I don't care how good he is. There has to be some adjustment to the North American game and I don't know that you burn a year of his ELC to experiment unless massively desperate.

Pretty piss poor planning and a massive gamble if that is their plan.
- fattybeef

How long was Krueger's adjustment period? I'll wait.....

While I'm waiting, I will point out that they don't burn a year of his ELC if they use him nine games or less this year. So there's that....

Not sure you've got one correct statement here; seems like piss poor planning...

How long was Krueger's adjustment period? I'll wait.....

While I'm waiting, I will point out that they don't burn a year of his ELC if they use him nine games or less this year. So there's that....

Not sure you've got one correct statement here; seems like piss poor planning...
- mohel

Good point on the highlighted.

I don't disagree with you on this. With last nights tweets about Teravainen after the Pirri trade, it sounds like Bowman might be desperate enough to try him there.
- EKolb13

And the downside is.....what?

we've scored 3+ goals 39 times this season.......took me 2 minutes to find this out.

They are not streaky......
- UnnamedSource

Did you eliminate the couple of games where the 3rd goal was a SO winner?

Those shouldn't count.

How have they slipped? If you want to make that argument you would have to ignore the fact the penalty kill hasn't improved over the span of this season and at this point may be equal to what it was during last season.......they definitely have gotten better and have not slipped since the first quarter of the season. Last seasons struggling power play is 3rd in the NHL....definitely not slipped. You could also argue Face offs have improved due to Krugmans improvement.......Does St Louis have our number in the regular season...yes. However as you know the playoffs are a different animal. The biggest hurdle the hawks have is themselves....the motivation aspect of the game and hopefully that will dissipate in the post season. The Hawks still have the deepest team in the Conference.....
- UnnamedSource

And you probably thought everything would be wine and cheese once we didn't have 37 to talk about....

Did you eliminate the couple of games where the 3rd goal was a SO winner?

Those shouldn't count.
- StLBravesFan

Without the SO they have 36 games of three or more goals. And those very steady Blues have....wait for it.....36 games of three or more goals. They do have two fewer games.

How long was Krueger's adjustment period? I'll wait.....

While I'm waiting, I will point out that they don't burn a year of his ELC if they use him nine games or less this year. So there's that....

Not sure you've got one correct statement here; seems like piss poor planning...
- mohel

Kruger was not expected to be a 2C immediately (and 2C for Kane) - TT is.

Best post in a while.

Not only could one argue the Hawks have not gotten better, you could easily argue they have slipped.

Now it is all about health and the draw they get in the post-season. In the end, the road to the WCF goes through STL - who is a much better team than last year - especially in the areas the Hawks are weaker in: board play, faceoffs, and special teams.

The question is, since the Hawks have not found a way to beat STL in the regular season this year, that STL is now better than before the TDL, and the Hawks are not better than before the TDL, are they content and think they can prevail in a series against the Blues.
- Return of the Roar

Good question. I guess it comes down to whether you believe that the Blackhawks have that proverbial "2nd gear", and that when they use it they are still a whole level above the other teams in the league. I think some fans here believe this and some don't.

I'm sort of in the middle. I believe they will be a better team in the playoffs, and that— as defending Cup champs— their playoff intensity bump is likely to be greater than that of the other challenging teams in the West. Let's face it, there have been a number of games this season where the Hawks have sleep-skated while the other teams are gunning for them at 110%. This won't be the case come postseason. I certainly believe the absence of the abominable shootout will be a factor in our team's favor, too.

On the other hand, I agree that the Hawks are not better this year than last, are in truth just a little bit worse (the Rat and Fro/PK factors mainly), and that other teams have narrowed any gap. When you consider that we were but one clang off the post from not getting out of Detroit last year, I think you really have to see the Hawks as just another contending team. There's a chance to repeat, maybe a great chance. But it's just a chance. I don't feel that "team of destiny" vibe this year.

I forgot about Boll. Good point.
- EKolb13

Boll helped reset the market but he was considered a little more than a goon at the time. He was wearing an A or a C back then.

The deal that reset the market was Patrick Bordelaux in Colorado. First year out of the minors and he gets 3 years at $1m per year. Reaves may be a better skater than Bordelaux and Hitch loves him some goons.

New one up!!!

And the downside is.....what?
- mohel

The main downside is if (don't know how big an if) he totally screws the pooch and blows his confidence for two years.

I have no idea how fragile he is, but in his whole career he has probably never failed at anything hockey. If he comes over and fails - and all NHLers fail at some point - without learning how to fail (and then get out of it) at Rockford - does that affect his future?

