2007-2008 NHL Catch All Thread

[The Critic]

Crawford's likely to be the backup next season I think.

 

The Hawks need to have him play 20-25 games to see if he can take over from 09-10.

 

So ATM I'd say Lalime won't be back, unless the Hawks could trade Bulin for a good package (which is possible, a starting goalie with an expiring contract and the salary cap rising would have some good value I think).

 

The quandry is, though, that to make Khabi more attractive in trade, I think the Hawks would have to play him now to show that the injuries are behind him. He's had a weird year health-wise and I think that could make other teams a little skittish if he sits out the rest of the games this year.

You can't play Crawford to see what you have in him without slightly damaging your chances to deal Khabibulin, unless other teams are more focused on Khabi's track record over the years and getting him checked out before working a deal.

[Metz]

The quandry is, though, that to make Khabi more attractive in trade, I think the Hawks would have to play him now to show that the injuries are behind him. He's had a weird year health-wise and I think that could make other teams a little skittish if he sits out the rest of the games this year.

You can't play Crawford to see what you have in him without slightly damaging your chances to deal Khabibulin, unless other teams are more focused on Khabi's track record over the years and getting him checked out before working a deal.

 

Well Savvy said Wednesday night that Habby would be in net tomorrow, obviously kinda hard not to. If his first game back wasnt a good showing, I hope to god he has another great game tomorrow. To come back though in a buzzed atmosphere that night with Tony O and play up to that level was just amazing to see live.

 

I still dont like the guy though. Did anyone see his after game interview with Josh Mora. Holy ....

 

I dont have it front of me or anything but him saying it was nice to wear my old number out there in warmups(referring to Lalime/Habby wearing #35 with Esposito on the back in honor of him)

Then when Mora and everyone wanted to hype up the shutout on Tony O night he just wouldnt let it happen. He also said it was hard to stay loose and warmed up with the ceremony.

 

Honestly .. wow

[DBAHO]

I think Cristobal Huet is showing he's not a system goalie either, .937 Save % in 6 games with the Caps.

 

Doubt he hits FA, but I'd make him a 3 year / 15M offer if he hits, and then trade Khabibulin if he signs, with Crawford as the backup.

[IlliniKrush]

Sharks beat the Ducks 2-1 tonight. Shots in the third period: Sharks 17, Ducks 0. Yes, you are reading that right.

 

Sharks are 14-0-1 in their last 15. Yikes.

[DBAHO]

Gettin Brian Campbell has made them favorites right now.

 

The only question mark on them is how Nabokov will go in the playoffs.

 

He shows up, I think they win it all.

[Metz]

Bulin Wall will be in net today I just hope the Wall is just as strong as Wednesday

 

I love that 2nd line we put out there. Sharp-Bolland-Ladd

The 3rd one is weird because its all of our "veteran" players and then you look at the other 3 lines and its all the "young kids" to say. The 3rd line is Perrault-Lang-Williams, and if I remember right all 3 of those are written as Centers, but I like Williams at Winger

[EvilJester99]

Wow I do have to say that I am impressed with Ladd, he does offer a lot more offensively than Ruutu did. Hawks looking good thus far...1 - 1 against the Preds. Bulin with some more big saves as well. Also I am glad I was wrong about Buf playing forward, that is the best position for him and the team.

Edited March 22, 2008 by EvilJester99

[The Critic]

Hawks lose in the SO today. If they would have picked up that 2nd point, they would have been 5 points out with 7 games left. O well.....

Yeah, it's disappointing not to get the second point, but it doesn't really bum me out that much anymore. I've come to terms with the fact that they'll fall short of the playoffs this year. I'm more interested to see what Tallon can do in the offseason to address weaknesses.

 

BTW, I thought Hendry played really well today. He's improved quite a bit since he first got to Chicago. It's nice to see.

[IlliniKrush]

Hawks lose in the SO today. If they would have picked up that 2nd point, they would have been 5 points out with 7 games left. O well.....

The extra point sure would have helped us, and taken one out of Nash's pocket.

