Tyler Cameron: The Blackhawks ride comes to an end
They weren't supposed to be there, but they acted as they belonged. The Chicago Blackhawks were surely going to miss the postseason for the 3rd consecutive year until a pandemic hit.

I won't get into my detailed thoughts on what the Hawks should do this offseason. I just wanted to appreciate what we watched over those last 9 games.

I discuss my thoughts here.

C’est la vie.

Hopefully the experience pays dividends for the young Hawks in the not too distant future.

Tyler Cameron: The Blackhawks ride comes to an end

They weren't supposed to be there, but they acted as they belonged. The Chicago Blackhawks were surely going to miss the postseason for the 3rd consecutive year until a pandemic hit.

I won't get into my detailed thoughts on what the Hawks should do this offseason. I just wanted to appreciate what we watched over those last 9 games.

I discuss my thoughts here.
- Tyler Cameron

I know some are upset, i can't imagine how upset Oiler fans must be considering they lost to us.

This entire fire JC crap is a joke since who does he have in regards to depth in forwards or defenseman, he should of done this or that, people crying for Carlsson and he tries it doesn't work out and those people get real quiet

realistically the youngest team in the tournament with pretty much no cycle game or sustaining pressure of any kind win a 5 game series vs a team that technically would of qualified for the playoffs and then compete well vs Knights but unfortunately to many posts instead of goals. I know i know all the fancy stats say they didn't but looking at the final scores they sure the (frank) did.

Anyways done with my rant and have to say I'll be patient, critical during games, but patient at the big picture for this team and staff going forward

Great Write up as always TC.

did anyone catch when they were talking about avg player Height/Weight of an NHL player - 6'2" - 200 lbs+ i believe

anyone know what the Hawks avg roster size comes in at? and yeah, i realize they are youngest team, but just curious

Nice to see a few games. But also frustrating at how disorganized and lost they looked most of the time. The line up stuff was kind of mind bottling but the way they were playing is the most irritating.

The Jackets have gotten pounded just about every game in terms of shot shares but at least they have shape, organization and some sense of teamwork for the lack of top end talent outside of Seth Jones. (how good is that guy)

In the mean time the most exciting player in Baseball (not saying much) is on a Chicago team:

I think CBJ blew another late multi-goal lead - they’re in OT with TBL.

My two cents. I try to be an optimist but I would give the Hawks a 50-50 chance of making the playoffs next year. We all have just witnessed many of the team's shortcomings these past couple of weeks. So many questions and concerns to address.

1. Utilizing a defensive system either that the players haven't bought into, or don't have the proper personnel to run it. JC has had the majority of 2 seasons to implement it and the result is the Hawks have been near the top, or at the top of the league in giving up HDSC the last 2 years.

2. Several injury prone players including Shaw, Seabrook, deHaan, Smith. Given their history, chances are a couple of these guys won't be contributing much next year. Maybe you could buy out Smith, but the others aren't retiring and walking away from their contracts and would be difficult to move in a trade.

3. On paper the forward group looks serviceable with Kane, Toews, Dach, Debrincat, Kubalik, Saad and possibly Strome in the top 9, but was Debrincat's 40 goal season and Kubalik's last season an outlier and something we shouldn't count on consistently in the future? Is Saad a 6M luxury a cap strapped team can afford? Is Strome another 1 year wonder? Will the light bulb turn on for Nylander? The Rockford forward prospects are basically bottom 6 and could add some grit and tenaciousness down the road, but will they be difference makers?

4. With respect to Duncan, there are no top pairing defensemen. Keith’s last few games were nothing to write home about, but he is still a serviceable second pairing guy. The rest of the defense is a combination of aging and/or injury prone veterans like Seabrook and deHaan, a 2nd pairing guy in Murphy, a 3rd pairing guy in Maatta, a young player in Boqvist that was clearly overmatched these past 2 weeks, and a serviceable 7D in Koekkoek. Kids like Carlsson, Beaudin, Mitchell et. al. may be decent in a year or two, but their play will come with growing pains.

