Seems odd to me to replace a HoF coach with a completely unproven guy.

Not dogging Colliton, but I was always under the impression you had to kind take your lumps and learn/get experience as an assistant and work your way up at the NHL level - from a coaching standpoint.

This guy might have the element of surprise, being that he’s fresh, has a different outlook, etc. But it’s just still odd to me.

I don’t know. I guess we’ll see. Curious as to the reception he gets from players. Again, if you start out as an assistant, you get to kind of know the team and build a relationship with the players. He’s working on one season with the Hogs...

Doesn't it stay the same as what he was making as an ahl coach, or is there some sort of bump up? Or did you mean the money specifically?
- I Am The Breadman

One of the first questions I asked myself. Not sure the answer there TBH.

One of the first questions I asked myself. Not sure the answer there TBH.
- Justin Lowe

It should be where Stan tells Colliton that they'll discuss a pay raise after he transforms Schmaltz into a shoot first guy and teaches Gustafsson how to not get caught out of position.

Seems odd to me to replace a HoF coach - while you still have 3 or 4 or more HOF players on your roster - with a completely unproven guy.

Not dogging Colliton, but I was always under the impression you had to kind take your lumps and learn/get experience as an assistant and work your way up at the NHL level - from a coaching standpoint.

This guy might have the element of surprise, being that he’s fresh, has a different outlook, etc. But it’s just still odd to me.

I don’t know. I guess we’ll see. Curious as to the reception he gets from players. Again, if you start out as an assistant, you get to kind of know the team and build a relationship with the players. He’s working on one season with the Hogs...
- Hank3Henshaw

fixed

Wow Justin fantastic blog you wrote . I think most people who follow hockey feel Coach Q should have been fired along with Stan , this team has been on the decline since their 3rd cup. What gets most people fired up was Coach Q deserved better yet earned a more dignified depature. Stan should have let the coach go either before the season or after especially with this poop show supporting cast he gave coach Q.






Its clear that MC D and Stan are trying to cover their behind and not accept any responsibility nor admit they failed , the players, the fans. I have always loved watching this team , as a fan going way back I lost interest when they where cheap a55 trading chelios, JR , belfour. The team just sucked .


I started to watch them again when they made the effort and commitment now I can't or won't make it a point to watch a team that is not going anywhere but downward , with a dishonest front office.


But loved your blog it was freshingly on point.

Doesn't it stay the same as what he was making as an ahl coach, or is there some sort of bump up? Or did you mean the money specifically?
- I Am The Breadman

Cap Friendly has it as 18-19 unknown and 19-20 $6,ooo,ooo.

It should be where Stan tells Colliton that they'll discuss a pay raise after he transforms Schmaltz into a shoot first guy and teaches Gustafsson how to not get caught out of position.
- EbonyRaptor

If that's the case Jeremy will be working on his AHL salary until Stan trades their 2 sorrry butts out of town.

Cap Friendly has it as 18-19 unknown and 19-20 $6,ooo,ooo.
- eagle50

Hahaha, no ntc/nmc ... it can't be on our books!

Kunitz should be playing in the ECHL at this point in his careeer. Not sure why Saad gets demoted after playing his best week of hockey in 12 months....
- EnzoD

I thought Fortin - Kruger - Martinsen played well together last game

Question on team success
- Is a GM more important long term than a coach?
I say yes

Draftiing- Trading and Managing the Cap - you be the judge

So here is a question since Mcego and blowman deem this roster is a playoff roster, just shows how delusional they are, what happens when the hawks do not make the playoffs and are picking in the top 10 again? Does Rocky step up and fires them both?

All the Stan bashing makes me laugh , glad I can just scroll past after reading 1 or two lines . Guess he is a easy target since he was not part of the fabled Caroline 3 . Stan has made some mistakes ,like most every GM in any sport . As part of a front office I believe Stan and his team have done well .
On the other hand Q makes the same mistakes over and over game in game out . His unwillingness to work in a team environment is what got him turf . And rightfully so .
Finally excited to see this team turn it around with some modern hockey and players given some direction . Will not happen over night ,but I do believe this team will make the playoffs . And as we know with a hot goalie and some luck anything can happen GO HAWKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We're not in total rebuild, we're in Boston Bruins 2014-16 retool.

