Quoting: Garak
I have a feeling they are going to keep doing the same thing, plugging holes and filling cap space with veterans on short term deals until a handful of our prospects 2nd contracts are figured out. After that I could see more long term acquisitions. Without knowing what their next contracts are going to be, Davidson isn't going to want to put himself in a vulnerable cap situation. He is trying to mitigate tough contract related decisions as much as possible for as long as possible, until we know what we got and can determine what we need.
I appreciate the apprehension but the fact that the Hawks are still barely above the cap floor and the cap is going to spike about 5 mil next year and possibly another 3-4 the following year is perfect timing to add a big fish next year. It's scary how the Cup Era Hawks team is aligning with the new ERA except we will have the knowledge of not overpaying for bottom 6 players going foward...
Follow this mirrored era comparison...
Kane = Bedard (easy comp with Bedard having more upside pre-NHL by far)
Toews = Moore (2 totally different players but in terms of draft spot and position I think its fair to compare)
Campbell = Jones (both top puck-moving D we had to overpay to come before the glory days started, both good players that probably will never be as loved by the fans due to the contracts)
Keith = Korchinski (not even close to being true yet but the idea is there)
Seabrook = TBD honestly I think Seabrook was a fan favorite who ended up being a product of the talent around him that elevated his game. After we paid him the love was gone because of the contract.
Hossa = TBD, I think it's Matthews or Aho in one year's time.
The lesson learned is no more "love" contracts... Bedard is in a level all alone and won't have an equal on the team and will be paid as such. The dual Kane & Towes contracts really hurt. The not filling the RFA paperwork on time for guys like Versteeg & Hammer really hurt. Paying Seabrook when his body and his career were clearly on the decline hurt. If Bick's would have been diagnosed in Chicago we would not have had to trade away TT. The hard lessons of the cap that won us Cups but we can learn and improve from the mistakes.