Justin Lowe: It's Not All Doom and Gloom Look at that a Blackhawks win and a victory that had more high points than low (unlike their last win vs. the Kings).

We don’t need to go into the details of a 2-1 OT win that, in the grand scheme of things, doesn’t affect the Blackhawks outside of where they are going to draft in June. But I would like to post a few positive points to remind everyone that it’s not all doom and gloom in Blackhawks land.

First! Good win last night!

If you are a Hall of Fame coach, then why wait forever to put 88 back with 19? Q is so damn stubborn, that he is convinced that those 2 have to be separated. It was obvious from the get-go that this Hawks team did not have the depth of previous Chicago teams, but it takes Q until Game 65 to go with the nuclear option!! The Hawks have been a fringe playoff team all year including when Crawford was healthy, but to keep 88 and 19 from playing with each other is completely ridiculous and another reason why in my opinion Q needs to go. I am not saying the Hawks would have dominated this year with 19 and 88 together, but I do think the Hawks would have been a much more competitive team.

I personally am a big fan of David Kampf. I think he can become the next Marcus Kruger type player for Chicago. He's only 23, is better than 50% in the dot this year (51.84% to be exact) and he's only going to improve. You can see Q is starting to put him, and whoever his line-mates are for the night, out against tougher competition and in bigger moments of the game. I'd even say that Kampf may have more offensive upside than Kruger did. I don't think he's going to give you 15-20 goals, but I do see the way his line consistently creates chances and pushes play. He has a lot of upside moving into next season!

If you are a Hall of Fame coach, then why wait forever to put 88 back with 19? Q is so damn stubborn, that he is convinced that those 2 have to be separated. It was obvious from the get-go that this Hawks team did not have the depth of previous Chicago teams, but it takes Q until Game 65 to go with the nuclear option!! The Hawks have been a fringe playoff team all year including when Crawford was healthy, but to keep 88 and 19 from playing with each other is completely ridiculous and another reason why in my opinion Q needs to go. I am not saying the Hawks would have dominated this year with 19 and 88 together, but I do think the Hawks would have been a much more competitive team.
- ChicagoHope

"Q is so damn stubborn" SAY IT LOUD ENOUGH FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK!

But completely agree. The talent is there for them to make it. Sometimes a new voice in the room is needed. Nothing against Q, but change can be good. I think a Tony Granato would be a great add as head coach and let him mentor the young guys while letting the "core line" play together. The depth is there, especially if they can add in the offseason.

Good take on the game and the Big Picture- Justin
I watched the entire game
Takeaways
- Team excited for the win off the bench to congratulate Toews on the OT winner , nice to see

- I’ve been saying for weeks the forward Group is improving with Toews- Saaad - Kane and Smaltz- Debrincat - Hinnie combos

- I think I would keep Anisimov over trading him
He’s slow but as a Third Line Center he fills a lot of roles- Second Power Play unit- Penalty kill - he’s a smart player

-If the draft brought Tachuck the Hawks would be
Tachuck- Smaltz-Toews-Anisimov- Kamph up the middle

- Murphy is gaining confidence with playing and I hope Q sticks with him



Needs:
-Power forward
-Grit Foward
-2 Legitimate Defencemen
-Goaltending Depth
-Seabs trade
-Power Play Coach

Good take on the game and the Big Picture- Justin
I watched the entire game
Takeaways
- Team excited for the win off the bench to congratulate Toews on the OT winner , nice to see

- I’ve been saying for weeks the forward Group is improving with Toews- Saaad - Kane and Smaltz- Debrincat - Hinnie combos

- I think I would keep Anisimov over trading him
He’s slow but as a Third Line Center he fills a lot of roles- Second Power Play unit- Penalty kill - he’s a smart player

-If the draft brought Tachuck the Hawks would be
Tachuck- Smaltz-Toews-Anisimov- Kamph up the middle

- Murphy is gaining confidence with playing and I hope Q sticks with him



Needs:
-Power forward
-Grit Foward
-2 Legitimate Defencemen
-Goaltending Depth
-Seabs trade
-Power Play Coach
- Colbyboy

Need more size they get knocked off the puck to much

I was never a big Vinny guy. But as he plays more he seems to read the play better and has been more pro-active than re-active. That is the key for him to play in the NHL in my opinion. Combine that with his speed and he will have the ability to disrupt the opposing defense when the middle is stacked and the hawks are forced to dump the puck. Eager was good at that in 2010. I know there is a huge size difference, but the first guy in doesn't have to kill anybody, just disrupt the breakouts. Hinnistroza can do this.

