Honestly, I'm routing for Oesterle to find his way defensively because he has a good offensive mind for the game already and more importantly is one of the better skaters on the team.

So if he's fast, mobile, can potentially QB a PP, even throws the odd body check and makes $650k... he's not much of a risk. So here's hoping he can get it together in his own end.

The issue for me is not with Oesterle specifically, but that the Hawks plan to bring back 4x Oesterle-types in terms of skill level and experience:

* Oesterle (still figuring it out still)
* Rutta (still figuring it out still),
* Gustafsson (still figuring it out still)
* Forsling (still figuring it out still)


That's a lot of uncertainty again next year. They will all be a year older but I concerned that there won't be a dramatic enough change (in a positive way) in their game that makes me believe that this defence is going to be better.
- Justin Lowe

Agree with this except for the Forsling part. Yes he's still figuring it out but he's also 21 and easily looked like the best of the bunch.

He looked really good for at least the first quarter of the season until he didn't, but is still young and being given time to figure it out in RFD.

The difference between winning and losing can be so small, but I don't think anyone knows if they will improve, decline further or hold steady next season. I doubt they will be a top team, but they could definitely find themselves in the playoffs if the key guys are healthy.
- breadbag

Barring a miracle comeback by somebody, I don't think this team has the roster space necessary to turn things around THAT much. Especially with Keith and Seabrook being another year older.

Caught part of Coach Q's tues. morning thing he does on WGN radio a short while ago. My sense was that he didn't sound like a guy who didn't think he was coming back next year.

Spoke glowingly about "The Cat"

Nice try. Who do you think you are that you believe you can talk to someone like this? Especially someone far smarter than you. A tough day at work made you cranky? Flipping those burgers can be hard. Any hockey topic you want to debate at any time GP you just let me know and don’t forget to bring your thimble of hockey knowledge.

For the record I debated JJ when he ran this Blog - JJ was very adamant that I was totally wrong regarding that DeBrincat would be a huge success this year. Well I had watched DeBrincat and simply knew. Well that would be one for Z3. So as I said any topic any time. Shouldn’t you be getting ready for your shift - don’t want to keep Ronald McDonald waiting.
- Z3Hawk

I wouldn't make that your selling point of your hockey knowledge.

Barring a miracle comeback by somebody, I don't think this team has the roster space necessary to turn things around THAT much. Especially with Keith and Seabrook being another year older.
- BINGO!

Considering how many players under-achieved, it wouldn't take many roster changes to improve a fair amount.

Barring a miracle comeback by somebody, I don't think this team has the roster space necessary to turn things around THAT much. Especially with Keith and Seabrook being another year older.
- BINGO!

Look what the Aves did.

That's the scary thing about this year--besides the Crow injury (which was obviously huge), they were probably one of the teams with the fewest games lost to injury.
- RaleighHawk

I think it is no coincidence the Hawks are often low on the injury scale. They don't often get involved in the reckless stuff that results in injury, due to their style of play. I think it speaks to the quality of the training staff too. Your point is well taken, it could be worse in terms of injuries, but it also seems like the Hawks have a lot of wear and tear on a day to day basis too.

Considering how many players under-achieved, it wouldn't take many roster changes to improve a fair amount.
- breadbag

Question is if they're underachieving or if this is just the new normal.

Saad and Kane should be better next season, no question. But Toews has been playing around this level for 3 years now. AA is around his career average for production. Sharp is a corpse now. Schmaltz and ADB will probably be around the same next season too.

It's hard to look at the defense and say they should be much better than they are.

Look what the Aves did.
- riozzo

The Av's had a real young core, not one made of 30 year old players who are locked up to really expensive contracts.

Hell MacKinnon is their most expensive player at $6.3 Million for the next 5 years.

They only have two guys over the age of 29.

Nice try. Who do you think you are that you believe you can talk to someone like this? Especially someone far smarter than you. A tough day at work made you cranky? Flipping those burgers can be hard. Any hockey topic you want to debate at any time GP you just let me know and don’t forget to bring your thimble of hockey knowledge.

For the record I debated JJ when he ran this Blog - JJ was very adamant that I was totally wrong regarding that DeBrincat would be a huge success this year. Well I had watched DeBrincat and simply knew. Well that would be one for Z3. So as I said any topic any time. Shouldn’t you be getting ready for your shift - don’t want to keep Ronald McDonald waiting.
- Z3Hawk

Your response just show you aren't that smart and are in fact a bit scrambled in the head. Any little things triggers you, as far as you spewing how smart you are when it comes to hockey. Who cares? You are a know it all dink.

Nice try. Who do you think you are that you believe you can talk to someone like this? Especially someone far smarter than you. A tough day at work made you cranky? Flipping those burgers can be hard. Any hockey topic you want to debate at any time GP you just let me know and don’t forget to bring your thimble of hockey knowledge.

