That's good to hear. I couldn't see that far down from my very very far away seat. It seemed to me that the 3rd and 4th lines had many more moments where the puck was behind the opponent's net. The Toews and Kane lines looked like they were trying to do more while charging toward Darling. Personally I think more good things happen when you can set up behind the net, teams get out of position and Dmen in particular can get exposed when they leave their post.
- ObeseOprah

Maybe JC is instructing they do that. I agree, a lot of teams find success that way.

I really liked on the Saad/Kampf goal, JC was right in Saad's ear, walking him through plays, where to be, a pat on the shoulders. It was nice seeing him coaching, but building that relationship. Plus, how he deployed Kane, although overdone, it goes to show him building that relationship bridge. JC trusts him and knows the team's success falls on his shoulders.
- I Am The Breadman

Saad seems very happy with the coaching change, at least based on his interviews the past couple of days.

Question/help me understand.

The Habs released Plekanec through "unconditional waivers to mutually terminate his contract."

https://www.sportsnet.ca/...ec-unconditional-waivers/

So how does that work? Are the Habs still on the hook for his salary? If not, why didn't the Hawks do that for Hossa or Detroit for Datsyuk or Flyers for Pronger? Why trade him.

Question/help me understand.

The Habs released Plekanec through "unconditional waivers to mutually terminate his contract."

https://www.sportsnet.ca/...ec-unconditional-waivers/

So how does that work? Are the Habs still on the hook for his salary? If not, why didn't the Hawks do that for Hossa or Detroit for Datsyuk or Flyers for Pronger? Why trade him.
- resqmed99

Bettman sucks....

FYI - RE: Hawks at 50 contracts... just chatted to @CapFriendly on twitter:


@CapFriendly
Replying to @JustinLoweHB
No, the Blackhawks are actually at 48. We just entered Beaudin's contract into the system and didn't get a chance to properly change his status, along with Entwistle's status, to 'Junior'.

Sorry for the confusion. You're quicker than we are 😉😋👍

Saad seems very happy with the coaching change, at least based on his interviews the past couple of days.
- pdx2ord

I'm still on the fence about the move, I have my reservations, but I'm excited about JC. I think he's going to be good for the guys, young and old.

Would not surprise me. One of the Hawks bloggers was selling a rumor a couple of weeks ago that Stan had a deal for AA on the table and McD stopped it. Who knows if true, but the glimpses into his personality we see would indicate he's got controlling tendencies.
- pdx2ord

If McD stopped a deal to get rid of my nemesis... I will be at Federal Plaza protesting McD's job. What a disaster if true.

I would trade AA for Viktor Stalberg, that's how much I dislike the way he plays.

Of course John McEgo has to approve trades. Total con artist

Breaking....The Hawks defense is a trainwreck. Take a look at Stan the Sham's last two offseasons...if they wanted to go a different direction they should have done it in the offseason. Again I'm not saying a change shouldn't have been made at some point. But this was a gutless move.

And I loved how McD doubled down the other night when he was on the Score here in Chicago. This is a playoff team...in what universe are you living dude. The Hawks have what some say is a few winnable games here before the schedule really starts to get heavy.

The Hawks currently have a line and a half of scoring and then...?
The defense which Bowman's answer to a bad problem was Manning...please.

It'll be interesting to see how many guys are ready to waive when the time comes this spring. But again what are you going to get? Does anyone want 7's deal? Doubtful. But make no mistake they can say whatever they want the rebuild is on.
Embrace the tank.

Best of luck to the new coach he seems like a nice guy and he's bright. We'll see if he's still here when the music stops as well as Stan...
- DK002

Yes. Either McD and Stan are blatantly lying to the media in order to try to maintain fan interest & ticket sales or they just have an inaccurate assessment of the talent on this team; or perhaps both.

I wish Colliton all the best and I hope he is successful. But if the true expectations are that he can coach this team to the playoffs this season, he is being set up to fail, unless they are giving him a different message behind closed doors.

The team needs more guys who are better at playing hockey than the current lot. They need to add those guys without mortgaging the future. Neither McD nor Stan have a track record of being able to do this. How long until the Blackhawks fix the front office? Will the coaching potential of Jeremy Colliton be wasted in the meantime?

Colliton seems like an up and coming coach who is being put into a very difficult coaching situation. He has two or three potential hall of famers on the roster, maybe more. He has a few young guys with potential. He has a couple of journeymen who can do a job. And then he has a bunch of guys who should be 13th forwards or 7th defensemen trying to fill other roles. It's great that he knows who is in Rockford and who there now might help in Chicago. But I doubt they can make the playoffs this year. I doubt they'll make the playoffs next season unless things change for the better and I doubt that McD and Stan know how to make those kinds of changes.

So then a new front office gets put into place in a couple of years, will they think they need a new coach too?

I hope I'm wrong about this prognostication.

Question/help me understand.

The Habs released Plekanec through "unconditional waivers to mutually terminate his contract."

https://www.sportsnet.ca/...ec-unconditional-waivers/

So how does that work? Are the Habs still on the hook for his salary? If not, why didn't the Hawks do that for Hossa or Detroit for Datsyuk or Flyers for Pronger? Why trade him.
- resqmed99

I'm just guessing here, but I would assume that if they are terminating his contract, then he will no longer collect any part of his salary. Hossa, Pronger, etc. all still drew their salary until the contract ends.

Good call on the 50 contract limit. Always forget about that.
- AEL_Fox

Boqvist and Beaudin - as they are in juniors, their contracts don’t count toward the 50 limit.

And their contracts will slide.

Don’t see any downside here - and probably makes two “kids” who project to be important parts of the future feel like part of the or-gan-I-za+shun.