5. Who's going to be in goal next year? Will Crawford come back, or should I say would he want to come back given the state of the Hawks defensive play? Is Cro's play the past couple of weeks indicative of his future play, or do we give him a pass for coming off his bout with Covid-19? Anybody want to bet if Subban, Delia or Lankinen is the next Binnington and becomes a #1 goalie?

There's more I'm sure. Is JC the right coach? How is Stan going to manipulate the cap and get his RFA's and a #1 goalie signed? etc. etc.

The Hawks were "disorganized" because the Vegas defense made them disorganized. They probably gave away at least 20# per man with no speed or reach advantage. Disorganization had nothing to do with the system or coaching.

Great Write up as always TC.

did anyone catch when they were talking about avg player Height/Weight of an NHL player - 6'2" - 200 lbs+ i believe

anyone know what the Hawks avg roster size comes in at? and yeah, i realize they are youngest team, but just curious
- glennjpawlak22

https://novacapsfans.com/...for-the-2019-2020-season/

See link.

The league average is 199.3 pounds.
The average height for the league is 73.1 inches, or 6’-1”

I think that the relative strength of someone 185-190 vs 205-210 is more dependent on the level of fitness of that player and their strength coach.

The better teams in the league are kind of all over the place on the chart. Tough to say size is that much of a predictor of success.

The Hawks were "disorganized" because the Vegas defense made them disorganized. They probably gave away at least 20# per man with no speed or reach advantage. Disorganization had nothing to do with the system or coaching.
- rpeters01

They were just as bad against the Oilers, only the Oilers are pretty bad themselves outside of Leon and McDavid.

The Hawks were a mess to watch all year. Big reason why they weren't in a playoff spot to begin with.

I'm not delusional enough to think that it would matter, but I am very upset that when Vegas crossed the blueline to score the GWG, they had 8! skaters on the ice. I don't know how 4 officials an miss that.

Again, we were badly outplayed this entire series, but I really wanted 1 or 2 more games.

ETA: And Pierre talked about how good a line change it was, and how the fact that there was no crowd helped with that.

Tampa wins in OT, although Columbus outshot the Lightning 41-25

JC should give Dach a tape of Alex Tuch this series. You can't score if you don't shoot.

Here are the two main buyout candidates:

Zack Smith: https://www.capfriendly.c...out-calculator/zack-smith

Olli Maatta: https://www.capfriendly.c...t-calculator/olli-maatta1

Seabrook's buyout cost is exorbitant: https://www.capfriendly.c...calculator/brent-seabrook

That should get most of Kubalik's salary next year.

No idea what to do with Strome, as in how much to pay him, or what the return for him should be.

I would sign Caggiula. $2 mill should do it.

Boqvist obviously needs to live in the weight room between now and camp. I can only hope they didn't bring him up too soon and damage his career in doing so.

As for Crow, they should do a thorough exam to see if there is any lingering effects from Covid. That's assuming he still wants to play.

Here's hoping that Seabrook and DeHaan will both be 100% when camp opens.

They were just as bad against the Oilers, only the Oilers are pretty bad themselves outside of Leon and McDavid.

The Hawks were a mess to watch all year. Big reason why they weren't in a playoff spot to begin with.
- fattybeef

Which has so much to do with the fact we virtually have no possession game, terrible turnovers at both blue lines and our own zone

they mentioned 11 out of the 18 of vegas were that size or larger then league avg the hawks had 6 of the 18. its compounded by the fact that which players on the hawks would consider plus skaters? SAAD cagg? when I say plus that is not above avg that means there speed is a weapon

Here are the two main buyout candidates:

Zack Smith: https://www.capfriendly.c...out-calculator/zack-smith

Olli Maatta: https://www.capfriendly.c...t-calculator/olli-maatta1

Seabrook's buyout cost is exorbitant: https://www.capfriendly.c...calculator/brent-seabrook

That should get most of Kubalik's salary next year.

