Exactly. Stan started a rebuild and then abruptly changed course a year or two later. Really, the Hawks front office made both decisions. Who was the force behind them? Smells like ownership to me, with revenue being the issue. If so, is hiring a hockey ops person going to change anything? If Wirtz says "no rebuild", will the fresh look mean anything?
- mohel

Unfortunately we have to read tea leaves as fans. But if they hire a Brian Burke type to oversee the hockey side we know owners have ceded power to a person with a spine..... If they hire a StanBo type we know they have hired a person who won't stand up for his convictions and can be easily influenced.

Hopefully ownership has seen the results of meddling by non-hockey people and decide they need to hire the right hockey mind at the top and give him the resources to carry out HIS hockey decisions.

It is important to have a central source through which the hockey decisions are considered. If they hire someone for that position, I would assume that ownership would be on board with the plan that they laid out to get the job. If it is "no rebuild" then all of the decisions will be made through that lens.

I think you still need a point person to coordinate all that.
- Chunk

Understood, but I think many here assume that this outside person in charge of hockey ops will have the freedom to decide whether and when a rebuild happens. And that said person will choose a gut rehab. Not sure Wirtz will give up that much power.

In addition, I apologize for the honey comeback.
- mohel

Civility on this board!!! I don't even know where I am right now.

Tough break for Reichel. Big test when he gets back. You know in the AHL coaches will be telling players to take runs to try and throw him off his game (more so than the NHL).

Good sign if he can bounce right back and handle being targeted. We all know that will happen in the NHL.

Anyone who watches AHL regularly, how is Reichel at avoiding big hits? Does he have a bit of that Kane elusive gene in him?

Glad you posted this about Weekes cuz honestly I've found him to be shallow. A hot take kinda guy with little to no substance. I'll hunt an interview with him to see if I'm wrong on that.

Your last paragraph is very good and something I hope Hawk executives are discussing. Can you have both? A young braniac GM with a grizzled hockey man above him to keep the young buck from driving the bus into a ditch?
- Mr Ricochet

Yeah, he's kind of corny on the shows, and he's a bit over the top sometimes, but I came away impressed with how well he can describe most/all aspects of the game. What I like about him is that he is very realistic about players' abilities and what can be beneficial within a particular system. I'll try and find some of the interviews I've heard.

Civility on this board!!! I don't even know where I am right now.

Tough break for Reichel. Big test when he gets back. You know in the AHL coaches will be telling players to take runs to try and throw him off his game (more so than the NHL).

Good sign if he can bounce right back and handle being targeted. We all know that will happen in the NHL.

Anyone who watches AHL regularly, how is Reichel at avoiding big hits? Does he have a bit of that Kane elusive gene in him?
- bhawks2241

Most of what I've seen is highlights, but he seems to be faster/quicker than most others on the ice. He also has good vision to keep himself out of harms way quite a bit.

And the biggest "no poop" of all time goes to:

Lukas Reichel is in concussion protocol and won’t play for the IceHogs tomorrow vs. Milwaukee. No timeline given.
- Chunk

Hate to say it but probably better then a shoulder issue.

Hate to say it but probably better then a shoulder issue.
- fattybeef

Huh?

In addition, I apologize for the honey comeback.
- mohel

Thank you

And, yes, we can most definitely go back to our previous disagreeable interactions.

Civility on this board!!! I don't even know where I am right now.

Tough break for Reichel. Big test when he gets back. You know in the AHL coaches will be telling players to take runs to try and throw him off his game (more so than the NHL).

Good sign if he can bounce right back and handle being targeted. We all know that will happen in the NHL.

Anyone who watches AHL regularly, how is Reichel at avoiding big hits? Does he have a bit of that Kane elusive gene in him?
- bhawks2241

Was just going to ask if the boarding calls/punishments in the AHL are more or less frequent and severe than in the NH? You'd think at that level, you'd want to have some pretty severe penalties given the competitiveness at that level (with everyone wanting their limited shot at the big league) making the "intent to injure" more likely.

I haven't watched Reichel beyond a few clips, but he does seem to skirt defenders quite nicely, a la Kane. Will just have to use his smarts to never go full-on facing the boards when fighting for the pucks.

