https://www.12up.com/post...-elbow-to-tj-oshie-s-head
- TheTrob

Wow, not as blatant as the hit to CC. Just a strange play, what was Oshie doing, didn't even lay a body on him, but skated right up to him.

And I am not a Malkin apologist, but that was a reputation call. Crawford better be pissed.

Bring up Sikura ,Highmore and Ejdsell, what do you have to lose ?,Let’s see if some of these kids without Q up the rear ends will be more relaxed. I was totally against firing the coach, I felt the GM was the first one that should’ve went, but moving forward, let’s just see what this young coach can do.And why isn’t John Hayden playing, Chris Kunitz had a great career but he should not see the ice for a little while let some of these kids play.
- wonthecup10

Your best players should play. Period. If Sikura, Highmore, Ejdsell, Hayden are better than Kruger, Kunitz, Kampf, Martinsen, Fortin, whomever, then they should be in the lineup. If they are not at that point yet, then let them learn in the minors.

Bring up Sikura ,Highmore and Ejdsell, what do you have to lose ?,Let’s see if some of these kids without Q up the rear ends will be more relaxed. I was totally against firing the coach, I felt the GM was the first one that should’ve went, but moving forward, let’s just see what this young coach can do.And why isn’t John Hayden playing, Chris Kunitz had a great career but he should not see the ice for a little while let some of these kids play.
- wonthecup10

I think Kunitz is in there now because, while slow, he has been playing quite well. We are 15 games in. You don't just give up on a season this early. They will likely go as hard as possible up to the new year. If they are significantly behind at that point, they will likely start to play more kids and make some moves.

Wow, not as blatant as the hit to CC. Just a strange play, what was Oshie doing, didn't even lay a body on him, but skated right up to him.

And I am not a Malkin apologist, but that was a reputation call. Crawford better be pissed.
- powerenforcer

How about the Marchand call the other day where he gets a 4 minute penalty and then a misconduct for a high-stick that didn't even touch Sissons.

https://www.stanleycupofc...shment-fines-bruins-preds

Agreed.... Q did not adjust to anything. But my point is that Stan gave him donkeys to run in the Kentucky Derby. That is on Stan. Just look at money Stan spent over the summer. A real GM would have been more creative to add something or someone more productive. Instead we have Stan giving out way too much money for players that are not even worth it. Just look at Kunitz, Rutta. Heck man he could of saved the money and had the kids play who may be better and saved the money. Worst case scenario this Management Team would know what they have in their system
- BGKarras

But, I think this was because of Q. Stan knew that Q wasn't going to want to play all of the kids, and instead of letting him ruin their confidence, he gave him his veteran types that he wanted. At least Stan didn't mortgage the future with these signings. Now I think we are going to see some trades made to correct those signings, or at least some call ups.

Do I think this roster is good enough to compete for a Cup......no.
Do I think this roster can compete for a playoff spot.......yes.

Some of what ails the Hawks, such as a horrid PP and PK, and stale system of play are correctable based on the players on the roster now. Improvements in just the PP and PK would give them a few more points that would place them in 3 or 4 spot in the division. A hot goalie at the right time does wonders in the playoffs.

Stan deserves plenty of the blame, as does Q. The worse part about Q's firing is the timing of it. The time had probably come 2 years ago to get a fresh voice in the room.

Why would a FA come to the Hawks? Money and/or opportunity. Same reason as always. What uncertainty with the future of the org? Whether Stan stays or Goes? McD? Most players don't give a crap. They want to #1 - play, #2 - be paid, #3 - have a chance to win. You can switch the order of those depending on the player. In the big picture, Rocky is still the face of what is considered a 1st class organization. None of the players who have left have bashed the org. most speak highly of their experience with the Hawks. Some may complain about how they were used(or not used), but NONE have thrown shade on the org.

If you think McD holds a grudge against Crawford from an incident a few years ago, again, that's foolish. If he held grudges that deep then Kane would have been gone years ago.

Yes, if they allow buyouts again, then Seabrook will be gone. I don't even think he is a #3, maybe when compared to Manning, Davidson,Rutta but at this point In both salary considerations and/or potential I would put Murphy and Forsling ahead of him.

In terms of 2,19,88 why would they stay? Because in reality it isn't really their choice. They are under contract, so they can ask all they want, but the Hawks are under no obligation to trade them unless they get a return they deem acceptable. Their loyalty is the the Organization, not the coach or the gm, but the org. The one that drafted, developed, and pays them.
- TheTrob

Hartman and Hinostroza come to mind as recent ex-Hawks who were not shy to share their thoughts on playing time. Agree, though, that neither of them bashed the organization as a whole.

