Blackhawks Challenge-3rd season and beyond discussion thread

Post by **batdad** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 12:34 am

I think it was year 2 off season for me.

corinthian · Post by **corinthian** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 3:17 pm

Season 4 & Contract Problems:

I needed to make a lot of changes on my roster and Hawks fans like me...
Fans Zone

Of course it was a desperated action, just 1 week before season begins my payroll was US$ 42,750,000
Now is US$ 37,555,000.

My lines are: Golies: Nitty & Grahame
M. Michalek (Trade for Connolly) - Thorton - Havlat M. Staal - Z. Michalek
Higgins - J. Staal - Pommiville Barker - R. Wilson
Nilson - Arkhipov - Laperriere Kasparaitis - Rivet (trade for Ruutu)
Nieminen - Sharp - Kane

Waiting for a place are : Seleznev ,L. Couture, Milhekin

Question: M. Michalek & Z. Michalek are related?

Amazing thing is that for the first time i started with 5 wins in a roll.

Post by **batdad** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 3:51 pm

The Michalek's are brothers.

corinthian · Post by **corinthian** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 4:26 pm

AH!! Chemistry ':thup:'

corinthian · Post by **corinthian** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 2:57 pm

Season 4 & so far everything seems just perfect '=D>'

1st Ten Games

bruins72 · Post by **bruins72** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 5:50 pm

Looking good, corinthian!

Post by **batdad** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 6:01 pm

Yep..sure is.

My third year (reg season) has been the BOMB! But I am in so much financial trouble for year 4. I had a key injury to a UFA for post season, and have not been able to resign him for decent money, and because of his injury could not trade him either.

I have 2 centres that want raises of over $2 million. A goalie who wants a 2.4 mill raise, a defenseman who wants a 3 mill raise....

Oh, and how the heck could I let Heater walk? NO way. He is my cap-i-tain.

So yeah...trouble on the horizon in Chicago batdad land

However, I think I will win the 2009 SC without losing a game.

bruins72 · Post by **bruins72** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 6:34 pm

I'm just about to post my stats for games 21-40 of season 3. I'm seeing all the contracts I have coming up and I'm looking at my roster. I'm thinking I might be letting a lot of guys go due to their salaries. I'm leaning towards bringing up at least 3 or 4 guys from my farm team and really revamping my team. I've still got time to see how things work out though.

Post by **batdad** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 7:40 pm

Yeah..my blog is up now ...so those of you who have been biding time, just waiting on pins and needles to see who my super signing was can go see.

one thing is for sure..when you lose a star to a big injury.. the salary cap becomes a complete non issue. I could have had two of the guys actually by making one small trade...but just replaced my injury with someone, when I could not get a trade done that made sense.

Post by **batdad** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 3:46 am

Okay..season 3 is done. won the cup again. What a roster, but now the hell begins. Must shed salary..must try and hold on to some guys...ugh. This is going to be a nightmare.

bruins72 · Post by **bruins72** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 9:34 pm

I have a potential deal that could be huge for my team. All I have to do is accept it.

Lubomir Visnovsky and Jonathan Toews to Atlanta

for Illya Kovalchuk and the Thrashers' 1st round pick in 2009 (the upcoming draft).

It's January now and the Thrashers are 2nd in the East. So that means it's not going to be a high first. Visnovsky is 32 and is under contract for one more year (at $4.5M) after the current one. Of course, he will be a UFA at that point. Kovalchuk is 25 and has one more year ($5M) after the current one. He will be a UFA at that point. I'm willing to roll the dice on resigning him, especially since I don't like Visnovsky making as much as he does. What worries me is dealing away Toews. He's only 20 years old at this point and looks like he could be really good. I've got lots of depth at center, so that doesn't worry me so much. He could be used as a LW though. I'm pretty good at LW but he'd still be useful. This also floods the LW on my current roster. I'd have to deal away Vanek, Michalek, or Sutherby (hopefully for a RD) to make room for Kovalchuk. It also leaves a hole at RD that for the time being would have to be filled by either Shutron, Letang (who is injured, so he's out) or Staal.

Tough choices even though I'd love to have Kovalchuk.

Post by **batdad** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 9:49 pm

Just watch out dude. At the draft I dealt Ray Emery...for Budaj and a naff prospect cause I could not afford him.

Now..I am looking at Gleason's 4.6 mill arb award and going ... OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! I may walk away, as I don't think anyone will want him.

I could be in huge trouble.

bigargon · Post by **bigargon** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 3:18 pm

At first my 3rd season looked like a total disaster. but i was able to turn it around in the end and get the west finals. next season should be interesting in the post-Havlat area.

bigargon · Post by **bigargon** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 10:03 pm

can I use denis istomin as a homegrown player?

he has been playing the last two seasons at norfolk. before that he was in RSL.

because i would like to use him as my 4th season home grown

thanks,

Post by **batdad** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 10:07 pm

Show me a screenshot of his history, and when you signed him. Need the date on the screenshot for history...and then I can tell you. In all likelihood yes, but need to know when he was signed.

bigargon · Post by **bigargon** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:47 pm

here is denis istomin's history

Denis Istomin

Post by **batdad** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:50 pm

Looks good...as long as his homegrown post is fine (under 25 games in NHL, and under age 24..) you can use him.

bigargon · Post by **bigargon** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 2:02 am

Good, thanks for you help

bigargon · Post by **bigargon** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 9:48 pm

A question for everyone:

Now that its a few years into the challenge: who has been your favorite players(s), most disappointing players, and most surprising.

