I feel a trade coming today

Scotty Bowman is 86 years old, and he’d do a better job behind the bench than JC. How’s his health?
- scottak

He is too busy travelling around hawking his book.

There (their) (they're) comes a time when a coach needs to be fired. Is JC the problem? Are we sure another coach will get more from the team? Or do we panic after 10 or 12 games when the team is trying to grasp the system of the new coach?
- paulr

We watched this movie last year win 2 games lose 5 games , the talk then was wait til the off season to allow JC to have a full training camp and all the off season moves that on paper this team is a upgrade.

Here we are 13 games in and this team is no better. We can talk about more time to understand this elaborate system that only this coach with no winning history and his assistant who was at best a 7th defenseman have concocted takes time .

I'll concede that Keith and Seabrook have lost more than a step and toews isn't a Selke center anymore .
But the entire point of having a training camp was to establish a system, chemistry and expectations .

Coach Q was fired last year one day ago with half the talent Stan has given JC .

Also if it were not for Lehner this teams record would be worse .
Crawford I'm sorry but his best days are well behind him and its obvious based on his play , numbers and the sheer fact he has only earned 3 points as a starter compared to Lehner earning 8 points.

Stan won't fire JC because that would clearly admit he made a mistake, therefore Rocky needs to intervene and admit that it's time for a fresh set of eyes and vision and move on from Stan.

Let the new GM comes in and make the changes he wants.

I feel a trade coming today
- zm333

Shaw (whom I like) heading back to MTL in a multi-player swap? I'm all ears.

Scotty Bowman is 86 years old, and he’d do a better job behind the bench than JC. How’s his health?
- scottak

As you said, he's 86. Why kill him sooner?

We watched this movie last year win 2 games lose 5 games , the talk then was wait til the off season to allow JC to have a full training camp and all the off season moves that on paper this team is a upgrade.

Here we are 13 games in and this team is no better. We can talk about more time to understand this elaborate system that only this coach with no winning history and his assistant who was at best a 7th defenseman have concocted takes time .

I'll concede that Keith and Seabrook have lost more than a step and toews isn't a Selke center anymore .
But the entire point of having a training camp was to establish a system, chemistry and expectations .

Coach Q was fired last year one day ago with half the talent Stan has given JC .

Also if it were not for Lehner this teams record would be worse .
Crawford I'm sorry but his best days are well behind him and its obvious based on his play , numbers and the sheer fact he has only earned 3 points as a starter compared to Lehner earning 8 points.

Stan won't fire JC because that would clearly admit he made a mistake, therefore Rocky needs to intervene and admit that it's time for a fresh set of eyes and vision and move on from Stan.

Let the new GM comes in and make the changes he wants.
- Taylorst1

I agree that a change needs to be made, but who interviews to make that change? McDonough? I think he has to go first, and bring in a president of hockey ops., (probably doubling as GM like Yzerman). the fish rots at the head.

Chiarelli as GM
Mike Kitchen - Head Coach

Everybody gets happy again.
- RickJ

So we’re going to replace the guy who signed Brandon manning as a UFA for the guy who traded for him?????

A lot of posters want JC fired. If that happens, do you want Stan to choose the next coach after his failure of selecting Colliton?

Sort of like having the Bears GM Ryan Pace select the next Bears QB after spending 20M on free agent Glennon who lasted as starter for about 5 games then drafted wonder boy Trubisky as the next franchise QB.

Anyway I think Bowman will not fire JC, will give him the rest of the season to get his system implemented, hope things gel and that the 2nd half of the season is similar to last year's 2nd half.

It's a gamble on Stan's part because I think he knows his job is on the line if there is no turn around. If the Hawks do not make the playoffs this year, I expect some front office changes next Spring and Summer.
- boilermaker100

-----------------------------------------------------

Unfortunately I do not envision the Hawks making the playoffs this year. If JC gets fired Stanley will likely join him on the unemployment line- JC was his hire. I certainly wouldn't mind McD joining them as he rubber-stamped Stanley's trigger-happy firing of Q after I believe a 6-6-2 start last season. Paging Rocky....

