I agree and it does look like a possibility. If the Hawks are indeed looking to move on from Crawford by replacing him with Darling, they're setting him up to fail. Unless they totally revamp the defence through free agency and the haul they may get by trading Crawford. All said, a huge roll of the dice. Crawford, if healthy, is way too valuable to this team right now.
- walter34

You know the best value for Crawford is at or near the trade deadline IF....IF...he turns out to be really good as previously. The questions are: 1).does Bowman believe Crawford can be as good, and; 2). What do they know about him and not want to keep him around to possibly play well enough to land a higher bounty?

There are great coaches that can win with teams that aren’t supposed to win - very few - they can get teams to play above their heads, but eventually submit to teams with better talent that are well coached - say, Gallant finally beaten by a well-coached Barry Trotz team.

Or a surprising Laviolette well coached Flyers team - beaten by a well-coached Quenneville team in Chicago.

Then there are great coaches who do take teams that have enough talent to win - and put them together into a squad that DOES win - like Phil Jackson’s teams in the 90s (how many other coaches win 6 of 8, even WITH Jordan and Pippen).

Coaching teams that SHOULD win to championships is as great a skill as coaching underdogs to win more than the world thinks they should - although different skills are involved - and a coach who is good at one of those probably doesn’t have the ability to accomplish the other.
- StLBravesFan

No it is NOT as great a skill. Are you kidding? Winning with elite teams doesn’t set a Coach apart as a Coach. A certain level of success will be acheived simply because the team is elite. It is accepted that almost any professional Coach would have a certain level of success coaching an elite team. The Hawks did win 3 Cups with Q but he has coached the Hawks a very long time. There has also been a high high number of First Round exits including when the Hawks were seeded First. Now the play-offs have been missed altogether.

Q was the Coach but any number of coaches could have duplicated his results. Some would have bettered them. How many Cups do the Hawks win with Babcock?

Do you think that if you replace Kerr as the Golden State Warriors Coach that they stop being ultra-competitive and dominant. Or does it have more to do with Curry and Durant? Similarly Jackson was a Coach of winning teams but Jordan was the key to the success of the Bulls - proved by the fact that the Bulls could not win without him. Does anyone even remember who coached the Cavs when LeBron willed them to the title?

This discussion, no matter what side is taken, doesn’t address the fact that Q’s time should have come and gone just like Sutter’s time came and went after 2 Cups with teams inferior to the Hawks.

No it is NOT as great a skill. Are you kidding? Winning with elite teams doesn’t set a Coach apart as a Coach. A certain level of success will be acheived simply because the team is elite. It is accepted that almost any professional Coach would have a certain level of success coaching an elite team. The Hawks did win 3 Cups with Q but he has coached the Hawks a very long time. There has also been a high high number of First Round exits including when the Hawks were seeded First. Now the play-offs have been missed altogether.

Q was the Coach but any number of coaches could have duplicated his results. Some would have bettered them. How many Cups do the Hawks win with Babcock?

Do you think that if you replace Kerr as the Golden State Warriors Coach that they stop being ultra-competitive and dominant. Or does it have more to do with Curry and Durant? Similarly Jackson was a Coach of winning teams but Jordan was the key to the success of the Bulls - proved by the fact that the Bulls could not win without him. Does anyone even remember who coached the Cavs when LeBron willed them to the title?

This discussion, no matter what side is taken, doesn’t address the fact that Q’s time should have come and gone just like Sutter’s time came and went after 2 Cups with teams inferior to the Hawks.
- Z3Hawk

How many has Babcock won? He was handed one of the best talented rosters in DET, yet won...how many?

