Its Toews mental game that worries me - ever since he got involved with the self help guru who's mother is the dietician...

StanBo needs to insist they (2 as well) go back to a normal diet...
- riozzo

So Keith is involved in this weird Scientology type stuff too???? How many others.

How about this, at least as a starting point?
To Philly: Crawford

To Chicago: one of Robert Hagg, Samuel Morin or Travis Sanheim and either a 2nd or 3rd round pick

So Keith is involved in this weird Scientology type stuff too???? How many others.
- walleyeb1

https://www.onnit.com/pro-team/

Keith is listed... So is Johnny O

How about this, at least as a starting point?
To Philly: Crawford

To Chicago: one of Robert Hagg, Samuel Morin or Travis Sanheim and either a 2nd or 3rd round pick
- GloveHandStrong

How about Crawford to Vancouver for Horvat and Hutton?

https://www.onnit.com/pro-team/

Keith is listed...
- riozzo

Here are some additional high power athletes, A pool player and a poker player...

https://www.onnit.com/pro-team/skill-athletes/

WOW !!! I've only read the first post and already I too am "livid with this response. I am a 53 year season ticket holder and I've posted many times before that this team plays HO HUM hockey....... meaning nobody hits, nobody forechecks aggressively, nobody sticks up for each other when it's needed, there is no intensity until the team get down by 2 goals or more, etc. All are the responsibility of our "LEADERS" in management to get these players to give the effort that WE season ticket holders deserve. This series was NOT an anomaly !!! It has pretty much been the case for years now. That is.... the Quenneville/Bowman years. Yes their teams have thrilled all of us with 3 Stanley Cups, but not without thoughts occasionallly that these teams were doing all of the above. Fortunately, their talents always took over and when needed, they turned on the aggressive play and put forth GREAT effort. ie.....being down 5-0 to Calgary in 2010, then waking up and coming from behind to win 6-5.

The beginning of this year was that way as well.......... always playing soft and CC would bail them out with all the goalie wins. I can't tell you how many times I told people that I can't believe they're winning these games, but they did and ended up winning their division and were the #1 seed in the WC. I actuallly predicted last year that they would not make the playoffs this year....and had it not been for all the CC wins, that might have happened.

Quenneville and Bowman have not been on the same page for years now and maybe, just maybe, the product on the ice is a reflecion of the turmoil from above. There is absolutely NO REASON for these past 2 years to be out-hustled, out hit, out shot and now blown out of the 1st round. Somebody from up above needs to be held accountable. The question is.......... who do I feel from these 2 gentlemen will be able to make the bigger difference in the changes that need to be made ? OR.... do I feel that BOTH should be launched ??

Obviously, I want a team that COMPETES at the highest level, game in and game out. I want a team that shows intensity from the puck drop, not just when they're behind by 2 goals or more. The Chicago Blackhawks are the easiest team in the NHL to play against because of all of the above....And now because of age and diminishing skills they are an easy foe. That is on the Head Coach!! Poor special teams, poor ineffective communication with discipline, poor choices with game management (BLENDING), and a system that calls for a "no check " league.

As for Mr.Bowman ?? I don't have to revisit all of his horrendous decisions on the players, salaries, trades, etc..........................Those are painfully obvious and have been beaten to death on here for years now.

It's time for Major changes from the top down or this team will play this same HO HUM style of hockey again next year.

It is up to Management to make the changes necessary to put a product on the ice that we can all be proud of once again. If not, this is one season ticket holder that will bow out !!
- Hawkytalk

So they were the easiest team to play against but won 50 games and came in as the #1 seed in the west? I get you are upset but the Hawks were considered a favorite in the west by a lot of the hockey world. This roster doesn't lack the ability to play hockey and win games.

Like you said, the Hawks have never been the physical in your face team, but they have also been the golden boys of the league for a lot of this last decade. Someone does need to be accountable, but it starts with the players on the ice. If they had given it their all and paid the price to win, it would be one thing, but the effort was terrible. You don't win the west with a bad roster or a bad coach, but you do lose a playoff series with poor intensity and effort on the ice. That is on the players.

So they were the easiest team to play against but won 50 games and came in as the #1 seed in the west? I get you are upset but the Hawks were considered a favorite in the west by a lot of the hockey world. This roster doesn't lack the ability to play hockey and win games.

