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Did Bowman Pull a Fast One On Us?

January 22, 2018, 8:04 AM ET [580 Comments]
Tyler Cameron
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT


What now?

The Blackhawks came off their league-mandated bye week and played a solid 2 ½ minutes. They had the first 3 shots on goal and Kane even snuck one by Halak.

I turned to my wife and said, "Hmmm… could be one of those nights the Hawks explode for a handful of goals." Boy, was I wrong and that's just how unpredictable this team has been all year.

Do they deserve to make the playoffs with the way they've played this year? No.

The hockey Gods tend to agree as it looks like it may be Winnipeg's time to take the next step, Colorado having their epic comeback year… or all teams can just bow down to the 2018 Stanley Cup Champions, Vegas Golden Knights right now.

This is what the salary cap was designed to do ladies and gentlemen. They dynasty era was "supposed" to go away, but no one told the Hawks and Penguins that for the last 10 years. Now, it looks like father time and the constant roster purging has caught up to this Blackhawks team.

Shortly after the 7-3 thumping that the Islanders laid on the Hawks, I tweeted:

"@JustinLoweHB: For the first time in a long time, I can comfortably say this #blackhawks team has no identity.

They are stuck between trying to be the old Hawks and a team just trying to keep their head above water, making desperation plays shift-after-shift"



Could the Rocky, McD, Stan, Joel and the crew predicted this is where they would be sitting come January 2018? I mean, obviously, the goal was to make the playoffs and compete for the Stanley Cup, however, this team never really screamed "Stanley Cup" to me from the get-go.

Even after finishing 1st in the West last year with a whopping 109 points, there were a lot of things about that team that made me very uneasy moving forward. Those deficiencies were highlighted after their well-documented 4-game embarrassing attempt at a playoff series.

So the "we need to be tougher to play against" narrative starts hitting the streets as Stan starts to reshape the roster:

IN
Saad
Forsberg
Murphy
Dauphin
Rutta
Kampf
Sharp
Wingels
Bouma
Oesterle
Ulf Samuelsson
Don Granato
Jeremey Colliton

OUT
Panarin
Motte
Hjalmarsson
Brian Campbell
Kruger
TVR
Darling
Mike Kitchen
Ted Dent


Take a moment to look at that; that is a TON of change. Were all of these moves needed? This amount of transition really shakes up a team, especially when it's involved players and coaches – as well as when it includes serious game-breakers and role players heading out of town.

Stan gambled huge when he moved Artemi Panarin. Would he tick off his best player in Patrick Kane? Would Saad bring Toews back to life? Well, we've learned that Kane can play with anyone, but Bowman lost the bet that bringing Saad back would revitalize his Captain.

Sending Nik Hjalmarsson out and leaving Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook as your only 2 legitimate top-4 defencemen… another massive risk as well. Stan was banking on Connor Murphy sliding into the top-4 (preferably on Keith's right-side) and Seabrook having a strong rebound season. This also didn't happen.

Another key factor that we're learning now is the strength of a solid backup. Love the valiant effort Anton Forsberg and Jeff Glass are putting forth right now, but let's be honest, these guys are getting hung out to dry on most night's and they are not Corey Crawford.

Fans have taken Crawford, Darling, and even, Raanta for granted to some degree as everyone now looks around for an answer. I think it's pretty simple, these guys were damn good on a team that has been quickly getting worse since their last Stanley Cup. The new guys are average and on-the-job learning in a tough situation.

Stan's offseason moves were deemed deals to help bring in cost-controlled players for the future, but the exciting selling features were that they were younger and faster.

It just hasn't panned out the way most would have imagined. As per hockey-reference, the Blackhawks have a 21% chance of making the playoffs; the 4th lowest percentage in the Western Conference.

So, let's call it like it is, the Blackhawks are 80% not making the playoffs this year. Now, what does Stan do?

Well, for everyone looking for him to be a seller, I believe he will try, but what is he going to be "selling" exactly?

"Step right up everyone... come get your Kempny everyone… I've also got a Franson for you… not interested? Maybe this slightly used Rutta? Oh… it's toughness you're looking for… I don't blame you, those playoffs are tough… here's a Bouma and a Wingels…"

I have no doubt he'll be able to dump a few of those "items" above, but don't expect too much.

I've heard Stan is now on the hunt to add more picks but more aggressively, younger players to be able to plug-and-play (like the Duclair deal) if possible, so maybe he parts with a Kempny+Fortin/Highmore/Kero for a player that they see fitting into their plans.

But what is the plan? I'm glad you asked.

I've asked my source if Stan has actually pulled a fast one on all of us and actually started this rebuild on the fly since those moves in the summer. He said, "you're getting warmer."

My theory is that Stan was hoping his swing-for-the-fences type trades would payoff this year. Also, by bringing back Sharp and added in toughness in Wingels/Bouma, he was hoping this character and grit would push the Hawks into the playoffs again. Only this time around, hopefully, go on a magical run or at least put up a better fight than last year.

However, this isn't likely and you've heard recently the line "Last year at this time, we only had 4 players under 25-years old, now we have 13."

There's a difference in having younger players just to say you're a young team and having GOOD young players that can really challenge in today's NHL. I think the Hawks are a little bit in between but with some smart moves, could get to the latter… and soon.

Obviously comparing the Hawks surge to greatness in the mid-2000's can be mapped back to a 2006 3rd overall selection of Jonathan Toews and their 2007 1st overall pick of Patrick Kane. The Hawks will not (or at least shouldn't) have that "luxury" of selecting that high in the entry draft anytime soon. However, if they are in the top-10, they could get a nice player to help compliment some strong baby-core pieces in Schmaltz, Debrincat, Hayden, Hartman, Hinostroza, Duclair, Forsling, Jokiharju.

Chicago would be selecting 10th overall if the season ended today and here is a look at the last 5 years of who was drafted in that spot.

2013 – Val Nichushkin (DAL)
2014 – Nick Ritchie (ANA)
2015 – Mikko Rantanen (COL)
2016 – Tyson Jost (COL)
2017 – Owen Tippet (FLA)


So maybe Stan, McD, as well as Rocky's chequebook were will to sacrifice a little bit this year (which could have very well paid off if the core were up to the challenge) for more longevity with this franchise.

On one hand, I find it hard to believe this would be the case, as John McDonough will be cringing seeing empty sections late in blowout games and the harmony of boo-birds for the remainder of this season. But, this is a business and if this mini-rebuild turns things around for another 10 years of greatness, then I think Rocky and whoever is here in the upcoming years will be more than ok with it.

See ya out there!

JL


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Who we got tonight: Tampa Bay Lightning

Season Matchup:
Chicago
TB ✔


31-12-3 = 65 points
2nd in the NHL
Last game: LOST vs. Minnesota (5-2) on Saturday
GF: 162 (2nd in NHL) / GA: 119 (5th in NHL)
PP% = 24.4% (3rd in NHL)
PK% = 79.3% (20th in NHL)
Sniper: Kucherov– 27 goals
Producer: Kucherov – 61 points
Tough Guys: – Hedman - 32 PIMs & 77 hits
Expected Starter: Andrei Vasilevskiy
Injuries: Hedman, Budaj


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