Last I looked a month ago, and now today can no longer find, I believe I saw Ben Eager on a UFA list of the 2009-2010 B’Hawk free agent list with Madden and Burish.

How, if this was the case, did Bowman manage to trade Eager? Are not UFA ‘strings free’ from any teams?

Thank You

There was a time when the Hawks would quickly send an email to credentialed media announcing trades..signings etc.

Now they post it on their own site first and then release an email alert.

If is isn’t on the CBH website or on NHL.com/TSN it probably didn’t happen.

Yea, there’s time, and the price will come down for a few guys. Someone said that the second most important day in FA is August 1 – the time when guys start to accept less to get a contract and get into camp, and the same thing happened to Dominick Moore last year. I think he’d be serviceable, but I’d love to see the Hawks go after Asham. In the limited time I saw him, he seemed to me to be like Burish and Eager – has a strong motor but not as lippy and he could play a bit. If dollars and term could line up, I’d sign him. Perhaps two years at 700K per? Just me being the rotisserie GM though.

Can’t doubt what Stan’s been doing. High marks are definitely in order.

There a lot of Hawk GM wannabe’s out there…most of the time they get it wrong.

As far as Guerin ..not sure what kind of pay cut he would accept…when I hear something worthwhile I will post.

Deapends on what cap space is left…Moore?? who they almost got a couple of yrs ago..maybe…Asham??

Depends on how much Bowman has to play with…

There will be guys out there cuz money is tight with many clubs.

One other thing, what happened with Niklas Persson (C/F from Sweden)? I thought he signed a one year deal with the Hawks and from what I read this morning, he signed a one year deal with Tampa Bay.

Bowman says, in so many words, exactly what you have.

I will be the first to say it would have been nice to tie a ribbon around the whole group for another three or four years…couldn’t happen.

Don’t know if you read from about a week ago…Seven Untouchables..but management knew who they wanted to keep.

They then traded players they felt could be replaced for cheaper, were overpriced or a combination of both.

THe media…. especially up north and out east wants to dwell on the destruction of this team.

I wrote awhile back this will be different as no Cup winning team this young has been purgd because of the salary cap…..It is what it is.

Those which take a pragmatic view and know the sport like Ken Hitchcok…. thinks Bowman hit a homerun…as he has acquired younger skill.

What the ‘sky-is-falling’ Blackhawk fans have to recall just some 60-90 days ago is that the concensus was that out of the ‘on-the-line-cap-hit-four’, made up of Buff, Steeger, Bolland, and Sharp, that only one of the four could be kept. To keep Bolland and Sharpe is such a shot-and-a-goal compared to this former concensus that little else should matter–save maybe for Hammer’s signing.

To put the cheery on top, he has traded most of the depth players to the other conference where the B’Hawks may not play that team but once every three years like the Bruins and Maple Leafs (a crying shame, Butthead Bettman, but this is for another rant).

All this was done before the Calendar turned to July—Bowman is putting on a clinic on General Managementship. Angelo and Paxon or Bowman—-pppffff ha ha ha ha ha ha

I said before in another post–in the salary cap era, no matter the sport, the farm system is the engine that makes the vehicle go. This is kinda why the Sox and Cubs are mediocre–rather non-descript farm systems. Angelo couldn’t perform a decent draft from a flowing beer keg. Paxon…..how the hell does he STILL have a job…?!

The up and coming youth from the farm system is the cheap labor to allow a team to fit under the cap. If the cheap labor can build the way to another Championship, then let the dynasty begin.

I agree with you. The trades present tremendous opportunity for the Blackhawks. That should translate into plenty of excitement going into training camp and throughout the season.

Thanks again to both of you for all of your interesting and informative work.

The Hawks will likley be a playoff team once again….

Blow up the team is a bit strong but not to those who look at the issue from a distance.

They traded away good players but…Buff wasn’t a top six forward much of the year.

Eager, Frasor, Ladd and Versteeg were 3rd 4th line players.

The Chicago depth will be tested for sure…but blow up is too strong in this case.

Enjoy your summer.

The fact that you have a first hand view of what Hawks management is doing is something we can appreciate.

There are plenty of opinions out there about the future of the Blackhawks, but as you say, Bowman & Company know as well as anyone what their challenges are.

They also know the value of the assets they have…after all, it’s what they are paid to do.

The effect of the salary cap on Championship teams is not limited to the NHL. The NFL has had to deal with it as well, though they address it differently.

As you point out, Bowman hasn’t ‘lost’ players due to cap constraints; he’s moved them and gotten younger, less expensive players in return.

Looking at the new additions, there’s lots of talent there.

What should be exciting for Hawks fans, is seeing this new talent develop.

Have a great Fourth of July.