Its called a slump. Every player in the league has them. He is going to have to shoot his way out of it.

Though, most fans want to trade every player in a slump.
- Elbows15

Elbows I have proposed this question quite often does Kubalik and his next contract fit with the hawks now and the Future?

One other question Theo would be his next contract and what his agent and him be looking for. The agent will spin it in a way the last two seasons he put quality goal scoring numbers and is just snake bitten or scoring drought he come out of it etc. Imo I do not see him in the long term plans of the Hawks he is average skater and basically one trick pony. He showed signs last year with improving on both sides of the puck this year has regressed. If hawks could get a 2nd and and solid prospect for then do it. But that could be a stretch.
- Scott1977

. Kubalik is a poor man’s Mike Hoffman. If anyone offers a second for Kubalik, get that trade call done before the other GM gets sober.

. Kubalik is a poor man’s Mike Hoffman. If anyone offers a second for Kubalik, get that trade call done before the other GM gets sober.
- LAHawk

Agree. Never know gm's get stupid at the tdl thinking he could be the peice not necessarily kubalik but anything could happen. At best a 3rd for him.

Is Davidson the guy or not the guy. Really hard to tell at this point. He has no hockey background except for his time with the Hawks, working his way up. I’m not saying that playing or coaching experience is paramount to being a successful GM, but without a hockey background what do you base decisions on? You better have faith that your talent evaluators are solid and then are
Listening to the coaching and development staff.
- TheTrob

There were a few articles in The Athletic written about Bergavin being fired, how they will replace him and that Gorton will be the experienced hockey ops guy above the GM, who must speak french.

Going off of memory cuz I can't find the piece but Brian Burke was called for comment. He basically said if you wanna hire a smart young guy with little to no experience as GM you hire a guy like him (Burke) as prez of the hockey side to oversee the young GM.

If the Hawks do choose Davidson as GM I damn sure hope they hire a 30 yr guy to oversee him. .......... As bleak as it might look for an objective fan of the Hawks the next few months can set the organIzation up for 10 yrs, or more, of success. #1 StanBo is gone and now they have the chance with a fresh management slate to make the right hire at the top of the hockey ops side to build a revamped and competent group top to bottom.

There were a few articles in The Athletic written about Bergavin being fired, how they will replace him and that Gorton will be the experienced hockey ops guy above the GM, who must speak french.

Going off of memory cuz I can't find the piece but Brian Burke was called for comment. He basically said if you wanna hire a smart young guy with little to no experience as GM you hire a guy like him (Burke) as prez of the hockey side to oversee the young GM.

If the Hawks do choose Davidson as GM I damn sure hope they hire a 30 yr guy to oversee him. .......... As bleak as it might look for an objective fan of the Hawks the next few months can set the organIzation up for 10 yrs, or more, of success. #1 StanBo is gone and now they have the chance with a fresh management slate to make the right hire at the top of the hockey ops side to build a revamped and competent group top to bottom.
- Mr Ricochet

My guess is that KD is the long-term GM but the Hawks hire a more experienced President of Hockey Operations.

Cat's offensive numbers took a decent size dip when he was consciously trying to expand his overall game. Maybe Kubalik is going through a similar process. But, he is quite a bit older and Cat's progression has nothing to do with him. So, I am ok with him going. The larger question is the organizational direction. Are they going back to the rebuild, or are they staying with the more recent plan of going for it? What they do with Kubalik may be a huge clue as to their path.
- mohel

The bolded sounds about right in terms of a very plausible perspective on how management may be playing their cards in the coming months with player personnel decisions.

Bottom line, management needs to pick a lane and stay in it. I'm also on the same page as many who have said that hiring a new VP of Hockey Ops then a permanent GM are crucial to this endeavor.

The concern is whether the organization will hire the most competent people to fill these roles not to mention the permanent head coach position and rest of the staff.

There were a few articles in The Athletic written about Bergavin being fired, how they will replace him and that Gorton will be the experienced hockey ops guy above the GM, who must speak french.

Going off of memory cuz I can't find the piece but Brian Burke was called for comment. He basically said if you wanna hire a smart young guy with little to no experience as GM you hire a guy like him (Burke) as prez of the hockey side to oversee the young GM.

