Blackhawks Waste Opportunities, Lose In Dallas
Robin Lehner was watching from the bench, his future with the organization in question.
Erik Gustafsson wasn’t even in Dallas; the Blackhawks expect to make a move before Monday’s trade deadline. In his place, Lucas Carlsson would finally make his NHL debut.
Chicago played well enough against Nashville to pick up an impressive win.
Dallas, meanwhile, is chasing St. Louis for the top of the Central Division. Oh, by the way, the Stars fired their coach mid-season and took off after that, sprinting up the standings. Fascinating that making a coaching change and hiring the right guy can make such a significant impact.
How would the Blackhawks respond to the possibility of Stan Bowman being a seller in the 24 hours following the puck drop?
Joe Pavelski scored 15:20 into the first to give Dallas a 1-0 lead. Dallas out-shot the Hawks 12-10 in the opening 20 minutes.
Then a ridiculous parade to the penalty box began.
At 5:06 into the second, Radek Faksa was called for interference. Chicago started their second power play of the game but Jonathan Toews was sent to the box immediately off the faceoff because of alleged interference on Tyler Seguin; the call was garbage.
But puck don’t lie. Roope Hintz joined Faksa in the box 50 seconds after the Toews’ penalty and the Blackhawks were able to take advantage. In a stunning turn of events, Dominik Kubalik was on the ice with some of the first power play unit and he rifled home his 26th of his rookie season.
Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith were credited with the assists on the Kubalik goal.
Nine minutes later Olli Maatta got caught in between a couple Stars forwards and lost his gamble. He bit on a bouncing puck and Seguin was parked all alone in front of Corey Crawford. Dallas took a 2-1 lead.
The Blackhawks had four power plays in the second period and out-shot the Stars 13-10 but were trailing 2-1 entering the final period.
Neither team scored in the opening 18 minutes because Crawford and Anton Khudobin were terrific. Dallas was out-shooting the Blackhawks when Crawford went to the bench for an extra attacker.
Chicago showed far too little sense of urgency in the final minute of regulation and the Stars escaped with a victory.
Carlsson skated 14:55 in his first taste of NHL action. He was credited with three hits and one blocked shot and looked pretty good for his first game.
Kane skated 24:29 and put six shots on net. Kubalik skated 23:21 and was credited with two hits and and two shots on net. Toews won 13 of 24 faceoffs and put four shots on net in 19:53.
Kirby Dach skated 15:55 and didn’t take a single faceoff.
Adam Boqvist skated 16:51 and put three shots on net. He was on the ice in the final minutes of regulation when the Blackhawks stuggled to get a good look at Khudobin.
Can we finally say NO PLAYOFFS…….Mr. Bamford you are exactly right, no urgency at the end, Kane decides to complain of a no call instead of going after the puck and Keith decides to glide with the puck instead of putting it back on the net.
Crapping on Toews and Kane? Really? Take those two guys out and Hawks are dead last. They gave 100 percent all game.
1. Bowman decides to sit Gus down 2 games in a row so his trade value decreases. DUMB
2. So as a call up to replace Gus we have another Dman who cannot skate in Carlsson, and headless on the ice? Another wasted pick! Gus by far better! DUMB
3. Keith stuck playing with Boqvist who defensively is worse than Gus, not as skilled as Gus and definetly not as fast a Gus. And smaller and weaker than Gus. Another draft bust! DUMB by JC
4. Carpenter still on the ice which is counter productive for Saad and Kane who need a playmaker. Waive #22 please! DUMB by JC and GM
5. Cagg skating like a chicken with no head dumping and chasing, dumping and chasing, and getting killed along the boards! Belongs on a 4h line or AHL. Thx Stan and Gauthier! DUMB
6. Dcat can play! Dylan Strome, disappears because he is scared of his own shadow and can’t skate. Where’s Nick Schmaltz? DUMB and DUMBER by Stan and Gauthier!\
7. Why is Lehner still not on another team?
8. Why is this coach not fired?
9. Why is this GM still our GM.? The pipeline is awful and non-existence. And trading Gus actually weakens our skill level especially when you watch Murphy who handles the puck like a hot potato and skates like a fat potato!
10. Dach has a future and should be centering the rest of the year 20 and 88 to give him some needed experience.
Father, son, holy spirit… and Bowman.
Pray pray pray.
This team is soft and needs to be reconstructed.I will give the non contributors credit.At least they are consistent in not providing much so you dont have false hope for them.If you dont play with urgency regularly there definitely has to be changes with the entire staff.Everyone has to be held accountable on that.6 of the 12 forwards on the ice should not be here next season.At least 3 of the defensemen should not be in your top 6 also.Get some urgency and excitement into the play of this team.
Unfortunately I have zero confidence in any trade Bowman makes. He might do nothing yet. I can see him waiting until the last minute and time runs out. So Bowman.
Hull65…you are just a moron. Plain and simple
There are ample examples in every post you make but writing of Carlsson after his first NHL game is a new low of stupidity
I fell asleep during the game watching the dallas broadcast shortly after a power play during which the Dallas announcer was questioning why the small debrincat was in front of the net as hes not going to screen the goalie. Shaw comes to mind but whatever.
