I'd be very hesitant to sign guentzel into his late 30's

I’m starting to be more convinced that Korchinski should be sent to AHL next season and let him marinate there and grow.

We’ll see also if Nazar is ready or if he needs a year in the A. I’m leaning minors for him too.

Lmao "the man"

I doubt Nazar plays with the Hawks out of the gates next season. More likely he plays in Rockford at least the first third of the season. There's no reason to rush him.

Vlasic is on the top line with Jones. Jones needs a big stay at home defender and looks much better with Vlasic.

Del Mastro, Philips, Kaiser, and Crevier should rotate in and out of the lineup until one of them emerges.

Put Kurashev on the RW IMO, he plays well on his off-side.

Put Reichel with AA as they've had chemistry in the past.

Celebrini would be great to land of course, and I do believe he would be ready right away, but the Hawks may end up keeping him in college for another season as they are in no rush. Lottery odds are still in favor of the Hawks not landing the #1 OA even as a last place team. In that case, Levshunov, Lindstrom, and Demidov would all be options and another season away anyway.

Giving Guentzel $8.5M for a player turning 30 years before the start of next season would be a mistake. The Hawks should NOT be adding any huge names, nor players on the wrong side of 30.

This team, while probably not as a bad as this year, still is in rebuild/tank mode next year, which is okay.

Kyle from Chicago has stated he's not looking at any big name UFA's this summer, so signing Guentzel seems unlikely. I could see the Hawks target Tarasenko, Eberle or someone like that on a short term deal to play w/ Bedard though.

I have honesty felt all along Korchinski should have been back in junior this season. Watching last season, he was never the top d-man in Seattle and he was a 3rd pairing d-man at the World Jr. tournament, while his offensive game was ready, there were a lot of holes on the defensive side of the puck which are getting exposed on a regular basis. Another season in junior where he could round out his game, be “the” guy, play in all situations and dominate would have benefited Korchinski immensely.

I will never understand the need to rush players to the NHL, now if he does get sent to the AHL next season it will be viewed as a negative, especially by KK. The funny thing is, he probably should have been in the AHL next season all along.

As for Guentzel, I would pass. A signing like that is probably a season or two too early. Wait until 2025 and hope a Marner or Rantanen hits the market.

Obviously due to his age he couldn't play in the AHL this season, but to your point, it's the exact place he needed to be. He graduated from the juniors IMO and that didn't have much to offer, but the NHL is too big for him, so the AHL would have been the perfect place. I'm not upset they brought him to the NHL, but agree, he needs time in Rockford next year without the big lights working on d zone game and closing the gaps on NHL level competition. There is a big gap between the juniors and NHL and Korch falls in the middle of what would be best for his development.

CHI fans got brainwashed by influencer/content creators like CHGO, among others, who know nothing about real player evaluation and probably didn't even watch him in Seattle and just looked at his stats, into thinking Korchinski was ready for the NHL. And now here we are. I am certainly surprised with how he has progressed. But it isn't enough, and the NHL isn't the place to finish his development, imo.

I don't buy that argument. I have seen plenty of dmen and forwards go back to junior when they "could/should have graduated" and still benefit heavily from it. He still could have learned some things, especially in a year where Seattle was seeing a lot of turnover, and things wouldn't come quite as easily as they did when Seattle had a stacked roster. He would have been forced to take defense more seriously, and that could have given him time to work on that side of his game more before stepping up to the AHL and eventually the NHL. Instead, now he is playing in a league way above his head, albeit more successfully than I thought he would've, and is likely gonna have to step down to the AHL next year.

But, unless getting sent down next year bruises his ego, I also don't think the NHL has hurt him. I just don't buy that leaving him in junior would've have been "bad" either.

I will agree KK has struggled some, but I think that some of that is due to how bad the team is. This is why the hawks really need to take at least a half step forward next year. Rinzel shoulnd't be ready yet so add a RD on a 1-2 year deal that's more stable than Zaitzev/Tinordi, and add at least 2 forwards imo. Maybe that's not Guentzel, but try to bargain bin like Eberle and make try to see if COL wants to dump RyJo. Not suggesting we need to rush the rebuild or anything but taking that half step forward will be huge for the development of Bedard, Korchinski, Nazar who all look ready to be here imo

Two things I disagree with here are"
1. Levshunov being in CHI's top 4, and
2. the timeline of the rebuild, which we've already discussed previously.

