Red Wings Cruise Past Blackhawks
After earning his first shutout, Malcolm Subban got the call in net again for the Blackhawks on Saturday night; with the Hawks hosting the Red Wings again on Sunday, it made sense that Subban and Kevin Lankinen would split the two games.
The Detroit Red Wings came in one of the worst offensive teams in the NHL. Detroit had won four of their 12 games in February coming into Saturday night’s action, and had scored three goals in a game only three times this month.
But Detroit had won two of their last three games, including a win against the Florida Panthers earlier this week. They were playing relatively well, so taking them for granted could prove costly.
In the first period the Blackhawks carried the majority of the action but found themselves chasing one goal at the end of 20 minutes. Bobby Ryan’s sixth goal of the season at 10:27 into the game gave Detroit the lead. Chicago out-shot Detroit 13-7 in the first but couldn’t beat Jonathan Bernier.
At 13:53 into the second period, Alex DeBrincat jumped over the boards and got a breakaway chance. He made it count.
The tie would only last 16 seconds.
Darren Helm’s first of the season gave the Red Wings the lead. And a Christian Djoos power play goal at 18:27 extended the lead to two.
Most importantly for the Red Wings, Djoos’ goal gave them three in the game.
Detroit out-shot the Hawks 14-10 in the second period and the two goals in the final six minutes of the period gave the Wings some bounce heading to the third.
It felt like the next goal would be critical when the third period began. In the opening four minutes of the period, the Blackhawks were out-shot 7-0 by the Red Wings.
And that important next goal came off the stick of Evgeny Svechnikov, whose first of the season came at 2:33 into the third.
Chicago’s first shot of the period came at 4:43 into the third period. Carl Soderberg set up Mattias Janmark who flipped a perfect feed past Bernier to bring the Blackhawks within two.
Adam Boqvist made a nice pass to get the puck to Soderberg to set up the scoring chance.
The Hawks had a series of really good scoring chances that were all shut down by Bernier, who has been playing very well lately. Chicago was buzzing, but one minor mistake could cost them.
And it did.
Svechnikov fought through traffic and set up Frans Nielson for the Red Wings’ fifth goal of the night. After failing to score five goals in their first 21 games, Detroit has now scored five in their last two games (at home against Nashville on Thursday and now in Chicago on Saturday).
Three of Detroit’s five goals came from players who hadn’t scored yet this year. Svechnikov picked up his first goal and first assist of the season.
What Chicago desperately needed was a power play, which they hadn’t had the benefit of in the first 50 minutes of hockey. They got one when Adam Erne boarded Ian Mitchell at 11:47 into the third.
The Hawks did nothing on the power play, giving them six minutes to make up a three-goal deficit once the advantage concluded.
The Blackhawks finished the night with a cheap goal from Dominik Kubalik with 12 seconds left in regulation to get within 5-3. That’s where the score would end the night.
Subban was not nearly as sharp as he was in the shutout earlier this week, but it was hardy his fault that the Hawks were beaten this badly. He stopped 27 of 32 in the loss, but the skaters in front of him need to be better.
The Blackhawks won only 41 percent of the faceoffs in the game, an issue that has been there all year. Obviously having Jonathan Toews and Kirby Dach in the lineup changes everything, but Chicago has to find a way to win more facoeffs.
Kubalik led the Hawks with six shots on net in 14:18. Kane and Janmark put five on net each.
Chicago was credited with only two blocked shots from their six defensemen (on each for Mitchell and Keith).
Hawks seemed to be 2 steps behind Wings tonight. Some looked tired and some didn’t compete nearly enough.
Felt sorry for Subban not alot of help at times, definitely a backup, Lankinen has the money goalie look, when he’ s struggling he still finds a way to make big saves and give them a chance to win. Subban doesn’t seem to show that trait. Nice seeing Boqvist starting rushes that lead to goals, the steps he needs to take. Special teams not great again, PP struggling with entries again tonight, PK scored on again. Kinda sloppy with the puck at times but bounce back tomorrow and get ready for March.
