GDT: Game 7: @ Blues | Foley Needs to Nap O'Clock | Literal Must Win Game III

[Backyard Hockey]

Coz it's a team sport? He had other responsibilities?


You embarrass yourself in every game thread with your lack of hockey knowledge.

Keep posting though!

Is this where you tell us who long you've played in beer leagues.

But you go right on being happy with a $10.5 player who doesn't pot a goal.

 

[ChiGuySez]

Heck of a series. The better team won. Dont like it but there it is. Time to rest and recoup. No draft picks. Hawks pipeline is screwed.

 

[hawksfan50]

1.Valiant effort but no hoisting this year.

2.Dynasty over.

3.All In did not work in the end..and now we do not draft till #86 or worse if there are comp picks.

4.Asked for too many comeback miracles ..the mythic legends of Q having his players do it did not pan out in this game 7.

5.Luck evaded us on that double goal post which would have tied it ...but who is to say we would have then won it...because...when it comes down to it: our best...Toews and Kane produced 1 combined goal between them in this series..Toews with Zero for 7 staight playoff games and Kane 1 goal...so when your best do not score goals..it is hard to win a series.Luck or bad luck is one thing in a close series but who in their right minds would give any team a chance if it's 2 biggest stars..highest paid stars..got only 1 goal in 7 games between them..that IS THE STORY...period.

6.Finally ...let me conclude with this...for those who say tge regular season is not important..well in this close 7 game series home ice in game 7 may just have made enough difference. ..the crowd ...the last change ...perhaps the little bit extra STL needed to get the goal to go ahead in the third and then to hold on and not let us score..So throwing away just a few games in the 2nd half in Feb and March you might say contributed to this ultimate fail..Close but playing away might just have been the major reason we could not beat them tonight..Just a thought the next time we lose a game we failed to show up for in the standings race for playoff position in those "coasting" to the finish line over tge final 30 games or so of the regular season..Ask STL if they would have preferred to play game 7 away ...of course not! And so our nonchalant what does it matter in regular season comes back to bite us tonight...You betcha ..every game fir standings placement is important abd it would have taken only a few more wins to get 2nd place or 1st place in the Central...

Ultimately the hockey gods usually do not reward complacency and I think we got what we deserved from under performing for 2 months in February and March...then credit the Blues who did not let our best...our stars...beat them this time.

We'll. ..enjoy your summer...and stay thirsty my friends...

 

[Backyard Hockey]

I guess Toews just should have refused the 10.5 mil. The guy has been a warrior his entire career, we would have won zero cups without him. We go down to a great team in 7 games with a less talented team then years past. It happens

Contracts are given for future performance expectations, not past accomplishments

There's no getting around it. He simply didn't not earn the contract value in the regular season and earned even less of it the playoffs. Unless 'fine' and 'other responsibilities' are worth $10.5

 

[StLAvsFan]

And 6 points in 7 games. And he went up against the Statsny line and pretty much murdered them.

He was fine. Not amazing. Not killer. But fine.

He'll be better next year with a full summer's rest.

Bottom line, way too much money is tied up in 88 & 19's contracts. Can't help but think they could've been signed long term for less than $10.5 million/yr. each---which is ridiculous (especially for Toews). Hawks lost this series coz of a lack of defensive depth. Offensively, the Hawks are still pretty dangerous, but their blue line (besides Keith) is just way too unsteady.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Who is the #4 in that scenario? The Hawks still don't have one

TVR, for now. He played pretty well this series. Rundy and Rozy were dumpster fires. But TVR and Hammer were a good pairing. Pokka coming in. Gus will have a year of NHL experience under his belt. People forget TVR and Gus were NHL rookies essentially. Pokka has nice upside. Forsling could be coming soon. Forward is where I'm concerned. I'm not sold on anybody in their system outside Schmaltz. They desperately need to sign Vesey or someone else.

 

[JaegerDice]

Toews had 6 points in 7 games. That's right in line with his career playoff average.

If you guys thought signing a new contract would magically transform his offensive output into Sidney Crosby's then you were setting yourself up for disappointment.

He had a down year, and he played at a high level. With a summer of rest and focus, I'm anxious to see the bull in the china shop he becomes next season.

 

[BigAlSecord]

If you look at all the years we won the SC, a few bounces the other way and the Hawks easily could have been ousted earlier. Blues are a very good team, they didn't get the points they did by shear luck. All season I thought our core was gassed from all the hockey (and summer cup fun) they've played. It adds up. My only complaint is the playing of guys like Mash over Panik, obviously a much better player. Q is so stubborn. Oh well, love this team regardless. Have been a fan for 50 years and anyone that complains about this is nuts.

 

[Pepe Silvia]

Signing a contract doesn't magically take the miles off your body from 3 back-to-back-to-back playoff runs plus the Olympics.

He was hardly the only game-breaker this series that was kept in check. The whole team looked exhausted down the stretch, and the play for Hamhuis fell through leaving the back-end thin.

The deeper team won, as it usually does.

I never said that it did. You have a habit of misrepresenting someone's argument or putting words in their mouth. There's nothing wrong with calling out Toews' play this season, especially going by his standards and salary.

The Hawks were very capable of beating the Blues, and may have gotten by them had guys like Toews played better. This isn't me giving up on Toews, saying it will continue, or saying the contract was a mistake. So don't pull any of that nonsense.

 

[Fortyfives]

Trade Kane or Toews? The whole hockey world is laughing at you.

