If Toews plays and plays close to how he played in 2019-20 I think the hawks are in the playoffs. If he doesn’t play or if he can’t find his game I think they go either way.
- paulr

I agree, my post was without a doubt dependent on health, if they have health issues, then yes, they’ll probably be cellar dwellers, but if heathy they’ll be fun to watch.

Doughty is so good.
- BetweenTheDots

Not according to the fancy stats.

https://jfresh.substack.c...hty-is-not-only-no-longer

Doughty is so good.
- BetweenTheDots

Doughty was the best Dman in hockey from 2012 to say 2017, better than Keith(here come the arrows), however he’s nowhere as good as he was back then. There’s a price to pay for all those miles on guys like Keith, Seabrook, and Doughty , they were all studs and warriors. Dougthy is still an okay defenseman, but that contract will not end well.

It's really tough to say how the Hawks will finish when we don't yet know how injuries will affect teams in the division. That's a HUGE factor. Hawks played without Toews last season which can't be understated when you consider his impact on the ice. If a rival team loses someone just as important to their team, it will potentially sway things.

On paper the Hawks got better on the back end, because in all honesty, Zadorov struggled, Keith had been making more and more mistakes which ended up in the back of the net, and Boqvist needed to be sheltered with his minutes. We really only had 3 Dmen who belong in the top 4 and none who really were a #1D.

We can't discount the fact the Hawks added MAF to the equation. I've always been a big fan of Lankinen and was glad to see him play very outstanding at times, but MAF should help the team a lot. The Haws might be one of the better teams in the div in net.

Maybe you make the argument that the Hawks will miss Kampf as a defensive C, but I think moving on from him was about 2 years overdue. He is a good defensive F but I just feel like his positives in that part of the game didn't outweigh his shortcomings. I think as Hawks fans, we are stuck on this notion that we need some defense only C who takes all the Dzone draws, but if you look at the other C who take a lot of Dzone draws (last season for example, order by most Dzone draws)

Glengening
Dowd
Dvorak
Horvat
Danault
Kampf
Kopitar
Zibanejad
O'Reilly
Staal
Lindholm
Pageau
Bonino
Couture
Faksa
Lowry
Trocheck
Giroux
Karlsson

Most of these guys are lightyears better offensively, in transition and can take their team from on the defensive to the attack. Kampf is more the tread water defensively but do nothing offensively guy.

I won't claim to know how the Hawks will finish, but nobody should be surprised if they are playoff team. They still have some talented forwards that can provide scoring and should be a bit more stable on the defensive side. They've added depth in net with a future HOF goalie who is still playing well. They could have a good season.

Oh I agree I am not saying Crawford is the long term answer.....IF and that's still a relatively HUGE IF, the internal expectations are NOT met and they decide to fire JC....I just feel Crawford is that band aid. Veteran guy...been around a long time....guys on the team know him, etc, etc
- SteveRain

Half the team really doesn't know him his day has come his ship has sailed. If interim, it would be something like 1-2 games where Stan is finishing negotiations with the "real" coach. But Stan won't launch JC until he has his guy and I would bet Stan has that list at the top of the stack of papers on his desk now.

Doughty was the best Dman in hockey from 2012 to say 2017, better than Keith(here come the arrows), however he’s nowhere as good as he was back then. There’s a price to pay for all those miles on guys like Keith, Seabrook, and Doughty , they were all studs and warriors. Dougthy is still an okay defenseman, but that contract will not end well.
- Angotti

Hedman?

Not according to the fancy stats.

https://jfresh.substack.c...hty-is-not-only-no-longer
- LAHawk

Yes, the fancy stats suggest that he is not nearly as good as he is assumed to be. Here is the problem that I have though:

6.5% of NHL players polled by the NHLPA still believe that he is the best in the league, the fourth most of anybody.

