Tyler Cameron: New Year, New You The Blackhawks ended off 2019 with a 5-3 win over the Calgary Flames.

Led by Robin Lehner and Patrick Kane, the Hawks were able to win their 5th game in the last 6 appearances.

The Blackhawks would need to go 22-14-5 over the final 41 games to potentially get to the playoffs.

Let's take a look at what would need to happen in the next 3 months for the Hawks to be participating in extra games come mid-April.

First

Let's start the decade with One More Shift:

Dan Vincelette
Everett Sanipass
Wayne Van Dorp

Let's start the decade with One More Shift:

Dan Vincelette
Everett Sanipass
Wayne Van Dorp
- Brownie's_Purse

Add Josef Marha
Denis Arkhipov

On a serious note if Bowman can poach AA from the Detroit redwings I wouldn’t mind seeing that. I’ll repeat what I said , He is having a poop year because he plays for a poop coach. I know he was the same coach he played for last year.Still think last year was more what he could be about. I would love to see him here with PATRICK Kane and a couple of these other guys.

Tyler team as presently constructed is not a playoff team kane and the two goaltenders are carry this team. That is not enough even if and when saad and caggulia come back way too many holes on the team. So if gus is traded ok to what team and for what? Right now it seems the hawks have finally level out what they are going to be a .500 team. I still think they should be sellers and see what they can get for gus saad Crawford etc.. going forward for the future. I will say this its nice to see them winning of late.

Add Josef Marha
Denis Arkhipov

On a serious note if Bowman can poach AA from the Detroit redwings I wouldn’t mind seeing that. I’ll repeat what I said , He is having a poop year because he plays for a poop coach. I know he was the same coach he played for last year.Still think last year was more what he could be about. I would love to see him here with PATRICK Kane and a couple of these other guys.
- wonthecup10

How about One More Save with Ray LeBlanc and Christian Soucy.

I don't know how you can say who is a playoff team or who is not, till the playoff start .Always lot of surprise ,Nashville not a playoff team right now and that a fact ,just lost their 3rd in a row .
I think you can add Toews and Keith to Kane and Lehner leading this team .Toews has been relentless on the puck of late ,and Keith who I like too yell at has been good last night blunder excused because HAWKS won .
Add Saad coming back , Quennville I think is starting to play better . I think there is a lot to look forward to with this team ,and tomorrow will be another big test .If they can win that one the road ahead lightens up a bit ,not sure that always a good thing with this team . We shall see GO HAWKS !!!!

Tyler, it is more important for the PK to keep trending like it has lately, than for the power play to go on a tear, although a few power play goals wouldn’t hurt. It is not coincidence that they have taken 10 out of 12 points and their PK is killing it, no pun intended. I’ll take a good PK over a good PP everyday of the week, not as much fun to watch, but it wins more hockey games.

Let's start the decade with One More Shift:

Dan Vincelette
Everett Sanipass
Wayne Van Dorp

Personally I'd go with:

Rod Buskas
Ryan Vandenbussche
Darin Kimble
Steve Poapst

18-17-6 and tied with preds....sure i saw this coming after the first 14 games...
lehner continues to play great; crow has slipped noticably the last 5-6 games
as kane and lehner goes so go the hawks
they suck at home but pretty decent on the road

can they improve defensively and cut down the shots and dangerous chances
can strome and adb get on a roll


the object is to win and I suspect the next two weeks will dictate how stanbow handles this...being a buyer i think is nutz...but would not be surprised to see him go that route...

the goalie situation: lehner extended?? what then crow???

Maybe they can LTIR Shaw as well, and perhaps get him and De Hann back in May, all the while picking up some beef on a one year deal with the money...

*puts down the pipe...*

Hawks in here, of course, but if you're a fan of sports in general, this was a good rundown of the decade:

https://twitter.com/Field.../1212424999098671104?s=20

Ought to go with Behn Wilson. Jerome Dupont, and Bob McGill... Dave Manson ... why not?

