Credit to Duclair for improving himself but the fact is when he was in Chicago he was terrible.
- paulr

Columbus and Ottawa also gave up on him after the Hawks let him go,

Saw story rumored today that Hawks were talking about trading rights to Dominick Kubalik to Anaheim, with possible exchange of Sam Colangelo of the Chicago Steel. Colangelo sounds like a Taylor Raddish type of player ... similar in size with offensive instinct and shot
- chuckdahammer

via GIPHY

Columbus and Ottawa also gave up on him after the Hawks let him go,
- LAHawk

But they were correct in doing so, only the Blackhawks were wrong.

I updated the blog a bit. Here's one new paragraph I added:

Would fans who question whether Dach will ever live up to his draft billing be as concerned about his slow growth if he was a 2nd or 3rd rounder rather than a 3rd overall pick? Same with if he tops out as a great middle 6 center who produces at a 0.50 PPG clip versus being a franchise #1 center?

And here's another paragraph added to the original blog:

A proportion of fans despise Jones on the team because of his 8-year $9.5M AAV contract and that he may have been had without coughing up any assets had the Hawks waited until this summer to sign him. Would his presence be more palatable if his terms were 2 years and $2M less?

And here's another paragraph added to the original blog:

A proportion of fans despise Jones on the team because of his 8-year $9.5M AAV contract and that he may have been had without coughing up any assets had the Hawks waited until this summer to sign him. Would his presence be more palatable if his terms were 2 years and $2M less?
- Theo Fox

Jones would have landed elsewhere had Bowman waited. Bowman paid up alright. Go ahead and research whether another big size dude who is able to knock other big dudes to the ice - I know it isn't like he does this all the time - was available. Imagine going forward without a big size dude who can be a minute cruncher. Remember we moved Boqvist out. He who is always on the disabled list than on the ice (curious what that percentage might be, eh).

Bowman had to re-shape his defense and most likely was hoping young kids would filter in during.the following seasons. The price for a top pair or someone close to such status, is not cheap. Sure Bowman overpaid but it was a necessary move.

Some on this board get it. The part about needing a Jones type over a Boqvist type. Just stop crying about the price tag, ok. Accept it; none of us feel good about what we gave up, but again it was necessary. Steve Rain and wiz have agreed, ok. Now if Allen turns out well, the trade works out better. That is not a great #1 value '22 we gave them as it turns out.

I am.looking forward to some kids moving in and retaining jobs on defense. I am looking forward to a new coach enforcing or receiving cooperation in a better defensive effort. Jones will be more valuable when the team around him is better..

The LA Kings managed to play winning hockey and go seven games the first playoff round with a boatload of young players. Minus Doughty, too, the dmen were coached and helped by one Tr Yawney

Yawney doubtless is not coming here. Ditto Trotz landing here to coach. Both however would be able to guide a stable of young dmen and we have some promising dmen.

I don't know who our next coach will be but I do feel like we could see many new kids on defense this season .....at least by season end.

The LA Kings managed to play winning hockey and go seven games the first playoff round with a boatload of young players. Minus Doughty, too, the dmen were coached and helped by one Tr Yawney

Yawney doubtless is not coming here. Ditto Trotz landing here to coach. Both however would be able to guide a stable of young dmen and we have some promising dmen.

I don't know who our next coach will be but I do feel like we could see many new kids on defense this season .....at least by season end.
- jhawk59

Are Matta, Sketcher, Edler, and Roy kids? Anderson and Durzi were the young guys who played, but to say the Kings playoff roster had s boatload of kids is a fallacy. By field, Bjonfort etc. never saw the ice in the playoffs, but Brandon Lemieux, Athanaseu, etc. did.

Are Matta, Sketcher, Edler, and Roy kids? Anderson and Durzi were the young guys who played, but to say the Kings playoff roster had s boatload of kids is a fallacy. By field, Bjonfort etc. never saw the ice in the playoffs, but Brandon Lemieux, Athanaseu, etc. did.
- LAHawk

Down the playoff stretch four, five - whatever it was - first or second year dmen. Lots of youth up front. Especially at center where some centers played a different position

ADD Additional youth in lineup late regular season due to Injuries

Alright thank you for pointing out that the playoff roster was not so infused with rookies

But they were correct in doing so, only the Blackhawks were wrong.
- DarthKane

No question. Facts aren't important when piling on Stanblow.

