I am not young, Meddler.
- DarthKane

Jedi ages well....

The Joker trade is turning into a true calamity. What irritates me is the Hawks traded for a guy with KNOWN questions about his heart and desire. YOU NEVER add that to a championship level team. I thought Bowman made some good moves, like Kubi, but that move was a terrible move.
- kwolf68

Yep nylander has upside but tries to do too much if keeps simple he could be something or not still to early on him.

I am not young, Meddler.
- DarthKane

the huricane force windsocking here is impressive...

JC as coach is not the problem....
they went into the offseason to improve the blueline and stability in goal: they did and the because of stellar netiminding they have have improved from 3.5 to 2.75 GA/gm...that is significant the issue is that Goals for has droped the same amount...

this is a team in for a multi year rebuild on the fly...

the only significant improvement is the pk and the goalie play has been light outs or this team might only have 5 or 6 wins at this point..you can not expect lehner/crow to sport 94% save percentage with the amount of scoring chances and high danger chances every game...aves demonstrated what happens with some regression to the mean



on some nights they can play with and beat the better teams but they will have more nights where they just can't hang with any team and a bad period does them in...

they are weak 5v5, weak on the pp, and their defensive team IQ is poor...

since the 4-7-2 start they are 6-4-3...i suspect they are basically a 6-4-3 type of team the rest of the year...a bubble team that could get to 90-92 pts because of goaltending but most likely an 84-86 pt team...
- bogiedoc

On the other hand, they could be more the 4-7-2 type team...

Jedi ages well....
- mohel

Sith age better.

- John McDonough

That’s better.

Yep nylander has upside but tries to do too much if keeps simple he could be something or not still to early on him.
- Scott1977

He's 21 or 22.

Sith age better.
- DarthKane

But of course.

He's 21 or 22.
- mohel

I think Nylander will be fine, this is his first year in the NHL and he’s on a rebuilding team. We shouldn’t expect Kane 2.0. Some fans (not you) need to get past the fact that he was traded for Jokiharju, that wasn’t his fault. The move was risky, but if (big of) Boqvist and Mitchell work out then it’s a fair trade in the long term.

Penguins d-man Dumoulin will miss a minimum of 8 weeks after a recent surgery. StN should flip them Gustafsson and get Kahun back.

Means he’s not ready for The Show.

Since there’s no alternative this season, they have to “let the kid figure it out”.
- StLBravesFan

He's clearly a fine for 12 minutes and a lesser role. Certainly too far a head to be in junior. With the AHL not an option he has to learn on the job. Not the worst thing in the world.

I think Nylander will be fine, this is his first year in the NHL and he’s on a rebuilding team. We shouldn’t expect Kane 2.0. Some fans (not you) need to get past the fact that he was traded for Jokiharju, that wasn’t his fault. The move was risky, but if (big of) Boqvist and Mitchell work out then it’s a fair trade in the long term.
- DarthKane

Agree still early on joki to it was gamble time will only tell. Hawks have bigger issues.

And now the recent coaching backlash is hitting a current member of the Hawks staff.

Sean Avery says Marc Crawford kicked him once after Avery messed up and a puck hit Crawford in the head, resulting in 6 stitches.

And now the recent coaching backlash is hitting a current member of the Hawks staff.

Sean Avery says Marc Crawford kicked him once after Avery messed up and a puck hit Crawford in the head, resulting in 6 stitches.
- DarthKane

ok...sean avery = a jagbag's jagbag...

i think we should fire every gm, coach and player who utterred something offensive...happens every game...

no more NHL...

ok...sean avery = a jagbag's jagbag...

i think we should fire every gm, coach and player who utterred something offensive...happens every game...

no more NHL...
- bogiedoc

Avery also admitted to trying to fight one of his assistant coaches.

This could turn out to be interesting.

The Hawks will win some games and make the fans feel better and then they'll lose some games and remind us how we feel after being skated out of the rink against the Avs the last couple games. The point is they are an average team at best and most likely when all is said and done a below average team. My fear, as a Hawks fan, is Stan and McD do something to try to salvage this season. They have to proceed from the perspective that this season is lost and the focus must be on trying to make moves that will help the team be better next season - not this season.

The first move I hope they make is to trade Lehner. He is the perfect asset to move in that he is playing at a very high level, is reasonably prices ($5M) and is UFA after this season. They should be able to get a nice return to help the rebuild.

The most obvious TDL trade is Gustafsson but he is not playing at a high level so I doubt they can get much for him. At this point I'd take a 2nd round draft pick for him.

There aren't many players that other teams would want and that we would be willing to part with. Maybe Saad, Shaw, Carpenter, Smith, deHaan, Maatta, Murphy - if you can get a taker on any of them the trade should be made.

Please Stan/McD - do not try to fix this season. I beseech you.

