2016 Blackhawks Convention July 15-17

[JustABlackhawksFan]

Seabrook did not have a down year, he has been steadily trending downwards since 2012.

By comparison, Toews possession struggles last season are completely out of character. It remains to be seen if they continue, but at this point they are a clear anomaly in the trend.

Also, for the record, this growing undercurrent characterizing Patrick Kane - face of the Blackhawks, one of the most marketed players in the NHL, consistent top 10 merchandise seller - as some poor, underappreciated middle child who people are just so gosh-darn hard on, is such hilarious, delusional bull****.

Well Seabrook has come up big in the postseason plenty of times since 2012 (Game 7 OTGWG against Detroit in 2013 which allowed the Hawks to move on at all, also another OTGWG in the finals against Boston; he was also pretty great in the playoffs last year when the Hawks were rolling only 4 defensemen).

And even if this is a "clear anomaly" for Toews, this could easily be the start of a similar decline for Toews, as you yourself point out. So I don't know why he gets as big of a pass as he does, when what most people care about from here on out is the future, not the past. If Seabrook gets **** on for his performance last year, then Toews should as well.

And I bring up Kane because his contract is the exact same as Toews' and Kane has proven that it IS possible to improve your level of play after signing such a huge contract, rather than fall back into a not-gonna-try-because-I'm-getting-paid-regardless mode.

And I think after what happened last summer, if Kane had had a crappy year, there damn well WOULD be a lot of people *****ing, even though it was all but confirmed by the DA that the girl lied. No matter though. People would have complained that he tarnished the image of the organization and then followed it up with a ****** season... There would definitely have been way more complaints about Kane than there currently are about Toews. NOW Kane is getting the respect he deserves, but he just had a fan ****ing tastic season. If he had had a bad season, especially after last summer, he would NOT be getting any slack.

Fact of the matter is Toews sucked last season. HOPEFULLY it's just an anomaly, but even if so, that doesn't mean he shouldn't be held accountable for how badly he did last season.

 

[JaegerDice]

I agree, Seabrook was great for the second half of the playoffs in 2013 when he was reunited with Keith. He was also good in 2015.

He was mediocre through the 2013 regular season, bad up through the middle of the Detroit series in 2013, garbage through the 2014 regular season, somehow even worse in the 2014 playoffs, marginally better than garbage in the 2015 season, and worse than garbage in the 2016 season and playoffs.

He basically has 30 games worth of great play over 3 seasons. And good on him, they came when the Blackhawks needed him most. But people are tough on the contract because he has long been trending in the wrong direction.

As far as what the reaction to a poor season from Kane would be, yes, I concur, a guy who was under criminal investigation to begin the season would have been under greater scrutiny in all regards than a player who was not.

And I dare say if it were Toews that were under investigation, the same would be true.

Rightly or wrongly.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Toews seemed to hit a wall last year. The entire team kind of did after the win streak. He'll probably revert back to the player we've become accustomed to this year. Hopefully SB can find some long-term solutions for his line with Hossa on the offensive decline. Schmaltz is a natural candidate. Dare I say Vesey would be too.

 

[BHFan]

According to his instagram, Toews spent about 10 days in Europe, then went to Austin to train at Onnit, then went to Arizona to train with EVO Ultrafit. So yeah, he's been training. And he looks especially ripped in this video.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BG7gTI8ItHi/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHNUYzhhT76/?taken-by=dan5592

 

[CallMeShaft]

Again with this ********?!?

The whole core group outside of Kane (who gets easy minutes and missed a decent amount of games in the previous two seasons due to injury) all had down years. That includes Toews, Hossa, Keith, Seabrook, and Hjalmarsson.

And if all we get out of Toews for the rest of his contract is a mere 28 goals per season, that should be plenty for any Hawks fan. He has given us more than enough by being an important player in three of this organizations six cups. We're an original 6 team and yet we literally doubled our amount of cup wins due largely to him, Kane, and Keith.

And a ****ing year ago, we had a poll on this very site about which player (between Toews and Kane) was better, and 86.96% voted in favor of the Captain.

But let's all complain because he had one single season where he just missed 60pts...

 

[SAADfather]

Goose changed his number, eh?

 

[Kitty Hawk]

Always happy to see my favorite players from the past at the convention.

 

[ObeyPerry]

Anyone know why Im seeing Adam Burish talking on one of the convention panels? Please dont tell me Stanboy re-signed this guy.

 

[JaegerDice]

Anyone know why Im seeing Adam Burish talking on one of the convention panels? Please dont tell me Stanboy re-signed this guy.

Haven't heard anything, but given the Tootoo signing, nothing would surprise me at this point.

 

[CourtneyDagger50]

He was invited to the convention along with some other ex-Hawks from the 2010 win.

 

[JaegerDice]

He was invited to the convention along with some other ex-Hawks from the 2010 win.

Haha, seriously?

 

[CourtneyDagger50]

Haha, seriously?

