The writing has been on the wall for months, can we finally just accept it and move on? I'm tired of seeing the same questions and the same answers from the team each time they lose. 'We know what we have to do, we just need to do it' etc, just record it and hit play.

Some honest to god questions I have:

Why are they rushing to bring Crawford back when the writing is on the wall? Trade bait going into the off season? The assumption that if Crawford gets better, magically everything else will sort itself out and they could actually make it to the playoffs? Ticket sales? Who knows. Honestly, I'm not understanding the justification behind pushing Crawford.

When will Duncan Keith finally get the scratch that he deserves? You scratched Seabrook ( and you should do it again, especially after last night), but why doesn't #2 get the same treatment?
- Crawford

Just a guess, but maybe to get a read on what he’s going to be able to do going forward. This could turn out to be something similar to Crosby 2010/11 - 2011/12 and they want to see if that’s the case.

Just watching Crawford’s interview the other day if I was him or his agent I’d tell the Blackhawks to go pound sand.

I think it was ridiculous for them to fly him out to the dessert BTW.

Oesterle has a lot of promise, his O-zone play is almost totally fleshed out, great at getting pucks through.
His defensive zone/transition game needs a lot of work. He doesn't budge anyone, and pucks seem to get through his legs/stick area a little too easily. Needs to be harder to play against.
- ObeseOprah

That line pretty much sums up all the babies on this team, and when I say babies the 23 and under crowd

Oesterle has a lot of promise, his O-zone play is almost totally fleshed out, great at getting pucks through.
His defensive zone/transition game needs a lot of work. He doesn't budge anyone, and pucks seem to get through his legs/stick area a little too easily. Needs to be harder to play against.
- ObeseOprah

Oesterle is okay it's just that you cannot have 4 of them in the lineup at the same time.

Of the next 6 games on the schedule, the only one I see us winning is the Ottawa game (even though 5 are at home). We can be deep down the standings by the TDL.

BTW I have bookmarked this link in my favorites bar. Thanks for it.
- 67hawks

You're welcome. Give the lottery simulator a whirl. It had the Hawks at the 2nd overall pick yesterday!

Perfect example is Cat, small guy, plays with his head up, but he doesn't shy away from contact, sometimes engages it. Goes to the tough areas to score, he's one of the babies that is tough to play against.

I just wanted to add and mirror some of the thoughts here. I don't think we can fully assign blame in one place vs the other. None of us are in the locker room, on the bench or behind closed doors. We don't know the situation with Q and the rest of the Hawks staff really. So much is built on speculation, but it is ultimately the FO that will know if Q deserves to be fired or if he did what he was asked or should be doing.

Some members of the team look like they have checked out in recent games and I am not going to read too deeply into it. Despite the lip service about making a run, I think most of them realized this season isn't going to end well. I think they still want to win, but the playoffs being out of reach will have a huge impact on the desire/drive to compete. The rest of this season will be about showcasing guys for trade or seeing if young guys can play regular NHL roles or larger roles.

You know when they say that I think about 2011,2012, and 2013. They had some turnover, but many players from 2011 to 2013 player better every year. 2013 we won about 23 in a row? This is a young team off boys that need to develop their games and become men. If Oesterle can put on 10 to 20 pounds and just be stronger I could see him becoming a top4 defenceman.
- BetweenTheDots

He's 25 years old, him adding 20 lbs of muscle while not losing significant skating ability is unrealistic.

Here's my opinion on this stuff...

Osterle is a top Defensemen for the Hawks right now. We're in a tailspin, fellas. Why would you sit one of the few guys doing the right things each night when you're in a desperate situation? For sake of fairness? "Oh, he benched this guy before for the same thing. He's playing favorites." Who cares. It's pro sports.

I think Q was willing to look the other way on that turnover/blunder for the sake of trying to get that much needed win against the WORST team in the league. He needs anything he can get at this point from these guys.

Realistically, Q could have sat five guys for awful turnovers last night. What can he do at this point, you know? Bench the whole team?

He's in a tough spot.
- Hank3Henshaw

Q is NOT in a tough spot. When I read some of your comments I actually question whether you are talking “tongue in cheek”. Oesterle is not a top D-Man - he should not be in the NHL. Not even sure he can play in the AHL. The Oilers, who were in need of help on D last year refused to play Oesterle, with very good reasons.

Ya, Q should have known like Stanbo did that Connor Murphy coming in was going to be such a big improvement over Hammer.

'Why get so angry and unappreciative Q, I'm giving you a better Dman to work with because I recognize on ice professional talent. That's why I have a degree from ND and you don't'.
- RickJ

I don't think anyone thought that Mur was going to be a immediate improvement . Although Jhammer has been injured most of this year ,and not real effective from what I seen . The trade was made because the HAWKS were not going to be able to sign Jhammer in all likely hood ,and may not wanted to . Both Saad and Mur deals were made for the future ..Q is paid well to develop game plans motivate players work with young players , not have hissy fits bench young players run out the same stale game plan and PP . He is not the GM and should stop thinking he is ,I hope they kick him upstairs for last couple of years of his contract so he can see what Stan deals with on a day to day bases .

