McCabe is 28, he will be fine. He hasn't been good so far this season, but give him the benefit of the doubt coming back from injury. He has 3 years left on a contract after this one, don't think he's going anywhere soon. DeHaan is in the last year of his contract and has not been good, and been injured for a few seasons. Dump him, bury him, pressbox him. Doesn't really matter.
- TheTrob

Based on this 2014 study, forwards peak at 27-28, and defenseman peak at 28-29.

https://news.ubc.ca/2014/05/15/nhl-study/

Are you vaccinated? Yea I'm immunized.

McCabe is 28, he will be fine. He hasn't been good so far this season, but give him the benefit of the doubt coming back from injury. He has 3 years left on a contract after this one, don't think he's going anywhere soon. DeHaan is in the last year of his contract and has not been good, and been injured for a few seasons. Dump him, bury him, pressbox him. Doesn't really matter.
- TheTrob

No way. I read on here that deterioration of play by a defenseman after 26 is permanent because of advancing age.

yeah
- BINGO!

That doesn't change the fact it is highly unlikely the Canes won't extend their streak to 9-0 tonight.

I see a closer game than the 6-3 pasting last Friday but the Hawks can't skate with such a highly-skilled and deep Canes team.

That doesn't change the fact it is highly unlikely the Canes won't extend their streak to 9-0 tonight.

I see a closer game than the 6-3 pasting last Friday but the Hawks can't skate with such a highly-skilled and deep Canes team.
- Popsghostly

I will take a goalie win, Hawks haven't come close to one yet.

I will take a goalie win, Hawks haven't come close to one yet.
- LAHawk

Same here! Wouldn't that make Thursday great all day?

So much more fun participating on this board and chatting with you all after a victory, especially after all the turmoil of the past few weeks.

Is the rest of the Carolina's lineup similar to what they had the last time we played them?

This could be a big test for the Hawks. I'll be cheering for the Hawks though to be competitive throughout the game (all 60 mins and no major collapses where they give up several goals over a short period of time). Might be dreaming though. Fingers crossed, let's go Hawks!
- SchwiftyHawk

Yeah the rest is all the same.

for forwards they're keeping pairs together. Aho-Teravainen, Trocheck-Necas, Staal-Fast and Lorentz-Stepan.

Everyone else (Jarvis, Kotkaniemi, Martinook, Svechnikov) are just being bounced around the lineup depending on matchups.

I will take a goalie win, Hawks haven't come close to one yet.
- LAHawk

Canes had a rough time with the Yotes' goalie the other day. and Andersen is due for a stinker eventually.

https://twitter.com/CRoum.../1455925377600311298?s=20

Is Toews getting the Strome chat?

They do move ..... out of the way
- BetweenTheDots

Great reply. Was thinking more like collapsing 3 feet in front of our goalie.

I’m sure you’ve been called worse.
- Angotti

Ha! If you knew my last name you would understand how much I hated most of school past age 8.

Can confirm that Brad Aldrich's name has been x'ed out on the Stanley Cup. Was done on Sunday when the Lightning names were being added.

I think if you look at the games realistically, and the level of play in each, the Hawks should probably be 3-6-1 Maybe 3-5-2. If that were the case does anyone think differently of where they are at in relation to the rest of the division/league at this point.

Beating a dead horse, but so much of this points to lack of talent to coach.
- TheTrob

Fixed.

I think you're dead on.

I posted here that I expected them to be 3-6 in October, based on the teams they were playing, which was a relatively difficult October schedule. I figured they beat NJD & Detroit, and one of either NYI or VAN at home.

So no, it hasn't changed my feeling that, as constituted, I don't think they are a playoff team, best case they're on the bubble.

It's going to be even more difficult, clawing back from the awful start.
- scottak

Just curious, how is it the coaches fault Toews, Kane, McCabe and MAF have sucked, Stillman and C. Jones out, that they did not reach your 3-6 prediction. You should be happy you're probably not judged on your job by things you can't control.

Coaching certainly factors into on ice performance, but prior to the last game the Hawks were scoring 1.8 goals a game. There is little chance you’re winning scoring so few goals.

Lack of talent has far more to do with where the team is than coaching. And no Dots, I did not say the coaching was good.
- paulr

Hustle never got a team to better than .500. Talent did.

