AGAIN, SCOTTY
- John Jaeckel

It doesn't matter if its Scotty or Stan IMO, Scotty is here because of Stan and vice versa. Do you think Hossa over Havlat and Q over Savard were Tallon decisions like others believe?

There are two different sides to the Campbell argument and you have realize many of us are in agreement with the fact the hawks would be better this year with him. However his contract was detrimental to the team as RetiredGoalie has stated. This contract alone gave the team no flexibility......like having to get rid of Buff, Vsteeg, & Ladd and having to sign Pisani, Turco, and having to play people like Dowell and Skille. They had no choice.

Now the other side of the argument is Bowman should be applauded for getting rid of the contract but he does deserve criticism for what he did with the money.

There are two different sides to the Campbell argument and you have realize many of us are in agreement with the fact the hawks would be better this year with him. However his contract was detrimental to the team as RetiredGoalie has stated. This contract alone gave the team no flexibility......like having to get rid of Buff, Vsteeg, & Ladd and having to sign Pisani, Turco, and having to play people like Dowell and Skille. They had no choice.

Now the other side of the argument is Bowman should be applauded for getting rid of the contract but he does deserve criticism for what he did with the money.
- UnnamedSource

Yes, well said. It was a mistake thinking Leddy could fill that role. Unfortunately, there's nothing out there to correct that mistake, so that will have to be an off season fix.

Never thought I would see someone write we miss Brouwer....but hey if someone can say we need to bring back Huet as someone did the other day I guess everything is on the table. Unloading a mammoth salary like Campbell's is alone a great move. I thought it would never happen and it will help the Hawks for years to come. As I've stated before I think Campbell is a good player but not at 7.2 million.
- UnnamedSource

Yeah, a guy who'll finish the season with 20+ goals and 275 hits is NOT what this team needs right now.

Sorry for the sarcasm, but I just find it funny that Brouwer having had a few goal scoring droughts (although averaging 20 a year) made him a whipping boy in Chicago.

Guy stood up for teammates, was not a problem in the dressing room. Worked hard to overcome his skating and defensive deficiencies. More than can be said for some.

kruger is a keeper in my opinion
when he puts 20 pounds on and gains explosiveness along with his desire to go to the tough areas to score watch out
he shaw and hayes could be a fun line to watch in the years ahead

My first thoughts on the McDonough/Q thing: p.r. move, telling the media (and maybe his boss!) that he is engaged and putting his brilliant hockey/business mind to work on the problem. Maybe he is telling Q not to worry, that the rumored 2013 austerity thing is a rumor and they are working on getting him some serious help. But it is definitely the first . . . a public appearance/p.r. stunt.

Why does he have to talk to Q in public at a practice? Sorry, not buying it. For public consumption.

I said in the offseason, if they don't show appreciable improvement over last season, heads will roll . . . contract extensions or no contract extensions. That's what "organizational reassignments" are for.
- John Jaeckel

JJ I love the blog but why all the hate towards McD?

People always seem to forget one thing about Brouwer......he wasn't that good and he did nothing to give the hawks any indication he would be better. How long did he go last year with registering a point.....like 2 months??? Plus if Danault turns out to be a stud then this is a great trade, it's to early to say this was a failure. FYI, the Capitals with a better goaltender this year than there 2nd seed eastern conference team last year would not make the play offs if the season ended today.....with Troy Brouwer.

Yes the hawks would look better with Campbell in the line up for sure......but you cannot pay a 3/4 defenseman 7.2 million till 2016!!!! It doesn't make sense. I agree with you the cap space should've been spent better but that is a different issue.
- UnnamedSource

If Danault reaches his top end projection, it is a very good trade.

20 goals and 200 hits a year is better than not very good. How long did the $6 million man go without registering a point recently. Does that make him "not very good."

Points matter. To a degree. What guys do without the puck in many ways matters just as much. Or NO ONE gets many points. Brouwer was pretty good without the puck most nights, whether scoring or not.

Yeah, a guy who'll finish the season with 20+ goals and 275 hits is NOT what this team needs right now.

Sorry for the sarcasm, but I just find it funny that Brouwer having had a few goal scoring droughts (although averaging 20 a year) made him a whipping boy in Chicago.

Guy stood up for teammates, was not a problem in the dressing room. Worked hard to overcome his skating and defensive deficiencies. More than can be said for some.
- John Jaeckel

But even when he was a Hawk he never was a guy who hit consistently.....and you got a number 1 pick for him.

Great point. A lot of people were unhappy with the fact that the Hawks had to dump Buff, Ladd, Versteeg, Madden and other key contributors after the cup year, but I think a lot of those same people forget that Campbell's salary - although not the only reason - was a BIG reason why the purge of players was so large. If the Hawks had been able to dump Campbell and keep Buff and Ladd or Ladd and Versteeg or whatever combination you want to consider, how many people would have offered to drive Campbell to the airport at that time?
- RetiredGoalie

Agreed!

