Thank you, Coach Q
On Oct. 16, 2008, the Chicago Blackhawks made a coaching change. Gone was Hall of Famer Denis Savard. In his place came Joel Quenneville, best known to many Chicago fans for being on the wrong end of the rivalry with the Blues for years.
On Nov. 7, 2018, the Chicago Blackhawks made a coaching change. Gone is (future) Hall of Famer Joel Quenneville. In his place is Jeremy Colliton, best known to Chicago fans as… the guy asked to replace an icon.
In the ten years and almost one month between those two coaching decisions, the Chicago Blackhawks experienced the best stretch of hockey in the history of the franchise. The organization won three Stanley Cups in a six-season span and was considered a dynasty.
Under the leadership of Quenneville, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith established themselves as three of the elite players of their generation. All three will likely join Quenneville in the Hall of Fame down the road, due in large part to the systems and guidance of Quenneville.
The Hawks eclipsed 100 points in five of six seasons between the 2011-12 season and 2016-17, with only a lockout keeping them from hitting the mark in all six straight seasons. Overall the club reached 100 points in eight of his ten seasons as the head coach; the team had 97 points in 2010-11 after one of the most significant roster purges experienced by a defending championship team in NHL history.
History will remember the 2010 championship team as one of the best the club has ever had. Built by Dale Tallon, that team had future all-stars and captains all over the lineup. But the salary cap (and poorly executed faxes at a deadline) led to an exodus the likes of which has crushed other organizations. A decade of despair did not follow, however. Stan Bowman and Quenneville rebuilt the roster into a championship contender once again, and the 2012-13 edition of the Hawks was more dominant than the 2009-10 version.
With the Cup victory in 2015, the Blackhawks were the model franchise in the NHL. And Quenneville had established himself as arguably the best coach in the sport (with a nod to Mike Babcock).
However, increasing questions about the chemistry off the ice continued to percolate. The relationship between Quenneville and Bowman was a frequent lightning rod for fans and talk radio in Chicago, and roster moves made since the 2015 Cup victory haven’t all worked out.
Indeed, many of them haven’t worked at all.
When the Blackhawks missed the playoffs for the first time under Quenneville’s watch last year, the questions of job security became louder than ever. Continued lack of success on special teams were highlighted as a central issue, and almost annual turnover to the coaching staff under Quenneville pointed to issues in the organization.
Would history be different if Corey Crawford hadn’t suffered a season-ending concussion last year? Or if Bowman hadn’t traded Artemi Panarin for Brandon Saad? There are a million “what if” moments over the past three years, but the culmination of all of the decisions and circumstances have led to today’s decision.
And now here we are. Chicago is saying goodbye to one of the most loved coaches in the city’s history – in any sport. Quenneville finds himself on the Mount Rushmore of Chicago coaches with Phil Jackson, George Halas and (fill in the blank with Joe Maddon or Ozzie Guillen, depending on your baseball rooting interest).
Everyone will have a different memory of Quenneville’s tenure in Chicago. Everyone will have a different perspective on what went right, and how/where things went wrong at the end.
There were championships, and parades. There were cigars and beers. There were autographs and photos taken. There were the loudest cheers the United Center has heard since Michael Jordan retired. And there are three banners hanging from the rafters forever because of what Joel Quenneville meant to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Everyone who considers themselves a Chicago Blackhawks fan will have three images burned into their memories. A Stanley Cup being handed to the head coach of the Blackhawks after a victory. The third of which happened in Chicago.
Thank you, Coach Q. It was an amazing ride, and we’re all fortunate to have been able to be a part of the success.
Thanks for the write up Tab, and thanks to coach Q for the great run. Coach used up his mulligan last year, i’m not saying it’s a bad move, or that it was at the wrong time, but I’m pretty bummed about this one.
Something hasn’t been right about this team for 3 years running now. It felt like if they could have gotten past St Louis a few years ago that they could have made a run, as they were still playing at a high level. They have been no where near that since then, getting swept by Nashville and not sniffing the playoffs when Crow got hurt. What is worse the overall level of play of the team has dropped considerably in that time and there seems to be no way of turning it around as the talent level around the core has dropped, and the core themselves have gotten older and deteriorated.
