Agreed........ have no idea what's happened to Saad. I thought it was playing with Toews and neither has created a lot of scoring chances for 1st liners, but now with Kane it's more of the same. What happened to the guy that ALWAYS went to the net in the preseason and the past ? Remember the comments about him scoring a high percentage of his goals from 5 ft in ?? Where has that been ? Is it the money syndrome ? Is he pouting about not being on the PP ever ? IDK........ he's just not the same since the beginning of the year. He needs to pick it up and fast !!
- Hawkytalk

Saad is still playing well aside form last game. He's still battling hard and driving the net. He's just not scoring. HIs possession and shot numbers are goo. I think a few games back he had 4 high danger shots on his own, he's just very snakebitten right now. Last game, It looked like his confidence was rattled. He just needs to keep playing hard.

Will the Blackhawks solve Markstrom? Will the Sedin brothers solve our defense?
- jhawk59

I remember when every trip out west was an ass kickin. With this years hawks you just have to wait n see.

Is that better than 37?
- SimpleJack

Ask me after the playoffs.

Never a top young dman should be available. If you want Saad then you belong in a fantasy league. I mean cmon' Saad is a nice player but he is not a star or a motivated player all too often

I surmise when you say those two straight up, obviously thinking of the man child Saad not the quiet non entity which describes his performane this season

Would you generally subscribe to this reasoning: young promising dman playing well > than a young promising forward playing well. The > sign can be assigned the greater value designation.
- jhawk59

59, power forwards and their value have always been interesting and confusing to me. We all can see Saad can skate away from players much smaller than him and has the strength to fight off players his size and bigger, one definition of a power forward, add physical play and hands and you have an elite PF in the Perry mold of a few yrs ago. Those skills are rare and as such expensive relative to points production.

Always been a Landeskog fan. Check out his career numbers as the 2nd overall pick and Saad's as a 43rd overall pick in the same draft. Note Landeskog has never scored 30, Saad has, only scored 60+ points once, Saad never has. Stats show them as 50+ point players but IMO Landeskog is much more highly thought of.

Landeskog: https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/players/5363/

Saad: https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/players/5411/

For this fan even a few yrs ago and how I rate a PF if Saad was a mid 50's points, 3 zone player, + corsi, not crippling cap hit he would be a solid Hawk. .... I never thought of him as elite in the Perry, Lucic mold but as a notch below.

And I know I'm being redundant this is why a Panik is coveted and will be given chance after chance same as Bickell until their wheels slow.

Saad is still playing well aside form last game. He's still battling hard and driving the net. He's just not scoring. HIs possession and shot numbers are goo. I think a few games back he had 4 high danger shots on his own, he's just very snakebitten right now. Last game, It looked like his confidence was rattled. He just needs to keep playing hard.
- JRoenick97

Indeed. His size, north-south style, go to the net, 3 zone game can go under the radar when not scoring. Things will even out most seasons and I wouldn't be surprised to see him end up at his career 50+ points mark.

Indeed. His size, north-south style, go to the net, 3 zone game can go under the radar when not scoring. Things will even out most seasons and I wouldn't be surprised to see him end up at his career 50+ points mark.
- Mr Ricochet

He goes on multi-game slumps almost every year. Even in CLB. He'll bounce back

Will the Blackhawks solve Markstrom? Will the Sedin brothers solve our defense?
- jhawk59

Markstrom is 4-2 last 6 and has allowed 3 or fewer goals in 8 of his last 9....... This is a different team with Horvat in the lineup and he's been back from injury the last 4.

Gotta win this game tonight.......to go on the run that is needed, you have to beat the teams below you.

hawks also have to figure out what is ailing them at the UC...12-10-3 is pretty pathetic.

I'd start Forsberg again after last game and ride the hot hand......

Gotta win this game tonight.......to go on the run that is needed, you have to beat the teams below you.

hawks also have to figure out what is ailing them at the UC...12-10-3 is pretty pathetic.

I'd start Forsberg again after last game and ride the hot hand......
- SteveRain

Yep, need 2 points. IMO Q should go with the exact same lineup that beat a very very good NSH club on the road........ Hopefully Forsberg has settled in. Seems like he did last game with a quiet body letting the puck come to him.

Markstrom is 4-2 last 6 and has allowed 3 or fewer goals in 8 of his last 9....... This is a different team with Horvat in the lineup and he's been back from injury the last 4.
- Mr Ricochet

They beat the teams they should not have beat, and lost to the ones they should have beat. Beat: Kings, Wild, Avs, Blue Jackets. Lost to Sabres and Oilers.

Saad is still playing well aside form last game. He's still battling hard and driving the net. He's just not scoring. HIs possession and shot numbers are goo. I think a few games back he had 4 high danger shots on his own, he's just very snakebitten right now. Last game, It looked like his confidence was rattled. He just needs to keep playing hard.
- JRoenick97

I'm not sure he fits on the 2nd line. Been there for the better part of 3 games, managed 3 shots, no points and only a couple attempts from "high danger" areas on the ice.

When he had scored early in the season, they were big goals (lots of GWG), but he scored only once in Jan and 3 in December. After his hot start 6 goals in 6 games, he scored 7 times in 44 games. He is contributing some and playing good defense, but he needs to adjust something. He will bounce back I'm sure, but I hope it is soon.

It is a bit remarkable that the Hawks are sitting where they are considering how much has not gone well for individual players this season.

Keith struggling to generate offensively.
Seabrook shaky at times defensively, coughing up too many pucks, not making his slick passes up ice nor getting many big shots on goal.
Toews can't convert on the PP.
AA streaky and inconsistent.
Sharp continued to decline hard.
Panik was ineffective after his own hot start.
Crawford injured.
Rutta & Forsling both very inconsistent. Good one night but turned inside out the next.

