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Does Q Mishandle Younger Players? My Take. |
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First, there was a hockey game at the UC last night. It was a game the Hawks probably should have won. The Coyotes played well; the Hawks didn’t play that badly. The disallowed goal in OT was just one of those bad breaks you’re going to have in the course of a season. To my eye, the puck probably crossed the goal line completely before it was thrown back out by Arizona netminder Mike Smith. But that complete “crossage” did not seem to be visible on camera, obscured by Smith’s glove. So, no goal.
It would have been nice if Antti Raanta was a bit stronger during the shootout, but he was otherwise strong for sixty minutes and made a gigantic save on Keith Yandle that helped the Hawks get to OT.
And it would be a shame if the lost point comes back to haunt the Hawks in a couple of months. We’ll see.
I got a tweet this morning from a guy (my buddy @HawksCap) asking me if the “conflict” I alluded to recently in the front office might be over which players to move this summer to become cap compliant.
First, I don’t think that would be the case because no one knows how bad (or not) the cap issue will be yet.
What I alluded to were hints of a conflict over Joel Quenneville’s handling of younger players. And these hints, to be honest, might be nothing more than a reflection of a growing “truism” in the fanbase that Q mishandles prospects before they go off to become superstars with other clubs—their exits hastened and Stan Bowman’s hand forced— by Mean Old Uncle Q.
My response to the tweet, and what really got me thinking was, essentially: No, it’s about Q’s handling of young players . . . not named Saad, Shaw, Kruger, Hjalmarsson . . .
The truth is, for every Jimmy Hayes, there’s a Shaw. For every Brandon Pirri, there’s a Kruger. For every Dylan Olsen (recently unemployed), there’s a Hjalmarsson.
The point is, there are young players who thrive under Quenneville and there are those who don’t.
And there’s a reason for it. Quenneville expects players to compete and make smart decisions over 200 feet of ice, going both ways. Today. Why? Because it’s how you win hockey games. Today.
Q showed immense patience with Nick Leddy and really helped develop Leddy into the budding star he’s becoming on Long Island.
Another fanbase truism: Leddy was horrible until he got out from under Mean Old Uncle Q.
Not so. Leddy showed regular improvement every year on Q’s short leash. Last year, he was pretty good. But the cap forced a choice (likely) between he and Johnny Oduya—as did the actual trade market for each—and Leddy was moved.
As I often say, perspective is a wonderful thing and water always finds its level.
There were those who lamented Q’s handling of the then "great" Jack Skille. Skille is now in his fourth organization since 2011, has been waived, in the AHL, and has found a “home” of sorts as a utility player in Columbus—a team not rich in forward talent.
There is no question that sometimes, the light will go on for a player after he leaves an organization and finds a new home and a new opportunity and a new voice behind the bench.
There are those who are convinced Jimmy Hayes and Brandon Pirri have proven the Hawks wrong. Maybe. But both are getting minutes and opportunities in Florida that they wouldn’t have in Chicago, because Florida doesn’t have guys named Hossa, Sharp, Toews, Kane and Saad on their rosters.
And maybe a team like the Panthers, or the Blue Jackets with Jeremy Morin, neither of which are coming our of the East this year, can afford to be “patient” with the Hawks’ cast-offs and wait for the holes in those players games to be filled. Or not.
A game the Hawks played for so many years with the likes of Jayson More, Michal Grosek, Deron Quint, Ville Nieminen, Josef Marha—the list goes on and on.
All for now. I’ll have a Vancouver preview tomorrow.
JJ
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