I think it's time for Stan to look at moving Saad , he is horrible and after 4 games his play is awful.

Ward can't seem to come up big he has given up in the Last 2 games the gwg,..
- Taylorst1

No offense...but many on this board had this same line of thinking for Toews over the past two years. And now they seem to have gone and hid in the background as Toews is performing at an all-star level. Give Saad sometime...he will find his game. He is fighting it right now.

No offense...but many on this board had this same line of thinking for Toews over the past two years. And now they seem to have gone and hid in the background as Toews is performing at an all-star level. Give Saad sometime...he will find his game. He is fighting it right now.
- onehundredlevel

Saad has done nothing. nada. zilch. His most impactful play was a shot block in OT that sprung Toews for his GWG in STL. 4 games, 1 assist, demoted to line 4 for Saturday. Not to mention there is an argument to be made that Saad cost the Hawks a point last night. Misses an empty cage on the rebound in front, denied on a breakaway in the 3rd, and an easy turnover in OT to spring Zucker on the GWG breakaway. Just not good enough from #20 for the last 12 months.

No offense...but many on this board had this same line of thinking for Toews over the past two years. And now they seem to have gone and hid in the background as Toews is performing at an all-star level. Give Saad sometime...he will find his game. He is fighting it right now.
- onehundredlevel

It may be awhile at this pace:

It may be awhile at this pace:


- walleyeb1

Looks a bit like Hossa.

WOW. Super stoked - hope Q sticks with this lineup to start against the Blues on Saturday. And hopefully it's the kick in the pants Saad needs to find himself.
- EbonyRaptor

I wonder if Saad needs a kick in the pants or not. How do you punish a guy not scoring goals ... 4th line demotion, less minutes, partners he doesn't have chemistry with, probably another night of no production? Doesnt seem right. Maybe time will get him going, how much, no clue. He's an enigma right now ... well last year he was too. I just don't see punishment as getting results that us as fans want out of him.

On an opposite note, super excited for Fortin my man. Hope he keeps it up and stays up.

Looks a bit like Hossa.
- 67hawks

#53 on his helmet so Brandon Mashinter!

Roar, well said! This is Nick Schmaltz 3rd year in the league. I am waiting to see consistency from him night in and night out. Too many times I see him fly around and coast, fly around and coast instead of just maintaining his speed throughout the shift. He is incredibly talented but I dont know physically if he is the 2C of the future. Very soft on the puck in his own end, has not improved in the faceoff circle, and has not used his skill set to take some of the offensive load off 88. Saad is clearly the blown tire on the line and needs to spend a night in the bottom 6. Fortin looked very impressive in his 12-15 min of ice or whatever it was.
- nickmo2699

Schmaltz is a 22 year old kid. He isn't a physical player but neither are several other Hawks. He is not one of the problems on this team. It isn't his job to take the offensive load off Kane either. These are the same things I heard about TT and now he is putting up solid numbers in Carolina.

Schmaltz also maintain possession very well. His lack of strength causes him to lose 1 on 1 battles along the boards and probably keeps him from engaging but again he is 22. Kane did put on serious muscle until he was in his mid 20s. Maybe wait till Schmaltz is 25-26 before writing him off as soft and not a 2C.

Edit: He is horrible at faceoffs though. Not sure what that is about.

I think it's time for Stan to look at moving Saad , he is horrible and after 4 games his play is awful.

Ward can't seem to come up big he has given up in the Last 2 games the gwg,..
- Taylorst1

What would the return be? His value, from the past is great, based off of last year and now. His value is a poop emoji.

#53 on his helmet so Brandon Mashinter!
- walleyeb1

Stick isn't on the ice. Why isn't the coaching staff out there yelling at him? Where is Eddie O?!!!!!! All you young players out there keep you stick on the ice.

(referring to the video where he is standing in front of the net)

Stick isn't on the ice. Why isn't the coaching staff out there yelling at him? Where is Eddie O?!!!!!! All you young players out there keep you stick on the ice.

(referring to the video where he is standing in front of the net)
- bhawks2241

Ha. Eddie O... that reminds me that so far this season, I haven't heard Eddie O tell us about getting elevation on shot in close.

Saad has done nothing. nada. zilch. His most impactful play was a shot block in OT that sprung Toews for his GWG in STL. 4 games, 1 assist, demoted to line 4 for Saturday. Not to mention there is an argument to be made that Saad cost the Hawks a point last night. Misses an empty cage on the rebound in front, denied on a breakaway in the 3rd, and an easy turnover in OT to spring Zucker on the GWG breakaway. Just not good enough from #20 for the last 12 months.
- EnzoD

It's not fair to hang the whole game on him or Kampf for that matter. Hawks up 2-0, keep it, the whole team. Collective effort. They never should have been in an overtime situation. His play is off and scoring ain't what it used to be, but to hang it all on him, not a fair argument and poor judgment. Minny is a comeback team. They would have come back if that puck went it. Our d was garbage from the last 7 mins of period 1-ot.

Generally prices drop as you get closer to the game date. If you’re going to be in the 100 level you want to be about 9 or 10 rows up.

If it was me I’d go with the 200 level if you can get tickets in the first five rows.

As far as Vivid goes, if you register and start an order and don’t finish it and sign out, there’s a good chance they’ll email you a discount code. They usually email you and say you didn’t finish your order first followed by another email with a discount code.
- walleyeb1

Great advice - Ill go 200 level first 5 rows

Schmaltz is a 22 year old kid. He isn't a physical player but neither are several other Hawks. He is not one of the problems on this team. It isn't his job to take the offensive load off Kane either. These are the same things I heard about TT and now he is putting up solid numbers in Carolina.

