Reports leading up to the press conference indicated big organizational changes were expected, and those expectations were confirmed with the firing of Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Al MacIsaac, the resignation of General Manager Stan Bowman and all remaining executives involved in the incident also leaving the team. The Blackhawks announced that Kyle Davidson will serve as the interim general manager of the team moving forward until a new general manager is found.

Following the press conference, the NHL announced the Blackhawks have been fined $2 million for inadequate procedures and mishandling of the incident.

The press conference began with Chairman Rocky Wirtz stating both he and Danny Wirtz—who was not with the organization at the time—were unaware of the allegations until the lawsuits were filed. Dany Wirtz later stated the Blackhawks’ legal team has been instructed to fairly compensate “John Doe,” the player who filed the lawsuit, and that “Doe” deserved far better from the team.

Reid Schar of Jenner and Block, who led the investigation, stated that “Doe” was a 20-year-old member of the Rockford IceHogs who had been called up as a Black Ace during the Blackhawks’ 2010 playoff run.

Schar shared that on May 8 or 9, 2010, “Doe” and Aldrich had a sexual encounter. During the investigation, “Doe” stated the encounter was non-consensual, while Aldrich stated it was consensual. MacIsaac was informed of the situation on May 23, 2010, and MacIsaac then dispatched Mental Skills Coach James Gary to discuss the incident with the player.

Bowman, MacIsaac, then-Executive Vice President Jay Blunk, then-Assistant General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, then-President John McDonough and then-Head Coach Joel Quenneville met that same day to discuss the incident. One witness involved in the investigation stated the decision was left in McDonough’s hands, and McDonough did not report the incident to the Blackhawks’ Director of Human Resources until June 14, 2010. It was also revealed that during the meeting Quenneville shook his head and shared the focus needed to remain on hockey and it was hard for the team to get where they were and that they could not deal with the incident at that time.

A second incident occurred after the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup on June 9, 2010, as Aldrich made an unwanted sexual advance on a 22-year-old intern at a team party on June 10, 2010.

Upon McDonough informing the Director of Human Resources, the Director of Human Resources gave Aldrich the option to undergo an investigation or resign on June 16, 2010, and Aldrich opted for the latter.

The full report from the investigation has been made publicly available.

The attention now swings to USA Hockey and if they will make a move regarding Bowman, as he is currently serving as the general manager for the 2022 U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team. The futures of Cheveldayoff, who is the current general manager of the Winnipeg Jets, and Quenneville, the current head coach of the Florida Panthers, also remain to be seen.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman shared in a statement that should Blunk, Bowman, MacIsaac or McDonough wish to re-enter the league, it will require a meeting with the commissioner in advance of them accepting a job offer.

The post BREAKING: Bowman resigns, Blackhawks fire MacIsaac, announce results of independent investigation appeared first on The Rink.

The reporting on the negotiations between the Blackhawks and Oilers turned out to be accurate—retained salary by Chicago had been rumored to be a sticking point. In the end, the Oilers acquired Keith, who has two years remaining on his current contract, along with minor-league forward Tim Soderlund, for 24-year-old defenseman Caleb Jones and a conditional third-round pick—with Chicago not having to retain any of Keith’s salary.

The Chicago media—and Blackhawk Twitter—were quick to proclaim this a big win for Blackhawks President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Stan Bowman. But, that is not unusual. Bowman could acquire a roll of tape and a frighteningly large segment of the fanbase would still be “juiced.”

The key to this deal is the 24-year-old Jones, not because he is a hugely promising player, but because he just happens to be the younger brother of a rumored Blackhawk offseason target, Columbus defenseman Seth Jones.

Caleb Jones, by himself, is probably yet another No. 5–7 defenseman on a Chicago team already chock full of them. But, if his presence in Chicago could help the Hawks sign the elder Jones to an extension (after first trading for him), then the Keith trade will have worked out very well for Chicago, both in terms of securing a valuable rebuild piece for the blue line, and most of the cap room needed to sign him.

If not, then Caleb Jones and a third-round draft pick (the majority of which never actually play in the NHL) is not a “winning return” for an aging, but still likely effective (in the right situation, i.e. outside Chicago), Keith.

Finally, we would be remiss if we did not tap our sticks on the departure of a true warrior, and a vital cog in the great Blackhawk teams from 2009–15. Keith will be missed, and his No. 2 is certainly headed to the United Center rafters before too terribly long.

All we have for now.

The post TRADE ANALYSIS: Blackhawks deal Duncan Keith to Edmonton appeared first on The Rink.

Were they fun to watch? At times. Was it a good year of growth for younger players? Well, that depends on how many and which of those players will be around in 2–3 years, when hopefully the time and trial investment of this season will be paying off, because it is likely not all of them will be in Chicago at that point.

So today, all Hawk fans, and especially Blackhawks management, should be looking forward. And doing so with a critical, discerning eye—instead of blind optimism.

And we confront again the question of the Blackhawks’ last four seasons of, if we are being honest, mediocrity: Is the glass half full, or is it half empty?

One thing that is indisputable: There are loads of Twitter accounts and media types (paid directly by the Hawks or not), who will tell you the glass is half full, that the 2020–21 season truly marked significant improvement—or at least promise—for the franchise.

I do not know about your household budget, but for my money, I want to see the numbers, not the hype.

So, in this article, we are going to look at actual improvement (and regression) with the Blackhawks this season—and leave relative “promise” to those who are paid to project NHL talent (scouts), and to those in the media and fanbase who choose to live in the land of pink unicorns and gumdrop houses. It is, after all, a free country.

But, even before looking at “improvement,” let’s define what the goal is, what the team is trying to improve toward.

It used to be, from say 2009 to 2017(-ish), the (One) goal of the Blackhawks every season was not just to make the playoffs, but to go deep, if not win the Stanley Cup.

Today, we (a fair amount of us anyway) seem to be almost satisfied finishing 20th or so out of 31 teams—as though a significant chunk of the Blackhawks Twitterverse would be ecstatic to finish high enough (depending on the playoff format) to just make the postseason (and get crushed).

But, if two playoff home games and a first-round elimination is your “be all/end all,” we will now return you to your regularly scheduled spring and early summer activities.

For the rest of us, the goal remains for the Hawks to not just make the playoffs, but go deep once there. And as far as reaching that goal, the Blackhawks have perhaps taken a step back in 2020–21.

“Wait, what?!” That’s right, in one hugely important area: 5-on-5 play.

We have said it here before. We have said it a lot the last couple of years on the RinkCast. Arguably the best single metric of playoff viability is 5-on-5 play—the most obvious (but not the only) reason being that a much greater percentage of the game is played at 5-on-5 in the playoffs versus the regular season. Not to mention the fact that the checking gets heavier; there is less open ice, and refs tend to swallow their whistles—and not call as many penalties—in the postseason as well.

The Blackhawks absolutely tanked at 5-on-5 this year.

“Good” news, the Blackhawks were 7–5 this season in 3-on-3 overtime, and who does not love seeing Patrick Kane or Alex DeBrincat bury a game-winner after a mad sequence of end-to-end rushes? No one.

But, 12 “charity points” (for regulation ties) and a net +2 in extra points for overtime winners does nothing to make you a good team in the playoffs, where those things do not exist. In fact, it just helps mask your 5-on-5 deficiencies over the course of the regular season.

And, at 5-on-5 over the last four years, the Blackhawks have been anywhere from slightly underwater to downright awful—that last descriptor applying especially to the 2020–21 season, where the team mustered 100 goals at full strength, versus giving up 125—and that being over just 56 games.

But, what is more important to understand is why. If you delve into the particulars of the Hawks’ last four seasons, you can see some obvious indicators.

One is defense.

It is not a big secret that the Hawks have not been a good team defensively over the last four years. And again, they were not this year, where they gave up 33.4 shots a game. Good news: That is slightly better than the previous two seasons.

But, if you dig a little deeper into the shot numbers, there is this: High-danger Corsi against at 5-on-5 was a league-worst 534 (shots generated in high-danger areas) going into last night’s season finale, and high-danger goals against was next-to-last in the league, by just one goal.

What this essentially means is the Hawks allowed opponents more top-quality scoring opportunities 5-on-5 than any other team in the league, upon which teams were able to convert at an almost league-worst rate.

Which leads to goaltending.

If you looked at the Hawks’ goaltending numbers around the end of February (which we did at the time), they were stellar. Everyone was on the Kevin Lankinen train, when his save percentage was north of .920 and his goals-against average (GAA) was under 2.50.

But, as we told you then on the RinkCast, the rookie netminder was probably going to regress at some point, perhaps significantly. And he did, finishing the season at a .909 save percentage and 3.01 GAA. For comparison sake, in 2017–18, the Hawks’ second-worst 5-on-5 season in the last four, the immortal Anton Forsberg finished at .908/2.98.

We are not here to bury Lankinen, and honestly the sample size (not to mention a porous defense in front of him) does not give you enough to make a definitive judgement on him. However, in a recent article written by The Athletic, one pro scout is quoted as saying that Lankinen’s upside is as a “1B” in the NHL (think Antti Raanta or Cam Talbot), not a legitimate No. 1 netminder. Similar was said of the Hawks’ other netminder, Malcolm Subban.

So, is it just the defense and goaltending? Probably not.

Certainly, this was a younger Hawks team than in past years (though pretty much around the median league wide), which is perhaps a slightly mitigating factor in the fall off the 5-on-5 cliff, but they were also the league’s lightest team at an average weight of 190.7 pounds.

(“Yeah, but they are super fast and skilled, the game has changed, so…” And we do not have time or, ugh, energy to have this argument for the seven millionth time since 2009.)

But, there is this: The four “heaviest” teams in the league this year are defending Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights (West Division leader), Washington Capitals (second in the East Division) and the New York Islanders (a playoff team).

How does this correlate to 5-on-5 play? Physics, to start.

At 5-on-5, there is less space (and more traffic) on the ice, more “50-50” pucks up for grab, etc. All else being equal, bigger players (or those who play bigger) tend to be better 5-on-5 players.

Go back to the Hawks’ abysmal 5-on-5 high-danger scoring chances numbers outlined above, which are all about how well you defend the front of your net, where all the traffic is. See a connection?

So, yes, hockey is still (and until further notice) a contact sport, and size still matters, especially 5-on-5.

“But what about ‘when’ Jonathan Toews comes back?”

Let’s veer briefly, for the sake of argument, into the aforementioned land of unicorns, magic and glitter, and assume that Toews comes riding back (on a white horse would suffice) at 100% health, heck, even “rested” and “recharged”—at 33 years of age, after missing an entire season due to a mystery ailment.

As we have also argued (over and over again, for years), faceoffs matter (as we saw last night at the end of the second period)—and without their top faceoff guy of the last nearly 15 years—the Blackhawks’ numbers suffered this year, going from a typical 49% since 2017 to around 46%. A healthy Toews also somewhat elevates overall team defense (when he is on the ice anyway), and adds an element of ability in the rough going, which is all good for the team 5-on-5.

But, Toews actually played all or most of the three seasons prior to this one, when the Hawks were somewhere between slightly and deeply underwater 5-on-5 and did not make the playoffs (either entirely, or at least not in the traditional sense).

Yes, getting a reasonably healthy Toews back would help the team at 5-on-5. But, while getting him back at all is far from assured, the numbers show he also would not going to solve the problem by himself.

So, is it all “negative” then? No. It is about really improving instead of just assuming “everything is going to magically work out” for a team that has not had a lot really work out for four years running now.

Where we are going with this is do not let “positivity” blind you to the fact (enumerated in several ways above) that this team still has significant holes that need to be filled—somehow and from somewhere.

This is where we come back to the notion of “promise.”

If I only had a dollar for every time someone told me: “Gus just needs coaching. The defense will come.” Now in his fourth organization in the last two years, Erik Gustafsson barely brings back a box of tape in trade, because he still stinks at actual defense, in spite of lots of “coaching.”

In 2018, we were told by Chicago’s intrepid, infallible general manager that Dylan Sikura would be the next big (pun intended) thing. He…eh…was not.

We were told by the same general manager that Ian Mitchell was ready for the NHL his last year in college. He really was not even ready this year.

Now, we are being told that Henrik Borgstrom, who signed a two-year contract with Blackhawks according to a report from The Athletic today, was among the greatest college players Stan Bowman ever saw.

Is there a pattern here?

We strongly suggest, if you have had the stomach to stick with us thus far, that you go read that “scout’s opinion” article from The Athletic.

The NHL scouts queried are high on Kane and DeBrincat (as they should be—and kudos to DeBrincat, who has worked hard and taken his game to another level—but, to be clear, those guys also have also been aroundthe last four years when the team struggled or stunk 5-on-5).

The scouts like Dominik Kubalik.

But, they had this to say about Kirby Dach, the guy many fans have rushed to crown “the next Jonathan Toews”: He is not another Toews.

He will be a good-to-great player in whatever role he matures into. But, is he going to be a quasi-road grader, super-productive No. 1 center (which this team desperately needs to find in addition to similar qualities in a No. 2 and No. 3 center)? Maybe. But quite possibly not.

Again, scouts can be wrong. But, they are paid to be wrong a lot less often than over-anxious fans.

The scouts say 38-year-old Duncan Keith’s minutes need to be reduced (they do). But, who takes them?

Scouts acknowledge Connor Murphy’s ongoing improvement, but pretty much condemn Nikita Zadorov for having no value beyond (effectively, mind you) moving players off of pucks—which is important, as we state above. But, he is also a chronically mistake-prone pylon—which was his reputation before the Hawks traded Brandon Saad (a good 5-on-5 player) for him.

Mitchell and Adam Boqvist? In scouts’ eyes: Offense good, defense not. “I’m not sure what they see” (in Boqvist) was stated in the article. Paraphrasing here: Mitchell will always need a certain kind of defense partner, (i.e,, be somewhat sheltered).

But, Murphy cannot play with both of these guys, and Calvin de Haan is a nice player when he is healthy, which is not often.

The scouts seem to really like Wyatt Kalynuk (for his shot and skating anyway—but, remember, our boy Gus can really skate and shoot, too) and Brandon Hagel.

Hagel, in our eyes, may end up being the biggest “find” of this season—a promising, versatile, do-what-it-takes forward—whose game is very well suited for 5-on-5 play.

And, there were positive notes on Pius Suter and Philipp Kurashev (who, unlike Zadorov, gets pushed off of pucks far too easily at this point).

What we are getting at, though, is this: There is more work to be done here—and not just by pro player development and the coaching staff. And, you should not just assume Toews will come back and fill all these holes, because he was not fully accomplishing that prior to missing this season, regardless.

The Blackhawks’ front office, now four years removed from a true playoff season, needs to step it up. Talk less in “Stan Bowman media sit-downs” about “rebuilding.” Do more of the hard work of actually rebuilding, which may mean unpopular in the near term, but ultimately better long-term decisions.

Stop over-building expectations on guys who never pan out, or at least not like the Hawks keep “promising” they will. Start being brutally honest about what they have—and, more importantly, about what they do not (yet) have.

They do not have a good 5-on-5 team; they have not for four years. And, they do not even have a lot of prospects who confidently project as solutions to that problem.

The truth is, the Blackhawks overperformed in net, on the power play and in 3-on-3 overtime until March 1. Since then, the law of averages—and the rest of the NHL—not only caught up with them, but overtook them, and the results were largely abysmal, in spite of the “fun” factor.

The No. 1 goalie the Hawks will need to return to contention may not be here—and, odds are, may not even be in the organization.

Where are the centers who can go toe-to-toe with Mark Scheifele, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Tyler Seguin, Nathan MacKinnon and down the road with, say, Quinton Byfield?

Toews is getting on in years, with a lot of miles on his body, and “coming off” (maybe) a serious “health issue.”

Will Dach even end up at center, or is his best position at wing (where the Hawks are already fairly loaded)?

After that, at center, we are banking on the “promise” of junior players, college kids and a young pro who held out on his former team for a new contract in Europe (Borgstrom).

And then, there is defense. Sure, as always, we can dream about Alec Regula or Alex Vlasic, who at least look the part of bigger, more physical defenders—but their NHL careers are not guaranteed.

The picks of Dach and Vlasic in 2019 were encouraging as far as building some size into the Hawk pipeline, a need that Bowman (to his credit) acknowledged at the time, although it was also long overdue.

Much more needs to be done, and picking 11th or 12th in the first round of the draft is not really ideal in terms of grabbing a difference-maker who checks all the needed boxes.

The Hawks may have some money in free agency this summer, but four years removed from the playoffs and floundering in the mushy middle of the league, Chicago is no longer a marquee destination for unrestricted free agents. Fact. NHL players on UFA deals want to win, and win right away.

Perhaps the Hawks can get a difference-making player or two in free agency this summer, but quite plausibly, they would have to overpay to do so.

The front office has real work to do, and a lot of it. Do not let them off the hook by buying into the “sunshine and roses” take on a season that was, at best, a mixed bag of pretty good and pretty bad—and in fact really discouraging in terms of becoming, again, the type of team that wins playoff series.

Here’s hoping the Hawks themselves know this—and have a plan beyond telling us how great, oh, I do not know, take your pick (Evan Barratt?) will be. Thanks for reading.

The post Blackhawks season wrap: What just happened here, and what is next? appeared first on The Rink.

The Rink staff members John Jaeckel, Sean Fitzgerald, and Andy Campbell reconvene to talk about the Blackhawks’ latest news and their fading playoff hopes.

• The state of the Blackhawks. What do we think as the season wraps?
• The conversation moves quickly to Dylan Strome.
• Who are these Brent Connelly and Wyatt Galchenyuk guys, Sean?
• Where has the improvement been? Has there really been improvement?
• Andrew Shaw retires.
• A little bit of Mongo McMichael chatter.
• Why does Gate hate Riley Stillman?
• Listener questions.
• Some peculiar Jonathan Toews news is floated
• Could the Blackhawks make a big offseason move?

From last night’s #Rinkcast.#DoubleDown #Blackhawks @TheRinkChi @jaeckel @AndyCampbell16 @Diesal3426 pic.twitter.com/jBUmmGQt0h

— The-Rink.com Hockey Rinkcasts (@TheRinkcast) April 27, 2021

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The Rink staff members John Jaeckel, Sean Fitzgerald and Andy Campbell let the dust settle and talk bout a busy trade deadline for Stan Bowman and the Chicago Blackhawks.

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 4, Episode 11 – Stan’s Big Trade Deadline Adventure appeared first on The Rink.

Chicago Blackhawks General Manager Stan Bowman’s trade deadline balance sheet looks like the following:

IN
RW Vinnie Hinostroza
RW Brett Connolly
D Riley Stillman
C/W Henrik Borgstrom
C/W Adam Gaudette
F Ryder Rolston
F Josh Dickinson
2021 second-round pick
2022 third-round pick
2021 fourth-round pick
2021 seventh-round pick

OUT
F Brad Morrison
F Lucas Wallmark
D Lucas Carlsson
F Matthew Highmore
C Carl Soderberg
C/W Mattias Janmark
D Madison Bowey
2021 fifth-round pick
2022 fifth-round pick

Net result: Positive, since the Hawks gave up absolutely nothing that is part of their long-term plan or even close to it, and acquired some projectable assets.

Caveat: While the same folks are doing the same “Big StanBo Victory Dance-a-thon” on Twitter this afternoon, if we are really being honest, the actual return here is, ahem, pretty conditional. Put another way, we know that all the “guys” than Bowman unloaded are nothing more than “guys.” But, we also know that:

• Hinostroza has historically been, well, a “guy”
• Connolly has been a disappointment much of his career and will very plausibly be wearing a Kraken sweater this summer
• No one has ever seen Stillman and Carlsson in the same room at the same time
• Vancouver thought Gaudette was worth losing for Highmore
• Rolston has been described in scouting reports as being defensively weak, a perimeter player and lacking high-level hockey sense. But, he is a Notre Dame guy, so, go Stan!

How this will play out: Fifth- and seventh-round draft picks are only slightly more statistically likely to play in the NHL than I am. But, Borgstrom (a 2016 first-round pick), and the second- and third-round picks Bowman acquired could each turn into something of value down the line. Similarly, statistically, many second- and third-rounders do not make it in the NHL (look no further than the Hawks’ own history in those rounds).