Boynton (I know he still works with Chi media), Eager, and Carbomb are there too.

 

[Fortyfives]

The kids only conference was a treat as always. Highlight of the convention.

 

[clydesdale line]

Boynton (I know he still works with Chi media), Eager, and Carbomb are there too.

So was Fraser.

 

[CoachQ]

Boynton (I know he still works with Chi media), Eager, and Carbomb are there too.

I believe you're thinking of Sopel. Boynton works and lives in Arizona I think. Doesn't he do color for the Coyotes radio broadcast. Sopel is NBC Chicago's hockey analyst.

 

[CoachQ]

Anyone know why Im seeing Adam Burish talking on one of the convention panels? Please dont tell me Stanboy re-signed this guy.

Burish has a very outgoing personality, that's why he was invited I guess. He was pretty funny at the panel sessions that I attended, telling great stories about how he and Sharp pulled pranks on very naïve Toews and Kane back in their younger days. His Green Bay Packer love was a little sickening though .

 

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

Burnish was always a fan favorite, especially so with the bandwagon fans. Easy guy to root for, he was all heart.

 

[CourtneyDagger50]

I believe you're thinking of Sopel. Boynton works and lives in Arizona I think. Doesn't he do color for the Coyotes radio broadcast. Sopel is NBC Chicago's hockey analyst.

Oyyyyyyy. You're right. I don't know where the hell I pulled that name from.
Thanks

 

[hawksfan50]

I have a better idea for next year's Convention....


How about a Pizza Contest where fans can submit their recipes for Blackhawks Pizza feature g tge colours in the Hawks logo and tge 3 Jersey background colour types for crust..Thus you would have 3 prize categories ...Best Black Crust Blackhawks Pizza....Best Red Crust Blackhawks Pizza ...and of Course Best W.hite Crust Blsckhawks Pizza...Then 1 overall Best Of Show from the 3 crust colour pizza winners ..You get a panel of 5 Blackhawks Players Plus Stan and Q and McD to be on the judging panel.

There could be a prior to convention submission of the finished pies by fans to a panel of chefs chosen by the club to whittle down to 5 finalists in each of the 3 Crust colour categories ...Then once this has been done the 15 pizzas will be prepared in some appropriate place(perhaps tge hotel's own ovens) selected and brought to the Convention for the judging Panelists to decide on the 3 winners of the Black Red and White crust categories ..then the Best of Show will get the top prize which could be monetary or vacation (perhaps) or maybe all 3 get such prizes but blest Of Show also gets to have tge Pizza sold at the UC for all Blackhawks games in tge season to follow.

Judging woukd have to consider taste but also the presentation look ...whether just using the Hawks logo colours in any way or extra marks if the.logo itself is attempted....


Believe it. ..there are indeed ways to make Black or Red Pizza dough crusts that are more nutritional than regular white flour pizza dough crust....so it ought to produce a lot of great pizzas no.matter which crusts are attempted..

SO since it is my idea ..how about marking out of 100...? Give upto 60 score marks for Taste...upto 30 score marks presentation using the colours of the logo ...and a bonus of upto 10 extra marks if the logo is duplicated (in toppings arranged to look like thenlogo) ..THUS max score would be 100 perfection though do not expect that ...want the judging to be tough.

DO THE judging on Friday night ...so that on Sunday the Best of Show Pizza can be on sale for the fans to buy and try with all Pizza sales from.that day going to a Blackhawks charity or divided to several Blackhawks Charities.

SO what do you think? A good idea MCD should impliment...or not?

 

[RememberTheRoar]

I have a better idea for next year's Convention....


How about a Pizza Contest where fans can submit their recipes for Blackhawks Pizza feature g tge colours in the Hawks logo and tge 3 Jersey background colour types for crust..Thus you would have 3 prize categories ...Best Black Crust Blackhawks Pizza....Best Red Crust Blackhawks Pizza ...and of Course Best W.hite Crust Blsckhawks Pizza...Then 1 overall Best Of Show from the 3 crust colour pizza winners ..You get a panel of 5 Blackhawks Players Plus Stan and Q and McD to be on the judging panel.

There could be a prior to convention submission of the finished pies by fans to a panel of chefs chosen by the club to whittle down to 5 finalists in each of the 3 Crust colour categories ...Then once this has been done the 15 pizzas will be prepared in some appropriate place(perhaps tge hotel's own ovens) selected and brought to the Convention for the judging Panelists to decide on the 3 winners of the Black Red and White crust categories ..then the Best of Show will get the top prize which could be monetary or vacation (perhaps) or maybe all 3 get such prizes but blest Of Show also gets to have tge Pizza sold at the UC for all Blackhawks games in tge season to follow.

Judging woukd have to consider taste but also the presentation look ...whether just using the Hawks logo colours in any way or extra marks if the.logo itself is attempted....