I'm sure there would have been plenty to offer Campbell a ride to the airport at that time. Hell, I would have sprung for a limo out of my own pocket and ate ramen the rest of the week.

In case anyone's interested, or needs something to pass the time till Colorado tomorrow, I wrote an article for my baby bro.

Anyway, while we wait, perhaps foolishly, for Stan to bring some help to this Blackhawk team, I give some advice to Coach Q...

http://www.secondcityhock.../2/4/2771695/dear-coach-q

JJ I love the blog but why all the hate towards McD?
- UnnamedSource

No hate.

I respect him as a promotions guy a great deal. But that doesn't make you a good hockey guy or team President in any sport.

I think his ego and management style have helped the team greatly off the ice, but actually hurt it on the ice.

He had almost nothing to do with the team's ascension on the ice until and including 2010.

He is almost completely responsible for what's happened (or not) on the ice while building and maintaining sky-high expectations with the fanbase, since then.

But even when he was a Hawk he never was a guy who hit consistently.....and you got a number 1 pick for him.
- UnnamedSource

Are we looking at different hit totals?

Did we watch different playoffs in 2009 (especially, when he knocked Salo AND Phaneuf out of series with clean hits) and 2010?

He is not the biggest hitter in the NHL, but he is above average. Have been told so by at least one player. So the numbers matter.

The facts say otherwise.

Agreed!

I'm sure there would have been plenty to offer Campbell a ride to the airport at that time. Hell, I would have sprung for a limo out of my own pocket and ate ramen the rest of the week.
- EKolb13

It doesn't matter if its Scotty or Stan IMO, Scotty is here because of Stan and vice versa. Do you think Hossa over Havlat and Q over Savard were Tallon decisions like others believe?
- coldsteelonice

This is true, but Stan was promoted and Scotty was brought in because of a specific, committee-style way McDonough wanted to handle hockey ops and big hockey ops decisions.

Thus far, the track record of that approach, even with Scotty on board, is not great.

JJ , a few blogs back you mentioned the following Das potential targets of the Hawks , can you update this list at all ??

Sutton , Edmonton


Erskine , Washington

Hannan , Calg


Allen , Carolina

Clark , Tampa Bay

Gill, Montreal


Thanks.

This is true, but Stan was promoted and Scotty was brought in because of a specific, committee-style way McDonough wanted to handle hockey ops and big hockey ops decisions.

Thus far, the track record of that approach, even with Scotty on board, is not great.
- John Jaeckel

Completely agree. Just think its way to early to call the Bowmans a success or a failure. And frankly, given how the team is playing right now, don't think a minor trade or two is going to change the outcome. The outcome of the season is to be determined by improvement from Keith, Seabrook, Kane, Sharp, Hossa, Hammer, Toews, and Bolland. And Q.

Five or so pages later, and i can still only think about Toews centering a co-kane line.
im not sure why that's so funny to me.

Where?
Nice arguement, BTW....
- nathanjf

Ok, fine, better question, why shouldn't he be brought back? What did he cost the team. You can argue that his penalty in Oiler game contributed to a loss, but other than that, he brought way more positives than negatives. You can argue some of the recent flare up of pussitis the hawks have is related to him coming out of the line up.

He had no trouble skating with and moving the puck with any of the top 4. In fact, he made many many nice plays with passes etc, creating offense.

Again, equating him with Shaw is a mistake. Shaw has more offensive upside. I was one of the first to point this out when everyone compared these two. You need to compare him to Versteeg in many ways. Except Shaw is more disciplined in his own end and has some real toughness.

No, but do you remember when Q benched Sharp and Kane when he first took over in Phoenix for taking dumb penalties and making stupid turnovers?

That's what needs to be done. Watch Keith closely, and watch the finesse BS clear attempts that get held in. Or the unwillingness to engage physically in front of his net on the PK or even strength. Boumeester's goal on Friday was a perfect example. As was Iginla sneaking behind him OR when Hodgson sneaked behind in Vancouver.

Thats why this team gives up almost 3 goals a game....Lazy plays like that, without any correction from the coaching staff. If there was, they wouldn't be happening OR you would see keith's ice time limited.

Guy is tired....I get it....but at some point you have to punish a player the only way that seems to work....ice time.

They are doing to Leddy what needs to be done to Keith...on a short term basis.

lets be honest...Keith has been AVERAGE at best since the start of last year in his own zone. So either something is physically wrong with him,. mentally wrong with him, OR 2009-10 he had a CAREER year that isn't the norm....
- SteveRain

My thoughts on Keith.

Was feeling this way for a while and now I am almost convinced of it: he will never win another Norris.

I am not sure Seabrook is not this team's best defenseman.

That said, Keith, in reasonable circumstances, is a very, very good defenseman. Few players can make the plays he is capable of positionally, and he is above average, though not great offensively.