But, let’s say Borgstrom and one of those picks matriculate as solid contributors for the Hawks in say, middle- or bottom-six roles? Meh, okay, because in the larger perspective, Bowman gave up nothing he wanted to keep.

So, this trade deadline was overall a “win” for Bowman and the Hawks, but also not necessarily a big win—unless some combination of the picks and prospects Bowman acquired beat the odds, and exceed expectations and current projections.

All we have for now.

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The Rink staff members John Jaeckel, Sean Fitzgerald, and Andy Campbell reconvene to talk about the Blackhawks trades and the upcoming deadline.

• Analysis of the big trade (Lucas Wallmark, Lucas Carlsson for Brett Connelly, Riley Stillman, Henrik Borgstrom and a 7th) with Florida.
• Analysis of the smaller trade with Florida (Brad Morrison for Vince Hinostroza)
• What messages are the front office giving, regarding the trade deadline?
• Weekly Dylan Strome talk.
• Hype man Stan Bowman’s tire pumping.
• Blackhawks long term injuries to the core

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The Rink staff members John Jaeckel, Ray Napientek, Sean Fitzgerald, and Andy Campbell reconvene to talk about the Blackhawks and some more broad NHL topics.

• Blackhawks have some success vs Florida after getting beat up by Tampa
• Thoughts on Kirby Dach’s return to the lineup.
• Referee Tim Peel getting caught on the hot mic and forced out of service.
• Thoughts on “big boy hockey”.
• Some listener questions.

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The Rink staff members John Jaeckel, Jeff Osborn, Sean Fitzgerald, and Andy Campbell reconvene to talk about the Blackhawks’ misfortunes in Florida and the upcoming trade deadline.

• What do we think the Blackhawks will do at the deadline?
• What do we think they should do at the deadline?
• Our thoughts on Stan Bowman’s comments today about Jonathan Toews

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In this first podcast of season 4, the Rink staff members John Jaeckel, Sean Fitzgerald, and Andy Campbell to talk about the latest Blackhawks news considering the absence of Jonathan Toews to open the new year.

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In this final podcast of season 3, the Rink staff members John Jaeckel, Ray Napientek, Sean Fitzgerald, and Andy Campbell to talk about the Blackhawks moves.

• Kirby Dach fractures his wrist at World Championships.
• Dylan Strome is still not signed with camp starting in a week
• Carl Soderberg signed to fill a spot at center

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The Rink staff members John Jaeckel, Jeff Osborn, Sean Fitzgerald, and Aaron (Goldschmidt) Goldstein to talk about the Blackhawks announcement today that Stan Bowman has been promoted, while Jaime Faulkner takes President of Business Ops, and Danny Witz becomes CEO.

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 3, Episode 26 – Stan Bowman promotion reactions appeared first on The Rink.

2020 has taught us many things. But one thing some in Hawk nation still have yet to learn is that when General Manager Stan Bowman goes on a self-initiated media sit-down or full-blown media tour, as he has over the last several days, there is usually more to it than immediately meets the eye.

When Bowman does this (and he has done it before, though perhaps not as comprehensively as he has this time around), it is usually to head off growing perceptions in the fanbase that are not “good” for the organization.

You cannot just assume this is normal, or a normal part of Bowman’s job. He, and more broadly the team, would like you to think that, because that makes you an easier mark.

The truth is, Bowman does not (because he is not empowered to do so) just set up a bunch of media interviews on his own. That is not how corporations function—or pro sports franchises that typically function like corporations, especially the Chicago Blackhawks.

Follow the money.

I do not have the exact numbers. But anecdotally, the feedback I hear from season ticketholders regarding their communications with the team and their willingness to drop significant coin on ticket plans, suggest the Blackhawks—in an already low revenue environment due to COVID-19—are simultaneously finding themselves having an unusually hard time selling tickets or justifying high ticket prices.

Again anecdotally, countless ticketholders have told me how the resale market for their purchased tickets has fallen off a cliff over the last couple of seasons.

These types of “sales” problems quickly become a problem for PR and messaging to solve. And if you think the Blackhawk PR team and senior management were not fully bought in on (or fully driving) the idea of Bowman’s Big October PR Adventure, you are being colossally naïve.

For the second time this week, I have to credit Barstool for something (again, 2020).

When Bowman appeared on Red Line Radio, Barstool Ryan was fairly relentless in pinning him down on his expectations and “moves.” Full marks on that. I will even suggest giving it a listen. The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus went in that direction as well. Bowman’s responses (or lack thereof, more like evasions) were telling. Short of a transcript or blow by blow, let’s just look at what is obvious.

Bowman is now talking about essentially the status quo of the last few years as a “rebuild.” Sure, the team may rely more heavily on youth this season than it has the last couple of seasons—but this was the same thing they tried three years ago with the “youth movement” (other people’s words, not mine) that included Nick Schmaltz, Tyler Motte, Vincent Hinostroza and others. It did not make a difference then, and do not expect a different result now, either.

Bowman traded or chose not to re-sign three fixtures of last year’s team in Brandon Saad, Olli Maatta and Corey Crawford and did not receive one draft pick or high-end prospect in return. Yet he is now throwing around the word “rebuild.”

No one had a gun to his head; he could have dealt Saad or Maatta at any time before the in-season trade deadline, when either may have had greater value, too. He could have dealt Crawford last season, along with Robin Lehner, for whom he only got a second-round pick (and your new “No. 1” goalie Malcolm Subban).

Yes, yes, we have heard the rationalization of the diehard “Stanatics”: our boy had to make these moves to free up money to sign Dominik Kubalik (sure), Dylan Strome (meh, not so essential) and Drake Caggiula (who cares).

Even if you buy all that, nonetheless, Bowman’s “moves” all amount to just cost-cutting toward some end—not improving the team short-term (at all), not acquiring futures, which is not a “rebuild” in any sense, especially not when the cost-cutting only allows you to retain assets you already had, and improve the balance sheet (even if only slightly).

Bowman also steadfastly clings to the claim that the team has no plans to deal Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews or Duncan Keith (which may or may not be true)—the only pieces Bowman has left that could potentially bring back the high draft picks or high-end prospects required for a real rebuild. And Brent Seabrook’s nearly $7 million per year is not going anywhere regardless.

At best, Bowman is double-talking—and he went out on this tour with a clear messaging mission: reassure the fans, indoctrinate the media—and sell tickets.

“Sure, we are rebuilding, and you are gonna love Alec Regula and Ian Mitchell. But Kaner and Jonny and Duncs are not going anywhere. A return to glory is not far off. Blah blah blah.”

Remember, this is the same guy who advertised Dylan freaking Sikura as his “big trade deadline acquisition” during the last “youth movement.” How can anyone not be at least skeptical? How many times do you have to walk face first into a ball peen hammer

Hey, we all want to believe in something and not drown in our own cynicism—even crusty old characters like Puckin Hostile and myself. But there is another very telling phrase that describes all this: The tyranny of hope. If you buy their hope narrative, you will buy tickets.

There is a recurring pattern here. Same motive, same method, same madness.

Rationalizing a lack of a clear plan.

The Savior Prospect Of The Year (which is nothing more than an annual “fix” of hope).

“Dedication to excellence.”

Sell tickets and keep prices high.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

What I hear in all the “yeah, buts” about “StanBo” is, some people just do not want to let go and admit the organization they love has sunk this low: Deliberately digging in for three more seasons of on-ice mediocrity (until Toews, Kane and Keith’s contracts expire), on top of the last three mediocre seasons, because ownership does not want to bite the bullet—and take a more serious revenue hit for a couple of years.

Because that would be the cost of a real rebuild. And it is not chump change, either, to be fair.

So, a real rebuild may actually begin then, in the summer of 2023, which means three more seasons in the meantime of “anything can happen,” 13th place in the Western Conference and periodic spin by “StanBo.”

At the same time, you need to know that this organization remains as PR- and bottom line-driven as ever—even if that stands in the way of actually contending for a Cup again any time soon.

Or, keep making excuses for “Stan,” while the organization continues to basically coast on past glories, four high-priced veterans and a constant barrage of prospect hype. It has worked (as far as keeping the lights on, even if the team has been either bad or a bubble team at best) the last three years.

It is a free country, and tickets are going to be easier to come by, anyway.

The post ANALYSIS: The reasons behind Stan Bowman’s big 2020 PR tour appeared first on The Rink.

— Chicago Blackhawks press release, Oct. 20, 2020

Deftly straddling the right message for an increasingly anxious fanbase on one hand, and yet another massive PR faux pas on the other, the Blackhawks issued a statement today that hit all the right notes—but also clearly suggested they are not being completely truthful with someone.

Consider these words about their alleged rebuild very carefully: “an effort that will require a stockpile of emerging talent to complement our top players.”

This is basically the formula the Blackhawks have been following for four years—just not trying to call it a rebuild.

The fact remains, the Blackhawks have neither the draft picks nor the prospects nor the cap room to fulfill this promise without biting the bullet—risking alienation of the diehard meatheads who continue to lap up the “anything can happen” pig slop every year—and trading those same “top players,” meaning Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith.

In other words, it is still not going to work, even if you “step out” and call it a rebuild.

At face value, the Blackhawks are like Lucy: Pulling away the football yet again on a dwindling, delusional fanbase that just will not let go of the now decade-old One Goal dream.

“Rebuilding is fine, as long as I get my ‘Kaner’ fix and can fantasize about the playoffs for a month or two.” This is where it has come to, and that is not a rebuild.

This is not being negative, either. It is living in the world of actual “facts.” Do the math.

Even if Kirby Dach, Adam Boqvist and Ian Mitchell (as long as we are fantasizing here) end up being very good or great NHL players, the Hawks need at least three or four more NHL players of that ilk to become remotely what they were from 2010–2015, when they had four future NHL Hall of Famers, and another four or five terrific players.

And by the time Dach, Boqvist and/or Mitchell would become those players, Keith, Kane and Toews would all be 35–40 years old, or old and injured enough.

And where is that “emerging talent” coming from? Picking guys like Lukas Reichel at 17th overall in the first round? Alex Vlasic? Jake Wise? Being jacked up to the salary cap every year because of four guys over age 30 with no-movement-clause contracts into the next century?

But maybe the Hawks have an ace up their sleeve, and they intend to quietly shop Keith or Toews or Kane as the in-season trade deadline approaches in hopes of getting the boatload of high picks and prospects a real rebuild requires.

Well, then they apparently would not be leveling with those players, would they? Unless you are willing to believe the Hawks—with a straight face—are defining Dylan Strome as a top player, in which case, we have a bridge we want to sell you.

No, for the fourth consecutive year, here come the Hawks! The double-talking Blackhawks! Not contending (but at least they are not pretending about that anymore!). Not rebuilding (but now saying they are—probably only as a justification for reducing salary—let’s be honest here).

If that sounds familiar, you must have been around during the Bill Wirtz era, when Stanley Cups were “too expensive.”

Bit of advice: Stop trying to put a positive spin on this organization’s annual “bs” simply because it is easier than facing the fact that this team is swirling the drain as a serious hockey franchise. Because that’s when they have you—yet again.

Which is, in the end, why the Blackhawks are actually hemorrhaging fans (and sponsors). The team is mediocre, but not terrible. But, the brand is tanking.

Why? Because they cannot be completely honest in meaning what they say—and doing what they say. Not with their fans, possibly not their players and maybe not even themselves.

The post ANALYSIS: The Blackhawks publicly commit to a rebuild (wait, no) appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts Jeff Osborn, John Jaeckel, are joined by staff writer Aaron Goldschmidt, and friend of the site Christian Deme aka StacheESQ on Facebook live to talk about the firing of John McDonough.

• John McDonough surprisingly fired by Rocky Wirtz
• Danny Wirtz takes over in the interim
• What does this mean going forward?
• Does Stan stay or go?
• We get in-depth with some wishlists
• If you are interested in writing for The Rink for any division, email writefor@the-rink.com

Please subscribe, rate this episode, and even write us a review. Reviews will be read on the air. Follow and listen on these platforms:

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Watch the entire Facebook live here!!!!

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 3, Episode 18 – McDonough Down! appeared first on The Rink.

Just a handful of weeks after giving his President and General Manager votes of confidence, Blackhawks owner Rockwell Wirtz today at least partially, yet dramatically, reversed course, firing the aforementioned team President and CEO John McDonough.

Blackhawk nation finds itself in a state of shock at the news. And yet, for some, especially those of us here at The Rink, it is not a big surprise. We had expected it before the vote of confidence.

McDonough has his supporters—the “he won three Cups and turned the team around” epitaphs are many. But, facts are pesky things. And Wirtz, to his credit, as a smart, shrewd businessman, can see them plain as day.

What turned the fortunes of this franchise around 10–15 years ago were a series of good draft picks, trades and free agent signings, a true rebuild that, at the time, was long and painful. But, it eventually paid off in the form of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa—all acquired by the GMs who preceded McDonough’s handpicked “team player,” Stan Bowman.

And great teams, like great cars, in turn, sell themselves. Marketing can only get in the way if it is really, really bad. Otherwise, if you build it, they will come.

And they did.

Sure, it probably was McDonough’s big idea to put home games on local television and hire back Pat Foley as the team’s play-by-play man. But, after the decades-long ineptitude and fan alienation of Wirtz’ father, Dollar Bill Wirtz, there was nowhere to go but up in the fans’ eyes. McDonough just grabbed the lowest of low hanging fruit.

The young, brash, big and talented team that won the Cup in 2010—almost entirely built by Dale Tallon, Mike Smith, Rick Dudley and Marshall Johnston, and for the most part before McDonough’s tenure began—formed the core of the remaining two Cup teams as well.

And along about 2015, the Hawk front office, swollen with functionaries and false pride, began handing out massive contracts with no movement clauses—including one to a slow Russian forward who had yet to play in a Blackhawk uniform, with McDonough’s full review and approval.

And the price of that arrogance came due in successive seasons, as with each humiliating playoff elimination, followed by two (and possibly three) years out of the playoffs completely, it became more and more apparent that something was wrong with the Hawks’ front office.

And it was McDonough’s show, make no mistake.

Suddenly, with the exit of Marian Hossa, the decline of Brent Seabrook and some would argue Keith as well, with a string of missed draft picks and overhyped prospects, year after year, the celebrated Hawk front office could not get out of its own way. Fingers began to be pointed, and a Hall of Fame coach was replaced with an AHL coach who was younger than some of the team’s best players, which has not worked out.

At that time, McDonough declared himself accountable, and some of us started to wonder when Wirtz would take that to its logical conclusion.

Now we know. The king is dead.

Long live the king

Already, theories abound as to what’s next. Why is Bowman still around—could he have been part of an insurrection? Doubtful, and Bowman will likely be gone sometime this summer, or “reassigned” within the organization.

The idea that Chris Chelios or Eddie Olczyk will be the next team president has been floated.

But, while you cannot rule anything out, Wirtz’s bold move today signifies another is likely soon to follow. In all likelihood, Wirtz will go out and hire the best available visionary leader for his hockey team. And, in light of the huge importance of making excellent hockey decisions going forward, it will probably be not only an executive with a hockey background, but one with some proven bona fides in management—and likely from outside the organization at this time.

Firing Stan Bowman and retaining McDonough, as some would have preferred, would have been like cutting out a small tumor and leaving the cancer to slowly destroy the body. Wirtz did the right thing today.

Let’s all commend him for that and hope it is just a prelude to an even better move.

All for now, comment below.

The post ANALYSIS: The end of McDonough is just the beginning appeared first on The Rink.

Wirtz discussed the decision, with Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, to pay United Center employees during this pause in seasons. Wirtz indicated that he and Reinsdorf had a one-on-one call and agreed very quickly to ensure that the employees were appropriately taken care of.

Normally, these kinds of things produce very little in the way of new developments, but Charlie Roumeliotis and Pat Boyle also touched on the possibility of an NHL playoff solution that could include more than just the top 16 teams, which might also include the Blackhawks. Wirtz did not reveal much, but he said he was very hopeful that an eventual season restart would favor the team. This would be the second time in just under 12 months that the Blackhawks have had a very fortunate opportunity thrown in their lap following the team moving up to select third overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

The team is, in no way, good enough to be a playoff-caliber team in the normal format, but a few potential playoff games would certainly warm Wirtz’s heart (or line his wallet).

The final piece to their interview was a question from Boyle regarding Wirtz’s evaluation of the organization. After a trip through the public relations wilderness, Wirtz said the following:

“The nice thing is, John McDonough and his crew, and Stan Bowman, in my humble opinion, we have a good organization. They will figure it out. On my epitaph and on my tombstone with my kids, I promise you, it’s going to say: ‘Just figure it out.’ It’s going to be the day I was born, the day I died and, ‘Just figure it out.’ They will figure it out. I promise you.”

On one hand, what else is he going to say with the season paused and in limbo? He is not going to tip his hand with potential regular season games left to play and cause controversy to go along with the state of the pandemic, but it is certainly surprising that he does not seem more concerned with an organization that is on the precipice of missing the playoffs for the third straight year, has not won a playoff game in four years and has not gotten past the first round of the playoffs in five seasons.

If Wirtz does not make some moves this offseason, this organization will be stuck in neutral for another season, which is another year they have burned off the prime of the careers of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.

Listen to the full interview below:

The post Rocky Wirtz addresses season postponement, state of Blackhawks appeared first on The Rink.

But somewhere in the calls to #FireBowman or #FireEmAll, the reality of the business of hockey settles in: mass firings and turnover in the front office would only add to the harsh economics of what the Blackhawks are dealing with. They have a lot of money invested in a “core” that is aging and starting to decline. The Youth Movement that was supposed to turn the franchise around, every year since 2015, is only now starting to gain a little traction in the form of Adam Boqvist and Kirby Dach—and still has a long way to go. And needs more prospects like those.

Put another way: abruptly firing John McDonough, Stan Bowman and Al McIsaac (among others) would cost a lot of money in terms of current employment contracts/severance agreements, etc. Again, with revenues to the team on the decline and perhaps about to go in freefall. It’s not easy, and I’m glad it’s not my money.

All that said, it’s not like Rocky Wirtz has spent the last 5 years meditating in the Himalayas. He’s hired and empowered this front office—and watched them in action— so he now very much also owns what they’ve done.

So what follows are some suggestions I have, based upon what I’ve observed in successful franchises—as well as some insightful fan suggestions on Twitter.

1. Separate the business and hockey functions. Immediately, firmly, and permanently.

This is perhaps an even bigger, but simpler order. The Blackhawks need less cooks in the kitchen of hockey decisions. They have for some time.

There are those who continue to argue that based on what they’ve “heard” from “highly placed” sources, McDonough or “John” as some call him (GAG), never meddles in hockey decisions. However, by McDonough’s own oft-repeated account, he wants lots of visibility into hockey decisions, and there are many other sources who intimate that far too many hockey decisions at 1901 W. Madison have to go through extensive review and discussion by a lot of individuals.

Think about that. And then think about how the Hawks so often seem to wait too long to strike, and box themselves into a corner by waiting so long. Like they did yesterday.

There is a common sense argument, not to mention proven real world practice, that the only people making hockey decisions should be hockey people: scouts and general managers (preferably who come from a scouting background). Sure, by all means you have to get buy-in on the money, and the cap implications, from someone with a talent for numbers and an encyclopaedic knowledge of the CBA. Ironically, back when the core of the Hawks Cup teams was allowed to be perfected by Dale Tallon and Marc Bergevin and others, that numbers guy was, in fact, Bowman.

Let’s be clear, even with former Norfolk Admirals GM McIsaac as his official Hockey Whisperer, even though he’s allegedly shown up at at least one practice in a Hawk coaches’ warmup, McDonough is not nor has he ever been a hockey guy. And no, checking out Drew Leblanc’s “youtubes” does not make you one.

So maybe, even if you can’t part ways with McDonough for whatever reason, make him President of Business Operations, and hire a co-equal President of Hockey Operations (a person form a pure hockey background)—a structure utilized by other NHL teams and teams in other sports, like the Chicago Cubs.

