Speculation: Trade: Phillips to Winnipeg

[Hawkaholic]

Played USHL in 2022 is what I’m going on. I have no idea if he’s been here longer.

I see, the "here" is what through me off.

 

[deytookerjaabs]

Apparently Kuzmin is great at showing up to team meetings on time. Should help Lev.

Honestly, the timing wouldn't surprise me.

It was an interesting bit of news for a minute. No Lev on the ice? Oh, uh, health reasons? Oh, uh, wait, no, healthy scratch for missing a team meeting along with Kyles' second round pick Ludwinski who has 2 points in 28 AHL games this season.

If they're buddies? I'm hoping Lev doesn't catch a case of whatever Paul has cause 20 year old Ludwinski is on the highway to bustville.

Uhg.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Honestly, the timing wouldn't surprise me.

It was an interesting bit of news for a minute. No Lev on the ice? Oh, uh, health reasons? Oh, uh, wait, no, healthy scratch for missing a team meeting along with Kyles' second round pick Ludwinski who has 2 points in 28 AHL games this season.

If they're buddies? I'm hoping Lev doesn't catch a case of whatever Paul has cause 20 year old Ludwinski is on the highway to bustville.

Uhg.

They're roommates. Nazar was with them also but got called up.

 

[giza]

I remember Kuzmin and Klimovich were on that surprising Belarus team a few years ago. I remember the scouting report saying he was a bit under-sized, but a good skating, puck moving type.

 

[hawksfan50]

Let me see:

Wei traded +8 for -9
How does that help Rockford?

We traded size 6'3 205 for a smurf 5'10 195(but at least he is 10 lbs heavier than Bedard)...WPG gets their tyoe =Big ..we add another smurf which is our type.

We gotc2cyearscyoubger.

We got a trd rounder for.
a fifth rounder


Was the trade made to help Lev feel more comfortable by acquiring a close friend and fellow Belarus compatriot? Obviously.

Kuzmin when drafted had a scouting repirt aa and offebsice zone possession extender...but that has not translated to big production at the AHL level..but IF he gets to the show and IF the Hawks manage to get out of their own zone to the o-zone maybe this type that scoots aroubd the o-zone carrying the puck and keeping it past tge cheese,could turn into the playmaker dmam envisaged producing sone points ?
On the other hand...maybe justcanother smurf dman getting pushed around and adding to the menus heap.
But if he actually tries harder than$9.5..that would be refreshing.

But not getting my hopes up...but Phillips would get no more chance with the Hawks anyway .so no loss.

However IF Jets call him up..do not be surprised if he fits their style better and turns i to a useful piece ..after alk. they actually get out of their own zone...they are a much more talented and bigger team..Maybe thrives there? If that occurs..like withs Stone wuth Washington ,or Forsling in Florida ,fans may be furious we gave up on him...but thecreality is the systems and the surrounding talent provideca better chance to shine than our putrid talent and useless "system" which is so dysfunctional hardly anyone can thrive under this Tank environment.

 

[ploppsdman]

Fresh start for Isaak. Doing right by him.

I talked about this awhile ago - he's not getting the ice time and it's only going to get worse.

However, I would have preferred future considerations. If lev needs a pal, get him a cat.

 

[BobbyJet]

Let me see:

Wei traded +8 for -9
How does that help Rockford?

We traded size 6'3 205 for a smurf 5'10 195(but at least he is 10 lbs heavier than Bedard)...WPG gets their tyoe =Big ..we add another smurf which is our type.

We gotc2cyearscyoubger.

We got a trd rounder for.
a fifth rounder


Was the trade made to help Lev feel more comfortable by acquiring a close friend and fellow Belarus compatriot? Obviously.

Kuzmin when drafted had a scouting repirt aa and offebsice zone possession extender...but that has not translated to big production at the AHL level..but IF he gets to the show and IF the Hawks manage to get out of their own zone to the o-zone maybe this type that scoots aroubd the o-zone carrying the puck and keeping it past tge cheese,could turn into the playmaker dmam envisaged producing sone points ?
On the other hand...maybe justcanother smurf dman getting pushed around and adding to the menus heap.
But if he actually tries harder than$9.5..that would be refreshing.

But not getting my hopes up...but Phillips would get no more chance with the Hawks anyway .so no loss.