This team looks confused and lost when they are on the ice. The last four games have been a circus. Their stars are not performing like starts, they do not have the ability to posses the puck, in their own zone they are watching and chasing...this seems like a HUGE system problem. They do not have any flow at all. The amount of shots other teams are putting on their net compared to the amount of shots the Hawks are taking is very concerning. I don't say this often....Fire Colliton.

Whatever system he is trying to run is abysmal. The Hawks clearly do not have the players to play whatever style he wants, so he either needs to adjust what they are going to do/their approach, or he needs to go. For this team to rely on their goalies bailing them out every night is ridiculous.

They have a coach on their bench who has lots of experience and has won a cup. Maybe they aren't cup contenders this season, but their roster is significantly better than last, and they have players in their prime who look like they are clueless out there.

I'm not sure if Chelli can make a difference as a coach, but if morale is an issue then problem solved. Why not try it at this point if he is willing to give it a shot.
- 6628

As much as I like Chris Chelios, his coaching record so far consists of being an assistant on an Olympic team and a junior team for a couple of tournaments. It's quite possible he is less experienced coaching-wise then Colliton.

Besides, hasn't the orgin-I-zation trotted out enough ex-Hawks to head coach over the years?

Denis Savard 2007 2009
Trent Yawney 2006 2007
Dirk Graham 1999 1999
Darryl Sutter 1993 1995
Keith Magnuson 1981 1982
Eddie Johnston 1980 1980
Bill White 1977 1977

Reading tea leaves? Seeing the trend of the last staff and transition to this one. Players who have had success now look completely lost - as if all they're doing is thinking on the ice versus reacting and cant even break the puck out. Usually (and speaking of my own experience both playing and coaching) that happens when players are getting too many different voices and not having 1 direction . Then you see what...4-5 coaches now behind the bench during games. Why? And, was it made up when the FO was sending Barry Smith down to try to tell Q what to do? Asking for your same friend who sees what he wants to see as well. Also, who did JC beat out when interviewing for the job? Same friend wants to know that too!!

But...its probably more because Seabrook sucks, Toews doesnt care and Keith is a selfish jerk. That would make more sense.
- PatShart

This makes very good sense to me. I keep asking "what has changed from last year that could cause this?" especially when you consider how they ended up playing at end of last year. The answer is always, "Marc Crawford joining the coaching staff."

He's a former head coach and made no bones about wanting to be one again in the interviews after he was chosen. I know, personally, that no matter what role I'm given at work, it is almost impossible for me to not assert myself by doing things more typical of the higher level role I've played for most of my career. I can't imagine he is able to subjugate himself to JC as might be required.

I agree that a change needs to be made, but who interviews to make that change? McDonough? I think he has to go first, and bring in a president of hockey ops., (probably doubling as GM like Yzerman). the fish rots at the head.
- LAHawk

Stan holds 2 positions within the organization, if they are that attached to Stan, simply relieve him of general manager .

I don't have the right answer as to when you pull the trigger being now or do you wrote the season off and do it afterwards?

That scenario IMO has a upside of more potential talent on the market to chose from.

The down side is losing the opportunity to make the trades needed at the February trade deadline to move out any core players and gainnthempicks or prospects to go into draft day better prepared.

I agree that a change needs to be made, but who interviews to make that change? McDonough? I think he has to go first, and bring in a president of hockey ops., (probably doubling as GM like Yzerman). the fish rots at the head.
- LAHawk

Stan holds 2 positions within the organization, if they are that attached to Stan, simply relieve him of general manager .

I don't have the right answer as to when you pull the trigger being now or do you wrote the season off and do it afterwards?

That scenario IMO has a upside of more potential talent on the market to chose from.

The down side is losing the opportunity to make the trades needed at the February trade deadline to move out any core players and gainnthempicks or prospects to go into draft day better prepared.

This team looks confused and lost when they are on the ice. The last four games have been a circus. Their stars are not performing like starts, they do not have the ability to posses the puck, in their own zone they are watching and chasing...this seems like a HUGE system problem. They do not have any flow at all. The amount of shots other teams are putting on their net compared to the amount of shots the Hawks are taking is very concerning. I don't say this often....Fire Colliton.

