Yeah - 7 points against St. Louis.

2017 was a mess for the whole team - but Panarin - only one point (an assist in game 4) against Nashville.

And - after 7 points in three good games against Washington - nothing in the 3 final games that closed CBJ out.

A major player for Chicago - team leader in Columbus - still has not won a single playoff series - and pretty much disappeared when the chips were down.

Team game and all that - teammates weren’t any better - but I think he still needs to prove his leadership qualities and that he can be a winner in this league when it counts the most.
- StLBravesFan

Panarin suffered a knee sprain in game 4 and played through it. Team sport, and Panarin/Jones carried CBJ on their backs.

One of the main problems the Hawks have which will be exposed by most of their opponents this season is their lack of speed. For a team that must play in the other team's end most of the game to be successful because their team defense isn't good - they don't have the team speed to do it consistently. They are hard pressed to retrieve the puck on dump-ins because they can't get on the defenders fast enough to disrupt the first pass - hence all the easy break outs for the opposing teams.

The Hawks have only 2 forwards with better than average speed - Saad and Schmaltz, and neither one of those guys "sell out" enough to be a consistently effective forechecker. Did I miss anyone? Saad and Schmaltz - that's it. Guys like Kahun, Johnson, Kampf may be a tick above average but not enough to make a significant difference. Guys like Hayden and Martinsen have the right mindset to be good forecheckers but they play 4th line minutes which means only once or twice a game will they cause havoc that results in the Hawks getting possession. Toews is still good at winning puck battles along the boards but he can't do it as a one man wrecking crew consistently over an entire season - Hossa is gone and Saad is effectively gone too.

We all better hope Fortin stays healthy and has a good start to the year so maybe he can be promoted giving the Hawks at least one guy who is a legitimate NHL forechecker.

Watched the final two periods last night as I thought this will be close to the opening night roster. If that's the kind of effort that the new season brings they most definitely will be in the bottom five. For all the negative comments about Anisimov, how about Saad? Three turnovers on one powerplay in the second period. He looks lost out there! And nobody says anything about Jokiharju or however you spell it. Completely scared sh$$3+less on the first goal! Looking over his shoulder for the hit coming and then turning the puck over. Result 1-1. It doesn't look to me that he is ready for the big time. She's gonna be a long season fans!

Justin Lowe: Back to Life, Back to Reality
Joel Quenneville foreshadowed last night's poor performance when he was heard screaming explicit obscenities at his players early in the day at practice.

Joel knows is crunch time and with the regular season around the corner, his team does not look ready in his eyes.
- Justin Lowe

The major problems with the Hawks are Q and Bowman. Q says he wants to play an uptempo possession game but then just gifts roles to Kunitz, Kruger and Anisimov. Were these players really better, more noticeable than some sent out? I have defended Bowman in the past but truly what has he added to the team recently? Ward did not look like he could stop a beach ball thrown at him from Center Ice. Also he wasn’t free. Also threw money at Rutta and Gus based on...nothing. How about this, pool that money and get some player(s) that are truly impactful. Miss the play-offs and then do very little of substance. Hopefully Kahun proves to be a good addition. However, where are the impactful NHL-proven players?

Q has already had the blender at full speed. Saad is a basket-case. Schmaltz seems off and disinterested. Keith and Seabrook stumble a bit in their FIRST game, an exhibition game, so playing them together gets shelved? Are you crazy? Have I missed something or are these key freakin’ players that we need at their best. I thought Q was well past his shelf life with the Hawks - then wanted him to prove me wrong. Doesn’t look good so far.

I do not see the remaining players whom formed part of the core in the Cup years as being as top level and productive as they used to be. And even with imorovement in the game this year from Toews and Keith, they are not the same calibrre player.as whom stood iut in Cup years

Now they will play and be used differently. By that I mean Toews is not the physical type player he once was. Keith will be less fequently seen on PP anf really with him it is a lot of attitude

. Give him a good partner, a winning team, a challenge in his own game - statistics if you will or that his pair is one of the elite tandems in the league - and he will have enjoyment, not a sense of drudgery on a poor team as it is constructed presently

The whole lockroom needs to change over, with some here recently and more to come. There needs to be more grit and some of that must reside on a top line. It is advantageous to employ players throughout a roster whom possess some size, too. Unfortunately Bowman seems to pluck that type from later round picks and they are not likely top line candidates.