Well, when this Blackhawks team doesn’t show up, at least they don’t show up from the very beginning of the game so no one gets their hopes up. Despite a first period that had the Hawks ”dominating” the shots against, the Hawks felt like they were playing fast and loose with the puck and Detroit was entering our zone without much resistance. This team will only win games when they play 200 ft and force the opponent to go the length of the ice for their opportunities..it looked like they didn’t really take Detroit seriously tonight and there was a casual attitude to their play for all three periods. For this team to only have one pp against a team that isn’t disciplined and was missing Larkin tells me that we weren’t working towards driving the net or cycling when we did have the puck. Just a lazy effort offensively and defensively. Now, some glass half full points because the coaches and players can learn a lot from a game like this where they only lost because of laziness:
1. I actually don’t mind a game like this where the Hawks get beaten down by an inferior team. It’s a nice reminder that if you don’t chip and chase, force the opponent to go the length of the ice, take the body to lodge some pucks loose, perform on the pk, etc..you will lose no matter the opponent. This was a nice reminder.
2. There is no goalie competition. Subban has performed well as a backup. He showed tonight why he’s better in small doses. Can’t give up 4 even strength goals to a Larkin-less team. A poor performance.
3. As soon as Zadorov allowed Fabbri to scoot by him against the wall, he would have seen the bench for the rest of the game. Fabbri literally was skating into Zadorov..he should have been melted along the boards immediately. For a defenseman who is second in the nhl in hits, none of them ever feel jaw rattling..Zadorov kind of does the bare minimum when he hits..kind of pushes his body against the forward but not much else. Agree with Tab..Colliton can’t convince me that Beaudin or Kalynuk would be worse right now playing with Murphy. Especially with the blueline healthy. Time for Zadorov to sit for a game. Hopefully the coaches see it too.
5. Despite the scoresheet not showing it, I thought Suter, Kurashev and Boqvist(well I guess he did have two assists tonight but he also had a couple of plays he’d love to have back) were noticeable. Always good to see the maturation of some of the young kids continue.
MORRISON
February 27, 2021 at 8:42 pm
Go 2-0 against DET and were +7. Know your looking at still at 5 then TB could have us to +2 and after that even doing good splitting most we could be around -3 -2 -1 0 +1 by game 55 and that would have us around a bunch of teams for the 5 6 7 8 9 spot before ping pong balls.
Crazy to think when were 2 wins away on DET from being +7 and a lock a 4 seed.
Would rather win some and lose some and get that better player in the 5 6 7 8 9 spot before ping pong balls. Along the way get good valuable experience and still get an elite player from draft and make trade at tradeline for a draft pick in the 15-25 area. So we get two good players from draft.
Donot for get a 35th pick can be a very good player. Thats where 20 12 others have come from. We do very well from 1st half of 2nd round picks in drafts.
A few defensive breakdowns and Subban wasn’t there to bail them out. I’m not blaming the loss on Subban but the goalie at the other end of the rink was better tonight and it made a difference. Bernier stoned the Hawks the last time too. He’s kinda got the Hawks number.
There are games you lose when the opposing team just plays better and beats you. Then there are games when you make mistakes and the other team beats you, The loss tonight was the latter.
Let’s see how they respond tomorrow. I’d be surprised if Bernier isn’t back in the net so they’ll need to solve him better than they have the last two times they faced him.
Trap game – no worries. Every team has them. What will be more telling is the response tomorrow.
Ouuppsss… shit happens sometimes,,,,,we. Need the next game to get the 6 pts in those last 4 games.
Next.
Trap game – it was bound to happen and despite not being at full energy I didn’t think they played that bad – they were out goaltended though
Switch goalies and the Hawks win this game
First Wings goal was a buzz kill – Hawks were dominating possession but Zadorov attempt at Fabbri was pretty weak , Subban could have played it better -all around not a good goal and that see the tone for the game
Boquist was just about the best Hawk tonight – Soderberg was good too
Kane uncharacteristically sloppy with the puck – add that to bad goaltending and only one PP and you’ve got a loss
They’ll bounce back tomorrow- often first. game back after long road trip is like this
I don’t care about points in the standings other than how fighting for the playoffs can be used to maximize the experience for the young players.
deHaan made a good pass to DCat where he scored. He also made a nice pass to a Detroit player which resulted in the Wings scoring. He threw a couple hand grenade passes to Boqvist tonight that fortunately didn’t end up past Subban. But then deHaan wasn’t the only d-man having some issues tonight. On the whole every one of the d-men had a play or two or three they would want to use a mulligan.
