Stan is dreaful. He's an middle of the class accountant from the U of Dayton born to a successful father. I don't know is Sam Pollak had a son but they wouldn't have turned over the Canadiens to him just because of shared DNA.

He has never replaced any of the key players he got rid of with a comparable player.

First, if Bowman's going to dump Campbell's salary, and he does it after the cup, he really doesn't have to get rid of anyone else. Notice what our power play has looked like since he's gone and how the "Jammer" has been exposed now that he has to manage the puck more (how badly did Stan get schooled by Doug Wilson?)

We have never replaced our "tough to play against" guys.........Ladd and Buff (who nobody knew would be good unless you happened to be watching our Cup run) and Brouwer (who didn't want to leave) pounded the opposition defense most nights and created space-------it's not about dropping the gloves like Carcillo, it's about wearing down the opposition defensemen and winning 3rd periods and overtimes and keeping guys off Hossa and Kane and the captain.

Would anyone suggest that Stan will ever be a GM with another franchise? It's nonsense. Obviousely, it's part of a deal to keep his father around but there is no evidence that Scotty is the Scotty that used to be. The franchise is totally dependent upon the core group chosen by Tallon.

Did we get lucky with the Finn........maybe.......I hope so.......but until he scores a few NHL points, I'm not quite ready to call him the 2nd coming of Savard (who we only got becasue we couldn't get Wickenhauser) or Kane for that matter.

Is there a non-Tallon player on this roster that we think will be asked to play for any country in the next Olympics.

We are a couple of concussions away from being Columbus and we likely don't have a playoff goalie in the system. It is tragic that they took the best young team in hockey and blew it up.

Finally, Mr McDonough.......... there has never been an unsold blackhawk seat in this town with a team that was even close to decent.......and if you'll look at the true historical figures, the Cubs attendance began climbing when the neighborhood changed and Towne Hall ceased to be the crime ridden area that it had been....the guy has done a faboulous job of falling up the steps..........but he's never filled a stadium

I can't wait for the season to begin and I hope the guys can play 13/ 14 games a month and maintain the quality and their health

Go Blackhawks
- nellie

+1

Ice Hogs 3 Peoria 1 the final

3 stars

1. Pirri...2 g including the GW
2. Hutton
3. Paridis...

and the newly acquired Kendle McArdle with a spirited performance for the Hogs.

Status quo should not be accepted, but with this club, I think its more a culture based on arrogance then anything.

Fixed the above for you

Status quo should not be accepted, but with this club, I think its more a culture based on insecurity then anything.

Yup. Tallon =Fail (at Paperwork)

However , excellent NHL talent evaluator

StanBo=FAIL AT NHL TALENT Evaluation , good drafter. Probably they were such a good team.

Too bad so sad
- mrpaulish

And which draft pick has so far made a difference on the ice in Chicago?

Jury is still out....

I won't tag along with Edzo because the whole body of Crawford's work has to be taken into account. In regulation he wasn't much worse than Smith, actually in Game 1 I thought he outplayed Smith but....

This is a point that I pound away at, and JJ has chimed in on in the past.

When the going gets tough and the games are tightly checked where is the Hawks scoring?

When Q. had them tighten it up when Toews was hurt late in the season the defense improved but....

From Feb.1 on the Hawks only scored an avg of 2 goals per game in regulation.
In the playoffs once again 12 goals in sx games.

So either Crawford needed to be Glenn Hall like in the playoffs, or the system of play employed had to generate more scoring.

From today:
On the Blackhawks - "Optimistically Speaking" - http://bit.ly/WMAGsa on Fox Chicago

On Twitter@AlCimaglia
- Al

Fine article Al. Looking forward to seeing the season get underway.

Crawford had better play well and stay healthy because there is not much backing him up on the wrungs of the ladder below.

Bryan Murray has 3 nice goaltenders at the major league level. But he also knows that the Hawks aren't the only team with needs between the pipes. Edmonton and Toronto for sure are 2 who are also in that situation. That means Bowman won't succeed in negotiating a trade with Ottawa because he will never pay Murray's asking price in a seller's market.

I won't tag along with Edzo because the whole body of Crawford's work has to be taken into account. In regulation he wasn't much worse than Smith, actually in Game 1 I thought he outplayed Smith but....

This is a point that I pound away at, and JJ has chimed in on in the past.

