Not sure on the over / under on any of this but with Gallant available I can’t see JC given much more time
- Colbyboy

Gallant is gift wrapped to coach for his ex-linemate Yzerman

I hope so.....then NO REASON NOT to FIRE Bowman and Colliton. They have both FAILED and it's a disgrace. Who's more to blame isn't important. Launch them both after 4 consecutive years of let downs. Any GREAT businessman should always have a succession plan. Let's see what's in Rocky's future for his great organization !!
- Hawkytalk

More Profits. Crazy to say but of all the owners of major sports franchises on Chicago, it is a Wirtz that is most loved.

markstrom last night was not what the hawks needed...

he played great: his positioning was really good, controlled rebounds to kill plays and hawks could not come up with scrum pucks for second chances

to get a 49 shot shutout the hawks helped: not enough high quality chances, little net presence, and mostly perimeter shot selection...


- bogiedoc

Maybe in fact he is the UFA the hawks need...over Lehner.

Gallant is gift wrapped to coach for his ex-linemate Yzerman
- LAHawk

Funny how that would work out, isn't it? Makes you wonder.........

Trade everyone!

Funny how that would work out, isn't it? Makes you wonder.........
- powerenforcer

Wait till end of year to fire Blashill, hopefully the ping pong balls fall right, get Lafreniere, Stevie Y also will have a lot of cap space, no reason to do the change right now.

Trade everyone!
- Assman22

Trade the whole franchise to Seattle, start anew, only take until the first prospects game to female dog about Francis as GM

markstrom last night was not what the hawks needed...

he played great: his positioning was really good, controlled rebounds to kill plays and hawks could not come up with scrum pucks for second chances

to get a 49 shot shutout the hawks helped: not enough high quality chances, little net presence, and mostly perimeter shot selection...

1st period was killer...i had suspicion it was going to be one of those games

oh by the way 4-41 in the last 45 pp's
- bogiedoc

Right.
How many times have we made opposing goalies look like the second coming of Terry Sawchuk? How many times have we had opposing goalies break out of personal slumps? This has more to do with the quality of our shooting and positioning than spectacular goaltending.

BTW Canuck fans are still the most boorish fans in the NHL.

Don't see the RedWings or Kings turning around quickly and they've been bad longer. Sports are not like business in turnarounds, too many variables and uncontrollables. Everyone has admitted it's beating a dead horse, Stan like it or not has made less mistakes than other GM's. Turnaround won't truly begin until core is gone.
- rpeters01

Exactly! I'll be honest, aside from the horrid Seabrook contract, I have no idea if what Bowman has done in the last 3 or 4 years is good or bad. That will take a few years to assess. And the success of the team is the main reason for the problems the team now experiences. I was a proponent after 2016 of the team trying to move the core and rebuilding. It's too late now to get anything of value for anyone but Kane and at his age even he won't bring back much return. The team pretty much has to ride out the contracts of Seabrook, Kane, Toews and Keith and in the meantime work on drafting well and developing their prospects. Like you I don't expect this team to be more than a middle of the road club until the core is gone.

Funny how that would work out, isn't it? Makes you wonder.........
- powerenforcer

HAHA! Oh Oh! PE is "wondering" about a new conspiracy!

HAHA! Oh Oh! PE is "wondering" about a new conspiracy!
- paulr

Perception is reality.

The Hawks played great last night and lost. This doesn’t come near balancing the early season points the Hawks stole behind our own tending. The Hawks are who we thought they were a team not making the playoffs. The inevitable was just on delay.

Now the “goalie wins” and “the calls” are starting to even out and the witching hour on the season is here.

The Hawks defense not good enough, depth scoring not good enough, bad regression from Strome and Cat leaves us here.

There are positives: Kane is Kane, Toews has had another strong year, excellent goalies, not to mention the rise of Kubilik, who looks to have serious upside. Kids like Boqvist and Dach continue to impress.

There are good signs but not enough. I just hope when the depth is replenished and the youngsters are legit players, Kane and Toews are not winding down.

The Hawks simply have not been good enough organizationally to remain relevant like the Penguins, who have used a similar model as the Hawks, protect the core, build around and try to stay relevant. The Pens have just done a better job in scouting, drafting, trades, cap management and development. The Pens / Hawks juxtaposition illuminates Bowmans failure as GM. While he has done good things he has been a mediocre at best GM while the Penguins are legitimately looking at a serious Cup run. Bowman is soon to be the architect of a 3-peat of playoff misses. Coaches and players do not get immunity, nor should he.
- kwolf68

I'd add Boston into that comparison as well. While not winning a Cup since replacing Chiarelli with Don Sweeney, they went all the way to game 7 of the Final last year and look poised for another deep run this year. What do both the Pens and Boston have in common? Both fired their GMs after significantly under performing expectations after initial Cup success. Interestingly, both the fired GMs, Chiarelli and Shero, have now been fired from their subsequent jobs while Sweeney and Rutherford have built perennial contenders... For all those that think McDonough's presidency of the franchise is a non issue as he is only a marketing guy, consider both Pittsburgh and Boston have hockey men as team presidents and could recognize the need for changes at the management level. How many feel good "bring the band back together" trades have Lemieux and Neely's teams made? I cant think of any... I've defended him in the past, but it's pretty clear to me that the Hawks need a reboot and it starts with replacing Stan. Unfortunately, I think McD is here for the long haul.