Like you said, the Hawks have never been the physical in your face team, but they have also been the golden boys of the league for a lot of this last decade. Someone does need to be accountable, but it starts with the players on the ice. If they had given it their all and paid the price to win, it would be one thing, but the effort was terrible. You don't win the west with a bad roster or a bad coach, but you do lose a playoff series with poor intensity and effort on the ice. That is on the players.
- breadbag

What created that effort? How does a #1 seed get run like a JV beer league team? Bad preparation? Fail to adapt? Many failures here...

Hell of a run by this franchise over the past 8-10 years.

Nothing to be mad about, nothing to be ashamed of.

What's happened is completely natural, unavoidable, and you knew it was coming eventually....

But the core as we know them are done. DONE. Sure Kane is still elite, but that's about it.

Crawford, Toews, Hossa, Keith, Seabrook, and Hjalmarsson(AKA the rest of the core) are ALL clearly not the same players they were 5 years ago, or even 2-3 years ago.

None of them are getting any younger, or any cheaper. I would fully expect their decline(s) to continue as they continue to get older, starting next season. The days of these players being elite at their positions have come to an end.

Collectively they all make up a giant % of our cap space, and this is crippling. Moving forward i see no possible way for us to contend unless we can somehow move AT LEAST 2 of them and replace them with young talent with star potential at the same position, preferably on defense(I'm hoping we can move Seabrook, and Keith/Hammer). Also probably need to move on from Crawford in net.

I think we're in a lot better shape at forward than we are on defense. We still have elite top line talent. I still like Kane and Panarin and lots of our younger talents(including a few we haven't seen at the NHL level yet). Panik, Schmaltz, Hartman, Kero, etc. Lots to look forward to.

On defense however we have ZERO talent in the pipeline that projects to be top pairing quality. We have nobody to replace 2, 7, and 4. This is a MAJOR issue, and the #1 issue above all else. Sure maybe Kempy or Forsling or TVR can fill out the bottom half of the defense(washed up scrubs like Campbell and Oduya should also be let go), but how do we build another top 3 like the one we've had recently? Might not ever happen again...

Calgary is a great candidate. They may not be a Cup contender right now, but they have a good young team with a weakness in net.
- kwolf68

I thought I heard that they tried to move Crawford to Calgary before they got Elliott but Crow turned it down... if so good luck trying to convince him to go there

The difference between winning the cup and losing in the first round is not that great. Remember in successful cup runs the Hawks struggled in the first round and then got better as they advanced round by round.

The Hawks were swept. They were out played for a good amount of the time. But if Crawford makes one save in game one and another in overtime of game 3 we could have been tied 2-2 coming home for game 5.

Luckily the Hawks have experienced level headed pros running the team and they will not act like reactionary bloggers and posters and arm chair GM's who have no idea what the real options/opportunities are.

After the Hawks overtook the Wild for 1st place in the West with about 3 weeks left in the season this site was agog trying to see who would be the likely matchup for the Hawks in the Stanley Cup Final. Now most are hysterical.

The Hawks had to cut their teeth playing the Wings, then they had a breakthrough. The Preds have a been a very good team for a few seasons, now they had a break through. Can they continue to the Cup? We will see.

Will the Hawks float near, but not at, the top like the Wings did for the last several years (before this season), and then fall to the bottom. Maybe.

The Hawks will look different next year. One or two core players will not be back. Campbell and Oduya probably will not be back. I would expect Kempny, Forsling, Hayden, Hartman, Schmaltz to get bigger roles. We could see some youngsters like Debrincat, Fortin, Shalunov, Motte, Johansson, Pokka get an opportunity. Bowman will try to make a surprise FA signing.

I am disappointed the way the season ended. Everyone would have to consider it an epic failure. But for 5 months is was pretty exciting to be a Hawks fan, like it has been for the last 8 years. I will withhold judgment on our future until personnel decisions are made throughout the Summer.

In the meantime I will cheer for the Preds. They play the game the right way and it would be great for a city like Nashville to hoist the Cup.

The difference between winning the cup and losing in the first round is not that great. Remember in successful cup runs the Hawks struggled in the first round and then got better as they advanced round by round.

The Hawks were swept. They were out played for a good amount of the time. But if Crawford makes one save in game one and another in overtime of game 3 we could have been tied 2-2 coming home for game 5.

