i just think firing their head coach who has won them 3 cups and helped transcend the organization would be a knee jerk reaction type of decision. the hawks losing, let alone getting swept, is not ideal. but he can also only coach the players that he is being given. did the hawks roster underachieve with their performance this postseason? ABSOLUTELY. but blowing up the entire roster, or firing the entire coaching staff I feel would be a little much.

i would say if this happens again next year, then let go of Q and bring in somebody different. but this is the first time the Hawks have looked this bad in a LONG time.
- frafra

It's a little early to be firing Q. He's gone 2 seasons without a cup and 2 first round outs in a row before and came back with another cup. See how he gets the team to respond. My personal inkling is that it got a bit too relaxed in the locker room from top to bottom and that's how they got stunned. Someone mentioned "country club atmosphere" earlier. I think that's got a lot to do with it.

I am totally fine looking at moving Panarin, but what he'd return, while probably significant, would likely be nothing more than prospects. Why would someone trade us a Top 6 center for him? That's equal value moreless. If you move Panarin it's to retool the pipeline and open up some salary. Not sure I see an avenue here for Bowman to take, but I think they will make some difficult decisions this year.
- kwolf68

Fun trade:
Panatin to STL for Parayko / Schmaltz.

Really?
Whole (frank)ing team appears to have quit on him (and on each other) during the most important time of the year.

It's not just another 1st round out.
It's a 1st round out in DRAMATIC (read: without a whimper) fashion.

Did you see ANY pushback?
Any heart?
Any desire?

We're talking about a club with Toews, Kane, Hossa, Panarin, Keith, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson, Crawford. Those 8 guys alone I would expect to put up a fight and at least make it a series.

Now if you want to talk about putting up a fight in a 4 game sweep, go back to the WCF with the Sharks when we beat them 4 straight. When that was over, as a fan it felt as if we were in a dogfight. And even down to the close-out game, it seemed the Sharks could come back and win at least a few games.

Huge chasm between losing in 4 and being in it. And losing in 4 like whipped dogs from the beginning. And have our coach do the same things over-and-over-and-over without success. Lavy took Q to the woodshed. The rest of the team followed suit.
- savvyone-1

Don't disagree but on top of firing Q you have to peel back the layers to find out what is going on that room this past year. There has to be some major disconnection somewhere between player to player as all these guys spoke a big game to beat guys, but very few, if any, showed up.

I think on top of Q you have to look at your leadership of core guys and figure out what the hell is going on...........

get your point. at some point though I feel you have to tip your cap to the preds because they came out flying and just wanted it more. the first time in nine years the hawks have been swept. it sucks, but I feel it was a group who outmatched the hawks everywhere on ice. the hawks could not generate anything really- and that was because of the system nashville put in place to clog the ice and prevent the hawks from doing what the hawks love to do. the hawks didn't and don't have the personnel to beat that type of system. getting swept could be a blessing in disguise moving forward for this organization.
- frafra

If this is the case then your HOF bound head coach needs to adjust and find a way to beat the "system that nashville put in place".

Very curious as to why you are religiously hanging out here?

And salary paid vs AAV are 2 different animals, chief. Think Rocky Wirtz wants to get rid of that nice 1 million pay day on Hossa's 5.275 AAV deal in the next few years IF Hossa is still a formidable 3rd line player? NO chance.

Good luck vs STL.....you are giving Dshiddy a run for his money.
- SteveRain

everybody just needs to ignore him. the more we respond, the more likely he will to continue. the preds are having their turn under the spot light. it's okay. no need to make hill billy jokes or anything else that is degrading for that matter.

let pred fans and this guy enjoy talking. the hawks will be back.

what about moving panarin???
- frafra

That is a tricky thing there. This is year 1 coming up in his new deal. If you trade him now, does that send a bad message to any possible FA that may sign here? Is there still an out that allows him to go back to the KHL if he decides that? Yes he would fetch a good return. Would love a power winger in the return. 72 has legit skill, but damn he wanted nothing to do with the dirty work come playoff time. That has been a knock on Russian players in the past.

