I like it when incoming players, who don't have the foxhole mentality of the Blackhawks' long-timers, talk about what it is like trying to fit into the team and the system. Helps explain what we see.

http://www.dailyherald.co...elieve-hes-playing-in-ahl

I'm curious as to which players, who were not already on the team/in Hawks system when Q took the reins, have performed beyond or even up to expectations we had when they came.

Selected quotes:

Well, when I got the call the from (Joel Quenneville), Brent was the first person I reached out to. So I talked to him about it a little bit, and it caught him off-guard. I talked to a couple other guys through texting and none of them really understood it. …

It's kind of one of those things that whenever you think about it, you sit there and roll your eyes and shake your head. You're baffled a little bit because I was playing with Duncs, playing over 20 minutes a night and it was going really well. We were starting to put something together.

Then I got injured, came back and all of a sudden the plan changed and things were done. So it's a little frustrating.

I wanted to be somebody that played like an experienced defenseman that was easy for him to read off of. He wouldn't have to think while he was playing and we could have that kind of relationship that him and Seabs have when they play together. Anytime you see Seabs go back and play with Dunc it's like they've been doing it for 30 years. Me and Dunc were working toward getting that type of thing going.

I was understanding the reads he makes and what he likes to have his D partner do, and how he likes to play and possess the puck. We were really starting to make strides. Then I got injured and they abandoned that whole process. That was one of the really frustrating parts of this whole season. I think if I didn't get injured we could have really made some headway.

==========

Q: I asked Cody if the Blackhawks seemed a bit "clique-ish" this season. Were there not enough "glue guys" like Niklas Hjalmarsson, Johnny Oduya, Marian Hossa and Andrew Shaw on the roster?

A: (He didn't think it seemed "clique-ish" but pointed to the massive roster turnover as being a problem, especially when it came to whom Quenneville and his staff could trust).

"(Coaches) get comfortable playing guys, and when all those faces come in it's different. Look at the guys they spun through that defense corps this year and how many times they put them through different pairings and different situations. It's tough to get comfortable (as a player), and a big part of that is keeping eight defensemen. . . .

"You can look at it and say, yes, that's good competition -- yada, yada, yada. There's another way to look at it and that's if you're one of the six guys in the lineup that night and you're not Duncan Keith or Brent Seabrook, you're going out there with a relatively short leash.

"You make a mistake, you might get bumped back to the 5-6 hole; and if you make a mistake the next night you might be out of the lineup. That's not an easy thing to do. A lot of the good players in the league go out there and know if they make a mistake that nothing's really going to change. They're going to have a chance to right that wrong.

When you're not one of those guys, it's definitely a little tougher to not go out there and grip your stick and play extremely safe for fear of coming out of the lineup."

Thanks for finding this. That is good news. Hopefully the Hawks will find a team looking to take on his cap hit in order to get the floor.
- Lido_Shuffle

Move the 27th pick and Hossa. That’s probably what it will take and personally it’s worth it.

Per Cap Friendly the Hawks have $1,232,500 in bonus carry forward for next season. Far better than the past 2 years.

Per Cap Friendly the Hawks have $1,232,500 in bonus carry forward for next season. Far better than the past 2 years.
- DarthKane

I don’t get it. The same site shows we have 6 plus million in space
NEVEr mind 17/18

Move the 27th pick and Hossa. That’s probably what it will take and personally it’s worth it.
- tyweb69

might be right...or a rostered player plus a "prospect"...in return maybe the hawks get a couple of picks or a throwaway player from the other team...

i still believe...the jets will win 3 strt to take the series...

Good Points caps have sign Carlson which he will get 6-8 million per season plus Rfa's its just a numbers game who do the Capitals value and who can they sign. Wilson probably will get 3-4 million per year. I'm also using Wilson as an example of what type of players the hawks need to sign or trade for this offseason. Players with skill size speed and pushback.
- Scott1977

3-4M for a guy who averages 8 goals a year? Bickell was better and got hammered on a daily basis.

