I think JC gets his 1st win tonight .Thought the boy's played a little tougher then usual last game ,could be a rough one tonight .29 and Hayden banging around .

I like what JC is doing with the players ,even when they make terrible mistakes .Let them play be creative take chances ,and learn from that but not be afraid to try things .Players will grow from that .

It sure is not going to happen overnight ,but getting Q out of here and let some fresh air in will breath some life into the room . I am sure this team will find it level ,and at that point some changes will possibly have to be made ,and I am sure they will .

GO HAWKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What type of adjustments were expected?
- Rota's Rooter

Literally anything.

The guy built prospect depth into infinity and when the team started struggling he didn't make any moves to change it. He took two years to tear the team apart, and then slowly rebuilt back into a point of mediocrity and just sort of stopped?

During his entire 4 years he didn't make a single NHL player-for-NHL player trade. Not one.

He stuck with the same coaching staff his entire tenure.

Literally anything.

The guy built prospect depth into infinity and when the team started struggling he didn't make any moves to change it. He took two years to tear the team apart, and then slowly rebuilt back into a point of mediocrity and just sort of stopped?

During his entire 4 years he didn't make a single NHL player-for-NHL player trade. Not one.

He stuck with the same coaching staff his entire tenure.
- BINGO!

So a good judge of talent but, didn't know what to do with it to take the next step?

First quote-- no doubt about it. I remember when there was a ceremony at center ice years ago, might have been the banners in the new building being raised, when Bill was introduced. And of course he got the poop boo'd out of him. He loved it, and the quote I heard was "ok, beer prices are going up''. And the next game they were 50 cents more. I also remember Bobby Hull waving his banner around like he was fighting a bull.

Second quote-- there is no doubt that from the top to the bottom they all came in at the perfectly timed moment. And the club might be worth a billion these days, but if they don't make the right moves now it won't stay that way. My grandmother could have marketed this team when they were winning 3 cups and she's dead. It was that easy. But this ain't the Cubs. Tough decisions have to be made and Q getting launched was a good start. Collition and open minded guys like him are the future. Now we all need patience. If the hockey sucks at least it will be fun seeing the order in which guys get launched.
- 6628

No, Numbers, your grandmother couldn't have done it - and she couldn't get 50 points just by playing opposite Kane - and she couldn't have won three Cups automtically with the talent that Tallon (supposedly) brought on board....

Corporate sponsorships - maerchandise sales - marketing the UC - the non-game programming on the cable network - the digital platforms and content - other stuff that I don't know about....

Winning certainly helps - and certainly gets you some short term cash in-flows - but you have to know your business and all of the marketing and business issues involved to generate the long-term revenues that will continue even during the down-times on the ice (and I think they will - like the Bulls revenues have, like the Cubs revenues did).

McDonough may very well be too involved in the on-ice decisions - but you cannot (IMO) deny his success in turning the business side of the franchise around.

Rocky doesn't deny it - and (as I've said here before) McDonough will not be leaving on other than his timetable.

So a good judge of talent but, didn't know what to do with it to take the next step?
- Rota's Rooter

I think if Dundon hadn't decided to go in a different direction Francis likely would have just continued to try building prospect depth into infinity.

My take is that he was risk-averse to a fault, and never would have made that Hamilton/Ferland trade, and he certainly wouldn't be pursuing Nylander as aggressively as the Canes allegedly are.

By all accounts Dundon gave him damn near a blank check to be aggressive at the trade deadline after Tom took over, and was pretty unhappy when Francis decided to just not use it at all.

That said, Francis never did get to have even one offseason under an owner who actually had money, so who knows.

If you look at next season, they have about $60M committed with only Schmaltz, Forsling, Sikura, Kampf and Johnson needing to be signed, which should give the team some flexibility to make a better splash in FA.

Maybe they assess what they have and need and someone like Stone is signed in the offseason.
- HawkintheD

There will be a time when the picture is clearer both on the ice and off. Which prospects are going to help, which vets can be moved, salaries dumped, an organIzational plan formulated. No idea when but when it comes the least amount of baggage will make for an easier path for a sustained run.

Might be easier said than done if a StanBow or Shovel Face get squirrelly trying to keep their jobs but as a fan we cleared one hurdle when Stan Bow didn't hand out a contract with term this last summer.

No, Numbers, your grandmother couldn't have done it - and she couldn't get 50 points just by playing opposite Kane - and she couldn't have won three Cups automtically with the talent that Tallon (supposedly) brought on board....

