The AHL is a far better league than you give it credit for. Over decades it has sent many excellent players to the NHL after they learned how to be pros, stars included. It is a league made up of many hard nosed, nasty veteran pros in their mid to late 20's; kids out of junior gaining experience, Euros experiencing the NA game and a lot of those 30 game a year NCAA wannabes with their face shields who have been told all their lives how great they are.

Don't tell the Pittsburgh Penguins or Tampa Bay Lightning the AHL isn't a valuable component of their success. The Hawks would do well by putting more emphasis on that team in Rockford.
- RickJ

Wholeheartedly agree. It would be wise for the Blackhawks to channel significant resources and personnel to beef up not only Rockford but Indy as well.

Indy can't just be treated as an afterthought for where borderline prospects go to die. Still do your best to develop them at the AA level as much as the AAA level.

The tank is on!
- Assman22

Wholeheartedly agree. It would be wise for the Blackhawks to channel significant resources and personnel to beef up not only Rockford but Indy as well.

Indy can't just be treated as an afterthought for where borderline prospects go to die. Still do your best to develop them at the AA level as much as the AAA level.
- AEL_Fox

A "developed" player - even without a future in Chicago - could be used as a trade chip.

I have never felt that they made enough of a development effort in Rockford (let alone Indy) as they should have - the results seem to indicate this.

For sure. I just don't think the guy behind the bench has any idea how to actually coach or make adjustments. A competent person behind the bench has them in the playoffs even with their lack of speed.
- fattybeef

Sorry, a "competent person" AKA a name like Gallant or Laviolette does not get this group into the playoffs. Why were they fired? Because they had a more talented group than the Hawks that were out of the playoffs when they were fired.

That D lineup for next season seems on point to me assuming:

(A) no trades to add in a defender
(B) Gustafsson and Maatta are shipped out (Gustafsson seems more of a given than Maatta, IMO)
(C) de Haan and Seabrook are fully healthy to start the year or soon thereafter

Keith - Boqvist
Murphy - Mitchell
de Haan - Seabrook
Koekkoek

Koekkoek could easily be Gilbert or possibly even Carlsson if he impresses in training camp. Would be nice to give Carlsson and McCoshen cups of coffee now to see what they have to contribute.

The math get complicated if Maatta is still on the team (I personally don't mind him if slotted properly) but may not be an issue if at least one of de Haan or Seabrook just is not 100% by the fall or continues to yo-yo in the health department.

Mitchell could also get the Boqvist treatment by starting in Rockford first but quickly graduating to the Hawks after a month or so in the minors.
- AEL_Fox

Maatta is not going to get shipped out. I would be surprised if he is.

Next year's roster will be more of the same. Minus probably Gus, Smith and one of the two goalies.

more of the same means another season down the toilet. This team and the management need a big BIG change

I should have said they are happy with he country so they can live with the tax rate. The population of many social democracies (Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Denmark, Canada among others) are well educated And skilled and could apply to emigrate to countries with lower tax rates. Most don’t emigrate as they are content paying a higher tax rate for the benefits of what those taxes provide. I’m happy, living in Canada, paying higher taxes and getting the health care, post secondary education and other benefits. I understand how others feel that paying less taxes and looking after heath and education themselves but it’s not for me.
- paulr

After Doug Ford reads your post he is going to kiss your a$s in his office at Queen's Park. And followup with a job offer as his key man in fixing those new blue Ontario licence plates that nobody can f$cken read. And count yourself lucky because Mike Babcock wanted that job badly.

