GDT: Blackhawks @ Vancouver

[AmericanDream]

So if Dec rolls around and this team is a few games over .500 ... does Scotty B make the change and fire Q?

This is not a playoff team

this is a playoff team, we just played without Kane, Murphy and Forsling..

look around the league, nearly every team is looking like garbage some nights. the game is changing, wide open play is happening due to youth and speed..we are right where we need to be, just need to get a few guys back on defense. we were almost a playoff team last year with a lifeless Toews, Saad, Keith and Seabs...we had kids like Cat and Hino that were barely being used correctly...you guys need to calm down, it is a long season and this team is going to be right in the fight and I predict will make the playoffs.

 

[BK]

Every time I look at this roster I just keep thinking there is more to be had out of it.

I agree. Murphy and Forsling should help A LOT. You are going from Manning to two players who are #4s and are still growing. They will also lessen the burden on 56/7 who can now be give better more offensive situations.

There is talent on the roster. Q just needs to get the lines right.

12-19-8
20-15-88
84-24-40 = thinking more out of the box on this.
16-64-62 = Pure Defensive line

This team would have 2 more wins if they had an average PP imo.

Hayden played amazing, why this kid is ever out of the lineup just blows my mind, Kampf is on the same boat.

Saad was a beast out there

Manning was horrendous

Kunitz played ok for once but I still don’t wanna see him playing anymore and would much rather a kid play

Crawford was meh, glimpses of the Crawford that I didn’t like that couldn’t make timely saves, Hawks pretty much dominated this game yet he lets in so many goals...

I agree minus the Crow part. He was hung out to dry.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

this is a playoff team, we just played without Kane, Murphy and Forsling..

I more or less agree, with the caveat that this division is rough.

 

[BobbyJet]

Manning isn't even an ECHL caliber player

WTF was Bowman thinking with that contract?

I was trying to give SB the benefit of the doubt that somehow Manning could contribute..... but I've seen enough. What an atrocious signing.

 

[BK]

I was trying to give SB the benefit of the doubt that somehow Manning could contribute..... but I've seen enough. What an atrocious signing.

I think a lot of us are on this same page. It is just time to move on if you are the Hawks. Send him down or trade him for nothing.

 

[Hattrick Kane]

this is a playoff team, we just played without Kane, Murphy and Forsling..

look around the league, nearly every team is looking like garbage some nights. the game is changing, wide open play is happening due to youth and speed..we are right where we need to be, just need to get a few guys back on defense. we were almost a playoff team last year with a lifeless Toews, Saad, Keith and Seabs...we had kids like Cat and Hino that were barely being used correctly...you guys need to calm down, it is a long season and this team is going to be right in the fight and I predict will make the playoffs.

I’m not sure I agree with that honestly. The Hawks could make the playoffs, but I feel like it would be a repeat of 2017 with Nashville just curb stomping them again.

Bowman will know what he needs to do if those two come back and there isn’t improvement. I’ve got a feeling they don’t want to call up Forsling because he’ll take Golden Boy Manning’s spot.

 

[BK]

I’m not sure I agree with that honestly. The Hawks could make the playoffs, but I feel like it would be a repeat of 2017 with Nashville just curb stomping them again.

Bowman will know what he needs to do if those two come back and there isn’t improvement. I’ve got a feeling they don’t want to call up Forsling because he’ll take Golden Boy Manning’s spot.

This has never been the case in the past.

 

[AmericanDream]

I’m not sure I agree with that honestly. The Hawks could make the playoffs, but I feel like it would be a repeat of 2017 with Nashville just curb stomping them again.

Bowman will know what he needs to do if those two come back and there isn’t improvement. I’ve got a feeling they don’t want to call up Forsling because he’ll take Golden Boy Manning’s spot.

not saying we would do much of anything in the playoffs, but this team has enough talent to get there.

Crow is healthy, Saad is reborn lol...Toews is back again, Seabs and Keith playing decent to solid most nights...we need to stop playing the bums that do not need to be in the lineup, hopefully that will happen by December when we get some defensive help back..

you can also always make some minor deals that could go a long way to solidifying this team. go out and get a Ryan Dzingel if he is being shopped around - that isn't going to cost us a ton but could help a lot...

I am fine with people getting frustrated, I am fine with calling out the bad shit, but you have to see the good as well and this is probably the most hockey I have watched (meaning around the league this year) than anytime prior in my life, we look just like most other top teams right now...very few look dominating the majority of the time so far. the Jets have looked like crap half the time. the Preds look like they can't score most nights too...the Wild were pretty bad for a solid stretch there as well..it is all around, nobody is 100% happy with their start in the central or the league IMO.

 

[Pez68]

I cannot recall seeing a worse full time defenseman than Brandon Manning dress for the Blackhawks. He makes Cullimore, Boynton, Rozsival, and the rest of that dreadful crew look like world beaters....

This team is not making the playoffs with a league worst power play, and below average PK... They just aren't.