Another Pond Hockey effort where they didn’t want to pay the price with checking,physicality,and drive to the net.Zadorov should sit for a couple of games.Robbie Fabbri outbattles you for a puck????I agree with others that he is giving the bare minimum effort on his hits as he uses his size and length to reach and rub up against opposing forwards instead of separating them from the puck and the play.Maybe Bowey and or Kalynuk would like to play a little more aggressive style given an opportunity.The forwards did not back check and they reverted back to the panicky Chinese fire drill d zone coverage.When the team plays like this the absence of true centers is glaring.Suter should be at forward and Kurashev should center Kane and Debrincat,just an observation.Subban was weak and back to flopping around.
The Blackhawks are only as good as how well their goaltending can bail them out. That was the case the last 2 years and is the case this year. Stellar goaltending, which they have/had, covers a lot of warts, which the have/had.
That is no surprise.
What is a surprise (to me, at least) is how well they playing. They move the puck, they play with speed and deliver a non-stop effort. I enjoy watching this team and the Kane / DeBrincat show. I enjoy seeing a guy like Hagel get a chance and make the most of it (the exact opposite of Nylander in every aspect).
Whether it is sustainable and/or can come through in the playoffs, remains to be seen.
The loss doesn’t bother me now as much as it bothered me when I was watching it. Mistakes I screamed at the TV can be fixed. Too many men going behind the net instead of staying in front of the net to help the D. A missed hip check. Shooting instead of passing. Etc etc
Now I am excited to see the bounce back game. This is going to be good to see how the team responds to a bad loss. Very little time to think about it and very little time to fix it.
We’ll pick up a win from TB Dal FL series to replace this loss. Got Kubalik with a hat trick, Kane with #400 Sute and Kurashev one each. Hawks win 6-2.
On the positive side both CLB and DAL lost as well
There is a lot of commenting about Zadorov missing that check on Fabbri as there should be. It was a weak effort. Nobody has mentioned Suter leaving Helms wide open in front of the net. That goal was crushing 16 seconds after the Hawks goal. This game was frustrating to watch until DeBrincat tied it and we felt that relief, but it lasted 16 seconds because of a hideous defensive play. It wasn’t lack of effort, it was bad judgment. People might say, “He’s a rookie and will learn,” but it seems as though you should learn that one in junior hockey.
Lankinen has not been good in two of his last four starts and Subban was not good tonight. Is it time to start getting nervous about the goalie situation? Tonight will be very important for Lankinen.
The PK has been letting the Hawks down lately. You knew that when Foley was going on and on and on about how dreadful the Wings’ PP has been that the drought would be broken shortly. My neighbor who was watching was yelling at the TV saying, “Shut up about it! You’re jinxing them!” Bang!
The Hawks made a ferocious effort and played hard when they were down 2 and they were making life miserable for the Wings. Even Olczyk was commenting on it. This team does not give up but things didn’t go their way and Bernier was great. They paid a price for their mistakes.
Soderberg’s price continues to go up at the trade deadline for a team that needs a reliable center. He has been excellent. But if Toews doesn’t come back, can the Hawks part with him?
The face-off situation is really frustrating in general. It feels the way the Hawks PP had felt for years. You sit there feeling dread knowing what is about to happen and then it does.
Speaking of Toews, this felt terrible when we first heard about it and the longer it goes on, the more concerning it is getting.
Sometimes a team can play hard but run in to a hot goalie and pay a price for every mistake they make. Let’s chalk last night up to that. Tonight is important for the character of this team.
I think John Galt summed up everything that needs to be said-
-as the goalie goes, so goes that team
-playing better than thought and enjoyable most nights to watch
-can this level of play continue and will it work against better teams
Interesting that Zadorov getting the love from the announcers and the coaching staff (who see from ice level or above) but not some people here. Another big body guy that looks like he’s floating at times, and second in the league in hits by defenseman.