Well, for better or worse he’s currently the GM so I hope he makes some productive moves. He MUST move Gus and Lehner or they’ll both walk this summer and we’ll get nothing for them.
Hull I’m surprised you’re not working as a GM with your vast knowledge of everything that is NHL Hockey. You have the ability to tell if a player is worthy or worthless after only 15 minutes in the league. You are what the old timers call, Full of Shit !!!
Inconsistency is easy to identify and impossible to fix. We’ve been an erratic team for years.
flip side, CC has a career save pct of .918. There have been a total of 2 Canadian goalies who were EVER better. TWO! ‘You can look it up.’
his playoff avg is .919
this year he is .915 before today.
DAL is not on the same level as STL and COL. STL hasnt ‘played’ better then 50/50 in 30 games, infact they are -5, now -2 then .500 since they stormed out to a +20 in first 30-40 games? Anyways who cares about those teams, just that we want to get our roster to that level-not these good team-DAL EDM ARI WIN MIN CAG VAN levels.
So company card we have to make trades. Let her rip.
Get roster to what Tim and others are saying.
Looking bleak. Not much down on the farm either. I watched the Icehogs lose to the Wolves on TV and nobody stood out. Dennis Gilbert was wearing a full face shield, guess he’s got a facials injury
I wouldn’t expect any-less from the team and coaching staff.
Gus, Lehner, Saad are not going anywhere.
1. If either goes Stan will be GM
2. If none goes Stan will be let go at the end of the year
Most of these players are just acting like they care and just happy to get a pay check. Most of these players are from Bowman.
Kubalik will be another Panik trust me.
These next years will feel like 1999-2006.
I’ve been thinking about how the Hawks can finally start to contend again and even though it will never happen, I think the only real way to rebuild this roster into a contender is to 1. fire Bowman..the moment he gave Toews and Kane matching 10.5 mil salaries (against the cap at least) he ensured that he would never be able to build a competitive roster..he then doubled down the very next season and gave Seabrook 7 mil a year..he’s been chasing his own tail ever since..trying to do deals here and there to fill in a roster that’s too top heavy contract wise..and since he can’t spend much, you end up with players that can’t help you much..so it’s time for Bowman to move along..he’s spent the last four years just trying to maintain sea level and hoping that somehow an average roster would over succeed..time for a new GM who isn’t afraid to do step number 2. Trade Toews and Seabrook..either together or separately..Kane is the only player putting up the type of numbers commensurate with his contract..Seabrook is dead weight and Toews is Ryan o Reilly..which is fine at 7 mil a year but not at 10.5 (and before someone says it’s only 3.5 mil..that’s the difference between having Saad on your team or Panarin..it’s a significant difference when trying to retain elite talent)..he’s simply paid too much to do what he does..move that 18 mil and give yourself the freedom to develop your own players and then actually pay them..Dach is a nice start, I still think Strome at 4.25 mil or so is nice value for a 2nd c if that’s around what he signs for..kampf and carpenter give you nice depth down the middle for your third and fourth lines..as will this year’s draft pick if they take a center..i just think it’s time to look at the contract instead of the player..can you win a cup with Toews? Yes. Can you win a cup with the contract? No. So it’s time to move him..take the picks/prospects and cap savings and begin to rebuild from the ground up..at least now you’ll be doing it without the weight of those two contracts..
Huge 36 hours for Stan. I’ve been told deals the past few days have fallen through. Case in point the Tweet by Darren Dreger about the Hawks acquiring Sorokin.
If Stan cannot close deals when the Hawks are rebuilding then he’s not the man for the job.
Having Lehner and Gustafsson on the roster for the final 18 games would be an epic fail. Give Lehner the Lou Lamoriello ultimatum. Either he signs a 2 or 3 year extension by Monday at 9 AM or he’s being traded to the highest bidder, even if it’s for a 4th round pick.
Trade Gustafsson after leaving him home for the trip.
We should have zero expiring contracts come tomorrow night, not including Rockford guys. The problem with waiting until Monday is there’s a chance of running out of time which is inexcusable for a rebuilding team.
Trade toews???? Oh the weed is legal in Illinois. Oh no wait trade toews and Seabrook together lol .
Nothing says nhl team like an almost all ahl player roster.
Players over picks. No real fan looks and goes oh look at that third round pick! I wasnt around warching then but I highly doubt fans in the 80s cared about picks.
Play on the ice….the play is on the ice.
Many teams have at least one bad contract. The Anisimov trade made the team worse. At least anisimov was a net front presence. Although he was the slowest player. As time went on I have to believe the sabres would have taken anisimov for bogosian, but whatever I’m not working the phones.
Complain about Seabrook all you want…dude had three surgeries. Think hes faking it? Seabrook probably should have a cap hit about four million less….do you really think that additional four million is the difference? I dont.
Matta 4
Dehaan 5
Murphy 5
1. Hull65, you cannot judge a player after 1 game. Just CANT!
2. If the only action tomorrow is Gus being traded…and then what comes back is garbage, Bowman HAS TO GO! Dont get me wrong, he was ok the first few years but even then, he Reaped what Tallon Sowed.
3. Goose, I HOPE YOU ARE WRONG! I can still remember when our top line was:
Fleury-Arnason-Bell/Calder
And I feel bad for Bell and Calder because if the Front Office wasn’t walking around with their heads up their @$$, those 2 may have been a lot better.
