My exact reaction then. And, it has been repeated a few times this year during close games.
- pdx2ord

With a heavy forecheck

That is laughable. Especially on a night where he just shut down one of the best young forwards in the game.
- JRoenick97

The Toews line dominated the Matthews line. If only they could score some goals.

Amen, DK. Hope you are well.
And in all seriousness, how good would Nick Leddy have looked on this club?

Let's see, a guy in his prime (only 26!) able to actually make zone entries on his own and skate the puck out of trouble, making $5.7M (who knows what he could have been signed for if we were able to keep him at the time) versus an over-the-hill Seabrook at nearly $7M until time immemorial or a quickly fading Duncan Keith at $5M for almost as long.

No, Q really helped with this (and as we've seen this year with what he's done with Murphy and Kempny this year and last), he's got to have his aging vets -- hence the wasted dollars on his broken down mule Rozsival (and the even more broken down Timmonen who literally did nothing but cost us 2 early picks and some dough).

Oh yeah, Q is one stubborn mule and is getting a bit of what he deserves.
2-3 games in a playoff series to "figure things out."
Stan and Q is really a match made in heaven.
- savvyone-1

Savvy.DK-

I sat there last night waiting to see how they would lose.....The Seabrook play is elementary and when a veteran leader makes a bone headed play like that, how do you bench a younger player>? And why is Keith chasing the guy to the corner on a PK where if he doesn't win the battle, and he didn't, it sets up a gimmee back door goal against...a Keith special. With the new rules cracking down on stick checking and slashing, ole 2's game has gone to hell.....his speed is a step slower and his size is being exposed.

Ugh.....Figure 95 points MAY get you a WC spot so the hawks would need 22 ws in the last 34 games for that to happen......instead of making the smart, bold hockey trade, Bowman will light candles his core players who are routinely crapping themselves nightly 2/7/19/20 can find their games....all 4 of those guys need to wear it and wear it hard.

Q has scratched 7, taken pea shooter off the PP, not sure what else he can do when he's stuck with this roster, but he is done here. Can't see him surviving this after the waxing they took last spring.

Call me crazy but I keep Glass over Forsberg assuming 50 comes back.

On this date in 1997, #SJSharks got Ed Belfour from #Blackhawks for Chris Terreri, Ulf Dahlen, Michal Sykora and a 1998 conditional pick

— Jen (@NHLhistorygirl) January 25, 2018

- DarthKane

I was so sad on that day in 1997. Was a huge Eddie fan.

I was so sad on that day in 1997. Was a huge Eddie fan.
- Justin Lowe

So was I but when he held out a few years prior you knew it was coming......Dollar Bill Wirtz....what a man.

that was the beginning of the hell years......sprinkled in with a fluke in 2001-02.....

The Toews line dominated the Matthews line. If only they could score some goals.
- breadbag

they were very good defensively...but with the puck and finishing not so good...which has been the problem all year

I was so sad on that day in 1997. Was a huge Eddie fan.
- Justin Lowe

Me too...I remember that moment clearly, I was watching Hockey Night in Canada when the news broke. That's how trade news was broken pre-social media days for all you kids out there.

Savvy.DK-

I sat there last night waiting to see how they would lose.....The Seabrook play is elementary and when a veteran leader makes a bone headed play like that, how do you bench a younger player>? And why is Keith chasing the guy to the corner on a PK where if he doesn't win the battle, and he didn't, it sets up a gimmee back door goal against...a Keith special. With the new rules cracking down on stick checking and slashing, ole 2's game has gone to hell.....his speed is a step slower and his size is being exposed.

Ugh.....Figure 95 points MAY get you a WC spot so the hawks would need 22 ws in the last 34 games for that to happen......instead of making the smart, bold hockey trade, Bowman will light candles his core players who are routinely crapping themselves nightly 2/7/19/20 can find their games....all 4 of those guys need to wear it and wear it hard.

Q has scratched 7, taken pea shooter off the PP, not sure what else he can do when he's stuck with this roster, but he is done here. Can't see him surviving this after the waxing they took last spring.

Call me crazy but I keep Glass over Forsberg assuming 50 comes back.
- SteveRain

not going to happen with their schedule and the negative trends in place..50 should sit the rest of the year...why bring him back to get rocketed with 35 shots per game

We are a month away from the trade deadline. Hawks have a month to figure out if they're in or out. They're six points out of a playoff spot with three teams in between them and the last seed. It's not insurmountable (look at NYR and PHI two months ago), but it's not looking good.

If we're sellers, the Hawks currently sit with the 10th worst record in the league. Meaning we're getting anywhere from the 10th to 14th pick in the draft. The highest the Hawks have drafted since Kane is #11 with Kyle Beach, followed by a handful of #18s with Teuvo and McNeil. The 10th pick could land a good prospect, but likely not someone who will hop in right away. The last couple of #10 draft picks are Tippett, Jost, Raantanen, Ritchie, Nichushkin. All have been forwards, all have since played in at least one NHL game.