Robs,If I am Bowman I formulate a plan not involving Toews.Dach is your #1 Center next year and put your efforts into finding a solid #2 Center.I believe Kurashev if given the opportunity can be a quality #2 Center.I would spend the rest of this season playing him there and give him plenty of opportunities with Kane and Debrincat also.Hopefully Barratt will develop quickly to be a quality #3 Center with maybe Hagel and a bigger physical forward on the other wing.Maybe take a look at Kurashev,Suter,and Kubalik on a 2nd line with a fast developing Reichel breaking into the mix next season.Grab a couple of prospects and draft picks from desperate teams at the trade deadline for Soderberg,DeHann,Zadorov,Carpenter ,and Walmark and you are off and running for next season.P.S.,move on from Delia and Subban.Find a young quality goalie to compete with Lankinen.
would it be unreasonable to believe zadorov wouldn’t be second in the league in hits if he separated the opponents from their senses when delivering hits? if doug jarrett had delivered that hip check to fabbri they would still be scraping parts of fabbri’s body from the boards.
zadorov should not be measured in terms of hits, but in realization that the opponents are wary of skating in the tough areas of the ice because zadorov will make them pay a heavy price. that effort against fabbri, or lack of same, was far less than embarrassing. zadorov 8” taller and 45# heavier than fabbri. wondering…… because zadorov made contact with fabbri does he get credit for a hit?
and let’s not forget the wings fifth goal where it’s nielsen and zadorov alone in front of the crease. zadorov backs in from the blue line never taking his eyes off the puck on his left side and not engaging nielsen. nielsen skates into the slot unimpeded to wait for the centering pass. zadorov doesn’t touch the centering pass, doesn’t tie up nielsen’s stick, doesn’t touch nielsen.
tim w.
agree with you totally. unless bowman knows with certainty that toews will be back later in the year or at least for the beginning of next year he must plan for a future without him. those plans must also be made with the viewpoint that strome is not going to be the answer as a top nine center until he proves he is on the ice.
for that matter dach cannot be counted on to be competent at the dot after this type of injury until he proves he can. playing the wishing and hoping game without a backup plan is a foolish game plan.
Looked like the Blackhawks of 2 seasons ago. Multiple guys below the net leaving the ice wide open in front. Really bad penalty by de Haan holding a guy behind the net for about 4,700 minutes in mugging style (how is that NOT going to be called? and why do it toward the very end of a period when you’re down a goal?) Zadorov totally blowing a check against the boards and allowing a guy to get loose with the puck in front. Boqvist not aware of a guy right behind him coming up to pick his pocket right in front of the goal to knock it in when it should have immediately been cleared out. Passes off the mark all night long.
Some guys continue to skate and skate hard. The fourth liners aren’t going to be point machines but their compete level was there, when the team’s compete level maybe wasn’t. Highmore, Hagel, Carpenter … not perfect but they bring it every game.
I agree withTim that SB needs to have a Plan B for the center position. This year has been a perfect storm as we headed into it looking at Toews, Dach and Strome as the top 3 guys and right now we have none of them. To me the options are 1) Trade a top d prospect for a top center prospect; 2) Use one or more top picks on the position; or 3) Look to the free agent market. I can’t see a trade deadline deal for a rental player returning anything other than a draft pick. The first two options provide longer salary control but take longer. The third option is limited by cap availability. There is no fix for this year (unless JT returns which appears unlikely) and I don’t see Suter as a center long-term. I do think the future is bright for Kurashev but it would be great to have another strong veteran in the mix.
Galt/Noonon, yea tahts what a lot people here said before 55 games that were a better roster then last two yrs though three AHL goalies and depemnds on goalies. With that thats why we all prob felt we would be like first 4 games record wise saw those games and thought yup. Then we see young wave play there first 10 20 games and were like wow. Like yours goalie was very good Lankenin after seeing other two goalies suck first few games. Give Sub ban credit after sucking bad first couple games he has been good every game until this/that game.
Anyways goalies/Lankenin and back up Subban have been really good and we won 11-3-4 since first few games which is top 5 tema in league/record wise for that stretch. Only the top 5 team in hockey had strecthes like taht. Well maybe seom 6-10 teams.