Bowman likely shouldn't be the retool chief, his evaluation of talent is dependent on Mark Kelley for drafting and I don't know who for free agency. His UFA signings have been questionable, his resignings have been overpayments with too many NMCs handed out.

I would like a fresh set of eyes who has experience evaluating talent. I'd also like to clear out a lot of the old boys club. McIsaac sounds like a 'very important' guy with a huge ego that doesn't belong in a functional front office. Go out and find some Kyle Dubas types who can find you a diamond in the rough in the 4th round.
- ObeseOprah

I agree

All the Stan bashing makes me laugh , glad I can just scroll past after reading 1 or two lines . Guess he is a easy target since he was not part of the fabled Caroline 3 . Stan has made some mistakes ,like most every GM in any sport . As part of a front office I believe Stan and his team have done well .
On the other hand Q makes the same mistakes over and over game in game out . His unwillingness to work in a team environment is what got him turf . And rightfully so .
Finally excited to see this team turn it around with some modern hockey and players given some direction . Will not happen over night ,but I do believe this team will make the playoffs . And as we know with a hot goalie and some luck anything can happen GO HAWKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- oldduffman

Man you must be downing that Kool-aid. All kidding aside I hope you are right, however I just don't see that happening especially when you have a front office that is so dishonest and dysfunctional. A front office that can make a trade but a Hockey Trade that helps the team. Just look at the garage they got over the summer. I just don't have the faith in the front office. Yes Coach Q deserves some blame however he was not the problem he just got thrown under the bus. Hopefully JC can get the most out of the team as currently constructed.

Seems odd to me to replace a HoF coach with a completely unproven guy.

Not dogging Colliton, but I was always under the impression you had to kind take your lumps and learn/get experience as an assistant and work your way up at the NHL level - from a coaching standpoint.

This guy might have the element of surprise, being that he’s fresh, has a different outlook, etc. But it’s just still odd to me.

I don’t know. I guess we’ll see. Curious as to the reception he gets from players. Again, if you start out as an assistant, you get to kind of know the team and build a relationship with the players. He’s working on one season with the Hogs...
- Hank3Henshaw

When did Q get named to the HoF?

When did Q get named to the HoF?
- powerenforcer

WOW.....Malkin better get a suspension for that cheap shot !! He surely got away with last year's hit on Crawford. What an ass.

When did Q get named to the HoF?
- powerenforcer

No worries.......Stan is working on getting Hossa back.

So here is a question since Mcego and blowman deem this roster is a playoff roster, just shows how delusional they are, what happens when the hawks do not make the playoffs and are picking in the top 10 again? Does Rocky step up and fires them both?
- Scott1977

Rocky hired McDonough and I don't believe he'd ever let him go. Stan on the other hand should be on his last year unless they make the playoffs and he adds a key future piece to this team.

What a down-trodden press conference. I felt sorry for Colliton. This was a huge day for him and the tenor of it was depressing and embarrassing. McDonough's face looked as angry as the day of the Patrick Kane press conference on his accusations in Buffalo. Just a horrible first day for our NEW coach thanks to Rocky and his team of executives.

Question on team success
- Is a GM more important long term than a coach?
I say yes

Draftiing- Trading and Managing the Cap - you be the judge
- Colbyboy

I moderately agree, but I like to give even credit. Build the team, coach the team. I've seen enough "On the clock" videos to see how in the dark Bowman is. He asks questions and says the names of the players. Trading, he's fine in competition status when it takes a first round for expiring help. Sometimes, I question his valuation on getting fair return. His timing really plays into the return. Offseason trades went bad a handful of times through the years recently. Buyers at the tdl, we got fleeced, many gm's do. Last tdl, we fleeced, nice for a change of pace. Managing the cap ... he did about as good as any gm could do with 3 cups in the conversation and everybody needs to get paid. Losing people always hurt.

Bringing it back to the coach, he's just as much in it as the gm. Get players, coach/develop players, then comes the appropriate aav of signing/resigning. The coach has just as much behind-the-scenes action, but tends to be the one who pays the price. I don't think it's possible to measure team's success of the two individually.

