Tyler Cameron: Hawks Getting Better and Get Their First "W" There are a lot of positive trends happening in Hawks-land.

It has taken some time but this was to be expected after the training camp, travel and schedule that the Hawks were handed to begin this 2019-20 season.

Chicago took a tough OT loss on Saturday to the Winnipeg Jets, however, they played well enough to win.

Here are some positives I'm seeing.

Brandon Saad has been lights out this year. Love him and Kubalik playing together. Great team win. Love the physical play this season and love that they are now starting to dump the puck into their opponents zone and put pressure on other defensemen.

Positivity blog? Never heard of it. Great piece, TC. I agree on all of your points.

Edm wasn't as good as their record portrayed & Chi wasn't as bad as their record portrayed. Growth & warts for everybody. It's the beginning of the season & a bunch of new faces. A coach trying to put it all together with new assistants & players have to gel with one another.

I see last night's game as a trend in the positive direction. I'm mad that the momentum can't stay high because they don't play til Friday, but I'm not in charge of making schedules.

Thought Dallas was going to win the Cup?

Positivity blog? Never heard of it. Great piece, TC. I agree on all of your points.

Edm wasn't as good as their record portrayed & Chi wasn't as bad as their record portrayed. Growth & warts for everybody. It's the beginning of the season & a bunch of new faces. A coach trying to put it all together with new assistants & players have to gel with one another.

I see last night's game as a trend in the positive direction. I'm mad that the momentum can't stay high because they don't play til Friday, but I'm not in charge of making schedules.
- I Am The Breadman

We're not in charge of making up the lines either...

Who knew teams can look better or worse than their real level in a small sample size, eh?

I like the lines & the d pairings. That 3rd line is really good. It's slowly coming together

In regards to the big hits & Edm taking exception. I don't like it. Just take the hit & play the game. But I can also understand players sticking up for one another. Not enough to fight over, but I get the idea. If one of the hawks would have been hit like that, this board would have said who is going after x player now after a hit like that.

Still do not like that teams are taking liberties with Crow in net. In every game he has been run in the crease, and no response by anyone.

Calvin deHaan should get hazard pay for partnering with Gus, but boy what can you say? Job well done.

We're not in charge of making up the lines either...

Who knew teams can look better or worse than their real level in a small sample size, eh?
- mohel

I just don't get the defeatist mindset all the time. Maybe it just doesn't make sense, & I'm not supposed to understand. I know records are what we look at because that shows the top teams & who goes into the playoffs & everything. But the team, their efforts, individual play, coaching ... yadda yadda yadda goes beyond the numbers of a record. Especially in a small & early sample size. They were one goal games we lost. Lapses in play happen & some teams are better at taking advantage of play when they happen, while other teams are worse at recovering from their own lapses in play. They are learning though. It's early, I believe they will know how to work on their own kinks in a collective effort. It's so quick & easy to point the blame at the player who made the error & "cast them out," but why is it so difficult to hand out praise? Bod, I guess?

I like the lines & the d pairings. That 3rd line is really good. It's slowly coming together

In regards to the big hits & Edm taking exception. I don't like it. Just take the hit & play the game. But I can also understand players sticking up for one another. Not enough to fight over, but I get the idea. If one of the hawks would have been hit like that, this board would have said who is going after x player now after a hit like that.
- I Am The Breadman

The fact that we ended up 4 on 4 instead of on the PP when DeHaan love tapped McDavid is a joke. Perfectly clean hit...but no one is allowed to touch McDavid, which is bull poop.

The fact that we ended up 4 on 4 instead of on the PP when DeHaan love tapped McDavid is a joke. Perfectly clean hit...but no one is allowed to touch McDavid, which is bull poop.
- Ogilthorpe2

I agree that it shouldn't have been 4 on 4, that's on the refs. I try to ease back on that anyway, but I still do it from time to time. That's just the trend in sports now. I remember you saying you don't watch as much football, but the hits on qb's are ridiculous. Hit any qb & it is fine. Hit a qb named Rodgers or Brady, then flags will fly every time. I don't get it. Just play the game. It changes it & changes the pace. But the inverse can be said when penalties aren't called. Ex. Seabs taking a high stick. Superstars will always be protected in sports. I've come to accept it, but don't agree with it. However many millions you make means you get special treatment.

Like Brandon Saad too. He is playing the best hockey in his career. He could score a lot more if he could elevate the puck. Many of his shots are on or near the ice and into the goalie pads. (Also developing a backhander would be good.)

Calvin deHaan should get hazard pay for partnering with Gus, but boy what can you say? Job well done.
- kwolf68

Agree. I feel sorry for CDH. He has to keep his head on a swivel to find out where his partner has roamed off to. Gus seems to gravitate away from the net in our end. Then when he gets out of position he just floats there or moves slowly back into position. There is no urgency. Also one moment he is tight on an opponent and then he gives the guy time and space. Sheesh.