Some on this board get it. The part about needing a Jones type over a Boqvist type. Just stop crying about the price tag, ok. Accept it; none of us feel good about what we gave up, but again it was necessary. Steve Rain and wiz have agreed, ok. Now if Allen turns out well, the trade works out better. That is not a great #1 value '22 we gave them as it turns out.

I am.looking forward to some kids moving in and retaining jobs on defense. I am looking forward to a new coach enforcing or receiving cooperation in a better defensive effort. Jones will be more valuable when the team around him is better..
- jhawk59

Well, shoot...if Wiz and Steve agree, then I guess I have no choice but to get over it. I think your last sentence presents a big part of the reason why some (me...and you too apparently) don't love the $$$, term and assets used to acquire S. Jones. I never minded the Boqvist part of the deal but the added 1st rounder was tough to swallow. You spend that on a player who makes those around them better not on a really good complementary player.

Hard to gauge the value of the '22 sixth overall pick til CBJ makes it and that player matures a bit. I get it's not supposed to be as deep a draft as '23, but you likely won't know the value of that pick for at least a few years.

Are Matta, Sketcher, Edler, and Roy kids? Anderson and Durzi were the young guys who played, but to say the Kings playoff roster had s boatload of kids is a fallacy. By field, Bjonfort etc. never saw the ice in the playoffs, but Brandon Lemieux, Athanaseu, etc. did.
- LAHawk

No not all of their youngsters played in the playoffs, like 19 yr .old Byfield, but a whole bunch of them played significant roles and amount of games during the season and down the stretch to get the club into the playoffs.

Dmen Anderson, Bjornfoot, Durzi and even Spence (23 NHL games) all played a lot of games, all 23 or under and all making less than 1 million bucks.

Same thing for the forwards Byfield, Kaliyev, Kupari and Vilardi all 22 or younger, making under a million bucks and other than Byfield did play in the playoffs. .....

Their kids played a big role this yr. ..... Good info on the squad from Dobber. https://dobberhockey.com/...-ahead-to-2022-23-may-17/

What makes this team exciting isn't just the young players, great second liners, and reliable veterans. It's the fact that they seem to be playing an entirely new brand of hockey, as compared to the previous 5-ish years. From 2018-21, Los Angeles was in the bottom-5 of the league in expected goals at 5-on-5 and that led to bottom-3 scoring. This season, the Kings were in the top-5 of the league in the same regard, but a league-worst 7% shooting had them 24th in scoring. It was an improvement in goals despite the worst conversion rate in hockey. If there is a rebound from Arvidsson and growth from Kaliyev, with good puck moving from the blue line, we could see a big scoring jump from this team next year.

Hawks retool/rebuild continues into about year 4 now. The direction they will go here will tell a lot about how deep they want to tear things apart. Trading x, y or z for picks or prospect doesn't just fix the issues and it's only a part of the pie. The best thing the Hawks can do is try to improve the quality of their drafting and development of prospects. Lately, that department has been lagging behind and really the bright spots have only been the euro imports who have had modest success.

Moving Kane is a gamble they may or may not take, but if he stays they need to find a head coach that doesn't ride him as much. The hawks need depth and trying to ride Kane helps his assist totals but doesn't help the team win. They need depth.

Anyone should be on the block for the right price, but need to think hard about moving a guy like Debrincat, who is arguably the most important piece up front for Chicago.

The time has come that the Hawks may have seen their last playoff games with the old core. Sharp, Hossa, Hjalmarsson, Crawford, Seabrook, Keith, Kane, Toews, etc.. Only the last two are left and 88 and 19 might only see postseason play if they move on. I think that has to factor into their choices to remain in Chicago or to move on. If they want out, retain salary, move them and get as much back as you can.
- breadbag

I would think that the counter restarts since they made the move for Jones. That's not the kind of move you make in a rebuild.