When you mention that Colliton wants to play with energy and pace, I will add this: That is exactly what Q has said for years. That is nothing different to me style-wise from what Q was trying to accomplish, and that means nothing really changes system-wise. If that holds true, this team will still continue to struggle this season and may actually get worse than being a "bubble team". The Blackhawks can no longer play a system that they did 3,4,5,6 years ago.

This is a different team, with a different roster makeup. They don't have the horses and depth to play with pace and energy; to have stretch passes, use their activated defense to hem the other team in their own zone, and have enough speed and backchecking from their forwards to squeeze the other team in the neutral zone. I akin for what needs to happen to this team with how the Ottawa Senators played system-wise 2 years ago getting to the Conference Finals. The Hawks have to be HONEST about who they are, and their limitations. This team probably needs to move to a trap system, a 1-4 structure, and then use their limited depth with really only 5-6 top line forwards to play for 2-1 games by capitalizing on turnovers and odd-man breaks. The Hawks do have clutch top line talent that can score. But because the defense is so terrible at this point, they need to bottle up the neutral zone, stop playing run and gun, and just clamp down defensively if they want to have any chance of winning this year. Is this a long term solution? No. The league is going to younger, faster, and a more aggressive speed style. The Hawks need to build team personnel to get back into that mold which they once were. But for this year if they want to have any chance, they need to adapt.

Q's firing is still sinking in.

I can't stop thinking that this is a huge mistake, especially right now.

Young coaches with zero NHL coaching experience are brought in to work with and develop a young team with an eye towards championship contention a few years down the road, not to win a Cup this year, next year, or the year after that.

So where does that leave the core? Sure, they are professionals, they'll show up and do their job. But if the roster isn't improving, and the organization is demonstrating through this hire that they are looking to the long run, why would they want to be here? They all have a limited number of quality years ahead of them, do they want to spend the next three seasons near the bottom of the standings and out of the playoffs?

So maybe the team trades Crawford and maybe Seabrook before the TDL. If I'm 2, 19, and 88, I'm asking to be next.

If they all go, they take the team identity with them. Whoever these young guys are that they acquire via draft and trade, are any of them going to fill seats like the old core? No way.

Yes, I'm going worst case scenario. It is a big, big, big gamble to hire Colliton right now. He probably has a bright future as an NHL head coach, but right freaking now? I really think this is going to blow up in a bad way.

I hope I'm wrong but I don't see any of the core with the team two years from now, and I don't see them in the playoffs for a couple of years longer than that.

Thanks Q, it was a blast. Sorry it ended this way. And sorry to 2, 7, 19, 50, and 88 too, you all deserve better than this.

Q's firing is still sinking in.

I can't stop thinking that this is a huge mistake, especially right now.

Young coaches with zero NHL coaching experience are brought in to work with and develop a young team with an eye towards championship contention a few years down the road, not to win a Cup this year, next year, or the year after that.

So where does that leave the core? Sure, they are professionals, they'll show up and do their job. But if the roster isn't improving, and the organization is demonstrating through this hire that they are looking to the long run, why would they want to be here? They all have a limited number of quality years ahead of them, do they want to spend the next three seasons near the bottom of the standings and out of the playoffs?

So maybe the team trades Crawford and maybe Seabrook before the TDL. If I'm 2, 19, and 88, I'm asking to be next.

If they all go, they take the team identity with them. Whoever these young guys are that they acquire via draft and trade, are any of them going to fill seats like the old core? No way.

Yes, I'm going worst case scenario. It is a big, big, big gamble to hire Colliton right now. He probably has a bright future as an NHL head coach, but right freaking now? I really think this is going to blow up in a bad way.

I hope I'm wrong but I don't see any of the core with the team two years from now, and I don't see them in the playoffs for a couple of years longer than that.

Thanks Q, it was a blast. Sorry it ended this way. And sorry to 2, 7, 19, 50, and 88 too, you all deserve better than this.
- matt_ahrens

Let it blow up

Let the team suck, lose, get embarrassed nightly. It needs to happen.

Every Hawks fan needs to start getting used to the idea of losing now so that we can eventually win in the years to come.

The higher the draft pick, the better. Same goes for next year(we'll most likely still be an awful team next year too).

There's no point in worrying about the old core, the old identity, etc....most of those guys(including if possible Kane and Toews) should be getting traded for additional top draft picks and cap relief.

