nhlnumbers.com ? Team Overview You missed Troy Brouwer on the RFA list... he's been very important to the Hawks all year long. His game is very similar to Andrew Ladd's.
i like brouwer actually. he putting up some nice numbers this year, though nothing like his whl days with moose jaw.
ladd i like also. im not sure brouwer doesnt have more upside though.
I don't have Blackhawk connects like I have Sox connects, but I get some pretty reliable 3rd hand info.
Rumor flying around inner circles is the team is working on a 8-10 year extension for Marty Havlat. This worries me only because no one should get an 8 year contract. He's younger and better than the teammate of his that has an 8 year deal, but he's been considerably more dinged up. That being said, last offseason the doctors FINALLY went in and fixed his shoulder joint right, so now it doesn't pop out of place every time he's touched.
havlat is a nice player and appears returning to the form of his early days in ottawa.
Guys I'm 100% on not returning:
Phalsson
32, he is a 30-40p player. that is what he is.
Walker
i wonder what someone like walker might fetch? big guy and not bad either, right handed shot...
Johnson-
at least he has cute blonde hair? i guess...
I'm 99% sure that Bulin is going by the wayside, unless the Hawks move Huet. Philly is rumored to be interested. They simply cannot return both of their regular season netminders.
It also seems as if the Bowmans are unhappy with Campbell and his contract, and he's not Q's favorite. The Hawks will look to move him but between his deal and the insane thought that there's value for him it's unlikely.
you have to overpay for fa, that is the way it is for nearly every team. granted you hope you dont overpay so much that the deal is reasonable or a steal somewhere along the contract... soupie had what 7/45/52 career year in points and helpers. you knew what you were getting. he is an OFFENSIVE defencemen for a reason...
I'd also say it's a no-brainer that Brent Sopel is getting shopped around. Firstly, he was basically forced into having surgery on his elbow when he could play through it, so they could LTIR him and fix their cap problems. He's also been skating/practicing for about 2-3 months now and he hasn't been limited for at least 6 weeks.
what would it take to pull sopel away? he hasnt ever regained his nucks days output. we shall see on him.
They simply HAVE to get Dave Bolland under contract, and for a long time. The Ladd/Bolland/Havlat line needs to be kept together. Dave Bolland is an amazing 2-way hockey player with a VERY high hockey IQ. He's improved on every facet of his game this year and really the only place he's NOT above average is in the faceoff dot. He's likely the most underrated Blackhawk by people outside of Chicago and even in Chicago.
bolland is overrated, let him walk... 
Of the guys that can go, I'd surprise a lot of people by saying Kris Versteeg. Among Hawk RFAs, he would bring the most back in a trade, will likely want the most money, and is a bit of a health concern. The Hawks will need to be very shrewd to bring all the RFAs back this year and hit up their 3 young cornerstones the year after.
agreed. though i think you hit on a good point is that nearly all of them can bring value, they need to get value out of any/all of the players. letting players walk in todays system can be killer.