I personally am a big fan of David Kampf. I think he can become the next Marcus Kruger type player for Chicago. He's only 23, is better than 50% in the dot this year (51.84% to be exact) and he's only going to improve. You can see Q is starting to put him, and whoever his line-mates are for the night, out against tougher competition and in bigger moments of the game. I'd even say that Kampf may have more offensive upside than Kruger did. I don't think he's going to give you 15-20 goals, but I do see the way his line consistently creates chances and pushes play. He has a lot of upside moving into next season!
- rnldluce57

I hope so because Kruger's offensive upside is almost exactly zero.

He's barely producing at the AHL level.

Justin good blog yes the hawks looked good for the first time in a long time a complete 60 minutes plus. I like the saad towes kane line little bit of everything now if going forward in the offseason if smaltz and dcat can find a powerforward to play with them for example e.kane or rick nash that's 2 dangerous lines then move AA down between wingles if he is resigned and hino then fill out the fourth line with kamp and hayden and the big nasty physical winger a Tom Wilson type. Defense kieth sebrook murphy going forward forsling and oerstle not high on either maybe fill with manning and moore then that's looking like a solid d core. This is my personal opinion trade hino to a team that needs speed for a big physical winger that can win board battles and crash the net. Guserson can stay in the ahl he sucks another bone head signing by our brilliant gm who overpaid again 800k per year would been better. If crow can come back healthy then hawks might be able to contend for the playoffs but a lot of thing have to right in this offseason and bowman and company can not make anymore major mistakes to set this team back even more. Thoughts?

Justin good blog yes the hawks looked good for the first time in a long time a complete 60 minutes plus. I like the saad towes kane line little bit of everything now if going forward in the offseason if smaltz and dcat can find a powerforward to play with them for example e.kane or rick nash that's 2 dangerous lines then move AA down between wingles if he is resigned and hino then fill out the fourth line with kamp and hayden and the big nasty physical winger a Tom Wilson type. Defense kieth sebrook murphy going forward forsling and oerstle not high on either maybe fill with manning and moore then that's looking like a solid d core. This is my personal opinion trade hino to a team that needs speed for a big physical winger that can win board battles and crash the net. Guserson can stay in the ahl he sucks another bone head signing by our brilliant gm who overpaid again 800k per year would been better. If crow can come back healthy then hawks might be able to contend for the playoffs but a lot of thing have to right in this offseason and bowman and company can not make anymore major mistakes to set this team back even more. Thoughts?
- Scott1977

My thoughts are that you need to learn to format sentences.

Also try not to post when you're high.

I have felt all along that there is hope for next year as long as they fix the defense. Toews is not as bad as folks around here say he is and Saad will very likely bounce back somewhat. The new baby core could carry the team. However, they need to get rid of Bowman before he screws this team up even more than he has already done. Panarin is scoring at a 71 point clip close to the 74 points he put up last year. So where are all those geniuses who said he would fall apart away from Kane? Hiding? You should be. Don't forget, if Bowman had any aptitude at all for this job we would have had both Panarin and Saad and still had ABD and Hinostroza and Schmaltz and not had a pissed off Kane. Then what would this season have looked like?
IMO Second worst trade in Blackhawks history. Why? Because Bowman broke up the highest scoring line in the league for no reason and a vastly insufficient return. There would have been tons of money available to sign Panarin two years down the road. Bowman looks like a complete chimp.

My thoughts are that you need to learn to format sentences.

Also try not to post when you're high.
- BINGO!

BINGO, everyone is welcome here. It matters not how a person writes as long as he or she has something to say.

I don’t want Kampf to be the next Kruger. I want him to be better than that. I understand people using past players as comparisons, but I don’t think we should get stuck trying to find players that replace past roles. Each and every team every year is different. I want to find as many players as possible with a good balance of tenacity and skill (not unlike Vinny, but preferrably a bit bigger).

So you are drinking the kool-aid on Murphy. 2 good games wipes out all the trash he showed all year long? Over paid and over valued. Another great trade in Stan's history.