However IF Jets call him up..do not be surprised if he fits their style better and turns i to a useful piece ..after alk. they actually get out of their own zone...they are a much more talented and bigger team..Maybe thrives there? If that occurs..like withs Stone wuth Washington ,or Forsling in Florida ,fans may be furious we gave up on him...but thecreality is the systems and the surrounding talent provideca better chance to shine than our putrid talent and useless "system" which is so dysfunctional hardly anyone can thrive under this Tank environment.

Good size means very little if not used.

 

[TLEH]

Phillips obviously cleared waivers early and I don’t think he’s much but I think there is a chance he could improve and be a guy who plays a couple seasons at 28, 29. Dennis Gilbert even did and so did Ryan Shea.

 

[pvr]

I talked about this awhile ago - he's not getting the ice time and it's only going to get worse.

However, I would have preferred future considerations. If lev needs a pal, get him a DOG.

Fify.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

 

[hockeydoug]

Good to give Phillips a start elsewhere. He was done here and best to move on as his situation wasn't going to get better anytime soon. I won't be surprised if he's still floating around as a 7th d in several years.

Not sure I buy that it's going to help Lev or Rockford but it doesn't matter.

 

[OldScool]

Good to give Phillips a start elsewhere. He was done here and best to move on as his situation wasn't going to get better anytime soon. I won't be surprised if he's still floating around as a 7th d in several years.

Not sure I buy that it's going to help Lev or Rockford but it doesn't matter.

It's certainly not going to help Rockford as Phillips was one of their best defenseman...and if you watch some games they already struggle defending. This is another massive red flag for me regarding Lev....they just keep piling up.

 

[MHO]

It's certainly not going to help Rockford as Phillips was one of their best defenseman...and if you watch some games they already struggle defending. This is another massive red flag for me regarding Lev....they just keep piling up.

Let's see how Lev does playing with his buddy and once Murphy gets healthy, they'll probably get Kaiser from the big club to help on the blue line. Murphy is already back skating.

Let's remember that Levshunov is playing professionally immediately after being drafted which almost never happens as a defensemen. They take longer to develop in general so don't let the red flags pile up too much yet.

 

[Hawkaholic]

lol massive red flag for LEv, like what are you people smoking? He's a 19 year old in a country without his family around.

 

[OldScool]

lol massive red flag for LEv, like what are you people smoking? He's a 19 year old in a country without his family around.

His play has been underwhelming, looks disinterested and lazy and then misses a team meeting and gets punished. Not ideal. For me personally - seeing on ice and off ice issues is concerning.

 

[Space umpire]

lol massive red flag for LEv, like what are you people smoking? He's a 19 year old in a country without his family around.

I don’t know if it’s really a red flag or not but he speaks fluent English and has been in North America for about 3 years. People are making it sound like he just got off the boat.
If (IF) it becomes public that the team took the L (talent wise) because they are convinced Lev needs a blankie it certainly could be telling.
I prefer (I hope) that when Chicago put Phillips on the market the Jets made an offer and MAYBE (that means I’m guessing) knowing they weren’t getting much chose the guy who is 2 years younger (1 + yrs?), kind of renewing the lottery ticket and knowing Lev was just a bonus.

 

[Hawkaholic]

I don’t know if it’s really a red flag or not but he speaks fluent English and has been in North America for about 3 years. People are making it sound like he just got off the boat.
If (IF) it becomes public that the team took the L (talent wise) because they are convinced Lev needs a blankie it certainly could be telling.
I prefer (I hope) that when Chicago put Phillips on the market the Jets made an offer and MAYBE (that means I’m guessing) knowing they weren’t getting much chose the guy who is 2 years younger (1 + yrs?), kind of renewing the lottery ticket and knowing Lev was just a bonus.

It doesn't matter if he speaks english or how long he's been here. He's still a kid without his family around him. That's not easy for anybody.

His play has been underwhelming, looks disinterested and lazy and then misses a team meeting and gets punished. Not ideal. For me personally - seeing on ice and off ice issues is concerning.

I'm talking about this trade. This trade is not another red flag in anyway, the other stuff, sure.

 

[Pez68]

It's certainly not going to help Rockford as Phillips was one of their best defenseman...and if you watch some games they already struggle defending. This is another massive red flag for me regarding Lev....they just keep piling up.

