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The Hawks lose again. It was their 6th loss in a row at home. Oh no! John McDonough will not be happy about the "product" that has been limping around in front of his season ticket holders.

So, the PR spin has begun. I mentioned recently that when Bowman comes out with his comments about this team, it will be a good indicator of some movement internally and what's to come for this team in the coming weeks.

Bowman poked his head out for a quick (and controlled) interview on NBC last night, prior to the game.

Let's do a deep dive into his comments (first, courtesy of Scott Powers twitter- @byScottPowers):

"I think next year's team is going to look very similar to this year's team, not identical. We're going to have some changes."

JL Thoughts: this is an alarming statement for fans to take in as it's obvious the current group that Bowman has constructed has not worked.

However, the way this team is set up in terms of the younger players they have added to this roster over the past 18 months has been promising, but the Hawks know they have to show patience to see what they have in this younger wave, as well as time for them to grow as professionals. It's just how much time do they have with this aging core.

Also, younger players usually mean "cheaper" players so for the first time in a while, they will have a little breathing room with their salary cap situation. Not a ton, but selling off 2-3 players just to get under the cap will not be needed this offseason.

"Stan Bowman joined NBC Sports Chicago's pregame show. He mentioned the team's lack of consistency, inability to put together winning streaks and power play struggles as reasons for why they are where they are."

JL Thoughts: last year, the Blackhawks were 1st in the Western Conference, however, their impressive record was the product of more "goalie wins" than they were accustomed too (see: they weren't able to just outscore teams like they had been doing in the past), as well as the ability to squeak out wins in tight games.

Now, with Crawford out, those goalie wins are no more. Couple that with their spotty defence and it's a recipe for disaster in those close games.

Interesting that Bowman calls out the power play issues as well. One of the great mysteries of life, the inept Blackhawks power play strategy must be solved in the off-season. It's become quite embarrassing.

"I think the strength of our team is we're trying to build some young players we're going to have. We have a lot of new players this year relative to last year. I think it's hard when you bring in 11, 12 new players every year."

JL Thoughts: keeping the band together for chemistry reasons is something I can get behind, however, do you have the right members in the band to sell albums (or tickets in this case?).

I've said it before, just because these "young players" are in place with Bowman's Blackhawks doesn't automatically make them good, worth keeping or the right mix. A thorough evaluation has been happening this year and will continue into the offseason.

"You look at some of the young guys, we're expecting them to take that next step. Bringing somebody in to sort of bump them from the lineup probably doesn't make much sense right now. I wouldn't expect us to be in that rental mode, bringing in a veteran player."

JL Thoughts: we gathered that you won't be a buyer this year Stan, it's just a shame of all the year's to slide out of the playoff picture you don't have much to sell.

Based on his comment above, no bringing in a veteran now wouldn't make sense, however, there will most likely be some new ones in brought in during the off-season as Sharp, Bouma and maybe Wingels do not appear to be in the picture moving forward. The thing is, you can't have the makeup of your team be majority youngsters and rookies and expect to win more games than this year, can you Stan?


In conclusion (tweet courtesy of @CRoumeliotis):

Stan Bowman is putting his faith into young players like DeBrincat, Schmaltz, Hinostroza to take next step in 2018-19 and it's the right move. Cap expected to go up, add a net-front presence player and spend rest of money patching up back end and they might be on to something.

JL Thoughts: it sounds like this is the PR spin that John McD has sent Stan to the streets with; "we honestly do like this team, they're young and will get better, it was just we couldn't get on any streaks and that pesky power play that was our downfall this season. We'll give it another shot next year."

Now that I've heard this, I expect the youth movement pump-up will continue throughout the Trade Deadline (when Bowman acquires a couple prospects and later-round draft picks for the likes of Kempny, Gustafsson, Bouma, etc.) and the Entry Draft when the Hawks can trot out their newest future star that they draft in the top 10.

--
Deadline Chatter/Rumour Update: it looks like Bowman has been giving the green light to act on some moves. Bowman (and the Hawks) are not a patient team, so I've been told that the Hawks will not be waiting for the February 26th trade deadline. If Stan can do something sooner with the limited pieces he has, he will.

I have heard that there is nothing to the Saad to Montreal rumours. They are talking to Marc Bergevin though and my contact says, if there was a player of "significance" going to the Habs, it would more likely be Artem Anisimov.

Also, don't be surprised to see minor moves that improve the Rockford IceHogs (similar to the Baun for Martinsen swap). The Blackhawks as an organization are looking to create that winner atmosphere at every level


That's all I have for now.

The Hawks take on the Wild tomorrow as they embark on a 3-game road trip. Let's see how this team looks by the end of the trip.

See ya out there!

JL

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