When the going gets tough and the games are tightly checked where is the Hawks scoring?

When Q. had them tighten it up when Toews was hurt late in the season the defense improved but....

From Feb.1 on the Hawks only scored an avg of 2 goals per game in regulation.
In the playoffs once again 12 goals in sx games.

So either Crawford needed to be Glenn Hall like in the playoffs, or the system of play employed had to generate more scoring.

From today:
On the Blackhawks - "Optimistically Speaking" - http://bit.ly/WMAGsa on Fox Chicago

On Twitter@AlCimaglia
- Al

Fine article Al. Looking forward to seeing the season get underway.

Crawford had better play well and stay healthy because there is not much backing him up on the wrungs of the ladder below.

Bryan Murray has 3 nice goaltenders at the major league level. But he also knows that the Hawks aren't the only team with needs between the pipes. Edmonton and Toronto for sure are 2 who are also in that situation. That means Bowman won't succeed in negotiating a trade with Ottawa because he will never pay Murray's asking price in a seller's market.

I won't tag along with Edzo because the whole body of Crawford's work has to be taken into account. In regulation he wasn't much worse than Smith, actually in Game 1 I thought he outplayed Smith but....

This is a point that I pound away at, and JJ has chimed in on in the past.

When the going gets tough and the games are tightly checked where is the Hawks scoring?

When Q. had them tighten it up when Toews was hurt late in the season the defense improved but....

From Feb.1 on the Hawks only scored an avg of 2 goals per game in regulation.
In the playoffs once again 12 goals in sx games.

So either Crawford needed to be Glenn Hall like in the playoffs, or the system of play employed had to generate more scoring.

From today:
On the Blackhawks - "Optimistically Speaking" - http://bit.ly/WMAGsa on Fox Chicago

On Twitter@AlCimaglia
- Al

Fine article Al. Looking forward to seeing the season get underway.

Crawford had better play well and stay healthy because there is not much backing him up on the wrungs of the ladder below.

Bryan Murray has 3 nice goaltenders at the major league level. But he also knows that the Hawks aren't the only team with needs between the pipes. Edmonton and Toronto for sure are 2 who are also in that situation. That means Bowman won't succeed in negotiating a trade with Ottawa because he will never pay Murray's asking price in a seller's market.

Ice Hogs 3 Peoria 1 the final

3 stars

1. Pirri...2 g including the GW
2. Hutton
3. Paridis...

and the newly acquired Kendle McArdle with a spirited performance for the Hogs.
- philco28

Here's the funny thing about the Hogs game. They were using defenseman Shawn Lalonde to take defensive zone faceoffs. Hadn't heard any recent history of something like that. Maybe he's the next shutdown center for the Hawks...

Yup. Tallon =Fail (at Paperwork)

However , excellent NHL talent evaluator

StanBo=FAIL AT NHL TALENT Evaluation , good drafter. Probably they were such a good team.

Too bad so sad
- mrpaulish

You really think Tallon was that stupid? How many years was he a GM before that? So he just didn't realize he was late? Really? Why do you think that the only gm's that Stan has dealt with are people that for the most part are tied to the Hawks.

Rocky will not do a damn thing to make any of this go away. To put it simply, as long as the money comes in McD will be his guy.
- tokked

Oh, but Rocky just told the Sun Times yet again this week that the Hawks still aren't profitable.

http://www.suntimes.com/s...cky-is-ready-to-roll.html

Yet Wirtz said they’re still a money-losing venture, citing Chicago’s sky-high city and amusement taxes and parking taxes. Wirtz said the Hawks are “getting there” and are “shrinking the gap.”

You really think Tallon was that stupid? How many years was he a GM before that? So he just didn't realize he was late? Really? Why do you think that the only gm's that Stan has dealt with are people that for the most part are tied to the Hawks.
- tokked

That's probably the worst part... so they have a fire sale and the guy negotiating is a rookie GM with limited trade partners. Probably the last person you want negotiating deals under the gun. Its really no wonder Stan got fleeced so bad in those trades considering the odds he was up against.

I would wager Tallon (as a talent scout and with GM experience) would have done a much better job handling the 2010 'fire sale' than SB... but we will never know, will we? Personally I think SB rushed to dump players (like he rushed to re-sign Mayers, Carcillo, and Emery)... had he been more patient he might have been able to get a much better return.

