Ryan Ellis and Jacob Trouba are not "role players" lol

Right, the Hawks aren't contenders for the Cup for the first time in a decade and now the sky is falling...

Here is a thought, Bowman was stuck picking through the bargain bin for role players this summer and was stuck playing a bunch of rookies - 17 to be exact... But it wasn't Toews fault - this team has several high dollar contracts, why? because players WANT TO BE REWARDED FOR THEIR SUCCESS, that's how it works you know?

If It matters the Hawks will have a MUCH better team this fall considering Bowman will finally have some cap space to work with and will be able to sign 3-4 veteran role players and that will significantly improve the team...

The Hawks are nowhere close to contending....

Besides, if they were done contending at least I can say I saw the Hawks win 3 Cups and had and got close to winning 2 more (maybe 3 had they won game 7 vs Vancouver in 2011).....

Sorry but ANY GM would do everything the Hawks have done over the last decade if the same outcomes were guaranteed..

IMO, you would have a point if were were talking about "if's" here but we're not - the Hawks delivered 3 championships and it's kinda hard to come up with a justifiable argument against that..

The argument isn't "does Jonathan Toews suck at hockey". We all know he's an amazing center. We all know he was even better during those years that Chicago won the Cup. But, as of right now, in the day and age of the salary cap, I would have to go with ROR, who provides more production and around the same leadership.

See if you guys had ROR maybe you wouldn't have to play so many rookies, and you'd be a good team.

And I don't believe ROR can do what Toews does.... If ROR could do what Toews does then Buffalo would be contending right now..

Buffalo has the talent to be a contender - if not at this very moment they will next season after drafting another franchise player..... Buffalo may not have the depth the Hawks have had in the past but they certainly have their franchise players and they're very close....

If ROR is such a great leader then why in the hell is Buffalo bottom feeding AGAIN?

Oh right, we're supposed to overlook that right?

Buffalo has a lot of talent so "lack of talent" isnt an excuse...

Lmao the Flyers have a better roster and might not make the playoffs. Your saying that if Toews was on Buffalo they would be not only better than the Flyers, but would contend with Pittsburgh and Washington?

I'm confused. So you're saying despite having..Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Duncan Kieth, Brent Seabrook, Marian Hossa, and a whole load of other guys; you're saying the only reason Chicago won was because of Toews?

It's not O'Reilly's fault that the only other star on his team is Eichel, is it? How is he responsible for their major defence flaws and holes? I'm not sure how you can say ROR's apparent lack of play is the reason Buffalo isn't a contender. Nothing against you, it's just your statement doesn't add up

it's a ROR comparison with Toews. if the Sabres were to trade ROR, it would be to team that needs a good centre and the trade would be for futures.
Toews is something like Lundqvist. Neither are really worth their contracts now and in the future but it doesn't take away from what they have done for their team. still toews has his three Cups which meant something previously.

And the Hawks will have 18-20 million this summer to re-sign their RFA's and add some UFA's...

Yea, the Hawks took a step back for ONE SEASON and they get a top 10 or perhaps top 5 pick out of it in one of the deepest drafts in NHL history... Not only that but the Hawks young studs like DeBrincat and Schmaltz got a season to develop at the NHL level.

Sounds like a bargain to me..

The Hawks will be contending again next spring..... I have no issue with missing the playoffs.

So I guess if Toews played for Arizona they'd immediately win the cup?

Great! More bad contracts.

Where did you get that math from lol? Even with an 82M cap they would have around 13M to spend.

JIM BENNING PLEASE ENTER THE JONATHAN TOEWS SWEEPSTAKES AT ONCE

actually it wouldn't really matter, we would still suck

Boeser +Petterson + Demko for Toews and Sharp?

No I'm not saying that...... Hockey is a team sport and every player has their role. What I'm saying is Toews is a significant part of the team - he's the captain, he's not riding the coattails of Kane, Hossa etc...

Besides, Buffalo has a lot of talent too in Eichel, Reinhart, Kane (I'm aware he was traded), Ristolainen, Okposo etc......... As a matter of fact there is absolutely ZERO reason why Buffalo was bottom feeding this season..... I mean Toews probably could have made that team at least a bubble team...I mean the 2009 Blackhawks had similar talent.....

At 82 the Hawks have 20 million, they will have 13 million to spend on UFA's after signing their RFA's..

Unless you believe that Hossa will handcuff Bowman - which he wont considering Bowman can spend 10% over the cap upper limit from July 1st to the end of training camp (when Hossa will be placed on LTIR).

So yea, Bowman will have plenty of cap space to address this teams issues.

Duncan Keith >> Rasmus Ristolainen
Dustin Byfulguin > Kyle Okposo
Patrick Sharp > Sam Reinhart
Patrick Kane >= Jack Eichel
Brent Seabroook >>> ?
Kris Versteeg > ?
Andrew Ladd

Slow down. Your exact words were: "if ROR could play like Toews, Buffalo would be a contender". Which implies that Toews was the reason Chicago was a contender. But, whatever.

Let's go through the players you mentioned

Eichel - missed like 2 months with injury
Reinhart - he has what, 40 points?
Kane - what's the point of mentioning a player who has nothing to do with the franchise anymore?
Ristolainen - he's no Duncan Kieth
Okposo - after his injuries he's not the same player as he was before

They also have major holes in their defence and forward group. Plenty of reason why they sucked this season.

And as for the last part of your comment:



Again, you're implying that Toews is some sort of demi-god who can add 30 points to a team just like that. Which clearly and obviously demonstrates how bad you overrate him. Guess it isn't too much of a surprise

No

No, he wouldn't but if Toews was on Edmonton or Toronto their odds of winning the Cup would significantly improve.

One player cant win a Cup on his own, however one player can be the difference between success and failure.

Benning: YES

Thanks Captain Obvious

There's many ways you can spend 10.5M than Toews.