Nicely written tribute Tab, a big thank you to coach Q indeed. Fortunate to be able to watch the great coach of this great team. Ever since hearing of his displeasure of the Hammer trade, it was likely a matter of time until it happened, great run.
I felt for awhile that this should be Q’s last year as our coach. It’s clearly gone stale and Q is not a development coach, but he’s a solid guy and if that had been his mandate for the year perhaps he could have delivered. He deserves better than to be the fall guy.
Bowman should have been gone before last year’s draft. I know some guys liked his last draft (I liked the bottom rounds, not the top) but the UFAs he signed and the lineup he stuck Q with is a joke.
Q has to own his share of it, but it feels like he is getting tossed under the bus for a something that was largely Stan’s doing (and meanwhile Stan and McD, who may or may not own a pair of skates between, stay in place although hopefully not for much longer).
This started with bickel. Trade and snowballed started rolling down hill to the point ! To think of all the young talent lost and Panarin trade did it for me. Was great 10 years and I thank Q & Rocky & Tallon for making this team loved by Chicago! I since then moved to Vegas and I didn’t mis a beat with Knights. Hawks will always be my fav Chicago team but now I enjoy the Knights. Good Luck Hawks.
According to the news conference, the new kid is a great “communicator”. I guess the new players in the NHL cannot take criticism and need to have a pat on the back every day.
Let’s see where they steer the Titanic.
Thanks Q and good luck. He’ll be coaching an NHL team by Friday.
Does anyone believe there were no issues between Q and Bowman like Stan said in the press conference? Pure BS totally.
This is not how I wanted this to end. This feels like a horrible divorce–the adults are fighting and the kids are left to pick up the pieces and here we all are.
Coach Q was the elixir this club needed to get over the hump, and boy did that happen in grand fashion! More than I could have asked for as a lifelong fan. Gave my family tons of memories for which I am eternally grateful, not to mention 3 Cups.
(And the Blues still haven’t gotten one).
Q will land on his feet.
Thanks for everything, Coach–especially all the pictures over pancakes at Page’s :)
Thanks Q. Great write up as usual.
Theres just something about mcdounagh that screams to me about him being a weasel.
Congrats to colliton and good luck.
Now stan let’s see some Rockford shuffle happening.
Seat24…….I am sure that they had their disagreements, but you don’t win 3 Stanley Cups without the ability to get along with your bosses. The press conference seemed very “awkward” at times. Maybe it was just me being an old school hockey guy that can’t believe that they are kicking a 3 time Cup winner out the door.
Like I said before, if this young coach can’t get it done and get this team into the playoffs, both he AND BOWMAN will be shown the door and a new GM will be rolled into the UC in early June.
Thank you, Tab. And thanks to Joel Quenneville. Responsible in part for some of my greatest sports memories. The right guy at the right time.
Coach Q- a class act to the end! They got rid of the wrong guy – Bowman has added ZERO value and he still has his job, thanks to Scotty I’m sure!
Don’t worry about Q- financially or career wise… he will be fine!
Let’s hope our young coach can infuse some energy- and PLAY Hayden, Johnson er al and bring up Sikura, Highmore et al to marry out talented youth with the experience….
Still could be a long season!!
On WGN news, sportscaster Dan Roan just labeled the problem as being linked to Q and Scotty Bowman not liking each other very much at all. He said that Scotty influences Stan and that is a motivator behind what has happened. Kind of going out on a limb I think for Roan to say that in summary of the firing, but may be true.
John McDonagh says this a “remodeling year” not a rebuilding year, and that he fully expects the team to make the playoffs. I hope you are right, John. But, more than that, I would like you to just worry about whether or not Lemonhead is a sponsor of the team, which bobbleheads are going to be offered up, and who is going to sponsor the t-shirt parachute drop. I’d rather listen to someone whose job is based on what they are supposed to know about sports …. in this case professional hockey. If Stan says it, fine. If Rocky even says it, fine. But if you say it …. well it makes me want to puke down the front of myself. Sorry to any McDonagh fans out there but that’s how I feel.
