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I can be as doomy and gloomy as anyone in Blackhawk Nation.
Yep, if the rumors about impending salary cap doom are correct, the Hawks' roster next year could be Kane, Toews and a bunch of guys getting off work at the Keebler factory.
But closer to reality, next year, the Hawks' roster will likely include the aforementioned, freshly minted Wonder Twins, Keith, Hjalmarsson, hopefully Seabrook, Hossa and a few other holdovers from what is possibly the best team in hockey this year.
So let's talk about this year. The Hawks are still just third in the Central Division, but now nipping at the heels of the Predators and Blues, coming off three straight big wins against top teams in the West, two of those on the road.
To my eye, and perhaps this is bad news for the rest of the Western Conference, the Hawks' surge and recent assertion of dominance comes back to the "core" players I just mentioned.
Yes, Stan Bowman's considered bets on Kris Versteeg's eventual recovery from knee surgery two seasons ago, and Brad Richards having something left in the tank are paying off hugely.
But let's bear in mind, the constant between that and the Hawks getting back in the Western conference Finals last year, after going down 3-1 to the Kings, was Kane. The supporting cast, as evidenced by fluctuations in the Hawks' fortunes form 2010 to 2011 to 2012 and 2013 and beyond, matters.
But without the core, this is just another team. Some might argue Toews and Hossa aren't doing much, but don't think any of the league's coaches are going to assume they can throw out a weak line or defense pairing against them.
In the end, it always comes down to matchups: can your horses on offense overwhelm their horses on defense, and vice versa.
The Hawks' new second line of Richards, Kane and Versteeg is giving opponents' fits, while Joel Quenneville, in turn, has as good a Top 4 on defense as there is in hockey, and the luxury of a fourth line that goes out and shuts down opponents' top lines night after night.
And anyone saying Marcus Kruger shouldn't be right up there, maybe just after Seabrook, in importance for Bowman this offseason, needs to watch the tape from last night again: a goal, +1, 3-1 on faceoffs, nearly six minutes on a flawless penalty kill (0-6).
And the argument that the Hawks' goalie might not matter all that much was bolstered again last night: Antti Raanta, who hadn't played in weeks, stopped 40 of 41 shots, but the Blues really didn't have that any stellar chances. Raanta was good. And good was all he had to be.
So the news, with Montreal coming in to the UC tomorrow night, and Patrick Sharp set to return from a lengthy absence for injury, is all good right now for the Hawks.
I'll be back with a preview tomorrow. Finally, RIP to a great Habs legend who I had many chances to see play in my childhood, Jean Beliveau, who passed away at 83.