Move the 27th pick and Hossa. That’s probably what it will take and personally it’s worth it.
- tyweb69

No more assets to move contracts.

Cody Franson was available for free to any team in the league. No one took him.

Cody Franson was available for free to any team in the league. No one took him.
- TTtime

#HawkLegend

Per Cap Friendly the Hawks have $1,232,500 in bonus carry forward for next season. Far better than the past 2 years.
- DarthKane

Shows Hossa on the roster. So the real number is closer to 62-63M. Hawks haven't had 12M in cap space in forever. lol

#HawkLegend
- Beaver-Warrior

Like who gives a poop what he thinks. The only people who think Franson is a top 4 D-man are him, his parents, and Tanner.

Team USA beats Canada 4-1 to claim bronze led by Captain America, Paddy Kane.

3-4M for a guy who averages 8 goals a year? Bickell was better and got hammered on a daily basis.
- TTtime

Cap is going up so player salaries will go up is wilson 3-4 million player no. But the things work sometimes.

Team USA beats Canada 4-1 to claim bronze led by Captain America, Paddy Kane.
- EnzoD

McDavid lost to Kane. Means nothing if teams are not properly prepared to do battle.

Just goes to show that the coaches need to decide game plan and get the players as comfortable paying with each other. Oh, good goaltending too. A better team on paper looses if they fall behind in those areas I just mentioned.

Now Segway to Q and Blackhawks. How is he going to fix all the problems, including line blender. Somebody needs to be called out when we are bad next year. No sympathy. Take your share of the blame and maybe you move on. Thanks for screwing the fans over your mismanagement, Joel and Stan. I hope fans really call you out, you looses.

Cap is going up so player salaries will go up is wilson 3-4 million player no. But the things work sometimes.
- Scott1977

Doesn't change the fact that Bickell was a better player. There are better players for that money is my point. Wilson is a hack. I rather give a guy like Riley Nash that kind of money.

Team USA beats Canada 4-1 to claim bronze led by Captain America, Paddy Kane.
- EnzoD

Tip of the Hat to the Great Paddy Kane. He is a wonderful player and Leader and we as fans are very lucky he plays for the Hawks.

Tip of the Hat to the Great Paddy Kane. He is a wonderful player and Leader and we as fans are very lucky he plays for the Hawks.
- Z3Hawk

Most definitely. Hawks SHOULD try to win again while he is still a top 5 offensive player in the world.

Most definitely. Hawks SHOULD try to win again while he is still a top 5 offensive player in the world.
- EnzoD

You couldn’t be more right Enzo

MAF....the guy is playing out his (frank)n mind....he is in the head of these jets...

he stones them chance after chance...

No more assets to move contracts.
- TTtime

So glad you’re not a GM!! It’s hardly an asset. That pick won’t materialize for years, if ever, and that 5.35m could be put to great use.

Shows Hossa on the roster. So the real number is closer to 62-63M. Hawks haven't had 12M in cap space in forever. lol
- TTtime

Yeah but they don’t get 5.35 until the season starts so they don’t really have 12. That’s why its worth trading the 27th to get that hit off the books

No more assets to move contracts.
- TTtime

WHy not find a way to make it part of a hockey trade prehaps with Ottawa one defensemen for one of our players/ prospects and the hossa contract

Another gahd awful peformance by the Jets...

....so the embarrassment advances to the finals.

I can't be the only one completely disgusted and pissed-off by the Lost Wages "succcess".

Another gahd awful peformance by the Jets...

....so the embarrassment advances to the finals.

I can't be the only one completely disgusted and pissed-off by the Lost Wages "succcess".
- ArlingtonRob

in 3 letters: MAF....

he has been sensational and the knights are opportunistic and feast on their forecheck and turnovers...

never thought they would get this far...kudos and congrats to them...