Keith's is going to play out his contract IMO if he retires he walks away from the money. if he is Hurt he goes on LTIR and gets paid. hossa was way more front loaded
Kieth:
35 4.5mil
36 3.5
37 2.65
38 2.1
39 1.5

Hossa:
38 1 mil
39 1
40 1
41 1
- kmw4631

It's not about anybody walking away from money, it's about the Hawks' salary cap calculations being thrown out of whack if he quits early. It's explained here: https://www.reddit.com/r/...ty_what_it_is_and_why_it/

He's 25 years old, him adding 20 lbs of muscule while not losing significant skating ability is unrealistic.
- EnzoD

Oesterle is who he is - he is not going to get bigger. More importantly you can’t make him smarter or tougher. Even the threat of physical pressure on him makes him cough up the puck. This great experiment where the Hawks play non-contact D-Men must end. D-Women on Olympic Women’s Teams, who must play no- hitting hockey, play tougher.

There's no way to view either the Saad or Murphy trades as good moves given their performance/usage to this point. Sure we were mostly excited to get Saad's size and 2 more years under contract, but he has been worthless since week 1. He is not doing ANYTHING. I'd much rather have the dynamic Panarin for 2 years over this waste of space for 4 years. The complementary piece in the trade, Forsberg, has also been bad.

Hjalmarsson had a very good game last night. I don't think Murphy is bad, but is that the best you could've gotten for Hjalmarsson??

As much as we (justifiably) bag on 7+19, Saad has fallen below them IMO. Did he even touch the puck last night??? He's a (frank)ing Ghost. At least 19 and 7 are involved in the play, even when making mistakes. I though 19 had a better game last night, but my bar for him has been set so low this year. 7 just creates issues for the entire 5 man D-unit bc he cannot skate well enough to stay with his check.

Bowman needs to be canned, but first, keep the status quo and free fall to the basement of the NHL. Fire Bowman and Q the day the Regular Season ends. They can even give Q a STACHE statue if the want.


With the mental and physical status of this team, tonight could be 7-0 Vegas

OK, I'm up for the #divefortopfive -- but wanted to bring a smile to everyone's face and remember a better time (it will only take less than a minute too):



If this doesn't bring a smile to everyone, then I guess we are really in trouble.
Step back and remember some of great moments these guys have brought us in our lifetime (3 times no less).

There's no way to view either the Saad or Murphy trades as good moves given their performance/usage to this point. Sure we were mostly excited to get Saad's size and 2 more years under contract, but he has been worthless since week 1. He is not doing ANYTHING. I'd much rather have the dynamic Panarin for 2 years over this waste of space for 4 years. The complementary piece in the trade, Forsberg, has also been bad.

Hjalmarsson had a very good game last night. I don't think Murphy is bad, but is that the best you could've gotten for Hjalmarsson??

As much as we (justifiably) bag on 7+19, Saad has fallen below them IMO. Did he even touch the puck last night??? He's a (frank)ing Ghost. At least 19 and 7 are involved in the play, even when making mistakes. I though 19 had a better game last night, but my bar for him has been set so low this year. 7 just creates issues for the entire 5 man D-unit bc he cannot skate well enough to stay with his check.

Bowman needs to be canned, but first, keep the status quo and free fall to the basement of the NHL. Fire Bowman and Q the day the Regular Season ends. They can even give Q a STACHE statue if the want.


With the mental and physical status of this team, tonight could be 7-0 Vegas
- EnzoD

This post offers much needed Clarity.
Best post in a while.

OK, I'm up for the #divefortopfive -- but wanted to bring a smile to everyone's face and remember a better time (it will only take less than a minute too):



If this doesn't bring a smile to everyone, then I guess we are really in trouble.
Step back and remember some of great moments these guys have brought us in our lifetime (3 times no less).
- savvyone-1

The team was awesome and we fans were so lucky. It was like a reward for watching the many bad seasons before.

Just a guess, but maybe to get a read on what he’s going to be able to do going forward. This could turn out to be something similar to Crosby 2010/11 - 2011/12 and they want to see if that’s the case.

Just watching Crawford’s interview the other day if I was him or his agent I’d tell the Blackhawks to go pound sand.

I think it was ridiculous for them to fly him out to the dessert BTW.
- walleyeb1

Yes he did not look or sound right in that interview. I do not understand what is going on here. It's not like we are in the Stanley Cup race and urgently need him to return.
LTIR him and move on with TDL plans.

100%

That's what I've been trying to point out this morning. It's a bummer you can't fire the players, so the coach is always the fall guy.

I don't think Q is the issue.
- Hank3Henshaw

That you don’t think that Q’s coaching is a problem shows your total lack of objectivity. When I read that you thought it was a good move to put sniper DeBrincat, the only forward that has been scoring lately, with the AHL-level Wingels and Bouma, I thought you were joking. Joking. Assuming you were serious this opinion is ludicrous.