Wrong guy was shown the door! What Bowman has done to this team in the last 3 years is a Joke! There has always been issues between Joel and Stan because Stan is a laughable GM. The trades and the free agent signings destroyed any hope to build a playoff dynasty. No talent beyond all the players that Tallon actually drafted. The PANARIN and HAMMER trade was a huge set back. Firing Mike Kitchen was a cowardly and sneaky. Trading Johns and Sharp for nothing was another joke! On and on and Coach Q desperately seeking way to win games which also created bad habits by the coach. The Dog house routines did not help. Thx COACH Q for not being Bob Pulford, Mike Keenan or Billy Reay! You gave Chicago 3 cups!!! Now, let’s throw the real problem out which is Stan and his associates plus his lame father Scotty Bowman! We all know what Scotty did to Dale Tallon…if anyone knows hockey history…Tallon’s father gave Scotty Bowman his first job in hockey as a scout for the Montreal Canadians. What does Scotty do in return, force them to hire his son and then throws Dale under the bus for the fax fiasco which was actually Stan’s fault. Anyway, I don’t think this coach would have won any more games with Bouma, Franson, Martinson, Ward, Osterle, Kunitz, Manning, Davidson, Tootoo, Fleishmann, Weise, Scuderi, Rutta, Runblad, etc…
This is the beginning of a bigger downfall and this coach will still have no talent given to him by our GM and his scouts!
Too bad! Thx Coach Q. Let’s hope Stan is gone after they lose another 5 games in a row.
Best scenario…….. Hire Doug Wilson!
Thanks Joel. Twelve years ago I never thought this organization would ever get it together. Three Stanley Cups later, there isn’t much more to say than thanks. Quenneville will be an NHL Coach again just as soon as he wants to. A lot of posters here have called for Quenneville’s job, while others blame Bowman. There is deserved criticism for both, but to me, the Hard NHL Cap and a very tough Central Division have finally caught up with the Hawks. All the best of luck to Jeremy Colliton. He has been doing a good job on the Rock. I hope he does well.
HULL65 — we have news for you. Your wish won’t be granted anytime soon. Bowman isn’t going anywhere. I agree w/ you, and so do at least 90% of Hawks fans and the media.
This debacle isn’t on Q. Q didn’t secure the roster, that was and remains Bowman’s job. As I stated before, Bowman’s blunder fest as to NHL related player transactions started w/ the Danault trade and remains on an open-ended path to oblivion. If firing Q is the first step of the rebuild, why would the hierarchy allow Bowman to be the one responsible for making more trades and the like? Candidly, he sucks at it.
It’s amazing an 85 year old man living in the southeast was able to orchestrate all of this. Rocky Wirtz is a very smart, sharp and astute businessman. He literally must have other, more important pressing issues in the booze business that allowed him to be hoodwinked.
It’s sad that Collison will have to report to Asst. Coach Smith on a daily basis.
Thanks for the article Tab and so many thanks to Coach Q for 10 great years – well mostly great.
It was a perfect storm with Toews, Kane, Keith, Hossa, Seabrook (and others) and Joel all coming together at the same time
He was essential to 3 cup wins and I never thought I’d see even one as an adult. I was too young to appreciate the one in 1961.
It’s possible however that this was the right move – time is moving on and so is the NHL and Colliton gets as much praise from his players as Q did from his plus he’s attuned to the new game in a way I’m not sure Q is
So we’ll see but I’m looking forward to seeing how the Hawks play under our new coach
Tho I called for exactly this in this blog just days ago, I still must salute Joel on his way out and thank him for doing the best job of any coach in hockey while on this Hawks run.
I still feel it is the first of a number of difficult moves that have to happen for the good of the team, but it is painful to see such a fine person and coach have to move on after such success here. But father time moves on and what and who gets you to the top in one era, often doesn’t work in other eras and that is the case here. This was true when Q replaced the beloved Dennis Savard and it is true as Q himself is replaced.
As Lincoln said. long ago, a house divided. against itself cannot stand, and I have plenty of info pointing towards the B’s and Q being sideways for years:
One key moment early on was SB bringing Barry Smith onto practice ice to teach PP in 2011 or 2012. Q arrived to find another man coaching his team with no notice to him….that would get most. coaches goats.