Luckily the Hawks have experienced level headed pros running the team and they will not act like reactionary bloggers and posters and arm chair GM's who have no idea what the real options/opportunities are.

After the Hawks overtook the Wild for 1st place in the West with about 3 weeks left in the season this site was agog trying to see who would be the likely matchup for the Hawks in the Stanley Cup Final. Now most are hysterical.

The Hawks had to cut their teeth playing the Wings, then they had a breakthrough. The Preds have a been a very good team for a few seasons, now they had a break through. Can they continue to the Cup? We will see.

Will the Hawks float near, but not at, the top like the Wings did for the last several years (before this season), and then fall to the bottom. Maybe.

The Hawks will look different next year. One or two core players will not be back. Campbell and Oduya probably will not be back. I would expect Kempny, Forsling, Hayden, Hartman, Schmaltz to get bigger roles. We could see some youngsters like Debrincat, Fortin, Shalunov, Motte, Johansson, Pokka get an opportunity. Bowman will try to make a surprise FA signing.

I am disappointed the way the season ended. Everyone would have to consider it an epic failure. But for 5 months is was pretty exciting to be a Hawks fan, like it has been for the last 8 years. I will withhold judgment on our future until personnel decisions are made throughout the Summer.

In the meantime I will cheer for the Preds. They play the game the right way and it would be great for a city like Nashville to hoist the Cup.
- -Doh-

Great post!

https://www.onnit.com/pro-team/

Keith is listed... So is Johnny O
- riozzo

also Andrew Ladd and Preds player Colin Wilson

How about Crawford to Vancouver for Horvat and Hutton?
- DarthKane

thats a big fat NO
i don't even want Miller here anymore, we have are goalie for the next few years in Markstrom and in about 3 yrs when he is ready, Thatcher Demko

So Keith is involved in this weird Scientology type stuff too???? How many others.
- walleyeb1

Toews, Ladd, JO, Colin Wilson

yeah well ok. But I gotta say pred unifiorms are pretty ugly....

My summary of the series and a look to the summer.

https://soundcloud.com/ts...al-cimaglia-april-21-2017

Today's interview with Rick Ralph from TSN 1290 in Winnipeg.

thats a big fat NO
i don't even want Miller here anymore, we have are goalie for the next few years in Markstrom and in about 3 yrs when he is ready, Thatcher Demko
- GloveHandStrong

Markstrom is not a #1, he's barely a servicable back-up. Demko is a good prospect, but (as you said) he's not ready yet.

WOW !!! I've only read the first post and already I too am "livid with this response. I am a 53 year season ticket holder and I've posted many times before that this team plays HO HUM hockey....... meaning nobody hits, nobody forechecks aggressively, nobody sticks up for each other when it's needed, there is no intensity until the team get down by 2 goals or more, etc. All are the responsibility of our "LEADERS" in management to get these players to give the effort that WE season ticket holders deserve. This series was NOT an anomaly !!! It has pretty much been the case for years now. That is.... the Quenneville/Bowman years. Yes their teams have thrilled all of us with 3 Stanley Cups, but not without thoughts occasionallly that these teams were doing all of the above. Fortunately, their talents always took over and when needed, they turned on the aggressive play and put forth GREAT effort. ie.....being down 5-0 to Calgary in 2010, then waking up and coming from behind to win 6-5.

The beginning of this year was that way as well.......... always playing soft and CC would bail them out with all the goalie wins. I can't tell you how many times I told people that I can't believe they're winning these games, but they did and ended up winning their division and were the #1 seed in the WC. I actuallly predicted last year that they would not make the playoffs this year....and had it not been for all the CC wins, that might have happened.

Quenneville and Bowman have not been on the same page for years now and maybe, just maybe, the product on the ice is a reflecion of the turmoil from above. There is absolutely NO REASON for these past 2 years to be out-hustled, out hit, out shot and now blown out of the 1st round. Somebody from up above needs to be held accountable. The question is.......... who do I feel from these 2 gentlemen will be able to make the bigger difference in the changes that need to be made ? OR.... do I feel that BOTH should be launched ??

