Well... Calder Trophy finalist Kris Versteeg chose not to go before an arbiter, and signed a deal similar to that of Cam Barker (3yrs, 9mil). The good news is that none of these players became UFAs. The times they are a-changin' for the Blackhawks organization. The players desire to re-up before taking a dip in the always lucrative waters of Free Agency, shows their faith and commitment to this organization. Chicago is the again the toast of the NHL, and players desire to be here.
The bad news is that these hefty raises only reinforce the obvious fact that we need to shed salary. Big Buff should be traded. We have a number of guys in the system who can do what he does. I think Troy Brouwer can easily take the place of Byfuglien. Also, don't forget that Beech and Aliu are right around the corner. I'd say they are about a year away from making it to the big show. The Hawks also have to find a way to get rid of Sopel, even if it means putting him on waivers / buying him out. We NEED to have the money to sign Toews, Keith, and Kane (in that order).
TRADE
I haven't heard much of trade rumors surrounding the Hawks this week. I'm sure this minor clerical error put those talks on the backburner, but we all know Dale is looking for some help on the blueline. Go Get'em Tally, and don't forget to give them Sopel!
2 comments:
I agree that we should say goodbye to Sopel and wish we could get rid of Huet too - perhaps trade Sopel & Huet to Edmonton for Khabby and a D-man prospect..? Buf should stay until the end of this season - he is too valuable to lose him now - but trade him for draft pick or prospect after the season. Beech should be ready to replace Buf and other propects can replace Ladd, who we should trade by the deadline or let go as an UFA... We would then have $$ from Sopel, Buf, and Ladd to re-sign Keith, Toews & Kane; and hopefully Niemi and Crawford are ready so we would not need Khabby anymore giving us that $$ too...
I think the Hawks will try to keep Ladd if they can.
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