All I know is that come tomorrow, if by the end of the day we are looking at Lehrner (unless they come out and say they reached an agreement for a contract and Crow is sent away) and Gus/someone else, still on the team and NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT, Bowman and Colliton should be gone, along with McDonough (mis). Tomorrow is a HUGE day as far as the future of this team. Hope to see some positives!
Craig
You think Lehner wants to spend the next few weeks w/ the Hawks playing about half of last meaningless games?
Lehner wants elite goalie deal. If he didn’t take a 2 year deal from Islanders, why would he take a deal for 2 or 3years with the Hawks?
Threathening him with being traded if he doesn’t sign a team friendly deal?
If I were him, I would happily go to highest bidder. Maybe get to the playoffs and then go into FA. That to me is much better option than staying a Hawk.
Honest Guy prospects over picks is certainly less risky and prefer that too.
That said though I always remember the story of Sam Pollock Habs Gm in 60s and 70s. He brought a motion to league not to allow the original 1967 expansi9n teams to trade their draft picks away. The league ignored him and to prove his point, he went out acquired draft picks of California Golden Seals and LA Kings. With those picks he acquired such players as Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt, Larry Robinson and Bob Gainey and others that formed the cornerstone of 1970s Habs dynasty teams.
Because he’s made some bad trades in the past I think Bowman is being very cautious . I think other GM’s view Bowman as a chump. They probably are trying to take advantage of him. Because it’s late I think Lehner will only garner a first round pick or equivalent. Gus will probably only garner a second round pick or equivalent because he is a defensive liability. If I was a rival GM that’s all I would give for the two of those guys. Let’s hope we get more. Let’s not lose them for nothing.
Just add to that people weren’t going to hockey games in California in those days and a chance to land an established veteran who could help put people in the seats and ice a team that won a few games was considered a fair trade for 1st draft picks.
Kovie with Ovie
I believe Toews has to close more but he is not the problem.Seabrook is not playing again so that takes care of that.Strome is not a #2 Center and is not worth anywhere near 4 Million a year.Kamph and Carpenter are not good enough.They dont control the play from Center at all.You cant get nothing playmaker wise from 2 of your Centers.Lehner wants his long term deal and will take nothing else which is doing the Hawks a big favor.Maata should be moved.Smith also should not be taking up a spot.The team needs more physical and dynamic players.This team plays like it’s just taken 3 caps of Nyquil.
Such idiotic comments about Toews. He’s still got it and that includes leadership. The problem is that since Hossa retired the only talent left for Toews have been Kane and Saad. That’s all Stan has provided in ten years.
Bowman made a good pick with Dach but then had a disastrous summer. He should have been gone already. Let’s hope he doesn’t mess up handling Gus and Lehner.
lol..never smoked a cigarette or anything else in my life..just playing devil’s advocate..to everyone who is so emotional regarding Toews that they can’t look at him objectively..just ask yourself this..if Toews wasn’t on the Blackhawks, would you trade for him? Not the player, mind you, the contract? At 10.5 mil for four more years? I would trade for Kane tomorrow if he wasn’t on the Hawks.. Regardless of where your team currently is..whether they are rebuilding or whether they are one piece away from contending seriously for a cup..would you trade for Toews given his cap hit and contract? It’s irrelevant how you feel about the current Hawks centers behind Toews (although maybe the center depth would be better if you didn’t have to piece meal your 3rd and 4th line with $1,000,000 centers because Toews takes up so much cap space), the simple fact is you won’t win another cup with that contract.. level headed (any out there still?) Hawks fans should be focused on how to win another Stanley Cup, not defending and placating a 60 point player..look, it will never happen anyway, but if it happened tomorrow I wouldn’t care at all..I care about cup number 4 in the cap era..focus on the contract, not the player..the contract needs to be moved..doesn’t matter who the contract belongs to..or keep daydreaming about 2010,2013, and 2015..I guarantee Toews is doing the same thing while cashing the checks that ensure he’ll never hoist a cup again..
Yes yes trade proven and performing players for draft picks which are huge question marks and other teams unwanted prospects. I’m still laughing.
That recent trade of the prospect to Florida was a huge joke.
On paper this years roster overall should be better than last year….in performance it’s not.
Jc appears to be the change that is needed. Hes been hired for player development? What’s wrong with him being a coach just at practice then. Is it just me or are the assistant coaches changing periodically on the team. I saw some guy on the bench last week that I did not recognize.
Slayer lol could of unloaded the core and loaded up with high powered lineup of Matthews, Marner and Tavares, who after losing to zamboni driver n nets for half a game and may not make playoffs in their peak years. Take Toews over the heart their showing. Blackhawks got 3 cups and rewarded their stars for bringing them, look at Leafsand see what paying for what you hope they do will get you. I do think a change in off ice personnel is needed but don’t whine the price 3 cups cost for players who delivered them.
Ian, I think same as for players are better then picks. Although I think the better players/gems/really good players come from picks, not players. So I think we should do both.
So if we get a really good player like 12 and he is not a, HHNL top 9 Cup deep roster FW, then thats cool-just trade him for one who is/or for a Defensemen who is.
