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Quenneville was the Last Straw

December 12, 2018, 7:04 AM ET [660 Comments]
Tyler Cameron
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT


When I heard the news that Joel Quenneville was fired by the Chicago, I was sad/angry/confused, but when those emotions subsided, I was excited. I was excited for Jeremy Colliton to get in there with a fresh voice and thought that this was the beginning of a new Hawks team.

After an evident downswing in play over the last few years, the "retool" was on and I thought the Hawks were going to get that kick in the butt that they needed. There were/are still issues with the roster, but I figured a revitalized Chicago team was bound to hit the ice after the shock of long-time coach Joel Quenneville was relieved of his duties (primarily due to their play).

Welp. This has not been the case and Stan Bowman might want fuel up that time machine because there's no way a Quenneville coached team would be in dead last in the league in the NHL and just 3 wins in their last 17 games.

When I watch this team I can't help but think that the removing of Quenneville was not the beginning of a fresh, hard-working breed of Hawks, rather a depleted, mopey teenager version of Blackhawks hockey.

In a game last night that highlighted the milestone of 1,000 games as teammates for Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, there wasn't much to celebrate. It was Groundhog Day all over again (and again…. and again).

After going down 3-0 in the first period, I couldn't help but feel like I'm on the old Ashton Kutcher show Punk'd.

I mean, c'mon? 11 games in a row that the opponent has scored first on the Hawks. Is that a record? I think it's 9 / 11 games that they have gone down at least 2-0. That HAS to be a record.

Sure, they battled back for a bit but once again, it was not enough. This team is so emotionally fragile, one can't help to think they would have been better off have Joel back there. Right now, they are just flat out lost as hockey players and as human beings. I feel bad for the vets having to do those pre/post-game interviews - what are they supposed to say at this point?

The Jeremy Colliton era is about to take a nasty turn (if it hasn't already) with the media and fans. Are the players listening to him? Is he saying the right things? Should he grow a moustache?

This season is close to being a write-off and Stan's guy Jeremy could cost him his job.

Let's dissect a couple of notes from last night and some trends over the last week or so:

* Defensive Play – it's no secret that the Hawks need to do a better job at keeping the puck out of their net. What I'm saying are some trouble trends with the Hawks defensive play in their own end in multiple areas. When the dmen have the puck and are looking for an outlet, far too many times all 3 forwards have exited the zone already leaving the defenders with nowhere to go. Let's face it, the Hawks D are not strong enough to thread the needle with a perfect stretch pass

* Debrincat/Strome – this duo could have a nice future in Chicago. Strome has had his moments so far since the trade, but overall, there are some positives there with these old friends.

* Special Teams
– they are terrible, no way around that. There needs to be a more determined effort to fix both PP and PK.

* Take a Bullet – when was the last time you saw a Hawks forward lay down or frantically jump in front of a point shot? I can't recall off the top of my head. Upon further review, the Hawks forwards are really lacking in the shot blocking department, so my eyes weren't deceiving me. Marcus Kruger leads the way with 15, then DeBrincat (13), Saad (12), Hayden (12), Anisimov (12). To give you some perspective, last night's opponent, Winnipeg has no issue jumping in front of a bullet for their team; their forwards rank: Tanev (35), Wheeler (24), Laine (22), Scheifele (20), Lowry (18).

* Connor Murphy – he's back and Murphy is really trying to inject some energy into this lineup. He played 21+ mins last night and is being aggressive in all 3 zones.

* Duncan Keith – I thought he would retire a Blackhawk, however, here in Toronto, there has been a lot of chatter about Keith being moved before the trade deadline this year. There has been word that he may be a fit with Toronto who should be going all in this year and could use that type of pedigree. One would think Keith would be the most plausible core piece to get moved ahead of Toews, Kane and Seabrook.

--

You may not have loved Coach Q, and this isn't Colliton's fault, but Joel is missed right now.

The Hawks next loss… err… game is tonight vs. Pittsburgh. The next 4 games are at home so one would think that they have to get at least one win, right?


See ya out there!

JL
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