Wanna fix the PP? Get rid of Kane, one of the best offensive talents in the league and by far our best offensive weapon/passer/playmaker!!!

No...never mind the fact that we have no legitimate defenseman at the point like Gus from last year or Seabs in his prime...or that DeBrincat is awful this season...or that we have nobody useful playing down low or in front of the net...and are in general void of high end skill/talent, Strome underachieving, Toews no longer offensively elite, etc...

CLEARLY the problem must be 88. As soon as we take him off the PP everything will click.

Seriously the dumbest take I’ve ever heard. Ever.
- SimpleJack

I know it sounds crazy at first blush, and I say it half/tongue in cheek, but they’ve got to do something.

Have you never seen a team lose their best player, and then somehow actually start to play better as a team? It happens. If the team is leaning too heavily on a crutch, take the crutch away and force someone else to step up. Sometimes the best thing you can do is drastically simplify things. That’s never gonna happen with 88 out there for the whole 2 minutes every time. A one trick pony of a PP is not hard to defend, no matter how good that one pony is. At the very least, have two completely different units with Kane only on one of them, and let the “2nd” unit start the PP sometimes.

If it doesn’t work, what have you lost? God forbid they slip from 26th in the league to 31st. I don’t know how they recover from that.

DeBrincat is as deserving of a healthy scratch right now as any player has ever been. It’s gotta happen.
- SimpleJack

And jeopardize his iron man streak? You have a thing or two to learn about marketing my friend.

The real standings

_____________ GP PTS PTS/G
Blues_________56 73 1.304 1st Cen
Av's__________54 70 1.296 2nd Cen
Stars_________ 55 67 1.218 3rd Cen
Oilers________ 54 64 1.164 1st Pac
Canucks______56 65 1.161 2nd Pac
Knights_______57 64 1.123 3rd PAC
Flames_______56 62 1.107 WC
Jets __________57 63 1.105 WC
Preds________ 54 59 1.093
Yotes________ 57 61 1.070
Hawks_______ 55 58 1.055
Wild _________55 58 1.055
Ducks________56 53 0.946
Sharks________55 52 0.945
Kings_________57 43 0.754

Based on these results you will need a minimum of 1.105 pts per game. So 82 games x 1.105 = 91 pts. Based on that the Hawks have 27 games left and have to get 33 points. So 15W- 9L – 3OTL. They have to win or tie in regulation 18 of the of their last 27 games. Not going to happen. So Stan.... ball is in your court between now and TDL to acquire some future assets.

And jeopardize his iron man streak? You have a thing or two to learn about marketing my friend.

- Rota's Rooter

McD meddles.

McD meddles.
- paulr

https://twitter.com/NBCSBlackhawks/status/1226700479834591232?s=09

When a player addresses this issue in any way, it's a problem
- BetweenTheDots

Toews' assessment is accurate. A team has to go and win the game. It's that simple.

Toews' assessment is accurate. A team has to go and win the game. It's that simple.
- 35Tony0

Read some of those comments. Makes A-rob sound like an optimist.

DeBrincat is as deserving of a healthy scratch right now as any player has ever been. It’s gotta happen.
- SimpleJack

If the coach wants to retain any authority or credibility with the rest of the roster, you're right. Can't scratch only the older or less-known players while letting his ongoing issues slide. Will it fix what ails him? Probably not, but good for the team to see discipline is meted out somewhat equitably.

I know it sounds crazy at first blush, and I say it half/tongue in cheek, but they’ve got to do something.

Have you never seen a team lose their best player, and then somehow actually start to play better as a team? It happens. If the team is leaning too heavily on a crutch, take the crutch away and force someone else to step up. Sometimes the best thing you can do is drastically simplify things. That’s never gonna happen with 88 out there for the whole 2 minutes every time. A one trick pony of a PP is not hard to defend, no matter how good that one pony is. At the very least, have two completely different units with Kane only on one of them, and let the “2nd” unit start the PP sometimes.

If it doesn’t work, what have you lost? God forbid they slip from 26th in the league to 31st. I don’t know how they recover from that.

- Ogilthorpe2

What was Kane doing differently last year when the PP was more successful? Was he circling around more? I seem to recall that he wasn't just parking at the wall. I don't think you remove him permanently, of course, but you're right that it would be interesting to see how they respond when their security blanket is not out there. Be good for him to see that, too.

But they haven’t been able to all year. A good to excellent period preceded by / surrounded by / followed by a disaster, game saved maybe by great goalie play to get them to OT (14 times in 56 games, winning 6 of them).

As soon as the opponent puts pressure on the Hawks, the Chicagoans fold - can’t clear, can’t complete a pass, can’t establish in the ozone (if they can even get it in). Lack of speed and quickness, I think, coupled with an inability to get players in position to receive a pass and advance the play - resulting in long two or three line passes or cross-ice passes that -more often than not - get intercepted and turned over. Watch other teams - short, quick passes get out and up-ice and into offensive position.
- StLBravesFan

All the preseason predictions I read had the Hawks finishing around 85 points and battling Minnesota for 6th in the division (just like last year) despite all the purported "improvements" to the roster. At this point, it seems to be playing out exactly that way. Last year's team featured career offensive years from 19,12,17,56, and 88, a horrid D corps, poor goaltending and a historically bad PK and while this season has flipped the script on many of those fronts, we have seen pretty much the same results.

The only identity this team has is one of a once great team aging out and replacing its good/great players with mediocre ones, and yet they'll be up against the cap again for the umpteenth time again next year... Thanks for the memories Stan, time for someone else to rebuild this thing from the ground up- take JC with you. i vote for Hextall.

What was Kane doing differently last year when the PP was more successful? Was he circling around more? I seem to recall that he wasn't just parking at the wall. I don't think you remove him permanently, of course, but you're right that it would be interesting to see how they respond when their security blanket is not out there. Be good for him to see that, too.
- pdx2ord

PK’s have cheated over more to Kane’s side to minimize his movement and passing lanes. Our PP doesn’t have that 2nd scorer that every stout PP unit has. Look at the players with the most PP points. There’s always someone else - McDavid/DrySaddle, Pastrnak/Marchand, Huberdeau/Yandle, Hedman/Kucherov, Marner/Matthews, Perron/Pietrangelo. Kane and MacKinnon are all alone on their PP units and both units are predictable. Cycling the puck is their only hope as they try to catch a defense sleeping thus ineffective. ADB is and never will be Panarin. His struggles this year have marred the offense ten fold especially the PP.

*NEW* blog up: http://bit.ly/3brEONm

Wanted: Competent Power Play People

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Sorry for the delay gang, I am at home with my oldest daughter and the rest of the neighbourhood kids. Wish me luck.

#yayteacherstrike!

Is it ok now if the Hawks are sellers at the TDL? Or do they keep driving for the 2020 Cup?

What are the NHL guidelines in regards to mandatory urine drug screen testing? Never have heard the specifics discussed at length.