Believe it. ..there are indeed ways to make Black or Red Pizza dough crusts that are more nutritional than regular white flour pizza dough crust....so it ought to produce a lot of great pizzas no.matter which crusts are attempted..

SO since it is my idea ..how about marking out of 100...? Give upto 60 score marks for Taste...upto 30 score marks presentation using the colours of the logo ...and a bonus of upto 10 extra marks if the logo is duplicated (in toppings arranged to look like thenlogo) ..THUS max score would be 100 perfection though do not expect that ...want the judging to be tough.

DO THE judging on Friday night ...so that on Sunday the Best of Show Pizza can be on sale for the fans to buy and try with all Pizza sales from.that day going to a Blackhawks charity or divided to several Blackhawks Charities.

SO what do you think? A good idea MCD should impliment...or not?

Umm, sure... Sounds like a really minor/trivial contest they could run on the side.

 

[Backyard Hockey]

Do you honestly think Toews isn't working out in any vacation trips he's been on this summer? The same Toews who, as a child, had sleepovers that involved intensive workout sessions?

Just don't see it. Only way Tazer isn't working his ass off on a consistent basis right now is if he is dealing with an injury or illness. Otherwise, he's pushing himself to his limits.

I ran into him in Toronto. Took some photos, etc. Probably saw him about 6 different times during the course of two days. Dude is build like a brick schitthouse.

As far as the convention, I watched the opening ceremonies on Comcast. It looked - weird. I can understand the kids getting excited, but a bunch of dudes in their 50's clamoring for Brent Sopel's autograph?

I can understand why players would want to skip it. It all seems a bit creepy. But I get it, he's the Captain so he should probably be there. He was in Toronto for a couple of days filming the Bauer stuff so you can decide if one should have taken precedent.

I saw the entire Hawks org in their hotel in St Paul (The St Paul Hotel) in 2015. EVERY ONE of them stopped and signed autographs for kids. Kids. Not creepy old dudes or those cretin autograph hunters.

 

[Backyard Hockey]

Girlfriend confirmed 10. Machu Picchu Toews confirmed strikes again. And my post never implied he wasn't working out. My post questioned whether he was training at the maximum level possible while traveling all across the world.

I think him missing the convention is silly regardless if he's tired of it, as I'm sure many others are as well. He's the captain and the face of the org and people pay a lot of money in advance expecting the core guys to be there. Whatever tho, I don't go anyway. But it's amazing how defensive some posters get for anything negative said about JT.

Vacations don't last 4 months. These guys skate/train for 7 straight months. If he takes 4 days to go on a vacation, who cares?

 

[Backyard Hockey]

28 goals? psssssh. He may as well have been playing in a lawn chair.

Yeah, but let's be honest - a lot of those goals (8 or 9 I think) were in 3/3. A goal is a goal, but I want the highest paid players in the league to give 5/5 goals.

3/3 has been a nice little stat padder for quite a few guys.

 

[Backyard Hockey]

Seabrook did not have a down year, he has been steadily trending downwards since 2012. His 2016 numbers were right in line with the projections people had for him, and the reason people were immediately, rightfully, going nuts over the contract he signed mid-season. Anything over 5x5 was going to be considered a disaster by people in the know, and anything over 5x4 was going to be considered overvalue.

By comparison, Toews possession struggles last season are completely out of character. It remains to be seen if they continue, but at this point they are a clear anomaly in the trend.

Everybody knew Kane and Toews were overpaid by at least 1.5 million a piece when they signed their new contracts. Nobody was particularly happy about it. And the organization went all in during 2015 to ensure they got one more cup before they had to account for the new contracts. But the combined 3 million overpayment for two 27 year olds is not comparable to a 3 million overpayment for a single 30+ year old.

Also, for the record, this growing undercurrent characterizing Patrick Kane - face of the Blackhawks, one of the most marketed players in the NHL, consistent top 10 merchandise seller - as some poor, underappreciated middle child who people are just so gosh-darn hard on, is such hilarious, delusional bull****.

The fact that a few players of top caliber have been signed since the Kane/Toews contracts and both are both are 1.5-2M less tells you they are overpaid. Granted, the lack of state income tax really puts the Dallas and Tampa contracts up into that sphere, but it's reality.

 

[JaegerDice]

Yeah, but let's be honest - a lot of those goals (8 or 9 I think) were in 3/3. A goal is a goal, but I want the highest paid players in the league to give 5/5 goals.

3/3 has been a nice little stat padder for quite a few guys.

5 of them were 3/3. So he scored 23 goals not counting 3/3. Which is still pretty good in the NHL.

Nobody is disagreeing that Toews had a poor season by his normal standards. I'm more concerned about his possession numbers than his production numbers, since his linemates all had sh% in the toilet.

I'm just not quite willing to characterize the value of the contract based on on year, the first down year of his career. Any more so than I'm willing to make that valuation of Kane's contract based on one year, the best of his career.

Making any kind of broad evaluation based on a single season is generally folly.