Cumiskey is still here.
- EKolb13

Not sure about your thoughts on him Eli, but I thought he looked really bad and really good on the same shift in the RFD games I saw earlier in the year. Think he was maybe just getting accustomed to the smaller ice again.

His NHL game really screams Q - smaller, great skater, good first pass... plus has been with Q in a past life. I'm sure if the contract situation were different, he'd be up instead of Rundblad. His speed would offset Timonen/Rozy right now and heck could maybe even help push the puck on the PP with the issues their having.

I'm not calling him a savior by any means, but his skill-set seems better suited on their horrendous D depth at the moment.

Why is it a game-length issue? Doesn't take much time to call a penalty and 2 minutes of game time is 2 minutes of game time.
- StLBravesFan

I'm with you. I have always wondered why game length is an issue. Isn't it also more commercial time? But it always seems to come up as an issue or topic discussed in the broadcast deals - MLB, NFL, and NHL. It apparently was something discussed with NBC but the anti-interference initiative came after that.... As I indicated though in my post it is really just a guess. No idea why they stopped the whole initiative - it was opening things up. Long term it probably would have sped up the games after teams adjusted. It seemed to happen after Walkom came in and the new Canadian deal was signed - only reason for my guess.

Cumiskey is still here.
- EKolb13

Hey Eli, what have the top pairings been in Rockford since Brennan was traded and while they have been waiting for TVR?

Not sure about your thoughts on him Eli, but I thought he looked really bad and really good on the same shift in the RFD games I saw earlier in the year. Think he was maybe just getting accustomed to the smaller ice again.

His NHL game really screams Q - smaller, great skater, good first pass... plus has been with Q in a past life. I'm sure if the contract situation were different, he'd be up instead of Rundblad. His speed would offset Timonen/Rozy right now and heck could maybe even help push the puck on the PP with the issues their having.

I'm not calling him a savior by any means, but his skill-set seems better suited on their horrendous D depth at the moment.
- TyCamScore

I believe that getting re-acclimated to the North American rink is part of it, but your observation of him earlier in the season is spot on. He's tightened his play up as the season has progressed, with less mistakes, and there has been a real difference since he last came back from his stint in Chicago. With that said, he still has a tendency to look both good and bad on the same shift. Cumiskey has a tendency to get over-creative with the puck, and that gets him into trouble.

Hey Eli, what have the top pairings been in Rockford since Brennan was traded and while they have been waiting for TVR?
- tredbrta

They had Johns stuck with Gotovets this weekend. As far as I'm concerned, Gotovets can Goto-wherever the hell he came from. That poor kid gets rag-dolled in every physical situation, and is pretty useless in everything else he tries to do. Just by watching, Johns was pretty frustrated during Saturday night's game against Grand Rapids. So much so that he was trying to cover for both of them on every shift.

Pokka and Fournier were together last weekend. Fournier has looked much better since being re-called from Indy. Both of those kids are pretty mobile. I'd like to see more of both of them, but there are concerns as to how they are defensively.

Miskovic and Cumiskey made up the final paring for last weekend. A couple of minor league vets who have their moments of solid play mixed with some mistakes.

I'm hoping that TvR replaces Gotovets this coming weekend, and Dent shuffles some of the parings.

If Richards is a power play 'specialist' I guess my understanding of the word specialist is skewed. He adds zero to this PP, which in fairness to him is comprised of a whole bunch of zeroes who accomplish nothing with a man advantage.

Never scoring on the PP and usually giving up the first goal of a game puts even more pressure on the defensive group to not make any mistakes which is totally unachievable when Q has to trot Rundblad and Rosy out there every night. And shots on goal - preventing them isn't the exclusive domain of the defenceman, plenty of the Hawk forwards make egregious turnover mistakes out there between both bluelines.
- RickJ

I think it's a combination of a bunch of things.

5 on 5 they aren't very good to the naked eye. THey were outskated and dominated for large portions of play Sunday. Outside of the top 2 lines, the other 2 lines don't seem to have sustained zone time. They don't have a lot of guys willing to pay the price RIGHT now to score the goals that you need come playoff time. A reason why I think you saw Q go hard on them during practice on Saturday.