Shout out to whoever the European scout was that said to trade for Kubalik, sending a 5th to the Kings is a steal. You wonder how teams miss on players. (every team does at some point).

Like Brandon Saad too. He is playing the best hockey in his career. He could score a lot more if he could elevate the puck. Many of his shots are on or near the ice and into the goalie pads. (Also developing a backhander would be good.)
- -Doh-

No, he sucks. Trade him for Cap Space.

The fact that we ended up 4 on 4 instead of on the PP when DeHaan love tapped McDavid is a joke. Perfectly clean hit...but no one is allowed to touch McDavid, which is bull poop.
- Ogilthorpe2

As was the punch in the face after the whistle.

D-men are starting to gel/learn each other’s tendencies so that’s nice to see. I for one hate Nylander on 4th line and with Smith/Carp no less. Skill guy and pretty much all he brings and makes no sense on 3/4th lines similar to ADB. Leave him on Toews/Kane line for 15 games and let him get some consistency. And for poops sake leave the 2nd/3rd lines be!

Calvin deHaan should get hazard pay for partnering with Gus, but boy what can you say? Job well done.
- kwolf68

They all should anytime they have to share ice time with Gus.

It's so bad for me i cringed when the Hawks got a late PP and considered it a win that Gusto didn't make a gaffe giving them a 2 on 1

Calvin deHaan should get hazard pay for partnering with Gus, but boy what can you say? Job well done.
- kwolf68

Great side hit on McDavid in the 3rd to get in his head as they tried to rally. Big fan of the Maatta/de Haan trades

Thought Dallas was going to win the Cup?
- Colbyboy

Remember the Blues until january last year???...Dallas could be following the same script. Let's hope not. But, wayyyyyy too earlier to count anybody in or out....

Agree. I feel sorry for CDH. He has to keep his head on a swivel to find out where his partner has roamed off to. Gus seems to gravitate away from the net in our end. Then when he gets out of position he just floats there or moves slowly back into position. There is no urgency. Also one moment he is tight on an opponent and then he gives the guy time and space. Sheesh.
- -Doh-

With all of the talk about how bad Gus is on defense - and he actually is - the other 5 defensemen currently skating range from pretty good to good to ok - especially considering the current pairings.

And my question is: how many teams in the league have a 6th defenseman that is appreciably (if at all) better than Gus?

In a hard cap league, the are no teams out there without weaknesses, and I would expect very few who don't have weaknesses among the blue liners.

This year's iteration of the Blackhawks should be better than last year's but it's still a work in progress. There are plenty of new faces on the team and it will take time for the forward lines and defensive pairings to come together.

It's good that the third line has already gelled, we can't say enough good things about the 20-64-8 line. I think the top 6 will be in flux for a little while, especially if Dach gets his 9 game (likely on the wing).

I think the ingredients are there on defense, de Haan and Maatta need a bit more time to get acclimated but they're coming along nicely. It's good to see Gustafsson on the 3rd pairing, he shouldn't be getting #1 minutes. I'm still on the fence about keeping Gus or not. If Boqvist progresses nicely in Rockford Gus could fetch a nice return at the TDL.

Great side hit on McDavid in the 3rd to get in his head as they tried to rally. Big fan of the Maatta/de Haan trades
- Assman22

The de Haan trade is a home run, 2 AHLers for an NHL calibre d-man, even if he plays on the third pairing is awesome.

Maatta was a good deal too, although the cost was slightly higher. But Kubalik has appeared to have replaced Kahun nicely.

Actually thought Nylander's speed was a nice addition to the fourth line with Carpenter and Smith. All three seemed to have a role on that line and the kid had more freedom to move without being so worried about getting on Toews's poop list. I was hoping Perlini could do that the previous game in that role, but he is just invisible 95% of his ice time.

Defense significantly better when you don't have to play Koekkoek or Gilbert. Six pros back there now. May not all be top-4 defensemen, but at least they are all crafty veterans, well, 5 of the 6 anyway. But Gusty brings what he brings to the table.

I thought Strome played with more energy last night too. Need him to be an above average 2C.

This team is beginning to look like a real NHL team again after a two-year hiatus. Four decent lines, guys knowing their roles, some physicality, defense becoming more steady, some dump and chase, some decent forecheck, production from special teams, and solid goaltending. I see improvement. Hope it continues.

Tyler Cameron: Hawks Getting Better and Get Their First "W"
There are a lot of positive trends happening in Hawks-land.

It has taken some time but this was to be expected after the training camp, travel and schedule that the Hawks were handed to begin this 2019-20 season.

Chicago took a tough OT loss on Saturday to the Winnipeg Jets, however, they played well enough to win.

Here are some positives I'm seeing.
- Tyler Cameron

Tyler. Great blog. Nice to see the positives being pointed out.

I loved Saad's game last night.
Also thought "Crow" was really "on it".

Hawks still gave up a few too many quality chances, but the defence is rounding into form bit by bit.

Shaw, Toews, Saad and even Nylander all played nice games up front.

Just hope we continue to see the progress continue....