The only teams that should be considering Levshunov in the top 5 are teams that seemingly have all the other pieces they need. I don't believe CHI needs anymore offensive defenseman or top potential top pairing defenseman. I think that would be more of a luxury in comparison to CHI's more glaring needs. I'd even go so far to say that I don't have Levshunov in my top 10 "best players available." I think he benefits heavily from being part of a high powered offense getting touches in transition and in the cycle, and avoiding defense when possible. He isn't very good defensively. Contrary to content creator/influencers like Locked on NHL prospects, he isn't a "difference maker" and he doesn't "take over games". Would he be a nice piece? For sure. But, would we be passing on players that are better and make more sense for CHI? Only time will tell, but I am almost positive we would be.

As far as the timeline, we've already discussed this. I just envision it taking at least one more year than you're predicting. I see the 26-27 season as the "big step forward" season. I know in the meantime it is almost unbearable to watch and seems like forever, but in the grand scheme, four years isn't that long of a rebuild. We would have every other team beat that has rebuilt in the last two decades, as far as timeline goes. Even teams like BUF and OTT who announced their rebuilds were over are still in lottery position. And teams that should technically be way further along, like ANA and CBJ, are still bottom feeders. Three years just isn't long enough, if you think about it. But anything is possible if A LOT of things go right and prospects pop early.

Not sure how much Minnesota you've watched this year, but I think CHI could give Rinzel a contract and let him finish his development in Rockford as soon as this summer and he would exceed expectations. The kid has come along way quicker than anticipated and looks like he is gonna be a stud. But, if I were a betting man, I'd say he stays for at least one more season in college. He might want to at least finish his associates, which is smart. I will never knock a kid for wanting to finish school. There is more to life than hockey.

The NHL is not "way above his head", that's an overstatement. I also don't agree he should be back in the juniors. Getting a dose of reality of the pros isn't necessarily going to be bad for him and gives him stuff to focus on in the AHL that he wouldn't have been exposed to in the juniors which is a HUGE gap between the pros...even the AHL.

He's exceeded expectations, but I still think one more year in NCAA for him (and Moore) and then go from there. Probably a Rockford year for Rinzel and 3C/wing for Moore in Chicago. D is just so hard to transition to in the NHL, it seems like the teams that play it lower with their D tend to be rewarded for that

Rumor is that the Hawks are high on Levshunov given the lack of right handed d-men in the system outside of Rinzel. I would rather them take Demidov or Lindstrom, but according to rumors they are high on and spending a lot of time scouting Levshunov.

Regarding the timeline, which I made no mention of here other than to say next season will be another tank, I fully anticipate the Hawks making a free agent splash in the summer of 2025 not necessarily "a big step forward" but preparing the team for a big step forward in 2026/2027. These kids will be developing enough that it's time to fill a gap or two with a big name and long term where holes in the prospect system are identified, and spend the 2025/2026 season gelling and finding chemistry. That's not to say they are a playoff team in 2025/2026, but you don't go from a bad team to a good one overnight and a lot of that is chemistry. 2026/2027 is the season the Hawks start pushing for the playoffs as I've mentioned before IMO, and while they can make moves the summer of 2026, the 2025 summer is supposed to be a pretty good free agency summer and a vet or two needs time to find chemistry with the young kids and vice versa; an identity. If you think it's 2027/2028 until they start competing, by all means it's subjective at this point.

Rinzel looks great, and of course there is a chance he is in Rockford next season, but everything coming out from the hawks and Rinzel's camp points to him being back in college next year and being signed following the NCAA season spring of 2025.

was* above his head, earlier on, is what I should've said. Like I said, though, he has progressed better than I thought he would, but it still isn't enough and I don't think junior would've been "bad" for him.

Hmmmm... Rumors according to whom? I hope that isn't what KD is thinking. "Having no depth at RD" and "needing to draft an RD in the top 5" are two different things. Again, I think drafting him that high would be a mistake, especially for a team like CHI that has much more glaring needs. Unless maybe they already have plans in the works to move Jones or something... But even then, I like him, but not enough to pass on guys like Lindstrom, Demidov, Catton, or Silayev. I guess we'll see. Pro scouts probably know better than I do. Regardless of how he is playing right now, the steps he has taken in such a short amount of time say something, and if they think they can teach him to defend at a pro level the offense should be more than enough to be a legit top 4 defenseman. He does seem like a smart kid, after all, and he does come from a family of engineers/scientists, from what I heard.