Tyler,

Hope you are recovering well and know it must be tough to find time for hockey amidst family life with youngsters while under the weather. Often we catch a cold from our kids, so I hope it doesn't go the other way with your family. And not meaning to carry on, but 500 mg of vit c (goes good with vit e btw) each 4 hr increment does boost immunity system and can help speed up your recovery

So that being said, did you find time or hear about Mitchell's performance in their Spengler Cup title? In a brief post in your blog all I have is that Mitchell performed well....someone mentioned how he appeared to be like Keith, more conservative from offensive point of viiew

It is possible but a lot of youth served on defense next season if Mitchell and Carlsson come along. There needs to be a mix of veterans although there is thankfully enough toughness with Gilbert and Carlsson plus Murphy/Matte could still be plying their craft here.

I have cheered for underdogs Koekkoeck and Tuulola but they have probably an uphill fight to even get in lineup.

Personally I'd go with:

Rod Buskas
Ryan Vandenbussche
Darin Kimble
Steve Poapst
- Budi1782

Let us see who knows the wing from roughly early 1980's (about same time as T Trimper) was able to shoot from both sides & had a cup of coffee here

With so many prospects on defense moving closer to NHL trial I recall a couple first round flops long ago: Bruce Cassidy and Adam Bennett. Later there was Babchuk whose name rhymes with Malarchuk. Now Malarchuk may have been the better of those guys but basicly I group them all with another word which rhymes: upchuck.

... and in other news from around the NHL, this just in from Nashville ... they will have a banner raising for having played in an outdoor game, and having a lead in that game ... what the heck, it is immaterial, ya'll, that they lost the game ...

Let's start the decade with One More Shift:

Dan Vincelette
Everett Sanipass
Wayne Van Dorp
- Brownie's_Purse

I'm buying a ticket if they have one for Alain "Disco" Daigle.

Reinforcements - You are spot on. Any deal Bowman makes needs to be benefit the Hawks in future years. If it helps them this year also that is fine. But add young prospects and picks, not lose them in a trade.

Gus - Needs a change of scenery.
Crow - It would not surprise me to see him moved also.
I wonder what a Gus, Smith, Crow package would bring back? If you got one decent pick or one decent prospect or a good player on an expiring contract that could help you make the playoffs this year with other trade fodder I would pull the trigger. That would also free up cap space this season.

It would not surprise me to see Crow moved. Then they shuttle Lankinen and Delia. Give Lehner the majority of starts. No use to bring them up and then only play one game every two weeks. Bring them up play a game or two then send them back down to get more starts and bring up the other one.

Dach, Boqvist, Nylander, Sikura, Gilbert need to be in the lineup on a regular basis with the occasional off night in the press box, but not held out for more than a game or two at a time.

It would not surprise me to see Lehner extended. I would try to have his contract end at the same time as Toews, Kane, Keith, and ADB (Summer of 23).

Play to win every game on the ice with the core and many rookies. Winning can also be very important to the young guys. So would playoff experience. But if you are clearly out of it in February cut back the minutes on the vets, cut back the games played by Lehner, play the kids and dive for a draft pick.

Let us see who knows the wing from roughly early 1980's (about same time as T Trimper) was able to shoot from both sides & had a cup of coffee here

With so many prospects on defense moving closer to NHL trial I recall a couple first round flops long ago: Bruce Cassidy and Adam Bennett. Later there was Babchuk whose name rhymes with Malarchuk. Now Malarchuk may have been the better of those guys but basicly I group them all with another word which rhymes: upchuck.
- jhawk59

Does it?

Reinforcements - You are spot on. Any deal Bowman makes needs to be benefit the Hawks in future years. If it helps them this year also that is fine. But add young prospects and picks, not lose them in a trade.

Gus - Needs a change of scenery.
Crow - It would not surprise me to see him moved also.
I wonder what a Gus, Smith, Crow package would bring back? If you got one decent pick or one decent prospect or a good player on an expiring contract that could help you make the playoffs this year with other trade fodder I would pull the trigger. That would also free up cap space this season.