If the Hawks do choose Davidson as GM I damn sure hope they hire a 30 yr guy to oversee him. .......... As bleak as it might look for an objective fan of the Hawks the next few months can set the organIzation up for 10 yrs, or more, of success. #1 StanBo is gone and now they have the chance with a fresh management slate to make the right hire at the top of the hockey ops side to build a revamped and competent group top to bottom.
- Mr Ricochet

Who would some examples be of an experienced guy to be Pres of Hockey Ops (that is actually available)? It makes sense to me, but I can't put my finger on a guy who would be a good fit.

My guess is that KD is the long-term GM but the Hawks hire a more experienced President of Hockey Operations.
- DarthKane

Think you might be right and it just may be the right thing to do. By all accounts Davidson is an impressive guy, young, articulate, absorbs like a sponge and there is no doubt he worked his way up after accepting a position as an unpaid intern 10+ yrs ago. Impressive by any measure and the kinda people you want in an organIzation. Young, smart and hungry.

But he never played the sport and the only experience he has is with the Hawks. Clearly he'd need an experienced guy over him, wouldn't he? ....... And quite frankly my socks aren't blown off by Rocky and his boy's handling of the hockey side with StanBo but you can't argue, so far, with the hiring of King and have Crawford "split" the coaching duties with him. Safe to assume that was Davidson's idea?

One other question Theo would be his next contract and what his agent and him be looking for. The agent will spin it in a way the last two seasons he put quality goal scoring numbers and is just snake bitten or scoring drought he come out of it etc. Imo I do not see him in the long term plans of the Hawks he is average skater and basically one trick pony. He showed signs last year with improving on both sides of the puck this year has regressed. If hawks could get a 2nd and and solid prospect for then do it. But that could be a stretch.
- Scott1977

Personally, I don't think Kubalik is a one-trick pony. Goal scoring may be his calling card but he does commit to playing in all zones. Maybe not well but he at least doesn't coast or disappear.

I just think that Kubalik is one of the few tradeable assets on the team who could fetch a pretty decent return while also not being sorely missed by the Hawks either if shipped out.

However, that latter part does depend on who can help pick up the scoring slack with a Kubalik departure even if his water level ends up being 20 goals instead of 30+ goals.

Borgstrom could be a possibility. So could Kurashev. And if he continues his upward trend in Rockford, dare I say Nylander is an option, too.

This doesn't even count Reichel.

Who would some examples be of an experienced guy to be Pres of Hockey Ops (that is actually available)? It makes sense to me, but I can't put my finger on a guy who would be a good fit.
- Chunk

Well, and although I'm not the guy with very deep knowledge of upper management types that are floating around, the guy who Montreal just hired, Gorton, would be ideal. ...... Think Powers had a piece on possibilities. See if I can dig that up.

This always stumps me. If an owner does not have an experienced hockey management guy on the payroll who does he look to for advice? Who did Molson go to for advice before hiring Gorton?

Who would some examples be of an experienced guy to be Pres of Hockey Ops (that is actually available)? It makes sense to me, but I can't put my finger on a guy who would be a good fit.
- Chunk

Ray shero Jim Rutherford Dean Lombardi are 3 that could fit that role. I m sure there are others candidates.

Personally, I don't think Kubalik is a one-trick pony. Goal scoring may be his calling card but he does commit to playing in all zones. Maybe not well but he at least doesn't coast or disappear.

I just think that Kubalik is one of the few tradeable assets on the team who could fetch a pretty decent return while also not being sorely missed by the Hawks either if shipped out.

However, that latter part does depend on who can help pick up the scoring slack with a Kubalik departure even if his water level ends up being 20 goals instead of 30+ goals.

Borgstrom could be a possibility. So could Kurashev. And if he continues his upward trend in Rockford, dare I say Nylander is an option, too.

This doesn't even count Reichel.
- Theo Fox

Speaking of Reichel - was there news today on the nature of his injury?

Personally, I don't think Kubalik is a one-trick pony. Goal scoring may be his calling card but he does commit to playing in all zones. Maybe not well but he at least doesn't coast or disappear.