The pp sucks. Lets just be blunt. I hate watching it. It drives me nuts. nobody is on the same page. You have guys trying to do it themselves, clear. You had NYR basically waiting for Keith to make his asinine drop pass and they damn near scored a shortie with sustained pressure. You have zero movement. You have zero want by a lot of these guys to retrieve the puck on missed shots or recycles throughout the zone. IT's a disaster.

I do agree some Hawks forwards make some bad turnovers, but so do the D. Keith, Runblad, Rozy have been turnover machines as of late. Teams are forechecking hard and the Hawks are having a difficult time exiting the zone. They also refuse to get off the long stretch pass which teams continue to sit on when they get up on the Hawks because they know the Hawks have a hard time grinding out goals.

All of this are huge red flags for me as the playoffs inch closer. That's before we talk about the direction the league is going towards with the mucked up 2004 style of play.

They had Johns stuck with Gotovets this weekend. As far as I'm concerned, Gotovets can Goto-wherever the hell he came from. That poor kid gets rag-dolled in every physical situation, and is pretty useless in everything else he tries to do. Just by watching, Johns was pretty frustrated during Saturday night's game against Grand Rapids. So much so that he was trying to cover for both of them on every shift.

Pokka and Fournier were together last weekend. Fournier has looked much better since being re-called from Indy. Both of those kids are pretty mobile. I'd like to see more of both of them, but there are concerns as to how they are defensively.

Miskovic and Cumiskey made up the final paring for last weekend. A couple of minor league vets who have their moments of solid play mixed with some mistakes.

I'm hoping that TvR replaces Gotovets this coming weekend, and Dent shuffles some of the parings.
- EKolb13

Thanks. TVR and Johns maybe - pairing of the future here as well. Gotovets signing sort of confused me. Russian, did nothing in college really. Not a combination this FO usually goes for....

I'm with you. I have always wondered why game length is an issue. Isn't it also more commercial time? But it always seems to come up as an issue or topic discussed in the broadcast deals - MLB, NFL, and NHL. It apparently was something discussed with NBC but the anti-interference initiative came after that.... As I indicated though in my post it is really just a guess. No idea why they stopped the whole initiative - it was opening things up. Long term it probably would have sped up the games after teams adjusted. It seemed to happen after Walkom came in and the new Canadian deal was signed - only reason for my guess.
- tredbrta

The NHL has no consistency with it's officials. that's a major part of the problem.

LA I get....however, the Hawks can easily do the same thing. Seabrook and Rozsival could easily hold up ensuing forecheckers into the zone.

I don't know.....hard for me to say what the reasoning is. hawks need to adjust though. I am a Toews fan, but he's been crying a LOT this year when he feels he's being interfered with.

Thanks. TVR and Johns maybe - pairing of the future here as well.
- tredbrta

I'm imagining that TvR would pair with Hjalmarsson next season. As for Johns, I figure that he will be in the mix for the 3rd paring next season.

Gotovets signing sort of confused me. Russian, did nothing in college really. Not a combination this FO usually goes for....
- tredbrta

Gotovets is from Belerus. He's the kid Bowman got back in the Paradis trade with Tampa Bay.

He's on an AHL deal, if I'm not mistaken. If that's the case, I wouldn't expect him back next season.

Gotovets is from Belerus. He's the kid Bowman got back in the Paradis trade with Tampa Bay.

He's on an AHL deal, if I'm not mistaken. If that's the case, I wouldn't expect him back next season.
- EKolb13

I met him in the summer, real nice kid.

He went to Cornell with a friend of mine. It's interesting to hear he's getting rag-dolled in the AHL because my buddy said he was always the strongest on their team. He's not tall, but very well built.

With that said, sounds like you're right, not much of a pro future for poor Kirill.

Scotty Bowman complained about it during the WCF final last year and I have heard/seen nothing else. I agree they should be lobbying for a return of the interference initiative. Maybe they are but not publicly? The lack of a public discussion makes me think it was scratched over game length and the teams that want it are basically being told "we needed it for the new TV deals - tough"... Obviously, no way to know but it is a problem.

