IlliniKrush

Yeah we need RW more than LW, and we need a center. I'm not a huge fan of Selanne, he's too soft for me, dives way too much, etc. Better than nothing, though. We need something on the top 2 lines.

"We made some offers today," said general manager Dale Tallon. "I've got a feeling we're pretty close. I think tomorrow morning there will be some action." Stars captain Mike Modano is rumored to be heading back to Dallas, but unrestricted free agents Peter Forsberg, Markus Naslund, Paul Kariya and Ziggy Palffy are still on the market, as are next-tier forwards such as Buffalo center Miroslav Satan, a three-time 30-goal scorer, and Wild left wing Andrew Brunette. "We've talked to everyone," Tallon said, "upper-level, mid-level and lower-level. We're trying to find the best fit for our team." While acquiring a top forward is Tallon's next priority, adding another free agent defenseman to complement the acquisition of Aucoin is also in the plans. *********************** Keith - told you another defenseman might be in the works. I guess a hot name is Roman Hamrlik right now. Which is interesting, because he played on the same team as Aucoin. I'd love Palffy, but we probly have a better chance at Satan.

Wouldn't Thibault have until August 15th to decide if he wanted to accept our qualifying offer? If we sign Khabibulin, i don't think he'd want to stay here.

I'm almost at the point where i'm not going to be able to sleep tonight just thinking about this happening. I don't think i've ever been so excited about a FA or rumor or what not in many years. We've got the cap room to give him 7.8 mil if that's what he really wants. IMO, if anyone is worth that, a goaltender is.

Ah, so maybe Thibault's just insurance. If this happened, i'd be ecstatic. We'd finally have an actual Cup-worthy goaltender. This doesn't mean anything as far as winning it. But i've always believed you don't win the cup without a stud goalie, period. I don't care how much talent is in front of you. Thibault's not one. Khabibulin, obviously, is. Cmon Tallon....

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 2, 2005 -> 11:31 PM) Just so you know, Ozzie was on the pregame show today saying that the reason he put Blum in the 8 hole was so he could go lefty/righty. Something that makes me worry about Everett is that he'll try to hard to produce with Frank out. He had a massive uppercut going in his swing tonight. At least he's not swinging and missing at everything like he was a few months ago. Interesting, i didn't hear that. I don't disagree with doing it if it works. Causes matchup problems. However, i find it odd he'd be worried about his 7/8/9 hitters going r/l/r. I doubt any bullpen is going to be worried about using 3 relievers at the bottom of our lineup. I didn't think anything of it when i saw the lineup, i just figured Blum fit into the 8th hole tonight, nothing more. And yeah, i'm worried about Everett's approach at the plate as well.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 2, 2005 -> 11:24 PM) Just for the record, I wasn't saying that we needed Huff for this lineup. It was clear once that Manny trade was proposed that there was no way the Sox were going to give up as much as they wanted for Huff/Baez. Ozzie isn't going to take Everett out of the 3rd hole, as he likes going lefty/righty as much as he possibly can. I know, i know. Going righty/lefty just for the sake of going righty/lefty doesn't do too much. Besides, Everett is switch. If he really wanted to do that, he could do something like Dye/Pierz/Konerko/Everett. I'm not suggesting it, though. Although it's not terrible.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Aug 2, 2005 -> 11:20 PM) Post 12. Very well played. Anyway, get over any other guys coming in to help this lineup. Let's just figure something out with the guys we have, eh?

QUOTE(Li'l_Soxette @ Aug 2, 2005 -> 10:33 PM) Stupid Blue Jays...they should be allowed to do that on the Sox Field....they must be defeated..muhahahaha...*plots their losing streak* Okay..so what if I'm Canadian and live near the Jays...Sox rule much better the baseball waves. Welcome aboard You single? Edit: Joke with Steve, nothing more.

