Justin Lowe: Everyone, Your 2018-19 Chicago Blackhawks: Current Thoughts and Future Musi I told you I would reserve judgment on this Chicago team, and Stan Bowman until the final roster was decided.

Well, here we go. A 2-4 record in the preseason, which, yes puts them at 4 points and last in their division.

A breakdown of my prediction of what might be to come in the future.

FIRST !

The plan seems to be to get better by first being worse. They didn’t add anyone who would significantly help them get better and last year they weren’t very good. They’ll be sellers at the deadline. I think they want to keep some of the core to be contributors on a good team after this rebuild - some of Kane, Toews, Keith, and Seabrook - but that may not be possible. Does Q make it through the season?

I continue to hold a 85 pt season is only possible with a healthy craw playing about 45-50 games...other wise look out below.

first 5 games: sens (battle of the also rans), then blues, leafs, wild and blues. 3 raod games...frankly 1-3-1 might be optimistic

At least Game #1 will be a good contest of two teams going nowhere as the Hawks open against the Sens.

Maybe we can squeak out a "W" and briefly see what it looks like near the top of our division.....even if only for a day or two.

Go Hawks!!!!

It's a status quo lineup. No proof, but I've always had in the back of my head that they're going to ride this out pending a potential 2019 lockout.

The plan seems to be to get better by first being worse. They didn’t add anyone who would significantly help them get better and last year they weren’t very good. They’ll be sellers at the deadline. I think they want to keep some of the core to be contributors on a good team after this rebuild - some of Kane, Toews, Keith, and Seabrook - but that may not be possible. Does Q make it through the season?
- matt_ahrens

It seems that this is the case.

I just don't think they have it in them to go for a "silent rebuild" (as JJ calls it), as McD and Co. are too proud and know that it could be detrimental to their bottom line (ticket sales, marketing, etc.).

Plus, if they are preparing to be bad again, then you're burning another from the core. you might as well look to deal a guy like Keith then.

Considering this is the team that Bowman has put on the ice, if they are a complete bust by Christmas, I would fire Bowman and convince Joel to move into a "special advisor" role (if he wants).

In the interim, you can move Al MacIsaac or Norm McIvor as GM and Kevin Dineen as your coach.

"trading a guy like Duncan Keith could be a thing this year. "

Finally.

Justin Lowe: Everyone, Your 2018-19 Chicago Blackhawks: Current Thoughts and Future Musi
I told you I would reserve judgment on this Chicago team, and Stan Bowman until the final roster was decided.

Well, here we go. A 2-4 record in the preseason, which, yes puts them at 4 points and last in their division.

A breakdown of my prediction of what might be to come in the future.
- Justin Lowe

I posted previously that the “new blood” on the bottom 6 are Kruger and Kunitz. Then there is Anisimov who many thought would be moved - slower, injury prone. It is all well and good for Q to SAY he wishes to play fast, uptempo hockey but how is that achieved with these 3 making up half of the bottom 6? Kunitz is especially interesting. If we wanted a veteran presence why not have treated Sharp better last year so he’d be back this year?

I assumed we would see an influx of young, fast forwards with skill this season - all were sent out. The only real “new” player in the bottom 6 is Hayden. Actually, we have seen him before but this time there seems to be a chance for permanence.

It is difficult to see where secondary scoring will come from. As it sits right now the top 2 lines and the PP better score and score a lot.

On D the Hawks better play a Defence First system and not the idiotic pinching system of last year. With the D it is wait and see. Is there more talent than meets the eye. Hope so.

Maybe the moral here is this. You can’t just have skilled young Forwards and D-Men and just send them all to Rockford and elsewhere, year after year. At some point the future is now. Q has been the Coach of the Hawks for 6 years longer than any other NHL Coach. All the other teams have seen an advantage to having a “new voice” but not the Hawks. Hope the team is still listening.

First.

No points for pre season.

We am what we am. Let's see em play.

Go hocks!

it looks like this board is clearly in




mode

This should be a fun season with these low expectations.

