Did you even read the rest of it?

Also, take a look at every draft since he's been here. How many of those players he's drafted in the last 10 years are on this team?

It's 5 players, two of them are rookies this year, two of them he traded away and then traded BACK for, and the last one left is Debrincat.

Since 2009, Stan has either fudged the pick, had to trade them away to get rid of bad contracts, or just straight up traded them for less talented players.

Prior to Boqvist and Dach, here is the list of first rounders.

Dylan Olsen
Kevin Hayes
Mark McNeil
Philip Danault
Teuvo Teravainen
Ryan Hartman
Nick Schmaltz
Henri Jokiharju

So don't be surprised when Bowman trades Boqvist in order to get a bottom feeder to take Seabrook. That's the GM we've got.

www.hockey-reference.com/teams/CHI/draft.html
- Toew Drags 4 Daze

Olsen was a Tallon pick. McNeill a bust. TT was the highest pick. All the other forwards aside from Hartman are Top 6 players on their teams. Joki is trending toward a Top 4 D-man.

nothing wrong with Keith's caphit. he's still the #1D, for his caphit, hes lower than market price. But Seabs'.......
- squishy24

He's the Hawks #1 D for sure. Would he be most other teams #1 D? Ehhh probably not. Nothing against him, he's playing incredibly well for 36. But, well he's 36 and can rapidly decline anytime now...

I agree that top 4 d men don't grow on trees. As Charlie R on NBC Sports says, removing him would still subtract from this team. They don't have another top 4 dman anywhere close.

I am starting to wonder if Shaw will be playing again any time soon or even beyond...
- frafra

hes more likely to stay in LTIR until his contract runs out, which is good for the caproom.
hopefully though, Shaw lives a normal symptoms-less life when he retires.

He's the Hawks #1 D for sure. Would he be most other teams #1 D? Ehhh probably not. Nothing against him, he's playing incredibly well for 36. But, well he's 36 and can rapidly decline anytime now...

I agree that top 4 d men grow on trees. As Charlie R on NBC Sports says, removing him would still subtract from this team. They don't have another top 4 dman anywhere close.
- catrisc

I agree with you. I mentioned even before the start of the season that there is no top pairing dman in this team. but it is what it is

...*checks in and confirms sky is falling again*...



One thing I will say, as much of a fan of Lehner as I have been and as spectacular as he's played, the Hawks seem to be REALLY good at finding good goalies (see Niemi, Crow, Ranta, Nilsson, etc.) and developing guys so if they want to find someone a little bit cheaper who they feel can do close to as good of a job as Lehner has then it's worth exploring. Especially if that means adding depth elsewhere.

I'm gonna let this season play the rest of the way out at this point because the rollercoaster ride has been too nauseating to make proclamations one way or another. I will say though, if they miss the Playoffs again that fails on one person: Bowman...and we'll find out if Rocky is more concerned with being loyal to a fault OR putting a consistent winner together for the fans.
- Savetheembers33

Disappointing though. This place is only at DEFCON 2. Still think the doomsayers have another level in ‘em.

I don't know how long Rutherford has been in charge there, but it seems that Pittsburgh has a pretty good - AND CONTINUING - record since 2007-08: three Cups, another Final, another Conference Final, in the tournament every year, still in the hunt....

If they're going to "be in shambles" after Crosby, it will be a small price to pay for the success.
- StLBravesFan

Fact check (before we canonize Jim.)
Rutherford joined Pittsburgh in June 2014. So he is not responsible for Crosby or Malkin or Letang. But he is responsible for Jack Johnson, Brandon Tanev, and trading Kessel for Galchenyuk. They have no 1st or 2nd round picks next year. They have 8 RFA's and 1 UFA after this year. If you look at their cap situation for next year it is not looking great. Before that for 20 years he was part of the management team in Hartford and Carolina from 1994 to 2014 (20 years - 1 Cup - missed the playoffs a lot).

Every good player relies on his line mates to help him produce - especially players who are supposed to produce like top-6 skaters / like Strome (even if nominally on a third line).

If he’s on a line with, say, Dach (who hasn’t learned yet how to score) and AdB (who has apparently forgotten how to score) and Kampf (who will never learn how to score), Strome will not appear to be productive.
- StLBravesFan

I agree with you, yet half this board wanted Toews' head on a pike for not scoring while paired with relative scrubs and are now wondering why Kane isn't getting goals. It's a function of not having a very deep or experienced team, I guess.