WOW - nothing like that idea to tell you how out-of-touch they are with the temperament of the fanbase. Sounds like they have convinced themselves it's not JC (based on Bowman's comments re: his coaching) nor the GM, but instead the players' will.
- pdx2ord

Yeah. Had the follow on conversation/ polite rant with my ticket rep for about 12 minutes this morning. It was wide ranging -
•no one wants to talk to Bowman- most probably wish he wasn’t still with the org. Are the rumors that he got a contract renewal this summer true (god I hope not)?
•piling on to the non-Stan love caused by the news from Panarin’s interviews that he thought he would play the rest of his career with the Hawks , but Stan’s panic trade (of Panarin and Hammer) killed that.
•Colliton + Stan = can’t get the job done 2 years in a row. Stan now 4 years.
•need to know that there is some sort of strategy to make things better, some hope.
•I am not and everyone else I know who regularly attended the convention won’t be this year. No ability to get excited about this team right now.
•please give us hope that things will be different/better. We want meaningful hockey again and for the phrase “there’s still a lot of hockey left to play” to be a good thing - in a game or in a season.

There’s more but I can’t remember it all. I pretty much just unloaded - even going with the definition of insanity (being doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result) and playing the I drive 2.5 hours each way and go to work at 6 am so I can go to games card.

Sorry, a "competent person" AKA a name like Gallant or Laviolette does not get this group into the playoffs. Why were they fired? Because they had a more talented group than the Hawks that were out of the playoffs when they were fired.
- LAHawk

I disagree. Both the coaches you mentioned got stale in their respective teams. It's all about the players buying in. This team under JC looks unprepared on most nights, outcoached and inconsistent. Id like to think a more veteran coach can steal a couple of wins more with this roster.

They aren't going to need to worry about signing him at all. He is being moved. i keep trying to tell you. lol
- Elbows15

You and your damned feelings!

I still think there's some potential to tap into but if someone wants him bad enough, kind of like the deals you were mentioning, I'm ok with that too.

Sorry, a "competent person" AKA a name like Gallant or Laviolette does not get this group into the playoffs. Why were they fired? Because they had a more talented group than the Hawks that were out of the playoffs when they were fired.
- LAHawk

May not get them to the playoffs, but puts them in a better position to succeed

Coaches get fired all the time. So should no fired coaches ever get rehired?

That D lineup for next season seems on point to me assuming:

(A) no trades to add in a defender
(B) Gustafsson and Maatta are shipped out (Gustafsson seems more of a given than Maatta, IMO)
(C) de Haan and Seabrook are fully healthy to start the year or soon thereafter

Keith - Boqvist
Murphy - Mitchell
de Haan - Seabrook
Koekkoek

Koekkoek could easily be Gilbert or possibly even Carlsson if he impresses in training camp. Would be nice to give Carlsson and McCoshen cups of coffee now to see what they have to contribute.

The math get complicated if Maatta is still on the team (I personally don't mind him if slotted properly) but may not be an issue if at least one of de Haan or Seabrook just is not 100% by the fall or continues to yo-yo in the health department.

Mitchell could also get the Boqvist treatment by starting in Rockford first but quickly graduating to the Hawks after a month or so in the minors.
- AEL_Fox

Even with the injuries to deHaan and Seabrook - the current defensive lineup (Keith, Boqvist, Maatta, Koekkoek, Gustafsson, Murphy, Seeler,) - should the defensive numbers be as bad as they are? How much (and I think a lot) is on the forwards to be much, much better at not allowing opponents to get inside of them and be in good position to challenge the goalie?

You and your damned feelings!

I still think there's some potential to tap into but if someone wants him bad enough, kind of like the deals you were mentioning, I'm ok with that too.
- HawkintheD

Don't blame me. They come when they come.

That D lineup for next season seems on point to me assuming:

(A) no trades to add in a defender
(B) Gustafsson and Maatta are shipped out (Gustafsson seems more of a given than Maatta, IMO)
(C) de Haan and Seabrook are fully healthy to start the year or soon thereafter

Keith - Boqvist
Murphy - Mitchell
de Haan - Seabrook
Koekkoek

Koekkoek could easily be Gilbert or possibly even Carlsson if he impresses in training camp. Would be nice to give Carlsson and McCoshen cups of coffee now to see what they have to contribute.

The math get complicated if Maatta is still on the team (I personally don't mind him if slotted properly) but may not be an issue if at least one of de Haan or Seabrook just is not 100% by the fall or continues to yo-yo in the health department.