Obviously, I want a team that COMPETES at the highest level, game in and game out. I want a team that shows intensity from the puck drop, not just when they're behind by 2 goals or more. The Chicago Blackhawks are the easiest team in the NHL to play against because of all of the above....And now because of age and diminishing skills they are an easy foe. That is on the Head Coach!! Poor special teams, poor ineffective communication with discipline, poor choices with game management (BLENDING), and a system that calls for a "no check " league.

As for Mr.Bowman ?? I don't have to revisit all of his horrendous decisions on the players, salaries, trades, etc..........................Those are painfully obvious and have been beaten to death on here for years now.

It's time for Major changes from the top down or this team will play this same HO HUM style of hockey again next year.

It is up to Management to make the changes necessary to put a product on the ice that we can all be proud of once again. If not, this is one season ticket holder that will bow out !!
- Hawkytalk

vent and rant as you want...but after reading your post (other than the mention of the 3 cup's) i could swear you were describing the pre 2016 chicago cubs of hockey for the last 30 years...

would you like to name a team that fulfilled your list of obligations year and year out over the last 10 years...

How about this, at least as a starting point?
To Philly: Crawford

To Chicago: one of Robert Hagg, Samuel Morin or Travis Sanheim and either a 2nd or 3rd round pick
- GloveHandStrong

Not a bad trade proposition but I think it's more likely they pursue Miller or Bishop in free agency. Crawford's contract term would be the perfect length for when the floodgates of goalie prospects are ready.

And quit your crying, teams can only hope to have the success Chicago has over the last 7 years.

2015 still stings, I'd bet. You should worry about your own team as there is plenty to be concerned about. Nashville played with more intensity and determination, but this series came down to WANT, not skill or ability. From Toews to Tootoo, the Preds simply wanted it more, so congrats to them on a 1st Round victory. When they play a team that actually gives a frank, we'll see how "fantastic" they are.
- EnzoD

Proving my point. You're acting like the Blackhawks decided to not win.

You ever met someone who can only talk about themselves? Just as a PSA, no one likes those people.

The overall level of disrespect to the Preds by the majority of the posters was and is incredible. An intelligent post is as rare as a Chicago sweater at Bridgestone in 2009

What a beat down, total domination. Revenge in part for 2010, 2015, series that you got all the breaks, you got the goals in double and triple OT that easily could have swung the series the other way.

Really going to enjoy this. When does a team ever lose as bad as you did. Historical. Not even a goal on your home ice.

Time to realize the only way the "Hocks" get good again is to get as bad as you were throughout the 2000s to get the #1 picks

Enjoy your ride to the basement and have a Great summer!




- VopatsRash

Enjoy it while it lasts. Cuz its unlikely the Preds go on and win like the 'Hawks did in '10 & '15 after they dispatched the Preds in round 1. Good luck. Blues are beatable. The Oil or Ducks? Perhaps not. And there would be some SCF challenges too.

So Keith is involved in this weird Scientology type stuff too???? How many others.
- walleyeb1

Scientology?

Is Onnit some kind of Scientology offshoot/clone/wannabe?

AA's contract is fair.

Unless his production falls off of a cliff, $4.5 per for 40-45 points isn't unreasonable.
- BINGO!

The problem with the Blackhawks roster continues to be that $21m for 19 and 88. (I'm one who understands why those deals were offered and signed but there is no denying the impact they are having on this roster.)

That means the Blackhawks really need to get team-friendly contracts for as many of the other players as possible. AA's contract might be fair in the market, but the Blackhawks need to spend less on a 45 point 2LC.

Scientology?

Is Onnit some kind of Scientology offshoot/clone/wannabe?
- StLBravesFan

No Sage, if you have time, you can dig in and Google it.

ONNIT's founder is connected to the company that makes a personal "toy" called the "FLESHLIGHT." And the "science" behind it isn't really science. Dig in. You'll find some interesting stuff. Honestly can't believe Hawks are not aware and if they are, that they don't have some real issues with their players under contract being involved.

Proving my point. You're acting like the Blackhawks decided to not win.

You ever met someone who can only talk about themselves? Just as a PSA, no one likes those people.
- Jakes_91

Good luck trying to get back into the Playoffs next season!! Hawks had 109 points and if you get outworked in the Playoffs,you lose. Hawks beat then 4/5 times and we're 1st in the West in the RS so it came down to DESIRE, not skill IMO. How is saying the Predators outworked the 3X Champs not acknowledging them?