Is this team really disappointing if they are exactly where we expected them to be this year?

This right here. We're gonna find out at the trade deadline if Stan is going to be back or not. I think we're starting to see a lot of the "Blackhawks likely to stand pat" deadline stuff because a decision has been made.

I don't think Rocky wants Stan making any more roster decisions after failing to hit his mark the last 3 years.

I'm betting the Hawks wait till the off-season to fire Stan and Jeremy and have a big press release thanking Stan for the Cups. Then they'll say something like in 2010 we revived the Hawks and in 2020 we're going to do it again and make this decade as special as the last decade etc...

Hopefully Gallant is still around at that point.

But one thing should be pretty clear, if we see any trades involving the Blackhawks come deadline, Stanley will be back.
- Toew Drags 4 Daze

Bowman will be the GM, Colliton will be the coach at the start of next season. Gallant will be working for his ex-linemate in Detroit.

Fact check (before we canonize Jim.)
Rutherford joined Pittsburgh in June 2014. So he is not responsible for Crosby or Malkin or Letang. But he is responsible for Jack Johnson, Brandon Tanev, and trading Kessel for Galchenyuk. They have no 1st or 2nd round picks next year. They have 8 RFA's and 1 UFA after this year. If you look at their cap situation for next year it is not looking great. Before that for 20 years he was part of the management team in Hartford and Carolina from 1994 to 2014 (20 years - 1 Cup - missed the playoffs a lot).
- -Doh-

Why are you bringing up facts? I love playing GM in stratomatic hockey.

JC, how about a blog concentrating on "Things I'm Tired Of Seeing".

To keep it non-political, I'll start with two:

(1) I'm tired of seeing Keith and other defensemen shooting from the blue line with no one at - or going to - the net. Goalie has perfect vision on the shot, and it usually results in a TO. (Obviously, I'm not talking about shooting it in while changing lines - more often than not, that isn't the case.)

(2) I'm tired of seeing two-line passes as the attempt at a clearing pass from their own zone. They rarely work, and more often than not, lead to TOs, and the puck coming back at them. There have to be better ways to clear the zone and transition to offense.
- StLBravesFan

(3) The drop back pass entry on the PP.

He's the Hawks #1 D for sure. Would he be most other teams #1 D? Ehhh probably not. Nothing against him, he's playing incredibly well for 36. But, well he's 36 and can rapidly decline anytime now...

I agree that top 4 d men don't grow on trees. As Charlie R on NBC Sports says, removing him would still subtract from this team. They don't have another top 4 dman anywhere close.
- catrisc

Even if Morgan Reilly wasn't hurt, i think Keith would be the #1 defenseman on the Leafs.

I agree with you. I mentioned even before the start of the season that there is no top pairing dman in this team. but it is what it is
- squishy24

Before making such a rash statement go to Hockey Reference and identify and list the top two defenders on each team. Then list how many teams Keith would not be in the top pairing. You may be surprised.

Gallant

If Dallas has a tough stretch it’s a perfect landing spot

Bowness is a lifetime assistant coach & both are from the Maritimes

Why are you bringing up facts? I love playing GM in stratomatic hockey.
- LAHawk

My apologies. I forgot that reality and fiction are treated equally here.

He's the Hawks #1 D for sure. Would he be most other teams #1 D? Ehhh probably not. Nothing against him, he's playing incredibly well for 36. But, well he's 36 and can rapidly decline anytime now...

I agree that top 4 d men don't grow on trees. As Charlie R on NBC Sports says, removing him would still subtract from this team. They don't have another top 4 dman anywhere close.
- catrisc

Absolutely, top-4 d-men dont grow on trees, which is why the last FIVE drafts have been dominated by defensemen in the first 3 rounds. Except in rare cases, they take 3-5 years of seasoning in the minors somewhere. Yeah exceptions are top 10 picks like Boqvist, Cale Makar of Av's, or Quinton Hughes of Canucks. And THAT is how Bowman has been restocking the future. Top defensemen in free agency or trades cost WAY too much. Ask Dougie Wilson of the Sharks. How would we like to have THOSE contracts? And now we need forwards from the draft, and Dcat and Dach are good for starters. It dont happen overnight. In the NEXT draft, will we draft goalie Askarov ? In all likelihood, Lehner will be traded soon.