If the current staff doesn’t like it and wants their old power back, let them go find it elsewhere. Life is full of choices.

Or clean house and start over with that structure. Not my circus, not my monkeys. Just use some common sense. For a change. Leave hockey to capable hockey people—and no one else.

And let me be clear, if Bowman, or even Bowman and Jeremy Colliton become the sole fall guys for this mess, but nothing else changes, do not expect the results to change. Bigger change is needed.

2. Be honest—finally—about the direction of the team

Ironically enough, this has become a popular refrain on Hawk twitter of late. Welcome to the party. We’ve been saying it over and over again for the last 2-3 years.

From what I can glean, Hawk fans have reached their saturation point with this marketing department’s BS and its influence on, if not the actual direction of the team itself, then at least how that direction is communicated (or not) to fans.

Fans who pay a lot of money for their tickets and jerseys.

It’s time for Rocky Wirtz—not freaking John McDonough or Stan Bowman—to stand before the media and lay out an honest vision for where this team is going and what fans can expect. Right now.

Are you really rebuilding?

Or are you trying to contend?

Depending on the answer—what is the plan?

How will you achieve it?

It’s simple. But unfortunately, the answer to those questions to this point, which the team seems to want to avoid addressing openly at all costs, is that they’re trying to do both. Despite the now annual disastrous results.

No one in the Hawk front office and likely Wirtz himself, seems to have the stomach for really tearing down and shipping out the team’s best players for boatloads of draft picks and cap room necessary to rebuild—”best players” who may not be good enough to even get the team into the playoffs anymore. At least not with the supporting casts and coaching Bowman (and the rest of the committee) provides.

So they just keep following the same script. One Goal. Anything Can Happen. We like our team, And we really like Dylan Sikura.

Sorry guys, the gig’s up. Everyone sees through it. And the bills—in terms of non-renewed season tickets, even flatter ticket resales and merchandise revenues—are going to get stiffer.

Just tell the truth.

Man up. And fix it.

Yeah, some of the post-2007 late arrivers may peel away. Yeah, there’s going to be a half-empty building for a year or two, but the proud Chicago Blackhawks and their longtime fans have suffered worse and for longer in the past.

Here’s hoping for a new and brighter day, not just for those of us at The Rink, but for all the fans we interact with on a daily basis, for the players, everyone associated with the Indianhead. We all deserve better.

Comment below.

The post Analysis: Where do the Blackhawks go from here? appeared first on The Rink.

I was (and still am) a Dale Tallon fan. And anyone who goes around saying that Stan Bowman won 3 Stanley Cups not only does Tallon (and to a degree Mike Smith and Rick Dudley) a huge disservice, but they sound pretty stupid when they say it.

I have also tried, especially the last 2-3 years, to give Bowman the benefit of the doubt, and credit when it’s due. But the fact is, in terms of his hockey career, Stan Bowman was born on third base. Twice.

First, as the son of a legendary coach and not so legendary GM, the second in inheriting arguably the best collection of young talent in the NHL of the previous 25 years when he took over the Blackhawks GM responsibilities in 2009.

All that said, I was also a Kenny Williams fan when he was GM of the White Sox. But, as a friend of mine who knows a thing or two about baseball told me after the Sox won the World Series in 2005, Kenny Williams became a good GM through on the job training in the position. Which is a fair point.

And I felt like Bowman could do the same.

Again, you really need to go back and look at the rosters of all three Cup teams before you lay foundational, primary credit for any of them at Bowman’s feet. It was Smith and Dudley (and especially Marshall Johnston) who unearthed a fat biracial kid from Northern Minnesota who became the one-man wrecking crew known as Dustin Byfuglien.

And it was Smith who drafted Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Corey Crawford in two short years.

Tallon was the guy who, along with Rocky Wirtz’ brother Peter, bit the bullet and did the total teardown and rebuild from 2004-2007 that ultimately resulted in Dave Bolland, Bryan Bickell, Patrick Sharp, Troy Brouwer, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jonathan Toews, Andrew Ladd, Bryan Campbell and Patrick Kane joining the franchise.

But you can argue that Bowman did a good enough job maintaining the core and filling in around the edges over the next 5+ years after 2009. And you could hope that he was learning as he went. As I did.

The high point of the Bowman era was probably 2015, when not only did the Hawks win their 3^rd Cup in 6 years, but the team threw out some big contracts, most notably to Artem Anisimov and Brent Seabrook. Kane and Toews were eventually both paid a million more dollars a year than Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. And everybody got lengthy no-movement clauses.

Then a funny thing happened on the way to the Hawks’ 4^th Cup in the decade.

Pfffffffffffffft.

Since then, the Hawks have made the playoffs twice, only to be eliminated in round 1, and in the last three years (including likely this season), not at all. All this while paying Kane, Toews, Seabrook, Keith, Crawford and Saad combined nearly $45 million a year.

Suddenly, all of Bowman’s fill in around the edges moves stopped working. Then, they failed year after year. Every year has promised a new youth movement, with most failing miserably.

Nearly all of Bowman’s first round draft picks since 2010 are either playing with other teams, or in the case of Mark McNeill (2011), not even in the NHL. Ryan Hartman (2013) may be soon to follow.

Sure, Bowman has had his wins, like grabbing Alex DeBrincat in the 2^nd round in 2016. Yet the lustre is fading even from that move as DeBrincat is struggling through an off year (at best). And I’m probably in the minority of those who think Bowman made a wise move in trading Artemi Panarin for Saad. Because after all, despite all the meatballs and interwebz experts out there who said otherwise, Panarin was never re-signing in Chicago in 2019.

In the end, it’s fair to say, this front office generally handled success very well but has not handled adversity well at all. Bowman is a maintainer, a numbers guy, not a scout or a builder. McDonough and his flunkies can’t seem to get out of the way.

After a bad start last season, Hall of Fame coach Joel Quenneville was relieved of his duties—only to be “replaced” by a career minor league coach who is younger than some of his veteran players. Has it worked? No.

Yet Bowman and McDonough, the two men largely responsible for giving Seabrook a nearly $7 million per year extension to the next millennium, with a hard no-movement clause for all but the last two years, for trading Niklas Hjalmarsson for Connor Murphy, for re-acquiring every washed up ex-Hawk under the sun year after year with predictably miserable results, for proclaiming Dylan Sikura the team’s “big trade deadline acquisition” in 2018, still have jobs.

When Quenneville was fired, a stern-faced McDonough declared to the media: “we’re all accountable. I’m accountable.”

Really? Then Rockwell Wirtz, it is time you hold Mr. McDonough accountable.

Where am I going with all this? Like I said, Bowman started his tenure as GM not only on third base, but halfway to home. That he scored three times is not so remarkable.

Setting aside the marvelous collection of talent he inherited and rode to success over a 5-6 year span, his misses have outnumbered his hits.

And since McDonough hired Bowman—after firing a very popular and successful GM in order to do so—he is just as, if not more so responsible for this mess. Let’s be clear on this: you can’t tease Bowman out from McDonough, as McDonough fired Tallon and hired Bowman in order to give himself and others in the front office more visibility into hockey decisions. He as much as said so at the time.

But the ever-optimistic Hawk fan will point to the last two drafts, of Adam Boqvist and Kirby Dach, as proof that prosperity is just around the corner.

Yet even there, we can find a possible fly in the ointment. Boqvist appears to be emerging into a really nice player, but the Hawks may have passed on an even better all around, big, mobile defenseman in the Seth Jones mold, when they let Noah Dobson slide to the Islanders in 2018.

Perhaps recognizing his error, Bowman even publicly acknowledged that his team had become too small and too soft for the playoffs after taking Dach in 2019.

But that begs a very important question that no one has really asked yet.

After years of drafting tiny, soft players in the draft’s higher rounds, why did it take Bowman, of ALL people, so long to finally see that hockey was still a contact sport, that the Erik Gustafssons of the world never do anything but hurt their teams in big, physical matchups?

The truth is, and the evidence proves, this is an organization navigating without a roadmap.

They’re not contending and they’re not really rebuilding. They’re not big or physical up and down the ice. And they’re not overly skilled past Kane and Toews. They’ve overcommitted on big money long term contracts to aging players. Their pipeline is nearly bereft of meaningful prospects.

Wednesday, it was rumored that the goalie they signed to possibly replace Crawford (Robin Lehner, who has shown himself to be more than up to the task) will be traded in the next couple of weeks because the team “can’t afford him.” And the 35 year-old oft-concussed Crawford will be extended. Remember, this team has $11 million invested in the goalie position this year—and they can’t afford to sign Lehner for next season and beyond—after he has made clear he would like to be in Chicago? What?

It’s time to face facts: Bowman and McDonough have been caught with their pants down, even though most of us would rather look the other way.

We can sit here and debate til the cows come home if the team should really go all in on a rebuild and trade away the remaining cornerstones of the Cup years for the high picks and elite prospects it takes to rebuild on, or if Chicago should continue to try to “soft rebuild” around Kane and Toews.

But, can there really be any debate that this front office has failed fairly spectacularly over the last few seasons—and there seems to be no end in sight?

So whatever direction the franchise ultimately chooses, there should be some new hockey minds (who aren’t defending five years of mediocrity and have no sacred cows) executing an actual plan.

But try this—if you want to know how caught up (and poorly served) Hawk fans are with all this nonsense about their great corporate front office being “on it.” Ask yourself if today you would switch places with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Most Hawk fans, I suspect, would say “no way.” Without realizing that even after losing the “great Breadman” and Sergei Bobrovsky (and replacing him with some dude named Merzlikins), even after a raft of injuries to their remaining good players, the Blue Jackets are at present, 30-17-10 and the top wildcard in the (much better) Eastern Conference.

Why?

Because they have an excellent, experienced coach.

They have a rock solid GM from a scouting background.

And the team works together, flawlessly, from the end of the bench all the way up through the executive suite. They’re big, they play hard every night, and they win maybe more games than their talent justifies. And they’ll make the playoffs again this year.

All things you can’t say about Stan Bowman and John McDonough’s Blackhawks.

Your move, Rocky.

The post Analysis: Hawks need a roadmap and better leaders (Bowman and McDonough must go) appeared first on The Rink.

Kirby Dach
Dach has been a nice addition to Chicago this season, but the plan for Dach has been obvious. Jeremy Colliton and staff were to take it easy with him early on in the season and allow him to adjust to playing professional hockey against men, a big step up from his days in Saskatoon.

The 19-year-old forward has found the back of the net seven times in 45 games so far this season to go along with his seven assists, all this while averaging 13:36 of ice time. He has only played 16 minutes or more a night 10 times this season, eight of those coming since Dec. 29.

At 6-foot-4 and 197 pounds, the Alberta native has shown an ability to use his size to protect the puck and find his way to the net against smaller defenseman. This skill will only get better as he matures and develops his professional game.

Dach has also looked solid in his own zone. Many rookies struggle defensively with structure and positioning, but Dach has made a smooth transition in this area. Chicago fans should take this as a huge positive when it comes to the rookie, as he seems to “get it between the ears” when he is on the ice.

As he gains more ice time and trust from the coaching staff, Dach is here to stay in Chicago’s top-six forward group for years to come.

Kirby Dach (@kdach77) goes top shelf via the backhand.

Oh, and it's a birthday goal. pic.twitter.com/JwIqDXXzp1

— NHL (@NHL) January 22, 2020

Alex Vlasic
With only three points in 21 games on the backend for Boston University this season, many would assume the 18-year-old is struggling for the Terriers. This could not be further from the truth. College hockey is quite the adjustment for freshman defensemen and Vlasic has shown he has the skills to play against tough competition.

The Wilmette, Illinois, native uses his size and solid hockey IQ to his advantage when on the ice. His ability to adjust is an excellent sign for Chicago fans. Stan Bowman needed to add size in last year’s draft and Vlasic stands 6-foot-6-and 199 pounds. Vlasic’s 19 blocks on the season places him fourth on the Terriers this season.

Expect the freshman to finish strong this season while being trusted in all situations for the Terriers.

Alex Vlasic makes a clean block and an interception to allow the shorthanded Terriers to clear the zone. Good penalty-killing by the freshman. #BUvsMC (via @CBSAllAccess) pic.twitter.com/Q6detLotn0

— Boston Hockey Blog (@BOShockeyblog) January 18, 2020

Michal Teply
Chicago’s third pick in the fourth round, Teply showed well in camp and found his way to the Winnipeg Ice in the Western Hockey League. With 15 goals in 34 games, the forward can light the lamp while finding his teammates with 22 assists. As a point-per-game player, Teply needs to work on his defensive-zone talents.

The Czech Republic native showed well again offensively during the World Junior Championships this season. His five assists in five games is a testament to his skills. With that being said, his -5 rating in as many games shows his difficulty keeping the puck out of his own net, even if the stat is flawed.

Teply scores his second of the night 7 seconds into the power play!

ICE take a 4-2 lead!

Michal Teply
Peyton Krebs
Isaac Johnson pic.twitter.com/DIL35n4u6b

— Winnipeg ICE (@WHLWpgICE) January 26, 2020

Antti Saarela
The Finnish forward had a rough showing at the World Junior Championships this season with zero points in seven games. He also finished with a -5 rating during the tournament. But, as an 18-year-old in the tournament, Chicago fans should not be worried.

The winger has shown the ability to play against men in the Liiga back home in Finland. The left-handed shooting forward has 10 points in 26 games for fourth place on Ilves. His struggles at the World Juniors looks more like an anomoly than the norm.

Antti Saarela started scoring for Ilves. He was not the most productive player at the WJC but founds ways to score in Liiga. Also had an assist later in the period. pic.twitter.com/5bXDqChcjs

— yp (@jrabane) January 18, 2020

Dominic Basse
A surprise pick by Bowman in the sixth round, Basse found himself playing for the Youngstown Phantoms in the United States Hockey League. Despite sporting a 3.77 goals against-average and a .881 save percentage, Basse’s stats should not be taken too seriously for now, as the USHL can be a difficult place to play for young goaltenders.

At 6-foot-6 and 197 pounds, Basse uses his positioning and athleticism to his advantage. In several viewings this season, Basse has made some highlight-reel saves while giving up a few “soft” goals from time to time, which, again, is common for a young goaltender in the USHL.

Basse is committed to Colorado College and will have options on his plans for next season over the summer.

@dominic_basse with the saves tonight! Let’s go Phantoms! https://t.co/T47b9DGR7S

— x – Youngstown Phantoms (@YtownPhantoms) November 30, 2019

Cole Moberg
Moberg finished out Chicago’s draft when he was selected in the seventh round. The Prince George Cougars assistant captain has 22 points in 39 games. The North Vancouver native has six goals in his third season with the Cougars.

Moberg has shown he can put points on the board while playing a solid defensive game in his own zone. As a seventh-round pick, the expectations are always low, but Moberg could surprise the Chicago brass.

https://twitter.com/JDylanBurke/status/1192305404086116352

The post Catching up with Chicago’s 2019 NHL Entry Draft selections appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com host “Gatekeeper” goes solo and gets together with our old buddy Tyler Cameron from HockeyBuzz.

• Recorded prior to the Sens and Habs games.
• We discuss the pending Robin Lehner contract situation.
• Dominik Kubalik is red hot and looking like a steal.
• Who are our picks for a new Blackhawks GM?
• What might happen around the trade deadline?
• If you’re interested in writing for The-Rink about  any division, email writefor@the-rink.com

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The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” and “JJ” usher in the new year during the first period of the Blackhawks / Predators game with even more Blackhawks injuries.

• Blackhawks down 3–0 to the Preds while we recorded.
• Talk about the latest injuries.
• Some positive things to say about Adam Boqvist and Dominik Kubalik.
• It wouldn’t be a Rinkcast without more goalie praise.
• It also wouldn’t be a Rinkcast without some realism.
• We wrap with a short Rinkrat PuckBag segment.
• Check out our friend and former writer’s blog http://fansfronchroom.wordpress.com
• If you’re interested in writing for The-Rink about the Chicago Wolves (or any division) email writefor@the-rink.com

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The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” and “JJ” call a last-minute audible with Steel feature writer Ray Napientek, following the big injury news of the holiday.

• Brand new review from Jackie Davis
• Brent Seabrook and Calvin de Haan are on LTIR and done for the season.
• What could this mean for Brent Seabrook’s career?
• Where to go now?
• It wouldn’t be a Rinkcast without some goalie talk.
• We wrap with a short Rinkrat PuckBag segment.

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The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” and “JJ” get together for a pre-game Rinkcast just prior to the Blackhawks facing the Arizona Coyotes.

• The Blackhawks play a bunch of overtime and shootout games.
• Injuries to Keith, Shaw, and de Haan.
• Some big announcements regarding The-Rink
• Mario gives us another “award-winning” #Warpigs report.
• More on what the future holds with Jeremy Colliton, Corey Crawford, and Robin Lehner
• Why trading Robin Lehner is not only stupid but unlikely.
• We wrap up with the Blackhawks down 3–0 in the first period.
• We wrap with the Rinkrat PuckBag segment.

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 3, Episode 7 – Holiday puck bag appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” and “JJ” are back at it to discuss the Blackhawks’ spiral downward and glaring mistakes.

• Thank you for the new review, Darth Hawkey
• We have (not one) but TWO new chapters opening up.  Colorado and Columbus.
• We take a few minutes to address the Marc Crawford/Bill Peters situation.
• The Blackhawks lose badly to the Avs twice and the Blues last night
• What can the Blackhawks do as an organization to fix this endless loop of mediocrity?
• Who is untouchable?  Is anyone untouchable?
• We wrap with the Rinkrat PuckBag segment.

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 3, Episode 6 – Blackhawks reality check appeared first on The Rink.

Bowman knew as well as anyone, he had lucked into a prime position, after his team had finished twelfth in the Western Conference the previous season—a position that typically would have a team drafting between 7th and 10th—where Bowman was in the previous year’s draft.

The rest, as we know is history: Bowman selected Kirby Dach, a talented young player with a high ceiling. The problem is, to paraphrase, man does not win by Dach (and/or Boqvist) alone.

A lot of Hawk fans forget, or simply weren’t around or engaged, the several years of sucking the franchise had to endure in order to acquire the picks that became Patrick Kane (first overall in 2007) and Jonathan Toews (third overall in 2006). They also take for granted the big walloping draft successes that previous GMs Mike Smith and Dale Tallon had in unearthing Dustin Byfuglien, Duncan Keith, Corey Crawford, Niklas Hjalmarsson and others in the draft’s later rounds.

Because another fact is that Bowman’s drafting past the first round has not been stellar through a now decade long tenure. Sure, everyone points to Brandon Saad and Alex DeBrincat, while conveniently forgetting many more Bowman second rounders who never amounted to squat. And where are the later round value picks? Unless you count Andrew Shaw, not on this roster.

The truth is, getting value past the first 15 picks of the first round is hard. Scouting is better than ever. Teams know more about the prospects now than ever before. The other side of the coin is, the value at the top of virtually every draft now is also hard to dispute.

For evidence, look no further than two of the Hawks’ recent games: thorough beat downs courtesy of the Colorado Avalanche.

I remember going to a game at the UC in 2013, just after Christmas, where the Hawks put the same kind of beating on Colorado, 7-2. Back then, the Hawks were the elite team and the Avs were the doormat.

Had to suck to be an Avs fan back then. But ask most pre-2007 Hawk fans: that’s what you need to go through to become a great young team again—as the Hawks were from 2008 or so to 2015.

Unfortunately, the Hawk front office, while they know this all too well, also knows that if they really tank—in order to really rebuild—a lot of fans and corporate sponsorship dollars are going to head for the door.

Yet, look at the Avs, who paid that price for several seasons:

Gabriel Landeskog, drafted second overall in 2011

Nathan MacKinnon, first overall, 2013

Mikko Rantanen, tenth overall, 2015

Cale Makar, fourth overall, 2017

You can say I’m cherry picking. But take a look at another former Chicago doormat in the Central Division, the Winnipeg Jets: same thing.