Ian, I think same as for players are better then picks. Although I think the better players/gems/really good players come from picks, not players. So I think we should do both.
So if we get a really good player like 12 and he is not a, HHNL top 9 Cup deep roster FW, then thats cool-just trade him for one who is/or for a Defensemen who is.
Anybody on this site knows that I am Toews biggest critic and have always posted that this team needs his numbers to be with the Eichel,McDavid,Draisaital,McKinnon,hell any of the 23 or so #1 Centers that have better numbers.But his contract is not stopping anyone from drafting or acquiring this era,s types of hockey players that play a hard game and possess size and speed.The Blues have a roster full of them.The Penguins seem to get along ok when Crosby goes down for long periods of time.The Bruins hang on when Bergeron is regularly hurt.Because those teams have systems and make sure that no spot is occupied by someone who does not produce one way or another.This organization has lots of passengers.They have drafted slow and small defensemen who need to be tricky and good with their sticks to survive.What does that have to do with Toews making 10.5 Million?As far as trades go,when is the last time a player making a top salary has been moved in season or at all?This team has many solvable problems without worrying about the couple of years left on Toews Contract.
I am seeing double. ‘Rocky’
Hit the one in the middle.
Thats another thing about 19 88 caphits. Next time will, prob, be different caphits and both for less then 10.5m Maybe 88 does same 10.5 and Tazer does a 8 or 9. Seabs wont be on 23man and others to. Once we get to the young wavers bridge contracts, these core players wont be at the highest caphits they will ever be at anymore. So it should cycle through and fit just fine.
Until then get to Fing work and get the roster to what Tim/others here say were missing. Everybody must think same on what were missing and need to do.
Next yr will be good building yr for 27 77. Its the yr after that, the 22 season, is when these guys are going to explode. So lets get ready for then-roster wise and team system wise.
Everybody likes posting the odds. So lets hear it, what are the odds 40 and 56 get traded and the odds of anyone else getting traded.
56- 95%
40- 90%
other- 75%
Trades will be be around noon?
A first plus a prospect would be good value for Lehner
A 2nd or a decent prospect would be good value for Gus
No excuse for not trading Gus and unless Lehner signs tomorrow (not happening) him as well
The Hawks definitely need some people to go to the net and stay there and who know what to do when they get there – they couldn’t get inside on Dallas’ D all game long except on rare occasion
Plays die when DCat gets the puck – it’s uncanny – he can shoot alright but he can’t handle the puck
Thought Carlsson did fine for his first game – let’s see how he does
Like I said before CHI’s best strategy is to keep JC until season’s end to maximize our draft lottery odds then replace him with a coach with real NHL experience – Babcock, Lavvy, Gallant are all good candidates
Lehner not likely to traded. Offers have been garbage. Hawks would rather keep him and negotiate an extension than give him away. However, Hawks would take a 1st rounder in a heart beat. But nobody is offering close to that.
Trade Crow then. That should be a 1st as well.
CAR must know there not making playoffs or wont win this time with that many players hurt. So even if they add there not as deep as they want. They would rather not play this yr and load up better next yr, when they are healty and then add then. Makes sense.
COL isint do or die but they are one of the two best Cambell conference teams. So they crazy if not add a goalie. They are top 5 team for yrs coming, maybe doing same as CAR because they know there going to get better with there young wavers and rather save the deadline adds for when they are healhy yrs.
Which leads this yr to TB even more then before. Watch TOR beat BOS, this yr, and TB play WAS. With WAS putting it to PIT. WA wins division and PIT would have to lick its wounds from PHI before WAS puts them/keeps them in there place again.
Can’t see both goalies getting resigned, if i’m Crawford and all i’ve done for the organization, looking the years both had. Why would Crawford take a cut in pay so Lehner can have it, especially if he is still playing like a no.1 goalie.
2, 7, 19, 50, 88, anisimov, & bickell. name one of those contracts where you feel the player’s agent didn’t achieve the top of the market for his player. was there negotiation on any of those contracts or did bowman/mc donough just cave in?
secondly only a moron negotiates two deals together. the player deserving less money will be paid what the most deserving player is paid making one of the two overpaid. but mc donough is a marketing man, not a negotiator. he told the hawks fans that 19 & 88 would be hawks for life. a great negotiating tool for the agents. what he should have done was said the hawks will do everything in their power to sign 19 & 88 to contracts that make sense in a salary cap era. and walk away if they didn’t make sense.
toews gets hit more in one game than kane does in a month. kane relies on his brilliant vision and soft hands. toews relies on his physical game. toews plays a two hundred foot game. kane rarely does. which one of them is going to be able to sustain their type of game longer? of course it is kane. and that is why he should have been paid more and for more years, but not more than crosby. and if they weren’t willing to accept that then move on.
their contracts started in 2015-2016. what have they won since then with their increased contracts clogging up the salary cap in addition to seabrook’s?
i am sick of hearing about all of them. they are players in a specified time spectrum. they go away sooner or later. the hawks remain. i started watching the hawks in 1955 and celebrated my first cup win in 1961. i didn’t stop being a fan when hull, mikita, wharram, pilote, hall and the others moved on. and i won’t stop when the last of the current three cup winning core is gone. the contracts of 7, 19, & 88 are ridiculous and the team has slid into mediocrity since these deals were signed.
so i hope all of you player hero worshippers are happy with the last five years and the three more that are coming until these obscene deals are done. then maybe the hawks will have new management that understands you don’t sustain winning by mismanaging the cap by overpaying heroes.
