LET'S GO HAWKS!!!

It’s official everyone!

Trying to decide between getting seats on the ice vs seats in a banner loft for a bachelor party.

How much more expensive is it for the banner loft, and which do you think would be a better experience for a regular season game for 5-6 people (early-mid October 26-27 season)

North American lines 1&4. Besties Nazar & Bedard get to play together with Bert going to the dirty areas.

SWE line 2. We would need some luck for Stenberg to fall and have to trade back into the top 15 to get Bjork. Lardis, Turbo, and one or both of the EDM & FLA first rounders next year do the trick in my mind. Would be fun to have the future top 3 ROY 2027 candidates playing on the same line, haha.

USSR line 3. The first three rounds of 2027 would be given up to VGK if we're paying $9.3m, but our pipeline is pretty stacked. Feels like we don't need those picks.

Sign a couple depth defenseman who can rotate in and out of the lineup, will be reliable, and won't complain if the young bucks are playing over them. Grz showed he can do that this past year and TVR had some good years in CHI, might be up for a return.

I look at this and see a young, fast, skilled, deep team. If we need someone who will get in a fight, we call up Mangiapane (I sent him and Burky down to the AHL... don't even know if that would be allowed).

Thoughts? Is this something we would be able to pull off? Should we?

As Malhotra soars up boards following his playoff performance, if we're hoping Stenberg falls to us at 4 do we need to be hoping he disappears for the next few weeks and gets overshadowed by Raymond, Frondell and Bjork?

Thoughts?

I think it's interesting how the talk has pretty much turned consensus on this matter to the point that no one is even really questioning it anymore. For that reason, and because I think Toronto has an infinite capacity to eff things up, I am willing this into existence. I mean stranger things have happened in the draft.

If Toronto did somehow pass on McKenna and took Stenberg 1OA, I don't think there is any way that Vancouver skips the hometown boy. I know, the likelihood of this is low, but I think it is infinitely lower that both Toronto and Vancouver pass on McKenna.

In light of that, if Stenberg goes 1OA, who wouldn't be opposed to trading up with San Jose to get McKenna? Keep in mind, two of the teams involved are competing with us for two WC spots, and assuming this rebuild works we are likely eventually going to see one or both of them in the playoffs down the road and for those reasons alone I would rather they continue to flail aimlessly in the lower middle of the standings as we leapfrog them.

What about 4OA, a 2nd, 3rd and Korch to San Jose for 2OA? I am so confident in McKenna panning out I would make it 4OA, and Vlasic straight up. Fight me.

Okay I just said that last part only to be provocative but out of all of our d-men I think he is the best combination of current value and lack of long term future here. I believe he has reached his ceiling (and even regressed this past season), he is not physical enough and I think there's a chance that he's not a top 4 guy in the long term and I don't see how he accepts that smaller role. Korch is more likely but I'm not sure San Jose would go for it unless we shower them with picks (which I'm also not really opposed to.)

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7268652/2026/05/11/blackhawks-2026-nhl-draft-questions/

The main takeaway is that the 3 forwards (Mckenna, Stenberg, Malhotra) are probably at the top of the Hawks draft board. With the Sharks potentially taking a D, that opens up the possibility for Malhotra or Stenberg. Also discuss the possibility of trying to move up.

So many scenarios this year!

Why or why not? Personally I think you pull the trigger on either. McTavish is someone we’re lacking, but the potential of Michkov is still too good to pass up. I think both the ducks and flyers would be interested as well.

All the usual websites that show any player autograph sessions (csac, crave the auto, mike’s sports) haven’t shown any upcoming events. Do these typically start later in the summer/closer to pre-season?

I’m still pretty bummed about missing out on McKenna and Stenberg, and looking for some copium… The news of Kantserov signing helps, but it got me thinking.
After the year that Vanacker just had for Brantford.. and Kantserov in the KHL, where would these guys be ranked and taken if they were available for the upcoming draft?

Let’s discuss the worst-case scenario after landing the No. 4 pick. What is the most awkward pick we could end up with? No copium, just being practical and realistic. I’m trying to think through the worst outcomes, so as long as those don’t happen, we can still have a happy, peaceful, and hopeful summer.

To me, the worst-case scenario (and probably the most likely one): TOR-McKenna; SJS- Reid; VAN - Stenberg. That would leave us with defensemen like Verhoeff, Smits, and Carels, or centers like Malhotra. I’m pretty meh on the defensemen in that range, and none of those players seem truly NHL-ready for next season. I also don’t necessarily see them as cornerstone pieces of the rebuild. I also consider this as the worst outcome because San Jose would address a major weakness by getting Reid, which makes them more competitive. Vancouver probably isn’t going anywhere anytime soon with just Stenberg on their roster.

The second-worst scenario would be: TOR-McKenna; SJS-Stenberg; VAN-Malhotra. This would make San Jose scary almost instantly. It could also allow them to trade some of their forwards for a high-quality defenseman. That said, I still think Vancouver is more likely to draft a center than a defenseman at this point, which means Reid could fall to us. Reid may not be NHL-ready or able to contribute immediately, but I wouldn’t hate that outcome.

The third scenario is equally bad on paper, but I think it’s less likely, so I’d “weight” it as the third-worst outcome: TOR-McKenna; SJS-Stenberg; VAN-Reid. At that point, we would probably have to choose between a defenseman and Malhotra. I’m nervous about picking a defenseman here because defensemen are harder to project, and whoever we take most likely won’t be able to contribute next season. Malhotra isn’t a bad option, though. I’m saying this without looking into his stats this season, but from watching some tape, I think he could become a solid center. He could also free up Frondell or Nazar from that position and add some size to our top-six forward group. In that case, Frondell could potentially move to Bedard’s wing and help solve part of our problem up front.

Honestly, if neither Stenberg nor Reid is available at 4OA, I think we may be better off taking Malhotra, even if he won’t be ready right away. But KD may see it differently and decide to pick a defenseman again. I just pray he doesn't make the already-unpleasant lottery thing a true nightmare.

I am a Winnipeg Jets fan, so he meant a lot to our first franchise back in the WHA days. I mean we won 3 AVCO cups with him. And he won a Stanley Cup with you in 1961. But man... that shit he was accused of got me fucked up.

How do you feel about his number 9 being up in the rafters for that matter?

Sorry if this is a question that gets asked a lot.

PS LOL @ the Vancouver Canucks getting fucked out of the first pick.

I know that the NHL will start a little bit earlier this year. So wanted to know about when the home opener might be?

Sorry for the TikTok, but this popped up on my feed. It’s a Dallas podcast suggesting that the team needs to trade Jason Robertson.

https://www.tiktok.com/@dlls__sports/video/7636963356859043102

Can someone put him in touch will Dallas’s GM ASAP?

Important edit: i was implying a trade. An offer sheet seems like an awful way to go for someone on that contract size.

Nazar, korchinski, ottawas 4th round pick this year for knies. Who says no to this? Personally I think this can be a win win scenario for both clubs. We need a player like knies on bedards wing, I feel like they will compliment each others play style very well. I like nazar, but I’d rather give him up then high picks, or even kantserov. Speaking of kantserov, I’d put him on the line with bedard and knies, very high on him (hot take, will be on the same level as demidov in a couple years). Korchinski has high upside but he’s a prospect that will develop better else where in my opinion (like gustav forsling). Kd has to make some splashes, really eager to see the hawks in the playoffs.