And, again, take a look at the arc of the Chicago Blackhawks themselves—not just from 2006 to 2015, but causally, from 2003 to 2007, when they absolutely sucked. Weren’t fun to watch. No one came to the arena. When they traded away fan favorites like Alex Zhamnov, Marty Havlat and Steve Sullivan—but accumulated tons of draft picks (that turned into the Dave Bollands and Bryan Bickells) and quality young prospects. And “earned”—as painful as it was for the organization and fans—the draft position to snag Toews and Kane in consecutive years. And who knows how much better things might have been had they taken someone better than Jack Skille seventh overall in 2005?

Unrestricted free agency is a great (but expensive) way to add a missing piece you need to reach the next level (see: Campbell, B, 2008 and Hossa, M, 2009). But the way to rebuild a franchise remains through the draft—not just having a few later round hits but grabbing at least 3-4 (or more) elite surefire blue chippers at the top of the draft.

Some will now point to Dach and Boqvist as getting the Hawks “almost there.” Except neither has proven a thing in pro hockey yet (and both by the way have concussion histories). But let’s assume both players are going to be a special—that’s a head start. Great. Now what are you going to do with $40 million in cap space wrapped up in players over 30, only one of whom is still playing at a high level.

Meanwhile, the Hawks sit only above the LA Kings in the West, with $11 million in cap hit wrapped up in what they call “the best one-two punch goalie tandem” in the league. Like that matters when you get absolutely shelled the way Crawford and Robin Lehner have most nights.

Wake up. It’s pure marketing bs, people.

This team is not good, but probably just good enough to play its way into a 12-15 selection in the first round year after year, out of the prime spots for great transformational players, while we wait for the contracts of Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Kane, and Toews to run out. Yep, they may get hot again in the next few weeks, go on a 5 or 6 game winning streak. But who wants to bet, before the leaves are on the trees again, they won’t derail and meltdown the way they have every season in recent memory?

Where am I going other than Downer Town?

It’s my belief that aside from lucking into Dach, the Hawks are, by choice, stuck in “half rebuild” mode, and will be for a long time, praying and hoping that Toews and Seabrook and Keith especially suddenly age backward five years, and the Hawks become a competitive team again—without doing anything more than adding an Olli Maatta here or a Calvin DeHaan there.

Yet, every year since 2015, as especially since 2017, we’ve seen this formula fail.

And every year, the Hawk front office goes out and does it again. Not because they’re dumb. Not because they’re insane. But because they know if they really tear down—as in trading Keith or Kane or Toews or some combination thereof for younger players and picks—(most) fans and corporate dollars will disappear from the UC like a pizza at a frat house. No one wants to hear it. No one wants to think about it. “You can’t trade Kane—he’s the only thing that makes them worth watching.”

And you like what you’re watching?

You see, the fact remains, the price of a glorious young team on the way up is typically a few years at least of unquestioned suckitude. A half empty arena. Pain. Discouragement. When it sucks to be a fan of a team—ask those of us who followed this franchise for decades. And you can bring up the Vegas Golden Knights in their inaugural season as a counterpoint, except they worked expansion masterfully—different circumstances entirely.

The cruel irony is that Kane still in his prime, and what’s left on the tires of Keith and Toews, make this team just good enough to sort of tease a playoff spot for a while every year, and then finish out of prime draft lottery position (this year’s fluke notwithstanding).

Let that sink in.

And then ask yourself, are you happy with this team? Have you liked finishing 12th-13th in the conference year after year?

If so, maybe you just have an addiction to seeing Kane and Erik Gustafsson team up in 3-on-3 a few nights a year and a few “silky” shootout moves—which mean nothing in terms of actual playoff hockey (a phenomenon some Hawk fans have apparently now forgotten)—and you will keep buying tickets and merchandise and argue to keep the #OneGoal Dream alive in vain hope of one last hurrah from “the core.”

Or maybe after another year or two of this “half pregnant,” not rebuilding, not contending nonsense, you’ll have an epiphany of sorts. And realize this isn’t working.

In other words, use the only real power you have as a fan: stop supporting this mess with your money and maybe then it’ll actually change for the better.

Comment below.

The post Commentary: Are the Blackhawks willing to pay the price of greatness? appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” and “JJ” reconvene to discuss the Blackhawks’ recent success and their outstanding goaltending.

• Are the Blackhawks really that good, or is this just a brief spark?
• Adam Boqvist sent down to Rockford.
• Brian Campbell’s “One More Shift”.
• Praise for several Blackhawks players, including Kirby Dach.
• Mike Babcock is fired
• We wrap with the Rinkrat PuckBag segment.

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 3, Episode 5 – Knott in the Cramarossa! appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” and “JJ” reconvene with Facebook/Twitter sensation Christian Deme, aka StacheESQ, to discuss the Blackhawks plummeting hopes.

• The Blackhawks are 4-7-3 after losing to the San Jose Sharks, Tuesday night.
• Blackhawks traded Brendan Perlini, recalled Adam Boqvist and re-assigned Dennis Gilbert
• If not for Robin Lehner, could the Blackhawks be winless? Also, thoughts on Crawford
• An extended conversation about just what is wrong with this Blackhawks team and franchise.
• We wrap with the Rinkrat PuckBag segment.

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 3, Episode 4 – Is the Stache the answer? appeared first on The Rink.

While there are positives (Dominik Kubalik, Robin Lehner, the return of the “real” Brandon Saad and the possibility of an improved defense—if everyone can get and stay healthy), there are some obvious issues, not least of which is a puzzling weakness in scoring goals (30th in the league). Sure, it is only after six games. And you have to take both of those points together in order to really understand what is going on.

While most fans probably expect that the Hawks will fight for every point in every game in order to make the playoffs, the truth is, despite an almost universal belief that Stan Bowman had a good and productive offseason—the Hawks came into the season with more questions than answers.

So, if you are wondering, for example, why Dylan Strome is being “experimented” with at wing, why the lines really are not clicking, etc., understand the Blackhawks are trying some things out to see how they will work—at the risk of losing points.

Some assume that because he was drafted third overall this past June, 18-year-old Kirby Dach playing second line center in the NHL is “perfectly natural.” Well, it is on a rebuilding team, not so much on a contending team. By the way, the Hawks were absolutely destroyed in the face off dot (34%) yet again last night—and at the risk of re-litigating the stupid “face offs don’t matter” argument, they do, especially if you project yourself as a puck-possession team. But I digress. The good news there is Dach’s percentage (40%) was not the team’s worst. The bad news? 40%.

Hence the title of this blog. Now, some of you will say, “Okay, enough already, JJ, we get it, the Hawks are rebuilding.” To which I respond, “Okay, so then do not expect much, especially not right now and maybe all year.”

Honestly, I believe the Hawks, as they have tried and basically failed at the last few seasons, are trying to engineer lightning in a bottle over the course of 82 games. If—IF—Dach matures through on the job training (like Alex DeBrincat did two years ago and Saad did in 2013), IF Calvin de Haan and Connor Murphy and everyone else can get and stay healthy, IF Strome can adjust to wing, IF we get more good Alex Nylander than bad Alex Nylander, IF Lehner continues to look like an elite (or near elite) netminder, then perhaps the playoffs will be a real possibility.

But, we are working through the IFs right now; answers to be determined.

All I have for now. Comment below.

The post ANALYSIS: Adjust your Blackhawks expectations appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” and “JJ” finally wrap up season 2 with Puckpedia’s Hart Levine to chat about salary cap related topics.

• The Traverse City rookie tournament starts Friday
• Five IceHogs rookie breakout candidates not named Adam Boqvist.
• Hart discusses escrow, RFAs and UFAs, Alex Debrincat and Dylan Strome extensions, Robin Lehner, and that beloved Brent Seabrook contract.
• The rookie tournament paperwork debacle.
• The “Blood,Sweat and Tiers” prospect segments.
• What are we looking for in training camp?
• We wrap with The-Rink #RinkratPuckBag segment.

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The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” and “JJ” step back into the dusty Rink podcast studio to discuss the prospect camp and the Blackhawks fan convention with staff writers Mario Tirabassi and Aaron Goldschmidt.

• Blackhawks traded Artem Anisimov to Ottawa for Zack Smith
• Thoughts on Development camp
• Fan convention came and went.
• Chris Kunitz retires and joins the Blackhawks player development staff
• New jersey leak?
• Ian Mitchell corner, Brent Seabrook’s trial, Gus’s garage, Sekac street.
• We are only scratching the surface.  Many good things and guests to come!!!!
• We wrap with The-Rink #RinkratPuckBag segment.

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 56 – Gus bus to Camp Colliton appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink’s Blackhawks writer and Rockford expert, Mario Tirabassi, was out to catch all the action and report on the latest happenings in camp. Please check out all the pieces from this week, including special daily one-on-one features with MacKenzie Entwistle, Chad Krys and Josiah Slavin.

Please take some time to enjoy our in-depth coverage:

Day 1 (with one-on-one featuring Chad Krys)
Kirby Dach settling into new city and organization
Day 2 (with one-on-one featuring Josiah Slavin)
Blackhawks trade Artem Anisimov to Ottawa for Zack Smith
Alex Vlasic not planning to rush his development
Stan Bowman, Jeremy Colliton address Blackhawks camp on day three
Nicolas Beaudin becoming well-rounded ahead of pro debut season
Day 4 (with one-on-one featuring MacKenzie Entwistle)
Blackhawks development camp wraps up with futures game

Please enjoy this highlight reel set up by Blackhawks defenseman Adam Boqvist, captured by The-Rink’s Aaron Goldschmidt:

.@BoqvistAdam #Blackhawks @BarDown @GoLondonKnights pic.twitter.com/lJffmwpDU2

— Aaron Goldschmidt (@lateinthegoldie) July 19, 2019

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The post Full wrap-up of the 2019 Chicago Blackhawks development camp (links) appeared first on The Rink.

Colliton, entering his first full NHL season as the Blackhawks’ head coach, has a much different vantage point of camp this summer compared to last and Bowman has made moves that seemingly have improved the Blackhawks on paper heading into 2019–20. Wednesday, they gave their thoughts on where the current group of prospects fit into Chicago’s future.

Bowman, Colliton weigh in on development camp

Bowman entered the media room to address development camp. For the first time in a while, the Blackhawks have more than a small handful of players that have high ceilings and high potential at the next level. For Bowman, he made sure to single out at least four players continuously throughout his 20-minute scrum: Adam Boqvist, Kirby Dach, Ian Mitchell and Alexander Nylander.

Big surprise, right?

For Bowman, development camp is more of an opportunity for the players participating than it is for full evaluations from the coaching staff.

“The big thing for us is to watch these kids, how much they can absorb,” Bowman said. “We’re throwing a lot of information. These are long days for them to have seminars in the morning then they come over and do on-ice work, then they do off-ice work and at the beginning of the week we have a cooking demo for them to learn how to prepare food. So, at the end of the day, it’s a full day for them. So, it’s really for them to grow their games; it’s not so much for us to watch the evaluation.”

As far as players standing out, a few comments made by Bowman on the main four players give an idea of where the organization feels the four are at currently.

“He had a good introduction last year,” Bowman said of Boqvist. “In training camp I thought he fared pretty well, got in some exhibition games. He’s taken a big step, he had a big season. … He really got his game going from November on. I think it started a little bit slow, but for him it was just adjusting to North America and becoming used to the schedule, the pace of the play, smaller ice rink, living in North America is different than Sweden. I think he just seems more comfortable when I talk to him here; he’s a happy-go-lucky guy, but he’s taken that next step.”

Puck battle drills with Alex Nylander (white) and Adam Boqvist (red) #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/n1pfAAUPKz

— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) July 16, 2019

“He’s an impressive kid,” Bowman said of Mitchell. “He’s going to be the captain at Denver (University) for a reason. He’s an articulate guy; he’s very team-oriented. You got to give him credit. He feels like there’s unfinished business and I think he’s committed to the team and committed to his teammates. He wants to lead that team and he wants to be, in his words, a difference-maker every night. I thought he had a great season last year and selfishly we think he’s ready to be a pro. … I remember talking to him at the end of the (2017) camp and I said, ‘You really opened our eyes with how far ahead you are relative to some of the other guys there.’ He was the youngest guy there at the camp and he was noticeable. Then, he comes back last year and he takes (a) step forward and here we are now. He’s very noticeable in these drills: just his quickness, how alert he is. He’s got offensive skills, but he also competes defensively. I think what we’re looking for him to do is build on that and become a dominant player like he wants to be. Yeah, we would love to have him as a pro right now, but I think he’s going to be a pro pretty soon. So, let him focus on his path. He has to believe in what he’s doing and it’s not for us to try to talk him in and out of things. Wherever he is, we’re going to support him. But, he’s ready to be a pro right now.”

Denver’s Ian Mitchell #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/xiyXz9dRZW

— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) July 15, 2019

“It’s hard not to notice his skill level,” Bowman said of Dach. “He’s a big guy, but he’s got really soft hands; he’s got that long reach and he’s got a quick stick. He’s pretty tricky with the puck, he’s got the ability to hold it out so that guys can’t poke it away and if they try to get it he can pull it through and he’s got quick hands. And I think that’s what you notice. He skates well for a big guy. … These are all things that we liked about him when we drafted him, but when you get him here and put him up against guys that are a couple years older, he’s able to do some special things with the puck, so he’s got all the excitement to be on the ice, he’s a competitive kid, he’s focused, but he’s enjoying himself and he’s got a combination of attributes that we wish everybody had.”

“It was a great sign that he was eager to come,” Bowman said of Nylander. “It was pretty short notice when I talked to him the day of the trade and said, ‘We’d love to have you in Chicago if you can make it work.’ I think he did have a vacation plan, but he canceled that to come here, and that shows his desire to acclimate with our group right away. … His enthusiasm to be part of the group and he wants to get better—he’s very strong, but when you meet him off the ice, he just looks more developed than all these guys. He’s a big kid—he’s almost 200 pounds—so his physical strength is there. Now, it’s just trying to put it all together.”

Slavin (white) battles with Dach (red) #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/TjY9zsx1cg

— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) July 17, 2019

Bowman also made note of players like Mackenzie Entwistle and his willingness to embrace his role and the skills set that will create his path to the NHL.

As more of a two-way player, Bowman stated he was impressed that Entwistle at a young age (just turning 20 years old the Sunday before camp) understood what he needed to do to be his best version. Bowman also mentioned the skating abilities of 2019 second round pick Alex Vlasic and how he has kept up to pace, even as being one of the youngest and biggest players in camp.

The buzz word of both Bowman and Colliton to the media was ‘versatility’ when discussing the moves that have been made this summer. Both made the point that the roster is much different than what it looked like at the end of last season.

“We’ve really increased the depth in our group, everywhere…I think we have more versatility to our team; we have guys—we have defenders who can play either side, we have guys who want to kill penalties and defend and take that role, we have forwards who can play different positions, kill penalties, play against good players, so we feel that’s what we were missing to our team,” Colliton said, piggy-backing off Bowman’s comments on Tuesday. “I think we’ve added a little bit of physicality and an edge, which we need to have that dimension. We have to win games in different ways, and I think if you compare the roster now to the one we ended with or the one we had when I first came in November, I think we can win in different ways and we’re prepared to have an excellent season, hopefully.”

Colliton expanded on the versatility of the roster’s current outlook.

“We want to be flexible with how we can build our lineup according to who we’re playing and being able to handle certain matchups,” Colliton said. “I’d like to be a little less reliant on certain players who can only play against the other team’s top players. We’d like to use more of our group. We want to have a flow to the team where we can play at a high pace and put pressure on teams over a 60-minute period, and you need depth in your roster. … We want to have more of the group able to play against anyone, and feel like we’re going to come out on the positive end of it. And, I think, not everyone’s going to have their best game every night. So, when you have players who can play left or right or center or left defense or right defense, then we can play the guys who are going. And the lineup isn’t as static. I think we made some major headway there.”

The Chicago Blackhawks signed goaltender Robin Lehner to a one-year, $5 million contract on July 1.

Another key focus of the roster turnover from last year to this upcoming season is the addition in net of goaltender Robin Lehner. The move came as a surprise to many in the Blackhawks’ fanbase, as it would have seemed penciled in that Corey Crawford and Collin Delia would be the defacto starter and backup heading into the summer. But, with the addition of a quality netminder like Lehner, there comes the question of workload in net and who may be the true starter.

“There’s going to be competition, certainly,” Colliton said of the goaltending situation. “But, I think you look at the teams that have had success; there has been a share, some sort of split. … Those games that maybe the traditionally the backup is playing, we need to win those, too. So now, whoever is in the net, we’re going to get an extremely high level of performance. And if we happen to be unlucky with injuries, we have some protection there, too.”

With Crawford reaching an older age, on top of his recent injury history, one could make the judgement that the split Colliton is referring to may be closer to 50-50 than most would have expected coming into the 2019–20 season.

Colliton made a point to dismiss any rumors that may have circulated that he was ‘anti-Jokiharju’ when the trade to acquire Nylander was announced by the team.

Henri Jokiharju skates against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on Jan. 14, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Blackhawks 8–5. (Photograph courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

“I only offer my assessment of the players and, ultimately, it’s Stan that makes the call,” Colliton said. “I think there’s this idea that I’m down on Henri. Not at all. I mean he played half a season as a teenager in the NHL. Probably in a perfect world we wouldn’t have had to put him in that position, where he could have been in Rockford and able to really be playing the role that hopefully he can play down the road as being a top-pair D, trying to get to that level. … When you look at our group…we have some really good defensemen coming up. They’re a little bit smaller, a little more tilted toward the offensive side of the game. (Bowman) had an opportunity to add a guy like Nylander and felt like that was the route to go.”

The roster turnover this season in Chicago could rival some AHL-level teams with the amount of new faces joining the fold and the amount of roster spots that are seemingly available for the taking. If development camp is any indication, the players who are making their next steps closer to, or on the way into, the professional ranks in the near future are not going to be handed anything.

“We want it to be difficult to make the team,” Colliton said. “For a young player, it shouldn’t be easy. They are going to have to perform at a really high level to push someone out and that’s exactly what we want. Maybe they show that they can play at our level, but it’s still not our best roster. They can go to Rockford and continue to develop. … If we do end up with an injury or we need to shake things up, we have someone who can step in and make a difference. So that’s huge. Even among the veteran guys, we have some really good players here. There’s going to be competition for—whether it’s a roster spot or ice time or roles—I think all the great teams, they have that.”

The post Stan Bowman, Jeremy Colliton address Blackhawks camp on day three appeared first on The Rink.

The Blackhawks have $1,961,539 in cap space remaining per PuckPedia. While CapFriendly has the Blackhawks remaining cap space at $2,036,539, the difference between the two numbers is that Puckpedia is making the assumption that both Domnik Kubalik ($925,000) and Anton Wedin ($925,000) make the NHL roster. Very likely, only time will tell. In addition, neither site is assuming that Alexander Nylander is making the roster. Remember, in most cases, only players on the NHL roster count against the salary cap. That is barring extenuating circumstances of an NHL player being sent to the AHL to give the team salary cap relief.

Now here is a snap shot of the Blackhawks’ roster moves based on their cap numbers.

Players retained:

• Dylan Sikura (forward) — Cap hit of $750,000 through 2020–21.
• David Kampf (forward) — Cap hit of $1 million through 2020–21.

Players added:

• Calvin de Haan (defenseman) — Cap hit of $4.5 million through 2021–22.
• Olli Maatta (defenseman) — Cap hit of $4,083,333 through 2021–22.
• Robin Lehner (goalie) — Cap hit of $5 million through 2019–20.
• Andrew Shaw (forward) — Cap hit of $3.9 million through 2021–22.
• John Quenneville (forward) — Cap hit of $750,000 through 2020–21.
• Ryan Carpenter (forward) — Cap hit of $1 million through 2021–22.

Players subtracted:

• Dominik Kahun (forward) — Cap hit of $925,000.
• John Hayden (forward) — Cap hit of $750,000.
• Gustav Forsling (defenseman) — Pending contract, restricted free agent.

Restricted free agent:

• Brendan Perlini (forward) — Pending contract.

With Perlini remaining unsigned, there could be more roster moves coming for the Blackhawks this offseason.

The post Chicago Blackhawks salary cap snap shot appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” and “JJ” rush to the The-Rink podcast studio to discuss the big trade today, the Andrew Shaw trade, and the UFA signings on July 1st.

