on earth are you talking about? Hammer was the best D-Man this year. Keith had a so so year, Seabrook was Meh, Campbell and Oduya were average at best, TVR and Hammer were the only solid ones with Keith in there as well but not being himself. The trend with you is that every time someone is traded then you get the courage to voice how "awful" they are but when they are on the team then you say nothing critical of them.

You can be a good defensemen and not be good at moving the puck up ice.

Hammer was one of the best at his gap control and blocking shots. But he was not anywhere close to being good when it came to passing the puck up ice. Now a lot of that has to do with him playing his offside (thus needing to backhand the puck up ice), but that's the position he's previously stated he feels most comfortable playing.

 

[Bubba88]

Keith was our best D last year...

 

[ColdSteel2]

I saw zero decline in Keith. It wasn't one of his best years but he's always been like that. He could win the Norris next year.

 

[Marotte Marauder]

Hammer is/was very good...without the puck.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Oh ya every time, every single time, what on earth are you talking about? Hammer was the best D-Man this year. Keith had a so so year, Seabrook was Meh, Campbell and Oduya were average at best, TVR and Hammer were the only solid ones with Keith in there as well but not being himself. The trend with you is that every time someone is traded then you get the courage to voice how "awful" they are but when they are on the team then you say nothing critical of them.

Please show me where I said Hammer is an awful defenseman. If you don't think he was awful at clearing the puck on his backhand, or making stretch passes, then you should just stop watching hockey.

 

[ChiHawks10]

Please show me where I said Hammer is an awful defenseman. If you don't think he was awful at clearing the puck on his backhand, or making stretch passes, then you should just stop watching hockey.

He's always got a strawman argument queued up for these occasions.

The truth is, as I see it, that Hammer was always very, very good at his clears for being on his backhand. And very good at the short outlet passes from the boards to the curling center or winger looking to break out. Very quick hands and the puck would be gone immediately, and accurately. This past season, he wasn't nearly as good at that. His clears weren't as strong on the backhand, so they were intercepted often, or held in at the blueline. His accuracy on his short passes was off resulting in missed passes/giveaways.

He was solid. Don't get me wrong. But the decline is obvious here. Unless he was just playing hurt(but I feel like he's always playing hurt) so it seems more to me like he's starting to decline. And this trade was a perfect example of maximizing a guy's value while he's still playing well, as opposed to him falling off a cliff, and being unmovable.

 

[ChiHawks10]

You argue like a two year old.

He makes a good point, though. Blackhawks is constantly throwing out strawman arguments at people for whatever reason.

 

[piteus]

He's always got a strawman argument queued up for these occasions.

The truth is, as I see it, that Hammer was always very, very good at his clears for being on his backhand. And very good at the short outlet passes from the boards to the curling center or winger looking to break out. Very quick hands and the puck would be gone immediately, and accurately. This past season, he wasn't nearly as good at that. His clears weren't as strong on the backhand, so they were intercepted often, or held in at the blueline. His accuracy on his short passes was off resulting in missed passes/giveaways.

He was solid. Don't get me wrong. But the decline is obvious here. Unless he was just playing hurt(but I feel like he's always playing hurt) so it seems more to me like he's starting to decline. And this trade was a perfect example of maximizing a guy's value while he's still playing well, as opposed to him falling off a cliff, and being unmovable.

That is just perfect. Blackhawks should just change his handle and own it. People would take him more seriously if he did. STRAWMAN

 

[LDF]

That is just perfect. Blackhawks should just change his handle and own it. People would take him more seriously if he did. STRAWMAN

oh man, this is great.... post of the yr ....

 

[AmericanDream]

Murphy is going to surprise a lot of people.

He was easily one of the best defensemen for team USA at the World Championships which was a team filled with youth at forward.

He is like a condor on the ice, but his positioning and footwork are always spot on. The kid is huge, and I don't think we have seen a defensemen with this size and mobility in a long, long time. Add in the fact that he is barely 24 years old and still growing into that frame (just like Pronger took a long time) this is a trade that sucks to lose Hammer but could actually be a Godsend in the long term.

He has only played 3 full NHL seasons, so lets not pigeonhole this kid yet. He will not be confused with Paul Coffey out there, but his outlet passing is far better than Hammer, and his in zone play is well above average. Just an all around steady young defensemen that is still only improving.

We traded a player unfortunately trending down for one trending upwards - and though it saddens me to see Hammer move on, it does bring me optimism to bring in fresh legs and skill at the point which we needed.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

To say Murphy is trending upwards is being dishonest as his development progress has stalled in Pho

Maybe a change of scenery will do him good but to claim he is a defender trending up and Hammer on decline is being disingenuous

We hope this works out but its a major risk for Hawks especially if Murphy does not get his development back on track given he is signed for 5 yrs

Also lets be honest. The World Championships are meaningless to judge a player on especially when many of the best players are not there taking part

 

[Esq]

Murphy is going to surprise a lot of people.

He was easily one of the best defensemen for team USA at the World Championships which was a team filled with youth at forward.

He is like a condor on the ice, but his positioning and footwork are always spot on. The kid is huge, and I don't think we have seen a defensemen with this size and mobility in a long, long time. Add in the fact that he is barely 24 years old and still growing into that frame (just like Pronger took a long time) this is a trade that sucks to lose Hammer but could actually be a Godsend in the long term.