Olsen was a Tallon pick. McNeill a bust. TT was the highest pick. All the other forwards aside from Hartman are Top 6 players on their teams. Joki is trending toward a Top 4 D-man.
- Elbows15

Never let facts get in the way of a good narrative.

Absolutely, top-4 d-men dont grow on trees, which is why the last FIVE drafts have been dominated by defensemen in the first 3 rounds. Except in rare cases, they take 3-5 years of seasoning in the minors somewhere. Yeah exceptions are top 10 picks like Boqvist, Cale Makar of Av's, or Quinton Hughes of Canucks. And THAT is how Bowman has been restocking the future. Top defensemen in free agency or trades cost WAY too much. Ask Dougie Wilson of the Sharks. How would we like to have THOSE contracts? And now we need forwards from the draft, and Dcat and Dach are good for starters. It dont happen overnight. In the NEXT draft, will we draft goalie Askarov ? In all likelihood, Lehner will be traded soon.
- MadHatter

VERY rare that a goaltender is taken with a top 10 pick, in the first round. Spencer Knight was picked #13 last year by Tallon. Don't know anything about Askarov? How does he compare to Knight?

hes more likely to stay in LTIR until his contract runs out, which is good for the caproom.
hopefully though, Shaw lives a normal symptoms-less life when he retires.
- squishy24

win/win for him and the hawks...he gets paid and they get cap relief..

really liked and respected the mutt...i was glad to see him back with the hawks

it was a risk and sadly he took another hit....

he was a big part of those 213-2015 teams...never been replaced...

Interesting numbers:

Ben Pope‏Verified account @BenPopeCST · 1h1 hour ago

Last night, the Blackhawks had:
- 78 shot attempts, 2nd-most this season
- 49 shots on goal, a season high

And allowed:
- 37 shot attempts, a season best
- 20 shots on goal, a season best

Aaaand they still lost. The story, ICYMI:
- Chunk

why i hate this sport sometimes...

Fact check (before we canonize Jim.)
Rutherford joined Pittsburgh in June 2014. So he is not responsible for Crosby or Malkin or Letang. But he is responsible for Jack Johnson, Brandon Tanev, and trading Kessel for Galchenyuk. They have no 1st or 2nd round picks next year. They have 8 RFA's and 1 UFA after this year. If you look at their cap situation for next year it is not looking great. Before that for 20 years he was part of the management team in Hartford and Carolina from 1994 to 2014 (20 years - 1 Cup - missed the playoffs a lot).
- -Doh-

no one is canonizing Jim, no GM is perfect, but your post is purely one-sided facts. he's also responsible for these players;
hornqvist, kessel, bonino, hagelin, mccann, bjugstad
cole, daley, schultz, hainsey, marino, pettersson
and a new coach that resulted in 2 cups.

he was brought up because hes doing everything he can to not waste Malkin and Crosby years in Pittsburgh. All the while Toews and Kane years are currently being wasted here. SBs trades/acquisition this season did nothing to help out TK.

Fact check (before we canonize Jim.)
Rutherford joined Pittsburgh in June 2014. So he is not responsible for Crosby or Malkin or Letang. But he is responsible for Jack Johnson, Brandon Tanev, and trading Kessel for Galchenyuk. They have no 1st or 2nd round picks next year. They have 8 RFA's and 1 UFA after this year. If you look at their cap situation for next year it is not looking great. Before that for 20 years he was part of the management team in Hartford and Carolina from 1994 to 2014 (20 years - 1 Cup - missed the playoffs a lot).
- -Doh-

Another important tidbit. Rutherford has never had to deal with signing his two anchors because they both signed long term contracts before the CBA was changed.

Bowman has had to sign his anchors twice.

That is a huge difference.

Disappointing though. This place is only at DEFCON 2. Still think the doomsayers have another level in ‘em.
- HawkintheD

Just wait. Not everyone has seen the big board yet.

Never let facts get in the way of a good narrative.
- -Doh-

By no mean does it mean I exclude Bowman from criticism, he has made his share of mistakes. Just trying to present some alternative facts. lol

Before making such a rash statement go to Hockey Reference and identify and list the top two defenders on each team. Then list how many teams Keith would not be in the top pairing. You may be surprised.
- -Doh-

lol ok you got me. he could be a top pair in many bad teams, that means hes a top D pairing. for example, the blackhawks.

I have to watch how I word my point