How did Kero's FO numbers compare to the rest of the C on the team? Anyone have that info?

Firing Kitch? Hmmmm. That will show him Stan. Geezus. Is this Stan showing Q who runs the show? How bout telling Q that Barry Smith will be the new AC and he will run your power play. Lets see open Q is to new ideas. The AC thing is BS. Everything starts and stops with Q.

If I'm Hawks ownership, I talk with Hossa and Toews very quietly and get the vibe for the team/HC relationship. Hossa especially.

I have no doubt that many guys were fighting through injuries. That is playoff hockey. But the Hawks looked totally unplugged. There was no fire in them at all. That goes beyond injuries. That was a team simply going through the motions. Q is a HOF HC. Yes I get that. Watching NHL Network last night they talked about Sutter being moved out in LA. Saying it was time for a change. Think we need that here.
- z1990z

I get what you're saying and I think you're right that Q has the final say with his lineups, strategies, etc. but I would like to add that a great AC can make a huge difference, especially with spending time working with and teaching the younger wave of Hawks.

Heck, even the older core might be able to learn a few new tricks from a fresh perspective of an AC that Q may or may not be open too.

If this is the case then your HOF bound head coach needs to adjust and find a way to beat the "system that nashville put in place".
- TheTrob

i agree. but nothing that the hawks did worked. it brings me back to the logic of the hawks did not have the horses in the stable to beat this system. i have never seen this group get dominated that badly. nashville played them perfectly and made them uncomfortable all over the ice.

the hawks need to get bigger up front and add more speed. need more guys who can play in the corners and along the boards.

Are you suggesting that they didn't play well and ended up losing because there is a division between players and Q?
- Hank3Henshaw

Don't know - all I can do (and others too) is read the tea-leaves for what they are.
This is nothing against the Preds, they played a fine series as I expected and Lavy coached the living daylights out of those guys, they were all ready.

I can only infer from my own real-life experiences.
We have 8 world-class players on our team.
We were NOT playing some international all-star team that had 16 all-world players and only had 8.

Again, it wasn't 1 game. It was 4.
Results and what we saw spoke volumes.
They quit on Q and each other. There is no other way to sugarcoat it.
This wasn't a question of having a team of all AHL'ers and going further than thought possible.

There is more than Q's coaching philosophy wrong.
Which is why I commented they quit on each other.

Fun trade:
Panatin to STL for Parayko / Schmaltz.
- stan-ley-cups

Yes, since we don't even have that guy on our roster.....




I mentioned this on the Mtl board (since we are doing fun trades)

Panarin & Crow for Price and Plekanec

That is a tricky thing there. This is year 1 coming up in his new deal. If you trade him now, does that send a bad message to any possible FA that may sign here? Is there still an out that allows him to go back to the KHL if he decides that? Yes he would fetch a good return. Would love a power winger in the return. 72 has legit skill, but damn he wanted nothing to do with the dirty work come playoff time. That has been a knock on Russian players in the past.

How did Kero's FO numbers compare to the rest of the C on the team? Anyone have that info?
- z1990z

Kero and Toews were the only 50%+ guys in the playoffs. 44% regular season, 59% playoffs (23-16)

Yes, since we don't even have that guy on our roster.....




I mentioned this on the Mtl board (since we are doing fun trades)

Panarin & Crow for Price and Plekanec
- powerenforcer

Price is UFA after next season. Could allow Darling to take over if he stayed.

That is a tricky thing there. This is year 1 coming up in his new deal. If you trade him now, does that send a bad message to any possible FA that may sign here? Is there still an out that allows him to go back to the KHL if he decides that? Yes he would fetch a good return. Would love a power winger in the return. 72 has legit skill, but damn he wanted nothing to do with the dirty work come playoff time. That has been a knock on Russian players in the past.