The problem is they don't lack talent. You can say they don't have an actual #2 defender or that Jones is a 2 instead of a 1 but they have 4 proven top 4 NHL calibre players on defense.

They have 2 very good scoring options in Kane and Debrincat with Kubalik as a tweener with that bomb of a shot. Toews, Johnson and Dach should be providing a decent amount of secondary scoring and at least 2 of the younger players OR 1 + Strome should be able to round things out.

The roster certainly isn't going to light anyones pants on fire but they aren't a bottom of the barrel team. They should be slightly above the middle of the pack and able to give anyone a good game if firing on all cylinders with the talent they currently have.
- fattybeef

Your funny, you're funny, you are funny and living in the past with a few of those guys. Kubalik is a 3rd line player at best a one trick pony for sure. Kane has had one decent game this year against a bottom feeder. We have 3 NHL Forwards at most and that's counting our 3rd liner Kubalik. The defense has been playing short handed with two out playing Gus, Rockford fill-ins and one armed Dehaan.

Great team we have there.

Ha! If you knew my last name you would understand how much I hated most of school past age 8.
- Chunk

I bet it’s hunt and your first name is Mike

Just curious, how is it the coaches fault Toews, Kane, McCabe and MAF have sucked, Stillman and C. Jones out, that they did not reach your 3-6 prediction. You should be happy you're probably not judged on your job by things you can't control.
- rpeters01

we get it, you think the Hawks issues are solely because they lack talent. Others think it is because the coaching sucks. Reality lies somewhere in the middle.

You can have the greatest talent in the world, but if they are deployed incorrectly and/or play within the confines of a "system" that leaves them at a competitive disadvantage, then they will not play up to that potential.

Yes, we can all pick out poor games by individual players, and poor plays, but in the same sense we can point out games where the outcome does not necessarily reflect the play on the ice overall.

Just curious, how is it the coaches fault Toews, Kane, McCabe and MAF have sucked, Stillman and C. Jones out, that they did not reach your 3-6 prediction. You should be happy you're probably not judged on your job by things you can't control.
- rpeters01

I’m sorry, everyone is judged by things out of their control on their job. There are supply chain issues and a pandemic going on, which are external to our organization, but through the first 3 quarters of our fiscal year, we’re posting record sales and profits. That’s because we’re reacting to the external challenges better than our competitors.

Look what BUF is doing so far. New coach has his top player out, and also has a questionable roster, yet he’s got them playing well enough, so far, to be 5-3-1.

Anyone watching NHL Network right now?

Jamal Mayers just questioned the wisdom of playing man to man against the Oilers, and specifically questioned the logic of defensemen chasing the puck out to the blue line.

So there’s that.

Hopefully the Hawks can catch CAR looking ahead to their matchup on Saturday with FLA.

Too many ifs for this team to be taken remotely serious right now in my opinion. I do think S. Jones has stepped up recently, but can Toews do it for a sustained time. Kane will be fine, however Hawks do need more from Dach and Kubalik right now if they want to get back to respectability.

I’m sorry, everyone is judged by things out of their control on their job. There are supply chain issues and a pandemic going on, which are external to our organization, but through the first 3 quarters of our fiscal year, we’re posting record sales and profits. That’s because we’re reacting to the external challenges better than our competitors.

Look what BUF is doing so far. New coach has his top player out, and also has a questionable roster, yet he’s got them playing well enough, so far, to be 5-3-1.
- scottak

That is impressive, but at the same time you have Arizona. New coach, some new players and they suck too. Coaching is certainly a reason for the problems. Talent (or at least players not playing to their level) is another.

Ultimately, getting a new coach is the "easiest" mode of change, and I'm not against it. Somehow, they need to find a way to get everyone playing to their strengths and together as a team.

Bruce Boudreau just picked the Hawks tonight. He said it’s a trap game for CAR & the Hawks should play more confidently after getting their first win.

That is impressive, but at the same time you have Arizona. New coach, some new players and they suck too. Coaching is certainly a reason for the problems. Talent (or at least players not playing to their level) is another.

Ultimately, getting a new coach is the "easiest" mode of change, and I'm not against it. Somehow, they need to find a way to get everyone playing to their strengths and together as a team.
- Chunk

Not disagreeing with you. My post was more about coaches dealing with factors outside their control.