Honestly, It could play out like this, but guys don't put the cart before the horse.

Let them play some actual games (preseason is a warm up and audition) and get some games under their belt before you throw in the towel.

The bottom 6 might have a hard time scoring goals, but that is nothing new. The bottom 6 has been mostly garbage offensively for a few seasons. Looking at actual icetime, I don't think they will greatly miss Wingels 7 goals, Hinostroza's 7 goals, Sharps 10 goals, Panink (you could argue where he fits, but he played less per game than DeBrincat and DeBrincat was more like a top 6 playing 3rd line) and his 6 goals, Hartman 8 goals, Bouma 3 goals, Jurco 6 goals, Duclair 2 goals, Kero 1 goal.

Nobody outside the top 6 minute eating forwards was scoring goals at any significant pace and many of them scored their goals when moved up the lineup to play on the top 2 lines.

The real question, will the bottom 6 be crap defensively again or not? Way more important question IMO. The Hawks had very few forward units that could be trusted to actually not get dominated in their own end.

It seems that this is the case.

I just don't think they have it in them to go for a "silent rebuild" (as JJ calls it), as McD and Co. are too proud and know that it could be detrimental to their bottom line (ticket sales, marketing, etc.).

Plus, if they are preparing to be bad again, then you're burning another from the core. you might as well look to deal a guy like Keith then.

Considering this is the team that Bowman has put on the ice, if they are a complete bust by Christmas, I would fire Bowman and convince Joel to move into a "special advisor" role (if he wants).

In the interim, you can move Al MacIsaac or Norm McIvor as GM and Kevin Dineen as your coach.
- Justin Lowe

Neither Q or Bowman stop pucks. They have 2 sieves between the pipes to start the season and a 'hope' that their #1 can return and play at NHL level after being on the shelf for nearly a year. That's like asking a professional golfer to put his clubs away for 12 months and then take them out of storage and win the U.S. Open after a couple of practice rounds.

The Leafs still have 4 goaltenders on their roster. Calvin Pickard is better than anybody else the Hawks have other than Cro.

The Hawks essentially have two 4th lines. I really do hope Sikura works on a few things in Rockford to gain confidence and find his stride while learning systems to earn a call up real soon. He could help on the 3rd line.

Nice blog Justin! You like many other hawks fans are disappointed as well as confused. I will not make it a priority to watch this team this year , I guess you could say the organization over the past 3 or 4 years has really made myself lose interest.


Their really is no justification for the moves this team has or hasn't made after a 4 and out whooping then the follow up a season with falling out of the playoffs and failing at every metric.


This team won't make the playoffs , Crawford is done he won't return to that caliber type player he once was.


Kane and Keith will both be traded in my opinion to gain the most return cap money and high draft picks.


Saad is all about himself and his next contract , M.I.A ?

Get ready boys for a long painful next couple of years.

Neither Q or Bowman stop pucks. They have 2 sieves between the pipes to start the season and a 'hope' that their #1 can return and play at NHL level after being on the shelf for nearly a year. That's like asking a professional golfer to put his clubs away for 12 months and then take them out of storage and win the U.S. Open after a couple of practice rounds.

The Leafs still have 4 goaltenders on their roster. Calvin Pickard is better than anybody else the Hawks have other than Cro.
- RickJ

Which one do you want Rick?

@LeafsPR
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The @MapleLeafs announced today that the hockey club has reduced its roster to 23 players (13 forwards, eight defencemen and two goaltenders).

The following players have been placed on waivers: Connor Carrick, Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard.

The Hawks essentially have two 4th lines. I really do hope Sikura works on a few things in Rockford to gain confidence and find his stride while learning systems to earn a call up real soon. He could help on the 3rd line.
- AEL_Fox

The bottom two lines make me want to puke. Really only Anisimov is a quality 3rd line player. The rest are 4th line guys. Hayden if shows some improvement this year is more than a 4th line player.

Hawks have absolutely no speed in the bottom 6 either. Simply cannot replicate Vegas with a bottom 6 that slow. This team honestly has to be in the bottom 10 of the league in terms of overall speed.