No idea what to do with Strome, as in how much to pay him, or what the return for him should be.

I would sign Caggiula. $2 mill should do it.

Boqvist obviously needs to live in the weight room between now and camp. I can only hope they didn't bring him up too soon and damage his career in doing so.

As for Crow, they should do a thorough exam to see if there is any lingering effects from Covid. That's assuming he still wants to play.

Here's hoping that Seabrook and DeHaan will both be 100% when camp opens.
- 333inthe3rd

With his injury history, and the flat cap, I don't think Caggiula gets a raise.

14 posts. That is how I'll remember this post season (pun intended). That should be at least a few goals if the hockey gods were kind. I know that 2 in particular were off the inside of the crossbar (Dach/Toews).

Colliton not using a timeout with 2 minutes left and then rolling our 4th liners with T&K on the bench in dying minutes.....I can think of no other coach in the league that would do that. Just mindblown by the idiocy there.


Matta, Murphy, and Highmore were pleasant surprises. Don't even need to mention Dach - wow. I though deHaan was playing better than Keith pre-injury. He was a big letdown in the 2 series, one of the reasons we didn't win a couple more. But the 2 biggest issues were clearly Nylander and Boqvist. Combined for zero points and a -9. Literally, dead weight for 9 games. Ouch.

Which has so much to do with the fact we virtually have no possession game, terrible turnovers at both blue lines and our own zone
- BetweenTheDots

This is coaching and positioning I think the forwards are too far from the D men or even too far from each other on rushes. Much easier to miss your man or have it intercepted. Vegas had lots of short crisp passes on the rush. Then again, it could be the skill level too as well as how well or not well the Hawks were able to block lanes. Vegas did a great job of that while Edmonton did not. I'm no coach by any means but I wonder if this is an adjustment JC could have made.

This is coaching and positioning I think the forwards are too far from the D men or even too far from each other on rushes. Much easier to miss your man or have it intercepted. Vegas had lots of short crisp passes on the rush. Then again, it could be the skill level too as well as how well or not well the Hawks were able to block lanes. Vegas did a great job of that while Edmonton did not. I'm no coach by any means but I wonder if this is an adjustment JC could have made.
- Popsghostly

The Blackhawks have trouble with spacing on the ice. In addition to being too far apart to accept passes without interception as you pointed out, the Hawks also struggle with skating too close to each other.

By skating essentially side by side, you really don't give your teammate with the puck any option to get the puck to you given that the other team is already providing coverage.

Instead, skate a little further behind or just drive hard to the net to create havoc.

Contrast that with how well Vegas was with the puck carrier gaining the blueline offensively, then the trailer is adequately spaced apart to receive a perfectly placed drop pass to carry on the rush.

Neither Vegas player was touched by the defense and both were able to dance in the O zone however they pleased.

The rink hawks/knights preview shows 6.1 /191 not sure where they get that from

JC should give Dach a tape of Alex Tuch this series. You can't score if you don't shoot.
- LAHawk

You I was wondering if they would schedule player exit meetings in Edmonton or do calls later.
My call to Dach would be "... start working to build your shot, if you are afraid to use it, because you have to shoot to in."

The Alex Tuch story in itself is a terrific one.
Minny loses patience or confidence in him based on the the fact they think he won't he add foot speed and no points in six NHL games, sends him to Vegas as a future consideration Wild sends Tuch to Vegas with Vegas promising to take Eric Haula as the Wild expansion player, so the Wild can keep their five prized defensemen — protected Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, and Jonas Brodin, as well as Dumba and Scandella....and they did so because...Tuch likely was considered expendable by the Wild because of the progress made by prospects Joel Eriksson Ek and Luke Kunin...and they they go and trade away Niederreiter a(for a piece of crap in Victor Rask) and Granlund (they stole the younger Kevin fail for him)...

and Tuch gets acclimated and fits with the high flying skilled attacker there, and then the Wild trade Scandella for Marcus foligno and Tyler Ennis who are long gone.