Corporate sponsorships - maerchandise sales - marketing the UC - the non-game programming on the cable network - the digital platforms and content - other stuff that I don't know about....

Winning certainly helps - and certainly gets you some short term cash in-flows - but you have to know your business and all of the marketing and business issues involved to generate the long-term revenues that will continue even during the down-times on the ice (and I think they will - like the Bulls revenues have, like the Cubs revenues did).

McDonough may very well be too involved in the on-ice decisions - but you cannot (IMO) deny his success in turning the business side of the franchise around.

Rocky doesn't deny it - and (as I've said here before) McDonough will not be leaving on other than his timetable.
- StLBravesFan

Indeed. I remember when this Halloween looking genius was hired my Cub fan neighbor was ecstatic. I mentioned this guys only job is to extract every single nickel from your pocket and he's damn good at it.

The years following saw my neighbor drop his season tickets due to cost as mine went from 27 a seat in 2008 to 81 this yr, 10 yrs later. ..........Lets see how Shovel Face maintains a struggling franchise with his high ticket prices.

Also, doesn't Rocky claim he loses money on the Hawks every yr? And that was during cup yrs, no?

This perplexes me...

What's the big deal about tanking? You'd rather cheer for us to miss out on a potential top draft pick to help rebuild the future? Why? Because its too painful to admit the truth? That we're god awful and in need of a rebuild? How about just getting it over with, tank, lose games rapidly and increase our chances of building a better future? If we mess around and eek out wins we'll remain slightly below average which is FAR WORSE for the future outlook of our organization than being one of the absolute worst 2-3 teams in the league. That's just the reality of the situation.
- SimpleJack

I understand your perspective, and know there are others who support tanking, just don't agree with it. I'm not blind to the fact that the Hawks suck majorly and it may take a lot to turn the ship around. But I think it's fixable if the right decisions AND decision makers are in place. Lots of ifs and faith, I know, to get to that point.

Another thing I keep in mind to temper what I read on these boards is that although we all get pretty loud here, for good and bad reasons, we're not the majority of the fan base. Management may structure their strategies whether on the ice or off (i.e. marketing efforts) to cater to the masses or at least to a variety of audiences which includes us but isn't just solely us.

Not saying you're wrong and they're right but I don't think tanking is part of management's mindset. A team can't sell tanking to little kids or to casual fans or to corporate fans or even to sponsors.

I think JC gets his 1st win tonight .Thought the boy's played a little tougher then usual last game ,could be a rough one tonight .29 and Hayden banging around .

I like what JC is doing with the players ,even when they make terrible mistakes .Let them play be creative take chances ,and learn from that but not be afraid to try things .Players will grow from that .

It sure is not going to happen overnight ,but getting Q out of here and let some fresh air in will breath some life into the room . I am sure this team will find it level ,and at that point some changes will possibly have to be made ,and I am sure they will .

GO HAWKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- oldduffman

https://theathletic.com/6...ille-with-the-blackhawks/

Good summary of what he is trying to do. I'll continue the OT decisions, but other than that, think the right direction. The players seem to be buying in, though Kane seemed a bit more skeptical yesterday.

Hossa as GM.
- stan-ley-cups

Hossa as coach!

Indeed. I remember when this Halloween looking genius was hired my Cub fan neighbor was ecstatic. I mentioned this guys only job is to extract every single nickel from your pocket and he's damn good at it.

The years following saw my neighbor drop his season tickets due to cost as mine went from 27 a seat in 2008 to 81 this yr, 10 yrs later. ..........Lets see how Shovel Face maintains a struggling franchise with his high ticket prices.

Also, doesn't Rocky claim he loses money on the Hawks every yr? And that was during cup yrs, no?
- Mr Ricochet

I never really understood that - especially in a hard-cap league where your costs (mostly direct labor - players compensation) is fixed and limited.

And I thought that he could be referring to cash flow, INCLUDING paying back the other Wirtz companies for the cash calls (and the interest on them) in the preceding "x" number of years.

I wouldn't be sad to see Stan shown the door but the never ending Stan bashing has reached the threshold of unreadable. There are 600+ posts in this thread and probably 400+ are Stan related. It almost makes me wish for political commentary (JUST KIDDING). I guess one good thing is "Stan" is an easy eye catcher so a quick scan of a post will save me the time of reading "Stan posts". Even the few Hawks fans still in Stan's corner are at this point wanting him to go if for no other reason than Hawks message board can get back to the normal equilibrium of complaints.