• Now that the Andrew Shaw trade has marinated, what do we think?  You might be surprised…or not.
• What happened with the Blackhawks and Henri Jokiharju?
• Is this trade as bad as first thought?  Can Alex Nylander help the Blackhawks?
• Following JJ’s revelation that the Blackhawks might swing big on the goalie market they did just that.
• A hearty thank you to the Rink fans and our amazing staff for a great year.
• We are only scratching the surface.  Many good things and guests to come!!!!

Please subscribe, rate this episode, and even write us a review. Reviews will be read on the air.

Also, Please help spread the word to more #RinkRats and visit our sponsor www.PUCKHCKY.com. Use the discount code “THERINK” for 10% off all orders.

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 55 – UFA/Nylander Trade Reactions appeared first on The Rink.

The Chicago Blackhawks fanbase and overall media universe were caught off guard yesterday by the team’s signing of free agent goalie Robin Lehner. Here at The Rink, we may not have been the only observers to theorize that a surprise move in net might be in the offing, but we were definitely in the minority.

If you listen from about the 1 hour/14 minute mark of RinkCast 54 (recorded last week), you’ll hear the likely rationale for why the Hawks would acquire an expereinced alternative to Corey Crawford and Collin Delia this summer.

After yesterday’s news, the writing on the wall could not be more clear: Corey Crawford’s tenure between the pipes in Chicago is likely winding down. He is now in the final year of a big money contract, 35 years old, and has had recent, serious concussion issues that have basically wiped out over a season of hockey.

GM Stan Bowman has done a lot of work on his defense the last couple of years, with 5 defensemen drafted in the first two rounds of the last 3 drafts and two trades this summer for experienced NHL blueliners. All these moves, at least on paper, suggest improvement to the Blackhawks’ NHL fortunes near-term and long-term.

Bowman has also begun re-building the bottom six forwards—seemingly trying to recapture the formula of 2015 with Andrew Shaw and Ryan Carpenter, who may remind some of 2015 Cup winner Andrew Desjardins. And yes, Marcus Kruger could be back as the teams’s 12th or 13th forward. These aren’t “offensive” moves.They are all about building lower lines and penalty killing forwards that help keep the puck out of the Hawks’ net.

It’s also extremely likely that Artem Anisimov will get his needed change of scenery in the next few days, and the Hawks may now have the luxury to move another depth defenseman. And thus, the Hawks’ may yet add another forward.

Bowman is busy, and dealing, and slowly the face of a rebuilt team is emerging—the way championships are built, from the net out.

Let’s get clear now on what signing Lehner really means.

Lehner is not Cam Ward. Or Scott Darling.

He is a 27 year old Vezina Trophy Finalist and Jennings Trophy winner in 2019. His recent body of work is at least an echelon above both of the aforementioned former Hawk netminders. He is big, talented and competitive. This is why his signing raised so many eyebrows and questions. Lehner is likely not a 1B goalie—he’s a #1. So then what’s going to happen to Crawford?

Lehner is signed for one year.

What this means is next July 1st (or more likely before) the team and Lehner will make a decision whether he will be extended and remain in Chicago as the #1. This strategy gives Lehner the freedom to decide where he wants to be, and gives the Hawks some flexibility in terms of clarifying their goalie situation. On the surface, it can be described like the Ward signing a year ago.The difference is Lehner is 27, not 34, and he is a better goalie at this point than Ward was last year.

A lot could happen: Collin Delia could really continue to refine his game and emerge as a #1. It’s possible. LIkely? Ehhh, those are longer odds.

Crawford could rise up, stay healthy, and play 65 stellar games—and make the case for a short contract extension. But that new contract could also be elsewhere in the NHL. But all that rides on Crawford staying completely healthy this season, which again are longer odds.

Lehner could be in Chicago long term. It’s probably up to him.

Finally, it’s very likely that the team and Lehner’s agent discussed the very real possibility of a longer term extension. The Hawks, I was told then, investigated trading for Lehner 2-3 years ago. They like his talent. At the same time, Lehner is also a recent Masterton Trophy winner, a result of his recent  “comeback” from alcoholism and related emotional issues. Although Columbus and his incumbent Islanders offered Lehner deals in the last 24-48 hours, even the Islanders were allegedly only willing to go to 2 years in term. Why? Because likely any team is going to need to see some more sobriety and stability from Lehner before committing significant dollars and term. And likely no one understands that better than Lehner himself.

What all this activity over the last few weeks means is that the old paradigm of the Chicago Blackhawks is rapidly changing. Sure, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, are still around. But aside from that, everything else with this team has evolved, and at some point in the not too terribly distant future, one or two more chunks of the remaining Cup core will fall away as Bowman continues to make major moves.

All we have for now. Comment below.

The post ANALYSIS: Lehner signing is another big move in Bowman’s rebuild appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” and “JJ” are joined once again by The-Rink NHL draft guru Bill “Wiz” Placzek to wrap up the draft.

• We discuss the trade for Olli Maatta
• We discuss the trade for John Quenneville
• The crew reconvenes to go through the Blackhawks draft picks, some #WordsOfWizdom, and the trade for Calvin de Haan.
• Some opinions on what might happen with the goalies this next season
• Some vintage #GateRage
• We answer some listener and reader questions along the way
• We say thank you and best of luck to a Rink writer, and a potential HUGE podcast guest coming.

Please subscribe, rate this episode, and even write us a review. Reviews will be read on the air.

Also, Please help spread the word to more #RinkRats and visit our sponsor www.PUCKHCKY.com. Use the discount code “THERINK” for 10% off all orders.

The Rinkcast is brought to you by the Overtime Podcast Network

The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 54 – Draft/Trade wrap with Bill “Wiz” Placzek appeared first on The Rink.

It doesn’t matter whether you or I think Bowman should never have matriculated to the GM’s job in 2009—that he was probably over his head at the time—or that many of his moves since have been ill-conceived headscrachers. And no, sorry, he didn’t “win 3 Cups” either; the first Cup was all on his predecessor(s), and the latter two were largely (though not completely) a result of the foundational work of the prior GMs (Kane, Toews, Keith, Hossa, etc).

But the fact is, Bowman has now been the GM of the Hawks for nearly a decade. Nearly a decade of on-the-job training that seems to be showing some meaningful results.

It’s doubtful more than 2 players in this year’s Blackhawk draft class ever makes it to the NHL, most likely only Kirby Dach and Alex Vlasic. So in that regard, it’s likely not a “draft for the ages.” At the same time, while many interwebz experts were beating the Alex Turcotte drum, proclaiming that “the game has changed” and “small and skilled” is the way of the future, Bowman went the other way—the way, here at the The Rink, we’ve been saying he needs to for several months.

He went, literally and figuratively, big. More importantly, he did it for the right reasons:

(On Kirby Dach) “The thing we liked about him, it’s obvious to see . . . his skill set, he has incredible hands. He scores the beautiful goals. He can do everything. But he can do the other things. He was great at stripping pucks, he was great at backchecking, he was great at physical plays in the playoffs when they were really targeting him. He not only took it, but he gave it back. It was impressive to see him raise his game at the time of the year when it matters most, which is playoff hockey. When you watch the NHL playoffs and you see how intense it can be. And, then you look at the way he plays and you can see that that game translates.”

And after taking Dach—after already trading for stay at home defenseman Olli Maatta—Bowman took a 6’6″ defenseman in Alex Vlasic who is also more of the stay at home, take care of the basics variety.

The thinking is clear; Bowman is acknowledging, without really saying it, his roster and especially his talent pipeline desperately needed size and physicality (without sacrificing skill). Needs driven by the harsh (and actual) reality of NHL hockey in 2019—while you can rack up points in the doldrums of February with the side show of 3-on-3 OT and the shootout, the playoffs, the games that really matter, remain real hockey. Real, hard hockey, where winning 16 games between April and June is tough, painful, and debilitating. Not for the slight of heart nor the slight of frame.

Bowman is on a bit of a winning streak of late, having offloaded “slight” Nick Schmaltz for Dylan Strome and appearing to cash in on Strome’s early career resurrection in Chicago. Picking up Drake Caggiula for Brandon Manning, and now a draft that is a big (pardon the pun) move toward revamping and re-sizing the Hawk roster to be more realistically playoff-ready.

All for now. Comment below.

The post Analysis: Bowman steps up and delivers appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper”, “JJ” and staff prospect writer Eric Andrews are joined by The-Rink NHL draft guru Bill “Wiz” Placzek and hold a mock draft.

• After a short hiatus, the crew convenes to go through the first round of the upcoming draft and some #WordsOfWizdom.
• John drives the short bus for this episode.
• Eric, Gate and Wiz plead their case for the Blackhawks pick with JJ.  Does it work?
• Gate throws the whole thing off the rails with one of his picks.
• Wiz takes us through picks 11-32
• Koekkoek extended, IIHF World Championships end with some Blackhawks players winning gold.
• The-Rink is expanding with four new writers, a potential BIG podcast guest coming, and a promising new season.
• We answer some listener and reader questions along the way

Please subscribe, rate this episode, and even write us a review. Reviews will be read on the air.

Also, Please help spread the word to more #RinkRats and visit our sponsor www.PUCKHCKY.com. Use the discount code “THERINK” for 10% off all orders.

The Rinkcast is brought to you by the Overtime Podcast Network

The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 53 – Mock Draft with Bill “Wiz” Placzek appeared first on The Rink.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of misconceptions, misinformation and flat-out pipe dreams circulating about just what is and is not realistic for the Hawks to achieve this summer. Some will tell you that the Blackhawks will have “$20+ million” to spend in free agency, which is not entirely true. When the free agent contracts expire in July, if the salary cap goes up to $83 million (as rumored), the Blackhawks would have over $22 million in cap space, but with only 15 players on the roster.

Fifteen players does not make an NHL roster. Collin Delia will be with the team next season and gobble up $1 million. Defenseman Henri Jokiharju will likely make the NHL roster with his $925,000 as well. This is already nearly $2 million off the top without any signings.

Another factor that needs to be taken into account is that Stan Bowman and his management team will need to make decisions on the 11 pending restricted free agents they have. Victor Ejdsell, Anton Forsberg, Gustav Forsling, Blake Hillman, Luke Johnson, David Kampf, Slater Koekkoek, Anthony Louis, Brendan Perlini, Dylan Sikura and Spencer Watson will all hit the restricted market. If I had to guess, eight of those players will be qualified or signed to extensions. Ejdsell signed to go back to Sweden while Forsberg and Watson’s futures with the Blackhawks are murky, at best.

For this exercise, let us assume that Kampf ($925,000), Perlini ($863,333) and one of either Koekkoek or Forsling are back ($875,000) on the pro roster at relatively the same salaries. These moves would knock (roughly and very conservatively) $4.5 million off Stan’s precious $20+ million cap space.

Admittedly, it has been widely suspected that Artem Anisimov has been on the trade block and could free up an additional $4.55 million of cap space, but that is a deal that would have to be done after his no-movement clause drops off on July 1. And, Chicago would almost have to take back some salary to unload the enigmatic Russian.

Another obstacle is the fact that Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome could command as much as $10 million combined when their current entry-level deals come to an end July 1, 2020—or before, if the Hawks choose to (or can) get them signed before their ELCs are up. Money needs to be allocated for them, as well. The salary cap will certainly rise again in 2020, but not an additional $10 million.

The myth of the offer sheet

This brings me to another issue that many people do not fully understand: offer sheets.

Considering that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning are gingerly straddling the salary cap with players left to sign, there has been speculation that the offer sheet might return to the NHL this summer after a nearly 10-year hiatus. Toronto has Andreas Johnsson, Kasperi Kapanen and Mitch Marner due for deals and Tampa has Brayden Point due for a big pay day. Teams like Winnipeg have players like Jacob Trouba up for a raise, as well. But, I am not optimistic that there will be an offer sheet scenario and there are a few reasons why.

• As silly as it sounds, the NHL has turned into a league where general managers are afraid of offending their fellow general managers or hurting feelings by poaching other team’s players. They are afraid of repercussions at a later date. You can say, “who cares?” but it is a real consideration.
• These general managers have been planning for this offseason for quite a while. They know who they are willing to trade and who they are willing to keep. There are contingency plans in place to either clear up cap space by moving other players or trade the RFA rights before the offer sheet window even opens. I would be very surprised if the major RFAs make it to market. If the players actually do, the option to match the offer and make corresponding moves to fit them in is certainly realistic.
• Lastly, restricted free agency compensation. Not only does an offer sheet cost salary, but there is also compensation due to the former team. Based on the potential salary ranges that players like Marner, Point and Trouba will be wading in, the compensation would be significant. This is a list of compensation due based on the qualifying contract offer the incumbent team sends out:

$0–$1,395,053                          No compensation
$1,395,054–$2,113,716           Third round pick
$2,113,717–$4,227,437           Second round pick
$4,227,438–$6,341,152           First round pick and third round pick
$6,341,153–$8,454,871           First round pick, second round pick and third round pick
$8,454,872–$10,568,589         Two first round picks, second round pick and third round pick
$10,568,590 or higher               Four first round picks

Estimates of a few RFA salaries this summer are as follows (Per Evolving Wild):

Mitch Marner: $9,790,057
Brayden Point: $8,244,551
Jacob Trouba: $7,324,489
Andreas Johnsson: $3,740,183
Kasperi Kapanen: $2,269,796

Keep in mind that these are conservative analytical estimates based on comparable players and the draft picks must be your own, not ones acquired from other teams. Marner, Point and Trouba would cost a king’s ransom and basically nullify the entire 2020 draft, or worse, the next few years of drafting.

This is because offer sheet compensation is determined not purely by the overall contract cap hit, but is divided among the first five years of the contract (or fewer if the contract is less than five years long). So, a seven-year, $56 million offer sheet contract does not equate to an $8 million cap hit for compensation. Rather, it would take the total $56 million and divide that money among the first five years, meaning the compensation cap hit would actually be $11.2 million. So, what on paper looks like an offer sheet that would only cost first, second and third round picks would actually cost four first round picks, rendering the offer-sheeting team without a first round pick until the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

Instead, the Blackhawks, realistically, would be better off trading for the player rights…if they had desirable assets to send back, that is.

Outside of Adam Boqvist or Nicolas Beaudin, the Blackhawks have little to offer a team looking to acquire young top end talent to replace (or remediate) the player leaving. Unless the Blackhawks dangle their shiny third overall pick in front of another team.

Conclusion

It is highly doubtful that the Blackhawks (or any other team, for that matter) sign a player to an offer sheet. If a deal of that magnitude was to occur, it is much more likely that teams would acquire the RFA rights prior to July 1 and sign the player directly. This method also allows the player to sign a contract for an eighth year not available though the offer sheet route. The rules and compensation essentially discourage the practice without formally doing so.

The post ANALYSIS: Could the Blackhawks go the RFA route this summer? appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts “Gatekeeper” and “JJ” are joined by staff writers Mario Tirabassi, Eric Andrews, Ray Napientek to talk about the end of the Blackhawks season.

• The Blackhawks moved up from 12th to third in the NHL Draft Lottery!
• What should/could the Blackhawks do in the draft?
• Is it possible they trade up or down?
• How does the change in draft order change summer free agency?
• Airing of grievances.
• We answer some listener and reader questions

Please subscribe, rate this episode, and even write us a review. Reviews will be read on the air.

Also, Please help spread the word to more #RinkRats and visit our sponsor www.PUCKHCKY.com. Use the discount code “THERINK” for 10% off all orders.

The Rinkcast is brought to you by the Overtime Podcast Network

The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 51 – Season Wrap / Draft Lottery appeared first on The Rink.

The down side of that is that all the meatball theories are being thrown on the table. On the commute in this morning, I heard a respected member of the Blackhawks media suggest that the Blackhawks trade their pick, Brandon Saad, Adam Boqvist and potentially another piece to move up one—just ONE—spot. Let me be the first to tell you, that would be immensely irresponsible and stupid.

Before you fire up your EA Sports NHL 19 video game and start constructing irrational trade scenarios, let me be the one to tell you to stop.

Just stop it!

I am as happy as all of you are and, potentially, even more happy. Last night was Christmas in April for me. Despite their faux playoff run, Blackhawks fell “bass-ackwards” into a top-three draft position. All the pieces have fallen into place. We all have to remind ourselves of some very important things, though. Tinkering too much with a brand-new, shiny toy could result in breaking it before you even get to use it. The Blackhawks, more specifically Stan Bowman, need to use this pick wisely.

I believe they will use it wisely. Bowman’s actions since Joel Quenneville was fired tell me he is on the road to improving this team for next season. My honest opinion is that Bowman has done some of his best work as a Blackhawks General Manager these last six months.

He cut bait on mistakes he made last summer instead of his normal regiment of doubling down and found a useful player in Drake Caggiula. He admitted Nick Schmaltz was not the player they had hoped he was and brought in two talented (and bigger) former first round picks in Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini. Instead of blindly buying into the playoff hype, he stood his ground and did not overpay for a low-percentage trade deadline acquisition. I have been far from a Bowman fan, but I am completely on board with these moves, or lack thereof in some cases.

Here comes the part where I make all the fans with wild imaginations and their crazy nonsense scenarios angry. These are just a few I have seen or read:

Point: The Blackhawks should trade down and select another defenseman. (?)
Counterpoint: NO! They are playing with house money, and they do not need another defenseman after spending the last two drafts stockpiling defensemen. That is silly. They needed depth scoring and a shutdown defenseman. This draft can bring the Blackhawks depth scoring, but no defenseman in this draft can step in before Toews and Kane are gone and be a shutdown defender. That kind of move will probably need to be done through a trade or free agency.

Point: The Blackhawks should trade up to take Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko.
Counterpoint: NO! Unless you can get a team to willing take your spare parts and garbage (which they will not), there is no package the Blackhawks can put together that does not set the roster back going into next season. Furthermore, the talent gap between Hughes/Kakko and third overall is not so wide that it would be worth overpaying to move up. Big market teams like the Rangers and Devils are not letting go of top-two picks for anything less than a blockbuster, franchise-changing deal.

Of the two scenarios, moving down the draft would hold the higher potential, but is unlikely. Bowman could acquire a useful player (or two) and still draft a high-end offensive player.

This brings me to my prediction. I think the Blackhawks stay at third overall and take a player like Dylan Cozens or Kirby Dach, unless something crazy happens like Hughes or Kaako dropping, ala Seth Jones.

This is a great opportunity for the Blackhawks organization. Just look at this list of recent players drafted third overall:

Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Miro Heiskanen
Pierre-Luc Dubois
Dylan Strome
Leon Draisaitl
Jonathan Drouin
Alex Galchenyuk
Jonathan Huberdeau

These are all potential high-end, difference-making players. Rejoice, Chicago, safe does not always mean bad. Take it in and celebrate.

Give us your thoughts below!

A mood.#NHLDraft #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/fRO2HdbcMY

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 10, 2019

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The post REACTION: What might the Blackhawks do with the third overall pick? appeared first on The Rink.

I am here to tell you something that you might find surprising coming from the “noted Stan Bowman basher.” The Blackhawks standing pat yesterday is good for the long term future of this team. Certainly, better than most of the alternatives, that is.

Welcome back…

This is exactly the scenario John Jaeckel, Tyler Cameron and I spoke about on last week’s Rinkcast. Outside of a few big names, at the all wrong positions, there was not much of a market for what the Blackhawks need. Defense comes at a premium price and an even higher price at the deadline. Rather than pillaging what little depth they have in the system; Stan Bowman chose to survive to fight another day.

I can respect that.

Another thing that this told me is that maybe (just maybe) the front office was smart enough to not buy into this recent playoff nonsense and were able to look at this team from 30,000 feet. The Blackhawks are a team using several improbable hot streaks to make their team look better than any of the supporting statistics. To put it bluntly, the defense is far too bad to fix with a panicked over payment at the deadline.

The Blackhawks need to be smarter than everyone else. Like I have been saying for weeks, they need to be shrewd with their moves. Sometimes shrewd means packing up your briefcase and calling it a day.