If I were Stan Bowman, I'd try to target a bubble team that is likely to miss the playoffs and yield a higher draft pick. Teams like the Kings, Rangers, and Islanders could all fall apart if there are injuries or something goes wrong. If you trade for a #1 out of top team, well then you're stuck with another Blackhawks-esque pick of the high 20s.

A lot can happen in a month. This fickle board tends to live or die according to the latest game's score.

So was I but when he held out a few years prior you knew it was coming......Dollar Bill Wirtz....what a man.

that was the beginning of the hell years......sprinkled in with a fluke in 2001-02.....
- SteveRain

Us long-term fans see the current decline of the Hawks and worry that we're going to re-live the late 90s/early 2000s. While there may be a period of losing, the management is totally different and I don't think we'll have to go through those dark ages again.

We are a month away from the trade deadline. Hawks have a month to figure out if they're in or out. They're six points out of a playoff spot with three teams in between them and the last seed. It's not insurmountable (look at NYR and PHI two months ago), but it's not looking good.

If we're sellers, the Hawks currently sit with the 10th worst record in the league. Meaning we're getting anywhere from the 10th to 14th pick in the draft. The highest the Hawks have drafted since Kane is #11 with Kyle Beach, followed by a handful of #18s with Teuvo and McNeil. The 10th pick could land a good prospect, but likely not someone who will hop in right away. The last couple of #10 draft picks are Tippett, Jost, Raantanen, Ritchie, Nichushkin. All have been forwards, all have since played in at least one NHL game.

If I were Stan Bowman, I'd try to target a bubble team that is likely to miss the playoffs and yield a higher draft pick. Teams like the Kings, Rangers, and Islanders could all fall apart if there are injuries or something goes wrong. If you trade for a #1 out of top team, well then you're stuck with another Blackhawks-esque pick of the high 20s.

A lot can happen in a month. This fickle board tends to live or die according to the latest game's score.
- ObeseOprah

If the Hawks are sellers I'd like to see them grab a 2nd round pick in this years draft. They might have to package up a few guys to get that.

https://www.naturalstattrick.com/game.php?season=20172018&game=20744

Another game where the game flow was almost 100% Hawks and they end up losing (Tampa was the same). The lack of scoring is worrisome for sure. This game was much more promising as seen by the heat map on this site, The Hawks FINALLY had most of their shots form right in front of the net. This has not been the case for most games this year.

3 posts! Grrr.

Oesterle is a great offensive D-man, but belongs nowhere near the PK. Not like we have a plethora of D-men though.

Whatever the players and Dineen talked about for the PP seems to have worked for one game so far, hopefully they can carry it forward.

Keith needs to bag skate for that faceoff lineup. Cheating forward and got burned.

Who calls a penalty shot in OT for a slash?
- JRoenick97

that was strange...you cant call that...but 4 on 3...not sure it matters, but the wrong call

not going to happen with their schedule and the negative trends in place..50 should sit the rest of the year...why bring him back to get rocketed with 35 shots per game
- bogiedoc

110% agreed. get him healthy for next year and evaluate what you have. This team isn't going anywhere.

Id' start playing the kids more as well on the back end.

Us long-term fans see the current decline of the Hawks and worry that we're going to re-live the late 90s/early 2000s. While there may be a period of losing, the management is totally different and I don't think we'll have to go through those dark ages again.
- DarthKane

Agreed. I don't think they are headed for 1998-2006 but I do think they are closer to a fringe team now more then ever.....not just a 1 year fluke like 2010-11. With the fact they haven't played more then 1 playoff series in the last 2+ years hard to say the core is gassed.

They need a reload and a new voice. I hate to see Q go, as I think he's a great HOF coach, but a new voice is needed....and that room needs a MAJOR wakeup call.

I'd also put an A on Kane. Hes your best, most consistent player night in-night out.

We get it, you don't like Kane. Guess what? You're literally the only one on this board who feels that way as he is head and shoulders the best player on the Hawks. If you want to keep bashing him go on the Preds board and you and Rash can have a wank fest together..otherwise just shut up already!
- Murph76

No accounting for stupidity....should not even bother responding.

Kane is the only elite player left on this team period.
He is not perfect but certainly a difference maker on most nights.

When was the last time Captain invisible was a difference maker?
How about over two ago.

Savvy.DK-



Ugh.....Figure 95 points MAY get you a WC spot so the hawks would need 22 ws in the last 34 games for that to happen......instead of making the smart, bold hockey trade, Bowman will light candles his core players who are routinely crapping themselves nightly 2/7/19/20 can find their games....all 4 of those guys need to wear it and wear it hard.


