While wondering how to deal with a missing Crawford for the coming season - more importantly we should be hoping that they are planning for his permanent disability.
No available goalie is going to be appreciably more able to lead this team to the tournament this year than Ward - none (including Ward, or likely 3ven a healthy Crawford) is going to make this team a Cup contender this year.
What is the plan going forward for the next several years if Crawford doesn’t come back strong?
- StLBravesFan
Agreed, same with any forward like JVR or Neal. Really like the Hawks' realistic way they are approaching the roster and where they are at as an organIzation. Do no harm seems to be the approach as they see what the younger players can do at the NHL level and the prospects below it, including Forsberg.
If they indeed have to move on from Crow knowing what Forsberg can do at the NHL level with a couple/few adequate professional Dman in front of him will help decide the future of the position.
I meant to add this to HB when I read it and will do so now. Agree with most everything this poster posted and have been saying so since last yr ended and into the offseason and FA. Really like how the poster calls out the scribes who scream and yell that the Hawks need to do something now and how foolish that is considering where the Hawks are right now.
https://www.secondcityhoc...iority-nhl-2018-19-season
"I mean, I guess it’s a point in your favor that McDonough didn’t say "we’re rebuilding," but the championship "One Goal" stuff was clearly absent. Also, doesn’t he have ticket issues to worry about? Didn’t the Hawks face some attendance and season ticket renewal concerns late last season when the losses were really piling up? Is there any incentive for him to come out and say anything less than what he said about the Hawks’ ambitions for this year, even if the team realizes they’re in a transitional period? The rebuilding question is about semantics to some extent. Are the Hawks in firesale, tear it all down, tank for the #1 pick and add all the prospects and draft picks you can in the meantime mode? No. Are they in pull out all the stops to win as many games as possible this season mode? Again, clearly no. The front office plainly does not have the same mindset they had during the championship seasons, or even two years ago. That much is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt.
The Hawks fans and commentariat are confused by this off-season because they are operating from a fundamentally mistaken premise – that Stan needs to win this year or lose his job. All the actions Stan has taken suggest to me he believes that if this season goes badly, Q is the one whose job is on the line. Stan has never hired a coach, and I think he believes he’ll get that chance before he’s pushed out the door.
All his moves (drafting players years away from the league over more NHL ready players, not pushing to overpay the JVR level FAs available this off-season, not swinging big deals for vets that might help the Hawks win this year at the expense of down the road, setting the Hawks up to have a lot of cap space and expirings next summer, etc) suggest a man who believes he’ll be around for the ‘19-20 season no matter what. Is there any other way to interpret what he’s done? He’s got a multi-year plan for this team, and believes he’ll be there to see it through.
By the way, that’s the approach Hawks fans should want from their GM. When you see bad signings and panicky trades in professional sports, a GM with job security anxiety is often the root cause.
I don’t know if Stan can build this team back into a title contender, but I’m glad he has thus far refused to give in to the many observers (Lazerus, Myers, Powers, etc) who have formed the "do something" chorus. I think this Hawks team will surprise some people this year without making another move. I expect them to be in the playoff hunt (which is all McDonough is really saying) and then make waves in 2019 with money to spend on impact FAs and young blue line reinforcements on the way. If that’s not "rebuilding" fine, but that sure looks like the front office plan from where I’m sitting."