As for the timeline. Yeah... I guess I jumped the gun a bit and added to what you did say with our previous conversations in mind. I completely agree that next year is more than likely not going to be good, though. Hopefully there are at least some visible steps taken by individual young players and in the overall team game. I honestly have a hard time predicting what next years roster will even look like. Do they take on more short term cap dump/stop gap players with large contracts? Do they try to stack Rockford and let the kids cook down there for a few years? After all, Bedard is the anomaly, not the standard. Most young players will need time in Rockford. Do they try to move a guy like Reichel and start over or do they give him as much time as he needs? Would he be better off playing on a more complete roster with higher end players? Because he seemed to do pretty well playing with a lot of the vets from the last couple seasons. Does Korch go down or just get sheltered a bit on the 3rd pairing instead? Who do they draft? Do they package picks and trade up? Could there be some kids who impress enough to make the roster out of camp? Or do they resist that temptation and resolve to send them down no matter what because of cap/roster/contract limit restraints? Who do they bring back from this season? So many questions...

For sure. I wasn't saying that he was going to get a contract and come up. But, just saying that, judging from what I have seen of him this year, he probably could without much trouble, come up and play in the AHL. Though, I also doubt he does, I love the steps he has taken. I was kind of worried about his progress after last year.

The Athletic reported on the liking of Levshunov as well as another site but can't remember where. He is clearly very talented, but I don't think the Hawks need another Eric Karlsson hopeful player. I see the Sharks though going after him if the Hawks draft after the Sharks via lottery results. Lindstrom or Demidov are my hopes in that order. Demidov is the most talented behind Celebrini and on a 1 more year deal with the KHL, but that's always a risk.

I've always been on the mindsight of 2025/2026 is a chemistry year and 2026/2027 is a year they might be ready to start making their first push. I'm thinking Blackhawks 2008/2009 in that regard. Next year, I hope they put together a good Hogs team. I really think there is something off with reichel, and korch could use some time down there, but I also think he looked good at the beginning of the season and the riggers have taken a toll and his Dad died which is very very difficult on a 19-year old kid. Add Nazar to the mix, maybe ryan greene, another year with Dach, etc. in the Rock

Question for you guys who are smarter than me: could the Hawks have loaned KK to a European club in SHL or DEL or Liiga? Kind of a win win there if possible.

Really? Probably just Powers. I love me some Scott Powers, but, when it comes to prospects/scouting, he does tend to conflate his own bias with "what the Blackhawks are thinking." I'm sure they have scouts at the Michigan State games as well as many others, but Big10 and College Hockey East games are always heavily scouted. I just have so many red flags going up when I watch him play, or maybe I should call them yellow flags. Just stuff that doesn't necessarily mean I don't like him, but things that have continuously moved him behind other draft prospects in my mind.

Yeah. I think 26-27 or 27-28 will be more like the 08-09 season. Is that what you are saying, too? If so, I agree. So, yeah, seeing things start to gel in 25-26 would be nice. That should be when things start to take shape and a lot more of the "long term pieces" of the rebuild start joining the NHL ranks and we get to watch them progress.

I will not claim to be smarter, I just have way too much time on my hands. Also, I am wrong or remember things incorrectly a lot, and so are others on this forum that claim they know everything. But, as far as I know there is no actual transfer agreement between the CHL and any European leagues. For legal purposes, I think as long as it is a major pro league, players can leave if they want to. They just can't play in minor leagues. I'm not sure what the language around leagues like the SHL, Liga, Czechia, etc. is, but I think they are technically professional major leagues. The CHL is so dumb though. Their practices and their rules are predatory. Kids should be able to do whatever they want.

I mean, any of those leagues would give these 18-19 year olds who have “outgrown CHL” but not NHL ready and not old enough for AHL a good opportunity to play against men at a high level (some higher level than AHL) but protect them from floundering in NHL. Shane Wright comes to mind too. #4 OA pick with 11 NHL games and 2 points in 2 seasons.

Correct, 26/27 is when they make a push for the playoffs, maybe just missing or a bubble team, with the following season (27/28) actually being a serious contender. However, 25/26 is all about gelling the team; finding chemistry among the players which is why the summer of 25 I can see them adding a big name or two, and probably a final piece in the summer of 26. Next season is another tank season.