for gawd sakes this is not kanes MO or even minor roll at all...he is to be an outlet to get the transition going or a playmaker set up/sniper guy. if he is engaged like that it normally means the hawks are behind late and its full pressure mode...I don't want him along boards....bad thing happen there to small players...
- bogiedoc

Yeah but he's done this several times where his guy scores from 20 feet from the net inside the dots.

I personally don't think Bouma is the (a) problem right now. Given his limited skill set, he brings what he's supposed to bring to the table as a 4th liner. Yeah, there are better players out there but you could say that about other positions too so why pick on Bouma specifically.

By the last third or quarter of the season, I'm guessing the 4th line will still have Wingels and Hayden as fixtures but Bouma playing less and guys like Hinostroza, Kampf, Dauphin, or maybe even Highmore occupying the other position whether center or wing.
- AEL_Fox

I don't understand the talk about benching Bouma. This team last year hit nobody and were too easy to play against. We have added players (Bouma incl.) who add hitting to our play. There may be 300 in the AHL like Bouma but how many of them skate well enough to make those hits? We have tried those players before and they rarely caught anyone to hit.

Hard to see where Bowman and Quenneville are on the same page even though they put on their happy faces for the fans and media. We traded arguably our best pure defenseman in Hjalmarsson for Murphy and six games into the season he has been healthy scratched twice already. Seems to me there continues to be a big divide between what kind of players Bowman and Quenneville want on this team. Team played well against Pittsburgh and Columbus, but was dominated for the majority of the games against Toronto, Minnesota and Nashville and even though they won in Montreal, a lot of that was Crawford's doing, as the Hawks were holding on for dear life in that third period. Haven't seen anything YET, that makes me think this is a Stanley Cup contending team. If their offensive game has gone south because Schmaltz have been out, that's a huge issue because what happens if another key player, like Crawford, Toews, Saad or Kane get hurt. Plus Schmaltz has already had two concussions in his short career, which does not bode well long term. It'll be interesting to see if Bowman makes any moves before the end of the year, or decides to wait until the trade deadline. Obviously their place in the standings will probably dictate that, but that would be a mistake in my opinion as we saw what their gaudy regular season meant in the end last year. If they have the chance to improve the team regardless of record, Bowman needs to do so.

I don't understand the talk about benching Bouma. This team last year hit nobody and were too easy to play against. We have added players (Bouma incl.) who add hitting to our play. There may be 300 in the AHL like Bouma but how many of them skate well enough to make those hits? We have tried those players before and they rarely caught anyone to hit.
- 67hawks

The talk is only happening because Schmaltz is coming back and someone will have to scratched (though honestly, it'll end up being a rotation).

It's between Bouma and Wingels, and if hits are your biggest concern, Wingels actually has more in one less game. If you go a bit deeper, Wingels is just more useful - in addition to hitting, he also blocks; has ]played both center and wing; and probably most importantly, Q is willing to play him on the PK (one of the 6 guys he regularly deploys on the PK).

Balderdash...there are thousands of atheletes equal in talent, skill and ability to Bouma that are equally as willing.
- Larsson_fan

Hey watch that language, Oiler fan. Indubitably you are more perspicacious than that.

Hard to see where Bowman and Quenneville are on the same page even though they put on their happy faces for the fans and media. We traded arguably our best pure defenseman in Hjalmarsson for Murphy and six games into the season he has been healthy scratched twice already. Seems to me there continues to be a big divide between what kind of players Bowman and Quenneville want on this team. Team played well against Pittsburgh and Columbus, but was dominated for the majority of the games against Toronto, Minnesota and Nashville and even though they won in Montreal, a lot of that was Crawford's doing, as the Hawks were holding on for dear life in that third period. Haven't seen anything YET, that makes me think this is a Stanley Cup contending team. If their offensive game has gone south because Schmaltz have been out, that's a huge issue because what happens if another key player, like Crawford, Toews, Saad or Kane get hurt. Plus Schmaltz has already had two concussions in his short career, which does not bode well long term. It'll be interesting to see if Bowman makes any moves before the end of the year, or decides to wait until the trade deadline. Obviously their place in the standings will probably dictate that, but that would be a mistake in my opinion as we saw what their gaudy regular season meant in the end last year. If they have the chance to improve the team regardless of record, Bowman needs to do so.
- RetiredGoalie

31 team salary capped league and half way thru October you haven't seen anything that makes you believe they are real contenders? How about the fact they have only given up 13 goals so far with basically 6 new defenceman plus 2 washed up has beens (2&7) on the roster and a new D coach.

