Let's jump into part 2 of the "creating competition" series.
In part 1, I took a look at the competition amongst the forwards.
As promised, in part 2, we examine the defence and the goaltending.
This will be a shorter blog. It's not due to laziness that this is a shorter blog in terms of content. It's because the Hawks defence is pretty set (ask Henri Jokiharju).
There are some questions there still with pairings and depth decisions.
The goaltending is set, but that's not to say we can't spend a little time on those two gentlemen.
Here we go:
Defence – this was an obvious area of need. The fans knew it, the media knew it, the coaches knew it… and ultimately, Stan Bowman knew it.
Let's just start with what the pairings will possibly look like:
Keith – Gustafsson De Haan – Seabrook Maatta – Murphy
Ex/Rotating: Koekkoek or Dahlstrom
Ok, done.
Wait, not so fast.
There will be some flexibility within those 7-8 defenders. Sure, Maatta might find a better home alongside Seabrook or Maatta/Murphy might end up being more of the 2nd pairing as the "shutdown pair" but overall, we're pretty close with the above.
Also, there is the fact that de Haan is probably not going to be ready to go until November after his shoulder surgery.
Actually, let's address that now.
My prediction is that one of Koekkoek or Dahlstrom will be sent to Rockford and my guess is that it's Dahlstrom.
Even with de Haan being unavailable at the beginning of the year, I think one of those guys are sent down. Why?
I believe this because my prediction is that the right-handed Adam Boqvist will get some time in at the beginning of the year in de Haan's absence. It will be a great experience for the youngster to head overseas with the team as they begin their season in Europe.
Even though Boqvist himself stated that he was 2-3 years away when interviewed after the draft, he's come a long way since then with his time playing in North America for the London Knights.
I'm not saying that he's going to stay the entire time with the big club while de Haan is out, however, the Hawks did keep him around as one of the last cuts in Chicago last year throughout the preseason.
I think he sticks for 5-10 games and maybe more if he shows he is ready.
Jeremy Colliton really embraced Gustafsson and his transition game last year in Chicago and we all know that Boqvist has that skill set as well.
If the young Swede makes the team, there is a couple of options.
Keith – Gustafsson Murphy – Seabrook Maatta – Boqvist
Murphy and Seabrook played well at points last year and have some chemistry.
Maatta being a stay-at-home type defender can cover for the inexperienced Boqvist. Colliton could test that out.
… OR … we have a similar situation as Jokiharju last year and Colliton goes with:
Keith – Boqvist Gustafsson – Murphy Maatta – Seabrook
Yes, I know that it was Quennevile – not Colliton – that utilized the Keith – Jokiharju pairing, however, if Boqvist and Keith gel in the preseason, this could be an option.
Regardless, there are options there and the competition will remain fierce amongst the pairings, as well as between Dahlstrom, Koekkoek and whomever else surprised in camp. Guys like Beaudin, Gilbert, Carlsson and Krys could very well surprise as depth options.
The Hawks defence overall is much better than it was a year ago with the addition of Mattaa and de Haan, as well as the progression of Boqvist. The real question is how quickly will they gel together and can Colliton get them all on the same page after a proper training camp?
Goaltending – Corey Crawford and Robin Lehner – these are your 2019-20 goaltenders. We know this.
Collin Delia and Kevin Lankinen will both be in Rockford and offer some great organization depth.
It's no secret that Corey Crawford has had some health issues the last 2 years.
In the last 3 years he has played in:
55 games (2016-17) 28 games (2017-18) 39 games (2018-19)
This is an average of 40 games.
I went back to the 2016-17 season in this trend because I think it's an important perspective to look at the "what if" he's 100% healthy view.
The goaltending split will play out the way it's supposed to in my opinion.
Corey is a great teammate and I have no doubt he will be a supportive leader in this tandem for 2019-20.
Just like Lehner's situation last year in Long Island, if he's playing well, I believe he will play; if Crawford is hot, it'll be his net.
If Crawford is healthy, I suspect we see an even split. Let's call it 43 / 39 for these ‘tenders with Corey pulling elder rank.
If Crawford is healthy and only plays 40-45 games, that can only be a good thing come playoffs - granted they make it – for a two-time Stanley Cup winner. He'll be rested and motivated to keep his net. #competition.
The most intriguing storyline is that both are pending UFAs.
If both are healthy, the Hawks can't very well extend Robin Lehner as most of us anticipate happening. That would essentially signal – in-season – to Crawford that he's out and Lehner is the guy going forward. That would be terrible for morale and send a weird message/vibe throughout the entire dressing room.
However, if Crawford does sustain an injury (knock on wood this doesn't happen) or if Lehner plays lights out and steals the starting job away from Corey, the Hawks might look to extend Lehner while his pricepoint is reasonable.
If Lehner is on a 1-year / $5M contract now and the Hawks a loving what they see in the 28-year-old netminder, they would be smart to look out for the future of the team and secure him to a 4 or 5 year deal around a $6-$7M AAV.
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These are my thoughts on the competition on defence and in net. What are yours?
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Lastly, have fun at the convention for all of those going. Feel free to share pictures and stories on the message board.
See ya out there!
TC