Lots of TANK watch games tonite:

DET@NJD
ARI@OTT
NYI@NSH
NYR@MIN
CGY@ANA

We need to gain some ground now for our annual "mess up our draft position" winning streak.

Perception is reality.
- powerenforcer

No, perception is perception. Reality is reality.

What did Strome learn by sitting out the previous game?
And he is due a big raise. Good luck with that!

What did Strome learn by sitting out the previous game?
And he is due a big raise. Good luck with that!
- 67hawks

I guess he'll get a 2-3 year deal for $3.5 - $4 million.

I'd add Boston into that comparison as well. While not winning a Cup since replacing Chiarelli with Don Sweeney, they went all the way to game 7 of the Final last year and look poised for another deep run this year. What do both the Pens and Boston have in common? Both fired their GMs after significantly under performing expectations after initial Cup success. Interestingly, both the fired GMs, Chiarelli and Shero, have now been fired from their subsequent jobs while Sweeney and Rutherford have built perennial contenders... For all those that think McDonough's presidency of the franchise is a non issue as he is only a marketing guy, consider both Pittsburgh and Boston have hockey men as team presidents and could recognize the need for changes at the management level. How many feel good "bring the band back together" trades have Lemieux and Neely's teams made? I cant think of any... I've defended him in the past, but it's pretty clear to me that the Hawks need a reboot and it starts with replacing Stan. Unfortunately, I think McD is here for the long haul.
- Davewn

Rutherford's way is a double edge sword. He trades first round picks and futures/prospects. BUT it's to find the right player to go along Crosby and Malkin. I'm guessing he really wants to maximize their talents, not waste their prime years and always going for it. I like it in that sense. Unlike here, Toews and Kane's prime years are being wasted under this "plan". Can you imagine if Rutherford is the GM here?

No, perception is perception. Reality is reality.
- paulr

Actually on this site perception, reality and fiction are a blur.

I guess he'll get a 2-3 year deal for $3.5 - $4 million.
- DarthKane

which is good. I find it laughable when people are throwing out 5-6mil, or comparable to Dcat, to re-sign this guy.

sign Kubalik at 2.5-3m, Caggs at 1.5m max, total 8mil for the three of them and you don't have to trade out Saad

Hawks officially with the worst PP in the league at 14.3%. 25 goals in 175 opportunities. Also tied for 5th worse with their 8 short handed goals against.

They are currently tied for 10th in the league on the PK with a 81.9% kill percentage, but have regressed lately going 8 for 12 on the kill over the last 3 games.

Rutherford's way is a double edge sword. He trades first round picks and futures/prospects. BUT it's to find the right player to go along Crosby and Malkin. I'm guessing he really wants to maximize their talents, not waste their prime years and always going for it. I like it in that sense. Unlike here, Toews and Kane's prime years are being wasted under this "plan". Can you imagine if Rutherford is the GM here?
- squishy24

Pittsburgh has done well in the lower rounds of the draft though and they have a very productive AHL team. Who is the last decent, NHL caliber player called up from Rockford? Dach and Boqvist don't count as they were able to escape the Hawks' AHL "development." Rutherford also understands how the salary cap works and doesn't routinely overpay for bottom six forwards and third D pair types. He's made some bad moves/signings but isn't afraid to move on from them.

No, perception is perception. Reality is reality.
- paulr

You're obviously not married...

which is good. I find it laughable when people are throwing out 5-6mil, or comparable to Dcat, to re-sign this guy.

sign Kubalik at 2.5-3m, Caggs at 1.5m max, total 8mil for the three of them and you don't have to trade out Saad
- squishy24

At last year's stats those original numbers were close but not now.

Hawks officially with the worst PP in the league at 14.3%. 25 goals in 175 opportunities. Also tied for 5th worse with their 8 short handed goals against.

They are currently tied for 10th in the league on the PK with a 81.9% kill percentage, but have regressed lately going 8 for 12 on the kill over the last 3 games.
- boilermaker100

FIRE BOWMAN AND COLLITON !!!

Pittsburgh has done well in the lower rounds of the draft though and they have a very productive AHL team. Who is the last decent, NHL caliber player called up from Rockford? Dach and Boqvist don't count as they were able to escape the Hawks' AHL "development." Rutherford also understands how the salary cap works and doesn't routinely overpay for bottom six forwards and third D pair types. He's made some bad moves/signings but isn't afraid to move on from them.
- Davewn

Saad, then Crow.