On the other hand, with all the talent he had, Q could only coach an effective PP in one year of the entire 10 year. run, cause he wouldn’t make them go to the paint, stand in the paint, screen in the paint, tip in the paint, get hit while in the paint and of course, score while in the paint. Q never forced the paint and Barry Smith was teaching the paint when Q arrived that morning, yet another reason it was time to move on from Q now.
If he wants to, Joel will be coaching in the show as soon as he wants: In the mean time Joel, enjoy the ponies and rest well as you have earned it.
You have Chicago Hawks fans respect and gratitude forever, and I wouldn’t move away anytime soon: You will never buy another drink or meal in Chicago in your life.
GFF
Funny how all you posters were calling for Qs head and then support him when he gets fired.
Sure Stan carries some fault but this team Is underachieving and has a brutal PK and PP. is that Stam’s fault with the talent they have…nope.
Love Q but his time has passed and need a new voice. If Collition can’t do it, then it should be Stan’s head next
Stan bowman is a fucking no talent bean counter. McDonough bowman and bowman Sr need to be gone. Go back to accounting..you no talent fuck bowman. Bowman is not nor ever was an athlete..nor hockey player nor evaluator of talent. Fuck the bowmans. I am done with the blackhawks. Quenneville is class the bowmans are trash .
This will get uglier because the vets respect Q more than the GM. Seabrook’s reaction said it all yesterday.
Last night Danault picked up his 7th assist for Montreal. Duclair picked up his 6th goal of the season for Columbus. Explain that Mr. GM!!!
I was hoping one of the vets like Toews or Kane would remind everyone of the lack of talent at forward on the bottom six and the bottom 3 on defence. Throw Bowman under the bus the way he, his scouts and old man have done to COACH Q. Amazing how Bowman fires Q’s best friend in Kitchen and then allows his father’s buddy to become the new assistant coach. Guess who is running the show again in Chicago?
Let’s also not forget the BOQVIST’s pick???
Thanks Q! :'(
I get the sense that McD is just too influential in Rocky’s ear. I never understood Bettman mentioning McD’s name when congratulating a Stanley Cup (i.e. marketing guy). That’s just my personal feeling. Darryl Sutter won 2 Cups and got bounced – it happens. If you’re going to fire Q then Bowman should have been release of his duties as well (at the same time….I believe that’s what the Kings did with Sutter and Lombardi). This firing just smells of McD’s “marketing spin”. I’ve just never cared for his personality even when he was with the Cubs. There’s also the influence of Scotty Bowman but enough is enough with that ship. I just wish Q wasn’t so stubborn when it came to using the diminished talent relative to the STUDS he had in the past. He just seemed to not want to adjust….much like a power pitcher who loses his fastball and then fails because he refuses to learn “how to pitch”. It sure will be strange on Thursday when THE ICON isn’t behind the bench.
Jeremy Colliton – Congrats & good luck!
Keep in mind that you are 1 day closer to being shown the door as well…
Thanks Q for a great run! Relax & enjoy your free time…
Q deserves every accolade he has and will recieve, hands down no doubt. Big money sports is not very forgiving to coaches and it’s a what did you do lately world, they are always the first to go.
The front office wants a successful organization, on ice success translates to financial success and that is their goal. Hopefully this the right head coach at the right time as Q was 10 years ago. Smith is there i hope because he was best available to help him, period. Time will tell.
Now that Q is gone (it was all his fault for certain) Blackhawks lines today:
Morin-Pirri-Stalberg
Teavo-Danault-Hartman
Brouwer-Hinostroza-Ladd
Hossa-Bolland-Bickell
extras – Shaw, Ben Smith, Desjardins
D pairings:
Kempny-Leddy
Buff-Hjalmarrson
TVR-Daley
extra – Johns, Clendenning
Goalies:
Raanta
Darling
Barry Smith lecturing head coach now in Bowman’s office.
Good day.
Thank you Q for playing a key role in giving me and other Hawks fans more than we could have hoped for over the past decade. It was a helluva run and a whole lot of fun. Your mustache will live on forever. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Iceman – now that’s funny!