Mitchell could also get the Boqvist treatment by starting in Rockford first but quickly graduating to the Hawks after a month or so in the minors.
- AEL_Fox

That’s a significant improvement vs. what they’re trotting out there currently.

May not get them to the playoffs, but puts them in a better position to succeed

Coaches get fired all the time. So should no fired coaches ever get rehired?
- PatShart

Is that what you comprehended from LA’s post? He said why would you hire Laviolette or Gallant when they were unable to get much out of better teams than the Blackhawks.

May not get them to the playoffs, but puts them in a better position to succeed

Coaches get fired all the time. So should no fired coaches ever get rehired?
- PatShart

Without looking it up, S. Bowman, winningest HC in NHL history, went from MTL > STL > DET. Was he fired in MTL & STL, or did he choose to move on? Honestly I don’t remember.

2nd winningest HC in NHL history has been fired a couple of times.

Just because a HC gets fired, it doesn’t indicate he doesn't know what he’s doing. Circumstances didn’t work out.

The guys to stay away from are the ones that never get a 2nd chance. Like a Dennis Savard, et. al. I’d guess JC will fall into that latter category.

Is that what you comprehended from LA’s post? He said why would you hire Laviolette or Gallant when they were unable to get much out of better teams than the Blackhawks.
- paulr

Gallant is difficult to work with but a good coach. Laviolette has been fired year five at all his previous jobs.

Either would be better then a guy who is clearly clueless

Yeah. Had the follow on conversation/ polite rant with my ticket rep for about 12 minutes this morning. It was wide ranging -
•no one wants to talk to Bowman- most probably wish he wasn’t still with the org. Are the rumors that he got a contract renewal this summer true (god I hope not)?
•piling on to the non-Stan love caused by the news from Panarin’s interviews that he thought he would play the rest of his career with the Hawks , but Stan’s panic trade (of Panarin and Hammer) killed that.
•Colliton + Stan = can’t get the job done 2 years in a row. Stan now 4 years.
•need to know that there is some sort of strategy to make things better, some hope.
•I am not and everyone else I know who regularly attended the convention won’t be this year. No ability to get excited about this team right now.
•please give us hope that things will be different/better. We want meaningful hockey again and for the phrase “there’s still a lot of hockey left to play” to be a good thing - in a game or in a season.

There’s more but I can’t remember it all. I pretty much just unloaded - even going with the definition of insanity (being doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result) and playing the I drive 2.5 hours each way and go to work at 6 am so I can go to games card.
- Marlowe

I'm done after this year. 12 years as a ST holder. I should have left 2 years ago.

That’s a significant improvement vs. what they’re trotting out there currently.
- scottak

Keith will be 74 years old.
Boqvist isn't ready.
Murphy is good.
Mitchell has played zero pro games.
DeHaan is good for one solid hit.
Seabrook can't get through an airport metal detector.

Sorry, a "competent person" AKA a name like Gallant or Laviolette does not get this group into the playoffs. Why were they fired? Because they had a more talented group than the Hawks that were out of the playoffs when they were fired.
- LAHawk

There was a study done in MLB some time back, that the most effective Managers are the ones on their second job. The theory was that they made their mistakes in their first job, literally learning on the job, and we’re much more ready to handle their 2nd assignment.

Is that what you comprehended from LA’s post? He said why would you hire Laviolette or Gallant when they were unable to get much out of better teams than the Blackhawks.
- paulr

Tunnel vision, Chief.

Gallant is difficult to work with but a good coach. Laviolette has been fired year five at all his previous jobs.

Either would be better then a guy who is clearly clueless
- fattybeef

Year 5 isn't bad by NHL standards.