Mine are:

Favorite players:
Handzus: he has been my most solid play always towards the top of goal, assists and point and an excellent +/-. I resigned him for year 4 for about 4 million which quite a bit maybe too much, but he has been the heart and soul of my team

Seabrook: he has developed into a really reliable offensive defenseman. always a good +/- and a fair amount of points.

disappointing players:
Aucoin: while he was a good defenseman , he was always getting injured, and when he got injured the defense would fall apart without him. In the middle of the second season i traded him away, and built up a more balanced defense.

Ruutu: I still have, and each year when i would set my core players, i would debate, keep or let him go. he has alot of potential, but never quite seems to get there. when I put him in the second line he struggles, so then i put him to the fourth. So i am constantly moving him between the 2 and 4 lines, he doesn't quite seem to fit in. he is also another one that seems to be hurt alot still i'm stuck with him at through season 4.

Most surprising player:
Lapoint: his number are mediocre at best, but he adds a certain X factor , a spark to the team. the nice thing about him is I could put him in almost any line and he thrives. he has a great knack for getting goals at the right moment. Marty shows me how important those mental numbers can be.

Post by **batdad** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 10:31 pm

1. Fave--Heatley and Horcoff tie
2. Disappointing--Derek Roy
3. Surprise--Several I can think of but Denis Arkhipov has been the most shocking. Can play him anywhere and everywhere. Holmquist was a bit of a shock too.

Post by **batdad** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 3:19 am

So I know I am gonna jinx myself here, 10 games in my power play is 19%. that is the best it has ever been, in any 10 game stretch. Marion Hossa has at least a goal in every game (13 total).

Lineup:

Heatley-Horcoff-Hossa
Toews-Richards-Blunden
Grabovsky-Bolland-????
Boogie-Arkhipov-Werner

(Not telling who the ???? mark is but you can see Brendan Morrow is no longer a Hawk)

Barker-Seabrook
Beuachemin-Gleason
Schultz-Wilson
Jason Smith

??????
Price

(Again not saying who ? is ... but Ray Emery is no longer a Hawk)

Emery (Vezina winning goalie, and Morrow were casualties of the salary cap...big casualties...like $6.8 mill worth...and I am barely under the $38 mill cap.

I think I may miss those guys...yet I am 9-0-1

bruins72 · Post by **bruins72** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 2:41 pm

Favorite: I'd say this one has changed each season. I've had to trade away guys that I've really liked due to the TBL budget. Handzus was great while I had him. Hannan has been consistently amazing for me. I also love Ryan Hollweg's fighting.

Disappointing: Bochenski was pretty bad. I had him in my core for the first season. I knew he wasn't great but I expected him to at least be a decent scoring winger. I hoped he could step up onto one of the top two scoring lines occasionally but he was never even good enough to warrant any time on the 3rd line! I've also been disappointed with Duncan Keith... even though he's still in my core in the 3rd season. He's an amazing skater but he's just never developed any skills. I kept hoping he'd get better but he hasn't. The only reason he's still on the team is because I've needed to drop worse players from my core or I had to drop big money-earners from my core due to the budget.

Surpring: Like batdad, I was surprised by Arkhipov. I had him on my team for a good chunk of the first season. Unfortunately, I didn't include him in my core. I ended up trading him because I had to address other issues on my team and he was a guy that I was able to trade.

corinthian · Post by **corinthian** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 3:35 pm

Favorite: Havlat, I know inconsistent is the issue but over 4 season he's worthy $6 million.
Connolly great player!
Regehr very good (not saying this because he's born in Brasil)

Disappointing: Ruutu, I expected a lot more from him.
Derek Roy, I trade for him and half season later he's gone, ridiculous!!

Surprising : Arkhipov, guess what he's actually improving this season!?
Sharp, he's a 3rd or 4th liner but has respectable numbers.

bruins72 · Post by **bruins72** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 4:52 pm

corinthian wrote: Surprising :
Sharp, he's a 3rd or 4th liner but has respectable numbers.

Sharp is a great third line center and he can fill in on one of the top two lines if one of those centers gets hurt. He's got an awesome shot, pretty good passing, skating, and can check. As long as you don't expect big numbers out of him, he's a great guy to have on your team.

thunderbug · Post by **thunderbug** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 5:01 pm

Favorite: Heatley and Havlat, these guys have been phenomenal during season one and two. In season two they did have Forsberg on their line and he outshined them but still. Over 100 points at the 50 games mark is nothing to sneeze at.

Disappointing: Ruutu, I think its time for him to leave the core and most likely Chicago. I will see if anyone will take him off my hands in the offseason. He has been a major disappointment. To start things off he was my 2nd line rw, by the end of season one Vrbata had overcome him and completely took his job away.

Surprising: Kukkonen, looking at his numbers you would not believe what he did in season one. He put up fairly good numbers for a defenseman offensively and won the calder. He has seen a dip in season 2, but I'm not unhappy with his play in season 2. Seabrook has started to pick it up in season 2.