Still, the internet (and casual fan) outrage is almost embarrassing. There is simply too much irrational outrage over this year’s lack of deadline moves. Either people are not properly informed, or they just want the team to make moves for the sake of making moves. Regardless of need or common sense.

Let me debunk some myths and meatball outrage that’s floating around this wonderful thing called the internet.

The Hawks could have and should have made and offer for Mark Stone.

Sure. They might have been able to put together a comparable deal to what Vegas did in acquiring the former Ottawa wing. He is a great player. I cannot deny that. Mark Stone is definitely an upgrade over Dominik Kahun, Dylan Sikura, or John Hayden. The question is: Does Mark Stone, alone, make this team a legit Stanley Cup contender?

No, he does not.

Mark Stone can put a very good team in the conversation as a contender. Much like another meatball pipe dream, Artemi Panarin, Mark Stone does nothing to help keep the puck out of the back of the Blackhawks net. This is not the only conundrum, though. If the Blackhawks were to “beat” the Vegas offer, it would have started with a deal resembling Adam Boqvist, David Kampf (who is injured), and a second-round draft pick. This also takes absolutely nothing else into account.

One would have to assume that if the Senators were going to deal Stone, it was going to be to a legit cup contender. Not some house of smoke and mirrors that will most likely end up in the lottery before the playoffs. Then the only thing you’re really acquiring is the right to sign Stone to an extra eight year on a long-term deal. Is giving up your top prospect worth still getting swept in the first round or not making the playoffs at all?

No, it is absolutely NOT worth it.

Another thing that the casual observers are discounting is that Mark Stone is a top line right wing that will make roughly $9.5M (we’ll talk about this later) and expects to play 20 plus minutes a night. Guess who else is a top line right wing that makes $10.5M and expects to play 22 plus minutes a night?

Patrick Kane.

There is simply not enough time in a game to accommodate these players. One of these players would have to cut their time significantly and when you’re paying $20M for two players, that is a tough pill to swallow. I promise you Patrick Kane is not getting pulled off the ice for anyone.

The Blackhawks top six of Caggiula, Toews, Kane, DeBrincat, Strome and Kahun is pretty solid. Keep in mind, this scenario still has Brandon Saad playing on the third line. If you swap Saad for Caggiula, that’s an even more solid top six. Mark Stone is a very nice player, if you don’t have Patrick Kane. Would he ever earn his keep? Probably not.

The last point that needs to be brought up is the tax-vs-salary implications. Now, I am certainly no accountant but this might add a wrinkle into the “supposed” UFA deal Stan Bowman could have offered Stone.

Quick note on Stone’s new 8-year, $9.5M AAV deal… Vegas has no state tax. That’s equivalent to almost $13M in Ottawa

— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) February 25, 2019

In Illinois, this would equate to approximately $350,000. Little things make a difference.

This brings me back to my original point. Who is helping to keep the Blackhawks from facing 35 shots a night and the most high-danger chances against in the league? Not a right wing, that’s for sure. Can he help? Certainly “some“, but not enough to drop a second mortgage on the United Center.

Why didn’t the Hawks trade for the defenseman/defensemen they need? Buncha failures!

My gripe with the casual outrage on this subject is that the market for defenseman was either nonexistent or grossly overpriced. The defensemen that were moved Monday were Nick Jensen, Ben Lovejoy, Connor Carrick, Brandon Montour, Adam McQuaid, Oscar Fantenberg, Erik Gudbranson, Bogdan Kiselevich, and Chris Wideman. Do any of these guys keep the puck out of the Blackhawks net?

Maybe; but probably not. They are certainly not worth over paying to acquire and none of them make this current Blackhawks team a legit cup contender.

Bowman would be better off dealing at the draft, or during the summer, to acquire defensemen. He will get better market value and will have more roster flexibility. I said this on twitter yesterday, but it looks to me that the front office took a “lose-without-losing-on-purpose” mentality. We should all be OK with this.

Where I would have liked to see some movement is players that don’t have a place with the team going forward, like Gustav Forsling, but not worth making an issue over. Let’s see what Bowman does at the draft in June before we freak out, eh?

The post Analysis: How Did Stan Bowman do at the Trade Deadline? appeared first on The Rink.

I’ve read the articles about how they’re only five points back of a playoff spot but what some writers fail to tell the fans is that the Blackhawks have played 1-3 more games than the six teams between them and that last spot. That is a lot of teams to leapfrog over considering their foes could amass as many as six points in those three games in hand.

A more telling story is how the team sits 14 out of 15 teams in the Western Conference and are tied for the 5th least amount of points in the entire NHL. Creeping, backdooring or limping your way into the playoffs is never something a team wants to do but that’s how the Blackhawks would make the playoffs.

The Blackhawks made the playoffs in 2016 and 2017 with statistically more balanced and overall better teams than this season but were subsequently eliminated both years. They didn’t make the playoffs in 2018 but the previous two seasons were no less disappointing than that. That leads them right back to the same situation they’re looking at right now.

If fans want to see the team just make the playoffs then the Blackhawks might as well start putting banners up for that. Because we’re just headed down that road year after year.

Mathematically it’s still possible but they’re also mathematically playing themselves out of a potential lottery pick. The chance to draft a player like Jack Hughes who has drawn comparisons to Patrick Kane or Kaapo Kakko who has been compared to Patrik Laine becomes less likely the more the Blackhawks win.

There is no guarantee that these players will live up to the hype but the Blackhawks do have a good track record of drafting number 1 overall. What they do not have is a solid track record of drafting and developing any other first round draft picks.

Kyle Beach, Dylan Olsen and Mark McNeill never made any impact with the Blackhawks. Kevin Hayes decided to head to free agency instead of signing with the organization while Philip Danault, Teuvo Teravainen, Ryan Hartman and Nick Schmaltz were all traded for various reasons and are solidly contributing to their current teams.

Some would say that Stan Bowman and his regime are unfit for a complete rebuild but that’s a topic for another day. Be on the lookout for an article by our own John Jaeckel.

Currently the organization has three first rounders in Henri Jokiharju, Adam Boqvist and Nicolas Beaudin who may develop into great defencemen but they are a few years off from really contributing. Jokiharju has already showed growing pains in his first NHL season and has been reassigned to Rockford.

Time is not on Jonathan Toews or Patrick Kane’s side and players that can contribute immediately are in demand. This doesn’t mean that the organization should go out and blow all of their cap space on one player. It would be much more desirable to hit the lottery with Hughes or Kakko especially if they are as advertised. They could add depth to an extremely top-heavy scoring team and would also carry a relatively small cap hit leaving them with room to bolster their horrific team defense.

There have been some highs and more lows but either way they’re destined to disappoint long-term with the current team makeup. Kane, DeBrincat, Toews, Saad and Gustafsson have combined for 107 of the team’s 166 goals and the team is giving up an average of .50 more goals than they’re scoring per game.

The team has had bright spots and have gotten better under Coach Colliton but their mediocrity is leading them into no man’s land for now and into the future. The goal is to be consistently good but that hasn’t been the case this season so they might as well be consistently bad. If they continue along their current path they’ll be back in the same position for years to come.

Follow @Pappy_Hour on Twitter for more Blackhawks and general hockey musings.

This is why I want the #Blackhawks to rebuild. I want the organization to be strong, consistent and not meddle in mediocrity like they are doing right now. #LoseForHughes #CrappoForKaapo pic.twitter.com/ioEGMKckQx

— MLP (@Pappy_Hour) February 5, 2019

The post Mediocrity Is Killing The Blackhawks Future appeared first on The Rink.

There are many schools of thought on this, and most are (at least partly) valid.

Blackhawks fans have been extremely fortunate and certainly need to take that into account. Outside of the 90s Bulls, this has been the most successful era for a Chicago sports franchise, IN HISTORY. Most teams would gladly trade with the Blackhawks to have three cup wins in less than a decade.

All that success ended in the spring of 2016, though, when the Blackhawks were swept by the Nashville Predators after amassing one of the best regular season records in the team’s history. They have gone steadily downhill and most of their moves have been washes, at best. To compound the issue, the front office continues to blatantly lie and deny.

That brings me to my little theme. After listening to The Fixx’s “One Thing Leads to Another” on the radio, it struck me that the lyrics could be plugged into the State of the Blackhawks organization so, without further ado…

The deception with tact, just what are you trying to say?
You’ve got a blank face, which irritates
Communicate, pull out your party piece
You see dimensions in two
State your case with black or white
But when one little cross leads to shots, grit your teeth
You run for cover so discreet, why don’t they…

Last spring, when the Blackhawks brass trotted out in front of the media, team president John McDonough told the media and the fan base that they stood behind Stan Bowman and Joel Quenneville, but proclaimed that everyone would be held accountable for missing the playoffs. Bowman then followed up with his (now famous) #WeLikeOurTeam.

On the surface, Stan Bowman certainly looked like he believed their dull lifeless #WeLikeOurTeam mantra. It was almost like he was taken into a back room, hypnotized and told that his first response to every question would now be #WeLikeOurTeam.

They conveniently forgot to mention that by “standing behind” Joel Quenneville they were waiting to stab him in the back after 15 games and use him as the fall guy.

Not only that, but he handed the team over to a very raw head coach that probably wasn’t ready to be an NHL coach.  I have said it several times before, Bowman pulled the pin out of a grenade and dropped it in Colliton’s lap.  Much like they have done with several young prospects.

We will get to that later, though.

Just prior to the NHL draft, Bowman did absolutely nothing to put the organization into position to improve. The Blackhawks held the 8th overall pick and Nashville’s 27th overall pick (thanks to the dumping of Ryan Hartman). There were quite a few high end forwards at the top, and some potential generational defensemen that the organization could have moved up to pick. They stuck to their position and made their picks.

No trades; nothing.

When their number was called at the draft, the organization took a gamble with smallish project Adam Boqvist. If they were happy with Boqvist (and by all accounts they were), Bowman could have potentially packaged up the 27th pick to unload a big contract and clear up some cap room for the pending free agent period.

They didn’t accomplish that either and picked Nicolas Beaudin. This is all fine and well, but do the Blackhawks really need half a dozen clones? Apparently they were swallowing that #WeLikeOurTeam charade, themselves, which has proven to be a huge mistake.

As training camp opened, the only moves they made were to bring in an over-the-hill forward in Chris Kunitz, an over-the-hill goalie in Cam Ward, and a pair of third pair defensemen in Brandon Manning and Brandon Davidson. If they truly believed in this team, they are awful at their jobs because just about everyone with a set of eyes knew this team had huge holes to fill.

Do what they say, say what you mean, and baby
One thing leads to another
You told me something wrong, I know I listen too long but then
One thing leads to another

Are the Chicago Blackhawks in a full rebuild? Label it however you would like, but this transition they are in the middle of is a rebuild. Not “rebuilding on the fly.” Not “reloading.”

Full blown rebuild.

Stop lying and treating the fans like a bunch of shaved chimps. Enough is enough. John McDonough treats the fans like it is 1995 before most had readily available access to the internet. When the team could just shovel loads of nonsense to the beat writers and the fans were forced to consume it. It is almost 2019 and fans have more information at the tips of their fingers than libraries of books and newspapers. Independent websites and media outlets (like this one) have a voice to point out the nonsense.

The excuse of “Well, what else are they supposed to say?” simply is not valid. It is a lazy cop out response. Several sports franchises have been open and honest with their fans about the necessity to rebuild. SEVERAL!

Fans bought in and, in most situations, the teams came out of the other end of the meat grinder and had success. THAT is what the “public relations genius” John McDonough should be saying. All he has to do is look at his former employer across the city to see how that works.

While the outrage is somewhat misdirected, a prime example is the way the team handled the firing of Joel Quenneville. Fans realized that the Quenneville was the sacrificial lamb and the results since then support that. What we’re seeing is a fan base backlash against Bowman.

While he certainly has his hand in this mess, Stan Bowman is a John McDonough “yes man.” Firing Bowman will not change much of what is going on at 1901 W. Madison. McDonough will just hire another obedient muppet that he can smear his fingerprints all over. This back office needs a full extermination.

The impression that you sell
Passes in and out like a scent
But the long face that you see comes from living close to your fears
If this is up then I’m up but you’re running out of sight
You’ve seen your name on the walls
And when one little bump leads to shock miss a beat
You run for cover and there’s heat, why don’t they

The contract issues started as far back as the signings of Marian Hossa, Brian Campbell and Cristobal Huet. Two of the three players ended up being albatrosses that Bowman had to creatively discard, which has been common theme during the Bowman tenure.

I realize that Tallon signed those players, but they have John McDonough’s greasy stink all over them.

Making a contract disappear is part of being a professional sports executive, but taking losses (many times significant) in almost every instance should not be acceptable.

I digress, though. Huet was completely unnecessary at the time, and that is on Dale Tallon. If you look back, ten years ago, Huet was signed for the same salary that two time cup winning goalie Corey Crawford currently makes. The move reeks of a John McDonough public relations stunt.

Even though the Blackhawks had a young, fresh Corey Crawford ready to dip his toes in the NHL waters, Tallon ran out and grossly overpaid Huet to compete with incumbent Nikolai Khabibulin. Huet failed to beat out Khabibulin in his first year and then lost his job to Antti Niemi the following season. Eventually, Bowman was forced to loan Huet to a team in Switzerland (might as well been Siberia) to make the mistake disappear.

Hossa and Campbell worked much better at the time, but it was only three years into Campbell’s eight year $57 million deal that Bowman was forced to trade him to Florida and their old pal Dale Tallon for a bag full of bricks named Rostislav Olesz. A bag of bricks that Bowman would eventually be forced to use one of his two compliance buyout allowances to dispose of. You might label that a loss.

This was just the beginning of a laundry list of questionable moves that systematically forced the Blackhawks to give up valuable assets in exchange for teams to take on their messes.

In 2010, they were forced to trade Dustin Byfuglien (among others, because they couldn’t afford him) to Atlanta for Marty Reasoner, Joey Crabb, Jeremy Morin and two draft picks that resulted in Kevin Hayes and Justin Holl. This move still stings nine years later.

That same summer they traded Andrew Ladd (because they couldn’t afford him) to Atlanta for Ivan Vishnevskiy and a draft pick that resulted in AHL lifer Adam Clendening.

In 2011, they traded the rights to Troy Brouwer (because they couldn’t afford him) for a draft pick that resulted in Phillip Danault (whom they never fully developed and were forced to part with later) to Washington.

In 2014, they traded Nick Leddy (because Bowman waited to long to address serious cap issues until they were forced to scramble) the New York Islanders for T.J. Brennan, Ville Pokka and Anders Nilsson. Brennan is an AHL lifer, they never developed Pokka and were forced to trade Nilsson away.

Do what they say, say what they mean
One thing leads to another
You told me something wrong, I know I listen too long but then
One thing leads to another, yeah, yeah, yeah
One thing leads to another

As I alluded to earlier, the biggest question is how did the Blackhawks get to this terrible state so fast? Questionable player contracts.

The biggest issues this organization currently face are the salaries of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Brent Seabrook. Those three, alone, account for $28 million against the salary cap. With that kind of structure, they will never be able to sign more than one high end free agent like they need. Why are these players (and several before them) overpaid? Because “hard driving, cap expert” Stan Bowman was tossing extra millions (and no movement clauses) around like they were nickels.

In theory, rewarding the players that brought you three championships is a commendable act. If that act doesn’t restrict you from future success.

Some of these contract snafus can be smoothed out by just taking into account that Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Corey Crawford were underpaid for years. The problem with this is that a true “cap guru” should be able to sprinkle a few bargains with tightly negotiated, reasonable contracts. Something we are all watching in Toronto. You should not have a need to make excuses for people that are at the top of their respective profession.

Unless those snafus were a result of Bowman’s boss meddling in hockey decisions.

It would not be hard to imagine McDonough directing Bowman to re-sign Bryan Bickell as a public relations move, when most of the fan base had come to terms with the forward pricing himself out of Chicago.

Then it’s easy to believe
Somebody’s been lying to me
But when the wrong word goes in the right ear
I know why you’ve been lying to me
It’s getting rough, off the cuff I’ve got to say enough’s enough

The last issue that has led to the Blackhawks demise is the back office falling in love, and failing to develop mediocre prospects.  Selling the fans a huge bag of nonsense disguised as a well developed, NHL ready player that will make a difference, nightly.  As a result they cast unrealistic expectations on a young (many times fragile) hockey mind that takes them years to overcome.

The most recent example is Dylan Sikura.  He’s a fine player.  A raw, physically underdeveloped player, though.  Last winter Stan Bowman (with a straight face) told the Blackhawks fanbase that (essentially) they didn’t need to make a trade deadline acquisition because Sikura would fill the role.  They made sure that they signed him as fast as possible and threw him to the wolves.  He came out and had three assist (two of which were secondary) in five games.

Maybe it they were honest with the fans and convey the fact that Sikura was coming from playing at a level several steps below the NHL, he is physically underdeveloped and it might take him some time to adjust the fans wouldn’t have been on #SikuraWatch for the first 3 months of the season, and they would accept him developing in the AHL.

Instead, the team and the media throw out this ridiculous public relations hype that makes the casual fan think Dylan Sikura is the next Patrick Kane.  He’s not and never will be.  Let him develop.  What has rushing a player ever accomplished?  For every Alex DeBrincat that jumps right into the lineup (even though his first 20 games were a struggle), there are five Marko Danos or Bill Sweats or Akim Alius or Kyle Beaches or Mark McNeills.  BE PATIENT AND STOP BLENDING YOUNG KID’S MINDS UP!

Remember the hype about Wouter Peeters being the next Blackhawks goalie and how they were very carefully developing him in the USHL?  This was just over 12 months ago.  Since then, he had a decent first USHL season and has essentially disappeared from existence.  Three games this fall and disappeared from the Lincoln Stars roster after October 5th.

Bigger the harder he falls
But when the wrong antidote is like a bulge on the throat
You run for cover in the heat why don’t they

Do what they say, say what they mean
One thing leads to another
You told me something wrong, I know I listen too long but then
One thing leads to another, yeah, yeah
One thing (one thing) leads to another………

The moral of the story is that the lying and delusions in this back office are now crippling this organization. John McDonough has created a culture that is full of self aggrandizing nonsense above all else. It is time that Rocky Wirtz stopped buying into this hype and hired some real hockey architects rather than a bunch of public relations clowns running around the front office patting themselves on the back.

The post Blackhawks Analysis: One Thing Leads to Another appeared first on The Rink.

When NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the salary cap could allow as much as $3.5 million of room for teams to patrol the free agent market this coming summer, Blackhawks fans (with a little help from recent mainstream articles) all jumped on their internet devices and filled their Christmas shopping carts with Artemi Panarin sweaters.

Not realistic but, then again, when have sports fans ever been realistic or rational?

As we sit today, according to Puckpedia.com, the Blackhawks stand to have an estimated $20.8 million in cap space if the cap were to rise as speculated. Granted, this is with only 15 of the currently rostered players signed. Marcus Kruger, Chris Kunitz, Andreas Martinsen, Jan Rutta, Brandon Davidson and Cam Ward potentially all fall off the roster as unrestricted free agents while David Kampf, Brendan Perlini, and Gustav Forsling will be restricted free agents.

Other restricted free agents that will need to be addressed are Dylan Sikura, Blake Hillman, Victor Ejdsell, Anthony Louis, Jacob Nilsson, Matheson Iacopelli, Luke Johnson, Carl Dahlstrom, Anton Forsberg and Collin Delia. A couple of these names might affect the NHL roster, but most should not be of concern. AHL vets Jordan Schroeder, Andrew Campbell, and Tyler Sikura will become unrestricted free agents but, again, probably don’t figure into the pro roster.

What could an additional $3.5 million do for this franchise that is slowly drowning in a murky swamp of indecision and denial? It certainly should mean that they will make a big splash in the market, but it has been a long time since they went out and made a significant addition through free agency.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but, despite what the pundits have been feeding you, the free agent market is not as plentiful as you might think. If free agency were to start today, it would look like a sea of big names, but that is not how NHL free agency works. Most big name free agents in the prime of their career re-sign with their team or get traded and sign extensions with their new team almost immediately.

