gmalis1
New Member
its winning the cup this year, but knowing they are actually considering the future here. You see in the article they dont even mention Clendening as one of the d men they are high on. He is pretty much the duncan keith in rockford.
I still say we might be a little farther ahead with Hayes, Pirri and definitely Teuvo in the mix for the upcoming seasons. Trade Oduya, yeah I get that, I cant say how much I cant stand Hammer playing at a weakness of needing to clear on backhands every time.
I just wonder what these players think. We have three 6th d men that are not good enough to play every day, but can consider trading both Leddy and Oduya for another forward? I just wonder what the team feel about Kane asking management to get Kessler, considering two or three of his team mates may have been needed to go to get him here.
Players that might be gone after the end of the season:
Handzus---an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. His career is at the end of the road.
Brookbank---alson an unrestricted free agent. Hawks depth at defense most likely makes him expendable (see Clendening and Rundblad as replacement possibilities).
Rozsival---still has one year left on his contract. Hard to believe. Easily replaceable.
Ben Smith is a restricted free agent at the end of the season. He will likely be asked back. In my opinion, he's had a nice season as a situational fourth liner. Would like to see him move up to third line or second line center opportunity. He's solid defensively and has some offensive firepower.
Peter Regin is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Probably won't make a difference whether he sticks or leaves. Maybe, just maybe, someone from Rockford can break out of the AHL and make a difference with the big team. Of course, everyone is hoping beyond hope that Teuvo Teravainen makes the Hawks either towards the end of this year or full time next year. That would be a huge addition to the team. More speed and more skill. Yep, that'll work.
As to Oduya being traded, he has another year left on his contract. Oh and by the way, since joining the Hawks the team has only lost 21 regular season games he has played in.
The Hawks record WITH Oduya:
83-21-23 in the regular season (as of Feb 14, 2014)
106-24-23 total, including the playoffs.
I would think that's pretty damn good. Not gonna mess with that Swedish chemistry with Hjamarlsson.
As to Hammer, I get tired of him backhanding the puck. But remember, he has to play on his off side, so backhanding the puck is what he usually has to do from his side. What is maddening though, is that when he has a clear shot at clearing the puck, he'll still backhand the puck rather than make a forehand clear. I'm not happy with that.
I'm hoping that Clendening makes the jump next season, along with Teurovainen. Morin and others still stuck in Rockford. Looks like Bickell is here to stay. We'll see what he can muster up in the playoffs.