So the "how many should they win with X player/coach" is a BS question with nothing but hypothetical answers

So here - the answer is zero. Q is the coach that won 3 here, along with 2 conference finals, multiple division/conference championships - as recent as the previous year. Not Babcock ornwjoever made up coach you want to assume would win, simply because some thinks coach just stands behind the bench and mixes up lines

I seem to think no one had a clue what a coach does on a daily basis - or has any respect for what they do

Luckily, the players do

No it is NOT as great a skill. Are you kidding? Winning with elite teams doesn’t set a Coach apart as a Coach. A certain level of success will be acheived simply because the team is elite. It is accepted that almost any professional Coach would have a certain level of success coaching an elite team. The Hawks did win 3 Cups with Q but he has coached the Hawks a very long time. There has also been a high high number of First Round exits including when the Hawks were seeded First. Now the play-offs have been missed altogether.

Q was the Coach but any number of coaches could have duplicated his results. Some would have bettered them. How many Cups do the Hawks win with Babcock?

Do you think that if you replace Kerr as the Golden State Warriors Coach that they stop being ultra-competitive and dominant. Or does it have more to do with Curry and Durant? Similarly Jackson was a Coach of winning teams but Jordan was the key to the success of the Bulls - proved by the fact that the Bulls could not win without him. Does anyone even remember who coached the Cavs when LeBron willed them to the title?

This discussion, no matter what side is taken, doesn’t address the fact that Q’s time should have come and gone just like Sutter’s time came and went after 2 Cups with teams inferior to the Hawks.
- Z3Hawk

I think both you and Stl make valid points, but I come down on your side of the fence. I've been unimpressed with Q since his saint louis days while witnessing an average sharks team beat an elite blues team coached by Q in a series. Darryl Sutter made a couple of small adjustments and the blues did the same thing over and over and over and played right into the sharks hands. In Colorado with another team having elite players on the roster they won nothing. (he was an assistant the year Borque won the cup with the Avs). It suggests that he hindered them, although I did not witness any of that. But the fact is the Avs with Q coaching never even got close.

Of course here he had the horses just like in the other two cities, but this time he gets the job done 3 times (and if the offside challenge was in effect in 2014 it very well might have been 4 with a 3 peat). Everyone out there has no choice but to give him credit like STL is doing. There is a certain elite skill in coaching a team with multiple elite players and running the table. But I would argue there are a lot of coaches who would have at least as good a record with the teams in Chicago in the last 9 years, and the last few seasons much better.

So all respects to STL's position. How many of us thought we'd see 3 cups in a decade? And especially one on home ice that was way too cool. But without all the horses they need a guy on the bench who as far as I can tell is more than just a line blender. Even that would be ok as long as his assistants have a lot of input, which it doesn't appear they do. In my opinion the biggest reason for their success is players with elite talent and an extreme amount of pride and confidence. But nothing lasts forever, especially with a salary cap designed to prevent extended success.

...YES and it isn’t even close. Toews neither traditionally leads nor leads by example.
- Z3Hawk

I literally can't wait until we make a deal, so we can scrutinize that for a few pages, instead of bashing Jonathan Toews for his "lack" of leadership or whether Joel Quenneville is a "good" coach..... ridiculous...

When there was speculation that Q could be in the hot seat earlier this season, the common comment around the Hockey world was that Q would have a job the next day if he wanted. I think that speaks to his ability to coach teams.

I think the poll from earlier this year of ~500 actual NHL players carries a lot of weight too.

http://www.chicagotribune...-poll-20180307-story.html

Crazy how fans speculate and run wild on assumptions.

I literally can't wait until we make a deal, so we can scrutinize that for a few pages, instead of bashing Jonathan Toews for his "lack" of leadership or whether Joel Quenneville is a "good" coach..... ridiculous...
- SoftServe

The draft is coming up soon and trades should be heating up around either that day or maybe the day before. Remember last year with the Hjalmarsson/Murphy and Panarin/Saad trades before the draft? If similar trades happen this June, these boards will blow up and give us plenty to talk about.

Bowman says it will be a mild off season for the Hawks but others are stating otherwise. I'm hoping for the latter.

- DarthKane

Oh Great DarthKane please inform us how the Great Leader Toews has been such a Great Leader recently. Please get right ONNIT.