Of course John McEgo has to approve trades. Total con artist
- TJYTJY

He was on his heels in that 670 interview. So defensive and the DJ's weren't cutting him any slack. Tougher questions than I've heard asked of anyone in the FO in a long time.

Would not surprise me. One of the Hawks bloggers was selling a rumor a couple of weeks ago that Stan had a deal for AA on the table and McD stopped it. Who knows if true, but the glimpses into his personality we see would indicate he's got controlling tendencies.
- pdx2ord

Why would he stop a deal for AA? He’s certainly not a piece of the Cup-winning core - and how bad could an agreed-to deal involving him be?

Yes. Either McD and Stan are blatantly lying to the media in order to try to maintain fan interest & ticket sales or they just have an inaccurate assessment of the talent on this team; or perhaps both.

I wish Colliton all the best and I hope he is successful. But if the true expectations are that he can coach this team to the playoffs this season, he is being set up to fail, unless they are giving him a different message behind closed doors.

The team needs more guys who are better at playing hockey than the current lot. They need to add those guys without mortgaging the future. Neither McD nor Stan have a track record of being able to do this. How long until the Blackhawks fix the front office? Will the coaching potential of Jeremy Colliton be wasted in the meantime?

Colliton seems like an up and coming coach who is being put into a very difficult coaching situation. He has two or three potential hall of famers on the roster, maybe more. He has a few young guys with potential. He has a couple of journeymen who can do a job. And then he has a bunch of guys who should be 13th forwards or 7th defensemen trying to fill other roles. It's great that he knows who is in Rockford and who there now might help in Chicago. But I doubt they can make the playoffs this year. I doubt they'll make the playoffs next season unless things change for the better and I doubt that McD and Stan know how to make those kinds of changes.

So then a new front office gets put into place in a couple of years, will they think they need a new coach too?

I hope I'm wrong about this prognostication.
- matt_ahrens

Spot on about the 7th and 13th guys. Kunitz, Martinsen, Kampf, Hayden, Johnson are all extras on a true playoff team.

Gustafsson, Rutta, Manning, Davidson would all be rotating 6th/7ths on a good team. There's a logjam on D in Rockford, are any of those guys ready to come be better than awful for a few games?

I would expect a couple d-men to be dealt, especially when Murphy returns. I expect Colliton will want to give Forsling a try in the NHL.

My guess is that Davidson and Rutta are dealt.
- DarthKane

Will either of them fetch anything beyond a bag of pucks, or are they going to trade for someone else's problems, like Morin for Panik?

Will either of them fetch anything beyond a bag of pucks, or are they going to trade for someone else's problems, like Morin for Panik?
- 333inthe3rd

I'd be fine with that. Take 5th round picks for some replacement level guys. Gustafsson is still very popular with the analytics community, I haven't seen his advanced stats this year. You might be able to get an established vet for him.

The Q conference did not address one important role, who takes over player nicknames?

I know Toews has been playing quite decent but i honestly think we should trade him just to get ourselves out of salary cap hell. maybe pick up 1 or 2 good players with his 10.5 mil. Maybe trade Crawford as well.

Boqvist and Beaudin - as they are in juniors, their contracts don’t count toward the 50 limit.

And their contracts will slide.

Don’t see any downside here - and probably makes two “kids” who project to be important parts of the future feel like part of the or-gan-I-za+shun.
- StLBravesFan

Thanks for the extra details on how contracts work. Good to know that contracts of juniors slide.

If that's the case, then ink Kurashev, Mitchell and Krys. I assume juniors also apply to NCAA players, not just juniors as in Canadian junior leagues.

Why would he stop a deal for AA? He’s certainly not a piece of the Cup-winning core - and how bad could an agreed-to deal involving him be?
- StLBravesFan

Just a thought, what if the nixed deal was for someone like Duchene, i.e. a player with baggage and drama. McD is known to not want PR nightmares. He's in one now so adding a player who can add more isn't his idea of progress.

If it was for Duchene, I'm glad McD nixed it.

Gus of Wind NEVER - NOT EVER - busts his butt to get back. If he is caught deep up ice, or even slightly up ice, as you point out, he will not hussle back. There are only 2 possible explanations - one - he hasn’t figured out he should hustle, which would be highly troubling OR - two - he knows he should hustle and choses not to, which would also be highly troubling. I do not see a third option.
- Z3Hawk

Third possibility: Gus lingers at opposing blue line awaiting stretch pass from SeabS!!

The Q conference did not address one important role, who takes over player nicknames?
- riozzo

I love coming up with nicknames. How about this for Gus ... stinky bag of crap.
Good nickname? Yay or nay?

RELEASE: Blackhawks agree to terms with Beaudin

https://www.nhl.com/black...-with-beaudin/c-301768740
- DarthKane

NHL entry level contract rules prevent Stanbo from giving Beaudin his traditional 8 year, $6M contract with NMC.

Seeems to me that it is one of either Martinsen or Hayden in the lineup to give them some semblance of physicality up front. Looks like Martinsen is winning the battle to impress the coaches so far.
- RickJ

Maybe that's because he actually hits people and goes all out during his limited minutes on the ice, while Hayden (who I initially liked) has done nothing since his lucky punch knockout last year.

Either Beaudin has an agent who is better at negotiating or the Hawks see greater upside in him compared to the others. His upside is definitely greater than Entwistle and Hagel's. Debatable compared to Boqvist.

While I see Boqvist as an offensive dynamo who could approach those Karlsson comparisons, I still see Beaudin as the more well rounded defenseman who may challenge for a spot on the top pair. Boqvist won't be Gustafsson bad on defense but I just see Beaudin, Mitchell, and even Krys having stronger defensive sides to their games.
- AEL_Fox

And that's based upon how many games you've seen the 18 year old Boquist play?