Kruger was not expected to be a 2C immediately (and 2C for Kane) - TT is.
- StLBravesFan

His statement was that there MUST be an adjustment period to NA ice; this is not true. The question to ask for TT is whether he increases their chances of winning the Cup - or in other words, is he a better option at 2C than Regin or Zues. If he is, he should be here. If not, he shouldn't. They can play him 8 games and try to make a determination.

I agree that the PK has improved within the scope of this season, but it is still nowhere near the level of effectiveness it was last year. Overall team defense is far worse than last year - GA tells the story.

I dont think they are a bad team. In fact they are a good team. But they are NOT the team they were last year, while the competition has improved.

STL with even more grit and FO dot talent combined with better goaltending is a team that has been built to go for the weaknesses of the Hawks. Weaknesses that they have not yet fully addressed, let alone fixed or made better.

Not sayin' they suck - just sayin' it's going to be a VERY hard road for the Hawks past round one.
- Return of the Roar

I agree with a few of your points however the GA is a bit skewed because of the struggles on the pk in the beginning of the year and I think the effectiveness has improved and become pretty close to what it was last year....because the PK was dominant from game one on it's hard to compare but the numbers are close.....I think the Hawks are just as good as they were last year...VSTEEG is an improvement over Stalberg...team defense is intact.....Bickel has been hurt but seems to be getting better...Krugman FO is much better....4th lines is just as good.....what is the one thing that makes us sometimes feel they are not as good???? Sometimes it seems they lack interest.....their biggest enemy is themselves.

The main downside is if (don't know how big an if) he totally screws the pooch and blows his confidence for two years.

I have no idea how fragile he is, but in his whole career he has probably never failed at anything hockey. If he comes over and fails - and all NHLers fail at some point - without learning how to fail (and then get out of it) at Rockford - does that affect his future?
- StLBravesFan

If this happens, I doubt he would have ever been very good.

Did you eliminate the couple of games where the 3rd goal was a SO winner?

Those shouldn't count.
- StLBravesFan

Why?

Good question. I guess it comes down to whether you believe that the Blackhawks have that proverbial "2nd gear", and that when they use it they are still a whole level above the other teams in the league. I think some fans here believe this and some don't.

I'm sort of in the middle. I believe they will be a better team in the playoffs, and that— as defending Cup champs— their playoff intensity bump is likely to be greater than that of the other challenging teams in the West. Let's face it, there have been a number of games this season where the Hawks have sleep-skated while the other teams are gunning for them at 110%. This won't be the case come postseason. I certainly believe the absence of the abominable shootout will be a factor in our team's favor, too.

On the other hand, I agree that the Hawks are not better this year than last, are in truth just a little bit worse (the Rat and Fro/PK factors mainly), and that other teams have narrowed any gap. When you consider that we were but one clang off the post from not getting out of Detroit last year, I think you really have to see the Hawks as just another contending team. There's a chance to repeat, maybe a great chance. But it's just a chance. I don't feel that "team of destiny" vibe this year.
- Tugboat

Of course they're "just another contending team" - that's what they were last year - easily could have lost to Detroit, easily could have lost to Boston.

Easily could lose the Colorado, St. Louis, Anaheim, SJ this year.

But - could also beat them.

This is the NHL, not the NBA - no locks to the finals.

Boll helped reset the market but he was considered a little more than a goon at the time. He was wearing an A or a C back then.

The deal that reset the market was Patrick Bordelaux in Colorado. First year out of the minors and he gets 3 years at $1m per year. Reaves may be a better skater than Bordelaux and Hitch loves him some goons.

I think Bollig is gone next year if he wants Reaves money.
- steelhead

I didn't even think about this guy. Thanks for pointing that out.

As for Bollig, he got a 3 year extension rumored to be worth $1.25 million per.

http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=707332&navid=DL|CHI|home

If this happens, I doubt he would have ever been very good.
- mohel

Players need to learn how to fail - and how to get out of it themselves. They can't learn that in the Show - whether it's baseball or hockey.

Has TT ever failed at anything hockey in all of his years (what is he, 19?)?

Plus - if he plays 8 games - you then have no room next year to try him for a couple of games under less NHL pressure (the beginning of a season, as opposed to an end of season run for the play-offs) before you lose a year of control.

Why?
- UnnamedSource

Because they're not real goals in the course of play.

Because they're not real goals in the course of play.
- StLBravesFan

Agreed.

New Blog up!!!

Because they're not real goals in the course of play.
- StLBravesFan

Ahh....I misread it......subtract 4 games....still not streaky.

Ahh....I misread it......subtract 4 games....still not streaky.
- UnnamedSource

Still - a lot of games in the low-scoring category - about 40%.

Same as most of the rest of the league, I would expect, but will probably be a much higher percentage in the play-offs.

Hossa out 2 to 3 weeks. Does this mean more Brookbank?

This one is #1717.
- StLBravesFan

Its a sign, Kesler is coming to the Hawks