Backend is slowwwwwwwwwww and outside of Schmaltz and Saad none of the forwards have what I would consider elite or near elite speed.

This team looks like the island of misfit toys.

The bottom two lines make me want to puke. Really only Anisimov is a quality 3rd line player. The rest are 4th line guys. Hayden if shows some improvement this year is more than a 4th line player.

Hawks have absolutely no speed in the bottom 6 either. Simply cannot replicate Vegas with a bottom 6 that slow. This team honestly has to be in the bottom 10 of the league in terms of overall speed.

Backend is slowwwwwwwwwww and outside of Schmaltz and Saad none of the forwards have what I would consider elite or near elite speed.

This team looks like the island of misfit toys.
- bhawks2241

Being Vegas 2.0 is really not realistic for the rest of the NHL. They got a very favorable expansion draft setup and it enabled them to have a team full of second and third line forwards up and down their lineup along with essentially three pairs of second pair quality dmen. While not much in terms of elite or high octane guys, there's not really any weaknesses either. They can draft a team full of youth and speed (that is NHL quality being the key) and pair that with a competent coach who runs an efficient system to maximize their strengths and minimizes their weaknesses and you have the surprise run that the knights have. They also were able to have their pick of the litter of underrated talent and youth at bargain bin cap hits. Something other teams can't replicate as they are saddled with their own large cap hits to their core already (ahem, us)

Nice blog Justin! You like many other hawks fans are disappointed as well as confused. I will not make it a priority to watch this team this year , I guess you could say the organization over the past 3 or 4 years has really made myself lose interest.


Their really is no justification for the moves this team has or hasn't made after a 4 and out whooping then the follow up a season with falling out of the playoffs and failing at every metric.


This team won't make the playoffs , Crawford is done he won't return to that caliber type player he once was.


Kane and Keith will both be traded in my opinion to gain the most return cap money and high draft picks.


Saad is all about himself and his next contract , M.I.A ?

Get ready boys for a long painful next couple of years.
- Taylorst1

Agree on Crawford. If he is still not ready after sitting out almost a year, it is time to move on letting his contract expire either on LTIR or as a part time player. And please, Bowman, no more loyalty contract extensions!

Which one do you want Rick?

@LeafsPR
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The @MapleLeafs announced today that the hockey club has reduced its roster to 23 players (13 forwards, eight defencemen and two goaltenders).

The following players have been placed on waivers: Connor Carrick, Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard.
- Justin Lowe

I would claim Connor Carrick and Pickard

I would add Krys and Forsling to that list of potential blueliners:

Jokiharju, Boqvist, Mitchell, Beaudin, Hillman, Gilbert, Carlsson.

This also doesn't count whoever the Hawks draft at D in upcoming drafts.

Many of these prospects will pan out but only so many can make the team. A few of them will be trade chips to shore up at forward, particularly center, and maybe in net too.

"trading a guy like Duncan Keith could be a thing this year. "

Finally.
- Beaver-Warrior

Keith has too much term left on his contract. His value is equivalent to Hossa. We will have to either pay to rid ourselves of this contract or let him play it out.

Keith has too much term left on his contract. His value is equivalent to Hossa. We will have to either pay to rid ourselves of this contract or let him play it out.
- 67hawks

No chance. 30 other teams would grab Keith in a NY minute and utilize him to maximum effect instead of expecting him to log 30 minutes a night and at the same time cover for partners who are college boys or AHL level talents.

No chance. 30 other teams would grab Keith in a NY minute and utilize him to maximum effect instead of expecting him to log 30 minutes a night and at the same time cover for partners who are college boys or AHL level talents.
- RickJ

Agree. Keith is easy to move. His cap hit is relatively low compared to other top end dmen.

If Keith had a competent partner we would see him play a lot better in my opinion. Keith is still plays at an elite level. The guy is baby sitting young dmen who have no business being on the top pair while still logging huge minutes and playing against other top lines.