Q has always been a super-stubborn person. The Hawks didn’t win Cups because of him but in spite of him. However, this year Q has been simply reckless and has destroyed team morale.

There's no way to view either the Saad or Murphy trades as good moves given their performance/usage to this point. Sure we were mostly excited to get Saad's size and 2 more years under contract, but he has been worthless since week 1. He is not doing ANYTHING. I'd much rather have the dynamic Panarin for 2 years over this waste of space for 4 years. The complementary piece in the trade, Forsberg, has also been bad.

Hjalmarsson had a very good game last night. I don't think Murphy is bad, but is that the best you could've gotten for Hjalmarsson??

As much as we (justifiably) bag on 7+19, Saad has fallen below them IMO. Did he even touch the puck last night??? He's a (frank)ing Ghost. At least 19 and 7 are involved in the play, even when making mistakes. I though 19 had a better game last night, but my bar for him has been set so low this year. 7 just creates issues for the entire 5 man D-unit bc he cannot skate well enough to stay with his check.

Bowman needs to be canned, but first, keep the status quo and free fall to the basement of the NHL. Fire Bowman and Q the day the Regular Season ends. They can even give Q a STACHE statue if the want.


With the mental and physical status of this team, tonight could be 7-0 Vegas
- EnzoD

I'm not disagreeing with you so I had to check the box score. "Man Child" had:
13:00 TOI/0:52 PP/1:46 SH/
2 SOG/1 MS/1 BS/1 FW 1FL/
-2 +/-

Oesterle has a lot of promise, his O-zone play is almost totally fleshed out, great at getting pucks through.
His defensive zone/transition game needs a lot of work. He doesn't budge anyone, and pucks seem to get through his legs/stick area a little too easily. Needs to be harder to play against.
- ObeseOprah

“Oesterle has a lot of promise” and “His defensive zone/transition game needs a LOT OF WORK” are opposites. Right now the Oilers analysis that Oesterle didn’t belong in the NHL is dead on. I don’t know that Oesterle can even play in the AHL.

I am a little surprised about the Q bashing. You don't become the 2nd most wins in NHL history and winning 3 Stanley Cups by being a bad coach. However, I think it is time for some fresh blood behind the bench. Q has been sending a message to Bowman for sometime that he can't win with the players they have, and honestly, I don't care who is coaching this year, they are not a good team. The big questions is, who it most at fault, the coach, or the person that put the team together. I personally would rather see Stan gone before Q, and i wouldn't really mind if they were both gone by next year. The biggest problem I see is Quenneville and Bowman do not work well together. Bowman should be finding players that work best for Q's system, and Q should work with Bowman to let him know doesn't fit so they can find someone that does.

A good example of this is the Daley trade with the Stars. Daley didn't fit Q's system for whatever reason, and this was evident on day 1. I am sure Q knew this before the trade was even made. So why force a trade that doesn't work for the team, in hopes of a miracle. It shouldn't be so hard to find players that work around what the coach wants to do. Of course, Q should be good enough to adapt his system when he needs to (powerplay anyone?).

After that rant, I think I'm ready for a total overhaul.

Perfect example is Cat, small guy, plays with his head up, but he doesn't shy away from contact, sometimes engages it. Goes to the tough areas to score, he's one of the babies that is tough to play against.
- BetweenTheDots

Yes, great example. Like Shaw, the size of the dog in the fight doesn't matter as much as the fight in the dog.

Push back by every single player is needed, not necessarily guys who can throw big checks, throw down the gloves, and be big physically. Be hard to play against, make the other team work hard for every inch, and stick up for one another.

The team was awesome and we fans were so lucky. It was like a reward for watching the many bad seasons before.
- breadbag

And the heartache losses to the Pens and Habs in the finals.
Or getting knocked out in the 1st round by the Stars.

Never thought I'd see one after '61 and another 3 was great. I do think like many others that for various reasons it could/should have been 4 or 5 (I know, greedy).

“Oesterle has a lot of promise” and “His defensive zone/transition game needs a LOT OF WORK” are opposites. Right now the Oilers analysis that Oesterle didn’t belong in the NHL is dead on. I don’t know that Oesterle can even play in the AHL.
- Z3Hawk

Yes, he's been a turnover machine all season. He's at best a #6-7 in the NHL. Hell, at this point Franson is the 3rd best defenseman in the organization. Plus, they gave Hammer away for a player that's a #5 at best. Hammer was the 2nd best defenseman on the team.

When's Rozsival coming back?

Hypothetical for those here lamenting the demise of our Hawks.

Say the Hawks were in a position to draft Brady Tkachuk and our best buds the St. Louis Blues would like to draft a legacy and they offered Colton Parayko for the Hawks 1st draft pick would you do it?

When's Rozsival coming back?
- scottak

Michal's 3-wheeled shopping cart is in Q's personal garage at the moment, in for a bearing change and greasing. Should be finished up soon and back on the road - er, ice, soon.