Justin Lowe: 13.6% According to hockey-reference.com, the Chicago Blackhawks have a 13.6% chance of making the 2017-18 playoffs with 29 games left in the season.

On top of that, they have the Hawks with a 0.7% probability to win the Stanley Cup. Now, anything can happen and they say "all you have to do is get into the playoffs and anything can happen", however, I'd don't have high hopes of making the playoffs for this team let alone a surprise run.

Anybody see that Arizona might be shopping Domi?

Anybody see that Arizona might be shopping Domi?
- biskit67

I saw that they are listening. I can't imagine Domi is thrilled with the situation there, so maybe his agent put a bug in Chyka's ear.

Price tag would be high and I am not in favour of the Hawks becoming the Arizona Coyotes.

As frustrating as this season is I am still feeling good about the future of this team. They have so many quality young guys making their way through the ranks and I have to believe that some (maybe most) of the vets will bounce back next season.

My draft target would be Noah Dobson, he's the type of d-man the team could use.

As frustrating as this season is I am still feeling good about the future of this team. They have so many quality young guys making their way through the ranks and I have to believe that some (maybe most) of the vets will bounce back next season.

My draft target would be Noah Dobson, he's the type of d-man the team could use.
- DarthKane

Vets bouncing back - im more skeptical.

Toews has been on a 3-year skid, Seabrook certainly trending down for a couple, and each has had two long summers to rest, recouperate, rededicate - what’s one more long vacation going to do for either?

Saad and Anisimov (if he’s still here) - yeah, should be able to return to previous norms next season. Keith, altho still playing at a good (if not at a Norris) level, but at 35 before next season, his productivity (not just scoring goals) will probably (hopefully slowly) be falling off.

Vets bouncing back - im more skeptical.

Toews has been on a 3-year skid, Seabrook certainly trending down for a couple, and each has had two long summers to rest, recouperate, rededicate - what’s one more long vacation going to do for either?

Saad and Anisimov (if he’s still here) - yeah, should be able to return to previous norms next season. Keith, altho still playing at a good (if not at a Norris) level, but at 35 before next season, his productivity (not just scoring goals) will probably (hopefully slowly) be falling off.
- StLBravesFan

It was fun and they accomplished more than anyone could ever hope. And the "core" played more hockey than anyone else for a long time. This was going to happen. The people that want to throw daggers at them now are just spoiled.

I've mentioned numerous times that the NHL is more about money than hockey these days. And this hawks regime has taken the long time fan for granted and marketed to the executive and bandwagon types in the name of growing the sport. Sounds good, but now that the wheels have begun to go flat on that bandwagon where is the income going to come from to pay the large paychecks next year? A rebuild is not going to be as easy as it sounds without ownership digging deep. Gonna be interesting.

This year is done.

Time to sell off and rebuild.

Q and some core should be moved.

13.6% ? That high? Where' Darth and and a gif of Dandy Don Meredith singing "turn out the lights"?

It was fun and they accomplished more than anyone could ever hope. And the "core" played more hockey than anyone else for a long time. This was going to happen. The people that want to throw daggers at them now are just spoiled.

I've mentioned numerous times that the NHL is more about money than hockey these days. And this hawks regime has taken the long time fan for granted and marketed to the executive and bandwagon types in the name of growing the sport. Sounds good, but now that the wheels have begun to go flat on that bandwagon where is the income going to come from to pay the large paychecks next year? A rebuild is not going to be as easy as it sounds without ownership digging deep. Gonna be interesting.
- 6628

I hope you know I’m not throwing daggers at them - just my analysis of the current situation.

I’ve been watching as long as you have - hockey - like all the other pro sports - has always been more about money than hockey.

As a very interested observer / Hawks fan last night ... I still can’t believe that Johnny H goal stood ... every replay on TV looked high..

HAWKS are still going to sell out or nearly. Wirtz family is making allot of money so I don't see $$$ as the issue. Wirtz and MCD signed off on SEABS ext. Teams have bounced back from the same thing PENS, BOSTON, Tampa, Vegas is a good team with AVG talent. The Core has lost some interest and is underperforming other then KANE (he has been bad the last 10 or so games IMO) AA and SAAD started strong and have faded. SEABS and KEITH are step worse. Keith is now a #2, SEABS #5, From (1 and 3) TEOWS who has played a little better other then last night is just not strong or explosive. CRAW has been good but how many times has be been hurt? No one should be untouchable. Bowman got this roster, and really butchered the 2015 offseason and season. Panarin signed before 2015 CUP.