I have felt all along that there is hope for next year as long as they fix the defense. Toews is not as bad as folks around here say he is and Saad will very likely bounce back somewhat. The new baby core could carry the team. However, they need to get rid of Bowman before he screws this team up even more than he has already done. Panarin is scoring at a 71 point clip close to the 74 points he put up last year. So where are all those geniuses who said he would fall apart away from Kane? Hiding? You should be. Don't forget, if Bowman had any aptitude at all for this job we would have had both Panarin and Saad and still had ABD and Hinostroza and Schmaltz and not had a pissed off Kane. Then what would this season have looked like?
IMO Second worst trade in Blackhawks history. Why? Because Bowman broke up the highest scoring line in the league for no reason and a vastly insufficient return. There would have been tons of money available to sign Panarin two years down the road. Bowman looks like a complete chimp.
- Savoy

I would guess it would look a lot like last year, where they put up a lot of points and got bounced in the playoffs (quite easily). I’m not against your points on Panarin, but this team’s problem is keeping the puck out of the net and out of their zone.

BINGO, everyone is welcome here. It matters not how a person writes as long as he or she has something to say.
- Z3Hawk

It matters.

He seems to think Tommy Wingels is still on the team, and that they can get Evander Kane or Rick Nash.

I have felt all along that there is hope for next year as long as they fix the defense. Toews is not as bad as folks around here say he is and Saad will very likely bounce back somewhat. The new baby core could carry the team. However, they need to get rid of Bowman before he screws this team up even more than he has already done. Panarin is scoring at a 71 point clip close to the 74 points he put up last year. So where are all those geniuses who said he would fall apart away from Kane? Hiding? You should be. Don't forget, if Bowman had any aptitude at all for this job we would have had both Panarin and Saad and still had ABD and Hinostroza and Schmaltz and not had a pissed off Kane. Then what would this season have looked like?
IMO Second worst trade in Blackhawks history. Why? Because Bowman broke up the highest scoring line in the league for no reason and a vastly insufficient return. There would have been tons of money available to sign Panarin two years down the road. Bowman looks like a complete chimp.
- Savoy

Whew this Panarin love just has no bounds. Panarin didn’t snipe 40+ goals nor did he get 100+ points. He had 74 points. Insufficient return? Saad is a better player and not uni-dimensional like Panarin. Have you not noticed that the younger Saad is a leading PKer? Also we obtained Forsberg in the trade who is the Hawks’ co-number 1 goalie at this point.

considering the Q scratches and plays him on his off side and moves up and down the lineup benchs him, I think he has been fine. Has he been great? NO but all we need from him is a #2 RD and he has good value. I think with a consistent role he can be a #4. I'm sure ULf got ear full from Q for complementing anybody other then Kieth SEABS or Forsling.

Good take on the game and the Big Picture- Justin
I watched the entire game
Takeaways
- Team excited for the win off the bench to congratulate Toews on the OT winner , nice to see

- I’ve been saying for weeks the forward Group is improving with Toews- Saaad - Kane and Smaltz- Debrincat - Hinnie combos

- I think I would keep Anisimov over trading him
He’s slow but as a Third Line Center he fills a lot of roles- Second Power Play unit- Penalty kill - he’s a smart player

-If the draft brought Tachuck the Hawks would be
Tachuck- Smaltz-Toews-Anisimov- Kamph up the middle

- Murphy is gaining confidence with playing and I hope Q sticks with him



Needs:
-Power forward
-Grit Foward
-2 Legitimate Defencemen
-Goaltending Depth
-Seabs trade
-Power Play Coach
- Colbyboy

I like your list, but I would add 1 more thing - a coach that demands players to finish checks (Not Finnish Czechs). I hate that most players pull up every time they have an opportunity to hit someone.

I have said since he was at Notre Dame that Hinostroza was going to be a star. Most on this board wanted to trade him. He is producing at a 52 point clip and ahead of board darling ABD who is producing at a 50 point clip.

It matters.

He seems to think Tommy Wingels is still on the team, and that they can get Evander Kane or Rick Nash.
- BINGO!

He actually knows Wingels is no longer with the team as talks of re-signing him. EKane or Nash - nothing wrong with him saying he thinks either would be a good addition. OK for us to disagree. Just don’t attack a person’s writing.

Whew this Panarin love just has no bounds. Panarin didn’t snipe 40+ goals nor did he get 100+ points. He had 74 points. Insufficient return? Saad is a better player and not uni-dimensional like Panarin. Have you not noticed that the younger Saad is a leading PKer? Also we obtained Forsberg in the trade who is the Hawks’ co-number 1 goalie at this point.
- Z3Hawk

The more Panarin produces the more you don't make any sense and the more marginalized you become.

He actually knows Wingels is no longer with the team as talks of re-signing him. EKane or Nash - nothing wrong with him saying he thinks either would be a good addition. OK for us to disagree. Just don’t attack a person’s writing.
- Z3Hawk