Why is he STILL held in such high regard by his peers (the players that play against him)? The analytics crowd has done a ton of work to try and capture everything that goes into being a good player and how to compare players. And yet, they still - according to this - are grossly detached from what the actual players think in certain cases. Bad players can have good underlying stats (Runblad sticks out like a sore thumb). The analytics crowd can say all they want that their numbers account for everything, but they obviously do not (or at least it is not reflected in the opinions of the actual players). This is NOT to discount the role that these numbers can and should have, but I think (as I always have) that these numbers should be used in context with all other inputs available.

I think we all need to go back to viewing analytics as they should be: A good supplement to evaluation and not the main determinant.

The roster will contain a majority of veterans. Colliton better have the strong support of Toews, Kane, Carpenter, Johnson, deHaan, and Fleury. If he does not I don’t think he will last the season. And you will be able to tell from the player interviews and how the writers are reporting the mood of the team if he has their strong support, luke warm support, or if they think Colliton is over matched.

It's really tough to say how the Hawks will finish when we don't yet know how injuries will affect teams in the division. That's a HUGE factor. Hawks played without Toews last season which can't be understated when you consider his impact on the ice. If a rival team loses someone just as important to their team, it will potentially sway things.

On paper the Hawks got better on the back end, because in all honesty, Zadorov struggled, Keith had been making more and more mistakes which ended up in the back of the net, and Boqvist needed to be sheltered with his minutes. We really only had 3 Dmen who belong in the top 4 and none who really were a #1D.

We can't discount the fact the Hawks added MAF to the equation. I've always been a big fan of Lankinen and was glad to see him play very outstanding at times, but MAF should help the team a lot. The Haws might be one of the better teams in the div in net.

Maybe you make the argument that the Hawks will miss Kampf as a defensive C, but I think moving on from him was about 2 years overdue. He is a good defensive F but I just feel like his positives in that part of the game didn't outweigh his shortcomings. I think as Hawks fans, we are stuck on this notion that we need some defense only C who takes all the Dzone draws, but if you look at the other C who take a lot of Dzone draws (last season for example, order by most Dzone draws)

Glengening
Dowd
Dvorak
Horvat
Danault
Kampf
Kopitar
Zibanejad
O'Reilly
Staal
Lindholm
Pageau
Bonino
Couture
Faksa
Lowry
Trocheck
Giroux
Karlsson

Most of these guys are lightyears better offensively, in transition and can take their team from on the defensive to the attack. Kampf is more the tread water defensively but do nothing offensively guy.

I won't claim to know how the Hawks will finish, but nobody should be surprised if they are playoff team. They still have some talented forwards that can provide scoring and should be a bit more stable on the defensive side. They've added depth in net with a future HOF goalie who is still playing well. They could have a good season.
- breadbag

I agree with everything except for the bolded, I don’t think that the Hawks had three defensemen that belonged on the top four last year, they were there by default, now I believe that they do.

Yes, the fancy stats suggest that he is not nearly as good as he is assumed to be. Here is the problem that I have though:

6.5% of NHL players polled by the NHLPA still believe that he is the best in the league, the fourth most of anybody.

Why is he STILL held in such high regard by his peers (the players that play against him)? The analytics crowd has done a ton of work to try and capture everything that goes into being a good player and how to compare players. And yet, they still - according to this - are grossly detached from what the actual players think in certain cases. Bad players can have good underlying stats (Runblad sticks out like a sore thumb). The analytics crowd can say all they want that their numbers account for everything, but they obviously do not (or at least it is not reflected in the opinions of the actual players). This is NOT to discount the role that these numbers can and should have, but I think (as I always have) that these numbers should be used in context with all other inputs available.

I think we all need to go back to viewing analytics as they should be: A good supplement to evaluation and not the main determinant.
- Chunk

I agree, my point in posting this, is the S. Jones is horrible narrative, just look at his fancy stats.

Doughty was the best Dman in hockey from 2012 to say 2017, better than Keith(here come the arrows), however he’s nowhere as good as he was back then. There’s a price to pay for all those miles on guys like Keith, Seabrook, and Doughty , they were all studs and warriors. Dougthy is still an okay defenseman, but that contract will not end well.
- Angotti

It's funny how it all correlates with teams losing talent because of the salary cap.

Hedman?
- rpeters01

Definitely in the conversation, and I just looked up his stats, hard to believe that he’s been in the league for twelve years.