How many has Babcock won? He was handed one of the best talented rosters in DET, yet won...how many?

So the "how many should they win with X player/coach" is a BS question with nothing but hypothetical answers

So here - the answer is zero. Q is the coach that won 3 here, along with 2 conference finals, multiple division/conference championships - as recent as the previous year. Not Babcock ornwjoever made up coach you want to assume would win, simply because some thinks coach just stands behind the bench and mixes up lines

I seem to think no one had a clue what a coach does on a daily basis - or has any respect for what they do

Luckily, the players do
- PatShart

What magical things do you think Q is doing every day? Well I suppose it does take time to figure out what stubborn, illogical things he will do every day and to pamper his mustache. Hmmm for today I’ll destroy the confidence of certain players, favour other players in a manner that makes no sense, put players together in a manner that makes no sense, make StanBo crazy totally crazy, listen to my moronic bro Ulf, ignore Dineen as I really don’t like him anymore, tell Toews and Keith I just love that they are ONNIT and lets just see if Kane and DeBrincat can still score even if they have no line-mates. I take back all my criticisms - Q does have a lot on his plate.

The draft is coming up soon and trades should be heating up around either that day or maybe the day before. Remember last year with the Hjalmarsson/Murphy and Panarin/Saad trades before the draft? If similar trades happen this June, these boards will blow up and give us plenty to talk about.

Bowman says it will be a mild off season for the Hawks but others are stating otherwise. I'm hoping for the latter.


- AEL_Fox

If bowman has a mild offseason then both him and Q will be out of jobs before x mas and hawks will be picking in the top 10 again. A big move or two need to be made what those moves. Are don't know we will have to wait and see how things unfold in the next couple of weeks.

What magical things do you think Q is doing every day? Well I suppose it does take time to figure out what stubborn, illogical things he will do every day and to pamper his mustache. Hmmm for today I’ll destroy the confidence of certain players, favour other players in a manner that makes no sense, put players together in a manner that makes no sense, make StanBo crazy totally crazy, listen to my moronic bro Ulf, ignore Dineen as I really don’t like him anymore, tell Toews and Keith I just love that they are ONNIT and lets just see if Kane and DeBrincat can still score even if they have no line-mates. I take back all my criticisms - Q does have a lot on his plate.
- Z3Hawk

Magical things? He actually won 3 Cups in a cap era where parity is at its highest peak.

He hasn't "won cups of he was coaching X team" or any other made up scenarios

He played in the NHL 800+ games
He's coached for over 1600 gms
2nd winningest coach in the 100yrs of the league
3x Cup winner
Won coach over the year
Only missed playoffs twice
Coached in the clutch/grab era and now the open skating/speed game
First ballot HOF

How about you? How much have you actually ever been around anyone on this team or any professional team at alone any success you've had?

For you to think he cares about his mustache grooming kinda gives me your resume on your hockey knowledge. And for you to "assume" he destroys players confidence(because of Kempny,
I'm sure, yet what is factual is players around the entire league vote him the guy they WANT to play for) or now doesnt like Dineen (great made up story...run with it!) I guess when you dont have facts it's best to make up things and see what sticks

That guy doesn't have a clue.
- vandymeer23

Glad i'm not alone in that thought process here.. I'm not sure where he got his info, but Pulock, Jenner, AND Shane Prince are RFA's and no - StanBo isn't offer sheeting any one of them, let alone all 3, EVEN IF we had multiple picks in every round going forward as compensation. Not sure what that guys thought process was.

I don’t recall seeing Scotty on the bench during any of those games.
- StLBravesFan

Scotty had some tips or an idea or two in one Cup year. Anyone recall the suggestion which Q took to heart?

I’m in a bit of shock and awe here. The seasons is finally over. I sneak a look here and JJ’s site and there are no rumors in weeks. The lack of news and rumors is truly a gut wrench when a year or so ago this place would be a madhouse.

