Quoting: jregs23
I highly doubt the hawks go out and grab a big name forward. Maybe Dzingel but they have to lock up Strome, DeBrincat and Kahun to extensions after this upcoming season Strome will be 4-5 million a year and Debrincat will be 8=9 million a year. and kahun will be a big one too. I think Defense was more the issue than offense. They do have Kubalik. Kurashev, Barrett, Entwistle and the forward they draft with the 3rd overall all who may project into the roster in the future. You name all these D prospects but what if they don't work out? I would rather have a proven NHL player on Defense that I have control over for 5-7 years than a defensive prospect that you don't know will pan out.
Yeah Gus was one of the best offensive producers on defense this year, But will you pay him 3-4 million a year for someone who gives you nothing defensively? I wouldn't
Personally, I think Stan has shown he can move bad contracts like Sharp, Bickell and Manning and he will ultimately move Seabrooks just a matter of when and how much it costs the hawks to move.
1) Part of the defensive issues the Hawks had, was due to the offense. The last couple years, and worse this year then the prior, was the amount of turnovers in the offensive and neutral zones, odd man rushes and puck possession was dismal in the offensive zone. Those are large in part offensive issues.
2) Kubalik, Kurashev, Barrett and Entwistle are all projected as bottom 6 guys. Kubalik and Kurashev are arguably top 9 guys. The problem is, outside of Turcotte if that's who the Hawks draft, the Hawks have zero top 6 forwards in the prospect pool. That is problematic. Beaudin, Mitchell, Boqvist, Jokiharju are all higher end prospects then anyone we have on offense outside of Turcotte and maybe one could argue Kubalik and Mitchell are about even in their ceilings.
3) If you watched Gus closely, he made dramatic improvements in this defensive game between the start of the season and the end. The last 30 games of the season, he was certainly very serviceable defensively and better then the rotation of 3rd liners (Dahlstrom, Koekko, and Forsling) defensively. Watching his improvement over the past season and a half, was remarkable in my opinion. If he keeps improving this coming year defensively, we have a solidified top liner.
4) Seabs has been pretty forward that he's not waiving and wants to retire a Hawk, going beyond that to say he hopes he can work for the organization when he retires. If that's the case, maybe he would retire early?