There is no team in this league that is a chalk favourite, virtually every team has a couple of holes in their roster makeup, even Pittsburgh and the incredibly unbelievable Edmonton Oilers lead by McDavid who just happened to be watching a lot from the bench in the 3rd period as the Senators kicked ass last night and the night before in Calgary.

And if you believe Hammer is so great, tune in to a few Coyotes games - guess what, he hasn't been, at least so far. And maybe that's because the players around him are not of the quality level he is accustomed to playing with.

Patience required - the team is collecting standings points which is all that matters right now in an extremely tough division. If the Hawks were playing like the Rangers, Canadiens, Sabres and Coyotes you would have something to worry about.

Hey watch that language, Oiler fan. Indubitably you are more perspicacious than that.
- Hawkjet

Oh (frank) off, Richardstain.

The talk is only happening because Schmaltz is coming back and someone will have to scratched (though honestly, it'll end up being a rotation).

It's between Bouma and Wingels, and if hits are your biggest concern, Wingels actually has more in one less game. If you go a bit deeper, Wingels is just more useful - in addition to hitting, he also blocks; has ]played both center and wing; and probably most importantly, Q is willing to play him on the PK (one of the 6 guys he regularly deploys on the PK).
- L_B_R

Exactly. Next topic.

Hey, Hey ! How about those Bears with a win? Not pretty ... But the QB came back with nice throw under pressure in O/T.

Hey, Hey ! How about those Bears with a win? Not pretty ... But the QB came back with nice throw under pressure in O/T.
- spanky

Solar Bears?

Hard to see where Bowman and Quenneville are on the same page even though they put on their happy faces for the fans and media. We traded arguably our best pure defenseman in Hjalmarsson for Murphy and six games into the season he has been healthy scratched twice already. Seems to me there continues to be a big divide between what kind of players Bowman and Quenneville want on this team. Team played well against Pittsburgh and Columbus, but was dominated for the majority of the games against Toronto, Minnesota and Nashville and even though they won in Montreal, a lot of that was Crawford's doing, as the Hawks were holding on for dear life in that third period. Haven't seen anything YET, that makes me think this is a Stanley Cup contending team. If their offensive game has gone south because Schmaltz have been out, that's a huge issue because what happens if another key player, like Crawford, Toews, Saad or Kane get hurt. Plus Schmaltz has already had two concussions in his short career, which does not bode well long term. It'll be interesting to see if Bowman makes any moves before the end of the year, or decides to wait until the trade deadline. Obviously their place in the standings will probably dictate that, but that would be a mistake in my opinion as we saw what their gaudy regular season meant in the end last year. If they have the chance to improve the team regardless of record, Bowman needs to do so.
- RetiredGoalie

I am thinking Q could be the move ,Murphy could be the straw that breaks Managements back ,or not .. Still putting up points, and missing a 2nd line 2nd year pro center, could that be the difference in the drastic drop off in play since the 1st 2 games .. Maybe . Definitely a work in progress . Bring back Vinny !!!

So...someone thought that Hammer was traded because the team was thinking get a young upgrade?

Maybe getting two players for one could’ve tipped you off....or when very shortly after the trade I said the kid Murphy looked lost his first two seasons, but seemed to calm down last year.

Best thing is he understands exactly what is his primary responsibility at every moment and where he is supposed to be positioned.
Best thing for him is to be on acte and in an organization that has the luxury OF benching him as a “learning device” to get him to fit the style,know the job and FEAR of loss of ice time is a great motivator.
Murphy’s salary is reasonable enough they can wait as Dauphin’s.

In a non Cap era,you could think of “hammer for a return” as reality.

Don’t fool yourself Murphy was just a young top 4 guy in the return until he IS...

31 team salary capped league and half way thru October you haven't seen anything that makes you believe they are real contenders? How about the fact they have only given up 13 goals so far with basically 6 new defenceman plus 2 washed up has beens (2&7) on the roster and a new D coach.

There is no team in this league that is a chalk favourite, virtually every team has a couple of holes in their roster makeup, even Pittsburgh and the incredibly unbelievable Edmonton Oilers lead by McDavid who just happened to be watching a lot from the bench in the 3rd period as the Senators kicked ass last night and the night before in Calgary.