First lets stop with the Panarin trade talks he is not coming back and doubt in the offseason. The money the hawks would have to pony up to sign needs to be allocated to other positions of need. For example top 4 d top 6 winger and second line center, and stop living in the past with all of Bowman failures in trades and free agents signings bad contracts handed out. We now look forward Bowman wanted full power and the spotlight now he has it. Lets see what becomes of this going forward lot of holes that need to be filled to just to become a playoff contender. As currently put together this is not a playoff team not even close but McEgo and Bowman think so now they have to prove it or they should also be fired like Coach Q. So a question to Justin and the panel what trades and moves have to be made to make this a playoff contender and what would those moves look like. So lets be arm chair gm's and see how we can make the hawks better, just for fun and discussion sake.

Bowman the puck is your rink what are you going to do with it!!!

Talk about having blinders on , you should look in the mirror. Let's be honest here saad hasn't done anything since coming back to Chicago and that so called future prospect of a goalie that you claim we received ? He was so awful that we had to go out and sign a 34 yr old washed up goalie because that future goalie can't be trusted or relied upon even in a back up role . PANARIN is still out producing saad at very metric.


Now Leddy, Tevo , denault , Shaw how can you explain to anyone that those trades with where we stand now with the level of talent we either received which is no longer here or the talent we don't have that those trades where the right thing to do. Bickell should have never been signed for 4 million he never produced in all the years he was here during the regular season and he has 1 great playoff year so now were going to overpay him ? Tevo was the future and that kid is tearing it up and he is only 23 years old .


So please if your going to defend this team or it's management you should be ashamed of yourself .


Stan should be fired PERIOD! His negatives outweigh any positives . His job is to manage salaries, contracts and personnel, He has failed .
- Taylorst1

Hindsight is 20/20. What he was saying was at the time, the deal didn't look all that bad. Of course now that we know what the players have done and are currently doing, you can say that it wasn't the best trade, but all trades are gambles, and there is still time for it to get better for the Hawks.

And do you not get that Bickel was sick, and NO ONE knew it at the time he signed his contract. If he hadn't gotten sick, I bet he would have been a very good power forward and worth every penny of his contract.

Anyone hear McD on the Score yesterday when he was talking about Scotty and his role?. He got pretty testy. His quotes were:

"The one thing I would really like if I may ... I would really like to debunk the fact that Scotty Bowman runs the Blackhawks," McDonough said. "I would really like to see the media stop reporting that. It's fantasy. It's not real. Scotty plays a micro-fractional role here. He's a consultant. But this is one of those perpetuating things because Stan is Scotty's son and someone wrote this nine years ago. Now all of a sudden, it's become reality. Stan's his guy. Period. He's his own man. But this just keeps on rolling and a lot of it is then tethered to, 'Well, Scotty runs the Blackhawks.'"

Asked why it bothered him, McDonough repsonded, "It doesn't bother me, it's just not true."

"It's not even accurate," McDonough said. "People think that he's running the organization -- and I have a lot of respect for Scotty, I see him a couple times a year -- but I don't think it's fair to Stan either. Because I think sometimes it can get a little tough on him if that's the perception. So I just wanted to say that."

Full interview here: https://670thescore.radio...hawks-stan-bowman-own-man
- TheTrob

McD can try to say this...now. His words may even be a bit truer...now. As Scotty may be spending less time behind the scenes with the Hawks...now. As he spends more time lazing in the sun...now. However, there were key moments when his opinions carried the day. Savard wouldn’t kneel and kiss Scotty’s God of Coaching ring...and he was gone replaced by Q, who Scotty endorsed. Scotty’s best work was getting Tallon fired to be replaced by...wait for it...his son Stan. This, in spite of the fact, that Stan had neither the hockey acumen or the experience of countless other candidates, inside and outside the Hawks’ organization. Pure nepotism.

Also Scotty continues to wield some influence behind the scenes. New Assistant Coach Barry Smith is his boi.

McD also seems to be forgeting that much, if not all, of the true story was disclosed or intimated in a recent Athletic article.

Do I think this roster is good enough to compete for a Cup......no.
Do I think this roster can compete for a playoff spot.......yes.

Some of what ails the Hawks, such as a horrid PP and PK, and stale system of play are correctable based on the players on the roster now. Improvements in just the PP and PK would give them a few more points that would place them in 3 or 4 spot in the division. A hot goalie at the right time does wonders in the playoffs.

Stan deserves plenty of the blame, as does Q. The worse part about Q's firing is the timing of it. The time had probably come 2 years ago to get a fresh voice in the room.