Murphy and de Haan are solid d-men that I would take on my team any day. I’m not concerned with labelling them as 1st, 2nd or 3rd pairing d-men. Keith and Seabrook can still offer value, they just should play as much as they do. Maatta, I have no issue with him but I’m of the “take him or leave him” state of mind. Gustafsson isn’t as bad as some people make him out to be, but he should have been traded in the summer. Boqvist should be getting Gustafsson’s ice time. Koekkoek may not be a solid NHL level d-man, but there aren’t too many 7Ds that are.

If Keith is expected to miss significant time Boqvist should be playing instead of McCoshen. There’s no doubt about that.
- DarthKane

And I said as much regarding Conner and CDH. Labeling them 1, 2, 4 , etc. is vital, because you match them against who they can stop. We have 3rd pairing guys playing against 2nd lines and 2nd pairing guys playing against top lines. That's why the flow of play is almost always heavily dominated by the other team.

Seabrook is done. Gustaffson is brutal in his own zone, and doesn't appear to be improving there. Keith is still serviceable. CooCoo is whatever.

Hawks have only THREE (Keith, CDH and CM) d-men that would play on most any other team and none would even sniff top pairing role. The Hawks lack a #1 and #2 D-man and by slotting guys up above their skill levels it is a total disaster.

If these D-men were so good this team wouldn't be so horrible. And sorry it's not all on the "whining captain". We got some guys who just can't play (at this level or in their current role). And most of them are on D.

Boqvist should remain on the farm, he alone doesn't turn this team around and no need to put him into the dumpster fire that has become the Good Ship Blackhawk.

The Hawks will win some games and make the fans feel better and then they'll lose some games and remind us how we feel after being skated out of the rink against the Avs the last couple games. The point is they are an average team at best and most likely when all is said and done a below average team. My fear, as a Hawks fan, is Stan and McD do something to try to salvage this season. They have to proceed from the perspective that this season is lost and the focus must be on trying to make moves that will help the team be better next season - not this season.

The first move I hope they make is to trade Lehner. He is the perfect asset to move in that he is playing at a very high level, is reasonably prices ($5M) and is UFA after this season. They should be able to get a nice return to help the rebuild.

The most obvious TDL trade is Gustafsson but he is not playing at a high level so I doubt they can get much for him. At this point I'd take a 2nd round draft pick for him.

There aren't many players that other teams would want and that we would be willing to part with. Maybe Saad, Shaw, Carpenter, Smith, deHaan, Maatta, Murphy - if you can get a taker on any of them the trade should be made.

Please Stan/McD - do not try to fix this season. I beseech you.
- EbonyRaptor

I’d go the other way with Lehner, I’d re-sign him to a long term deal. The Hawks don’t have any goalie prospects even remotely close to being NHL ready and relying on Crawford (as awesome as he is) would be a risk. The UFA goalie pool next year is very shallow and almost all the decent free agents are 30 or older.

I’d go the other way with Lehner, I’d re-sign him to a long term deal. The Hawks don’t have any goalie prospects even remotely close to being NHL ready and relying on Crawford (as awesome as he is) would be a risk. The UFA goalie pool next year is very shallow and almost all the decent free agents are 30 or older.
- DarthKane

100% on this. Unless the Hawks feel they need a total tear down (which I do not believe) RL should be resigned.

Can somebody tell me who are the top 5 candidates to be picked in the 2020 Draft ? I have a good feeling the Hawks will snatch one of the candidates.

100% on this. Unless the Hawks feel they need a total tear down (which I do not believe) RL should be resigned.
- kwolf68

IMO , the Hawks need a total tear down.. Starting with Stan and his Coach.

Today is the last day for unsigned RFAs to sign and play this season. Edmonton’s Puljujarvi is the most popular, but Dallas d-man Julius Honka is an interesting option. Stan has the assets to acquire Honka and the blue line has the need.

Instead of looking to the Bruins as a model a better comparison is the Kings. Like the Kings, the Blackhawks are stuck with expensive players no longer good they can't get rid of to rebuild.
- rpeters01

you nailed it right on, get on with a 3 or 4 year plan, and no more long term deals, Colorado and Boston got home town discounts for long term deals. only one that comes close is Keith and Crawford, others blew the dynasty

IMO , the Hawks need a total tear down.. Starting with Stan and his Coach.
- spanky

Stan has turned over the roster significantly over the past couple season without much improvement. I like most of the most Stan’s moves from last off season but they haven’t had the desired impact.

The coach has changed and the results haven’t been there yet, although JC hasn’t had much time to work with a decent roster.

The next significant change would likely be the GM. I’m not saying I agree or disagree, I just think it’s the most likely outcome.

And now the recent coaching backlash is hitting a current member of the Hawks staff.

Sean Avery says Marc Crawford kicked him once after Avery messed up and a puck hit Crawford in the head, resulting in 6 stitches.
- DarthKane

Should have kicked him twice