I see Colliton has already made what I would consider a positive move with the 1st PP unit
He’s loading up the 1st unit with 19,8,88, 12 and 7 as the D (no Keith although he’s on the 2nd unit) and running a 1-3-1 set up
I had already planned on being at the game on Thursday. It will certainly be strange to not have Quenneville’s name announced as the coach and hear the chant of “QQQQQQQQQQQ” (sorry, that’s the only way I could figure out how to try and type that).
The players were pretty professional in their dealings with the media, taking responsibility themselves, and acknowledging that this sort of thing happens to coaches first and others second. Toews, being the Captain, noted that Colliton could perhaps bring some new insights into things, which is the right thing for him to say.
I would think that the biggest impact that Colliton and his assistant could bring is work on the PP. We’ve all been frustrated as fans by that. But, are there really lineup changes, bringing up guys, etc. that are going to fix the huge problem of turnovers that leave Crawford and Ward out to dry?
Think about it ….. the Blackhawks get off to a pretty good start all in all. Then, they go on a West Coast trip where Kane gets the flu and is out one game and clearly not himself in at least another. Keith gets booted in the first two minutes of the game in Calgary. Anisimov scores an own-goal in that same game.
So, 8 -10 or so games where things look really good, especially with peoples’ expectations being low. Then, a skid of 5 games with some strange things happening. Then, the Coach gets fired on Election Day morning in Illinois. I might be wearing some tin foil on my head but there is a bit of a spin and timing deal going on here.
Sigh. Maybe all for the best still. Colliton’s got his work cut out for him, but if he’s the right guy he’ll rise to the task.
It would be great to see Colliton hold Gus accountable for his listless defense, sloppy turnovers, and seeming indifference to both. I could never figure out how Q gave him that much rope. That’s not dump on Q though – as most acknowledge the wrong guy got tossed under the bus. And speaking of wrong guys, I can’t help but notice the eerie facial resemblance between McDonough and the Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
Good one Iceman
Great job by the former coach, and enjoy your short rest. The right guy for the remarkable run!
This was inevitable sooner or later and best to do it now. Bowman is on the firing line and he’s got a tough position to navigate-with the aging, top heavy contracts. McDonough wants to win now, but he’s short some horses to get it done. My guess is some of press conference was mostly for optics. If they wanted to win right away would they really go with a 33 yr. old, who may or may not be the right guy.
Jordyhawk, Gus plays rover. He’s actually a good rover, there just isn’t such a position.
Stan is a skuzz bag to say the least .
I have been saying this for years about Stan….The roster is horrible because Bowman. His press conference was a joke!!! We replace Coach Q by a guy who coached in 2nd divisionII sweden 2 years ago!!! Funny!
The team was never built by Bowman…never!
We all know the truth about Stan yet Wirtz is reverting back to Pulford and his father’s era!
Stan cannot admit his bad trades, bad signings, bad scouting department, and listening t his dad about Barry Smith??? Joke
Hull right on, this is a real horror movie where is Svenghoulie, It started when Rocky hired a carnival barker as prez who hired daddys little man, problem was neither knew anything about hockey but a great team was in place and for years they basked in the glory of Tallons, work but instead of maintaining the team with shrewd drafts and trades , Stanley arrogantly thought he could spot talent and gave away or overpaid . now we are witnessing the product Stanley has created. enjoy
Hull65 you live in a 100-0 world, when in fact the world is 50-50 grey. Your tropes against Bowman are unbalanced. To you, he is the antichrist who should be burned at the stake because all bad that has befallen the Hawks is his doing. NOT. coaching matters too. Q was not infallible. Stop being so one-note and stupid and blaming it all on one guy. You sound like a fool. I respect the vast majority of posters on this site, but your thoughts are utterly predictable and, frankly, retarded. I’d love to hear some fresh thoughts out of you. What else you got in terms of analysis other than “stan sucks!”? C’mon man. You’re killing me.
Was watching NHL Network and they were discussing where Quenneville might end up as coach.
Their take is that Q is paid $6M for this year as well as next year. Any team that wants to talk to him has to ask Chicago’s front office first.