How did Kero's FO numbers compare to the rest of the C on the team? Anyone have that info?
- z1990z

at this point, the hawks FO imo needs to make whatever move possible to improve the quality of production on the ice. would losing panarin hurt from a points perspective? absolutely. would dropping his $6M/year contract open up more cap space and bring in a return of quality players, absolutely. the hawks won 3 cups without panarin.

also, two years from now when Panarin is a free agent again, who says he will remain loyal to the hawks? if the Hawks can't pay him then, who is to say he wouldn't leave town for a HUGE pay day?

Yes, since we don't even have that guy on our roster.....




I mentioned this on the Mtl board (since we are doing fun trades)

Panarin & Crow for Price and Plekanec
- powerenforcer

Jordan Schmaltz

There is more than Q's coaching philosophy wrong.
Which is why I commented they quit on each other.
- savvyone-1

you're on to something here... this offseason (across the league) will be very interesting with Vegas, Carey Price, other players in play... I'm really curious to see what happens. There are still moves to be made for a few teams to get entry draft compliant yet (i believe).

Price is UFA after next season. Could allow Darling to take over if he stayed.
- JRoenick97

1 more year.......
Edit - responded before you fixed it - never mind

Don't disagree but on top of firing Q you have to peel back the layers to find out what is going on that room this past year. There has to be some major disconnection somewhere between player to player as all these guys spoke a big game to beat guys, but very few, if any, showed up.

I think on top of Q you have to look at your leadership of core guys and figure out what the hell is going on...........
- SteveRain

I mean, do you know for a fact there are issues?

I feel like everyone is looking for some outside reason as to why the Hawks got bounced. LIke, it couldn't be that they didn't show up and got out=played. There has to be some sort of other factor.

I'm not sold on that.

Feels sort of like an excuse to me.

Sometimes you just run out of gas or don't match up well.

I'm sure there's ups and downs in locker rooms all the time--these are grown men who are very competitive and there's pride and millions of dollars on the line. Of course there will be guys bumping heads.

I just think everyone looks for something/someone to blame.

"Oh, they didn't win? Time to fire the coach!"

"I heard that there's been locker room issues."

I mean, you can make an argument for that stuff, but there's also been dysfunctional teams who have gone out and succeeded.

I just think the Preds were playing more of a playoff tempo and the Hawks were going through the motions and ended up paying for it.

It's a little early to be firing Q. He's gone 2 seasons without a cup and 2 first round outs in a row before and came back with another cup. See how he gets the team to respond. My personal inkling is that it got a bit too relaxed in the locker room from top to bottom and that's how they got stunned. Someone mentioned "country club atmosphere" earlier. I think that's got a lot to do with it.
- JRoenick97

I fault Q for letting the guys take the last week of the regular season off. They looked like crap in those games and looked like more crap in the playoffs. Backing in to the POs, don't get injured, get some rest? See how that worked out- total humiliation.

I fault Q for letting the guys take the last week of the regular season off. They looked like crap in those games and looked like more crap in the playoffs. Backing in to the POs, don't get injured, get some rest? See how that worked out- total humiliation.
- Kewl1

At some point, players need to take responsibility, too.

Everyone blames the coach because it's easy.

I agree for the most part but the truth is you have to cut salary and take little on thanks to overages and Panarin's jump in AAV in 2017-18. That's all before you even to get to RFAs.

For those same reasons you pointed out on Toews, Kane, Hossa, Keith, Hammer, Seabrook, Panarin, is why I keep looking at Crawford, Kruger, TVR, Hartman guys who have legit value who could fetch something in return.

To somebody else's point of how does trading Hartman or TVR get you younger, well it truly doesn't but assuming they do get something back of value, those are ideally the pieces that HAVE value in the present.