There are some good stories in there as well, but I think it could be a lot worse. I hope they finish well on this road trip and put Vancouver and Calgary down early.

I really like this team
- Stan_Bowman

me too, when they play well.

They beat the teams they should not have beat, and lost to the ones they should have beat. Beat: Kings, Wild, Avs, Blue Jackets. Lost to Sabres and Oilers.
- JRoenick97

Without expectations, realizing the Sedin's aren't the focal point anymore that the kids are, this team plays loose and although outclassed depth wise can be dangerous. .... Love the Boeser kid. Watched him for a yr in 14/15 in the USHL with Waterloo and the kid had an NHL shot even then. Fun team with Montour on the back end and Novak lined up with another NHL pick, Tommy Novak. Notre Dame Star Cale Morris was lights out in goal (who is an NCAA FA by the way). http://www.hockeydb.com/i...ons/teams/0023322015.html

Bottom line: we got to " run the table" for at least the next 6 or 7. Tough task but it could be done. The boys need to " ball up" and get down and dirty! Starting with tonite!

Bottom line: we got to " run the table" for at least the next 6 or 7. Tough task but it could be done. The boys need to " ball up" and get down and dirty! Starting with tonite!
- wonthecup10

Yes. All of this. Last season after the ASB, we rolled off a 7 game win streak, lost one, then a 5 game win streak. Those would help a lot right now.

Gotta win this game tonight.......to go on the run that is needed, you have to beat the teams below you.

hawks also have to figure out what is ailing them at the UC...12-10-3 is pretty pathetic.

I'd start Forsberg again after last game and ride the hot hand......
- SteveRain

And the ones above you!

Hey Justin have you heard anything relating to the Hawks having interest in Shea Weber. Does his contract fit? Does anyone know how old he is?. Do you think he would upgrade our defense

Hey Justin have you heard anything relating to the Hawks having interest in Shea Weber. Does his contract fit? Does anyone know how old he is?. Do you think he would upgrade our defense
- BGKarras

Seriously?

I really like this team
- Stan_Bowman

That makes 1 of us.

Hey Justin have you heard anything relating to the Hawks having interest in Shea Weber. Does his contract fit? Does anyone know how old he is?. Do you think he would upgrade our defense
- BGKarras

Contract wise- he's more expensive than seabrook. (same age)

I would assume Seabrook would be going the other way to balance Cap. (Obviously with other pieces to make the deal worthwhile to MTL).

He would be an upgrade in my opinion. Hes not Weber from 3-4 years ago, but Seabrook isnt Seabs from 3-4 years ago, so still and upgrade.

Not sure that contract is the right one to add though, even though Weber is a damn fine defenseman.

Hey Justin have you heard anything relating to the Hawks having interest in Shea Weber. Does his contract fit? Does anyone know how old he is?. Do you think he would upgrade our defense
- BGKarras

He would certainly be an upgrade at this point in his career, but would the Hawks want to take on that contract for the remainder? I don't think they would. He's absolutely still an impact player and if the Hawks did get him, they would become immediately better.

Anybody following Ek's rumor chart? I got a hunch that the only move Bowman makes is that he will bring back Niklas Hjalmersson for a pick, then talk to his agent about signing a cap friendly deal. I am pretty sure Nik would think hard about it given the hell hole he spent this year in. This is basically a lost season for Nik. At this point he'd probably tell his agent, get it done, where do I sign?
- wonthecup10

Absolutely not. Enough defenders +30. If Brooks Orpik can get 5.5 per, Hammer can certainly get +6.

He would certainly be an upgrade at this point in his career, but would the Hawks want to take on that contract for the remainder? I don't think they would. He's absolutely still an impact player and if the Hawks did get him, they would become immediately better.
- Hawks_49

Seabrook and Hossa for Weber

Seabrook and Hossa for Weber
- EnzoD

Haha and then when Weber retires early the Predators will be stuck with the recap penalty!!!

I posted this on the last thread during the bash Toews segment just before the new blog went up. Thoughts?



I don't watch a lot of other teams, but I watch about 90% of Hawks' games. I'm a huge Toews fan, and kind of an apologist, and I've been saying this for the last 2.5 years (in regards to a previous post about his wings not finishing). The year after Saad was traded, I can't tell you how many times I saw Toews set up a teammate (including Hossa) with a tap-in, only to see them shoot right into the goalie, miss the net or whiff on the shot.

Last year, he was hurt in the WCH, but when he finally got healthy, he went on a tear in Jan and Feb.

This year, I see it a little different, though. While his line is dominating possession, and getting plenty of chances, it just seems like something's off with him. Maybe it's his back. Maybe it's him trying to adjust his game. IIRC, someone posted a link to an interview where he said he something to the effect that he was trying to lose some weight to increase his speed. Since he doesn't really have any body fat, that means less muscle. That could explain why he doesn't look as strong on his skates, but remember when Tiger Woods redid his golf swing? It took him a while to get it right, but when he did, he came back MUCH better. Hopefully, if this is the issue, and Toews has another off-season to train, he can come back and be more of an offensive threat without hurting his 200-ft game.

OR, maybe he just hits the gym, and gains the muscle back.
- tvetter

I don't think he does quite the skill regiment as Kane does in the off season and I don't think he's a gym nut like Hossa or Keith.

He hit the turbo a few times the other night which was nice to see. Pucks bouncing off his blade and him not being able to finish in tight is kind of irritating.

Looks like he is seeing some better match ups with he kids so hopefully something starts to click.