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TRADE: F Nick Schmaltz to Arizona, F Dylan Strome and F Brendan Perlini to Chicago



CHICAGO, IL -- I'm a little disappointed, but not surprised.

 The whole Nick Schmaltz trade-talks thing has been poked around on both Twitter and in the hockey media circle, so I'm not overly surprised that he was dealt around 11pm EST last night.

 And, honestly, I don't really mind this trade, but we'll get to that in a second because I really need to get something off my chest first.

 Stan Bowman is really starting to piss me off.

 I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, and he even kind of addressed it in an interview with Scott Powers on The Athletic.

 But, I'm sorry--this 'win-now mentality' and 'we're 100% a playoff team as it stands' stuff the front office is spewing out is crap. See the below tweet from Mark Lazerus (The Athletic) this morning:

All we've heard from Bowman (and the front office, honestly) the past year or so has just felt like lies. I hate being this person, I hate putting blame on people, but this is just... not being transparent. I get that things change, but say that things are changing. Don't just make sweeping statements like the above and just sweep it under the rug when things go bad. This is what makes me not want to trust Bowman or the rest of the front office when they say things like 'we're committed to him' or 'he's not going anywhere.'

 I just don't understand how you say something like that and completely ignore it by trading away both Vinnie Hinostroza and Schmaltz--or even Ryan Hartman for that matter. These young guys were the future of the Hawks, and they were all traded away.

 Is it too much for me to ask that the Hawks front office (or any team's front office, for that matter) is just more... transparent? I know, obviously, that they aren't going to outright say 'we're trading everything!' but the least they can do is at least admit what's really going on, which isn't necessarily a rebuild, but more likely a retooling.

 They can't be in a win-now mindset at this point, and I'm really sick of hearing them say that. If they keep telling themselves that, they're not only lying to themselves, but to fans as well. 

 A win-now mentality means keeping Artemi Panarin. A win-now mentality means going for a stronger backup goalie over the summer (and no offense to Cam Ward--he's fine, but there were goalies like Philip Grubauer and potentially Sergei Bobrovsky on the market, too). A win-now mentality means trading for Erik Karlsson, who instead went to a conference rival. A win-now mentality isn't signing Chris Kunitz or Brandon Manning. A win-now mentality means doing more.

 Again, I try not to pin mistakes on one person or a group of people, but... it's hard not to here.

 Anyways, let's talk about the actual trade.

 At the end of the day, I really don't hate it. I like that we got two forwards from the trade, but I kind of wish we'd gotten a defensemen (not necessarily from Arizona, but just one in general). 

 I think in terms of comparing, all three of the players in this trade have struggled in the past year or so on their respective teams. It'll be interesting to see if any of them find it in a new city--sometimes all it does take is just a change of scenery.

 Right off the bat, there are a couple of positives on the Chicago side--both Strome and Perlini have about 40 shots on goal (SOG) this season, compared to Schmaltz's 33. I think Perlini and Strome both have potential: Strome was selected third overall in the 2015 draft by Arizona, just behind Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel; Perlini was the 12th overall pick in the 2014 draft. Strome won the OHL Cup in the 2016-17 season (with none other than Alex DeBrincat, mind you), so I think both players have potential that young-gun Coach Jeremy Colliton might be able to unlock.

 I'm not ready to write them off yet, so I think Hawks fans should give both Strome and Perlini chances in Chicago. Not saying we need to assume that they're going to be amazing, but just keep in mind what they've shown in the past.

 I'm still all in, despite everything that's transpired this season. Are you?
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