We have seen it for 3-4 years now: when Keith's minutes are below 25, he is an A player. When they go above that, especially approaching 28-30, he is more problematic.

The problem is not that this team needs another STUD defender (though that would be great) it just needs a guy at #4-5 who can provide some stable, quality minutes and take pressure off of Keith and Seabrook like Campbell used to. It is really not any more complicated than that.

JJ , a few blogs back you mentioned the following Das potential targets of the Hawks , can you update this list at all ??

Sutton , Edmonton


Erskine , Washington

Hannan , Calg


Allen , Carolina

Clark , Tampa Bay

Gill, Montreal


Thanks.
- mrpaulish

No, have not heard boo.

Are we looking at different hit totals?

Did we watch different playoffs in 2009 (especially, when he knocked Salo AND Phaneuf out of series with clean hits) and 2010?

He is not the biggest hitter in the NHL, but he is above average. Have been told so by at least one player. So the numbers matter.

The facts say otherwise.
- John Jaeckel

I think the reason I was never a big Brouwer fan was because I would initially think that he was a role player that could play on the 3rd or 4th line, be defensively responsible, throw a few hits and maybe score a couple of goals and I'd be okay with that. Then, out of nowhere, he'd make a great power forward goal scorer's move (think overtime goal against San Jose last year) or he'd have a week where he'd score 4 or 5 goals and I'd start to expect more from him only to be disappointed when he fell back from that. I never disliked him or advocated him to be traded, but I always felt like he was underachieving.
Maybe the Hawks felt the same way. Only Q and Bowman know for sure.

JJ , a few blogs back you mentioned the following Das potential targets of the Hawks , can you update this list at all ??

Sutton , Edmonton pylon-pass

Erskine , Washington

Hannan , Calg


Allen , Carolina

Clark , Tampa Bay

Gill, Montreal


Thanks.
- mrpaulish

Sutton , Edmonton pylon-pass
Erskine , Washington #6/7 potentialHannan , Calg
Allen , Carolina one of my top choices
Clark , Tampa Bay rather have Kubina
Gill, Montreal awesome if he catches opposing forwards, which isnt a guarantee

I think the reason I was never a big Brouwer fan was because I would initially think that he was a role player that could play on the 3rd or 4th line, be defensively responsible, throw a few hits and maybe score a couple of goals and I'd be okay with that. Then, out of nowhere, he'd make a great power forward goal scorer's move (think overtime goal against San Jose last year) or he'd have a week where he'd score 4 or 5 goals and I'd start to expect more from him only to be disappointed when he fell back from that. I never disliked him or advocated him to be traded, but I always felt like he was underachieving.
Maybe the Hawks felt the same way. Only Q and Bowman know for sure.
- RetiredGoalie

I think his lack of "fit" on certain lines/roles is a large part of why he was moved. But it also goes hand in glove with Bowman overvaluing what he had/has.

Brunette was seen as the replacement for Brouwer who really was 1LW for most of the last two seasons. Brouwer>Brunette, end to end and in all situations, without question. End of discussion.

Yeah, a guy who'll finish the season with 20+ goals and 275 hits is NOT what this team needs right now.

Sorry for the sarcasm, but I just find it funny that Brouwer having had a few goal scoring droughts (although averaging 20 a year) made him a whipping boy in Chicago.

Guy stood up for teammates, was not a problem in the dressing room. Worked hard to overcome his skating and defensive deficiencies. More than can be said for some.
- John Jaeckel

He is exactly what this team is missing now. Some teams have players like Kesler, Lucic, Clowe as part of their "core". We do not. We have players like Kane, Sharp, Toews and Hossa. By having mostly non physical type players defined as your core and rightfully so IMO... you fill the rest of your spots with cheaper versions Lucic's and Clowe's.... not a bunch of 5'10 175 lb ers. I don't care how good they are. It doesn't work certainly in the postseason if not in the regular season.

Bowman has completley whiffed on this. And I agree with Pricey... Q would have jetsetted Brouwer to the 4th line the minute he did something wrong. Well this is the same guy who took Dustin Byfuglien and bounced him everywhere. Really question Bowman's ability to construct a balanced roster. And I completely question Q's ability to recognize talent and leave it alone.

Sutton , Edmonton pylon-pass
Erskine , Washington #6/7 potentialHannan , Calg
Allen , Carolina one of my top choices
Clark , Tampa Bay rather have Kubina
Gill, Montreal awesome if he catches opposing forwards, which isnt a guarantee
- ikeane

Kubina's not coming here and Allen likely isn't either. Hawks will not put forth enoughin an offer for either.

Agree on Gill, much more of a pylon than Sutton. Did you actually watch Sutton the other night? I think it is just wrong to say he would not help the Hawks. They don't need a superstar, just someone to give them stable minutes, low mistakes (Erskine here as well) and some physicality they're missing.