Why would a FA come to the Hawks? Money and/or opportunity. Same reason as always. What uncertainty with the future of the org? Whether Stan stays or Goes? McD? Most players don't give a crap. They want to #1 - play, #2 - be paid, #3 - have a chance to win. You can switch the order of those depending on the player. In the big picture, Rocky is still the face of what is considered a 1st class organization. None of the players who have left have bashed the org. most speak highly of their experience with the Hawks. Some may complain about how they were used(or not used), but NONE have thrown shade on the org.

If you think McD holds a grudge against Crawford from an incident a few years ago, again, that's foolish. If he held grudges that deep then Kane would have been gone years ago.

Yes, if they allow buyouts again, then Seabrook will be gone. I don't even think he is a #3, maybe when compared to Manning, Davidson,Rutta but at this point In both salary considerations and/or potential I would put Murphy and Forsling ahead of him.

In terms of 2,19,88 why would they stay? Because in reality it isn't really their choice. They are under contract, so they can ask all they want, but the Hawks are under no obligation to trade them unless they get a return they deem acceptable. Their loyalty is the the Organization, not the coach or the gm, but the org. The one that drafted, developed, and pays them.
- TheTrob

I seem to remember elaborate discussions here about there being a divide in the front office with the Kane situation. McD wanting to cut the cord and Bowman saying that we are not getting rid of a top 5 player in the world bc of your bull sh*t marketing initiatives.

For anyone saying that Keith isn't one of the best in the league anymore: https://www.sportsnet.ca/...defencemen-three-seasons/

#15: Duncan Keith: Duncan Keith had a rotten season last year with huge drop offs in offensive and defensive impact. But after breaking down the numbers I found that his season looked a lot worse on the surface that it actually was. By no means was Keith at peak performance, but he remained one of the NHL’s premier puck mover. A combination of absurdly bad luck and his specific struggles of repeatedly being exploited made him look like he was finished.

The prime years for Keith are gone, but I don’t believe he is finished yet. He’s still the top combined neutral zone and defensive zone passer at his position when you account for both volume and success rate and that launches the Blackhawks’ transition game, which is still their strength. Keith is smart at both blue lines — he rarely commits turnovers, constantly recovers loose pucks, is an above average puck battler, and rarely takes penalties. I could be wrong and he could be even worse this season because age is a killer, but I think there’s some kind of rebound coming.





AIN'T THAT A BISCUIT?

Why do you believe that Bickell should not have gotten that contract. He had improved every year, was a big bodied power winger that we desperately needed (just listen to everyone here on how we don't have any toughness anywhere), just came off a playoffs where he was dominant, and they didn't break the bank for him (4X4). He got MS. Not much you can do there.

I am with you 100% on Saad/Panarin, although I understand the theory they used in the trade. You simply do not trade away a talent like Panarin until the very last minute and you can't sign him.

How do you know that there is nothing in Rockford? Most of these players are around 20 years old. Let them develop a bit. Most players take some development time to turn into true NHLers.
- Chunk

Rockford has some solid prospects that could make an impact within the next few years. For instance:

F: Sikura, Highmore, Ejdsell, Knott
D: Forsling, Carlsson, Dahlstrom, Hillman, Gilbert
G: Forsberg, Delia, Lankinen (ECHL)

That's just Rockford. There are many potentially promising prospects in the NCAA, juniors, and Europe:

F: Wise, Barratt, Kurashev, Soderlund, Shalunov, Kayumov, Altybarmakyan, Entwistle, Slavin, Hakkarainen
D: Boqvist, Beaudin, Mitchell, Krys
G: Gravel, Nalimov

Then there's the newly acquired Hagel kid from the Sabres organization.

First lets stop with the Panarin trade talks he is not coming back and doubt in the offseason. The money the hawks would have to pony up to sign needs to be allocated to other positions of need. For example top 4 d top 6 winger and second line center, and stop living in the past with all of Bowman failures in trades and free agents signings bad contracts handed out. We now look forward Bowman wanted full power and the spotlight now he has it. Lets see what becomes of this going forward lot of holes that need to be filled to just to become a playoff contender. As currently put together this is not a playoff team not even close but McEgo and Bowman think so now they have to prove it or they should also be fired like Coach Q. So a question to Justin and the panel what trades and moves have to be made to make this a playoff contender and what would those moves look like. So lets be arm chair gm's and see how we can make the hawks better, just for fun and discussion sake.

Bowman the puck is your rink what are you going to do with it!!!
- Scott1977

Well for starters, I'd go after Dutch, and would package Schmaltz, DeBrincat, Forsling, Fortin, Wise and Entwistle.