Schmaltz also maintain possession very well. His lack of strength causes him to lose 1 on 1 battles along the boards and probably keeps him from engaging but again he is 22. Kane did put on serious muscle until he was in his mid 20s. Maybe wait till Schmaltz is 25-26 before writing him off as soft and not a 2C.

Edit: He is horrible at faceoffs though. Not sure what that is about.
- bhawks2241

Well if you're going to play the pivot in the western conference, you better be able to win battles and defend. Other than a couple sticklifts, neither has been shown on a consistent basis. He is a great player, and I hope he comes into his own, but the hes 22 and hasnt put on muscle yet is crazy. It's literally the most important part of his off season. His exit interview with Q at seasons end was probably revolving around his strength. He is in his 3rd year and he hasnt gotten stronger and still sucks at the dot. WTF?!?

Well if you're going to play the pivot in the western conference, you better be able to win battles and defend. Other than a couple sticklifts, neither has been shown on a consistent basis. He is a great player, and I hope he comes into his own, but the hes 22 and hasnt put on muscle yet is crazy. It's literally the most important part of his off season. His exit interview with Q at seasons end was probably revolving around his strength. He is in his 3rd year and he hasnt gotten stronger and still sucks at the dot. WTF?!?
- nickmo2699

They need a different faceoff coach.

Schmaltz is improving, he shot a lot last night. His d game is great. The only guy that can keep the puck on his stick and drive into the o-zone. I don't want his facoff percentage to detract from other things he does well. It's important and he definitely could be better, but if I just look at the negative of every player and harp on it, I won't like anybody.

Just when I think I’ve seen it all from the Blackhawks, they trot out this dummy:

5-year, $2.5M AAV deal with a NMC for Manne Quinn.

https://twitter.com/johnd.../1050797742069571584?s=21
- walleyeb1

He's still better than most of the Hawks roster.

Cost Certainty, am I right??!!!


Saad at $6mil for 30ish points or Panarin at $9mil for 80 points??
- EnzoD

I get what you're saying, but I don't think it's that simple. How does that additional $3 million effect the Hawks ability to sign or re-sign other players and improve the team's overall depth. There's also the possibility that if the deal wasn't done the Hawks would have had neither Saad or Panarin after this season.

Not that it's a whole lot better, but I'd say Saad is a 50 point guy, not 30. Last year was well below his career average for points. Saad is off to a slow start, but that doesn't mean he won't turn it around. The reverse happened last season, Saad got off to a hot start but faded.

Let's keep in mind that many of us, including yourself, were in favour of the deal when it happened.

Saad has done nothing. nada. zilch. His most impactful play was a shot block in OT that sprung Toews for his GWG in STL. 4 games, 1 assist, demoted to line 4 for Saturday. Not to mention there is an argument to be made that Saad cost the Hawks a point last night. Misses an empty cage on the rebound in front, denied on a breakaway in the 3rd, and an easy turnover in OT to spring Zucker on the GWG breakaway. Just not good enough from #20 for the last 12 months.
- EnzoD

onehundredlevel may have been talking about you. You have very similar posts about Toews in the past and now you're singing a different tune about him. Give Saad the time you didn't give Toews and see what happens. Maybe you'll be right about Saad or maybe, like with Toews, you'll need to eat a little humble pie when/if Saad finds his game.

Cost Certainty, am I right??!!!


Saad at $6mil for 30ish points or Panarin at $9mil for 80 points??
- EnzoD

even my 6th grade daughter can figure out that math problem.

Ha. Eddie O... that reminds me that so far this season, I haven't heard Eddie O tell us about getting elevation on shot in close.
- breadbag

havent heard the Ole Mattress pass thing in a while Pat...last night i did!!!!!

He's still better than most of the Hawks roster.
- DarthKane

Don’t know if he MOVES any better, but he really seems calm and patient under pressure.

Cost Certainty, am I right??!!!


Saad at $6mil for 30ish points or Panarin at $9mil for 80 points??
- EnzoD

But still - no playoff series victory. What the hell does it matter?

The posters who are critical are often the ones who actually had expectations, meaning they are actually the “positive” posters. It is fair to be critical as long as the criticism is fair. It is infinitely fair to expect an NHL hockey team to be able to maintain a one goal lead, with a PP, for a series of seconds. I, for one, predicted that the Hawks would make the play-offs and would do so easily this year. That doesn’t mean I, or other posters, can’t be critical from game to game.
- Z3Hawk

How come you don't have a coaching or gm job in the NHL with your vast knowledge and unwavering opinions. God you're annoying.

Don’t know if he MOVES any better, but he really seems calm and patient under pressure.
- StLBravesFan

Just as long as he stands in front of the other goalie, not Ward.

onehundredlevel may have been talking about you. You have very similar posts about Toews in the past and now you're singing a different tune about him. Give Saad the time you didn't give Toews and see what happens. Maybe you'll be right about Saad or maybe, like with Toews, you'll need to eat a little humble pie when/if Saad finds his game.
- paulr

Goodness I've missed your posts! Toews has had 1.5 weeks of good play after 2 years of hot garbage, so let's pump the brakes a bit before we hand him the Hart Trophy. Saad is on the 4th line today so I guess my analysis isn't so off, now is it?

Duncs career retrospective interview on the eve of his 1000th

https://www.nbcsports.com...ith-ahead-1000th-nhl-game