I just think that Kubalik is one of the few tradeable assets on the team who could fetch a pretty decent return while also not being sorely missed by the Hawks either if shipped out.

However, that latter part does depend on who can help pick up the scoring slack with a Kubalik departure even if his water level ends up being 20 goals instead of 30+ goals.

Borgstrom could be a possibility. So could Kurashev. And if he continues his upward trend in Rockford, dare I say Nylander is an option, too.

This doesn't even count Reichel.
- Theo Fox

Enter Slavin.

Kidding of course. It appears that one of the major problems they have is the actual mix of players. They have a number of guys who actually have pretty good hands and skill, but they don't seem able to put together a more complete game and be able to sustain it (Kurashev, Strome, Borgstrom - yet, Dach, etc). Now most, if not all of these guys are still very young, but at some point they need to actually ice players that can do all of these things. Beyond that they have a lot of try-hard guys who aren't all that good.

If the main guns were actually producing points, we likely wouldn't be talking all that much about this, but they aren't so the issue is magnified.

Well, and although I'm not the guy with very deep knowledge of upper management types that are floating around, the guy who Montreal just hired, Gorton, would be ideal. ...... Think Powers had a piece on possibilities. See if I can dig that up.

This always stumps me. If an owner does not have an experienced hockey management guy on the payroll who does he look to for advice? Who did Molson go to for advice before hiring Gorton?
- Mr Ricochet

Then you and I are the same. I never cared enough to really follow which execs are worth their salt and which ones just get by. Obviously, I've paid attention to Stan since he headed the team I follow.

It's not like the Hawks don't still have a number of guys around the organization who know hockey. It will just come down to how they want to structure the whole thing.

Speaking of Reichel - was there news today on the nature of his injury?
- pdx2ord

Crickets thus far. I haven't been able to find anything close to an update.

Who would some examples be of an experienced guy to be Pres of Hockey Ops (that is actually available)? It makes sense to me, but I can't put my finger on a guy who would be a good fit.
- Chunk

Power's article is titled "The Blackhawks need to hire a permanent hockey president and GM sooner rather than later." He does not name even a single possible prez of the hockey side by name but makes a point, as does his league source, along with lotsa Hawk fans, that the prez needs to be named first and soon so he can evaluate the organIzation before the offseason. A bit of the article.


"One of Bowman’s biggest faults was never having a true hockey direction after the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup window began closing. He bounced between wanting to win and wanting to rebuild, and it left the Blackhawks in constant mediocrity and with little hope for the future. The Blackhawks’ next president and/or general manager needs to choose a path and stick to it.

If Wirtz trusts Davidson to choose that path, he should promote Davidson to permanent general manager sooner than later. If Wirtz envisions someone being above Davidson in the hierarchy, he probably needs to find that person in the next few months. That would allow the new president of hockey operations to make their own decision on whether Davidson is the right person for the job or undergo a general manager search. It’s not an ideal situation for a president to be hired and told who their next in command is. Hiring a president in near future would also allow that person to have a say in decisions at the trade deadline and everything else going forward. Again, it probably isn’t fair for a new president to come in and be saddled with too many hockey decisions by other people.

“You might hire a team president who doesn’t know Kyle Davidson well and he’s going to be their general manager,” a league source said. “Like, how does that even work? You got to go all the way. You have to hire a president of hockey ops first, if that’s what you’re going to do. You hire the president by Jan. 1. They make their evaluations. Their GM is in place by May 1, so they have time to lead up to the draft and free agency.

“Maybe that person is Kyle Davidson. Or you can say Kyle Davidson should get a look, but he shouldn’t be just forced upon the next president. Regardless of who it is, you need to give the president and the general manager some runway to evaluate and see exactly what needs to change. They need a clear and collective vision. Are they going to make a change in the amateur scouting? Other departments? They have to assess the market and look at trades. They need time.”

Speaking of Reichel - was there news today on the nature of his injury?
- pdx2ord

IceHogs interim head coach Anders Sorensen said he’d know more on Reichel and Connolly on Tuesday.