This would be year one regardless of the past few years results IMO.

Are Matta, Sketcher, Edler, and Roy kids? Anderson and Durzi were the young guys who played, but to say the Kings playoff roster had s boatload of kids is a fallacy. By field, Bjonfort etc. never saw the ice in the playoffs, but Brandon Lemieux, Athanaseu, etc. did.
- LAHawk

To me, Drew D., got hurt and the Kings went out in the 1st round. We shall see how good the Kings "rebuild" looks when he and Kopitar are bad or gone.

I updated the blog a bit. Here's one new paragraph I added:

Would fans who question whether Dach will ever live up to his draft billing be as concerned about his slow growth if he was a 2nd or 3rd rounder rather than a 3rd overall pick? Same with if he tops out as a great middle 6 center who produces at a 0.50 PPG clip versus being a franchise #1 center?

And here's another paragraph added to the original blog:

A proportion of fans despise Jones on the team because of his 8-year $9.5M AAV contract and that he may have been had without coughing up any assets had the Hawks waited until this summer to sign him. Would his presence be more palatable if his terms were 2 years and $2M less?
- Theo Fox

Absolutely fans look at players differently depending on where they were drafted, the amount of money they make and the cost of acquiring them in a trade. IMO as they should giving the player and his production context and what value thy bring. ..... Especially so in a hard cap environment.

Theo, do you think KD is comfortable with his organIzational infrastructure to make Dcat or Kane trade? Trusts McGiver, Greenberg, head of scouting and scouts to properly evaluate the worth of Dcat to make a franchise changing deal like moving a 23 yr old 40 goal scorer?

Is Scotty Bowman still a voice in the Blackhawks Organ-I-zation? If he is, I really think he needs to go. Unless there is proof that he is a positive to this team, I see no reason why he should be allowed to make any kind of suggestions.

They haven't been that bad at identifying, drafting or developing. They've been bad at keeping those players.

That is also their fault, but they've been about as good as any other team in acquiring young players.
- Chunk

While they have done a decent job drafting forwards. They've been pretty bad at identifying who to keep and who to move on from. There are many examples.

They haven't drafted and developed a NHL defender since Hammer.

If Boqvist turns into anything it'll be because of Columbus more than anything else and Jokiharju went straight to the NHL and when JC came in they messed with him more than they developed him.

Debrincat and Saad went straight to the NHL. Shaw more or less straight to the NHL.

I'd be curious to know what players you think they developed?

No question. Facts aren't important when piling on Stanblow.
- HawkintheD

Good on Duclair for figuring it out. Some may have forgotten John Tortorella's comments when he had him in Columbus.

https://twitter.com/Arpon...own-of-montreal-1.1260535

To me, Drew D., got hurt and the Kings went out in the 1st round. We shall see how good the Kings "rebuild" looks when he and Kopitar are bad or gone.
- mohel

The Kings for the season were 17 games over 500, the last 24 they went 12-12 (most without Doughty). They went from firmly in the playoffs to waiting to the last week to see if they were going to be caught by Vegas. So yes young players had to step up on D, but the teams record was not near as good as when Doughty was there. Also their future in goal Peterson lost out on the #1 job down the stretch to Quick.

That is the decision Blake has to make now. Does Byfield get regular minutes next year. With Brown does Kaliyev get more ice time. Is Arvidsson done (needs back surgery) to be filled in by another youngster.

To me the Kings best D prospect Brandt Clarke was playing jrs. last year. Does he make the step directly from Jrs. to the big club, or does he marinate in the A for a couple of years.

Is Scotty Bowman still a voice in the Blackhawks Organ-I-zation? If he is, I really think he needs to go. Unless there is proof that he is a positive to this team, I see no reason why he should be allowed to make any kind of suggestions.
- powerenforcer

He's still shown as a Senior Advisor of Hockey Ops but, my guess it's highly symbolic and honorary at this point.