Also, another positive that will come with the losing is Bowman getting fired. And a new GM will take over.

All these major changes need to happen. We need to move on in the front office, like we've moved on with the head coach. And we need to(despite how hard it might be) forget about the Kane/Toews/Keith/Seabrook core. Its time to move on, and start from scratch.

Trying to figure out how to please these guys, or get the locker room to gel, or sustain some sort of positive/winning attitude is POINTLESS. There is no worse place to be in team sports than mediocre/below average. If you're gonna miss the playoffs, you MUST look for ways to draft as high as possible(AKA tank). Its gonna suck for a few years.....

....but just imagine hypothetically drafting in the top 5 this year and next....and trading big contracts/core pieces for more draft picks....and combining all that young talent with DeBrincat, Schmaltz, and our current group of young, up and coming defenseman. THAT is the line of thinking we need to have, that's what we need to be looking forward to. That is the formula to rebuilding an eventual Cup contender. The only way to get there, unfortunately, is to suffer first. Lose A LOT of games. Its gotta happen.

Seems odd to me to replace a HoF coach with a completely unproven guy.

Not dogging Colliton, but I was always under the impression you had to kind take your lumps and learn/get experience as an assistant and work your way up at the NHL level - from a coaching standpoint.

This guy might have the element of surprise, being that he’s fresh, has a different outlook, etc. But it’s just still odd to me.

I don’t know. I guess we’ll see. Curious as to the reception he gets from players. Again, if you start out as an assistant, you get to kind of know the team and build a relationship with the players. He’s working on one season with the Hogs...
- Hank3Henshaw

Boyle intimated in the latest Blackhawks Talk podcast that the team also considered/talked to two proven, but unnamed, NHL coaches who happen to be unemployed right now. Trotz? Sutter?

All the Stan bashing makes me laugh , glad I can just scroll past after reading 1 or two lines . Guess he is a easy target since he was not part of the fabled Caroline 3 . Stan has made some mistakes ,like most every GM in any sport . As part of a front office I believe Stan and his team have done well .
On the other hand Q makes the same mistakes over and over game in game out . His unwillingness to work in a team environment is what got him turf . And rightfully so .
Finally excited to see this team turn it around with some modern hockey and players given some direction . Will not happen over night ,but I do believe this team will make the playoffs . And as we know with a hot goalie and some luck anything can happen GO HAWKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- oldduffman

oldduff arrives right on que or is that off Q..

All the Stan bashing makes me laugh , glad I can just scroll past after reading 1 or two lines . Guess he is a easy target since he was not part of the fabled Caroline 3 . Stan has made some mistakes ,like most every GM in any sport . As part of a front office I believe Stan and his team have done well .
On the other hand Q makes the same mistakes over and over game in game out . His unwillingness to work in a team environment is what got him turf . And rightfully so .
Finally excited to see this team turn it around with some modern hockey and players given some direction . Will not happen over night ,but I do believe this team will make the playoffs . And as we know with a hot goalie and some luck anything can happen GO HAWKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- oldduffman

Some mistakes?

SOME!?!?!?!

How can you defend him at this point...honestly?

The Kane/Toews contracts

The Seabrook contract

Bickell contract, and subsequent loss of Teravainen

The Leddy trade

The Hammer trade

The Sharp trade

The Saad trade

The Danault trade

The Panarin trade

The loss of role guys like Hartman, Hinstroza(to get rid of Hossa's contract only to not use the cap space and/or do little with it), Panik, Duclair, etc.

Rundblad(enough said)

Timonen(enough said)

Kunitz signing, overpaying Kruger and bringing him back, Ward signing, letting Raanta go .....it goes on and on and on and on and on and on.

What were his good moves?

How in gods name this guy has a job still is beyond me.

He systematically destroyed our roster, slowly, methodically, and without mercy. He tortured and ravaged us. The pain. The anguish. Its been BRUTAL what he's done to this team. My god there's no other words for it.

And yet you wanna brush it aside and act like it was mainly the head coaches fault!?!?!?!



Look....you can kiss the playoffs goodbye. We're not gonna "turn it around" gimme a break. No other way to put it, we're finished. And your best bet is to root for as many losses as possible, see my other post.