I know some guys are high on Kempny I am not sold on him yet....he has a nice shot but at times he was a dumpster fire in his own end

It'll be fascinating to see how this all plays out.
- SteveRain

The problems the Hawks run into now is the high expectations of an organization and fan base that expect to go deep in the playoffs each year vs. the reality of growing/developing a young defenseman. Anybody remember the dumpster fires that Keith and Seabrook were at the beginning of their careers? Expectations are a lot different on a team questionable to make the playoffs vs. one expected to compete for the Cup.

Defense in the NHL is the longest learning curve, and on top of that is one where even little mistakes are the most exposed. Plenty of top draft choices at D that struggle their first few years. Guys like Seth Jones, Noah Hanifan, etc. who are still trying to figure out play in their own end.

I don't think the Hawks are ready to go into full re-tool mode. That means they are not dumping contracts for picks/prospects unless necessary to free cap. Crawford could go for a pick, solely to generate cap space. Kruger can go because he is replaceable at a lower cap hit. Seabrook goes only if you are getting back talent with high ceilings, not just to move cap. Moving Hartman gives no cap relief, so if he is moved it is part of a package or for picks/prospects with the potential to be better than him.

Very curious as to why you are religiously hanging out here?

And salary paid vs AAV are 2 different animals, chief. Think Rocky Wirtz wants to get rid of that nice 1 million pay day on Hossa's 5.275 AAV deal in the next few years IF Hossa is still a formidable 3rd line player? NO chance.

Good luck vs STL.....you are giving Dshiddy a run for his money.
- SteveRain

Maybe he is Dshiddy aka Scooby Do.

The problems the Hawks run into now is the high expectations of an organization and fan base that expect to go deep in the playoffs each year vs. the reality of growing/developing a young defenseman. Anybody remember the dumpster fires that Keith and Seabrook were at the beginning of their careers? Expectations are a lot different on a team questionable to make the playoffs vs. one expected to compete for the Cup.

Defense in the NHL is the longest learning curve, and on top of that is one where even little mistakes are the most exposed. Plenty of top draft choices at D that struggle their first few years. Guys like Seth Jones, Noah Hanifan, etc. who are still trying to figure out play in their own end.

I don't think the Hawks are ready to go into full re-tool mode. That means they are not dumping contracts for picks/prospects unless necessary to free cap. Crawford could go for a pick, solely to generate cap space. Kruger can go because he is replaceable at a lower cap hit. Seabrook goes only if you are getting back talent with high ceilings, not just to move cap. Moving Hartman gives no cap relief, so if he is moved it is part of a package or for picks/prospects with the potential to be better than him.
- TheTrob

would love to see them move crawford, parnarin, and anisimov. clear up a LOT of $$$ and then they can get creative.

or if they can't bring Darling back, keep crawford and try to move the other two.

I will trade all the points kane has been racking up with panarin if they can bring in players who will help them make another deep playoff run moving forward.

would love to see them move crawford, parnarin, and anisimov. clear up a LOT of $$$ and then they can get creative.

or if they can't bring Darling back, keep crawford and try to move the other two.

I will trade all the points kane has been racking up with panarin if they can bring in players who will help them make another deep playoff run moving forward.
- frafra

Kero and Toews were the only 50%+ guys in the playoffs. 44% regular season, 59% playoffs (23-16)
- JRoenick97

If Kruger is gone by September, I would still like to see someone brought in who can win a big draw. Kero's sample size is too small and it could free Toews up from taking 80% of the D-zone draws.

I actually was calling for this for a TDL move. Boyle over Oduya in hindsight would have helped!

- FeartheFeathers

I want to add one more thing...I don't think the Hawks D is as bad as everybody is making it out to be. there is a huge difference in play when the Hawks have the puck and are possessing the puck like they once used to in comparison to more recent years where they are chasing their opponent around the ice.

keith, seabrook, hjalmarsson, and the rest of their blue line were chasing all four games of that series. I would NOT move any of these three unless you got a return that was too good to pass up.