I will say that I am truly happy for Kempny winning a SC. Proves yet again that Q does not know how to handle his roster. His system is old and doesn’t evolve with a changing on ice game. He needs to go but alas herr McDonut aka 21st century Pulford values brand versus quality. He needs to go too. Bowman, well this isn’t his coach so he gets a benefit of the doubt to implement his coach and to see the results.

Scotty had some tips or an idea or two in one Cup year. Anyone recall the suggestion which Q took to heart?
- jhawk59

2010. Splitting up 19 and 88.

Oh Great DarthKane please inform us how the Great Leader Toews has been such a Great Leader recently. Please get right ONNIT.
- Z3Hawk

You said Toews traditionally doesn’t lead or lead by example, that’s why you got the Star Trek facepalm. You didn’t say anything about Toews’ leadership ability recently.

Also, just because Kane is stepping up his leadership game that doesn’t mean Toews is any less of a leader. Kane is filling the void left by other leaders that have left and he’s doing a damn fine job.

Why does anybody want to trade Crawford if he's healthy?

Why does anybody want to trade Crawford if he's healthy?
- Savoy

For me, it’s a big question mark as to whether he can stay healthy for a season at this point. I know anybody can get inured, but he has missed big chunks of recent seasons. Is he worth $6 million a year at this point? His reliability is in question now. Love how he was playing though.

Why does anybody want to trade Crawford if he's healthy?
- Savoy

Personally, I don't want to trade Crawford. However, if a series of deals can be made that include Crawford and make the team better overall I'm on with that.

Magical things? He actually won 3 Cups in a cap era where parity is at its highest peak.

He hasn't "won cups of he was coaching X team" or any other made up scenarios

He played in the NHL 800+ games
He's coached for over 1600 gms
2nd winningest coach in the 100yrs of the league
3x Cup winner
Won coach over the year
Only missed playoffs twice
Coached in the clutch/grab era and now the open skating/speed game
First ballot HOF

How about you? How much have you actually ever been around anyone on this team or any professional team at alone any success you've had?

For you to think he cares about his mustache grooming kinda gives me your resume on your hockey knowledge. And for you to "assume" he destroys players confidence(because of Kempny,
I'm sure, yet what is factual is players around the entire league vote him the guy they WANT to play for) or now doesnt like Dineen (great made up story...run with it!) I guess when you dont have facts it's best to make up things and see what sticks
- PatShart

It’s funny how fickle hockey can be “Coach of the year” one year, fired the next!

Why does anybody want to trade Crawford if he's healthy?
- Savoy

Personally love crow but are the competing for a cup in the next 2 years i hate to say but no not unless drastic changes happen. So if say the IsLanders for example are willing to give the hawks the 11th pick and a prospect say shane prince for intance would you that deal plus his contract comes off the books and gain 6 million per year for the 2 years obviously the wouldn't trade him unless they had a plan to backfill crow's spot.

Personally love crow but are the competing for a cup in the next 2 years i hate to say but no not unless drastic changes happen. So if say the IsLanders for example are willing to give the hawks the 11th pick and a prospect say shane prince for intance would you that deal plus his contract comes off the books and gain 6 million per year for the 2 years obviously the wouldn't trade him unless they had a plan to backfill crow's spot.
- Scott1977

A mid-first for a goalie who hadsn’t played a competitive game since December, who hasn’t even taken a shot in practice (as far as I know) - who no one knows if he’s healthy and ready to go or not....

A mid-first for a goalie who hadsn’t played a competitive game since December, who hasn’t even taken a shot in practice (as far as I know) - who no one knows if he’s healthy and ready to go or not....
- StLBravesFan

It was an hypothetically and i m sure the islanders would have the medical information to decide on whether or not to make said deal.

I literally can't wait until we make a deal, so we can scrutinize that for a few pages, instead of bashing Jonathan Toews for his "lack" of leadership or whether Joel Quenneville is a "good" coach..... ridiculous...
- SoftServe

A few pages???...you really don't know these posters here...