The man is 88 years old now and could well be considered the greatest hockey coach ever. He did play a large role in bringing back what was once listed as the worst pro sports franchise back from the dead.

It's just a title. Let him have it.


https://www.nhl.com/blackhawks/team/frontoffice

The Kings for the season were 17 games over 500, the last 24 they went 12-12 (most without Doughty). They went from firmly in the playoffs to waiting to the last week to see if they were going to be caught by Vegas. So yes young players had to step up on D, but the teams record was not near as good as when Doughty was there. Also their future in goal Peterson lost out on the #1 job down the stretch to Quick.

That is the decision Blake has to make now. Does Byfield get regular minutes next year. With Brown does Kaliyev get more ice time. Is Arvidsson done (needs back surgery) to be filled in by another youngster.

To me the Kings best D prospect Brandt Clarke was playing jrs. last year. Does he make the step directly from Jrs. to the big club, or does he marinate in the A for a couple of years.
- LAHawk

Is Turcotte not even in the picture anymore? A LOT of people wanted the Hawks to take Turcotte instead of Dach. He has played 8 games total, there are 23 other first rounders who have played more games and 39 in the draft who have seen more action. Injuries?

The Kings for the season were 17 games over 500, the last 24 they went 12-12 (most without Doughty). They went from firmly in the playoffs to waiting to the last week to see if they were going to be caught by Vegas. So yes young players had to step up on D, but the teams record was not near as good as when Doughty was there. Also their future in goal Peterson lost out on the #1 job down the stretch to Quick.

That is the decision Blake has to make now. Does Byfield get regular minutes next year. With Brown does Kaliyev get more ice time. Is Arvidsson done (needs back surgery) to be filled in by another youngster.

To me the Kings best D prospect Brandt Clarke was playing jrs. last year. Does he make the step directly from Jrs. to the big club, or does he marinate in the A for a couple of years.
- LAHawk

Just a general point, not directed to you....

For a Championship level team to return to that level they need to replace the best players with similar players. So, a bunch of "rebuilding" teams are stocking the shelves with good prospects; but they won't return to the top until they get a few great players.

Just a general point, not directed to you....

For a Championship level team to return to that level they need to replace the best players with similar players. So, a bunch of "rebuilding" teams are stocking the shelves with good prospects; but they won't return to the top until they get a few great players.
- mohel

In my opinion, you can win a cup with one or two great players and a bunch of good ones. If you want to win three or four cups, then you need a few great players, depends what top we are talking about.

Is Turcotte not even in the picture anymore? A LOT of people wanted the Hawks to take Turcotte instead of Dach. He has played 8 games total, there are 23 other first rounders who have played more games and 39 in the draft who have seen more action. Injuries?
- TheTrob

Injuires and he hasn't played as well as the others that the Kings have called up. The Ontario Reign is a powerhouse, and is loaded with prospects.

While they have done a decent job drafting forwards. They've been pretty bad at identifying who to keep and who to move on from. There are many examples.

They haven't drafted and developed a NHL defender since Hammer.

If Boqvist turns into anything it'll be because of Columbus more than anything else and Jokiharju went straight to the NHL and when JC came in they messed with him more than they developed him.

Debrincat and Saad went straight to the NHL. Shaw more or less straight to the NHL.

I'd be curious to know what players you think they developed?
- fattybeef

First bolded was the point of my post.

I don't really care how the Hawks acquire the talent. I'm more concerned with what happens once the Hawks get them. True that the Hawks have not done well with D-men since Hammer, but:

TVR
Rutta
Kempny

These are all guys that hadn't sniffed the NHL. The Hawks signed them and ultimately tossed them, but they are all good NHL players.

We likely have to come to an agreement on the definition of the word "developed", but I find the second bolded to be BS. Look around the league and let me know which other team has "developed" defensemen better. They've certainly found better talent, but I don't see how they developed them better.

If you look at the path of most good D-men, there isn't a ton of time the AHL. There is more time in Junior, overseas, or college. So is that developed or just waiting for them to mature enough (both physically and mentally) to handle being in the NHL.