So goalies they are redhsirt freshman prob more like greyshirt freshman. So like young wavers FW and D these goalies/Lankenin need two full yrs to get established and if Lankenin is goalie of the future/which I like then he prob has better first yr stats then 2nd yrs stats as teams will watch tape and then Lankenin will do his hoework and become a natural dang good goalie like he did in world juniors.
Hes a winner.
Haan Soderberg other anybody that gets us a 2nd round pick do it do it. Jannmark is only guy I like to keep and good trading at tradeline and say hey man we want you back summer/ufa do you want to go to a top 10 team for playoffs and then come back again. It would help us both out we get another good prospect and you can roll like you did with DAL and then continue here with up and coming young wave.
That might be whats wrong with DAL this yr there missing Jannmark.
Saw a whole lot of Swedish and No Finnish in this game….on to the next game.
I saw the play behind the net a bit differently than Ed, but that’s because I am not afraid to call out 2 when he is acting like a chicken shit out there. 2 CHOSE to not play the puck behind the net (a tactic Dmen use frequently to tie up the player) but he had ample time to move the puck when he got there. 2 usually makes a decision based on the best way to not get checked, and he did it again there. That caused Mitchell to have to come into the play (in man-on-man defense here is where your problem starts). Suter had his own guy covered in front of the net, but that guy went behind the net because our 2 Dmen couldn’t get the puck from their 1 forward. Suter went with his man behind the net as would be the instinct of most young players who are getting man-on-man coverage drilled into their brains. That left Mitchell’s man open in front and Subban knows the rest.
Blame Suter all you want. The problem was that Keith couldn’t handle a simple situation behind his net, Mitchell then left his position and his man now allowed to roam free. Should Suter chase his man? I’ll bet that 90% of the board would be reaming Suter had he stayed in front of the net and his guy took the puck from our Dmen and made the pass as Suter now would be forced to attack that player coming to the front with the puck.
Keith failed to make the easy play, turned it over, and chaos ensued. Yes, the front of the net is more important than the back. But the soft play along the boards – common to Keith where he usually does his arm and stick extended routine while – is where it went wrong.
Notice NOBODY on TV at any time pointed out the chicken soft play by Keith? THAT is what started the chaos. Why does he always get the pass? Sometimes the truth needs to be told by the commentators.
Don’t worry. I’m not actually naive enough to believe that will start happening.
We have done a wonderful job of preventing odd man rushes against this year. A couple games ago there were 4 breakaways against us. Can anyone name the ONE Dman on the ice for all 4 of them? Go back and watch the film.
Why do so many people here only see what they are told to see?
And yes – Soderberg has been a wonderful acquisition. He’s a perfect 3C. And for the right price.
I have no problem with him being Strome’s replacement if he signs for 3 years at the right price. He’s the only newly acquired vet I would consider keeping, but he also should have a nice value at the TDL.
A perfect signing.
If 19 comes back and plays two more yrs like 50 did and then retires then he wouldnt be playing for 7 more yrs to 40. People though Crow wouldnt play again and he played two more yrs. I would just leave it up to 19 and until were really ready with young wave.
I would wait and then when yuong wave is ready add a top pair Defensemen ufa wise and a top 6 center/if 19 does retire in next 36 mths ufa wise.
You donot get top pair and 1st line center for free other then draft or ufa.
We need both for young wave and are only chance % wise is this yrs draft after this yr were going to be too good to get a top 5 draft pick for another decade.
We have seen now how much weaker this defense became defensively without Beaudin and Carlsson. Bright spot is that Carlsson should be back after next weekend and Beaudin will get much needed ice time. People may not like Beaudin being sent down as was I but again understand the move. Too many LHD on the roster which means less ice time.
It turned out to be a mistake in development putting Beaudin on the right side to start his NHL career but they didn’t have a choice with 2 RHD out. They tried Beaudin, Zadorov and Carlsson to fill that gap and Carlsson can do it best. He had 2 years in Rockford and was placed there a lot for development. It’s why he stays on the roster. Any injury either left or right side he can fill. JC can also sit either Zadorov or deHaan and maybe give this kid a fair shake on the left side to show what he can do offensively.