For the record I debated JJ when he ran this Blog - JJ was very adamant that I was totally wrong regarding that DeBrincat would be a huge success this year. Well I had watched DeBrincat and simply knew. Well that would be one for Z3. So as I said any topic any time. Shouldn’t you be getting ready for your shift - don’t want to keep Ronald McDonald waiting.
- Z3Hawk

You keep running your mouth about Murphy being the captain of team USA like that has any merit on him being a capable NHL defenceman. Guess what? He sucks and you know poop about (frank) all zipperhead3

@MarkLazerus

Blackhawks recall forward Andreas Martinsen on an emergency basis, presumably for Matthew Highmore, who was hurt Sunday night. Martinsen has 12 goals and 14 assists in 61 games with the IceHogs.

8:10 AM - 20 Mar 2018

Question is if they're underachieving or if this is just the new normal.

Saad and Kane should be better next season, no question. But Toews has been playing around this level for 3 years now. AA is around his career average for production. Sharp is a corpse now. Schmaltz and ADB will probably be around the same next season too.

It's hard to look at the defense and say they should be much better than they are.
- BINGO!

Sharp should not be in the picture after this season. Schmaltz and ADB are very young -they will quite likely continue to improve each year as their bodies mature.

@MarkLazerus

Blackhawks recall forward Andreas Martinsen on an emergency basis, presumably for Matthew Highmore, who was hurt Sunday night. Martinsen has 12 goals and 14 assists in 61 games with the IceHogs.

8:10 AM - 20 Mar 2018
- matt_ahrens

Hopefully he plays with Hayden and allows Hayden to play his game.

EDIT: Think the coaching staff is sickened by the softness of this team now?

Question is if they're underachieving or if this is just the new normal.

Saad and Kane should be better next season, no question. But Toews has been playing around this level for 3 years now. AA is around his career average for production. Sharp is a corpse now. Schmaltz and ADB will probably be around the same next season too.

It's hard to look at the defense and say they should be much better than they are.
- BINGO!

Some of it has been greatly blown out of proportion too. I'm not guaranteeing they will all bounce back, but it is certainly not unrealistic that the Hawks as a team bounce back because some vets have a better season. Honestly, to me it was a below average season for pretty much everyone who is an established skater.

Kane - He is still good, but he isn't having his best year. For a guy who's only job is offense and who doesn't play great defensively (especially this season) he was having a rough go here in 2018, but found his legs again since joining Toews/Saad on line 1. Kane/Toews both top 20 in scoring since they got reunited.

Toews - The guy has been talked about so much, but no question he is still the 1C on this team and can still play. He isn't at his peak, but most of his lower production was struggles on the PP and having Panik/Saad who did pretty much nothing. He plays much better (as shown in the second half last year and this year) with a playmaker on his wing. He did well with Schmaltz, Kane and even decent with Hinostroza and Debrincat.

Sharp - Signed a cheap deal and had a lot less in the tank than expected. He is done. There is a roster spot that can be upgraded with a younger player or a role player better fit to the minutes he was getting.

Saad - I have no doubt he will get his confidence back and find some more goals. Even if he doesn't score, effect player defensively. He doesn't have to find the score sheet to help the team, but he will probably get back to ~25 goals and 50 points.

AA is around his career average, but most of that is with a rather unsustainable shooting % on the PP. He looks slower since his injury last year and is playing soft D. They missed the chance to trade him at a higher value. I hope he keeps healing up. At least his contract isn't a bad one.

On D, the Hawks could really help Keith out by getting him a solid partner. He is still a really good player, but he has had to run around way too much to cover for the positioning mistakes of this teammates. Not a great season for him, but the guy can still play.

Seabrook won't ever be a top pair guy again, but the wake up call did help him and the huge mistakes of earlier in the season haven't been such a big deal.

If the Hawks can sign 1 Dman who can play decent minutes (low 20's) at a decent level, then it bumps a lot of other guys down the depth chart on D and goes a long long way to helping the team.

The big risk is obviously in goal right now. If they can nail down a reliable backup and get CC back in net, the team is going to have a much better shot at winning games. This season, the issue has been close 1 goal games and those are the little things that they can realistically improve upon. The point of my post is that nobody really knows what they will do next season. They could bounce back, it wouldn't be a huge leap. A lot of things went poorly this season.

The Av's had a real young core, not one made of 30 year old players who are locked up to really expensive contracts.

Hell MacKinnon is their most expensive player at $6.3 Million for the next 5 years.

They only have two guys over the age of 29.
- BINGO!

There is no reason why Hawks can´t rebound like Avs did. That would mean making the playoffs next year. Sure their core is really young and probably getting even better but if we are talking about rebound for next year it´s not impossible for Hawks.

I think Avs had last year better team on paper than this year. Maybe all they needed was letting Duchene go?

@MarkLazerus

Blackhawks recall forward Andreas Martinsen on an emergency basis, presumably for Matthew Highmore, who was hurt Sunday night. Martinsen has 12 goals and 14 assists in 61 games with the IceHogs.