If that ever happens, I'll let you know.
- Ogilthorpe2

Getting on AA288 tonight from Shanghai too bad your not one of the crew

With all due respect, here we are on the eve of a new season, after being denied hockey for 4 months, and all you get is the hyperbole hysteria from the peanut gallery.

The snowball of emotion would make for a great sociological study in group think and propaganda.

This in no way vindicates Hawk management, but rather aims to re center fans on the exciting fact that we actually get to watch hockey tomorrow. I will expect full dissertations from many on why Crawford led up each of the goals he does, and how awful the bottom 6 are even though you will see top 6 forwards and top pairing dmen out on the ice giving up the critical goal late, whether even strength of shorthanded

If we learned anything in America this year, lets not let any logical facts get in the way of run away emotion!

Go Hawks.

Getting on AA288 tonight from Shanghai too bad your not one of the crew
- Maggie

Not me for sure.

I will be missing most of tomorrow's game though. I'll be somewhere between SLC and ORD at puck drop. Hopefully I'll be home for the 3rd...the last time I rushed home from SLC to catch the end of a Hawk game, they were hoisting the cup at the end of the game!

Hope you don't get Shanghai-ed

Not me for sure.

I will be missing most of tomorrow's game though. I'll be somewhere between SLC and ORD at puck drop. Hopefully I'll be home for the 3rd...the last time I rushed home from SLC to catch the end of a Hawk game, they were hoisting the cup at the end of the game!

Hope you don't get Shanghai-ed
- Ogilthorpe2

I was deployed to the other side of the world, blowing off much-needed sleep before my next shift to watch the game--worth it. Good luck getting back for the 3rd, Ogie

Spending most of tomorrow afternoon with kids and nephews playing pond hockey on ice that rivals any rinks
I asked stan to join us but he told me he does not know how to play hockey and never played the game but if i need help with my taxes he is the man

Hopefully seeing the Kings raise their banner and getting their rings re-lights the fire in this Hawks team. A little reminder of how the view looks from the top of the mountain couldn't hurt. It's only been 2 years, but hopefully it feels like a lifetime ago to the core players on this team.

I was deployed to the other side of the world, blowing off much-needed sleep before my next shift to watch the game--worth it. Good luck getting back for the 3rd, Ogie
- grinder10

Thanks. Glad you're home safe.

JJ, I'm a Bolt's fan but I always read your posts. I grew up watching the Hawks battle the Bruins, Keith Magnusson is one of my favorite all time players to this day. I love this tough love blog but the gist of everything is dead on. It isn't so much the talent the Hawks lost after the dismantling of the cup team but the charachter. Witness Ladd being Captain of the Jets and Brouwer on the first line in Washington. Campbell helping lead an underwhelming Panthers team into the post season and Niemi playing well for the Sharks. The Lightning went through the bad drafting for years, in fact it was so bad that for a number of years they had no AHL affiliate because they lacked legitimate prospects to stock the team. That began to change under the "Cowboys" ( a term John Tortorella coined to describe Oren Koule and Len Barrie ) who drafted very well under Jim Hammett and which has continued under Steve Yzerman and Daryl Plandowski.
- Don in St. Pete

Don,

We were probably t some of same games at the Old Barn in 69-70

Since many of us are still in a reading frenzy for tomorrow's opener...there's a really good read on the Committed Indian regarding the Hawk front office/coaching situation. Some of it reinforces my own beliefs and has also been said here by JJ and others. I think it's spot on--except for my differing opinion on the value of Bollig to the team.

http://thecommittedindian...-over-his-head/#more-1968

Here's the funny thing about the Hogs game. They were using defenseman Shawn Lalonde to take defensive zone faceoffs. Hadn't heard any recent history of something like that. Maybe he's the next shutdown center for the Hawks...
- grinder10

Nice spot...i missed the first two frames.

Nice spot...i missed the first two frames.
- philco28

I simply follow tweets from Kim Wrona, Chris Block and a few others for my Hogs game fixes.

SPRINT!!!!!!!!
- mrpaulish

48 games in 99 days = a ridiculous sprint

I simply follow tweets from Kim Wrona, Chris Block and a few others for my Hogs game fixes.
- grinder10

Gotta love Twitter...it's the brushfire equivalent of the internet age.

48 games in 99 days = a ridiculous sprint
- bogiedoc

Physios and team doctors will be working o/t....looks like a sure thing.