It would not surprise me to see Crow moved. Then they shuttle Lankinen and Delia. Give Lehner the majority of starts. No use to bring them up and then only play one game every two weeks. Bring them up play a game or two then send them back down to get more starts and bring up the other one.

Dach, Boqvist, Nylander, Sikura, Gilbert need to be in the lineup on a regular basis with the occasional off night in the press box, but not held out for more than a game or two at a time.

It would not surprise me to see Lehner extended. I would try to have his contract end at the same time as Toews, Kane, Keith, and ADB (Summer of 23).

Play to win every game on the ice with the core and many rookies. Winning can also be very important to the young guys. So would playoff experience. But if you are clearly out of it in February cut back the minutes on the vets, cut back the games played by Lehner, play the kids and dive for a draft pick.
- -Doh-

I'd add Highmore to that list, though when Saad and the Drake come back, there won't be room for everybody.

Caggiula's an RFA, and while I like his play, I'd add him to the list of potential trade candidates. Smith is an ok 4th liner but if they can find a taker, I'd trade him in a heartbeat, especially if they can do it without taking salary back beyond this season.

I'd add Highmore to that list, though when Saad and the Drake come back, there won't be room for everybody.

Caggiula's an RFA, and while I like his play, I'd add him to the list of potential trade candidates. Smith is an ok 4th liner but if they can find a taker, I'd trade him in a heartbeat, especially if they can do it without taking salary back beyond this season.
- HawkintheD

Agree on Highmore. They need to rotate these type of players (even including Q and K4) between the starting lineup, press box and the Rock. Competition for ice time can be very influential.

I doubt Caggiula could be moved because of concussion history. His cap hit is only $1.5 mil and I think the return would be very low. IF he is healthy enough to play he might be a good role model for Highmore, Nylander, Sikura. They can see a small high energy physical player. If they make the playoffs Caggiula would be a nice line up option.

We can probably all agree that Corey Perry is a jerk. But he has made the Stars tougher to play against. I am certainly glad he is in Dallas and not Nashville. Nashville could really use a player, with some nasty, like Perry.

Reinforcements - You are spot on. Any deal Bowman makes needs to be benefit the Hawks in future years. If it helps them this year also that is fine. But add young prospects and picks, not lose them in a trade.

Gus - Needs a change of scenery.
Crow - It would not surprise me to see him moved also.
I wonder what a Gus, Smith, Crow package would bring back? If you got one decent pick or one decent prospect or a good player on an expiring contract that could help you make the playoffs this year with other trade fodder I would pull the trigger. That would also free up cap space this season.

It would not surprise me to see Crow moved. Then they shuttle Lankinen and Delia. Give Lehner the majority of starts. No use to bring them up and then only play one game every two weeks. Bring them up play a game or two then send them back down to get more starts and bring up the other one.

Dach, Boqvist, Nylander, Sikura, Gilbert need to be in the lineup on a regular basis with the occasional off night in the press box, but not held out for more than a game or two at a time.

It would not surprise me to see Lehner extended. I would try to have his contract end at the same time as Toews, Kane, Keith, and ADB (Summer of 23).

Play to win every game on the ice with the core and many rookies. Winning can also be very important to the young guys. So would playoff experience. But if you are clearly out of it in February cut back the minutes on the vets, cut back the games played by Lehner, play the kids and dive for a draft pick.
- -Doh-

That package would likely bring back somewhere near $11M in salary commitments for players other teams don't want.

Cro is the only one in the group who returns either a decent player or an attractive draft pick late first round or a couple of picks in round 2. And that is if he is playing well and is amenable to a trade. Carolina and Colorado are 2 teams that would real benefit and have assets to give. Maybe's are Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Pittsburgh and even Nashville.

Lol playoffs. This team gives up way too many shots. They're getting by on good goaltending and Patrick Kane on pace for another +100 point season.

They'll hit a scoring lull and it'll be the end of the world again.

We can probably all agree that Corey Perry is a jerk. But he has made the Stars tougher to play against. I am certainly glad he is in Dallas and not Nashville. Nashville could really use a player, with some nasty, like Perry.
- -Doh-

I don't know Watson look pretty nasty out their at times .