Jack Parkman

I don't see Hjalmarsson for Murphy as a negative, He is probably their 2nd or 3rd best Defenseman. Murphy was their best last year. Q hates him because he replaced Hjalmarsson. Murphy was better for the Hawks than Hjalmarsson was for the Coyotes last year.

"They" wasn't referring to the Sox. It was referring to Machado and Harper in relation to their contract details. Sorry for not being more clear.

I've been huge on Raimel Tapia being a Sox target. Huge, massive upgrade in CF and he can't find time in Colorado. was a 70-80 ish prospect in the T100 a couple years ago. He could lead off too. Castillo or Narvaez, Jones and L. Garcia or Davidson for Gray, Tapia and Hoffman would be a good deal. Let Hoffman compete for a job in the rotation, and if he continues to suck, throw him in the bullpen as a long man or cut him loose. If the Sox really are after Harper then I think there is virtually no chance Avi is tendered. Their decision on him will be incredibly telling on what is actually going on.

Whenever someone mentions Walker Buehler, this is the first thing that comes to mind LMFAO

Machado/Harper won't get both a front loaded contract and an opt out after 3 years. They'll get one or the other. They'll get a shorter term, back loaded deal with a quick opt-out or a longer term, front loaded deal with no opt out.

I feel the same way dude. I caution everyone, be cautiously optimistic but expect nothing until either Harper/Machado sign on the dotted line and they have the presser. Idk how old you were, but a lot of Sox fans were furious about the A-Rod/Texas thing. There was a week in time where we thought they had him, and then Texas blew everyone away. It is why KW hated Boras, and why a lot of Sox fans do as well.

They're not signing both, they're going after both and hoping one signs here.

I was frustrated for about 2 months or so and went on an overly pessimistic streak. I'm over that. I needed to vent in the form of overt negativity.

He thinks that Harper will re-sign with Washington if it drags out into January.

If they land Harper, I'd rather go for Moustakas. Younger and cheaper, still a massive upgrade even if the OBP sucks.

Harper also allows the Sox to use their corner OF prospects in trades to fill other holes. If they land Harper, any OF other than Robert, Gonzalez and Basabe become instant trade bait, actually you could probably use one of the three above in a trade and have CF filled anyway. Blake Rutherford might be an option for CF as well.

I was just coming on here to post this. Depending on which one of them they land, if either, would shape the remainder of the offseason. Seeing what most think Eovaldi is going to get i'm down with offering him 3/48 and adding him to the rotation if they land one of these guys.

He was probably the only player available other than futures, we don't know. I do agree they should have shot a little higher on that one. There was also the thought that Panarin would regress to a 50 point player and was purely a product of Kane, which didn't help things either. In any event, the Hawks need drafting more than ever, and Bowman's record of finding NHLers in the back half of the 1st round is impeccable, whether they kept the player long-term or not: 2010: Kevin Hayes(25) 2011 Mark McNeill(only bad pick, 18) Philip Danault(26) 2012 Teuvo Teravainen (18) 2013 Ryan Hartman(30) 2014 Nick Schmaltz(20) 2015-16 No 1st round pick 2017 Henri Jokiharju (29) And the jury is still out on Boqvist but I really like him. If you want to argue that his cap mismanagement has cost them TT/Hartman, I won't argue that. Bowman has his flaws with trading and cap management, I won't deny that. I understand why people want him gone, but when you look at that draft record, I don't think it is wise to throw that away when your team is in the crapper. It also might be the only thing he does well as a GM.

Part of the reason I started throwing some wacky stuff out there is that I think it was getting too boring around here. Don't be afraid to share some of your more wacky opinions. Keeping them to yourself gets in the way of good discussion. Also, if you think someone posts something ridiculous, attack the post, not the poster. As long as people are willing to admit they're wrong when proven so, it isn't a huge deal, and it might make for a better board. People are way too serious on here. It is sports, it is out of your control, and it doesn't affect your life other than entertaining you.

I tend to agree because it seems like the injuries are starting to pile up with him, but if he was as healthy as he was with us, I think I would. It is an interesting debate.

If Sale wanted to come back, would you guys want him back at the money he's going to command? Serious question.

Well, it depends on which team. I don't know if there is any truth to the Cubs being strapped for cash, and if I'm another team I don't help them get Harper at all. Make them suffer for their bad contracts.

I will say this, the only way that is defensible is if they got blindsided by Hossa's LTIRetirement. If they expected Hossa to continue playing, then it makes sense. Otherwise it was a panic move.

And I'd argue they were all Q guys, with the exception of maybe Handzus.

I think that was more Quenneville wanting vets than anything else.

I'm not defending the roster, because I know it is and was crap. I know it is going to get worse before better. There isn't much Bowman can do really. Even last season, they were up against the cap. The only reason they have any room now is because of the Hossa LTIRetirment. The only thing the Hawks could have done to avoid the cap trouble they've had is to let one of 19/88 walk or not sign Seabrook. Signing Seabrook was dumb at the time and remains dumb. You can't afford to have even one bad contract in today's NHL. In any event, The Penguins had the advantage of one thing: Timing. They signed Malkin and Crosby before the new CBA removed back diving contracts(Crosby) and immediately after that CBA had written(Malkin), before star salaries started to go north of 10M. If the Penguins had to sign Crosby and Malkin 2 years later they'd be making 11-12.5M each, and I'm not sure they could have put a good team around them. Their last two cups are about luck and timing more than anything else. It helps Pittsburgh that Both Crosby and Malkin are better players than any forward the Hawks have. Also, the Bruins have Bergeron on a long term deal at 6.5M and they wouldn't be able to have a competitive team either without that contract. That one was also signed before the last CBA negotiation, otherwise, it would be in the 9-10M range. They're both benefiting from luck and timing more than anything else. Sorry, not a good comparison. The only comparison that the Hawks can really have are the Kings and Ducks, and they're bad too. The Hawks are the first successful team to feel the true wrath of the salary cap. Some other teams have benefited from timing that the Hawks didn't.

No the NHL salary cap is responsible for that. I won't argue about some of the extensions, but the Cap is more responsible for the Hawks problems than anything else. That is the cap doing it's job. The other unintended consequence of the cap is that trading players when cap strapped prevents a team from getting fair value for its players. What are they going to do, forfeit games until they get a fair deal? \ Panarin for Saad was 100% a cap move. The only move that really hurt the Hawks long-term was Seabrook.

I disagree, mostly because the Hawks special teams have been putrid during most of of Q's time here. I'd like to see what this team could do with a modern PP/PK. Bowman has been great at drafting, which is needed now more than ever.

Yeah, a good team wins 2/3 on that road trip.

I didn't mean that literally, just as an example of a punch and judy hitter who doesn't walk much. Probably over the top.