8:10 AM - 20 Mar 2018
- matt_ahrens

My guess is that they want to minimize the disruption to the Ice Hogs during their playoff hunt.

Sharp should not be in the picture after this season. Schmaltz and ADB are very young -they will quite likely continue to improve each year as their bodies mature.
- 67hawks

I feel like Schmaltz could really break out next season. He seems to be getting better in more areas of the game and has that speed and instincts with the puck. If he gets stronger and harder to contain, and he gets paired with some effective line-mates, he could really become a great player.

There is no reason why Hawks can´t rebound like Avs did. That would mean making the playoffs next year. Sure their core is really young and probably getting even better but if we are talking about rebound for next year it´s not impossible for Hawks.

I think Avs had last year better team on paper than this year. Maybe all they needed was letting Duchene go?
- MjulQvist

What they needed was Mikko Rantanen turning it up a lot more and MacKinnon/Landeskog turning back into the players they were two years ago.

Sure...Martinsen deserves a shot on the second line more than DeBrincat or Hayden.

Blackhawks lines
Saad-Toews-Kane
Hinostroza-Schmaltz-Martinsen
Jurco-Anisimov-DeBrincat
Sharp-Kampf-Hayden

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) March 20, 2018

I feel like Schmaltz could really break out next season. He seems to be getting better in more areas of the game and has that speed and instincts with the puck. If he gets stronger and harder to contain, and he gets paired with some effective line-mates, he could really become a great player.
- breadbag

I like Schmaltz. And, he needs to improve his FO%. According to Puckbase.com, he's ranked 99th of guys who take 9 or more FO per game, with 40.2%. If he doesn't get better, they might need to consider moving him back to wing.

Honestly, I'm routing for Oesterle to find his way defensively because he has a good offensive mind for the game already and more importantly is one of the better skaters on the team.

So if he's fast, mobile, can potentially QB a PP, even throws the odd body check and makes $650k... he's not much of a risk. So here's hoping he can get it together in his own end.

The issue for me is not with Oesterle specifically, but that the Hawks plan to bring back 4x Oesterle-types in terms of skill level and experience:

* Oesterle (still figuring it out still)
* Rutta (still figuring it out still),
* Gustafsson (still figuring it out still)
* Forsling (still figuring it out still)



That's a lot of uncertainty again next year. They will all be a year older but I concerned that there won't be a dramatic enough change (in a positive way) in their game that makes me believe that this defence is going to be better.
- Justin Lowe

Good post overall. Hopefully Oesterle can fully develop his defensive game. Would take him from being a fantastic #5 to a great #4 defender or even better just like that.

I'd say 3x Oesterle types overall though.

Forsling is 21 and has a lot of time to figure things out compared to the others (as others have just mentioned) and he has way more time to develop.

What you guys really need to bring in is a bonafide top 2 or better defender in, but with what you have with regards to cap space and options, don't think that will happen unless you win this year's draft and get Dahlin or trade away a star player.

The only valuable package could be your 1st coupled with trading away a star player to get that top 2 (with regards to cap space and value). OEL perhaps? Don't know what that would cost you guys exactly, but it ain't gonna be cheap.

Your other option is to leave it as is and bank on uncertain developments and a better overall output from the team (seems to be a below average season for a lot of your star players), possibly coupled with a systems change with a coaching change (someone mentioned most odd man rushes against, so it could be a systems-based problem) and see how it goes. Obviously, this is the riskiest option, but unless you can land a top 2 defender, don't see how anything can be changed. That Seabrook contract cuffed your hands.

I like Schmaltz. And, he needs to improve his FO%. According to Puckbase.com, he's ranked 99th of guys who take 9 or more FO per game, with 40.2%. If he doesn't get better, they might need to consider moving him back to wing.
- matt_ahrens

Is Schmaltz's FO% the only negative to his C game?
Maybe pair him with a good FO% winger, let Schmaltz play C positionally, but let a veteran line up for draws/important draws/draws on Schmaltz's weak side.
Also, I remember someone posting about how the NHL is notoriously difficult for rookies/young players inside the FO dot. "All good centerman cheat" - either Toews or Kesler IIRC. Maybe Toews needs to attend Kane's florida training camp with the boys, and lead the FO work days.

Sure...Martinsen deserves a shot on the second line more than DeBrincat or Hayden.

Blackhawks lines
Saad-Toews-Kane
Hinostroza-Schmaltz-Martinsen
Jurco-Anisimov-DeBrincat
Sharp-Kampf-Hayden

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) March 20, 2018

- DarthKane

Who cares? I wouldn't be pissed at a Jurco/Kampf/Martinsen first line, it's all experimental at this point. #TANK4DAHLIN

What they needed was Mikko Rantanen turning it up a lot more and MacKinnon/Landeskog turning back into the players they were two years ago.
- BINGO!

How about DeBrincat and Schmaltz turning it up and Saad&Toews turning back? Not saying that will happen but that´s not impossible.