 

Win today's game in hand, and we're 4 out with 6 left. It's nice to at least type a sentence like that this late in the season. Avs would have to fall on their ass, and Nash and Edm would have to falter a bit...and, well, we'd have to either win out or win at least 5 of 6 AFTER today's must win.

 

It's not likely, we all know that. And the closer we get without getting there, the more pissed off I get over the whole month of January, as well as that hiccup of 1 of 8 points just 2 weeks ago. Such a f***ing disappointment.

 

I'll be there, I think showtime's going as well.

 

[The Critic]

I wonder if Savvy's considered putting Kane on the point on the power play?

He seems to get smushed along the boards a lot, and his passing skills could be an advantage on the point.

It's something I think they need to give some thought to, especially if he doesn't bulk up over the summer.

[IlliniKrush]

Holy f*** what a game to be at. I knew that puck was ending up in our net as the puck bounced to Kane...was saying 'uh oh' the whole time, and with the guy coming out of the box. What a comeback. You just never know. Just keep winning and hope for everything around you to break right.

 

Yes Tony I feel the same way. I'm just trying so hard to let that s*** go...but as you can see from my post above, I can't either.

 

Also I'd like to add the Blues are bunch of assclowns with their crap after the whistle.

Edited March 23, 2008 by IlliniKrush

[CWSGuy406]

To be fair... you know that, at the very worst, this team would've mustered at least an extra 2-3 points if #19 hadn't been out six weeks, but as with the points lost a few weeks ago... not much use in b****ing about it now.

 

And whenever I start getting angry about points missed here and there through the season, I go back to a majority of expectations that were laid at the beginning of the season -- if everything goes right, a middle seed in the playoffs but -- a more likely scenario -- competing for the 8th spot in the West. That I'm/we're still scoreboard watching and it's a week from April 1st tells me all I need to know about whether we're "competing".

 

There's 12 possible points left on the schedule. The good news is that Detroit is now seven points up on San Jose, the number two team in the West. There's a non-terrible chance that Detroit could have first place locked up by April 2nd, the first of two remaining meetings left between the Hawks and Detroit. As such, I'll be rooting for Detroit for the next week.

[knightni]

Some nice replays of the Mikita/Hull, Esposito retirement ceremonies on CSN this afternoon.

[DBAHO]

So that puts us 4 points behind Colorado for the 8th spot.

 

They have a 3 game homestand coming up against Calgary, Vancouver and Edmonton though.

[Mr. Showtime]

Holy f*** what a game to be at. I knew that puck was ending up in our net as the puck bounced to Kane...was saying 'uh oh' the whole time, and with the guy coming out of the box. What a comeback. You just never know. Just keep winning and hope for everything around you to break right.

 

Yes Tony I feel the same way. I'm just trying so hard to let that s*** go...but as you can see from my post above, I can't either.

 

Also I'd like to add the Blues are bunch of assclowns with their crap after the whistle.

 

Wanted to add a few things.

1. I watched the game alone. Not even the people next to me we're there today.
2. People we're not waiting for the whistle late in the 3rd and into OT. It was really annoying.
3. There was a guy in my section who kept yelling, "Shoot", "Lets Go", "Hit EM". The whole game. Krush, this is the guy who yells shoot during the PP, when the defenders have layed down directly in front of the offensive player. I was close to telling him to **** off. ARGH~!

As for the Blues, yeah, even Savvy said what happened had no place in the league. I thought for sure there was going to be a bigger fight than the Hammer 'fight'. I watched the game on tv when I got home, and Eddie O was asked about it by Danny, and Eddie said you couldn't take a dumb penalty at this point. Which I suppose is true, but JT was getting in a few players faces after the whistle.

[DBAHO]

You have to wonder if somebody will make an offer sheet on Montreal goalie Jaroslav Halak, who's set to become a restricted free agent. Caps goalie Cristobal Huet is the only high-profile potential unrestricted free agent available, which means Halak might get a few sniffs. The Flyers, Kings and Hawks could all be looking for goaltending help ...

[SnB]

so I asked Krush this yesterday

 

percent chance of the hawks sneaking into that last spot at this moment?

[YASNY]

so I asked Krush this yesterday

 

percent chance of the hawks sneaking into that last spot at this moment?