As far as last night’s game? Thought they were trying too hard to get Kane to 400 against a weak team and lost focus. Hope the same doesn’t happen tonight. It will come so stop trying to force it. Play your game and it’ll come.
If we can play this good with good goaltending and without 77 19 and others/that many centers. Then I wait on adding an elite center ufa wise in hopes we get not just this yr that we also get next yr a top 5 pick.
Were still prob too good of a team next yr/even without 77 19 to get top 10 pick unless were in the 12-15 area and get ping pong balls top 3 pick.
So at some point the younger players need to have full lineup of centers to take it to next level. For now I wait on adding centers and go with 77 Kurchev Soderberg 4th. Se when 19 comes back and in 24-36 mths then add an elite center ufa wise and also add another 81 when we have the cap space.
No need to add for this yr or next. Its the 23 season and on is when were ready.
Morrison: I have no idea what you said or were trying to say.
I really like Kurashev’s game but I have my doubts he has legit top-6 offensive skills, at least not as a long term solution. Maybe we haven’t seen what he can be yet, which is quite possible as he’s only 21 and has only 20 NHL games under his belt, but so far he hasn’t shown me top-6 caliber shooting or passing. If I were to project his best position it would be 3rd line center. I think he could make a very good 3C.
Morrison: I am referring to the one at 10:03 am
WIJG, I was going to ask Mo about his 10:15 post where he references Haan Soderberg – is that the captain of the Millenium Falcon?
OMG folks, it’s not covid 19, it’s sikuraitis. Curently afflicted: carpenter,kampf,highmore,wallmark,strome (pre concussion),suter and kurashev ( those 2 lately) . Cure: practice shooting, you know like what we all used to do in the driveway with the canvas stretched across the goal. Recently off protocol , hagel, antidote was kane, but he is still on the watch list as is janmark. How can we have 40÷ scoring chances, and not score more!! LESSON for the game: SHOOT the puck and preferably not into the goalies glove. Put a few in early and it’s a totally different game.
Galt, it ok it happens.
ER, the posts about people getting mad about decades ago Cups not won in finals when I said to my fraternoty brothers about Nik Faldo coming back after 3rd round and winning I was referring to Han Solo there. Thats why I picked Nik Faldo to beat Norman Shark just because he looked like Han Solo. It was a long shot.
Han Solo won.
Same lineup except Lankinen for Subban tonight.
Nameless – the defense without Beaudin and Carlsson just shut out CBL the game before this one – I like both those players but that’s a stretch to blame the defensive miscues in the DET on them not being there – I’ve seen those two make plenty of mistakes as well
However that said I’m not against the 7D format every so often to get say Carlsson in – I would like to see him on the left side
ER – I also see Kurashev’s future as a good 3rd liner either at C or wing
I think we’ll see Stan eventually trade a D prospect for a centre prospect but not just yet – let it play out and see who is really worth keeping from the young D – they’re too valuable to make a mistake on in a trade
Yes yes have to keep the four best Defensemen we have. Cannot screw that up especially after trading Buckaroo.
Even though Kaynuk could make up for that. Cant do it twice/or you got to get another Kaynuk.
Yeah Kalynuk impressing in Rfd. in a couple of starts, cautiously optimistic about him, should see him at some point this year get some Nhl ice. Icing a decent 3rd and 4th line next year shouldn’t be an issue. Faceoffs should work out, Bowman has indicated Toews will return when ready, every time he says that the players do, so no real reason to think he won’t. Johnson strong on fos, guys like Entwistle, Barrett are potentially good faceoof guys and also may be more system. Suter or Kurashev with another year to get more comfortable and little time to work on draws may become very capable yet. Strome’s role if still around unknown yet too. Gotta wonder if Kampf has nagging injury, started strong on fos, now struggling at times and noticeable that he is not being asked to take as many lately.