With that said, the discussion centered on teams that could be able to pay him, and those that could conceivably be looking for a coaching change.
The two teams that came up were Philadelphia and Detroit, and those two were contingent upon things going sour with their current coaches during the remainder of this season. No mention of places in the West where he would possibly end up.
I’ve yet to read a single story or comment about Q’s dismissal. Mostly because I didn’t want to hear anything that came from the ‘extreme’ perspectives.
I’ve never understood the relationship of players/coaches/gm at the professional level. Its just not possible for an outsider to know what’s at play.
From where I sit, this firing seems very harsh and I’m extremely disappointed it was deemed necessary.
Q delivered. He did so in a way this franchise has never seen before and frankly probably never will again. Think about that.
Think about how many young people will be lifelong devoted fans of this orginization because of this man’s contribution. That’s nothing to sneeze at.
The firing wasn’t a public vote. We have no say in it. The results of it will fall only on those who made it happen. They better pray they got it right.
I honestly hope they did. I’m just not convinced it will be what they were looking for. Its very possible that its way more elusive than anyone is willing to admit.
Thank you Q!! It was fun…
Love Q. Thanks for the memories (Namely 3 Cups), but it is time for a new philosophy and system. Yeah, Bowman deserved to be fired more than you. However, you were so concerned about our penalty kill that you put handcuffs on what few gritty players we have. Teams skated into the UC knowing it would be an easy game. Colliton, within reason, lets his players knock people down and fight if necessary. Also he has a more modern system. That alone is reason for hope. But again, Q, you will always be fondly remembered from when it was you implementing the “new system.” God bless you!
BA sounds like BS. Q dismissed, so be it. Right or wrong, what’s done is done and you can’t undo it. The question remains. What can Colliton do with this team? Just don’t see this as a long term solution. There will be zero coach wins this year.
If the Hawks replace Colliton in a month, we will know that Q was fired/resigned suddenly.
Sorry Kimball,
I think the majority of hockey minds which by the way includes Kane, Seabs and the Crow know the Bowman disaster. Watch the interviews. I guess you cannot admit to his lack of skill as a GM. He may have made one or two good trades (Leddy & Oduya???) but most of all he has been awful and arrogant. Something smart is hiring a real hockey mind as a GM. I think Coach Q made some mistakes which I pointed out as well (the Dog house routine with Teuvo, Hartman and Schmaltz ). It was obvious he did not respect Bowman because the GM did not keep the ship running. Bad trades and bad free agent signings falls on the GM not the coach. Firing everyone including Scotty and John MacD would have been the answer but then Wirtz who has no idea what to do may start acting like his father.
Chicago is a class organization but the way the Bowmans have acted from the beginning is petty and classless. Proof is there. Just admit it. Now, if this new coach is not a puppet then waive all those free agent busts Bowman signed and bring up your players from Rockford. This will not happen because Bowman has him by the balls!!!
The coach doesn’t waive players or bring them up from Rockford – that’s the GM’s job on every NHL team, the coach is responsible for the line up decisions not the roster decisions although Q had more power than most to try and get the moves he wanted made
Coaches come and they go but the Team remains. I’m a Hawks fan and always will be , that’s why I will back our new Coach. The King is dead long live the King!!
I liked Q the most.
Respect the most.
Knew coach/gm/others would happen at some point.
Wahtevers better for the team for the longterm, just like when Q started.
Would have preferred Hoss, Q and others be part of the Cup.
New coach should get a full yr next yr no matter what.
Shouldn’t base anything on what happens these 60 games.
Hes the new/younger style coach, were going with the faster style game/system then he should do good, once we get a full roster.
I wait to make opinion starting next traingin camp/season when more of the younger guys are ready and the roster is more full then now/last yr.
With this bottom six at forward and bottom 3 on defence, unfortunately as seen tonight against the TEUVO and the Canes, the resut will be the same. Kahun, Fortin, Kunitz, Martinson, Ward, Manning, Davidson, Rutta, Hayden, Kruger, and Kampf will not help the new Coach. Until Bowman is gone and drafting improves, playoffs will not happen soon.