People can talk about good teams playing both ways. That is not the point. The trend influences the game one way. It is easier to play the obstruction game, easier to draft those players, cheaper to pay those players since so many can do it. If it doesn't reverse then the Hawks will need to adjust their style and probably bring in more size - particularly on defense.
- tredbrta

This. I for one, will not be watching more hockey if the trend continues.

The most obvious difference between the Hawks and Rangers to me was that the Hawks struggled big time to keep up with the Rangers. They can really skate and we don't look nearly as fast as we used to be. Cannot beat the top teams in this league being slow anymore.
- ChicagoHope

Completely disagree. It was a fast game from both teams, Hawks had the puck more and put more total shots towards the net, the Rangers had more SOG. Both teams did a good job clamping down/getting a stick in on the others more promising looking scoring chances(up until the Hawks poor coverage on the OT winner of course). Both teams showed periods of cycling and dominance in the others end, there was no noticeable gap in speed, certainly nothing "obvious". The reason the Hawks didnt stand out head and shoulders as the faster team(like we're accustomed to) is because the Rangers happen to be IMO the fastest team in the NHL not named the Hawks, from line 1 to line 4, up and down all 3 blue line pairs. It was almost dead even. I didnt notice either side with "faster legs" for more than small stretches that were traded back and forth. Rags owned 1st. Hawks owned 2nd. 3rd was rather even. Oh and btw we didnt even have Oduya or Kane in the lineup, 2 very important VERY fast skaters at their respective positions.

I met him in the summer, real nice kid.

He went to Cornell with a friend of mine. It's interesting to hear he's getting rag-dolled in the AHL because my buddy said he was always the strongest on their team. He's not tall, but very well built.

With that said, sounds like you're right, not much of a pro future for poor Kirill.
- TyCamScore

My feeling is that Gotovets' game fits better on a more open ice surface, or the "A" is a little too advanced for him. Probably a bit of both.

The only way Stan could trade Campbell was by taking another bad contract back, he doesn't have that luxury this time around. Bickell is the obvious choice to go first during the next salary cap purge, but I don't see too many (if any) teams lining up for Bickell.
- DarthKane

Uncle Dale will take him and put him out there with Hayes.

If Richards is a power play 'specialist' I guess my understanding of the word specialist is skewed. He adds zero to this PP, which in fairness to him is comprised of a whole bunch of zeroes who accomplish nothing with a man advantage.

Never scoring on the PP and usually giving up the first goal of a game puts even more pressure on the defensive group to not make any mistakes which is totally unachievable when Q has to trot Rundblad and Rosy out there every night. And shots on goal - preventing them isn't the exclusive domain of the defenceman, plenty of the Hawk forwards make egregious turnover mistakes out there between both bluelines.
- RickJ

Power play has been a struggle for this group more than it has been a success. Since 08-09 they've had two top ten finishes there which is inexcusable for the amount of talent they have. Kane + Toews alone should be good enough for top 10 every year.

Something is very wrong system wise, especially when you have players like Hossa or Richards now who were powerplay monsters before coming to Chicago. Even on the Rangers Richards put up decent pp#s. It isn't like they magically forgot how to play with the man advantage.

However the PK is tremendous so wuddyagonnado.

I would take a strong PK over a strong PP. But I wish the PP was somewhat decent, even if they aren't scoring as long as they are In the offensive zone and generating opportunities I'm ok with that.

Sunday they could barely enter the zone.... I think their last PP generated a few shots though

Yes, i agree we need to start scoring more, looking for gritty goals rather than the pretty passing plays(and we will), and we need to cut back on our SA(though its nothing outrageously bad, and our goaltending and GA have both been great all year).....

But ill say again what i said last night......we just went toe to toe last night against the best team in the East(arguably the entire league), took them to OT, won the possession battle, had a good amount of chances of our own, so on so forth.....with:

No Oduya
No TVR
No Bickell
A rusty KT
A rusty Vermette
A makeshift lineup with random new line combos and no chemistry
Our best player being a rookie
And, oh, btw, no PATRICK FREAKIN' KANE!