And if you believe Hammer is so great, tune in to a few Coyotes games - guess what, he hasn't been, at least so far. And maybe that's because the players around him are not of the quality level he is accustomed to playing with.

Patience required - the team is collecting standings points which is all that matters right now in an extremely tough division. If the Hawks were playing like the Rangers, Canadiens, Sabres and Coyotes you would have something to worry about.
- RickJ

So there you see it, #2 & #7 washed up has beens. I question if those two will approach the level they once played. In a couple years if the team is better maybe their performance is better. Even now they have a lot of wear and tear over their career. I just believe, however, that it will take a game by game boost from forwards playing responsible defensively.

Should you have faith in #2 & #7 remaining as good as they once were? That thought seems to be creeping into blog commentary.

I say also that you have to wonder who will suffer a concussion on this team. Each team gets a few each year. DeBrincat plays dangerously for a small guy in a league of giants (compared to his own size). I seriously question if Toews and possibly Seabrook recover from severe jolt. Toews has maybe more concussions than anyone on this team. I do not know if there is a recording of concussions somewhere, but Toews must be the leader or close to the leader on this team.

Since team success can quuckly be judged by how well the defense plays, after the goaltending this youthful defense is just not going to become much better by season end. A lot of youth. The notion that defensemen often need 300 gp before they are good....It has a lot of truth to it. Samuelson tutelage helps but honestly young defense has to play to get better and it takes time.

Here is anither concern: team speed is not good enough considering some teams are outskating us (out playing us too). What about whether Q's defensive coverage is just not the best choice or the players, overall, do not stack up to most teams .......maybe it is some of both. Q coaches in the year 2009 mode still....a reference to man to man coverage....is a remark made in one of JJ blogs...does that cause concern?

Crawford shines. Forsberg plays well. Great. But no one is going to expect them to carry the team to a playoff spot

Sure, lots of teams have holes. But those teams are going to balance out bad outings with impressive streaks because they are capable of breaking out. How many stars or top players on Chicago.

Kane, Saad maybe Schmaultz and Toews if healthy. Some average players like AA or tweeners who continue to have up and down moments like Hartman. The great core is a past term on Chicago.

Also in past tense terms is Coach Q. He was a good coach who won despite often a ridiculous looking pp and lack of net front presence. Past teams had a Hossa and Sharp playing well and a strong #3 dman

Clearly we are no where close to the level of team we had. We were witness being outplayed badly in most of our games this season and are fortunate to pull out this record so far. If you think the goals against and goal differential will stay looking good as games are played, then you are dreaming. Time will tell. I believe time will tell specifically how tough it is to win each time out.

You cannot trade your future stars when you keep moving your #1. Potentially future stars, to be clear, and most in the league were first round picks . Yet how much help, really, can you get if you did trade a #1. How much better would the team be in the short term ....enough to make playoffs. Because I happen to feel that Bowman really does not want to trade more #1's.

I think you recall a Fortin and hope DeBrincat and some young defensemen perform well. Others at Rockford may be nice pieces but Fortin is the scorer we could use. I would be curious how this blog feels about Dineen or Samuelson as head coach.

It is getting to become a stretch the way we get outplayed, to realisticly expect to make the playoffs. Go over the other NHL rosters. Do you really believe we are at best middle of the pack. We have fallen and it will take time to get back into the upper echelon. Also, concussions could really, really hurt this team badly.

Oh (frank) off, Richardstain.
- Larsson_fan

Hey, Hey ! How about those Bears with a win? Not pretty ... But the QB came back with nice throw under pressure in O/T.
- spanky

12-4 😁

Oh (frank) off, Richardstain.
- Larsson_fan

Yep, you're from Edmonton

Coming into this season we all knew face offs and penalty killing were 2 things we really needed to fix.

So far the Hawks are 15th in FO% and 10th in PK%. Not the best, but both major improvements on where we were last season. At least so far...

We must have watched different games. Kane was awful in his defensive zone, AGAIN.

On one shift toward the end of the 1st period, he had the puck on his stick 4 times, and failed to exit the zone each time. The fourth time, he made an area pass that was intercepted, and generated a Nashville scoring chance.

88 hasn't had a good game since Nick got hurt. Maybe there's a correlation, but he needs to get his head out of his a**, and quickly.