I understand your perspective, and know there are others who support tanking, just don't agree with it. I'm not blind to the fact that the Hawks suck majorly and it may take a lot to turn the ship around. But I think it's fixable if the right decisions AND decision makers are in place. Lots of ifs and faith, I know, to get to that point.

Another thing I keep in mind to temper what I read on these boards is that although we all get pretty loud here, for good and bad reasons, we're not the majority of the fan base. Management may structure their strategies whether on the ice or off (i.e. marketing efforts) to cater to the masses or at least to a variety of audiences which includes us but isn't just solely us.

Not saying you're wrong and they're right but I don't think tanking is part of management's mindset. A team can't sell tanking to little kids or to casual fans or to corporate fans or even to sponsors.
- AEL_Fox

You might disagree but I doubt very much that any really good pro hockey man sees tanking to the bottom where the team gets their asses handed to them on the ice and scoreboard every night as a good competitive environment to develop young players. Ultimately you waste assets worth developing into solid NHL pros and the decent ones move on to other organizations and the ones left behind just collect a pay cheque until they are out of hockey.

Draft well and work like a demon to develop kids into good pros.

Where's the Dkat?
- Popsghostly

Excellent post.

But yes, as Popsghostly said, where's DeBrincat?

Maybe something like this for forwards:

Panarin - Anisimov - Kane
Schmaltz - Toews - Saad
DeBrincat - Kahun - Sikura
Hayden - Johnson - Kampf
Highmore

This way, skill and scoring is spread across 3 lines.

Honestly, I'd upgrade over Kahun if possible this off season. He's not bad but feel the Hawks can do much better at 3C (wouldn't be upset, though, if Kahun was on the team again next year), and hopefully not one of many 4Cs the team has in Chicago and Rockford who get miscast as 3rd liners.
- AEL_Fox

Thank you! I'll be honest I spaced HARD on having in there

With him in there I'd role with...

Panarin-AA-Kane
DCat-Toews-Saad
Sikura-Schmaltz-Ejdsell
Kahun/Highmore/Hayden/Kampf/Johnson/Fortin

Give Schmaltz some time at center to see if he can really get the position down as he begins to mature as a player and if he doesn't than you can bounce him to the wing in favor or one of Kahun, Highmore, Kampf, Johnson, etc. whoever steps up more to fill that role. Seems like Sikura and Ejdsell have some good chemistry together in Rockford that could lead to some depth scoring we desperately need in Chicago

Looks good. How about trading AA and his salary. Granted probably only a mid round choice in retutn, but his cap space is an asset. Move Schmaltz to C, and hope for a top 3 draft choice, select a young stud forward and insert him into the top 9.
- boilermaker100

I've been on the fence about that but depending on how the team plays I'd be open to it to free up some cap space for the team. Having the PAK line back together with and ACTUAL second line of Toews, DCat, and Saad would be pretty sweet so if that's an option I'd be open to it, but if it frees up space to get better all around I'm game for it

Corey P on the athletic regraded the 2015 draft which players should be starting to make contributions now. we had 7 picks. we did not have a 1st but had 2,3,4,5,6,6,7. It was a brutal draft for hawks. they will probably have Zero NHL games played out of 7 picks. he gave us a F.

https://www.secondcityhoc...-dennis-gilbert-ryan-shea

Powers says that Nalimov is injured and without a team.

https://www.secondcityhoc...rminate-contract-nhl-2018

SCH talked about Nalimov as well.
- I Am The Breadman

I honestly expect him to be Crow's backup next year. With one year left on his current deal, the Hawks need to start to figure out if one of Nalimov, Delia, Forsberg, etc. are gonna be able to step up and take the reigns or if they'll need to re-up Crow another year or two and pray to god he can stay healthy or have to sign a vet in FA

I understand your perspective, and know there are others who support tanking, just don't agree with it. I'm not blind to the fact that the Hawks suck majorly and it may take a lot to turn the ship around. But I think it's fixable if the right decisions AND decision makers are in place. Lots of ifs and faith, I know, to get to that point.

Another thing I keep in mind to temper what I read on these boards is that although we all get pretty loud here, for good and bad reasons, we're not the majority of the fan base. Management may structure their strategies whether on the ice or off (i.e. marketing efforts) to cater to the masses or at least to a variety of audiences which includes us but isn't just solely us.