Whatever system he is trying to run is abysmal. The Hawks clearly do not have the players to play whatever style he wants, so he either needs to adjust what they are going to do/their approach, or he needs to go. For this team to rely on their goalies bailing them out every night is ridiculous.

They have a coach on their bench who has lots of experience and has won a cup. Maybe they aren't cup contenders this season, but their roster is significantly better than last, and they have players in their prime who look like they are clueless out there.
- frafra

Agree with you 100%. Losing is one thing. Losing with this perceptual nightmare ongoing, is an entirely different matter.

Paging Ken Hitchcock

How is this a resume that represents the head coaching job in Chicago?


Coaching career
On January 9, 2014, he announced his retirement from professional hockey and was later chosen as Mora head coach in an interim role mid-season before signing on to be full-time coach.[6]

On May 18, 2017, Colliton was named the head coach of the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League (AHL).[7]

On November 6, 2018, the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) named Colliton the 38th head coach in franchise history following the dismissal of Joel Quenneville.[8] At the time of his hiring, Colliton became the youngest active head coach in the NHL.[8]

Paging Ken Hitchcock
- TJYTJY

No!

Paging Ken Hitchcock
- TJYTJY

The triumvirate of Kane, Toews, and Keith, would have to be consulted before anything became official.

Well that was... idk with this team anymore. I've given Colliton the benefit of the doubt for a year now and a year later they're playing worse than they did last year and I can't for the life of me understand why considering the have a better roster other than it's his system.

This team cannot play the Defensive system he wants to play. They are rarely in position and give up shot after shot and rebounds galore. They also cannot play dump and chase. For damn near 40 minutes all they did was run around and chase the Sharks in their own zone and every time they got the puck they would dump it down go for a change and repeat chasing them around. It was maddening to watch. Five shots through almost two periods is pathetic.

This team has skill. The guys on this roster have talent. They just cannot put things to together to play well enough.

I suggested for TC's mailbag about there being a change from the Front Office down and I honestly think this may need to be done. If the Hawks really want to turn this train wreck around and put an actual competitive team out there they need to do one of two things...

They need to either decide to win or rebuild. You either Fire Colliton and get a coach that can get the most out of these guys to win now OR you trade the core pieces so that he can take control of the room and built a team around what he wants them to do. I've been behind Stan at times as well, but the writing is starting to be on the wall for him as well. He may be a solid GM, but after awhile it runs it course and you need a new voice and set of eyes on a team.

It's s#!t or get off the pot time for Rocky on how he wants to handle this team. Either turn into your father and just try n milk this for money OR bring in some people who know and understand this league now and how to succeed in it to put a competitive team out there for your fan base that was starving for years to see a good team and is now going right back to where it was before he took over.

I will always be grateful for that run, and I'm not expecting the level of excellence we got to see because that comes once in a lifetime if you're lucky, but what I am expecting is for them to make moves to continue to be a relevant team in this league instead of sitting on their cups and continuing to try and make money off of that and having "the core" guys around.

Rant over. Back to work!

A lot of posters want JC fired. If that happens, do you want Stan to choose the next coach after his failure of selecting Colliton?

Sort of like having the Bears GM Ryan Pace select the next Bears QB after spending 20M on free agent Glennon who lasted as starter for about 5 games then drafted wonder boy Trubisky as the next franchise QB.

Anyway I think Bowman will not fire JC, will give him the rest of the season to get his system implemented, hope things gel and that the 2nd half of the season is similar to last year's 2nd half.

It's a gamble on Stan's part because I think he knows his job is on the line if there is no turn around. If the Hawks do not make the playoffs this year, I expect some front office changes next Spring and Summer.
- boilermaker100

I don't believe this is true and I'll believe it when I see it. I think the FO believes that Stan has done a great job this past summer. I for one see 4 or 5 better players on this year's team vs last year's and they may give it time to jell. That will be the montra.....sad as it seams.