Not sure if the delay is due to the Hogs having a day off on Monday after 3 games in 3 days or if it’s just the nature of minor league hockey being notoriously behind in communications.

AHL insider Patrick Williams once lamented on the fact that it’s quite tough to get injury and other roster updates from teams.

For instance, it wasn’t known until after he left it that Delia was even in COVID protocol.

So what's really going on with Jonathan Toews? Is It possible that he's John Doe number 2?

IceHogs interim head coach Anders Sorensen said he’d know more on Reichel and Connolly on Tuesday.

Not sure if the delay is due to the Hogs having a day off on Monday after 3 games in 3 days or if it’s just the nature of minor league hockey being notoriously behind in communications.

AHL insider Patrick Williams once lamented on the fact that it’s quite tough to get injury and other roster updates from teams.

For instance, it wasn’t known until after he left it that Delia was even in COVID protocol.
- Theo Fox

Thanks, Theo. I missed the Tuesday indicator in the earlier tweets.

That Delia thing had me scratching my head since it seemed any online who were paying attention just assumed he was benched.

While I think there’s still time for Kubalik to be a goal scorer with a well rounded game, a question to answer is whether what he can become is worth the long-term investment or worth trading now to minimize risk and maximize return.

That balance is tough to gauge, though.
- Theo Fox

Would you trade Kubalik plus a prospect, for DeBrusk. Kind of depends if we can keep a few prospects; the other prospects I could part ways with.

I know, you are looking more at acquiring prospects or picks.

I still like Mitchell. I want to retain Galvas, Kaiser, Crevier, Allen. And Soderstrom. Obviously keeping Reichel. I wouldn't trade Altybarmaken. I don't think anorher team is considering Barret and Kyrs. I could let Rogula go if that is what it took to consumate a trade. But I'd like to see how he comes along in certain areas. You could really benefit from that shot he has.

Another team can have Beaudin, Phillips

Would you trade Kubalik plus a prospect, for DeBrusk. Kind of depends if we can keep a few prospects; the other prospects I could part ways with.

I know, you are looking more at acquiring prospects or picks.

I still like Mitchell. I want to retain Galvas, Kaiser, Crevier, Allen. And Soderstrom. Obviously keeping Reichel. I wouldn't trade Altybarmaken. I don't think anorher team is considering Barret and Kyrs. I could let Rogula go if that is what it took to consumate a trade. But I'd like to see how he comes along in certain areas. You could really benefit from that shot he has.

Another team can have Beaudin, Phillips
- jhawk59

In other news, once upon a time reortedly Bergevin liked Beaudin and Bowman liked Poehling.

The players here: former is treading water it seems while the later has four goals only recently recalled

I'm not complaining. Your boyfriend challenged my thoughts around Stan and Co not being so great at some things.
- pdx2ord

Nice,, hahaha, and thank you for that

Nice,, hahaha, and thank you for that
- BetweenTheDots

Nothing like a good homophobic joke in the morning, eh?

Did your girlfriend do exactly what you asked?

Can you provide an example of a GM who’s won more than one Championship, was able to stock and develop prospects, continue to add depth to the roster to win or try to win another cup and all the while keeping the salary cap in good standing?
- paulr

Pittsburgh, Boston only has one but they've done a good job reloading - they've been perpetually very good but still in the mix. The Washington Capitols have been in the playoffs most of the last 40 years.

Tampa Bay has done a decent job remaining competitive since their first Cup with a few luls between runs which is understandable.

Well run organizations find the right players and are able to move things around to stay competitive and take advantage of their down years.

I guess it depends on your definition. I would say about five years, as it takes quite a bit of time (in most cases) for a prospect to prove he is "of note".

ADB
Dach
Reichel
Joki
Boqvist
Kurashev

I think all would be recognized as "of note".
- Chunk

With very good players you can usually tell they are going to be very good. Even if it isn't consistent there are a lot of moments where they are very noticeable on the ice.

Not a lot of doubt a player like Gaudreau was going to be very good. Took him a few years to be a ppg player but you could tell that MacKinnon was going to be very good on day one.

Debrincat proved he was a special player in his first year. And that was getting shuffled up and down the line up while he figured out the NHL on the job.