You can like Highmore, maybe Noel works out but you need Knott with his size. This is just the bottom lines. You better draft or trade for someone big and talented, not a softie, either. Otherwise this team is just not going to rise too much despite a boatload of good choices ftom high draft sekections.

They have defensemen applenty and enough of a mix in style plus quantity as far as dmen prospects go. Top end forwards is the way to go in future #1 picks.

I am curious to see how Tzachuck develops in Ottawa. Long term. Will he be a beast. Score about a point t per game average. Blackhawks need that kind of draft selection as soon as next season.

You can debate all you want about playoff performances for former Hawks teams....or can you can just break it down to the simple fact that Panarin is hands down twice the player that Saad is at the same position and no matter how you slice it the trade was idiotic. You don’t trade players of Panarins caliber/age. Especially not when they have a special chemistry with another superstar(Kane). Saad has been abysmal. But even if he’d have come back playing the way he did in 2013-15 the trade still wouldn’t have been worth it. It was a horrible trade, one of the worst I’ve seen as a Hawks fan. So can people PLEASE stop trying to rationalize/defend it by citing Panarins one round of playoffs with what was an overall flawed Hawks team. Had he been on the 2013-15 Hawks instead of Saad he would have looked just as good if not better.

I think that the Hawks need to work on their breakout with their defensemen. A team that wants to play fast, usually has their defense "push the pace" throughout the game. There were times in the Ottawa game, and the Detroit game also, that the defensemen had a hard time with the opposition's fore check. Moving the puck quickly and head manning the puck are crucial if you want to "play fast". Beat the forecheck and move the puck up quickly to the forwards moving in the neutral zone. I saw too many times where the Hawks were either "dilly dalling" with the puck in the defensive zone or needed more than one attempt to move the puck out of there. Maybe Saad should move up to first line or second. He and Kunitz do not have anything going. Kunitz would be an ideal 13th forward .... sit in the press box but he is able to move up and down the line up when he is in. Preferably in a bottom six role
- chuckdahammer

Couldn't agree more. IIRC, the 10-1 blowout opening season win last year vs. the Penguins had a lot of quick first passes out of the zone and immediate rushes through the neutral zone to start O-zone drives. This style of hockey was exciting to watch. The lopsided score in our favor was icing on the cake.

That strategy worked another few games but then the team reverted back to the constant cycling and retreating in the D zone waiting for stretch passes or at least an open forward who just didn't seem to be open. IMHO, that's on both the defenders and forwards.

Blueliners need to just skate the puck out of the D zone as quickly as possible if no immediate first pass out is available. If that occurs, his partner needs to hang back and another forward should stay close to the defensive blueline to help if there's a turnover.

Forwards need to find different strategies to get open and customize their approach to how the other team defends them, i.e. may be tougher to do against a trap team but not impossible either.

One of the main problems the Hawks have which will be exposed by most of their opponents this season is their lack of speed. For a team that must play in the other team's end most of the game to be successful because their team defense isn't good - they don't have the team speed to do it consistently. They are hard pressed to retrieve the puck on dump-ins because they can't get on the defenders fast enough to disrupt the first pass - hence all the easy break outs for the opposing teams.

The Hawks have only 2 forwards with better than average speed - Saad and Schmaltz, and neither one of those guys "sell out" enough to be a consistently effective forechecker. Did I miss anyone? Saad and Schmaltz - that's it. Guys like Kahun, Johnson, Kampf may be a tick above average but not enough to make a significant difference. Guys like Hayden and Martinsen have the right mindset to be good forecheckers but they play 4th line minutes which means only once or twice a game will they cause havoc that results in the Hawks getting possession. Toews is still good at winning puck battles along the boards but he can't do it as a one man wrecking crew consistently over an entire season - Hossa is gone and Saad is effectively gone too.

We all better hope Fortin stays healthy and has a good start to the year so maybe he can be promoted giving the Hawks at least one guy who is a legitimate NHL forechecker.
- EbonyRaptor

I like your past descriptions of Fortin saying he needs to harness his speed better because he often just runs out of runway to convert this asset into a productive offensive weapon. If he can do that, he can do what Athanasiou did in the Wings game where he terrorized the Hawks with his speed to create turnovers and scoring chances.