It's like a cautionary tale to not quit on younger forwards...

You I was wondering if they would schedule player exit meetings in Edmonton or do calls later.
My call to Dach was start working to build your shot if you are afraid to use it, because you have to shot to in.

The Alex Tuch story in itself is a terrific one.
Minny loses patience or confidence in him based on the the fact they think he won't he add foot speed and no points in six NHL games, sends him to Vegas as a future consideration Wild sends Tuch to Vegas with Vegas promising to take Eric Haula as the Wild expansion player, so the Wild can keep their five prized defensemen — protected Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, and Jonas Brodin, as well as Dumba and Scandella....and they did so because...Tuch likely was considered expendable by the Wild because of the progress made by prospects Joel Eriksson Ek and Luke Kunin...and they they go and trade away Niederreiter a(for a piece of crap in Victor Rask) and Granlund (they stole the younger Kevin fail for him)...Wild sends Tuch to Vegas with Vegas promising to take Eric Haula as the Wild expansion player.
- wiz1901

Wiz, what do you think about Tuch's younger brother Luke? Seems to be a 2nd rounder in this draft and possibly within grasp of Chicago if they deem him best player available when they pick.

Wiz, what do you think about Tuch's younger brother Luke? Seems to be a 2nd rounder in this draft and possibly within grasp of Chicago if they deem him best player available when they pick.
- AEL_Fox

Instead of going to bed last night, I stayed up an hour to go over videos to iso on him, because in that lively debate yesterday, I clicked to his profile to show a player with negatives, and I noticed his profile was pretty bare.

Right now he is not where his brother was in his draft eligible year.

I think he is a pretty long term project kinda similar when the hawks reached at Graham Knott hoping that the feet and head would get quicker.
I do like him more than I ever did Knott.
https://www.draftsite.com...l/player/luke-tuch/32355/

Brother of Alex, plays a style similar to his brother that grits out scoring looks and goal production using his size, controlled aggression and board battle wins. The large, framed winger arguably has the best tools of the forwrads on his USA-8 team and can get to his top gear quickly for a big guy. He projects as a longer term project than his brother was because he has need to improve his hand, and his habits. He is very agile skater and able to slither out of piles with the puck, or nimble and instinctive enough to find a soft spot to receive a puck to finish a look. At times he is too causal and careless with his handles and decisions. Needs to be better at supporting the puck and taking better routes with his carries. Has good offensive instincts and although he was fourth in scoring on his club, he had only 15 golas and 30 points to show for it. Has a large frame that can carry lots more weight and muscle. Committed to Boston University, and will need that time to build on hos strengths and overcome his deficits.

You I was wondering if they would schedule player exit meetings in Edmonton or do calls later.
My call to Dach would be "... start working to build your shot, if you are afraid to use it, because you have to shoot to in."

The Alex Tuch story in itself is a terrific one.
Minny loses patience or confidence in him based on the the fact they think he won't he add foot speed and no points in six NHL games, sends him to Vegas as a future consideration Wild sends Tuch to Vegas with Vegas promising to take Eric Haula as the Wild expansion player, so the Wild can keep their five prized defensemen — protected Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, and Jonas Brodin, as well as Dumba and Scandella....and they did so because...Tuch likely was considered expendable by the Wild because of the progress made by prospects Joel Eriksson Ek and Luke Kunin...and they they go and trade away Niederreiter a(for a piece of crap in Victor Rask) and Granlund (they stole the younger Kevin fail for him)...

and Tuch gets acclimated and fits with the high flying skilled attacker there, and then the Wild trade Scandella for Marcus foligno and Tyler Ennis who are long gone.

It's like a cautionary tale to not quit on younger forwards...
- wiz1901

With that bolded sentence in mind, would love to hear your thoughts on when they will know with Nylander.