OT - Blackhawks "don't have solution" on cap issues.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Blackhawks-GM-not-trad…-?urn=nhl,257044
In an article from Yahoo Puck Daddy (a great read for any NHL fans out there), Chicago GM Stan Bowman claims he will not be trading Patrick Sharp, and that they "don't have a solution" to the salary cap problems yet. They are currently over the cap by $1 million with Nieme still unsigned. I do not like San Jose, but they did a great job screwing Chicago by offering Hjalmarsson a big deal. Even if they get rid of Huet to the minors ($5 million per year cap hit) and sign Niemi to a reasonable $2.5 million per year cap hit, the Hawks would have 11 forwards and 5 defensemen under contract with only $1.3 million in cap space left ($500,000 is league minimum salary). I thought they were going to have trouble in the off season, but some of these numbers really show how screwed the Blackhawks are (haha Brian Campbell). More players will have to be moved and as a Red Wings fan, this sets up perfect for one last Detroit run (not to mention some humor). EDIT: one last run with this team's current core centered around Lidstrom. I have faith in Holland, but I think it will take a couple years to regroup from his loss and become Stanley Cup favorites again
Why would there be one last run?
The wings are the face and class of hockey, have some of the best scouts, management, etc in the business. I think they'll be fine.
One last run with this core centered around Nick Lidstrom. I believe this will be Lidstrom's last year and that the Red Wings will move towards a younger core. I do not mean they will fall off the face of the Earth, but I do think it will be a sort of rebuilding process. They will have to get younger. I have faith in Holland, but I believe next year will be the last run for this core based around Lidstrom, and that it will take a few years to become a Stanley Cup favorite again once he retires.
this sets up perfect for one last Detroit run
Huh, am I missing something? With Holland running things, I think Detroit has more than "one last" run.
EDIT: bouje beat me to it.They have "no solution" right now, but they will through a trade. Their dream would be finding someone to take Campbell's $7+ mil off their hands, but no team would or should do that. They'll let Niemi go before trading someone like Sharp.
One other scenario I see possibly playing out is if somehow they get to arbitration and it's rule Niemi somehow gets less than $2 mil. That would allow the team to eke out some EL contracts.
Hawks will still be good up front (first two lines, anyway), but not having a goalie signed for next year has to be a concern, right now.
What do you mean by "one last Detroit run"?
I honestly hope the Blackhawks are contenders next year. It is awesome having a good rivalry for the Wings in their own division. It would also be so sweet to boot them from the playoffs. But it does serve them right having these problems. thats what you get when you don't have Ken Holland handling your money.
I would take what their dealing with for a Cup anyday of the week.
That's the thing -- after 40 years, most of us will take it. It sucks that they had to do this, but the check had to come due on Tallon's crazy spending on Campbell and Huet sooner or later. Thankfully they got a Cup before that happened.
Actually, it was the expiring entry-level contracts of Kane & Toews that put them in this. Bettman allowed Chicago to extend theirs and Keith's contracts last season (to huge raises) without taking any cap hit during the season.
The good thing is they keep Kane, Toews, & Keith... but now that money counts towards the cap.
They had to sign those guys, and their contracts aren't ridiculous given their production and talent. They are not the problem. Over 7 million for your 3rd best (and could be 4th best as Hammer gets better) defenseman and 5.6 million for a headcase goalie who lost his job are big problems.
The point is, Huet and Campbell were signed before Kane & Toews & keith got their raises. Not blaming Chicago for doing anything they can to keep them.
I'd rather take what Detroit's been doing for the past 2 decades.
playoffs for 19 years in a row has a primed for another 19 years of success.
As a Wings fan living in Chicagoland, I sat with a table of chest-thumping Hawks fans during a game of the Vancouver series, and had to listen to some idgit tell me a convoluted story about how a Wings fan buddy of his had told him that rough salary cap seas were ahead for the Hawks, but that this guy knew so much better and the Hawks were set up beautifully for next year. I suspected this not to be true, but he, like many homers, thought he knew it all.
I really, really wish I could have a word with that guy right now. But it's probably more satisfying to take the smug, arrogant Michigan road.
Then again, they did win the Cup, so it's probably best that I bite my tongue until the Wings bounce 'em from the playoffs in 2011.
Let me also add, as a lifelong Wings fan, that it's refreshing to see the Hawks flourishing once again. It pains me to admit that they're fun to watch.
Let me tell you, I didn't worry at all about the cap issues. we all knew they were coming. I was at game 1 and going to buy a Big Buff jersey, and waited, just to see what would happen.