The Core 4 are the basic reason why this team is failing so badly. Kane, Toews, Keith and Seabrook are dragging this team down with mediocre to poor play and Strome and Debrincat are following the leaders. Unfortunately, as other posters have stated, this team is going nowhere until the big guns start producing as the stars they are. Question is............ do they want to play for JC because it sure doesn't seem like it. Tomorrow's game against the Canucks will be very telling. That is a young hungry team and the Hawks better bring the energy or they will get blown out by more than just shots on goal.

How does one know McD is meddling?

Foley never criticizing one of the 4 core
Seabs, Keith, Kane, Toews

Well that was... idk with this team anymore. I've given Colliton the benefit of the doubt for a year now and a year later they're playing worse than they did last year and I can't for the life of me understand why considering the have a better roster other than it's his system.

This team cannot play the Defensive system he wants to play. They are rarely in position and give up shot after shot and rebounds galore. They also cannot play dump and chase. For damn near 40 minutes all they did was run around and chase the Sharks in their own zone and every time they got the puck they would dump it down go for a change and repeat chasing them around. It was maddening to watch. Five shots through almost two periods is pathetic.

This team has skill. The guys on this roster have talent. They just cannot put things to together to play well enough.

I suggested for TC's mailbag about there being a change from the Front Office down and I honestly think this may need to be done. If the Hawks really want to turn this train wreck around and put an actual competitive team out there they need to do one of two things...

They need to either decide to win or rebuild. You either Fire Colliton and get a coach that can get the most out of these guys to win now OR you trade the core pieces so that he can take control of the room and built a team around what he wants them to do. I've been behind Stan at times as well, but the writing is starting to be on the wall for him as well. He may be a solid GM, but after awhile it runs it course and you need a new voice and set of eyes on a team.

It's s#!t or get off the pot time for Rocky on how he wants to handle this team. Either turn into your father and just try n milk this for money OR bring in some people who know and understand this league now and how to succeed in it to put a competitive team out there for your fan base that was starving for years to see a good team and is now going right back to where it was before he took over.

I will always be grateful for that run, and I'm not expecting the level of excellence we got to see because that comes once in a lifetime if you're lucky, but what I am expecting is for them to make moves to continue to be a relevant team in this league instead of sitting on their cups and continuing to try and make money off of that and having "the core" guys around.

Rant over. Back to work!
- Savetheembers33

One solid rant, friend!

I hate to even contemplate this but it seemed to me the Hawks were intimidated by the Sharks size/speed aggressiveness last night. To clarify - most of the Hawks were with the exception of the 4th line which matched the Sharks aggressive and physical play - which tells me Shaw, Carpenter and Caggiula are the only guys who didn't play tentative and intimidated. The other guys played most of the game on their heels or in the case of DeBrincat - he didn't play intimidated but he can't carry Strome and Kane in the play with "angry guts" department.

For the Hawks to be competitive - they actually have to play competitively and that requires a compete level that wasn't there last night. Why wasn't the compete level better last night? I don't know for sure but I fear it was because the bigger and faster Sharks intimidated them.

How does one know McD is meddling?

Foley never criticizing one of the 4 core
Seabs, Keith, Kane, Toews
- gazza53

I honestly feel like this is because they've been so revered for what they've accomplished that anything short of praising them for wit will seem or appear to be "disrespect" to them.

I love these guys and will always have nothing but love and respect for them. Hell I have all of their jersey in my closet that I will be passing on to my son when he gets older and I tell him stories about the great run that they had.....but you reach a point where your talent slips off and you are what you are. Despite what your resume says you are what you are and to call you on your poor play isn't done in disrespect but is reality. These guys (except Kane he's still playing at an elite level) need to face the facts of who and what they are at this point in their careers.

One solid rant, friend!
- gabriel

Thank you much appreciated

You don't give up a 2 and 3 for 3.5 liner making 3.9 mil. 1st off.
that said the best line last night was 4th. I keep them together. I go back to SAAAD kampf and Kubalik.

hard part is what to so with Toews, Kane, Cat Strome nylander and Dach.

I'm not a fan of the CAT strome Kane line they are even at best 5 on 5.

what about
Nylander-Teows-Kane
CAT-Dach-Strome this allows gets the guys on there proper spot on the ice. Nylander Cat and DAch are all RH shots.