I didn't watch the game last night...but Jokiharju struggled it sounds like??

If Panarin would have been here and not in Columbus doubt he would have scored the same as in Columbus or as before. Players are quitting on the team or on the coach, and sparkle once they move out (like 2 defensemen shipped out as they were "bad" here and went to win SC somewhere else).
Core of the problem for this team is not one specific trade Saad for Panarin, it sits way deeper.
- vshun

That's my feeling, too. Something off with the team culture but not sure what.

Country club atmosphere? Sense of entitlement with some players? Out of date X's and O's? Too many cooks in the kitchen as far as management and personnel decisions? Bad apples spoiling the bunch?

Some of the above? All of the above? None of the above?

You can debate all you want about playoff performances for former Hawks teams....or can you can just break it down to the simple fact that Panarin is hands down twice the player that Saad is at the same position and no matter how you slice it the trade was idiotic. You don’t trade players of Panarins caliber/age. Especially not when they have a special chemistry with another superstar(Kane). Saad has been abysmal. But even if he’d have come back playing the way he did in 2013-15 the trade still wouldn’t have been worth it. It was a horrible trade, one of the worst I’ve seen as a Hawks fan. So can people PLEASE stop trying to rationalize/defend it by citing Panarins one round of playoffs with what was an overall flawed Hawks team. Had he been on the 2013-15 Hawks instead of Saad he would have looked just as good if not better.
- SimpleJack

Yes the trade looks bad now because of Saad's bad season and Panarin's great one but what a bunch of horsepoop on numerous levels.

If Saad's numbers were what they normally were and he provided the two way play he normally did, it ends up being a decent trade and I bet almost no one other than Savoy would be complaining.

And as far as one of the worst trades someone has ever seen as a Hawk fan? Yes, maybe if you became a fan in the last 5 years you could count it as the worst.

Without digging into the annals (two n's), Phil Espo trade (worst in all of hockey EVER), Roenick trade, Hasek trade, Chelios trade...all worse and not even close. If Saad can't regain his scoring touch and Panarin keeps having great regular seasons and also advances past a round in the playoffs, it will climb the ranks.

I didn't watch the game last night...but Jokiharju struggled it sounds like??
- EnzoD

He did, got burned on his right-post assignment by chasing a guy down low, leaving someone wide open in front of Forsberg. He coughed the puck up at the blueline on the Powerplay, but then again everyone did too. I'm not ready to pull the plug on him from one bad game (he was out against Detroit). It not like anyone else has out-earned his spot on this god-awful defensive core. Boy do we miss Hjalrmarsson, guy was such a pain in the ass to play against.

Yes the trade looks bad now because of Saad's bad season and Panarin's great one but what a bunch of horsepoop on numerous levels.

If Saad's numbers were what they normally were and he provided the two way play he normally did, it ends up being a decent trade and I bet almost no one other than Savoy would be complaining.

And as far as one of the worst trades someone has ever seen as a Hawk fan? Yes, maybe if you became a fan in the last 5 years you could count it as the worst.

Without digging into the annals (two n's), Phil Espo trade (worst in all of hockey EVER), Roenick trade, Hasek trade, Chelios trade...all worse and not even close. If Saad can't regain his scoring touch and Panarin keeps having great regular seasons and also advances past a round in the playoffs, it will climb the ranks.
- HawkintheD

Oh it’s gonna climb right on up there in a hurry you can bet on it. I see nothing that tells me either player is going to sway from their current form any time soon.

Long season ahead with zero to little chance of winning anything. Would prefer to see a full rebuild rather than the current approach. Sucks to see the championship team in decline but we did have those amazing years, just got spoiled I guess. Could be worse could be MTL or Ottawa this year.... Yikes they will be bad.

Great article Justin! Nobody should be shocked how horrible this team is and players clearly didn't get the message from last year.



At this point saad , anisim[v, Seabrook, Keith, toews are all expendable via trade, including relieving Stan of his job.