If Toews isn’t ready to play by next year, then this rebuild gets set back by quite a lot. While the Hawks decide how to move forward without Toews(both in terms of his contract and in terms of having a team without a number one center), I would look towards a free agent like Adam Lowry. Won’t cost a ton. Maybe 2.75 mil a year. Can play well as a 3rd line center. Still only 28 years old. You could set your lines like this:
Cat-Dach-Kane
Suter-Strome-Kubalik
Reichel-Lowry-Kurashev
Hagel-Kampf-Carpenter/Shaw
Nylander
Entwhistle
I think this is about the best the Hawks will be able to do without Toews. I’ve also made a couple of assumptions about who will make the team next year. If the Hawks are committed to the youth movement, then I wouldn’t be surprised if both Reichel and Entwhistle are given looks next year. I’m assuming Janmark and Wallmark won’t be back. Not sure about Soderberg. This whole post is just conjecture anyway but it is one version of what the Hawks could look like without Toews. There’s actually some pretty nice talent on the wings assuming Suter and Kurashev continue to progress upward. If Strome could ever consistently utilize his size to go with his playmaking, this lineup would have some nice size down the middle too. But even I’ll admit that’s a big ”if” with Strome.
I fully expect 19 to come back 100% just like Crow did and be very good/like normal. Same thing as Crow. If not then we just add a top line elite player ufa wise thats 27 28 29 in the summer were ready/maybe 2023.
Were not drafting or trading for another 19. We already did that with 77 and we need to get that to pair Defensemen in this draft. If were picking 17th again then we only get a good player like Reichel/who can be good just not top 3 gem good. We can use more of those kind of players/thats less to add from somewhere else. Although adding good players from euro seems fountain of youth so we really donot need anymore 17ths we need another top 3 gem.
That can be this draft or ufa in summer for a 27 28 29 elite center/FW in ufa when we have the space.
So which ever way I think the reload is on pace.
Mo, right now the Toews rhetoric is the same level as Crawford when he was out. Same thing every time a player coming from Ncaa is in 4th year their going free agency route, like Mitchell going to Toronto, just negative speculation.
Slayer not sure why you give up on Wallmark who will be 26 when next year starts and sign Soderberg who will be 36 when next season starts in a youth movement.
I havnt seen many of the games here and there so I donot really know going by wgat people said here. Jannmark is best to keep or Soderberg or other. I would trade at tradeline everyone haan and others and then bring back anyone like that in summer anyways. Say hey dud lets do whats better for team and you if your ok with it and come back in summer. Whoever doesnt get traded at tradeline resign accordingly.
Until guys are blocking guys which shouldnt be yet even next yr then younger players take over anyways. Need these guys so young wav can ‘play’ and then need some anyways to have quality deep roster. Cant be 23 players under 23.
@ian..I don’t have anything against Wallmark but I think the Hawks will have plenty of options for his minutes next year..whether it’s Johnson, Highmore, Barratt, Entwhistle, etc..the Hawks are loaded with bottom six options and Wallmark has never even had a 25 pt season in the nhl..I don’t see any great loss there..as for Soderberg, if Toews really doesn’t play next year, then it wouldn’t hurt to have an additional vet as part of the forward group..the forwards are all 26 or younger with the exception of Kane, Carpenter and Shaw. But that’s the only reason I left Soderberg as a question mark. If Toews is healthy and ready to go, then there’s no reason to try and resign Soderberg. But again, all of this is just theoretical.
Soderberg being UFA I think you trade him at TDL assuming there are good offers and if Toews isn’t able to play again you can either him sign him back or someone else as a free agent in the summer – there will be lots of affordable FAs available
Maybe there is a scenario where the Hawks are still very much in the playoff hunt and you hang on to him to help get you there figuring that experience is more valuable than whatever draft choice you might get in a trade at TDL – he’s an interesting case – with DeHaan and Janmark and Carpenter I think you have decent young replacements but perhaps not so much with Soderberg
I kinda hope the Hawks lose enough over the next 2-3 weeks so Stan doesn’t feel pressure to derail the rebuild by being a buyer at the TDL.
Sell Sell Sell !!!
Just wondering if anyone else having trouble on posting and updates or if it’s just my equipment
Yea ipad is like hrs behind on updated posts. The PC is current.
Havnt seen many games just a few and not whole games. Going by what people say here. First good look at Suter I like how he shoots.