By late afternoon we will have our Gus and Goalie answers.Boston still contemplating Saad.Other than those 3 it looks like a quiet deadline day for Stan
.
COL needs a goalie, right? I can see CAR bying a yr to be healty/and add, but COL could win this yr-even though they are going to get better to.
I understand teams not wanting to overpay, but a fair/reasonable trade for a top 10 starting goalie when your goalie is out or isint a top 25 goalie but your a playoff team?
It just seems crazy that no team wouldnt do a reasonable trade for 40.
This is just nuts and would make this season/where team needs to go, suck the big one.
Make BOS give a mother load for Lehner Gus and Saad if they want Saad.
Hey- bye bye Bowman… you are spot on! I been watching hockey since the 50’s. What perplexes me is-Stan learned zero from Scotty unless Scotty has lost “it”. Montreal had speed players & grinders & those teams played the 1-2-2 trap BUT they always attacked. The hawks r so “controlled” they r not having fun nor playing w/ heart. Q “saw” the game and knew the players he wanted. Stan & Colliton do not. It’s that simple.
Hey Chuckie, keep it simple or keep your language to your self in you have no hockey argument.
Carlsson? So you after you saw the game he’s a top 4 dman, a top six? You can’t tell what he brings after one game?
Stan “One step forward two step back” Bowman continues to trade away players and get nothing in return or those who come up are worse that what he has. All that Bowman does when he makes trades is get worse value in return. Schmaltz for Strome! Joku for Nylander! Danualt for who” Teuvo for Who? And if he trades Gus for anything less than a true skilled dman like Gus, then once again he loses the trade. And if he trades and dumps Saad for a draft pick and not a player of his calibre or better then once again, he weakens his team and Kane & Toews are closer to leaving Chicago. So Chuckie, chill and look at the facts! Or let me know when Carlsson gets 61 points or is a +20 dman or makes the NHL next season. The Answer, by the way, is NO just like a NO for Gilbert! No for Sikura? No quality, no playoffs.
And showing his cards by not dressing GUS was sooooooooooooo Dumb!
Fire Bowman and fire this clueless loving Carpenter Kampf Cagg coach!
A 5th rounder for Kubaliks rights, Manning for Cagguila, an funny skating Ahl player Kahun for Maatta weren’t trades that made roster worse in the last year. Perlini for Regula has potential to be an a real steal for Blackhawks, credit where due but time for a change agree.
Don’t you think that the Mike Green to Edmonton could have been Seabs to Edmonton if Seabs was healthy? Seabs had more points than Green last year and probably this year as well if healthy.
Memo to Bye Bye. Toews and Kane have the same agent. That’s how smart players and smart agents get good contracts. Can not, repeat can not blame Bowman for negotiating same contracts.
Been watching the Hawks since 75 so missed the 61 cup. Banged my head against the wall when we had the great Savy Larms Secord teams but there was a team in Edmonton that was greater. Felt like I got kicked in the stomach when we were up 3-0 on Pitt then got swept. So you hang on to great players. Pay them for what they got you and still can get you.
I love Q and Bowman. Bowman had Way more o do woth 2nd 3rd and 4th-suppose Cup in 6 yrs then Tallon did. Regaurdless of who drafted who, Bowman chisled out the core he wanted. Tallon would have picked the wrong players and we wouldnt have won basically 4 in 6 yrs, we prob win only 2. No way to say for sure.
Tallon would have kept guys like Buff and not Sharpy. Which would have been worse during 2013 2014 2015 2016, but prob better for the yrs when 10 81 had there thing and what would Buff have done in 2016 2017 2018, that other couldnt do, nothing/not enough to win Cup.
Tallon is better at building Cup deep roster then Bowman, fine. Bowman is better managing 23man roster to win more Cups then Tallen. They are good at what they are good at, each.
If we-whoever did the change to coahes Q after 4 81, 10 yrs. Then this team system does not work-even thought we need more good players on FW and D that Tim/others talk about-the type. Then its time the others-gm crew coaches team system have same thing Q got, a change.
Just like people said it was time for Q and a different style, its time we complete the cycle and get going with our new/an actual identity.
Is the right thing to do and best thing for the Blackhawks. Just like changing Tallon for Bowman-which brought us moar Cups then Tallon would have, we need to do the change for the team in order to win again/be a top team again.
Mo, Cups are so hard to win and each needs breaks, dare I say luck to win-did the Hawks come close in that other year-yes, but just like the three times they won it wasn’t to be. And who’s to say winning that year would have impacted the next Cup.
Each time the Hawks won, something(s) happened that went their way, a turning point, big moment or circumstance like an injury-getting 3 was amazing but very fortunate.
Back to reality, that was then….
Towes is worth every penny of his $10.5 contract, IMO. His leadership is the only thing holding this team together. He’s the most complete player on this roster. He can get points – both G and A, as well as his shootout ability. However, there’s so much more to his game that goes unnoticed. And it’s unnoticed because he does the little things so well. Back checking, faceoffs, defensive positioning, power play, sticking up for teammates, the list goes on. And getting back to leadership, yes, can’t be quantified but it’s worth it’s weight in gold when you’re talking about a clueless coach and a s*** bag GM. Puts more pressure on him to use that “C”, yet he does it day in and day out.