Ideally that would be the case - and should have been the case. The problem was that the FO took two additional years of trying to go for it and traded valuable assets for poor return and little to no playoff results. They then tried to lightly rebuild which turned into a full rebuild, which turned into trying to win again. So, now they are about 3 years behind what the schedule should have been. I'm a bit more optimistic on what they have in the pipeline than others, but they all need another few years of development. In the meantime, the Hawks need to pick a lane and stick with it otherwise, they will just get slowly worse as the years drag on.
- Chunk

That's the problem though. If you're doing talent evaluations and "going for it" and decide that Tomas Fleischmann and Dale Weise had more value on the ice than Danault at that time (plus a second) then either the pro scouting is very bad or the person making the decisions is a moron.

I'm not saying that they shouldn't go for it - I'm saying that who ever was making the personal decisions to make calls like the one above is poor at evaluating hockey talent and the fault of them not being able to reload has little to do with going for it and more to do with their front office being OK at drafting but absolutely terrible at player evaluation.

Same bozos that were hot for David Rundblad and Dylan Sikura.

Huh?
- mohel

That Reichel getting a concussion is a better then him tearing up his shoulder from that hit.

Unfortunately we have to read tea leaves as fans. But if they hire a Brian Burke type to oversee the hockey side we know owners have ceded power to a person with a spine..... If they hire a StanBo type we know they have hired a person who won't stand up for his convictions and can be easily influenced.

Hopefully ownership has seen the results of meddling by non-hockey people and decide they need to hire the right hockey mind at the top and give him the resources to carry out HIS hockey decisions.
- Mr Ricochet

I don't know Mr.R but seems to me this organization needs to be thinned out first before they begin restructuring the hockey operations

At the very top of the front office is a Chairman (Rocky), a CEO (Danny) and a President of Business Operations (Jamie Faulkner). And going down from there are numerous people with VP and GM and Asst GM titles. Our interim GM works in the "Hockey Strategy and Analytics" Division with a bunch of Directors and Coordinators. I have a hard time understanding how all of these people fill their days without taking a nap in the morning and another one after lunch and then head out early to beat the traffic.

Like what top hockey guys is going to want to come in and deal with cleaning up that structure mess?

Civility on this board!!! I don't even know where I am right now.

Tough break for Reichel. Big test when he gets back. You know in the AHL coaches will be telling players to take runs to try and throw him off his game (more so than the NHL).

Good sign if he can bounce right back and handle being targeted. We all know that will happen in the NHL.

Anyone who watches AHL regularly, how is Reichel at avoiding big hits? Does he have a bit of that Kane elusive gene in him?
- bhawks2241

Reichel is generally pretty elusive with his sleek skating and good edgework. His vision allows him to see what's around him. When he does take a hit to make a play -- which he is not averse to doing -- he seems adept at knowing how best to absorb the hit so he can bounce back quickly and rejoin the action.

The play in which he got injured was a freak incident in that he tripped or lost balance first which didn't allow him to properly stay upright and turn so he could absorb any hit in a safer manner.

Yet, there's also the argument that the Admirals player really shouldn't have dished a hit with Reichel so close to the boards and already falling down to a vulnerable position.

Then again, the play was so fast that the Admirals player maybe tried to reverse course but couldn't in time.

I don't know Mr.R but seems to me this organization needs to be thinned out first before they begin restructuring the hockey operations

At the very top of the front office is a Chairman (Rocky), a CEO (Danny) and a President of Business Operations (Jamie Faulkner). And going down from there are numerous people with VP and GM and Asst GM titles. Our interim GM works in the "Hockey Strategy and Analytics" Division with a bunch of Directors and Coordinators. I have a hard time understanding how all of these people fill their days without taking a nap in the morning and another one after lunch and then head out early to beat the traffic.

Like what top hockey guys is going to want to come in and deal with cleaning up that structure mess?
- RickJ

.

IDK Rick, you can argue Arizona was (is) a worse mess, and they ended up with a pretty good hockey guy (Armstrong)

Welp, if they are going to play him, this is the correct move...ball is again in his court

@MarkLazerus

Derek King on Dylan Strome going from healthy scratch to top-six role: "There's no point to us putting him back in the lineup in a fourth-line checking role. That's not him. He's a skilled guy."

.