What, exactly, is a "massive red flag"?

 

[Styles]

What, exactly, is a "massive red flag"?

Think of a normal red flag only bigger.

 

[LavalPhantom]

It's certainly not going to help Rockford as Phillips was one of their best defenseman...and if you watch some games they already struggle defending. This is another massive red flag for me regarding Lev....they just keep piling up.

Speaking of red flags: there should be one next to your name after posting something like this.

 

[OldScool]

It doesn't matter if he speaks english or how long he's been here. He's still a kid without his family around him. That's not easy for anybody.


I'm talking about this trade. This trade is not another red flag in anyway, the other stuff, sure.

Going out and immediately trading for a fellow Belarus player who also trains with Lev in the summers is just a coincidence right after he is benched for missing a team meeting? Odd....

Going out and immediately trading for a fellow Belarus player who also trains with Lev in the summers is just a coincidence right after he is benched for missing a team meeting? Odd....

From all the games I have seen Lev has struggled defensively and at times looks disinterested/apathetic and not engaged at all. For the #2 pick I expected way more. He looks like just another lower end Dman who in reality wouldn't be playing the minutes he is based on merit. Now add in he missed a team meeting and now you have on ice issues and off ice issues. Not ideal.

 

[WarriorofTime]

If (IF) it becomes public that the team took the L (talent wise) because they are convinced Lev needs a blankie it certainly could be telling.

No..... this is essentially Phillips being traded for "future considerations". Phillips contract expires in a few months. They have kicked the tire multiple times on him. He had a shot to win an NHL job in training camp 2023. He didn't win it (losing to Vlasic and Kaiser) and went back to the AHL. He flipped places with Kaiser and was given a half season worth of NHL games. He did not establish himself in an NHL capacity and the Hawks went out and signed two veteran defensemen rather than leave a spot open for next season. They gave him another opportunity by qualifying and signing him to a 1 year, 2-way contract. He went into training camp with another opportunity to earn an NHL roster spot. This time, he was beat out again, by another prospect in Nolan Allan, despite the fact that Allan is 1 year, 7 months younger than Phillips. They put Phillips on Waivers, and 31 out of 31 other NHL teams with pro scouting departments passed up the opportunity to claim him to put him on their roster, even in a 7th defenseman/pressbox role. They have played over half a season and determined that they weren't going to call him up to this point.

They have other comparable aged or younger Defensemen that have either already beaten him out and established themselves (Vlasic), are in the midst of establishing themselves (Allan/Kaiser/Crevier) or will need the tires kicked on them some more to determine if they fit by the time they reach the age that Phillips currently is (Korchinski/Del Mastro).

There was no path for Phillips to have a future with the Blackhawks, which means that the only logical thing to do would have been to not re-sign him in the offseason. Anyone around the League (the same teams that did not claim him on Waivers when they had the chance) can certainly see this, and thus his trade value is non-existent.

The "talent" aspect or which player is more likely to play 200+ NHL games doesn't matter at this point. Based on how things stand right now, there wasn't a future for Phillips in Chicago and between now and the end of the season, there was not a realistic chance of that changing. Any more spots that do up they are going to want to call up Korchinski or Del Mastro in order to be in a better position to determine what to do there. The trend is certainly towards "sign Kaiser, then sign Crevier" with Phillips being a distant third. Is there always a chance Phillips finds an opportunity and then pops off and in a few years he's a 4th-5th defenseman that "got away"? Yes, anything is possible, but teams have to make decisions on players to move on from all the time and based on the situation with the Hawks defensemen, that time for Phillips was coming, now or in the offseason, and nothing was going to change that.

The guy they got back fills the AHL lineup spot, does have a longer runway because he has one more year remaining on his ELC just incase he does pop off, and yes, the added benefit of being a friend to a top prospect. Not sure why that would be a "red flag" or worrisome. Apparently because the kid who turned 19 three months ago should be a fully assimilated American because he spent one season in Junior living with a billet family, and one season on a college campus, both of which will be massively more structured and nurturing environments? You act like this was some sort of panic move. The impetus for the move was to move on from Phillips and give him a shot at a different location that had enough interest to consider him as organizational depth as they prepare for a postseason run. Not "oh no, Levshunov missed a meeting, quick, do whatever it takes to find a babysitter!"