SAAD for AA DANO, SHARP,JOHNS for DALEY, Versteeg + 5th and Nordsrom for nothing. SEABS ext, DALEY for a corpse + retenantion. DANULT 2nd for Weiss and Flesh,

if you move sharp out for a 3rd and keep SAAD, MOVE Steeg for a 5th , EXTEND saad. Don't EXT SEABS, and do not trade DANULT of 4th line bums.

this roster would have: Panarin, JOHNS, Danult on it and would not have SEABS and AA and would be in a better cap situation with more tradable assets. And be a cup contender. That off season sealed this fate.

As a very interested observer / Hawks fan last night ... I still can’t believe that Johnny H goal stood ... every replay on TV looked high..
- dozerD10

Goal was credited to Stone - ruling was that Goudreau didn’t touch it.

I thought it deflected off the bottom of his shaft.

Goal was credited to Stone - ruling was that Goudreau didn’t touch it.

I thought it deflected off the bottom of his shaft.
- StLBravesFan

Thanks for that .. I missed it ...

How bad are we?

Calgary beat us in back-to-back games coming off a 6 game losing streak.
Vancouver has lost 2 in a row after beating us.

We have become the solution for slumping goalies and slumping teams.
Pathetic. Best to lose all the rest and begin the draft watch.

13.6%.....

Goal was credited to Stone - ruling was that Goudreau didn’t touch it.

I thought it deflected off the bottom of his shaft.
- StLBravesFan

Announced as Goudreau's goal. Who screwed the pooch?

HAWKS are still going to sell out or nearly. Wirtz family is making allot of money so I don't see $$$ as the issue. Wirtz and MCD signed off on SEABS ext. Teams have bounced back from the same thing PENS, BOSTON, Tampa, Vegas is a good team with AVG talent. The Core has lost some interest and is underperforming other then KANE (he has been bad the last 10 or so games IMO) AA and SAAD started strong and have faded. SEABS and KEITH are step worse. Keith is now a #2, SEABS #5, From (1 and 3) TEOWS who has played a little better other then last night is just not strong or explosive. CRAW has been good but how many times has be been hurt? No one should be untouchable. Bowman got this roster, and really butchered the 2015 offseason and season. Panarin signed before 2015 CUP.

SAAD for AA DANO, SHARP,JOHNS for DALEY, Versteeg + 5th and Nordsrom for nothing. SEABS ext, DALEY for a corpse + retenantion. DANULT 2nd for Weiss and Flesh,

if you move sharp out for a 3rd and keep SAAD, MOVE Steeg for a 5th , EXTEND saad. Don't EXT SEABS, and do not trade DANULT of 4th line bums.

this roster would have: Panarin, JOHNS, Danult on it and would not have SEABS and AA and would be in a better cap situation with more tradable assets. And be a cup contender. That off season sealed this fate.
- kmw4631

Danault was traded during 2015-2016 season, but i get your point mostly. Also, not really pining the loss of Johns.

Tough spot as fans right now. Don't like to see them lose, but know its for the best going forward.

The Hawks’ coaching this season has been so dysfunctional that we have never really known where the team and its players stand. I actually think this team is potentially a great team but the personnel decisions have been so ludicrous the team hasn’t had a chance.

I was very happy when Saad was traded for. However, all the talk was about how Saad was traded for to play with Toews and bump up Toews’ game. I never thought Toews and Saad had great chemistry. This was ridiculous pressure on Saad. Toews should be responsible for Toews.

Toews’ game has always relied on skill and speed but perhaps most importantly on strength/toughness. The strength/toughness allowed him to win pucks, get position and get by defenders. His off-ice regime has left him with no strength and no toughness. While Crosby became tank-like as he got older Toews became a weakling - that he did this by choice is insane. Toews is not old.

Saad seemed to get more and more frustrated as the season went on.

On the 4th line last night were Saad and Hartman. For the Hawks to excell these players needed to be key players. The coaches have failed them. While there has been absolutely no accountability for players like Toews, AA, Oesterle and Rutta players like Hartman, Saad, Sharp, Hayden, Kempny and Murphy have been treated like garbage. Good work coaches as these were players that needed to contribute for there to be success. Obviously, thus far this season there has not been success.

The stubbornness has been beyond comprehension. From day one DeBrincat should have been Panarin’s replacement. DeBrincat loves playing his off-wing. DeBrincat just KNOWS how to get himself open - where the open ice is. Perfect fit. Who is playing there now? Iceberg slow AA. You need Kane to produce for success. What is he supposed to do with AA as his winger. Schmaltz is potentially great but he plays so unselfishly it messes Kane up. Schmaltz must shoot when set-up not re-pass and Kane certainly needs a right-shooting left wing sniper. Q is the genius though.