Exactly. Next topic.
- John Jaeckel

Next topic. How about sticking to the rotation usage but switching the conversation to Franson

Must be Q's desire, his choice to play Franson? Not Bowman suggesting that Q consider replacing one of the young dman with the veteran every other game or two. Give Q the suggestion and let him manage it?

Ok, after reading wiz insightfulness.......I have yet some other thoughts and observations.

I know some on this board are adept at understanding "Q speak."

I know Franson is the veteran given a contract for dep th reason and to spell a young dman whom is struggling. And then you have the injuries that are expected.

Thing is, someone does not feel comfortable playing Murphy, Forsling, and Kempny each game. Right? Probably so?

Well Murphy needs to play somewhere and if you think he will be ok eventually, does he improve much just by practicing and playing irregularly? He does skate BETTER than Franson. How is it you give situational minutes or shelters TOI with this group.

I cannot say with certainty that Murphy is not playing regularly due to his performance as it is also a numbers game. But you trade hammer and you think, Murphy has to play.

I am sort of stuck on hating poor skaters, slow skaters. Especially defensemen because I want to prevent goals and hope the offense can score enough.

Does anyone say, if Pokke or whomever is playing well at Rockford, call him up and play him a few games. Sit Franson

Before I could endorse the idea, though, I have to check what side does Pokke play. And what would the pairings look like.

Our possession numbers don't look so good though.

Hoping we start to improve the CF% and all those fancy #s when Schmaltz returns and after we get another 15 or so games played.

Hard to see where Bowman and Quenneville are on the same page even though they put on their happy faces for the fans and media. We traded arguably our best pure defenseman in Hjalmarsson for Murphy and six games into the season he has been healthy scratched twice already. Seems to me there continues to be a big divide between what kind of players Bowman and Quenneville want on this team. Team played well against Pittsburgh and Columbus, but was dominated for the majority of the games against Toronto, Minnesota and Nashville and even though they won in Montreal, a lot of that was Crawford's doing, as the Hawks were holding on for dear life in that third period. Haven't seen anything YET, that makes me think this is a Stanley Cup contending team. If their offensive game has gone south because Schmaltz have been out, that's a huge issue because what happens if another key player, like Crawford, Toews, Saad or Kane get hurt. Plus Schmaltz has already had two concussions in his short career, which does not bode well long term. It'll be interesting to see if Bowman makes any moves before the end of the year, or decides to wait until the trade deadline. Obviously their place in the standings will probably dictate that, but that would be a mistake in my opinion as we saw what their gaudy regular season meant in the end last year. If they have the chance to improve the team regardless of record, Bowman needs to do so.
- RetiredGoalie

Think overall in this post here you're being a little too harsh, but i do agree on several points, especially that Hammer trade. The Murphy experiment isn't going well at all, and it doesn't make sense why the move was made in the first place. But this has been debated a million times by now, time to just suck it up and get used to Murphy being on our team as a bottom pairing/7th defenseman. At least he's not HORRIBLE.

Really hope Schmaltz doesn't suffer any more concussions, you're absolutely right about that being a sensitive issue moving forward for him.

But you know what, we really aren't doing all that bad. In fact I think we're in a great position to start the season. Very impressive goal differential, very impressive forward depth. Lots of cap space to work with to upgrade the roster when the time is right. We just need to be patient and keep racking up points, we're in great shape.

Our possession numbers don't look so good though.

Hoping we start to improve the CF% and all those fancy #s when Schmaltz returns and after we get another 15 or so games played.
- SimpleJack

#smallsamplesize

Kane played 24 minutes last night & 7 minutes on PP and "0" shots on goal.

Effort was less than stealer for a guy who refuses to play any defense.

And Seabrook should be on waivers. BRUTAL!

Kane played 24 minutes last night & 7 minutes on PP and "0" shots on goal.

Effort was less than stealer for a guy who refuses to play any defense.

And Seabrook should be on waivers. BRUTAL!
- Goalie-33

I hear you ! Kane looks like he has symptoms of withdrawals since the bread man left. He definitely looks unhappy! Keep DCat on his line and he just might get his mojo back..... Let's hope for the best.

Wait.....help me out here.....who had the game winning assist and was buzzing all over the ice in overtime last night? Was it Patrick Kane?

"Lets hope for the best" LOL! Thats rich

He's one of the top 2-3 forwards in the world but yeah, lets hope for the best....