Sure. Just that NYR wernt that good. I think NJ and NYR were worst east teams in the decade. Doesnt mean for sure, that doesnt use up energy to affect 2015 Cup, because we needed the entire teams skill-with TB being the first ‘fast’ team/new NHL, to beat them. That ‘fast’ brought our superior skill team to theres-the compitiion closer, the fast factor.
Sine then ‘fast’ is the new NHL. Funny how after a few yrs of that, its the teams with enough size that are top teams again, STL BOS WAS.
I agree, just think that we were so good/roster wise those yrs that we could have still won without some of the players we had or things go our way/bounces. We were that good, just didnt have to even more then we did.
For other teams, not dynasty teams, yea its really hard to win once let alone twice. But you can see the better teams were/are there more then once-a few times to win 1 or 2 you sort of need to be there 3 or 4 times/conference finals.
We were 5 in 7 yrs, conference finals and won 3/should 4, that goes with the 1 Cup every approx. 2 conference finals. (sure there are some teams that are 1 for 1-WAS or 0 for 2-SJ)
I know we prob donot have another dynasty, until anther wave comes through to us. Though we can be like every other team in league/which is not dynasty team of the 2 decade era here, and that is pay our dues and get back and win One moar Cup the hard way, like your saying.
I am not giving up on that.
j r roman
well aware of brisson. i negotiated for a living for 35 years and quickly found out when you don’t control the negotiations and are afraid to walk away from the table you lose the negotiations. they were paid too much, for too long, and toews was paid more than he should have been.
i totally agree with you about hanging on to great players and paying them. but there is this little issue called THE SALARY CAP, which changes everything. which, if you are a savvy manager, makes you walk away from great players and pursue the next, younger, cheaper player. the hawks didn’t control the negotiations with 7, 19, & 88 and , regardless of how much the fans love them or how they are revered, they have paid dearly for five years and will continue to do so. j r, have you enjoyed the last five seasons of mediocrity since those contracts kicked in? do you think perhaps the hawks might have a better team with 7, 19, & 88 gone and $28 million more to spend on younger players not on their third contracts? did any of those players think of the hawks organization or the quality of the teams they would be playing with when they demanded top of the market dollars on their contracts, long term contracts, and full nmcs?
they only love the hawks and chicago when they get what they want.
what that fool mc donough didn’t understand is that the hawks only have to sell 850,000 seats a year. easily done with a winner. the cubs have to sell 3 million plus. so he was always looking for star players to sell to the fans, beautiful wrigley field to sell to the fans, and the drunken, party experience to sell to the fans to be able to sell 40 thousand tickets eighty times a year instead of only 30 thousand tickets. all hawks fans need to sell out the uc every night is a competitive team that can win a first round playoff series and, when things go right, push far into the playoffs. you don’t need the crazy contracts to do that that were given to 7, 19, & 88.
this a team that management chased great players out of town, but the fans still showed up in droves because they continued to be playoff teams. bobby hull was let go. glenn hall. larmer, chelios, roenick, eddie balfour, savard and others old man wirtz crapped on. but they continued to win and the fans sold out the stadium/uc year after year.
then the bad years came when the old man wirtz/pulford cabal drove them to mediocrity and the fans stopped coming. then the core showed up, the old man died, rocky hired mc donough, and that stupid fool thought the fans came back because they had heroes to worship. the fans actually came back because the team was competitive again. not because of the names on the back of the jerseys. and then mc donough started the downfall and paid bickell too much because the mediocre player he was had the best twenty games of his life and was a playoff hero. anisimov was paid too much because they were desperate for a center for kane that bowman had never drafted and developed. then crawford was given absolute top dollar. the contracts of 7, 19, & 88 followed and the team is now reaping the mismanagement of the cap they sowed.
the above is the real story of what happened j r. so you and all those of your ilk can be very thrilled you have your cap choking heroes to cheer for only 82 times a year. because that is how many games bad teams play each year.
trip forever
what leadership from toews? have you been watching this team? how often do they not show up for an entire game? how often do they not show up until the third period? how often do they get their asses kicked in the second period?
if you want to give toews credit for being the captain during the glory years then he also gets the blame for not inspiring this team to play hard every night the last several years. you can’t have it both ways. this team absolutely doesn’t come to play every night. so save the toews leadership nonsense.
and another thing trip forever. you don’t pay for leadership. leadership is an added bonus from a plater. real leaders lead because that is who they are and what they do. they will always lead. it is in their blood. you pay only for their skill on the ice, not in the locker room.
Bye Bye what I read into your writing is that you do not want to win a Stanley Cup. You want to have a mediocre team to fill the UC and be happy. I am definitely not on that boat! Give me 3 Cups, over pay for great players that brought me those Cups in the hope that they will bring me more Cups! I am very pleased that I have 3 Cups in ten years. Crazy over the fact that I had 3 Cups in 6 years. I’ll give the Hawks another 10 years to bring me 3 Cups. That’s alright with me.