Call me crazy but I keep Glass over Forsberg assuming 50 comes back.
- SteveRain

Ken Hitchcock was on Toronto Prime Time Sports yesterday and he says its gonna take 100 points to be certain of a playoff spot in the West this year, especially in the Central. Nobody loses more than the occasional game. Most of the time he spews bullsh$t but I'm buying what he says. Hawks can play their kids to the max and move some bodies out by the end of February because they are toast.

I'd keep Glass too but would insist on him changing his jersey number to 1.9, meaning if I allow 2 goals in any game we're going to lose.

If the Hawks are sellers I'd like to see them grab a 2nd round pick in this years draft. They might have to package up a few guys to get that.
- DarthKane

Luckily for you we seem to draft better in the second than the first anyway; Saad, Debrincat. I'm hoping that the current management can survive a Bruins type of rebuild. Keep your mainstay guys and endure two crappy years while you stockpile picks and prospects. The Bruins lucked out with Pastrnak, McAvoy, and a few others. But they're showing us that you don't have to go with a polarizing 'GO FOR IT' or 'FULL TEAR DOWN'.

Full tear down doesn't always work: EDM, BUF.

The real kicker is being able to draft effectively. Having a third or quarter of your roster on ELC deals gives you so much leeway with the cap now. Toronto understands that now, and their Cap Hell is coming. Edmonton is approaching Cap Hell, as are a few others.

Savvy.DK-

I sat there last night waiting to see how they would lose.....The Seabrook play is elementary and when a veteran leader makes a bone headed play like that, how do you bench a younger player>? And why is Keith chasing the guy to the corner on a PK where if he doesn't win the battle, and he didn't, it sets up a gimmee back door goal against...a Keith special. With the new rules cracking down on stick checking and slashing, ole 2's game has gone to hell.....his speed is a step slower and his size is being exposed.

Ugh.....Figure 95 points MAY get you a WC spot so the hawks would need 22 ws in the last 34 games for that to happen......instead of making the smart, bold hockey trade, Bowman will light candles his core players who are routinely crapping themselves nightly 2/7/19/20 can find their games....all 4 of those guys need to wear it and wear it hard.

Q has scratched 7, taken pea shooter off the PP, not sure what else he can do when he's stuck with this roster, but he is done here. Can't see him surviving this after the waxing they took last spring.

Call me crazy but I keep Glass over Forsberg assuming 50 comes back.
- SteveRain

Tyler Motte would be playing on the Hawks today if not sent to CBJ. You have got to play Forsberg and try to have him build some confidence. Otherwise, that Panarin/Motte-Saad/Forsberg trade looks even worse than it already does. Kane and Schmaltz both were effective threats with the puck last night and had a lot of o-zone puck possession. Did Saad hold onto the puck for more than 10 seconds last night? There were a couple 3v2s that Saad completely got stumped at the blue line and ended possession. The guy has about as much offensive confidence as Toews, and that is a problem. Yes he is a good backchecker, yes he goes to the net and yes he plays PK but he needs to score. Saad is now officially on pace for UNDER 40 points. The "First Line" has been unable to score essentially all year. The trade that was supposed to create 2 scoring lines, has instead resulted in only one scoring line that is less lethal this year compared to the last 2 years.

Also, wtf happened to Hartman?? 19 goals as a rookie and just a complete non-factor all season.

they were very good defensively...but with the puck and finishing not so good...which has been the problem all year
- bogiedoc

Read today's Scott Powers article in the Athletic:

"As much as the Blackhawks looked like a better team across their four lines in the last few games, they're still not producing in 5-on-5 play. They've gone without a 5-on-5 goal in both of their last two games and in three of their past four. The Blackhawks have been held without a 5-on-5 goal in 11 games this season, one shy of their total from last season."

Lots of possession time, lots of SAT - very inconsistent goal scoring.

I'd also put an A on Kane. Hes your best, most consistent player night in-night out.
- SteveRain

Rain man, agree with you here. Not only best/most-consistent but as I and many others have said, is the guy that every year has come back after the previous season having improved in 1 or more areas. There's been no regression to his game. He takes his "craft" seriously and whether it's to get stronger, quicker or to add another trick in his arsenal, he's always done so in his time wearing the Indianhead.

Luckily for you we seem to draft better in the second than the first anyway; Saad, Debrincat. I'm hoping that the current management can survive a Bruins type of rebuild. Keep your mainstay guys and endure two crappy years while you stockpile picks and prospects. The Bruins lucked out with Pastrnak, McAvoy, and a few others. But they're showing us that you don't have to go with a polarizing 'GO FOR IT' or 'FULL TEAR DOWN'.

Full tear down doesn't always work: EDM, BUF.

