Rome is Burning (blackhawks)

blackhawks

Rome is Burning

By Theo Fox

Feb 3, 2022 • 11:30 am

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Sources: Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, NBC Sports Chicago, The Athletic Chicago, WBBM News Radio

Suffering succotash.

What the flip.

There aren't any words to describe the disaster that happened in yesterday's Blackhawks townhall. It could easily have been an opportunity for management to control the narrative in a way that put the organization in as good a light as possible with the fans, sponsors, and media given how tumultuous 2021 and the preceding years were.

The situation with Kyle Beach was bound to come up during the townhall so it should have been expected to be asked about in some form or another. With that predictability, management had plenty of time to draft a concise response and coach everyone in front of a microphone to recite it eloquently and move on even if many would view them as empty words.

In the realm of litigation, lawyers tend not to ask questions that they already don't know the answer to. Similarly with a public relations spectacle like a press conference or townhall -- especially one that your organization called and arranged -- questions and responses are curated as much as humanly possible to maintain a narrative and save face.

That clearly didn't happen yesterday despite early and consistent efforts by chief executive officer Danny Wirtz and president of business operations Jaime Faulkner. One thing that can't be dismissed is how composed, mature, and articulate both of them were even after the cameras were off which is sometimes referred to as what character is.

* Current players who are presently under performing and have battled with the mental aspects of the game before and after Jeremy Colliton's dismissal as head coach.

* Prospects in the system already inked to ELCs who may grow unhappy with being in an organization that continues to get proverbial black eyes and request a trade to play elsewhere.

* Prospects in the system not yet signed to ELCs who may let their draft rights elapse so they can be eligible to sign with other teams.

* Potential NHL free agents, European free agents, and NCAA free agents who may not consider Chicago as a destination of choice.

* Candidates for management and coaching positions who may skip over the Hawks as a consideration as a potential employer.

* Sponsors who may want to invest their money in a sports franchise or other entity that aligns more with their values.

* Fans from season ticket holders to diehard fans to casual fans to corporate fans who may spend their time and income on more worthwhile forms of entertainment and pastime.

Despite the focus on Rocky Wirtz's publicly displayed negative reaction, there were some informative aspects of the townhall:

* Danny Wirtz shared that the permanent general manager will have full autonomy to make decisions on hockey operations while also being held accountable given that this position reports directly to him.

* Danny Wirtz when asked about whether the Blackhawks were open to rebuilding: "If you're going to hire somebody, you have to give them the freedom to do what they need to do."

* Faulkner on the Blackhawks role in changing hockey culture: "If we want to talk about changing hockey culture, we have to do it at the youth level. So that's something [the Blackhawks] are going to be a lot more involved in."

* Faulkner on Pat Foley's final year in the broadcast booth: "Let me be clear, the Blackhawks have not fired Pat Foley. We absolutely love Pat Foley."

* She further commented that Foley wasn't willing to sign a contract extension, that he requested a smaller workload this season, that he will do play-by-play for a few games next season, and that a decision is near to appoint his successor.

Lastly, a few hours after the townhall ended, Rocky Wirtz tendered an apology statement:

Rome is burning.

Who can put out the fire?

What is salvageable?

Why care anymore?

The Blackhawks have a ton more to think and worry about beyond who their permanent general manager and head coach will be or how to construct the roster moving forward. One thing to keep in mind is that there are still good people in the organization and collaborative auxiliary partners from ticket reps to arena staff to administrative personnel.

Be angry at Rocky Wirtz. Be angry at others directly involved.

Don't be angry at anyone and everyone.

That may help keep things in perspective to not abandon a team that you love and cheer for.

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Blackhawks Game Summary

Starting Lineup

DeBrincat - Strome - Kane Kurashev - Dach - Hagel Kubalik - Borgstrom - Lafferty Connolly - Carpenter - Entwistle

de Haan - S Jones McCabe - Murphy Kalynuk - Gustafsson

Fleury Delia

Scratches: Toews, C Jones

Abridged Boxscore

1st Goal (0-1): Gaudreau (Brodin, Fiala) PP 2nd Goal (0-2): Zuccarello (Greenway, Duhaime) 3rd Goal (0-3): Kaprizov (Zuccarello) 4th Goal (0-4): Fiala (Boldy, Gaudreau) 5th Goal (0-5): Sturm (Dewar, Rask)

SOG For/Against: 30/35 PP: 0-for-1 PK: 0-for-1 Faceoffs Won: 53%

Game Notes

* Overall, the Hawks were just lethargic which could have been chalked up to the off-ice drama earlier in the evening as well as to a general malaise that the team is in where they're simply not ready to compete.

* Marc-Andre Fleury got pulled for Collin Delia with about 8 minutes left in the game; Fleury let in all 5 goals on 30 shots.

* Positives: Hawks won 53% of their faceoffs with Dylan Strome remaining strong at the dot contributing at 60%.

* Although it wouldn't have mattered in the end, Brandon Hagel and Philipp Kurashev each had near misses with pucks that hovered along the goal line but never crossed.

* No forward skated more than 20 minutes with Patrick Kane coming the closest at 19:08 TOI; that figure may have been due to the Hawks having only one PP chance.

* Reese Johnson and Kevin Lankinen are expected to be at full health later this month, Tyler Johnson should be able to return next month, and Jonathan Toews has no timetable to his spell in concussion protocol.

--

IceHogs Game Summary

Starting Lineup

Altybarmakian - Reichel - Busdeker Barratt - McLaughlin - Morrison Howarth - Slavin - Gicewicz Pour - G Mitchell - Gabriel

Phillips - I Mitchell Stanton - Regula Beaudin - Galvas

Soderblom Morris

Abridged Boxscore

1st Goal (0-1): McLain (LaBate, Del Gaizo) 2nd Goal (0-2): Luff (Glass) EN

SOG For/Against: 26/30 PP: 0-for-2 PK: 2-for-2

Game Notes

* Arvid Soderblom remains steady and reliable in net making 28 saves on 29 shots (.966 save percentage) versus the Admirals and making 115 saves on 120 shots (.958) across his last 4 games.

* As far as league-wide comparisons, Soderblom is ranked 16th with a 2.66 goals against average and 4th with a .924 save percentage; he's 7-7-1 and has stopped 8 of 10 shots in the shootout (.800 ranks 10th).

* Lukas Reichel is on a mini drought at a mere 2 games without a point; his current high as an AHL rookie is 5 games without a point spanning games in late November to mid December.

* Michal Teply is in COVID protocol and didn't suit up; he's the only Hogs player in protocol at the moment.

* Mike Hardman is out indefinitely with a left ankle injury.

* Chad Yetman has been recalled from the Indy Fuel.

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Drew Commesso

See you on the boards!

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