Through the art of negotiation let’s not forget what we have both come here to accomplish. ie: For you to have a player to help you win a Stanley Cup and for me to help you get you a player so you can win The Stanley Cup. As you stated Mr. Kane is well worth the $10.5 mil and you believe he can secure you another Cup. In order to secure Mr. Kane for your future Mr. Toews will also cost you $10.5 mil so as to help Mr. Kane and yourself to secure you additional Stanley Cups.
Please sign on that line so we can continue the quest for Lord Stanley’s Cup.
Thank you
What’s a “plater”? Another fine quote from you – “you pay only for their skill on the ice…” – well then, you shouldn’t pay half of the team at all, b/c I don’t know Towes is responsible on how everyone plays individually – he can’t stick handle for Kampf (though that would be nice) nor can he make Nylander show up every game – some of it relies on the player. However, without any leadership, and in times where you have a bad coach and worse GM, leadership becomes more essential. The issue is the talent on this team – and Towes isn’t the one that’s short of it.
And you don’t pay for leadership? I guess you don’t much about what it means to be part of a team.
Bowman has already showed his hand by sitting Gus. Who knows what is happening with Lehner. Why would any GM offer the Hawks anything for Gus at this point and will certainly low ball Bowman for Lehner. The longer he waits the lower the offers will be. Unless a trade was on the table for Gus it was a stupid move. Lehner? Being 9 yrs younger than Craw he should’ve been signed by now. As much as I love and respect Craw we are not going to win another Cup with him. By 2:00 cst will have Gus and Lehner either back with the team or gone for low tier prospects playing for Rockford and a couple of mid round draft picks.
HAWKS can’t score goals… plain & simple… No one goes to front of net either for tip ins or screens or while carrying the puck… ALWAYS shooting from far away… Someone on Every Line needs to barrol towards front of net… Which player is that on Every line? Toews..Dach… Thats it. Keith needs to go… Ones who don’t agree—> Watch him every game every shift… Hawks scored upon Every time From Left side, whys that? shoots puck wide or flips it so goalie has easy catch so stoppage of play and he can come off… Roams all over the ice constantly out of position..Other teams BLOW Around him… Always been this bad but crows huge stopping ability plays and team scoring ability hid it from you guys..lol… Breakaways against Hawks, who is ALWAYS caught up ice? it iz what it is… Lets see what today brings us…
j r roman
they won the three cups before the obscene contracts kicked in, didn’t they? since those contracts began, the 2015-2016 season, how have they fared?
i never said i felt $10.5 was fair for kane. i said he shouldn’t have ever been paid more than crosby. and toews should have been paid less.
i, and every other hawks fan, was thrilled by the three cups and that period of time was the sports highlights of my life.
but we will just have to agree to disagree. i would walk away with the three cups and tell 7, 19, & 88 thanks for your contributions before i would over pay them, give them contracts that are too long, and give them nmcs. you can do all of that and be happy with three cups in what is now ten years and counting, those players approaching the ends of their careers, and this team being mediocre at best. i would have walked away from those deals and been several years into the new version of the blackhawks that we are now approaching anyway with five medicore seasons under our belts. has this been a fun time for you as a hawks fan since 2015? do you feel the hawks are going to be a cup competitive team next year? the year after? do you believe in the easter bunny?
Good comments.
I am for what ever we nned to do to get to HHNL top 9 FW quality and Tim/others vision of roster makeup. Peoples ideas here for gm crew coaches team system scouts other position above. What ever it takes. Three top 5 skill players is for the better good-longterm wise. Keep adding to that.
Young wavers.
trip forever
as we both know “plater” is a typo and should be “player.” but as long as you are going to pick nits you should be aware of the old maxim, “those who live in glass houses….”
explain to me when “towes” joined the blackhawks. i will be happy to wait for your apology or admittance that you are as stupid as i am.
you do pay for the skill on the ice and that is why each player is paid differently. and as we all know these are professional teams so your suggestion not to pay half of the roster wouldn’t fly.
i played competitive team sports into my sixties and more often than not was captain of my teams. and i never had a problem getting in the face of a teammate who didn’t show up to play. save your put downs “trippy.”
i know damn well there is no accountability going on with this team because way too many times after games toews and colliton lament the same thing. we weren’t ready to play. or we didn’t compete for sixty minutes. and that should be statements on rare occasions. not once a week or more often.
so either toews was never the leader he was made out to be or he has lost the edge. he can’t be toews the magnificent who led the team during the cup years and now be toews off the hook when the team is garbage.
Gotta laugh at all the folks who despised Gus for the last few years who now can’t understand why he isn’t bringing a King’s ransom. You are also smokin some good stuff if you think sitting him out for two games has impacted his value. Whatever we get for him today is more than we get if he gets hurt in those games. With Kreider off the market I wonder if someone goes hard for Saad although early deals seem to indicate that teams are reluctant to give up much.
So….. Seriously we are at 11:11 AM and I’ve heard nothing about trades. We have how many hurt players this year that are questionable about returning next year. That’s like how much money in LTIR 15 million???
De Hann
Shaw
Sebrook
We also have how many players in the final year of there contracts and no rumblings at all of trades. WTF is Bowman doing, by the way we still have no second round pick next year.
