OK. I'll update how I started my last blog.
So now it’s 10-10-3 since January 1, and 2-2-3 on the just completed homestand, capped with back-to-back losses to Colorado and Boston, where Chicago was outscored 10-3.
On home ice.
It doesn’t take a genius to see something is seriously amiss with Blackhawks. It was plain to see on national television yesterday afternoon. Theories (and rumors) abound.
I’m going to relate some of what I’ve heard, and what I’ve seen, which in turn informs what I think.
One theory is this is just a bump in the road, the Hawks will have it all together, onward to the Cup once April rolls around.
Barring a shake-up of some kind, I’m not sure how many buyers are left on that one.
Another is that the team is still shrugging off the malaise of mourning surrounding the untimely passing of equipment manager Clint Reif.
Again, hard to buy that, now, at this point.
One thing that’s hard to argue with is that the Hawks lack the personnel right now to play the style of hockey they want to, specifically on their third defensive pair.
Another is that they remain thin at center, with Jonathan Toews, Marcus Kruger and a somewhat threadbare Brad Richards the roster’s only true pivots.
The repercussions of problems like these are not just a hole in your roster, but added pressure on others at the affected positions.
Whether you love Joel Quenneville or hate him, and the same with Stan Bowman, you have to give them enough credit to say that if Teuvo Teravainen, Philip Danault, or Klas Dahlbeck were the “answers,” they’d be in Chicago.
They’re not in Chicago because they’re not the answers to today’s problem. Period. End of story.
So, yes, I might sound like a broken record above, but not so repetitive—or alarming—as how poorly the Hawks are playing.
As far as rumors, there are growing whispers of a dressing room issue. I have heard a couple of hints that one of these problems might center around one player in particular. I have not heard nearly enough to say that is the case—much less who the player in question is. But “the problems” if there are any, probably include other players and issues anyway. Definitely poor morale driving poor effort—that is plain to see.
The heat on Bowman has ratcheted up considerably in the last few weeks, as more and more fans are now questioning a quiet offseason—seemingly resting on the belief that the Hawks were “just one bounce away” from the Cup last Spring. A notion that seems more and more flawed in hindsight.
The safe bet is Bowman will do very little if anything to improve the chemistry before the trade deadline. That said, I have heard from multiple US and Canadian sources that Andrew Shaw has been shopped heavily—the Hawks just didn’t like or need what was being offered back.
I also heard that Bowman was hesitant to include names like Teravainen, Danault, or Dahlbeck in any deals right now—as with impending cap issues, the Hawks might need all of them next year—ready or not.
But one name I am hearing mentioned more and more in trade chatter is that of Patrick Sharp. And I am hearing that there are teams interested.
Another interesting tidbit is that yesterday evening’s moves, sending Ryan Hartman and Antti Raanta to Rockford and recalling Scott Darling and Joakim Nordstrom at first appeared to be just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
But hold on, there are some cap savings in that move—cap space that might be needed in an impending acquisition.
Because there is, perhaps, two-fold pressure on Bowman: the obvious pressure to support a sagging team and possibly skirt the once implausible concept of missing the playoffs altogether, AND because the media spotlight in Chicago has been shifted to big “splashy” moves—the kind Hawk President John McDonough loves—by the Bulls, White Sox, and Cubs.
If ever there was a time when the higher ups would push Bowman to move, it could be right now.
The next week or so should prove very interesting indeed—not to mention the aftermath.
All for now,
JJ
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