Not saying you're wrong and they're right but I don't think tanking is part of management's mindset. A team can't sell tanking to little kids or to casual fans or to corporate fans or even to sponsors.
- AEL_Fox

My take on this is that Tanking CAN certainly help, but at the same time, look how bad the Hurricanes were for so long, and their only top 5 picks were Lindholm and Hanifin, both of which are now gone.

Then, last season, Carolina moves up 9 spots in the draft after actually being reasonably competitive for most of the year.

The lottery hasn't made tanking obsolete, but it HAS made it less appealing.

Ask yourself the question - why would Panarin sign with the Hawks? He would be looking at the Hawks and it wouldn't be through the rose colored glasses of some Hawks fans. He would see a team farther away from winning the Cup than many of the teams offering to sign him. In other words even if the Hawks could afford him - why would he want to play for a losing team?

You might disagree but I doubt very much that any really good pro hockey man sees tanking to the bottom where the team gets their asses handed to them on the ice and scoreboard every night as a good competitive environment to develop young players. Ultimately you waste assets worth developing into solid NHL pros and the decent ones move on to other organizations and the ones left behind just collect a pay cheque until they are out of hockey.

Draft well and work like a demon to develop kids into good pros.
- RickJ

Thanks for sharing your perspective. Definitely agree. A winning culture in which to raise the youth is critical. Tanking doesn't create such a culture and can actually kill it.

Ask yourself the question - why would Panarin sign with the Hawks? He would be looking at the Hawks and it wouldn't be through the rose colored glasses of some Hawks fans. He would see a team farther away from winning the Cup than many of the teams offering to sign him. In other words even if the Hawks could afford him - why would he want to play for a losing team?
- EbonyRaptor

Yea...but, he'd probably love that huge contract and NMC Stan would throw him

My take on this is that Tanking CAN certainly help, but at the same time, look how bad the Hurricanes were for so long, and their only top 5 picks were Lindholm and Hanifin, both of which are now gone.

Then, last season, Carolina moves up 9 spots in the draft after actually being reasonably competitive for most of the year.

The lottery hasn't made tanking obsolete, but it HAS made it less appealing.
- BINGO!

Thanks for your perspective on this too. I heard something similar several times by others addressing your last point. Having 1st overall and top 3 picks is no guarantee to (re)building a champion. Better route may be to generally draft well no matter the slots and rounds and have solid prospect development staff, program, resources, etc.

Let me add your posts about pro and amateur prospects are helpful, thanks for them. ..... I saw Barratt a good bit in the USHL with the NTDP and was happy the Hawks drafted the kid. My memory is poor, thought he played center but there is no doubt of his skill and IIRC he showed a 2 way game. ....... Any idea if he's playing C at Penn State? If so his big numbers this yr are even more impressive.

Again at the NTDP I remember a 2 way game playing center at the expense of points. Kid played an honest game. Have to say don't remember him as an agitator. These were his teammates and their stats in his U-18 yr (click his, or any players, name for their lifetime stats and notice the scouting report that says his two best attributes are IQ and play making) : https://www.eliteprospect...-team/2016-2017?tab=stats
- Mr Ricochet

Thanks for the resources and links about Barratt. Honestly not sure if he's playing center or wing at Penn State. He's a natural center.

Thanks for your perspective on this too. I heard something similar several times by others addressing your last point. Having 1st overall and top 3 picks is no guarantee to (re)building a champion. Better route may be to generally draft well no matter the slots and rounds and have solid prospect development staff, program, resources, etc.
- AEL_Fox

Yep. You just can't waste draft picks is the biggest thing.

Ask yourself the question - why would Panarin sign with the Hawks? He would be looking at the Hawks and it wouldn't be through the rose colored glasses of some Hawks fans. He would see a team farther away from winning the Cup than many of the teams offering to sign him. In other words even if the Hawks could afford him - why would he want to play for a losing team?
- EbonyRaptor

Two of the main reasons being:

One, he wants to play for a large market team, check Chicago.

Two, Kane and him were very good friends and really enjoyed playing with one another.

He loved being in Chicago, and I'm sure he had some hard feelings about being dealt, BUT I wouldn't put it past the front office to have some form of understanding with his agent that IF the Hawks were in position when he was set to go into FA that they would offer him the a long term deal. Not saying that this is what happened or is going to happen, but is entirely possible.

This team is DEEP in defensive prospects that in the next year or two should help fix our defensive woes. What we need is scoring depth. A legit scorer in our top 6 to build depth throughout all of our lines. If the money is there, with the ties he already has to the city, and team I definitely see it being a legit possibility to see Panarin back in a Hawks jersey next season.