JC will be gone as soon as 10 games into the season. Due to some improvements made to the lineup, it may take until the 1/2 way mark. Bowman may survive.

Not according to the fancy stats.

https://jfresh.substack.c...hty-is-not-only-no-longer
- LAHawk

Now i feel so much better. I wouldn't take him at 31, and so many teams signing these guys into their late 30s is a mistake. Just watching Keiths quick twitch just get slow enough to be a detriment in his own end was tough. Doughty is a really good solid dman

Victor Stalberg retired....

somebody do a wellness check on TrueGrit......the benching of Stalberg almost deraild the Hawks 2013 cup run........

That's the great thing about hockey. It's a game of layers. Now we'll watch the start of the decline of Hedman. They still have a nice top 4 dmen but the forwards are getting pretty thin and then Points contract starts next year.

Victor Stalberg retired....

somebody do a wellness check on TrueGrit......the benching of Stalberg almost deraild the Hawks 2013 cup run........
- SteveRain

StaHlberg, great wheels, no hands, giant ego and self important. If he kept his big trap shut and just played he’s a decent fourth line player.

StaHlberg, great wheels, no hands, giant ego and self important. If he kept his big trap shut and just played he’s a decent fourth line player.
- paulr

With his wheels and size was great in the corner you want him playing higher getting pucks for other guys. He wanted to be Michael Jordan but he had Rodman's shot.

Thank you, Theo.
Your thought process is using logic.
I would add we are now coming off two consecutive COVID years, which changed every single aspect of professional hockey in a BIG way. And, while I might be in the minority of opinion here, I think the Blackhawks handled it quite well. A lot of guys got extended looks who may not otherwise have gotten them.
They now have significantly reset the table defensively, allowing the young players more time in Rockford. If the team defense improves, my guess is Colliton is safe for the duration of his contract.
- 35Tony0

I agree. they didn't take the decision of JC w/o forethought and were pretty honest in who the team was.

I think they knew after last year and the opportunities for new euros, draftees, and signing ing to get a foot in the door, that the defense was poor and not simply a full ice problem, but an area they needed to find some harder to play against and have no problem doing the little things (AFTER reading the play) necessary to negate the opposition attacks.

I think they saw enough of the dents in the new armor of newbies, in the current bench and they made moves.

They know they are still not assured anything, except that they can be no on ice excuses.
Is time on. everyone's side?

Well, the newbies the newly acquired and the returnees primly know that the transformation is going to continue and that they are going to continue to be on the look out for guys to help that.

Definitely in the conversation, and I just looked up his stats, hard to believe that he’s been in the league for twelve years.
- Angotti

Nobody is crying he is in decline, or the contract doesn't work?

Nobody is crying he is in decline, or the contract doesn;'t work?
- wiz1901

Winning cures all, and interesting that this discussion is about three guys that have won, makes those contracts easier to swallow, although Doughty’s has the much higher cap hit and longer term, that’s why I mentioned that it will not end well. Some of the larger contract guys out there have not won, or will never win, not necessarily those players fault however.

Winning cures all, and interesting that this discussion is about three guys that have won, makes those contracts easier to swallow, although Doughty’s has the much higher cap hit and longer term, that’s why I mentioned that it will not end well. Some of the larger contract guys out there have not won, or will never win, not necessarily those players fault however.
- Angotti

Itll be an interesting year and worth watching and following I think.

Q hates kids:

Joe Thornton's one-year deal with #FlaPanthers is for the league minimum: $750,000.

"he wants the hard work and he wants guys skating hard and guys winning battles." -Patrick Kane on Jeremy Colliton

Isn't that what every coach at every level of hockey, from Pee Wee to Major Junior to the NHL, wants? JC is not unique in wanting those qualities. However, he's failed to achieve them in 7 of his 8 seasons as a Head Coach.

I'm sure with the upgraded personnel, and a full training camp, JC will have the Blackhawks firing on all cylinders this season.

https://twitter.com/CRoum.../1426264050011357185?s=01

Looks like the schedule is out