 

[theaub]

Don't even know what to really say.

We are a good team. The Blues are also a good team. A first round exit IMO does not fit with where this team ranks in the league.

But on the optimism side, hopefully the extended rest helps and we find the next step for a couple guys.

 

[JustABlackhawksFan]

Meh.

Disappointing but I guess the past three cups make this easier to swallow.

Maybe a long offseason will do the team some good.

 

[HLLYWD99]

Our swiss cheese of a defense finally caught up to us in the 3rd period of a seven game series.
Interesting to see how the summer shakes out and we will see if Bowman has any more rabbits in the hat.

 

[JaegerDice]

Don't even know what to really say.

We are a good team. The Blues are also a good team. A first round exit IMO does not fit with where this team ranks in the league.

But on the optimism side, hopefully the extended rest helps and we find the next step for a couple guys.

No, but it does fit with where they rank within their division. Which is what the new playoff format is for.

 

[Backyard Hockey]

One thing. Had a great TT sighting today, but i was mistaken. Thought it was him ion the ice but it was actually the fan cam showing a 10 year old boy wearing an 86 jersey.

 

[Sir Loin]

Contracts are given for future performance expectations, not past accomplishments

There's no getting around it. He simply didn't not earn the contract value in the regular season and earned even less of it the playoffs. Unless 'fine' and 'other responsibilities' are worth $10.5

So are you saying the Hawks should have let Toews walk?

 

[Gooner]

Toews had 6 points in 7 games. That's right in line with his career playoff average.

If you guys thought signing a new contract would magically transform his offensive output into Sidney Crosby's then you were setting yourself up for disappointment.

He had a down year, and he played at a high level. With a summer of rest and focus, I'm anxious to see the bull in the china shop he becomes next season.

He didn't score a single goal though, and off the top of my head, only one of those assists was actually a remarkable play, the backhand assist to Panik. Who by the way has been a great surprise, hope he stays a Hawk!

I don't think people on here don't believe in him, I certainly do, and I believe he'll be back and better than ever after a nice rest this summer. But there's pretty much no excuse for his subpar play this year. It's not just his contract, he is the captain, leader and one of the very best players on the team, and he wasn't up to those standards this season.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

The moment that the divisional playoff format was designed, everybody and their dog recognized that a great team will likely be left sitting after the first round.

In 2014, we took advantage and left a great Blues team sitting at home.

In 2015, we took advantage and left a great Preds team sitting at home.

In 2016, we drew the short end of the stick. Tough luck.

 

[BrianE]

Nucks fan here, my take:

Hawks lost some speed, missed the Manchild and Oduya big time. But what really killed them is dead puck era hockey played by the Blues. Was frustrating watching Blues players interfere and hit a hawks player before he even touches the puck, or seeing Toews just get bear hugged 3 feet from the boards. The Blues clogged the neutral zone and just lined up to hit any Hawk before he had the puck. Grabbing, clutching, hooking, interfering and trapping.

Toobad for Crawford, was the superior goalie that deserved to win

Agree good post, unfortunately the refs are told to keep it close no matter how many times they commit infractions.

 

[Backyard Hockey]

Trade Kane or Toews? The whole hockey world is laughing at you.

Of course they are but there's no denying that the combo of Kane, Toews and Seabrook contracts are going to put this team in a very funky spot near down the road

 

[Pepe Silvia]

If you guys thought signing a new contract would magically transform his offensive output into Sidney Crosby's then you were setting yourself up for disappointment.

This is ridiculous. No one expected that. But Toews is very capable of producing 30+ goals/70+ points. His offensive production wasn't the only part of his game that went back this year either.

 

[Backyard Hockey]

TVR, for now. He played pretty well this series. Rundy and Rozy were dumpster fires. But TVR and Hammer were a good pairing. Pokka coming in. Gus will have a year of NHL experience under his belt. People forget TVR and Gus were NHL rookies essentially. Pokka has nice upside. Forsling could be coming soon. Forward is where I'm concerned. I'm not sold on anybody in their system outside Schmaltz. They desperately need to sign Vesey or someone else.

If TVR is the Hawks #4 next year we have 2015:the sequel. He's simply not fast enough to be a #4 on a contending team

 

[BK]

One thing. Had a great TT sighting today, but i was mistaken. Thought it was him ion the ice but it was actually the fan cam showing a 10 year old boy wearing an 86 jersey.

This comment is funny to me because it just makes you look pathetic. Yeah yeah you don't care but you look pathetic with comments like this. TT was not as good as he should have been but he was not even close to a reason why we lost. In game 5 and 6 he was really good but you don't seem to understand anything beyond stats.

Everyone knows he needs to get stronger but the people who think he is just "another guy" and that we should trade him are wrong [mod].

 

[Backyard Hockey]

So are you saying the Hawks should have let Toews walk?

No. Im saying I expect the highest paid player to perform as that. Kane did in spades. Toews didn't. All season. That's just reality

 

[BrianE]

If you look at all the years we won the SC, a few bounces the other way and the Hawks easily could have been ousted earlier. Blues are a very good team, they didn't get the points they did by shear luck. All season I thought our core was gassed from all the hockey (and summer cup fun) they've played. It adds up. My only complaint is the playing of guys like Mash over Panik, obviously a much better player. Q is so stubborn. Oh well, love this team regardless. Have been a fan for 50 years and anyone that complains about this is nuts.

Good post.