But... this was MORE than worth it.
We'll see what happens in 2011... but i'm still on cloud 9 thanks to 2010
We'll see what happens in 2011... but i'm still on cloud 9 thanks to 2010
I also live in Chicago, have had Blackhawk season tickets for a time, and was at their last home playoff game before 2009... a loss to St. Louis back in 2002. So I think I'm qualified to say:
Chicago fans probably won't be paying attention to hockey come 2011.
You sir, sound like a great hockey fan and I am happy for you that the Hawks won the cup.
To the bandwagoners swearing at me at the UC and booing objective pentalties such as icing and offsides, I am not happy for you.
The easiest way to spot a bandwagon hockey fan that will jump off again when the team isn't a winner? They get up in the middle of play instead of waiting for a stoppage. If they don't bother to learn one of the most basic hockey fan courtesies, one that takes absolutely zero understanding of the intricasies of the game, they're not going to stick around if the team isn't a champion.
I had to yell at far too many people about it this past year.
Thanks for the compliment, but I am a born and raised Red Wings fan. I only live in Chicago and love hockey.
I have cheered both for and against the Blackhawks (depending on who they were playing). I have also been on the receiving end of the UC experiences you describe. And worse.
Perhaps the Hawks cup win will solve the insecurities and, thus, tone down the anti-Detroit in favor of pro-Hawks.
Nah, probably not.
I don't live in chicago anymore, I only made it to 2 games this year. Byfuglien's game winner in OT vs the Rangers and the Finals game 1. Both great.
I think Mcdounaugh (sp?) has done a great job running the marketing side of things and I'm hoping the franchise is back to stay.
Toews, Kane, Hossa, Sharp, Keith, Seabrook... we're in a good spot for years to come. We wont have the depth we had this past year, but I'm a proud hawks fan once again
Unfortunately, Seabrook is an RFA after this year I believe, and someone is likely to give him a Godfather offer the Hawks cannot match.
Christobal Huet could end up being the lone goalie on their roster. If Niemi was signed, since he would need a major raise after his services last year, that would require the 'Hawks to make another trade according to the article. That is really poor management on Chicago's part.
The Blackhawks are $1 million over the cap with only 17 players signed. Sending Huet (and his $5.625 million contract ) down to the Minors is a necessity, as the Blackhawks can get Niemi and a backup for at least $2 million less.
No you're wrong he wouldn't clear waivers he has a 1 way contract.Hawks are in a nasty hole ahh hahaha its funny. Hey lidstrom is leaving soon maybe the wings take seabrook as a replacement.
This is what makes things like the Kovalchuk deal absolutely insane. Teams are just digging themselves into a hole. Chicago was in the same place that Pittsburgh was for a while--bottom dwellers racking up lottery picks. Pittsburgh has done a pretty good job of managing their cap situation. Chicago has not. Both have a Cup, but one team is poised for much more future success than the other.
Of course, I'd take the Red Wings cap situation any day over either of those two teams.
Yep, simiarly situations with very different outcomes. It's a large portion of why Dale Tallon is now in Florida and Ray Shero has one of the safer gigs in the entire NHL. The only issue I would take with what you've said is that Pittsburgh has done a really good job of managing their cap situation (as opposed to pretty good). They have gotten past RFA contracts with their entire core intact. Not only have they been smart with cap hit and term, they have also largely avoided performance bonus penalties which can eat you alive when it comes to the cap (see Chicago, Boston and Toronto).
Like many others, I have to give credit where credit is due. Chicago bit the bullet and bought themselves the best chance possible of winning a cup this year. Sure, they might not be able to sniff another one for a few years because of "cap hell," but I tip my hat to an organization that wants to win now for their fans.
Also, despite Scotty having left us to go be with his son in Chicago's organization, I am happy that he has another cup to add to his resume. He is truely a class guy.
Just sign everybody you can to a front loaded long term (10+ year) contract. Then the salary cap hit is low, and the older players who would take this deal can retire at the end of the front loaded years. The avg salary is used to calculate salary cap. Effective workaround.
the cap hit continues until the end of the contract, not until retirement.
The cap problems are present, but it is not a situation where the team will be dismantled.
This is still a talented and young team with a good coach and although the conference is tough, the Hawks are not in a Florida Marlins 2004 situation that some above make it out to be.
Sorry, but I disagree. Chicago very well could be forced to dismantle in the next year or two, or at the very least, face losing Sharp and Seabrook outright, unless they can do something about the horrific contracts to Huet and Campbell.