 

[Space umpire]

No..... this is essentially Phillips being traded for "future considerations". Phillips contract expires in a few months. They have kicked the tire multiple times on him. He had a shot to win an NHL job in training camp 2023. He didn't win it (losing to Vlasic and Kaiser) and went back to the AHL. He flipped places with Kaiser and was given a half season worth of NHL games. He did not establish himself in an NHL capacity and the Hawks went out and signed two veteran defensemen rather than leave a spot open for next season. They gave him another opportunity by qualifying and signing him to a 1 year, 2-way contract. He went into training camp with another opportunity to earn an NHL roster spot. This time, he was beat out again, by another prospect in Nolan Allan, despite the fact that Allan is 1 year, 7 months younger than Phillips. They put Phillips on Waivers, and 31 out of 31 other NHL teams with pro scouting departments passed up the opportunity to claim him to put him on their roster, even in a 7th defenseman/pressbox role. They have played over half a season and determined that they weren't going to call him up to this point.

They have other comparable aged or younger Defensemen that have either already beaten him out and established themselves (Vlasic), are in the midst of establishing themselves (Allan/Kaiser/Crevier) or will need the tires kicked on them some more to determine if they fit by the time they reach the age that Phillips currently is (Korchinski/Del Mastro).

There was no path for Phillips to have a future with the Blackhawks, which means that the only logical thing to do would have been to not re-sign him in the offseason. Anyone around the League (the same teams that did not claim him on Waivers when they had the chance) can certainly see this, and thus his trade value is non-existent.

The "talent" aspect or which player is more likely to play 200+ NHL games doesn't matter at this point. Based on how things stand right now, there wasn't a future for Phillips in Chicago and between now and the end of the season, there was not a realistic chance of that changing. Any more spots that do up they are going to want to call up Korchinski or Del Mastro in order to be in a better position to determine what to do there. The trend is certainly towards "sign Kaiser, then sign Crevier" with Phillips being a distant third. Is there always a chance Phillips finds an opportunity and then pops off and in a few years he's a 4th-5th defenseman that "got away"? Yes, anything is possible, but teams have to make decisions on players to move on from all the time and based on the situation with the Hawks defensemen, that time for Phillips was coming, now or in the offseason, and nothing was going to change that.

The guy they got back fills the AHL lineup spot, does have a longer runway because he has one more year remaining on his ELC just incase he does pop off, and yes, the added benefit of being a friend to a top prospect. Not sure why that would be a "red flag" or worrisome. Apparently because the kid who turned 19 three months ago should be a fully assimilated American because he spent one season in Junior living with a billet family, and one season on a college campus, both of which will be massively more structured and nurturing environments? You act like this was some sort of panic move. The impetus for the move was to move on from Phillips and give him a shot at a different location that had enough interest to consider him as organizational depth as they prepare for a postseason run. Not "oh no, Levshunov missed a meeting, quick, do whatever it takes to find a babysitter!"

I wrote “IF”, you are claiming to know things that you clearly have no way of knowing.
I don’t think (opinion) it’s out of the question they sought out a buddy for him to play with in Rockford.
(To me) it becomes much more likely he spends all/most of next season in Rockford. Having a lifelong pal there will (hopefully) lessen any perceived snub. He needs every opportunity to develop into the #1 D-man they drafted him to be. Rushing him into the NHL doesn’t increase his chances of success.

 

[WarriorofTime]

I wrote “IF”, you are claiming to know things that you clearly have no way of knowing.
I don’t think (opinion) it’s out of the question they sought out a buddy for him to play with in Rockford.
(To me) it becomes much more likely he spends all/most of next season in Rockford. Having a lifelong pal there will (hopefully) lessen any perceived snub. He needs every opportunity to develop into the #1 D-man they drafted him to be. Rushing him into the NHL doesn’t increase his chances of success.

It was a silly hypothetical to ponder in place of the more obvious evidence that exists.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Going out and immediately trading for a fellow Belarus player who also trains with Lev in the summers is just a coincidence right after he is benched for missing a team meeting? Odd....

Was trading for Strome a massive red flag for Debrincat? Teams trade for fellow countrymen, or friends of players all the time.