QUOTE(Soxnbears01 @ Aug 2, 2005 -> 10:36 PM) Just got back. booooooooo how bout the sox show up when i go sometime soon? It seemed like every batter for us was 0-2, every single AB, especially the crucial ones. But i thought you love taking pitches Steff says we aren't allowed to go anymore.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Aug 2, 2005 -> 10:57 PM) Everett should be moved down; I agree with that. This is going to end up turning into a tweak the lineup thread, and I just have to say one thing. Pods and Gooch should be the 1-2 in every lineup that is going to be written out in the rest of this thread. Yes, Gooch could have better numbers in a different spot in the lineup, but he's the only one that's going to have the success rate and patience to do what he's done behind Pods this year. Yeah Greasy it probly will turn into that. However, i agree with your 1-2 punch. But with the division in hand, i think now is the time to tinker if you're going to tinker, see what works, and have the best lineup possible for the playoffs. If we're 2 up in the division, it may be a weird time to start shuffling guys around. Seems like Everett hits a long one once in a while, otherwise it's an out, and not even a productive out with a guy on 3rd. Thing is, we already have one of those guys behing him in Konerko. You have to break them up. Furthermore, your 3 hitter is usually your best all around hitter. Is Carl really that guy on our team? I just don't see it.

It's good he's getting back to work in the minors. He could have taken a huge confidence hit in the majors and almost gave up on himself for a little while, but it appears he's fighting. Definitely a good sign. Shows some good ambition.

Just my opinion, but i don't like Everett hitting 3rd, and i haven't for a while. I think he's been riding this "hot streak" to start the year for too long, and i think Ozzie likes him a bit too much. He also seems to strike out way too much with runners on. I just don't see him as the 3 hitter we need the rest of the way, and in the playoffs. I'd like to see Dye take over in the 3rd spot. He's been very hot for a while now and has been a better hitter than Everett the past few years. Overall, i think he has much more potential to flourish in the 3 hole than Everett. While i'm at it, i don't see why Rowand bats 7th batting close to .290 with all these s***ty averages in front of him. I realize the power numbers aren't up to snuff, but at least the guy is hitting.

Jason if you end up being an Iowa fan AND a Wings fan... Anyway, Hawks still have a ton of cap room left. I can't remember the exact number they are at though. I'm looking for a huge impact forward right now, i can't wait to see who Tallon can get.

There's our offensive defenseman, and the guy i wanted. Time to work on shoring up this offense.

QUOTE(Soxnbears01 @ Aug 1, 2005 -> 10:00 PM) I'll be there w/ some soxtalkers Time to stop the losing streak

Offensive defenseman. Islanders. Here's his profile: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/prof...tatsId=1288&out

I don't know what you mean by 'coveted' players. It's not like the Rangers can go to one of them and say, "i'll give you 10 million per year to sign with us" There's a cap. Hawks have as good a chance as anyone at signing top free agents. Chicago is still a great city, and the Hawks are in a good position franchise-wise if players evaluate it fairly. We'll sign a top offensive defenseman, just watch. And i don't care who Berard's paired with, he still sucks defensively. No pairing can change that.

I'm perfectly fine with letting Berard go. There are a bunch of guys out on the market that can run the power play, and play better in our end. Berard was a terrible guy in our own zone. I realize he's an offensive defenseman, but if we can get a guy like aucoin or rafalski who's better in the defensive end and still has the offensive spark, that'd be great. Keith, i don't know about having Seabrook AND another rookie in the lineup. Here's the problem, though. Assuming we sign an offensive defenseman, Tallon has to decide pretty quickly if he wants to leave that 6th spot open for a camp battle, or sign a FA to take that spot. It'd be nice if we could see if any of the guys you mentioned are ready, but we won't know that for a while here. Hawks sure as hell have enough money to sign 2 defenseman and a few forwards, considering we aren't going to sign Khabibulin to the 7.8 million dollar contract he would have demanded on the open market. FA's can start signing at 11:00am tomorrow. Should be fun to watch the next few days.

QUOTE(Soxnbears01 @ Jul 30, 2005 -> 10:27 PM) my disgustingly worn out, sweat stained approved White Sox Spring Training Hat. I thought it'd be your picture with Hawk

Deeeeeee for Threeeeee. There, i saved your boredom for 3 seconds. All kidding aside, i agree...but just go to bed and by tomorrow night the trade stuff will go away.

best.thread.ever.

Those guys also hit around a rolled up sock, not the tightly wound bouncy ball that they use today...

I think most of us saw this coming. Like Kap said, i assuemd the players would tell Goodenow to get the hell out. Because the players came up with the L, big time. I mean, i knew they'd lose out on this deal, but they lost an entire season and then got a worse deal. Cya Bob, thanks for no NHL last year.