Then I would trade Jokiharju, Mitchell, Boqvist, Saad and Beudin for Trouba (RF)

If you read my post, the time horizon I give is two years, not "all of a sudden."

Why would the core believe that suddenly Stan is going to get talent to add to the roster when he hasn't for the past year when he had a HOF head coach? Why would any free agents come here when there is so much uncertainty with the future of the organization?

- matt_ahrens

But he actually has added good talent, and it was Q that wasn't utilizing them correctly!

Hindsight is 20/20. What he was saying was at the time, the deal didn't look all that bad. Of course now that we know what the players have done and are currently doing, you can say that it wasn't the best trade, but all trades are gambles, and there is still time for it to get better for the Hawks.

And do you not get that Bickel was sick, and NO ONE knew it at the time he signed his contract. If he hadn't gotten sick, I bet he would have been a very good power forward and worth every penny of his contract.
- ToewsdNKanefusd

Bickell was never worth $4x4. He put up more than 30 points once in his career. He had a great playoffs in 2013, Stan got blinded by that performance and pushed all his chips in. Bickell was a positive possession player, and seemed like a really well-liked guy. But on a cap-strapped team you can't hand out $4M contracts to replaceable guys who turn back into pumpkins once the magic wears off.

For anyone saying that Keith isn't one of the best in the league anymore: https://www.sportsnet.ca/...defencemen-three-seasons/

#15: Duncan Keith: Duncan Keith had a rotten season last year with huge drop offs in offensive and defensive impact. But after breaking down the numbers I found that his season looked a lot worse on the surface that it actually was. By no means was Keith at peak performance, but he remained one of the NHL’s premier puck mover. A combination of absurdly bad luck and his specific struggles of repeatedly being exploited made him look like he was finished.

The prime years for Keith are gone, but I don’t believe he is finished yet. He’s still the top combined neutral zone and defensive zone passer at his position when you account for both volume and success rate and that launches the Blackhawks’ transition game, which is still their strength. Keith is smart at both blue lines — he rarely commits turnovers, constantly recovers loose pucks, is an above average puck battler, and rarely takes penalties. I could be wrong and he could be even worse this season because age is a killer, but I think there’s some kind of rebound coming.

AIN'T THAT A BISCUIT?
- ObeseOprah

Generally agree with your post and still think Keith brings a lot of value to the team whether on defense or offense.

Disagree a bit about committing turnovers. He's not a turnover machine but he does make his fair share of mistakes in that regard. But to your point, he is still great at recovering which is the type of compete you want to see: everyone makes mistakes but what do they do to fight for the puck back is key. One thing I love about the Rockford blueliners is that they don't give up on plays. Carlsson really stands out in that regard.

And yes, Keith rarely takes penalties but when he does...some of them are monumental ones where he seems to really hurt the other player.

Wow, not as blatant as the hit to CC. Just a strange play, what was Oshie doing, didn't even lay a body on him, but skated right up to him.

And I am not a Malkin apologist, but that was a reputation call. Crawford better be pissed.
- powerenforcer

A reputation call? Malkin is an extremely dirty player. He is also extremely opportunistic. He clearly saw Oshie’s vulnerable head and very purposefully delivered a clear head shot. Luckily the consequences were not as severe for Oshie as they were for Crawford.

For anyone saying that Keith isn't one of the best in the league anymore: https://www.sportsnet.ca/...defencemen-three-seasons/

#15: Duncan Keith: Duncan Keith had a rotten season last year with huge drop offs in offensive and defensive impact. But after breaking down the numbers I found that his season looked a lot worse on the surface that it actually was. By no means was Keith at peak performance, but he remained one of the NHL’s premier puck mover. A combination of absurdly bad luck and his specific struggles of repeatedly being exploited made him look like he was finished.

The prime years for Keith are gone, but I don’t believe he is finished yet. He’s still the top combined neutral zone and defensive zone passer at his position when you account for both volume and success rate and that launches the Blackhawks’ transition game, which is still their strength. Keith is smart at both blue lines — he rarely commits turnovers, constantly recovers loose pucks, is an above average puck battler, and rarely takes penalties. I could be wrong and he could be even worse this season because age is a killer, but I think there’s some kind of rebound coming.





AIN'T THAT A BISCUIT?
- ObeseOprah

And factor in he was coming off major surgery and not many of his teammates had a good season which would reflect in his play/numbers.

I was surprised that the great Nick Leddy Orr wasn't in the top 20. So many here still whine about him being moved so the Hawks could keep Oduya.