The real kicker is being able to draft effectively. Having a third or quarter of your roster on ELC deals gives you so much leeway with the cap now. Toronto understands that now, and their Cap Hell is coming. Edmonton is approaching Cap Hell, as are a few others.
- ObeseOprah

Perhaps there will be more hockey trades with one or both teams having Cap Hell to deal with. Edmonton lost in both deals when they moved Eberle and Hall. However I would bet there are more fair hockey trades to be made than the Edmonton examples. It is good to draft well but it almost seems best if your team has some unheralded lower round picks make a roster. The Penguins and Bruins have to be the teams with the largest contingent of ever changing ranks from minor league recall the last couple or more years. Btw just wondering where Nugent Hopkins eventually lands.

We are a month away from the trade deadline. Hawks have a month to figure out if they're in or out. They're six points out of a playoff spot with three teams in between them and the last seed. It's not insurmountable (look at NYR and PHI two months ago), but it's not looking good.

If we're sellers, the Hawks currently sit with the 10th worst record in the league. Meaning we're getting anywhere from the 10th to 14th pick in the draft. The highest the Hawks have drafted since Kane is #11 with Kyle Beach, followed by a handful of #18s with Teuvo and McNeil. The 10th pick could land a good prospect, but likely not someone who will hop in right away. The last couple of #10 draft picks are Tippett, Jost, Raantanen, Ritchie, Nichushkin. All have been forwards, all have since played in at least one NHL game.

If I were Stan Bowman, I'd try to target a bubble team that is likely to miss the playoffs and yield a higher draft pick. Teams like the Kings, Rangers, and Islanders could all fall apart if there are injuries or something goes wrong. If you trade for a #1 out of top team, well then you're stuck with another Blackhawks-esque pick of the high 20s.

A lot can happen in a month. This fickle board tends to live or die according to the latest game's score.
- ObeseOprah

I guess, if you're looking for the silver lining this is it. Looks like a lot of inter division games for the league towards the end. For this team, they have played terribly the last month and are only six points out with a chance to cut to 4 at the all star break. Tonight is IMO the game that will truly signal the teams attitude moving forward. Do we see a repeat of the last game before the bye? Or do we see the team that showed up against Tampa?

If the Hawks are sellers I'd like to see them grab a 2nd round pick in this years draft. They might have to package up a few guys to get that.
- DarthKane

what did we pay for Timo (the missing piece)? and runblad....

Tyler Motte would be playing on the Hawks today if not sent to CBJ. You have got to play Forsberg and try to have him build some confidence. Otherwise, that Panarin/Motte-Saad/Forsberg trade looks even worse than it already does. Kane and Schmaltz both were effective threats with the puck last night and had a lot of o-zone puck possession. Did Saad hold onto the puck for more than 10 seconds last night? There were a couple 3v2s that Saad completely got stumped at the blue line and ended possession. The guy has about as much offensive confidence as Toews, and that is a problem. Yes he is a good backchecker, yes he goes to the net and yes he plays PK but he needs to score. Saad is now officially on pace for UNDER 40 points. The "First Line" has been unable to score essentially all year. The trade that was supposed to create 2 scoring lines, has instead resulted in only one scoring line that is less lethal this year compared to the last 2 years.

Also, wtf happened to Hartman?? 19 goals as a rookie and just a complete non-factor all season.

- EnzoD

New coach, some personnel change Saad scoring on a scoring line would boost his confidance and he might start converting sometimes on other type of goal scoring. As for Hartman maybe he gets stuck between playing the way he wants and the way the head coach wants to see. The proper head coach needs to extract the game Hartman is capable of producing.

Just when you thought the Hawks could not possibly coach worse than has already been seen this year, we find the Hawks can’t even line up for an OT face-off anymore. What was that? Nobody between the Goalie and the Centre - INCREDIBLE. Instant break-away from centre ice in. Not to be believed. Knew the game was over as Glass awful at shoot-out attempts. Again the Hawks had every opportunity to win. Again the Hawks gave up many great opportunities choosing terrible passes. Again the Hawks had loads of shots blocked and loads of shots that went wide or hit posts. Oesterle has now claimed the title of D-Man constantly out of position. Why is he killing penalties when he doesn’t even seem to know what side of the ice he is responsible for? The really frustrating thing is this - if the Hawks stopped playing the wrong players at key times and stopped shooting themselves they’d be winning.

The Hawks are doing everything they can to create problems for themselves. However, the Refs were ridiculous tonight. The non-icing on the first Toronto goal was atrocious. The penalty to Jurco equally atrocious. He was the one with the skating line - the Toronto player was off-balance and spinning. If a player did interfere it was clearly the Toronto player. Arguably there should have been no penalty either way but for sure no penalty on Jurco.

Also a penalty shot in OT - are you kidding me.
- Z3Hawk

I’m not sure if that’s bad coaching or Keith just being out of position or just poor communication. Nylander saw the way the Hawks were lined up and he decided to let Scmaltz pull it back, he knew he’d be able to beat the Hawks to the puck.