He has only played 3 full NHL seasons, so lets not pigeonhole this kid yet. He will not be confused with Paul Coffey out there, but his outlet passing is far better than Hammer, and his in zone play is well above average. Just an all around steady young defensemen that is still only improving.

We traded a player unfortunately trending down for one trending upwards - and though it saddens me to see Hammer move on, it does bring me optimism to bring in fresh legs and skill at the point which we needed.

I like your optimism. Let's see if you're right.

 

[AmericanDream]

To say Murphy is trending upwards is being dishonest as his development progress has stalled in Pho

Maybe a change of scenery will do him good but to claim he is a defender trending up and Hammer on decline is being disingenuous

We hope this works out but its a major risk for Hawks especially if Murphy does not get his development back on track given he is signed for 5 yrs

Also lets be honest. The World Championships are meaningless to judge a player on especially when many of the best players are not there taking part

Murphy isn't trending downward since he only played 3 full seasons

He is trending upward and put him on a team like the Hawks and he will continue to be more than fine..

I understand what the World Championships are/are not, still need to play hockey at a high level, he still played against top NHL stars and looked very good out there. He is capable of being a real good defensemen for this team for years to come. Nothing I have seen from him in the past few seasons suggests otherwise.

He will be the least of our concerns next year and beyond.

 

[piteus]

To say Murphy is trending upwards is being dishonest as his development progress has stalled in Pho

Maybe a change of scenery will do him good but to claim he is a defender trending up and Hammer on decline is being disingenuous

We hope this works out but its a major risk for Hawks especially if Murphy does not get his development back on track given he is signed for 5 yrs

Also lets be honest. The World Championships are meaningless to judge a player on especially when many of the best players are not there taking part

I think people questioning Hammer's health / decline is legit. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that he was laboring last year. Whether it was the "back injury" or wear and tear ... we shall see.

At worst, Murphy will be a #4 DMen. Let's hope he's better than that. However, to anoint him a top pairing DMen on a legitimate contender is jumping the gun. He has a long way to go to prove that. I will point out that battleship sized DMen usually develop later than sooner. There could be far more upside to this kid. At least that's the hope.

 

[BK]

Murphy is 100% trending up. He has grown a player each year in AZ and is now on a good team at the age where most D hit their prime.

 

[AmericanDream]

I think people questioning Hammer's health / decline is legit. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that he was laboring last year. Whether it was the "back injury" or wear and tear ... we shall see.

At worst, Murphy will be a #4 DMen. Let's hope he's better than that. However, to anoint him a top pairing DMen on a legitimate contender is jumping the gun. He has a long way to go to prove that. I will point out that battleship sized DMen usually develop later than sooner. There could be far more upside to this kid. At least that's the hope.

exactly. nobody is expecting Murphy to be as good as Hammer was, but at worst this kid is a #4 for this year, and that is really pushing low for him. he can be every bit the #2 dman we need for this year as Seabs needs to eat less minutes and we hopefully can find a way to land a Ron Hainsey type player to log more minutes with solid 2-way play.

either way, Murphy will not be a problem here.

 

[CourtneyDagger50]

If I trust anyone's analysis on young players, it is AD.

So I will take his word for it and not argue lol. I hope Murphy is good for us. I will always miss Hammer though.

 

[LDF]

I think people questioning Hammer's health / decline is legit. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that he was laboring last year. Whether it was the "back injury" or wear and tear ... we shall see.

At worst, Murphy will be a #4 DMen. Let's hope he's better than that. However, to anoint him a top pairing DMen on a legitimate contender is jumping the gun. He has a long way to go to prove that. I will point out that battleship sized DMen usually develop later than sooner. There could be far more upside to this kid. At least that's the hope.

i too see murph as a #4 d-man and have to do a wait and see.

however i think i listed him as a #2 d-man to be with keith. leaving seabs with a rookie. this was more of a necessity.

 

[AmericanDream]

If I trust anyone's analysis on young players, it is AD.

So I will take his word for it and not argue lol. I hope Murphy is good for us. I will always miss Hammer though.

very smart! lol!!

if people are expecting Murphy to step right in and replace Hammer, that will be unfair. but, he will soften the loss of Hammer and over the next year plus I think this trade will work out for us as Murphy has a lot of upside here and we have him at a nice cost while he starts getting to his best years.

I think people are going to like him a lot on this defense, can't wait to see what he does here.

 

[SAADfather]

I agree that I think people are gonna like Murphy a lot if you give him a chance. Plus he's locked up for awhile at a low AAV. That contract could be an absolute steal in a few years.

 

[JaegerDice]

I agree that I think people are gonna like Murphy a lot if you give him a chance. Plus he's locked up for awhile at a low AAV. That contract could be an absolute steal in a few years.

If the goal is to build toward a cup push around 2020, then so be it.

This trade simply makes a questionable defensive team even weaker in the short term though.

I stand by what I said before Hammer got traded. I find it difficult to see this team making the playoffs without Hjalmarsson. He was simply doing THAT much of the hard dirty work defensively for this team.