The D have been ridiculous. The season should have started with Murphy as Hammer’s replacement. Keith, Seabrook and Murphy should have been the cornerstones the D was based around. That Murphy was sat out yesterday in favour of Oesterle and Rutta is ludicrous. Oesterle and Rutta have no idea how to play defence and should be with the Indy Fuel.

The Hawks are cowardly. Q should have been long ago fired. Ulf has been an unmitigated disaster and Dineen seems to have forgotten anything he ever knew. As I said at the beginning it is hard to see what this team is when the coaching has been a huge impediment to success.

I hope you know I’m not throwing daggers at them - just my analysis of the current situation.

I’ve been watching as long as you have - hockey - like all the other pro sports - has always been more about money than hockey.
- StLBravesFan

No, no not at all referrring to you. Sometimes we agree and sometimes we don't, but your analysis always has a reasonable basis.

When McD came to the hawks one of the first things he said was "we have to win, but if we do..." Well, no poop. My point about money is that if you win money happens. So worry about hockey first and give a good accounting of yourselves. But that's not the way it works. Money always comes first, especially in the Bettman era. And I understand that's why he was hired by the owners, but still. As a guy who has been around the game for six plus decades I can't help but think they have it backwards.

Announced as Goudreau's goal. Who screwed the pooch?
- powerenforcer

Sometimes it gets changed after the game, especially 3rd period scoring, and that usually isn't announced.

Some hard decisions coming. How soon. McDonough is not going to just roll over and trust Stan completely IMHO.

I say McDonough is interested in the timing of the next NHL strike, the collective bargaining settlement and resumption of games. McDonough can understand to carry bad contracts but only for so longer if the player(s) stop contributing significantly on ice. When the play begins after the settlement McDonough will have huddled with Stan and their will be new core players here or soon to be here ..
........be that developing our own, f/a, trade. The only core player i predict still here for sure will be Kane. D Keith might still be here, but at over 35 years old there will not be much time left in Chicago for Keith.

One other point is this: McDonough will not allow the only remaining star player to leave. McDonough has to retain a star player. It's both hockey sense and marketing considerations. So go ahead and dream Kane for McDavid or whatever it isnt happening in Chicago,

So, I'm not sure anyone else is on the list for tickets... but I can tell you that I've seen an increase in phone calls from the Blackhawks trying to sell me tickets every since December and each month, it's gotten worse. It's not only me either, two people from work told me the same thing. It's almost every single home game now that "tickets just opened up". Do I want a package of 6 games or 9 games, etc.

So, I don't think they are selling out each game. I think they are probably experiencing a lost for the first time in a few years. Not making playoffs and not selling out.... something to keep an eye on.

In other NHL news, one of the "classier" players in the league, Alex Burrows, decided to go all MMA on Taylor Hall last night.

https://youtu.be/LP-dNRyNRf0

He's been invited for a face-to-face with Department of Player Safety.

I'm sure last night's loss was 100% on Kane for him hanging out at the blue line cherry picking......

That was the nail in the coffin. 13.6, sure.....chance but it's the same old song and dance....no consistency. And I believe the late goal by Kane was the 1st by a non young guy in quite some time.....yet more rah rah from Toews or Keith or Kane or Seabrook about potential, up against the wall, and all 4 of these guys have been non factors in the last stretch. 2/7/19 more so then 88, but 88 isn't secluded from criticism.

Since 2007-08 when we saw that the young guys were finally worth a damn and not the latest draft blunders of so many GMs prior, it was exciting that the 10 years after that have been historic. Never can take that away.

However, it's time to move on. Time for Bowman and hockey opps leading up to the deadline to start shopping just about anyone that gives them the pieces to rebuild as quickly as possible.

Do they have some nice young players? yes, yes they do. Should we count on bounce back years from 2/7/19? No, no we shouldn't as each of those guys have gotten progressively worse and if you could trade any of them....I wouldn't blink an eye.

I would sit 50, have him see a specialist to determine f it's concussion issues, vertigo, whatever and get him right for next fall.

No sense playing older guys, play the kids, get the best draft pick you can.......Q will defend his veterans in hopes they protect him at seasons end. However, this team needs a new voice....and a new outlook on the roster.

Kane, DBC, Schmaltz and maybe Saad are the only untouchables in my book. The rest of the roster needs a major turn over. Rough 2 years ahead.