Yeah. Had the follow on conversation/ polite rant with my ticket rep for about 12 minutes this morning. It was wide ranging -
•no one wants to talk to Bowman- most probably wish he wasn’t still with the org. Are the rumors that he got a contract renewal this summer true (god I hope not)?
•piling on to the non-Stan love caused by the news from Panarin’s interviews that he thought he would play the rest of his career with the Hawks , but Stan’s panic trade (of Panarin and Hammer) killed that.
•Colliton + Stan = can’t get the job done 2 years in a row. Stan now 4 years.
•need to know that there is some sort of strategy to make things better, some hope.
•I am not and everyone else I know who regularly attended the convention won’t be this year. No ability to get excited about this team right now.
•please give us hope that things will be different/better. We want meaningful hockey again and for the phrase “there’s still a lot of hockey left to play” to be a good thing - in a game or in a season.

There’s more but I can’t remember it all. I pretty much just unloaded - even going with the definition of insanity (being doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result) and playing the I drive 2.5 hours each way and go to work at 6 am so I can go to games card.
- Marlowe

One would think Stan + John are on thin ice.

The ultimate question is, what is the level of tolerance for missing the playoffs? Stan held Q accountable after 1 year of missing the playoffs. Wonder if Rocky will be this cut throat with his front office?

Lets pour cold water on this fallacy that it is the coaching that is the reason the team is where it is. The talent is not there. So that falls to Bowman and his staff, but I still would not fire him, and give him one more year (end of the contract) to try and fix this.

The Hawks are bad defensively, not because of systems etc., I can name at least 10 teams that run the same variation of the defense Colliton runs, it is because the Hawks forwards are not committed to the defensive end (same as Toronto, who changed coaches and how did that change how they played against the Pens the other night.

There is no way Buchnevich scores if Toews and or Cagiula was not puck watching. They were in position, but just had a better seat than we did watching the play. Also the Hawks are horrid in the most important part of the ice, 6 feet inside and 6 feet outside the defensive blueline. how many times do we turn the puck over in that area per game? That is taught by the time you are a pee-wee ADB is probably the worst forward, Kubalik the best, Gus is probably the worst defenseman, but almost ALL are sub par in that area. I think the main reason for that is for all the offensive creativity the players have, they have no hockey sense defensively. Systems can only work so much. This isn't football where a set play is run each time, it is fluid, and you have to have the smarts to know where to be defensively to break up a play.

We have a bunch of Bobby Douglasses on the team, great skills except the empty brain matter in the head.

Sorry, a "competent person" AKA a name like Gallant or Laviolette does not get this group into the playoffs. Why were they fired? Because they had a more talented group than the Hawks that were out of the playoffs when they were fired.
- LAHawk

After the Penguins beat up on the spineless Maple Leafs on Tuesday, Craig Button gave his own 2-1/2 minute evaluation of what's wrong with Toronto on TSN. He skewered everybody - the Coach, Auston Mathews, John Tavares, Willie Nylander and the General Manager.

1) Defensive Zone play - been a problem for years. Obvious problem but nothing ever changes.

2) lack of attention to the details of the game - being in the right position on the ice, stopping on pucks, working hard without the puck. The work is too hard, skill players aren`t interested in that.

3) Team Composition - built one way because the General Manager decided to build the team based on skill as the only important criteria. Don`t have the players to play in the trenches and along the boards in body on body battles. They are a BAD COMBINATION OF WONT AND CAN`T.

I can think of another team in the Central that this evaluation applies to.

Keith will be 74 years old.
Boqvist isn't ready.
Murphy is good.
Mitchell has played zero pro games.
DeHaan is good for one solid hit.
Seabrook can't get through an airport metal detector.
- mohel

Always enjoy your hyperbole.

Keith will be 74 years old. 37 actually, still a top 4 on every team in the league, and top pair on many
Boqvist isn't ready. He’ll have almost a full season under his belt, plus an off-season. Expect the next step forward.
Murphy is good. He’s OK
Mitchell has played zero pro games. Agreed
DeHaan is good for one solid hit. So is every other player in the league. He was better than Murphy while healthy
Seabrook can't get through an airport metal detector. Not true, there has been no discussion of joint replacements. And if he doesn’t make it back, 3rd pair guys are easier to replace