I am a huge Coach Q fan. That said, his refusal to adapt to the changes on the roster over the last three years cost him his job. So be it. Time for everybody to move on.
My prediction: Q will ascend into the Pantheon of the Hockey Gods. Stan Bowman, not so much.
Q may take another job or just call it a career and wait to be inducted into HHOF. Once Stanbo gets the axe (hopefully well before next year’s draft so we can get in a GM whose top qualification is something other than proficiency in Excel) he will end up as an administrator at USA Hockey or something like that. I don’t see NHL teams beating a path to his door.
The wrong person was fired.
Good luck with that Stan.
Blackhawk fans have yet to face the probability that they have witnessed a generational event with the three Stanley Cups in a short period of time. I think people will now come to the UC just to see the Captain, Kane, Crawford, Keith play as we did in the past just to see Hull, Mikita, etc play.
like all these comments,Q was the master at bringing the cup to Chicago,but that was then and this is now, Good luck to Jeremy and hope he does not read the paper clippings..
like all these comments,Q was the master at bringing the cup to Chicago,but that was then and this is now, Good luck to Jeremy ..
What a Joke OMG. Eddy O would be excellent replacement if they New how to get him out of contract ! This is unbearable to watch. Eddy O would be perfect fit right now. And players would play for him. They are not for this joke of a coach. Even Hossa who they r still paying for would fit better than this kid
Unfair to the kid but they are hard to watch!
Edzo is NOT an NHL coach. He’s horrible! That’s why he was never hired after his dismissal from Pittsburgh. Great commentator, LOUSY coach.
Like many others I selfishly would like to have QStasche be the Hawks coach forever. He’s not just a great coach but a real hockey icon. However QStasche himself once said, and I’ll paraphrase, “when you get hired you know that there will be a day that you’re fired”. An era is over and we have to get over it. Everyone is beating on Stanbow or his old man or McDonough but the reality is that teams make changes. This Hawks team is a transitional team composed of a star who will be great for years to come, Kane and a group of aging core players who still have some good years in them with a supporting cast of young players, some who will turn out to be stars and some will be duds. I see a lot of talent in the pipeline. Toews is somewhere in the middle of that description of the core. The game is always changing so they bring on a young guy in Colliton who is highly regarded and represents the new direction the game is played. Sure StanBow has made some bad trades and picks but also some great trades and picks. No GM bats .1000.
Let’s just savor the great era of the Hawks and enjoy watching the process of hopefully seeing the Hawks be retooled as a contender.
Thank you Q.
Thank you.
TAB: Is there aN NHL version of the NBA’s “process”? I’m hoping bidding farewell to arguably the best team coach in Chicago sports history was a nod to embarking upon a full-fledged re-build – and honoring Q by not asking him to go through that process.
In a similar state of mind- is it time to bid farewell to warriors who have fought the good fight, and allow them to finish their careers on teams with a legitimate shot at another Cup?
That said; is blowing up some of the remaining parts of the “core” even feasible?
WAIT! Trading Kane and/or Towes would be sacrilege, but is moving older warhorses like Seabrook, Keith, Saad and yes – even Crow to teams who feel their pedigree could put them over the top — even a realistic possibility?
What about when we get closer to the end of the regular season and organizations want to show their teams -they’re all in?
I can’t help but believe Bowman (or any of us for that matter) sees little value in playing a season without making drastic moves when the highest realistic goal is a playoff berth. Also, installing Jeremy Colliton behind the bench not only spared Coach Q from having to endure a rebuild, but afforded the Hawks someone who has a better handle on what they have moving forward – not just what they lack to play Q’s system.
Nylander is available from Toronto. Panarin is available from Columbus. Maybe theses aren’t the exact examples due to fit or regarding salaries, but Stan has maintained a salary cushion available- does anyone really think it’s for acquiring a player which will put the Hawks over the top…this year?
Finally – SCREW BLAME! Drop the puck and let’s see who wants it more.
For those who are hoping for Eddie O to become the Hawks coach I offer one thought: Remember when the White Sox moved Ken (Hawk) Harrelson to the front office as GM? For those of you who don’t know what I am talking about, congratulations. You missed a painful moment in White Sox history.