Rockford has some solid prospects that could make an impact within the next few years. For instance:

F: Sikura, Highmore, Ejdsell, Knott
D: Forsling, Carlsson, Dahlstrom, Hillman, Gilbert
G: Forsberg, Delia, Lankinen (ECHL)

That's just Rockford. There are many potentially promising prospects in the NCAA, juniors, and Europe:

F: Wise, Barratt, Kurashev, Soderlund, Shalunov, Kayumov, Altybarmakyan, Entwistle, Slavin, Hakkarainen
D: Boqvist, Beaudin, Mitchell, Krys
G: Gravel, Nalimov

Then there's the newly acquired Hagel kid from the Sabres organization.
- AEL_Fox

I don't know that much about the prospects NOT in Rockford, but how many are top-6? Maybe / possibly / probably Sikura.

How many are top-pairing defensemen? Boqvist, Beaudin, Mitchell maybe.

How many goalies could replace a Cup-winning-level Crawford? Delia, Lankinen maybe.

Quality NHL level talent, possibly, but not much in the way of "stars".

I don't think....

Well for starters, I'd go after Dutch, and would package Schmaltz, DeBrincat, Forsling, Fortin, Wise and Entwistle.

Then I would trade Jokiharju, Mitchell, Boqvist, Saad and Beudin for Trouba (RF)
- HawkintheD

I think you gotta include Kane somewhere...Ha.

Well for starters, I'd go after Dutch, and would package Schmaltz, DeBrincat, Forsling, Fortin, Wise and Entwistle.

Then I would trade Jokiharju, Mitchell, Boqvist, Saad and Beudin for Trouba (RF)
- HawkintheD

I know you're just poking fun but definite no on Duchene. Someone else mentioned this yesterday but drama seems to follow him.

It is interesting how the Avs took off after he got traded and the Sens continue to not be a good franchise on and off the ice. Not saying Duchene is the catalyst for the Sens issues as those existed before he got there but he's not helping either.

And I wouldn't go as far as say he's a cancer but there isn't a lot of positive news that surround him either. Heckuva gifted player, otherwise.

For anyone saying that Keith isn't one of the best in the league anymore: https://www.sportsnet.ca/...defencemen-three-seasons/

#15: Duncan Keith: Duncan Keith had a rotten season last year with huge drop offs in offensive and defensive impact. But after breaking down the numbers I found that his season looked a lot worse on the surface that it actually was. By no means was Keith at peak performance, but he remained one of the NHL’s premier puck mover. A combination of absurdly bad luck and his specific struggles of repeatedly being exploited made him look like he was finished.

The prime years for Keith are gone, but I don’t believe he is finished yet. He’s still the top combined neutral zone and defensive zone passer at his position when you account for both volume and success rate and that launches the Blackhawks’ transition game, which is still their strength. Keith is smart at both blue lines — he rarely commits turnovers, constantly recovers loose pucks, is an above average puck battler, and rarely takes penalties. I could be wrong and he could be even worse this season because age is a killer, but I think there’s some kind of rebound coming.





AIN'T THAT A BISCUIT?
- ObeseOprah

And playing with Jordan Osterle pretty much the whole year. He looks better with the kiddo and if they sort out some of their break out woes and get more aggressive in the neutral zone I think you'll see a positive turn around there.

But, I think this was because of Q. Stan knew that Q wasn't going to want to play all of the kids, and instead of letting him ruin their confidence, he gave him his veteran types that he wanted. At least Stan didn't mortgage the future with these signings. Now I think we are going to see some trades made to correct those signings, or at least some call ups.
- ToewsdNKanefusd

Honestly I just want this Team to Compete and not just go Thru the motions. Hopefully better day's are ahead for all of us.

Rockford has some solid prospects that could make an impact within the next few years. For instance:

F: Sikura, Highmore, Ejdsell, Knott
D: Forsling, Carlsson, Dahlstrom, Hillman, Gilbert
G: Forsberg, Delia, Lankinen (ECHL)

That's just Rockford. There are many potentially promising prospects in the NCAA, juniors, and Europe:

F: Wise, Barratt, Kurashev, Soderlund, Shalunov, Kayumov, Altybarmakyan, Entwistle, Slavin, Hakkarainen
D: Boqvist, Beaudin, Mitchell, Krys
G: Gravel, Nalimov

Then there's the newly acquired Hagel kid from the Sabres organization.
- AEL_Fox

Sorry to say.... this list should not be viewed as evidence of anything at all to get excited about.

In fact, more likely the contrary.

Sorry to say,,,, this list should not be viewed as evidence of anything at all to get excited about.

In fact, more likely the contrary.
- Return of the Roar

I know, it's all potential that may not materialize in to anything. But as a fan who loves following prospects as much as the big club, I still am interested in how they will develop.