Versteeg signed, 3 years ~$10 million.

Now time to redo the lines:

Kane-Toews-Sharp
Versteeg-Bolland-Hossa
Buff-Kopecky/Madden-Ladd
Eager-Madden/Kopecky-Burish

I see Fraser as the definite odd man out and I don't know where Brouwer will fit in now.

---

"...I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can.
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again.
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain,
But I will remain,
And I'll be back again, and again, and again..."

nice! but how are we doing on the cap though ? glad to see the signings!

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BEAR DOWN!

Please Fire ron turner!

Shotgun on the Forte Wagon!

So depending on who you talk to, with all the signings the Hawks are either right up against the cap or over by as much as $4 million.

Either way they need to dump some salary soon.

---

"...I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can.
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again.
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain,
But I will remain,
And I'll be back again, and again, and again..."

tahnks for the info brotha! , i wonder who they might dum off ??? i though t maybe campbell or huet? but not sure w/ huet cause his hit. wonder if there looking at trading someone , who you think bears85 ?

---

BEAR DOWN!

Please Fire ron turner!

Shotgun on the Forte Wagon!

rexyfan08:

tahnks for the info brotha! , i wonder who they might dum off ??? i though t maybe campbell or huet? but not sure w/ huet cause his hit. wonder if there looking at trading someone , who you think bears85 ?

Well it's possible they waive/send down some players during/after training camp which will take their salaries off the books. As for who can/will be traded I'd look at it like this.

Top 6 forwards:
Toews
Kane
Hossa
Sharp
Versteeg
Bolland

Top 4 Defense:
Seabrook
Keith
Campbell
Barker or Hjalmarsson

Everyone else is possible trade bait.

Campbell gets a lot of crap, and a lot of it is warranted, but he's added a new element to our offense with his ability to carry the puck in himself both on the PP and even strength. Pair him with a stay at home, sound defenseman and have him cut back on his mistakes and he should be fine and probably won't go anywhere.

Huet can't be traded. Not so much because of his contract but if we don't get a goalie in return we'll go with 2 rookies and thats a recipe for disaster.

Fraser probably gets waived or sent to Rockford, and possibly Brouwer as well. Sopel is possible trade bait but probably not until he proves his is healthy and can still play well.

There is a possibility Beach, Aliu, or Skille could make a strong push to make the team this year. Beach(and possibly Aliu, not sure) is not old enough to play in the AHL so he either makes the Hawks or plays with his Jr. team. Beach and Aliu are tough guys so they could displace the likes of Fraser, Eager, or Burish, though I doubt it.

I can see the Hawks putting Buff and Barker on the trading block to see what they can get. I don't want to see either go but I'd be willing to listen to offers. Rumors are also out their Sharp may get forced out the door next year to clear room to sign the big 3 next summer.

---

"...I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can.
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again.
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain,
But I will remain,
And I'll be back again, and again, and again..."

rexyfan08:

nice! but how are we doing on the cap though ? glad to see the signings!

Ok, I don't fully understand all this cap stuff but here is my understanding after some more research(don't take it as absolute fact):

The Hawks are both over and under the cap. Let me explain.

The Hawks have 23 players signed right now, and are over the salary cap.

However, if a team so chooses they can go into the bonus cap, which is 7.5% of the salary cap limit and usable if players make certain performance bonuses. In this case the Hawks are about $1.4 million under that absolute limit. Here is where it gets dangerous though, if you use any of the bonus amount it gets tacked onto your salary cap in the next year, decreasing the amount of money you have to sign players.

Dale says we are actually under both cap limits because though we have 23 players signed the Hawks usually only carry 21 so some salary will get shed before the start of the season.

---

"...I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can.
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again.
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain,
But I will remain,
And I'll be back again, and again, and again..."

Hossa is out for 4 months with a shoulder injury he got in the playoffs. Yippee

---

"...I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can.
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again.
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain,
But I will remain,
And I'll be back again, and again, and again..."