 

Sounds like a good poll topic

[southsider2k5]

I have to give Tallon and his scouts credit for these types of deals. They seem to have a great eye for finding guys undervalued by other teams, or not in the right situation, and giving them a real chance with the Hawks. Ladd was sort of buried on the Carolina depth chart, however when ever he got solid minuets there, he put up numbers. Sharp is sort of the same case, but he was pretty young when they got him. That obviously was a case of seeing something in Sharp, and knowing he fit with the Hawks.

 

However, it it goes both ways. It's extremely frustrating to see Samsonov having such a good year with Carolina, Calgary seems very happy with Auccoin, and I ever read a story on how Flordia just loves Cullimore, and he has been a great piece to their squad.....

 

Look no further than Patrick Sharp...

[Steve9347]

Look no further than Patrick Sharp...

Hence why he... brought up Patrick Sharp.

[Metz]

You never know the season could very well come down to the month of April. We play the Wings and Preds at home then go to Detroit. It would have been great to beat the Preds on saturday and it killed me to watch Radulov put that one in pass Habby, but yesterdays win was great to watch as the Easter fest around me was going on. 4 points out -- just saying that you have to be happy to be where we are as of today. Colorado looks like they are going to fall on their ass and I hope to god they do.

 

Also who was the only person(of the main people that post in this thread) to actually be happy with the Ladd for Ruutu deal.

 

I hope you choose wisely

[Steve9347]

I too was quite pissed when Radulov scored in the shootout.

 

GRAPHIC: Radulov, 0-7 in shootout chances.

 

Me: "Don't worry, Khabby will let it in."

 

Radulov scores 5-hole.

 

It's actually unfathomable that the Blackhawks ever lose a shootout when Patrick Kane is automatic. The kid is a focking stud.

 

EDIT FOR ILLINIKRUSH: I would have said "Lalime will let it in" if he were playing as well!

Edited March 24, 2008 by Steve9347

[Mr. Showtime]

Just like that back to 6 pts out as the Flames couldn't get it done vs the Avs. Damn!

[IlliniKrush]

Last night really f***ed up our chances, we're really in big trouble now.

 

so I asked Krush this yesterday

 

percent chance of the hawks sneaking into that last spot at this moment?

http://playoffstatus.com/nhl/blackhawkswhatif.html

[DBAHO]

Goodbye Williams?

 

Kevyn Adams said he "absolutely would love to come back" next season, but Jason Williams' situation seems to be in a bit of flux after Hawks coach Denis Savard cut his ice time the last two games.

 

"I think the last few games Savvy has kind of sent a message to Dale and myself," Williams said. "For me the message has been loud and clear and I'm going to leave it at that."

 

Williams, acquired last season in a trade with Detroit, played just 7 minutes 25 seconds Saturday in Nashville and followed it up with 13:58 on Sunday against St. Louis. When asked if he was referring to his ice time being cut, Williams replied: "I think you can read between the lines, yeah."

 

Savard has said he's going to play the players who are having the best games, and Williams, after scoring the game-winning goal against the Washington Capitals on March 19, has been scoreless with a minus-3 rating. He has missed 39 games with injuries this season and has five goals in 17 games since returning Feb. 20 from sports hernia surgery.

 

"Your veteran guys had better step up, especially in the type of games we're in now," Savard said. "I can't wait for anybody, really."

 

Tallon said he has begun talking with Williams' and Adams' agents about returning next season.

 

"We traded for Jason, we like him," Tallon said. "He's been a big plus to our team. Denis plays guys who are playing well that particular night. Jason has played really well since coming back from surgery. I don't think Denis thought he played so well the last couple of games."

 

Adams, on the other hand, isn't shy about expressing his desire to return to the Hawks. The center missed 53 games with a serious knee injury but is healthy for the stretch run.

 

"I know it's been a tough year for me in terms of having this big injury, but hopefully I've proved that I'm back and I've shown them that I'm committed to this team," Adams said. "It's just a matter of hoping we're on the same page when the season is over and hopefully they value what I bring to the table every day. Then I'll definitely express to them that I want to be here and that I appreciate what they've done for me."