Quoting: HawksFan28
Dude, first off Schmaltz is a stud - a legitimate #2 ceneter, and second - the Blackhawks have 20 million in cap space.
The Hawks have lots of options to drastically improve this team.
There were a few reasons why the Hawks failed last season. The Hawks played 20 rookies last season, that's a lot - why did they play 20 rookies? because Bowman didn't have the cap space to improve this team via free agency, so he was stuck picking through the UFA bargain bin. Also, Corey Crawford got vertigo in December and up until then the Hawks were a playoff team, not only that but the team as a whole had a down year (it happens) but the biggest reason why the Hawks had a lousy season was mainly because they were stuck playing rookies - especially on defense... The only defenseman the Hawks had that played more than 50 NHL games were Keith, Seabrook and Murphy - that's not good..... Not to mention in goal Forsberg & Bureube had almost no NHL experience at all and the same can be said for the bottom 6......Wingels, Sharp and Bouma (who was eventually sent down to the AHL mid-season) were the only bottom 6 guys with any significant NHL experience - the rest of the bottom 6 were basically rookies.
With 20 million in cap space the Hawks can go out and get the vets they need to fill out the team..... Lets not forget the Hawks also have trade bait to bring in some assets as well....... Anisimov is no longer needed, I'm sure the 27th overall pick is in play for the right player and Crawford could be traded as well (or potentially go on LTIR).... I don't know what's going on with him really...
The Hawks have all the important core players they need to be a contender next season, in Toews, Kane, Keith, Saad, DeBrincat, Schmaltz and Seabrook (if he can regain form)....... All the Hawks really need is a legitimate #2 LW (Wahlstrom, Kovalchuk, TVR etc) to play with Schmaltz and Kane, a couple of legitimate veteran defensive/two-way specialists (Wingels, Bozak, Vermette etc) that can win draws in the bottom 6 and 1 top 4 defenseman (J. Faulk) and a veteran #5 defenseman (John Moore)........ And depending on the goaltending situation and Crawfords health a legitimate veteran backup (Hutton, Ward etc)..... And the Hawks will be fine.
The Hawks are nowhere near Detroit status, the Hawks run isn't even close to up yet - sure it's getting narrower but the Hawks have maybe 5 years left..
Look, if the Hawks were done I would admit it and think about the best rebuild possible - but they're not close to rebuilding yet...
The Hawks downfall last season was 80% cap related and 20% the fact that the core didn't have anyone to play with that knew the system because the were ROOKIES....
Yes, I am aware many hockey fans hate the Hawks and they would love to see the Hawks window closed and locked - but that just isn't the reality of the situation. Wishful thinking is not fact or reality....... I've been a hockey fan for 35 years since I was about 3-4 so I have seen plenty of contenders come and go so I know what a team looks like when it's time to rebuild and this Blackhawks team just isn't one of them....... The salary cap finally made it difficult for the Hawks to build a competitive team last season, and a lot of people questioned the trades Bowman made (but really didn't need to make last summer) but Bowman made those moves for a reason - so the Hawks wouldn't be in "cap hell" ever again or at least not in the near future and guess what? it worked - the Blackhawks now have 20 million in cap space to get the players they want - not the players they can afford...... Besides this past season of sucking got the Hawks the 8th overall pick in one of the deepest drafts in nearly 40 years so..... And I think the Hawks could draft a guy like Wahlstrom who could step right into the NHL considering Wahlstrom played on a line on the USDP program with a Patrick Kane clone named Jack Hughes (who will be taken 1st overall next draft).....SO...... The Hawks have a lot of options to make improvements this summer and they certainly will and I fully expect the Blackhawks to be a contender next season - there is zero doubt in my mind there, just as long as they address the obvious issues that plagued them all last season...
Sorry, but this is a cap era and very good teams can take a temporary step back due to cap constraints but then turn around a season later and be a contender like nothing happened...
The Blackhawks will be fine.
Cap will be between 78 and 82 million. But you also spend way too much on your top players. And players like Hossa and Anismov cost a lot of money for not that great of production.