Caggiula
Kubalik
Strome
Highmore
Gustafson
Koekkoek
Crawford
Lehner
From a management standpoint this team is an absolute mess. So say we get a Panarin in the draft, you think Stan can figure out how to pay him or get something for him or make a good trade. We couldn’t pay Panarin…. WTF is going on at this point???????
I mean whats the pitch at this point, come to Chicago you won’t get paid and you’ll be on a last place team and by the way if we draft you, you won’t get paid nor will you be on a winning team. Why would anyone in this league want to be a Blackhawk???? Chicago’s weather is so nice says no one….. I guess the Pizza and Steak are pretty good….
Ian, you are talkin about 4th line players like Cagg? Maatta a 5-6 pairing for all that cash? Players that if you have real D prospects make your teram , are just as good and cost less, thus you can sign a real top six forward and not Carpenter and a $5Million dollar backup goalie who is never going to be better than Crawford. I beat no one has approached Bowman to tarde for Gilbert or better yet Beaudin? Where is Nylander playing, the answer is 4th line winger!
By the way one more comment. Bowman has Lehner and Crawford for one reason only. He knew that one would be trade bait. If neither are going to be traded how well did that plan work out? So the whole season we were paying for two number one goal tenders for nothing… We are a last place team, neither are sign traded so the whole plan is a dumpster fire. Good Job Stan great plan and a lack of knowing how to manage cap, players or building the team. I think those are all part of your job description. Bowman’s year end review I would give him a .5 out of 5 at this point…. What more does he have to screw up at this point…. We are regressing not ascending in the last 3 years…. Every year the roster looks worse, we loose more than we gain and the standings and record show it.
You just validated the need for locker room leadership. So, what are you in the end supporting?
And since you’re not in that locker room, I doubt very much you truly understand what it’s like. Save your “in my day” scenarios.
Too bad you’re not on the Hawks. How did the scouts miss you?
Easy question for you Ian:
Who are you excited to see in our prospects as forwards besides Dach be our next top six winger to make the jump to the NHL roster next season? The answer is Sikura? Barratt?
Answer: NO ONE
REASON: Bowman and Kelley
One more comment, So lets look at one more and probably our best up and coming player that was traded Away.
Perlini & Strome
For
Schmaltz
From a money prespect Schmaltz is making 5.85 million a year. Does anyone on this board think Strome deserves 5.85 million a year. I think Schmaltz is definitely a 5 million a year player. Saad is making 6 million and has less points than Schmaltz or Strome this year….. This is another huge problem about cap management, that we are going to add another 5 million a year player? I really really hope he gets nothing close to that.
Bye Bye you are correct that those contracts came after the Cups, right after. It was time for new contracts. Don’t you think Brisson had the Hawks over a barrel? His two guys, the main stars of the Cup runs, ready for a new contract. It was a perfect storm for them. Bowman would have been lynched at Grant Park if he didn’t sign them. Crosby was making 12mil with only one Cup in 08-09. These guys gave you 3 Cups in 6 years. You had to give them 12.5 mil.
Contracts have a lot to do with timing. Same goes for Seabs contract. Forgot who was making big bucks pretty sure Seabs’ agent compared him to Seabs to get the money.
Looks like the Avs got their goalie insurance. Must make a move with Carolina.
Athanasiou for Beaudin before Columbus gets him away from Detroit! Big strong skating winger! Breakaway speed and good size! Mr.Bowman?
You should not trade Saad unless its high tier prospects, not draft picks. He is a top 6 forward now that he has found his game and motivation again.
Trade Decat and or Strome for picks. I nearly fell out of my lazy boy laughing during the Preds game when Rinna cleared the front of the net himself by push Decat out of the way during the PP. Even funnier was when Decat scored on the PP when skating away from a check and the puck hits him on the mitt. Talk about blind squirrel finding a nut.
Kane, Toews, Dach, Saad (prospects), and Kubalik are on the do not touch list. Every one else its time for lets make a deal.
Tick tock Stanley
Stan is NOT making a trade today! He will be looking for a Kimmo Timmonen return and there is not a GM in the league who is as dumb as Stan to give him one. So, he has to stand pat, or he will look like an idiot to all the fans, media, and his superiors for settling for less than he would have and has paid for players not worth the return. We MUST fire Stan!!
Less than 2 hours left and Hawks have done nothing, WTF. Rocky you’re undoing all the good that you’ve accomplished, fire Stan now!!
Sounds good H65.
Lehner and Gus to Caro for a #1 if not two. Would take Nino or Dzingel and eat some of Lehner $$.
Same goes to Cal for a #1 and Bennet
Parise to Islanders?
ESPN reporting that Reimer and Mrazek out long term. Looks like the goalie market just improved for sellers.
Hull, really?
Athanasiou for Beaudin? Do you know anything about hockey or do you just say impossibly stupid things for the hell of it? The Oilers just grabbed him for Gagne and two other pieces. He’s not the greatest defensive forward, but he can skate with McDavid and that’s where he’ll be.
You should apply for the Detroit GM job. Sure they’d be thrilled by your hockey acumen.
I heard Stanley has hired Rod Blago. as a consultant to help him with this “F…ing Golden thing” of goalies to trade…
It didn’t work out too good for Blago. & I fear the same outcome for Stanley…..