Coach Q can only do so much with what Stan has given him. Why on earth did they sign Davidson?
Boquisvt should have been given that spot he can only improve and is more of a asset.


I don't see this team winning no more than 25 to 30 games.


Kahuan he earned a spot but in my opinion Toews has regressed beyond repair.

https://twitter.com/BySco...tatus/1045477993706131456

This play by Hayden is a good example of getting after it, taking the body when necessary, and not giving up. Creates a scoring chance, follows the puck rather than just watch it, and rubs out the opponent to make sure he doesn't get it either.

I didn't watch the game last night...but Jokiharju struggled it sounds like??
- EnzoD

Big time, but who notices the single turd on a farm of crap?

Yes the trade looks bad now because of Saad's bad season and Panarin's great one but what a bunch of horsepoop on numerous levels.

If Saad's numbers were what they normally were and he provided the two way play he normally did, it ends up being a decent trade and I bet almost no one other than Savoy would be complaining.

And as far as one of the worst trades someone has ever seen as a Hawk fan? Yes, maybe if you became a fan in the last 5 years you could count it as the worst.

Without digging into the annals (two n's), Phil Espo trade (worst in all of hockey EVER), Roenick trade, Hasek trade, Chelios trade...all worse and not even close. If Saad can't regain his scoring touch and Panarin keeps having great regular seasons and also advances past a round in the playoffs, it will climb the ranks.
- HawkintheD

The trade will be a win if Panarin resigns here as a UFA.

Panarin was the best player on the ice in that Washington Jackets series. By far the best player on the ice. His movement through the neutral zone to the attacking zone. Just about every moment was electric when the puck was on his blade Incredible player and greatly missed by the Hawks. He'd be missed by any team he left quite frankly and make whatever team he joined significantly better.
- fattybeef

Panarin and Kane were deadly together. They were identical type players. When we lost him we lost him we lost a superstar. The hawks were second in the confrence when we traded him and dead last the next year. PRAY we can get him back. If we do we,ll have the best line in the NHL.

We lost so much in 2017:
Hossa, Hjalmarsson- two elite possession players, great a driving play and suppressing other teams

Campbell, Oduya- two over the hill but serviceable defensemen, could get the puck out and knew when to hold onto the puck

Panarin- lost one of the top 5 left wings in the league. Period.

Darling- a very solid backup when he played for the Hawks, maybe makes a dent last year.

Mike Kitchen- I did not like him in his last year. I did not think there could be a worse special teams/D coach, I was wrong. Ulf is awful.

We lost so much in 2017:
Hossa, Hjalmarsson- two elite possession players, great a driving play and suppressing other teams

Campbell, Oduya- two over the hill but serviceable defensemen, could get the puck out and knew when to hold onto the puck

Panarin- lost one of the top 5 left wings in the league. Period.

Darling- a very solid backup when he played for the Hawks, maybe makes a dent last year.

Mike Kitchen- I did not like him in his last year. I did not think there could be a worse special teams/D coach, I was wrong. Ulf is awful.
- ObeseOprah

Panarin and Hossa hurt the most.

We lost so much in 2017:
Hossa, Hjalmarsson- two elite possession players, great a driving play and suppressing other teams

Campbell, Oduya- two over the hill but serviceable defensemen, could get the puck out and knew when to hold onto the puck

Panarin- lost one of the top 5 left wings in the league. Period.

Darling- a very solid backup when he played for the Hawks, maybe makes a dent last year.

Mike Kitchen- I did not like him in his last year. I did not think there could be a worse special teams/D coach, I was wrong. Ulf is awful.
- ObeseOprah

i agree with everything, except its Ulfy....listen to Pat/Eddie O

Q is done. The team needs a radical change behind the bench.

Q is done. The team needs a radical change behind the bench.
- WJDiedrich

Toews: Player/coach - allocate $1MM to player and $9MM to his coaching duties

The trade will be a win if Panarin resigns here as a UFA.
- I Am The Breadman

Not really, because the two interim years wasted two years of Patrick Kane's prime and probably pissed him off, taking away his Art Ross year line mate...
The window very well should've stayed open after 2015. With different moves, we'd still be right in the middle of the chase, not quite top contenders, but still at least Pittsburgh status (always there, core good enough to carry it with some puckluck)