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I saw the one clip of Roobroeck skating at the top of the circle with a slight pull-drag wrister of BB. Man, that was quite a shot, reminding me of Matthews. Of course, it was only one clip, and I don’t know if he is consistent with that release, but if he is, I like what I see.
Hopefully the addition of Byram will change the way the Hawks break out of their zone. Byram, Lev, Rinzel, Kaiser, Korchinski and even Vlasic have shown the ability to skate with the puck out of their zone. By doing so if they beat the first fore-checker they change the dynamics of their puck possession by making it easier to get past the red line. No more D to D passes then hoist the puck up for grabs. That’s like punting on second down.
I think the theme is “Bedard needs a PROVEN winger…” Unfortunately as KD has stated great players are hard to come by, especially young ones. My thoughts for that were Knies, Robertson, Pettersson and maybe Kent Johnson, but maybe Davidson doesn’t share my liking for the latter two. So if that’s the case, I can see the Hawks once again, patiently waiting to see what they have in Frondell, Kantserov and Lardis and go from there, which is alright by me, cause I’m going to watch them anyways no matter what.
Mr. Dots I think the difference in KD’s strategy versus say McCrimmon in Vegas or Zito in Florida is that Davidson is seeking long term viability as a Stanley Cup contender vs “we’ll contend now future be damned” approach. I think Davidson was around during the Hawks glory years and saw that the accumulation of talent from the draft catapulted the team towards those cups, only because of the bad timing of the stagnant cap was the Hawks undoing.
KD seems to be very patient and calculating and I’m willing to wait out the process. He seems to be seeking very high-end talent to pair with Bedard and won’t sway to take a lesser talented player, which is good. Don’t buy a high output Camaro when you are saving up for a Ferrari or a Lamborghini. Although I’ve had my ’69 Camaro for over 30 years and I couldn’t think of owning either of those cars. I couldn’t work on them and maintenance must be outrageous. 😉
Wiz, I think we’re used to the old Hockeybuzz format that the posts just get layered in a natural progression. Here I think you have to go back to page 1 each time to see your latest post.
My thoughts regarding pursuing Pettersson was not as a back-up plan, but as a true top 6 talent player type that he wanted to go after. I just thought if KD did have Pettersson in mind with other high-end talents, and with Bedard’s missing the beginning of the season, perhaps that might be the kicker that makes KD pull the trigger. That’s of course like you said that KD sees that Pettersson’s worth trading for and is better than anything in the system and won’t block any of them. Davidson doesn’t seem to make half-assed panic moves, so if he is targeting something, I don’t see him making a fall-back plan as you said at this point.
Luckily the Blackhawks have drafted high character/work ethic type players, so your hope that the kids rally around each other during Bedard’s absence is not at all far-fetched. And I definitely agree with you that the D-corps are going to be much improved than last season. Adding Byram on your top pair has a puck moving threat for the majority of the game, and if Rinzel and/or Levshunov steady their games that will add to your prediction of the Hawks possessing a staunch defensive group.
We might have to just watch them play as you said. Either way, I think they’ll be a much better team than last year, and I’ll be watching them as usual. 😉
Count me in as thinking they’ll be a better team this year. Most of the team is back from last year and will be stabilizing the system brought in from Blashill and the coaches. Couldn’t expect too much from a team composed of mostly youngsters and a new coaching staff and a new system. So, yeah I agree this year will be better, but I’m just worried about the start of the season.
With Bedard missing possibly 15 games, that’s a lot of points missed if they don’t come out of the gates firing on all cylinders. The reason I keep thinking about Pettersson is KD stated that this off-season was going to be different in that they were going to seek a serious upgrade or upgrades to the team.
Now he delivered on Byram, contrary to most people’s belief—-“he needed to find help on Bedard’s line… Bedard needs a wing … Davidson needed to upgrade the forward group and he gets a defenseman….” If you think about it, KD did help Bedard. He got a young experienced dman that can skate the puck up, and deliver it to Bedard and the forwards. When the Hawks’ defensemen can skate with the puck and then pass, they’re fine, but in the past, there were too many times where D to D passes made the Dmen stand still, and due to pressure, they would hoist the puck out of the zone or ice the puck. Now the Hawks have a majority of their Dmen who could skate with the puck; this could lessen the instances where they’re hemmed in the defensive zone, leading to more o-zone time. When people think of the Avalanche and their offense, they think MacKinnon and…. Rantanen?… Necas?… no it’s Makar that comes to mind. Well Bedard is not MacKinnon, and Byram is not Makar, but you can see how this can work for the Hawks.
Now back to Pettersson. KD has tried to fetch help for Bedard with talks regarding Knies and Robertson, although both still seem unlikely. Vancouver is in a rebuild, so they are a perfect and probably the only team to trade with regarding what the Blackhawks have plenty of: picks and prospects. Pettersson is a skilled centerman. He would qualify to me, as a serious upgrade. He could start off the season as the #1 center and when Bedard comes back, it’ll allow him to ease back into the lineup probably as a wing. This makes at least one of Nazar and/or Frondell to play as a top line wing.
Now we don’t know much regarding Pettersson’s attitude or character or lack thereof. I have not heard if he has been healthy scratched in the last two years; usually a telltale sign. Only thing I can recall was the JT Miller thing. Anyway, if Pettersson doesn’t have the stomach to go to a young up and coming squad like the Hawks, then perhaps he’s not the fit character-wise for this team. He’ll just use that no trade clause to nix the deal. But I think KD has to take the swing on this given the circumstances of Bedard’s injury. Besides, if the Canucks trade him for picks, plus discount him for a couple million, he’d be getting paid like a second line center which he’ll be destined to be if he joins the Hawks.
I’ve wavered on trading for Elias Pettersson, but now because of Bedard’s injury, I think KD needs to make that trade. The Hawks can’t afford to come out of the gates slowly. Pettersson is still a highly skilled player and a natural center. He’s just overpaid right now. In a couple years with all the crazy salaries, he’ll be paid like a #2 center, which coincidentally will probably be his position. Having him as the #2 center will allow either one or both of Nazar or Frondell to be on the wing. But for the start of the season Pettersson can be the #1 pivot until Bedard returns from injury. I’d just hate to see them sputter at the start of the season and hearing all the nay-sayers, “They shoulda done this, they shoulda done that, they shouldn’t have signed Byram….”
All in all, I’m good with the current plan; it’s just that I can see Bedard’s recent injury having a major impact to the start of the season, and the club’s hope of making the playoffs. Either way, if they trade for help or just play with the next man up mantra, all we can do is hope for the best.
