Chicago Blackhawks Could Go Spending on July 1st
Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period joined Scott Laughlin and Gord Stellick on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio on Monday and was asked what the Chicago Blackhawks’ plan is. Pagnotta stated the plan is to be aggressive come July 1st to help put the right pieces in place for the team’s success.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
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Scott Laughlin: “Dave, further on down the standings, just talking about Chicago by way of comparison to San Jose. Even though the Hawks are just four points better than San Jose, the Sharks are probably feeling better about themselves in terms of seeing young players make that progression this season than the Hawks are right. Like, Chicago is four points better, but not feeling the same about what they’ve accomplished this season. Like maybe a young team like San Jose is feeling even though they got eliminated on the weekend.
I just wonder what your thoughts are on the Hawks and where they go as seasons end. We know that Anders Sörensen was brought on as the interim head coach, and I mean, I think the proof is in the pudding, right? The coaching change did not work. Luke Richardson arguably should still be the head coach of the team, because they haven’t been much better under Anders Sörensen.
Like for me Dave, like, why not open up the checkbook and go after a guy like David Carle and try to bring him in and build with this team for years to come, like the Sharks have done with Ryan Warsofsky? What would you do? I mean, because it feels like some of the shine is off the Kyle Davidson run in his tenure in Chicago. I mean, first off, he kind of felt like, okay, young general manager learning on the fly, pieces coming together all of a sudden. Here we are a couple of years later, and we’ve got situations like Connor Bedard getting 10-minute misconduct and back-to-back games. What’s happening in the Windy City?”
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Dave Pagnotta: “I think they, they thought they were going to get, I think, more of a boost and a push from some of the vets that they brought in, and it just hasn’t worked. Some of their guys just haven’t clicked in terms of just taking those next steps and being a team that’s going to be a little bit more competitive and a little deeper. It’s a heck of a season that Ryan Donato is having, and (Teuvo) Teravainen has put up some solid numbers as well, but the contributions that they haven’t really received, I think have played a factor in this team’s lack of overall success.
They certainly expected more from someone like (Tyler) Bertuzzi. (Nick) Foligno’s numbers have been decent, but again not to that point they wanted. (Ilya) Mikheyev, same situation, just from a roster construction perspective, I think they thought that the guys that they brought in, the veteran pieces that they brought in would have more of an impact on this club and help them push forward.
I expect them certainly to be active this summer, varied both from a trade side of things but also within free agency. I think they’re going to be pushing hard with some of the big boys that are going to hit July 1, to get out there and kind of compliment Bedard and some of the other young pieces that they’ve got there. I think this is a team that you certainly see the frustration, and have seen the frustration from from Connor Bedard.
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You want to start to go after some other pieces to kind of add to this group. I’m anticipating coaching aside, I’m just anticipating them being very aggressive this summer. From a roster construction perspective, San Jose, a little bit, they got more contributions from a lot of the younger pieces and some of the vets that they brought in, like Tyler Toffoli for example, have definitely helped, but they’re still a little further back in terms of where their rebuild process is.
Chicago thought they were going to start taking the next steps. They haven’t. That’s got to be addressed this offseason, and I think they’re going to be very, very aggressive.”
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