The biggest names to potentially hit the market are Columbus Russians Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin, Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson, Senators forwards Mark Stone and Matt Duchene, Jordan Eberle, Buffalo’s Jeff Skinner down to players like Wayne Simmonds and Jacob Silfverberg. I agree that all of these names sound enticing but I would be surprised if half of them hit the true open market.

For this exercise, let’s assume that David Kampf, Brendan Perlini, and Gustav Forsling all re-sign and eat up around $4 million between them. Simple math brings you to about $16 million in cap space, their general manager cannot unload a contract or two.  This is where I need to spit some truth. While spending $10 million a season for the next seven seasons on Artemi Panarin is logistically possible, it is not reasonable nor is it smart.

If Panarin is (reportedly) playing hardball with the Columbus Blue Jackets because he is not sure that is the city where he wants to spend the next eight years, he is certainly not interested in taking a “discount” to return to a team that is a shell of the one he left two years ago.

“But, Jeff, He has such great chemistry with Patrick Kane”

Sure, he did have that chemistry. He has chemistry with players in Columbus, too. He will have chemistry in his next city, as well. That is what dynamic star players do. Since his chemistry with Kane, he was blindsided by a surprise trade to a much smaller market, where he then blossomed into a bonafide NHL star and has (reportedly) decided that (despite playing for a team much closer to the Stanley Cup than the Blackhawks), he is not interested in hitching his camper to Columbus.

Did I miss anything?

It is pretty safe to assume that taking less money and coming back to a terrible Chicago organization to play second fiddle to Patrick Kane (who could potentially be here for almost the entirety of Panarin’s next contract deal) is not exactly ideal. He clearly wants to be a top 10 NHL star on his own. Say, for argument’s sake, that he was to take less money and gamble his future on this mess of a franchise.

Artemi Panarin does not take this team from basement dwellers to Stanley Cup potential. No one player does. Several layers need to be stripped off the onion to begin to build the team back up. Next season may, in fact, be just as bad as this one is going.

“But, hey! We got da bread man back guys!”

What does that John Tavares recruiting video look like? Do the Blackhawks add Panarin in on the stage, announcing the first overall pick at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft? Attending the draft lottery as the Blackhawks representative while Bill Daly announces, “The first overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft goes to…the Los Angeles Kings?”

Back to the most important question, though. Who is helping to keep the puck out of the net? Top four defensemen cost premium dollars. If the fantasy rings true, Stan Bowman spends (at least) $9 million on Panarin and then has to spend almost all of his remaining cap money on ONE defenseman. Probably an overpaid, serviceable, top four defenseman, because no one is getting Erik Karlsson or Jacob Trouba (whom you’d have to acquire through trade, or give an insanely high offer-sheet plus draft compensation) for $6 million a year.

If the Blackhawks are going to blow money on players, blow it on the filling the gaping holes in the lineup. Replace a few of the 5-6-7 level defensemen with some actual adults that can hold their own on both ends of the ice.

“We have Boqvist, Beaudin and Ian Mitchell. They are the future!”

Thank you, Whitney Houston, but those are all very young, very raw, smallish, offensive minded defensemen. Not a single team in this league is winning the Stanley Cup with four of their top six defensemen having one year or less of NHL experience, much less all of them being the same type of player to varying degrees. This is not a video game. The Blackhawks will be extremely lucky if just one of those three potential rookies can hold his own in the NHL next season.

This brings us all the way back to the remaining “clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right” now currently playing musical chairs in front of Corey Crawford. Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Erik (no “D” in) Gustafsson, Gustav Forsling, Brandon Manning, Henri Jokiharju, Connor Murphy. Someone in this Mickey Mouse club has to go.

In fact, two or three need to go. This is what happens when you stockpile a bunch of very similar assets.

Obviously, Henri Jokiharju was drafted and hyped by the front office to remain in Chicago. Connor Murphy might “seem” bad but he is a young, versatile, cost controlled, relatively physical defenseman that will not get you killed in your own end. Dennis Gilbert might be able to develop into that type of player, eventually, but he is still trying to navigate the AHL.

Unless Stan Bowman can find a functional idiot of a GM, he is not going to be able to move Seabrook or Manning without sweetening a deal with a Dylan Sikura type player. Opinions of Sikura aside, the Blackhawks have a history of giving decent NHL players away for almost nothing, which is another annual event that needs to stop happening.

This leaves Keith, Gustafsson and Forsling. Try and find a dance partner for Keith at the deadline and get anything you can for the other two. These are the type of hard decisions that need to be made. If Stan Bowman is not the type of GM that can make this kind of shift in the organization happen, then he can hop on the plane with them to outer Mongolia, manana.

The post Analysis: How Does The Potential Salary Cap Jump Affect The Blackhawks? appeared first on The Rink.

7:30pm p.m. CST/5:30pm PST
United Center
TV/Radio: NBCSCH/WGN

PROJECTED STARTERS

Chicago – Corey Crawford (5 – 8 – 1, SV%: .914, GAA: 2.68)
Vegas– Marc-Andre Fleury (12 – 8 – 1, SV%: .913, GAA: 2.33)

TEAM STATISTICS

Power Play
Chicago (12.6%, 31st)
Vegas (17.7%, 22nd)

Penalty Kill
Chicago (75.0%,T-27h)
Vegas (82.4%, 6th)

Shorts for/against
Chicago (33.0, T-7th; 33.1, 27th)
Vegas (33.0, T-7th; 27.2, 2nd)

Shooting %
Chicago (8.2%, 27th)
Vegas (8.3%, 26th)

Faceoff %
Chicago (50.1%,16th)
Vegas (47.6%, 1T-28h)

Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 197lbs
Vegas 6’1” 199lbs

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS

Chicago Blackhawks

Brandon Saad–Jonathan Toews–John Hayden
Alex DeBrincat–Artem Anisimov–Patrick Kane
Alexandre Fortin–David Kampf–Dominik Kahun
Brendan Perlini–Dylan Strome–Marcus Kruger
Duncan Keith–Gustav Forsling
Erik Gustafsson–Henri Jokiharju
Brandon Manning–Brent Seabrook

Vegas Golden Knights

Jon Marchessault–William Karlsson–Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty–Cody Eakin–Alex Tuch
Tomas Nosek–Ryan Carpenter–Daniel Carr
William Carrier–Pierre-Edouard Bellemare–Ryan Reaves
Nate Schmidt–Brayden McNabb
Colin Miller–Nick Holden
Shea Theodore–Deryk Engelland

Analysis

Chicago acquired forwards Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini from Arizona for forward Nick Schmaltz on Sunday evening. General Manager Stan Bowman stated after the trade, “We are better today than we were yesterday.” As with any trade, time will tell.

Tonight, the Blackhawks take the ice after defeating the Florida Panthers 5-4 in overtime. The five goals were the first time the Hawks scored more than three in a game since October 25th versus the New York Rangers, a span of thirteen games.

Vegas defeated Chicago all three times last season, which was Vegas’ inaugural season in the NHL. The Golden Knights have played .500 hockey this season, not getting the hot start as last season, when they shocked the hockey world and made the Stanley Cup finals.

Forward Jon Marchessault leads Vegas in goals (10) and points (20), while center William Karlsson leads in assists (12). Winger Max Pacioretty, acquired from Montreal in an off-season trade, currently rides a five-game point streak (6 goals, 1 assists).

Corey Crawford and Marc-Andre Fleury are expected in net tonight. The veterans have combined to raise the Stanley Cup five times in their careers (Crawford-2, Fleury-3).

Henri Jokiharju did not participate in the morning skate, due to an illness, and will be a game-time decision.

Comment below in our live game thread tonight!

And look for the internet’s most robust recap of the game tomorrow morning on the-rink.com. 

The post Preview/Game Thread: Blackhawks vs Golden Knights appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts Jeff “Gatekeeper” Osborn and John Jaeckel get together with The Rink Rockford Icehogs Head Writer Mario Tirabassi to talk about the Blackhawks firing Joel Quenneville and his assistants, then promoting Jeremy Colliton.

• Joel Quenneville out, Kevin Dineen out, Ulf Samuelsson out.  Jeremy Colliton in, Barry Smith in, Don Granato stays, Jimmy Waite stays.
• Derek King takes over in Rockford while Sheldon Brookbank stays there as an assistant.
• We dissect yet another awkward press conference in Blackhawks lore.
• Mario give us more insight into Coach Colliton.
• Very in-depth talk about the move, what led up to it, what the future could hold.
• We spend a good hour focussing on some great listener and reader questions

Please subscribe, rate this episode, and even write us a review. Reviews will be read on the air.

Also, Please help spread the word to more #RinkRats and visit our sponsor www.PUCKHCKY.com. Use the discount code “THERINK” for 10% off all orders.

The post The Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 35 – Quenneville Fired appeared first on The Rink.

Predictably is the operative word in that heading.

After having the misfortune of seeing in-person a good projection of the quality of hockey we as fans can count on in the upcoming season Tuesday night at the United Center, I can’t help but find myself up late wrestling with the possibility that there might be some sort of reason for the current mess the organization finds itself in.

All summer following a playoff-less season casual fans and experts alike agreed that the Hawks’ lineup as-is was simply not good enough to perform at a high level. Big moves involving some serious re-structurizing around the team’s previous winning model were anticipated. Huge names like Erik Karlsson, Max Pacioretty, and Matt Duchene were thrown around.

No players of note actually came.

Instead, a half-hearted acknowledgement that the Corey Crawford problem was as serious as many feared came in the form of Cam Ward. With him, came Brandon Manning (see last night’s effort), and a talented, but raw, long-term prospect in Adam Boqvist. You would have been hard pressed to find a hockey fan anywhere in the universe who would have told you that the Blackhawks did what was necessary this summer to get back to competitive, high-level hockey.

With that said, the next logical conclusion to draw has been that the Chicago Blackhawks will have yet another less than stellar run this year.  While we have not seen enough yet to definitively make that leap, it would be an even bigger leap to make any type of argument that involves the Blackhawks playing meaningful hockey deep into April this year. The fact is, most serious fans should be anticipating a long year; and for good reason.

Unfortunately, it feels like the effort Tuesday night is an embodiment of everything this team will be about in the upcoming season, and to tell you all anything different would be disingenuous.

See The-Rink’s Blackhawks/Wings recap from Ron Luce for more specifics on last night’s ugly finish.

First and foremost, Cam Ward, regardless of the (somewhat) revival year he is coming off, is not and will never be Corey Crawford.  This year, the Chicago Blackhawks are going to need Corey Crawford more than they ever have. Even less assuring is that, despite what the overly optimistic conventional minds will strut out on social media, Crawford is not anywhere close to game ready. In fact, I don’t imagine a scenario in which he is playing on a regular basis and at a level that even mimics that of which he was at this time a year ago until at least Christmas, which could be a generous estimation. This is the unfortunate reality surrounding the Crawford situation, regardless of whatever big brand Twitter personality threw on your timeline as they sipped their mocha frappe last week inside MB Ice Arena whilst watching Jimmy Waite fling ankle high muffins at Crawford for 25 minutes or so.

So, as more about Crawford’s somewhat controversial absence is brought into the light, and a better long-term outlook becomes visible, do Stan Bowman’s summer acquisitions (or lack thereof) begin to make more sense?

I can’t help but wonder as I become more and more certain the Blackhawks will have a less than stellar year, did Stan Bowman know his team would likely be without Corey Crawford for a sizable chunk of the upcoming season? Did that make this season futile from the start? Is he thinking even longer-term than we as fans may have realized? Nobody would have had a better, more accurate, honest assessment of Crawford’s condition than Stan Bowman all summer—and it would make sense for him to have hinged his willingness to really shake things up on whether or not Crawford would be ready to go this fall because, as we saw in the second half of last season, without their number one goalie this team is not playoff caliber.

I am beginning to think perhaps in our frustration we have underestimated Stan’s ability to read his own forecast. Could there be a more subtle reason that a recent “dynasty” of a team in a market that now demands success with urgency addressed almost none of its significant needs over the summer? Could Stan Bowman be purposely angling for a better draft pick? Is he, in a way,  “mailing it in” this season from the start?

This is a team with almost 7 million dollars in cap space to open a season. A team with realistically only 2 top-four defensemen, and only two dependable centermen. A team that seemingly “lost” every big sweepstakes this summer for free agents (or never even entered in he running). This is an unpopular proposal, and I am not certain this is the case.  I am simply stating that, at this point, this seems like the only explanation for the front office’s strange behavior during the summer, other than pure incompetence and laziness.

This theory would also mean that the Hawk GM is relatively positive that he will outlast Joel Quenneville once the heads begin to roll on another disappointing season.

What I am mildly suggesting is that Bowman has potentially known longer than anyone Crawford would not be ready to start this season (or maybe at all), and that such news produced a bit of apathy towards the impending season.  Perhaps there is a scenario where he allows this team to perform as well as it can with what it has for the first half of this tour before assessing whether it is worth investing that cap space into an immediate short-term solution at the deadline, or a long-term answer to some structural issues. Crawford’s health, once again, plays into that scenario.

Food for thought.

Then again, who knows?  The Blackhawks certainly looked capable of producing offense Tuesday night.  A halfway decent effort from Ward might have made for a good looking hockey team.  In which case, I’m jumping the gun. I suppose I will continue to helplessly hope that this is the case as we near the start of the season.

The post Chicago Blackhawks, That Feeling of Impending Doom appeared first on The Rink.

Get ready. As surprising as last summer was, the one that lies immediately ahead could provide an even more bumpy ride.

The only thing we do know at this point is that Stan Bowman and Joel Quenneville will be back next year—and everything else is subject to change.

Starting from the broadest of perspectives, it’s hard to say whether the Hawks are in full or partial rebuild mode, or if there’s an actual belief/confidence that moves here and there can elevate the team back into Cup contention.

And while I haven’t heard this specifically, I’m not sure the team knows either.

Whither Crow?

The big variable is the health and long-term prognosis for Corey Crawford. While some take umbrage at any suggestion his health issue is anything but the concussion issues that have been reported, rumors of other issues continue to fly. Either way, doesn’t matter, whatever’s going on with Crawford was enough to keep him out of action for nearly the last four months of the season. He’s also going to turn 34 this year.

A healthy and ready-to-go Crawford makes a return to contention plausible—not necessarily likely. But certainly, it’s a big box checked, allowing the team to focus its efforts this offseason elsewhere.

If Crawford can’t play, or If he is diminished, then the task of a quick adjustment and return to glory becomes pretty much impossible—regardless of potential LTIR dollars.

And the cap

By numerous Twitter estimations, the Hawks will have some cap room to work with this summer—perhaps quite a bit. Much of that depends on where the cap eventually settles, some resolution of Marian Hossa’s contract, and even what happens with Crawford.

But even assuming Stan Bowman has a lot of money to work with, keep in mind the following. Free agency is expensive, especially so if the cap goes up a great deal. So will salaries. It’s simple market dynamics.

Further, the Hawks have a long list of needs. To varying degrees, rookies Alex Debrincat, Jan Rutta and David Kampf have worked themselves into the picture for next year. Youngsters like Anthony Duclair Andreas Martinsen, Vince Hinostroza, Jordan Oesterle, John Hayden and Erik Gustafsson also appear to be pieces that fit the puzzle next year—maybe.

Reality bites

The truth is 33-39-10 is a dreadful record—and accurately reflects the quality of the talent on the roster.

There’s a raging debate over whether Joel Quenneville has “lost the room,” but in all likelihood, the “engine” that will drive this team anywhere next year remains the veteran core of Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Brent Seabrook, and Brandon Saad. Factor a healthy Crawford and Debrincat in there as well. The point is, Quenneville has been to the top of the mountain with most of those players—more than once.

And it’s not to say that the supporting cast of youngsters is no good, it’s just that there remain some missing pieces, and some of the youngsters were asked to do more this year than they were ready to do.

What is missing

For all the projections about Rutta as a top 4 defenseman, or the pleasant surprise of Oesterle, or Gustafsson’s obvious offensive ability, this Hawk defense doesn’t suppress shots well, allows opposing forwards to do business right in front of the Hawk goalie, and gets caught out of position—a lot.

It’s not enough—and kind of a waste of time—to expect Crawford to resume his role of “hiding” the deficiencies of a poor blueline this season.

Sure you can hope that over the summer, Connor Murphy becomes more consistent, Rutta’s style can change to be more effective along the wall, Gustafsson stops being a turnover machine and Oesterle can clear the front of the net going up against players who outweigh him by 30 pounds. Or that Keith and Seabrook can go into the Way Back Machine and become what they were three years ago.

Or Bowman can use some of that newly minted cap space and acquire a legitimate young two-way defenseman or two.

As pointed out earlier, the cost for that in free agency would likely be high. And the pickings are slim this year to boot.

So what about the draft, or a trade?

The draft

In the draft, if the Hawks were fortunate enough to win the draft lottery, the obvious choice is a guy who could step in tomorrow and upgrade the blueline, Swedish defender, Rasmus Dahlin.

However, the Hawks likely won’t win it. But they will likely pick in the top ten for the first time since 2007, and the franchise can’t afford to miss on this pick.

Keith, Seabrook, Toews and Crawford will all be 30-35 years old on draft day.

So it would make sense that the Hawks grab one of a handful of other fine defense prospects (Evan Bouchard, Adam Boqvist, Quinn Hughes, etc) or the best projectable, true center prospect available with their pick, and perhaps a goalie with Nashville’s pick near the end of the first round.

But after Dahlin, it’s highly unlikely any other draft prospect is truly NHL ready this year. And maybe you just draft the highest upside player, regardless of position.

Trades

For years, the Hawks always seemed to be looking for a 2^nd line center. Then for a couple of years, it was the search for the elusive top 6 left wing. Now the focus may be shifting back to center, where it can be argued perhaps two of the current roster’s 4 centers are really almost like wings playing center (Artem Anisimov to a degree and Nick Schmaltz quite a bit).

Viktor Ejdsell appears to need some time in Rockford.

Both Anisimov and Schmaltz are “responsible” defensively as you might want a center to be, but Anisimov is ponderously slow and Schmaltz is pretty much a pushover when he has to go mano a mano around the net with larger centers and defensemen—which the Western Conference has in abundance.

Further, both are somewhere between mediocre and atrocious in the faceoff circle.

There are “experts” out there who have claimed that “faceoffs don’t matter.” And, in a larger, aggregate sense, they aren’t the most important statistic to ponder.

But situationally, they are incredibly important.

If you’re going to be an effective possession style team, you need to possess the puck. Conversely, late in close games or killing penalties, defensive zone draws are crucial.

There are other schools of thought out there that Anisimov is probably overpaid as now a third line center (agreed), and that Schmaltz will improve physically and in the faceoff circle (not so agreed).

Schmaltz may improve, and he may not. After all, three NHL organizations have invested heavily in Anisimov improving in the dot—and he hasn’t.

So the Hawks may need another dynamic, competent, 2-way centerman. They don’t grow on trees, and as with the defenseman they absolutely need this year, the free agency pickings are slim.

And they may need another goalie.

So that leaves you with the trade market.

Where the Hawks remain strong and deep is at wing, or “wings playing center.” Patrick Kane, Brandon Saad, Alex Debrincat, Anthony Duclair, Vince Hinostroza, arguably Schmaltz, and the Hawks played the promising (though not NHL ready) Dylan Sikura at wing in his brief tenure this spring.

The Hawks could deal from that strength to shore up center and/or defense. Kane’s not going anywhere, and you’re not getting much at this point for Duclair. So an upgrade elsewhere could cost you something “dear” like Hinostroza, Schmaltz, Debrincat or even Saad (perhaps packaged with some other spare parts, prospects or picks).

Bottom line, Bowman will have to give to get.

And we all should avoid falling into that familiar mindset that every trade of this or that popular Hawk player or prospect means purely subtraction. You don’t do a deal like that just to cut salary (not as much of an issue this offseason at all). You deal form depth/strength to add to areas in weakness and improve team chemistry.

And if you lack confidence based on Bowman’s past trades (which might be a legitimate concern) then we have another issue entirely.

These are just one man’s opinions—and in fact, there are a lot of ways the Hawks could go this summer. Another huge possible outcome is some permanent resolution of the situation with Hossa’s contract and cap space.