IDK Rick, you can argue Arizona was (is) a worse mess, and they ended up with a pretty good hockey guy (Armstrong)
- LAHawk

That was an NHL "fix" - brother Doug and the Blues making him available to Arizona who wanted a GM and a coach on the cheap. And since they really have no interest in winning, they just needed a guy who could offload salaries (like OEL) and make trades of players for draft picks. I do think Armstrong has done a great job on that part so far. But what happens when it comes time to start winning?

Reichel is generally pretty elusive with his sleek skating and good edgework. His vision allows him to see what's around him. When he does take a hit to make a play -- which he is not averse to doing -- he seems adept at knowing how best to absorb the hit so he can bounce back quickly and rejoin the action.

The play in which he got injured was a freak incident in that he tripped or lost balance first which didn't allow him to properly stay upright and turn so he could absorb any hit in a safer manner.

Yet, there's also the argument that the Admirals player really shouldn't have dished a hit with Reichel so close to the boards and already falling down to a vulnerable position.

Then again, the play was so fast that the Admirals player maybe tried to reverse course but couldn't in time.
- Theo Fox

Another thing you didn't mention was that the puck was in the corner, no where near the 2 players. There is where everyone is failing at the game of hockey. If they are not going to call a penalty on that play, then just check every player on the ice without regards to where the puck is. Then it is on the refs who cannot control the game.

Oh OK..I am sorry to both you and Paulr and understand the clapback.

Truly, truly not what I intended, and it will bother me for a long time that I did it and it had that effect.
- pdx2ord

Apology accepted pdx, thank you.

Unfortunately we have to read tea leaves as fans. But if they hire a Brian Burke type to oversee the hockey side we know owners have ceded power to a person with a spine..... If they hire a StanBo type we know they have hired a person who won't stand up for his convictions and can be easily influenced.

Hopefully ownership has seen the results of meddling by non-hockey people and decide they need to hire the right hockey mind at the top and give him the resources to carry out HIS hockey decisions.
- Mr Ricochet

Here's my candidate Mr. R - Doug Wilson.

Why did he step away from his SJ job temporarily a few days after induction into the Hall of Fame? Did he have a migraine headache all of a sudden? Or might the Hawks want him as President of Hockey Ops? Clean cut image, very experienced hockey guy, etc.

(Plus I really like his beautiful white shirts with starch in the collar).

Here's my candidate Mr. R - Doug Wilson.

Why did he step away from his SJ job temporarily a few days after induction into the Hall of Fame? Did he have a migraine headache all of a sudden? Or might the Hawks want him as President of Hockey Ops? Clean cut image, very experienced hockey guy, etc.

(Plus I really like his beautiful white shirts with starch in the collar).
- RickJ

I’d go for him as President of Hockey Ops but not the GM.

I'm on board with many who state that the first priority should be a head of Hockey Operations who will then name a GM, review and overhaul if necessary the scouting and player development areas, and provide an overall strategy going forward to rebuild this team into a Cup contender.

Now the problem is to find that person. I wouldn't be surprised for Danny to bypass some of the "old timers" like Lombardi and go with some fresh blood. You would think there are some up and coming hockey executives working within other NHL organizations, the minors, juniors or USHL. I'm not familiar with any names at those lower levels, except for the Hunter brothers who have been mentioned here before.

Also, as has been discussed here, who, if anybody, is advising Danny at this pivotal point that will determine the organization's future?

I’d go for him as President of Hockey Ops but not the GM.
- paulr

That would be a lateral move - he wouldn't do being a GM somewhere else The next job for him is top dog - like Shanahan or Burke or Robitaille.

Kane must be hilarious to be around.

MAF quote, from Dietz:

"Sometimes he tells me I'm slow. Sometimes he yells to the goalie coach, 'Fix the goalie!'" -MAF on what Kane will chirp to him after scoring in practice.

King sees the same things we do.

From Lazerus:

Derek King on Dylan Strome going from healthy scratch to top-six roll: "There's no point in us putting him back in the lineup in a fourth line checking role. That's not for him." Said like Kurashev, he needs to improve away from the puck.

From Roumeliotis:


Blackhawk lines at practice:

Hagel - Towes - Kane
DeBrincat - Dach - Strome
Kubalik - Borgstrom - Khaira
Slavin - R. Johnson - Carpenter