......id say Hawks fans should feel pretty encouraged about that effort last night all things considered. I think this team finds a bit more scoring touch, keeps up the great puck possession, PK, GA, and goal diff that we've seen all year, starts limiting shots by just a hair(especially when the D is in tact) and will have more than enough to get to the point where Kane returns in the playoffs.


- SimpleJack

This fan sure isn't.

This fan sure isn't.
- camfor

What are your expectations against one of the top 2-3 teams in the league when you're down Kane(arguably teams best player/co-best player), Oduya, Bickell, TVR, and working in new line combos with new/rusty players and no chemistry, not to mention your teams best player on the night being a rookie? We played them toe to toe and took them to OT, under those circumstances i just listed if you're disappointed or still wanting more then you are simply overreacting/holding too high of expectations.

I would take a strong PK over a strong PP. But I wish the PP was somewhat decent, even if they aren't scoring as long as they are In the offensive zone and generating opportunities I'm ok with that.

Sunday they could barely enter the zone.... I think their last PP generated a few shots though
- ehawk

Unfortunately their PK has been awful lately too. I think they're 23rd or something since Jan 1. Not sure how they're still as high as they are in the rankings.

Thanks. TVR and Johns maybe - pairing of the future here as well. Gotovets signing sort of confused me. Russian, did nothing in college really. Not a combination this FO usually goes for....
- tredbrta

Not Russian. From Belarus. Two different countries.

Unfortunately their PK has been awful lately too. I think they're 23rd or something since Jan 1. Not sure how they're still as high as they are in the rankings.
- TyCamScore

Yep - I show 53 for 67 = 79.1% for the 29 games since 1/1/15 - not stellar.

John Jaeckel: Re-arranging Deck Chairs Versus Changing Course
- John Jaeckel

Great Blog JJ, just don't agree with you on Carcillo. He had a few good games in November I believe, but now think he brings nothing to this team. If he did, there would have been no reason to trade Ben Smith for Desjardins. At least Smith had some offensive abilities and now those are gone for the grindy type in Desjardins.
IMO, there's little to no reason why Carcillo is needed on this team any longer.

What are your expectations against one of the top 2-3 teams in the league when you're down Kane(arguably teams best player/co-best player), Oduya, Bickell, TVR, and working in new line combos with new/rusty players and no chemistry, not to mention your teams best player on the night being a rookie? We played them toe to toe and took them to OT, under those circumstances i just listed if you're disappointed or still wanting more then you are simply overreacting/holding too high of expectations.
- SimpleJack

One goal is to lofty of an expectation?
Also one of your other posts said you thought the two teams were pretty even speed wise. The Rangers were the much faster/engaged team then the Hawks. One reason, And one reason only that we took them to OT. And his Name is Crawford.
If you were encouraged by that effort/ display against the Rangers. Then i think you will really enjoy next year!
I'm not saying that they cant get it together for the playoffs, But they are not engaged(is the best word i can come up with) right now.

Power play has been a struggle for this group more than it has been a success. Since 08-09 they've had two top ten finishes there which is inexcusable for the amount of talent they have. Kane + Toews alone should be good enough for top 10 every year.

Something is very wrong system wise, especially when you have players like Hossa or Richards now who were powerplay monsters before coming to Chicago. Even on the Rangers Richards put up decent pp#s. It isn't like they magically forgot how to play with the man advantage.

However the PK is tremendous so wuddyagonnado.
- fattybeef

I think one PP weakness lies at the points. Keith rarely gets his shot through. Sharp and Richards have no business playing the point, either. I think Q only plays those two there because he has too many forwards whom he believes are PP worthy. Seabrook can certainly shoot it, but sometimes he makes the wrong decisions when the puck looks like it's going to get away from him. Rundblad can, too, but he struggles with puck handling. I can only hope Timonen provides some answers, because at D they don't really have too many options otherwise.

The other problem is net presence, or lack thereof. Shaw looked like the guy for the job for awhile, but he has been invisible lately. Bicks is not going to be that guy, either. I can't believe they don't have anybody who can play this role on a regular basis.