But the questions themselves are seismic.

Questions

Retool or full rebuild?

Be patient with Murphy, Schmaltz, Duclair and others—or get what you can for them now to improve elsewhere?

How much more shelf-life do Seabrook, Keith, Toews and Crawford have?

What is Anisimov worth—with the Hawks or in trade elsewhere? After the (since verified) trade discussions between the Hawks and Blue Jackets for Anisimov were originally reported here on The-Rink.com, someone else later reported that all Columbus offered was a third round draft pick. That seems hard to believe when a third round pick is what the Hawks gave up for Tomas Jurco the season before.

Do the Hawks have a first string goalie this year? And if so, do they have a backup anywhere in their system?

Can this team get bigger, faster, meaner and equally or more skilled through a series of solid offseason moves—or is Bowman truly just a numbers guy, whose own number is up?

It should be interesting and we will report on it, and provide analysis, sharing the rumors as we hear them, too.

Please comment below.

Follow @jaeckel

The post Your Guide To The Blackhawks’ Offseason appeared first on The Rink.

This announcement gets out ahead of the looming dead time between the beginning of the playoffs, and the final game of the Stanley Cup final when the question would, no doubt, be front of mind.

Now the Blackhawks can focus their attention on their plan of attack for the NHL Entry Draft on June 22–23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, and the Free Agency signing period July 1st.

The post Blackhawks Announce Stan Bowman and Joel Quenneville to Return appeared first on The Rink.

7:00PM Central

RADIO: WGN 720

PROJECTED GOALIES:

Chicago:
Anton Forsberg (6-12-3, 2.96 GAA, .908 Save%)

Ottawa:
Mike Condon (4-10-4, 3.40 GAA, .898 Save%)

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS:

Chicago:

Saad-Toews-Wingels
Anisimov-Schmaltz -Kane
DeBrincat-Hartman-Duclair
Bouma-Kampf-Hinostroza

Keith-Oesterle
Dahlstrom-Seabrook
Gustafsson-Murphy

Ottawa:

Hoffman-Duchene-Gaborik
Smith-Brassard-Stone
Paajarvi-Pageau-Pyatt
Mccormick-Shore-Dzingel

Oduya-Karlsson
Borowiecki-Ceci
Claesson-Chabot

STATISTICAL COMPARISIONS:

Power Play:

Chicago 16.0% (29^th)
Ottawa 16.4% (28^th)

Penalty Kill:

Chicago 82.6% (6^th)
Ottawa 74.3% (29^th)

Corsi FOR % (5-on-5):

Chicago 53.47% (3^rd)
Ottawa 46.89% (29^th)

Faceoffs:

Chicago 49.6% (18^th)
Ottawa 51.6% (T-7^th)

SUMMARY:

With the February 26 trade deadline steadily approaching, what is happening off the ice seems to be more important than what is happening on it, especially with the Blackhawks. With new rumors swirling seemingly every minute, there are still games to be played, and for Hawks fans, hours lost watching this dreadful team.

With that being said, there may be some important reasons to watch the last month or so of the season, especially after the trade deadline. Coach Joel Quenneville stood in front of media members yesterday dropping a hint at what may be in store for his team. When asked about lineup decisions, Quenneville had this to say, “Maybe we will be looking at going with some of the younger guys, and seeing how they make the decision for us going forward or not.”

Although Quenneville is always very suttle, I think this is good indication of their plan and what is to come. The new information spilled in yesterday’s interview is good for two reasons: First, it gives the indication that the Blackhawks are finally understanding they won’t make the playoffs, and are shifting their focus to next season. Second, it shows that General Manager Stan Bowman and Quenneville are on the same page. With the Michal Kempny trade, and other rumors about veterans surrounding this team, the quote listed above is evidence the two have at least had conversations on the plan moving forward.

I am not sure even Bowman knows what will happen before the deadline Monday afternoon, but I know he and most Blackhawks fans are hoping some significant moves are made. It is imperative the team opens room on the roster for John Hayden, Matthew Highmore, Dylan Sikura, Gustav Forsling, and others, to possibly make their way to the NHL lineup.

No one in their right mind can expect better results from this roster next season, so they must take advantage of their remaining games to find out what they have. This will allow the team to better evaluate the talent within the organization, and prepare for this offseason. Not to mention, playing younger guys should help the Blackhawks secure a better draft pick, which would also help this organization down the road.

Tonight, the quest for Rasmus Dahlin continues as the Blackhawks take on the Ottawa Senators at the United Center. Although the Sens have been extremely disappointing this season, they have won two out of their last three games, and have some offensive firepower. Captain Erik Karlsson, Matt Duchene, and winger Mike Hoffman present a real threat to score every time they hit the ice.

The Hawks will also continue their commitment to, “play the young guys,” as Anthony Duclair will be back in the lineup after a few healthy scratches, and Anton Forsberg will once again get the nod in net.

We’ll recap tonight or tomorrow AM. Join the conversation below!

Follow: @CoachMajewski

The post Preview & Game Thread: Blackhawks vs. Senators appeared first on The Rink.

We will now take a look at the defensemen and goalies drafted during the period of 2007 through 2017.

Like with part one, I compare Stan Bowman’s relative success when drafting players, by position, to his peers in the division. The only fair and objective metric is NHL games played. It is not a perfect measure of success, but it will provide a picture of what level of player development has occurred over the last decade.

Below are the defensemen that were drafted from 2007 through 2009, with Dale Tallon “officially” at the helm, but Bowman (assistant General Manager) and Mark Kelley (Vice President of Amateur Scouting) as co-pilots:

What does this list of players tell us? The Blackhawks drafted eight defensemen in three drafts. Two of those defensemen (25%) have played in the NHL, Dylan Olsen and Shawn Lalonde. We can debate the true success or talent of these players, but neither was anything to crow about. Quite frankly, I am surprised Lalonde got even one game of NHL ice time, and Dylan Olsen has been knocking around the ECHL this season.

That said, I want to be as objective as possible with this exercise. Relative to divisional rivals over the same period:

Minnesota was at 66%
Nashville was at 57%
Dallas was at 50%
St. Louis is at 63%

It does not take a math whiz to see that the Blackhawks were lagging behind the crowd, even before the first cup was won. Again, to be fair, these results are not totally Stan Bowman’s failure, but he certainly had his dirty hands deep in the mix.

Lets move on to the years that Bowman was the head honcho of the Blackhawks organization, 2010 through 2018:

The proof is in the pudding and sticks out like a sore thumb. The Stan Bowman led drafting and development team drafted 26 defensemen, five of which have ever seen the NHL ice (19%). Klas Dahlbeck (154), Stephen Johns (124), Adam Clendening (86), Michael Paliotta (2) and Justin Holl (2). Holl just played his first NHL game, on January 31st after toiling in college and the minors since 2010. This is not a list of accomplished future Hockey Hall of Famers.

To put it bluntly, this list is terrible.

Relative to his divisional peers over the same period of time:

Minnesota was at 18%
Nashville was at 25%
Dallas was at 25%
St. Louis is at 33%

Once again, while Stan Bowman was better than his predecessor, but still falls short of the alleged accolades which have proclaimed him as a great drafter and player developer.

If fingers need to be pointed at the now aging defense that have just as many questions today as they did in game one of the season, you can point them at the empty pockets this team has failed to refill with defensive talent.

In full disclosure, they have been better as of late. Players like Chad Krys, Henri Jokiharju and Ian Mitchell have shown a lot of promise. It should not have taken them eight years to figure this formula out, though. At this rate, they will have to unload one of these kids, or worse, to get out from under some of these crippling contracts that have handcuffed this team.

That, folks, is another subject for another series, though.

Just to complete the exercise, we can take a brief look at the goalies. If there is a position that is generally “hopes and prayers” when drafting young, under developed kids, goaltender would be that position.

Bowman and the Blackhawks have drafted eight goaltenders since 2007 and one has ever seem NHL ice. Some of you may remember the name Kent Simpson for his single period of play, in relief of Antti Raanta, during the 2013-14 season.

Then again, most of you may not.

Relative to his divisional peers over the same period of time:

Minnesota was at 28% overall, but 0 for 5 2010/17
Nashville was at 42% overall, but 3 for 8 2010/17
Dallas was at 22% overall, but 2 for 7 2010/17
St. Louis was at 25% overall, but 1 for 6 2010/17

In ten years, the Blackhawks have not been able to draft and develop a single goaltender of even backup quality; for any team. The list includes, not one, but two second round draft picks. This is supposed to be the “gold standard of NHL franchises” though.

I tend to think otherwise, and I feel like we have just shown you why.

The post Misconceptions of Stan Bowman – Part 2 appeared first on The Rink.

One of such narratives is that the Blackhawks, more specifically General Manager Stan Bowman, are great at drafting and developing talent. For years I have disputed this claim, yet several times a year stories emerge about how Bowman and the Blackhawks are so wonderful in this area, and is not entirely true. They have been pretty good at drafting and developing forwards, but hockey teams are not just made up of just forwards.

Enough is enough, and it is time to sort through this murky swamp to separate fact from fiction.

Stan Bowman took over this Blackhawks team “officially” in July of 2009. Previous to that promotion, Bowman served as assistant General Manager, from 2007 until 2009, under the infamous Dale Tallon. He was also partially involved with drafting and development of players throughout the organization during those years, as well. For the sake of argument, lets include the drafts of 2007 through 2017 for Bowman’s resume since a decade is a nice round number.

The argument can be made that Stan Bowman is not the only individual responsible for drafting players, and you would be one hundred percent correct. Vice President of Amateur Scouting Mark Kelley is also on the hook for the results, and has been involved in this Blackhawks legacy since 2005. Where that argument falls apart is that if a boss finds his employee’s job results unsatisfactory, it is said bosses responsibility to correct the problem.

In part one of this series, I focus solely on the “good news.” This good (or better) news is regarding the forwards that the Blackhawks have drafted.

In the follow-up, I will focus on the goalies and defensemen. Brace yourself now, fans, because the news will only get darker from here.

Success is certainly relative, but gauging a career by NHL games played is a safe, objective criteria. That said, let us examine the drafted forwards in the Bowman era, beginning with the ’07-’09 drafts before Bowman was officially in charge but involved:

Year	Round-Pos	Name	NHL Games (as of 2/2/18)	Position
2007	1-1	Patrick Kane	791	RW
	2-38	Bill Sweatt	3	RW
	2-56	Akim Aliu	7	RW
	3-69	Maxime Tanguay		C
	6-156	Richard Greenop		RW
2008	1-11	Kyle Beach		C
	6-169	Ben Smith	237	RW
2009	2-59	Brandon Pirri	226	C
	3-89	Daniel Delisle		F
	4-119	Byron Froese	90	C
	5-149	Marcus Kruger	444	C
	6-177	David Pacan		C
	7-209	David Gilbert		C

As you can see, The Blackhawks organization drafted 13 forwards in these three seasons, and seven of these forwards have ever seen the NHL ice. Of the forwards that have seen the NHL, two of them (Bill Sweatt, Akim Aliu) have seen less than ten NHL games but, for the sake of argument, I left them in. Forward Byron Froese was basically discarded by the organization early in his career but, for the sake of argument, I left him in, as well.

Once you tally up the numbers, the Blackhawks organization has seven players that we can consider as drafted and developed into the NHL, or 54% of the drafted forwards. Their production aside, they have all played NHL games and all of them are still playing professional hockey somewhere, whether it be AHL, KHL or NHL or some pro league in Europe.

Patrick Kane
Marcus Kruger
Ben Smith
Brandon Pirri
Byron Froese
Bill Sweatt
Akim Aliu

Now, the final three players certainly may have you scratching your heads and asking, “WHO?” They participated in NHL games, but their careers were mostly flashes in the pan.  Pirri, Smith and Kruger are debatable, but I think we can all agree that those three players were bottom six depth forwards at their career heights. Pirri was a thing for five minutes in Florida, on a bad team, and it quickly faded.

What these numbers tell me is that unless the Blackhawks have a top 5 pick, which is virtually a slam dunk (Patrick Kane), the likelihood that they could pick a player who would develop through the organization and be a player that contributes to their team’s success is pretty low. Not only did they not develop many forwards for their own organizational success, but they did not develop many players to trade away for assets, either.

We cannot pile all of that onto Bowman’s shoulders, though. He was serving under Dale Tallon and Mark Kelley. There is a reason Tallon was let go, and this may have very well been one of them.

Lets move on to the seasons that our sweet boy Stanley Glenn was at the wheel of the bus, starting with 2010:

Year	Round-Pos	Name	NHL Games (as of 2/2/18)	Position
2010	1-24	Kevin Hayes	279	RW
	2-35	Ludvig Rensfeldt		LW
	3-90	Joakim Nordstrom	257	C
	4-120	Rob Flick		C
	6-151	Mirko Hofflin		C
2011	1-18	Mark McNeill	2	C
	1-26	Phillip Danault	178	LW
	2-43	Brandon Saad	419	LW
	4-109	Maxim Shalunov		RW
	5-139	Andrew Shaw	433	C
	7-199	Alex Broadhurst		C
2012	1-18	Teuvo Teravainen	247	RW
	3-79	Chris Calnan		RW
	5-139	Garret Ross		LW
	6-169	Vince Hinostroza	77	C
2013	1-30	Ryan Hartman	131	RW
	3-74	John Hayden	51	C
	4-121	Tyler Motte	64	C
	5-134	Luke Johnson		C
	6-181	Anthony Louis		C
2014	1-20	Nick Schmaltz	108	C
	3-83	Matheson Iacopelli		RW
	3-88	Beau Starrett		C
	4-98	Fredrik Olofsson		LW
	6-178	Dylan Sikura		C
	7-208	Jack Ramsey		RW
2015	2-54	Graham Knott		LW
	5-151	Radovan Bondra		RW
	6-164	Roy Radke		RW
	7-211	John Dahlstrom		RW
2016	2-39	Alex DeBrincat	51	RW
	2-50	Artur Kayumov		LW\RW
	4-113	Nathan Noel		C
	5-143	Mathias From		RW\LR
2017	3-70	Andrei Altybarmakyan		RW
	3-90	Evan Barratt		C
	4-112	Tim Söderlund		C/LW
	5-144	Parker Foo		LW

To say this list is anything resembling a disaster would be incorrect. Bowman and Kelley have drafted 38 forwards in eight drafts. Of those 38 forwards, 13 have played enough amount of NHL games to be considered, at minimum, moderate successes. Even though Mark McNeill has played only two NHL mercy games, I chose to leave him in the equation, as well.

If you crunch the numbers, 34% of the forwards Stan Bowman has drafted and developed made it all the way to the NHL. There are certainly still young players in the Blackhawks system like Dylan Sikura, Maxim Shalunov, and others that could blossom into something useful in the NHL. If Bomwan’s Blackhawks career ended tomorrow and three more players developed into NHL pieces, he could be flirting with the 40% threshold. We are talking about the current state, though.

I am sure that certain arguments will be made, the first being that, “Dat Bowmans iz alwaze draftin late in da roundz, doh.”  I cannot dispute that.  When compared to his peers, Stan Bowman’s average draft position has been 19th, while Minnesota, Nashville, Dallas and St, Louis were 15th, 15th, 12th and 18th respectively. What is left out of that argument is that once the first round is over, the draft position is irrelevant.  Every team is fighting and clawing for the hidden gem.

Another set of numbers that should be taken into consideration is the success rates of the previously mentioned peers. From 2010 until 2017 the success percentages of his divisional peers were as follows:

Minnesota (Fletcher): 35%
Nashville (Poile): 34%
Dallas (Nieuwendyk/Nill): 35%
St. Louis (Pleau/Armstrong): 25%

So, in conclusion, Stan Bowman’s ability to draft and develop forwards can probably be judged as “average” to “slightly above average“. This is certainly better than his predecessor, though, which is a low bar.

Proclaiming Bowman as some kind of drafting and developing savant, though, is a stretch of the imagination.

Let me remind you again, though, that this is ONLY forwards.

In part two, I examine the defensemen and goalies. This is where things will get ugly.

The post Misconceptions of Stan Bowman – Part 1 appeared first on The Rink.

Ryan Hartman – Jonathan Toews – John Hayden
Brandon Saad – Artem Anisimov – Patrick Kane
Lance Bouma – Nick Schmaltz – Alex DeBrincat
Patrick Sharp – Tommy Wingels – Richard Panik

The first thing that we should all be reminded of is that Joel Quenneville rarely sticks with crazy line combinations unless they are absurdly successful. So there is little chance these lines stick longer than 40 minutes. For conversation sake, lets say they stick for a full game.

At a glance, this looks like there might be one line that would be of concern to the Washington Capitals, tonight. Saad/Anisimov/Kane is a legitimately dangerous line. After that, Coach Wizzo just arranged some bits and scraps and tried to make them resemble a productive line-up.

I am heavily stressing the word “tried“, here.

Jonathan Toews has been struggling to score, despite his line’s pretty consistently good possession numbers. He has 3 goals in the last month, but were they in important tight games? Definitely not.

So Jonathan Toews might get trotted out with two bottom six forwards. Ryan Hartman has had four assists centering #ElGato, but he is not finding the back of the net either. In fact, he hasn’t had a goal since October 28th. John Hayden has been “fine” playing on the 4th line but he had two goals and three points in the last month. I am fairly certain these moves are not the solution to the Captain’s goal scoring dry spell.

The makeshift third line is interesting, to say the least. We all know what hoopla has been going on with Alex Debrincat. He is one of the hottest players on the roster and he is getting very favorable, sheltered match-ups stapled to the third line. Quenneville has been asked if this is the case and he not denied this assumption. That is the only logical reasoning behind keeping him where he is, given this team’s huge problems.

Nick Schmaltz is coming off a long stretch of playing left wing and is getting thrown back out on the pivot. Hartman and Schmaltz are both in the basement as far as team face-off percentage, 41.8% to 40.1% respectively, so I suppose this is somewhat of a wash. #ElGato will certainly get more forced passes, because Schmaltz has shown to pass up shooting opportunities in favor of a feed to a team-mate, many times to his detriment.

Lance Bouma is, well, Lance Bouma. He is a good fourth line player with some decent hands, and he will pound some rebounds in the net. It looks like maybe Quenneville is putting Bouma out there to keep an eye out for opponents trying to take off Debrincat’s head.

The fourth line is a hot mess. Patrick Sharp cannot score a meaningful goal, and his mobility has only been decent. Richard Panik has become one of the coldest players on the team. As a result, I hereby bequeath this line the “Siberian Line” both for the overall temperature and it’s current state as the location where players are exiled.

I stated this yesterday but this still begs to ask the question, How long until just blending up the same players is not enough?

The Blackhawks are right at the 1/3 mark of the season and only the defensive corps is improving. To put this quite bluntly, some personnel needs to change if Joel Quenneville expects different results. I am also not sold on Vince Hinostroza, or Matthew Highmore, as the final solution to the Blackhawks problems. That said, giving it a try certainly can not hurt. This team needs a spark, and a move like bringing one of those players up could be a wave of momentum to kick some of the stale line-up into action.

Or do nothing and try to sell the illusion that you are interested in kick starting this team by continually flip-flopping the lines for a period or two.

What else can they do?  By Christmas, the Blackhawks will have played 35 games which is 42% of their regular season. Stan Bowman is on the clock. Bottom line. He cannot wait until the trade deadline to bring in some help or, god forbid, wait for Dylan Sikura to arrive and save the franchise. Waiting that long will, most likely, be too late. Bowman needs to fire up that iPhone and make something happen.

The Blackhawks’ current pace of 87 points MIGHT get them in the playoffs. In the past 3 seasons, one 87 point team has made it into the playoffs and they were just barely the last wildcard team. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I would not place any bets on that result carrying itself out. Their best player is nursing an injury that may or may not affect him for the remainder of the season, and this team has not shown that they can carry their own weight without him.

Be concerned. Be very concerned.

This team, as it stands, is potentially just one significant injury away from finishing last in their division and missing the playoffs. The time is now to make something happen or seal their fate.

The post Are The Blackhawks About To Go Over The Falls? appeared first on The Rink.