 

[Hattrick Kane]

not saying we would do much of anything in the playoffs, but this team has enough talent to get there.

Crow is healthy, Saad is reborn lol...Toews is back again, Seabs and Keith playing decent to solid most nights...we need to stop playing the bums that do not need to be in the lineup, hopefully that will happen by December when we get some defensive help back..

you can also always make some minor deals that could go a long way to solidifying this team. go out and get a Ryan Dzingel if he is being shopped around - that isn't going to cost us a ton but could help a lot...

I am fine with people getting frustrated, I am fine with calling out the bad ****, but you have to see the good as well and this is probably the most hockey I have watched (meaning around the league this year) than anytime prior in my life, we look just like most other top teams right now...very few look dominating the majority of the time so far. the Jets have looked like crap half the time. the Preds look like they can't score most nights too...the Wild were pretty bad for a solid stretch there as well..it is all around, nobody is 100% happy with their start in the central or the league IMO.

My biggest concern right now is the coaching, and has been for awhile. The playoffs is a whole different issue, I just don’t want to see the Hawks end up like Detroit where the first round is good enough, I’d rather a top 10 pick. I don’t think it makes me a bad fan, just a different way of thinking, like if we get a good prospect in can help turn the Hawks into a contender quicker.

But coaching I honestly believe is what it comes down to. The effort is never there, and it seems like every game that Hawks get outworked until it’s too late. The passing around the perimeter, taking no shots, the swinging there sticks wildly at the puck instead of playing the body. I believe this is not working for the Hawks, and that a different coach could help the Hawks to not leave Crawford out to dry night after night.

I’ll always love Q, but I believe his time has come. We need to see if a different coach can get better results out of this roster, or if major changes to it are on the horizon.

 

[AmericanDream]

I cannot recall seeing a worse full time defenseman than Brandon Manning dress for the Blackhawks. He makes Cullimore, Boynton, Rozsival, and the rest of that dreadful crew look like world beaters....

This team is not making the playoffs with a league worst power play, and below average PK... They just aren't.

I cant say anything else on Manning...my wife comes homes and sees the punch holes in the drywall - she knows Manning is playing that night!!

the power play is something we have won in-spite of for years...need to get somewhere in that 15-20 range like we have been historically and I can live with that..but the pk, yeah that has to be close to a top 10-15 for us to have any chance...

 

[LDF]

not saying we would do much of anything in the playoffs, but this team has enough talent to get there.

Crow is healthy, Saad is reborn lol...Toews is back again, Seabs and Keith playing decent to solid most nights...we need to stop playing the bums that do not need to be in the lineup, hopefully that will happen by December when we get some defensive help back..

you can also always make some minor deals that could go a long way to solidifying this team. go out and get a Ryan Dzingel if he is being shopped around - that isn't going to cost us a ton but could help a lot...

I am fine with people getting frustrated, I am fine with calling out the bad ****, but you have to see the good as well and this is probably the most hockey I have watched (meaning around the league this year) than anytime prior in my life, we look just like most other top teams right now...very few look dominating the majority of the time so far. the Jets have looked like crap half the time. the Preds look like they can't score most nights too...the Wild were pretty bad for a solid stretch there as well..it is all around, nobody is 100% happy with their start in the central or the league IMO.

good point, but it is hard to see the good when the bad is soooo there. the visual of those mistake and seeing the last 2 lines do crap. it is hard to see the good.

next it is hard to see the good when one will look at the rosters and see all the high contracts and the yrs of those contracts.

 

[LDF]

I'll bite.

While not as awesome as the Edmonton game, Joker continues to be solid.

i like what i have seen so far, granted some miscues, but he is developing

 

[Rick C137]

That was a disappointing game. Hawks very literally handed away two points there. Schmaltz and Toews should have gotten primary assists on two of their goals. Although it’s hard to blame Toews on his, that’s just tough luck.

On the bright side. I really like the Brandon Saad weve seen over the past week or two. This is the guy I remember.

 

[hawksfan50]

So Forsling and Murphy are the new "Saviours"?

They will make up for the missing goals our forwards (except Kane) fail to score ?We get 1 goal from Saad last night fails to finish on the other 3 clear cut break-aways?That this team must fore 50 + shots to it seems get 4 goals? THAT the PPhas stunk?How will Murphy and Forslong will score bunches of point shot goals to make up for the absent goals from our dmen as a group. .?I don't think so.

How will Murphy and Forslong g me up in production from the absence of goals from Schmaltz?Or from theother 3rd and 4th line grunts?
Look...the truth us this teM has list more than it has won...4 reg losses and 3 OTLS = 7 non-wins to 6 reg wins...

It is what it is...a very inefficient offense...with no dominating line let alone lines...1 star player I'm Kane who nevertheless I'd fled because he has no interest in defending and so his production us mitigated by what he gives up to an almost no real difference -Maki gnon a net basis..

Then we have the real Ties. ..sporadic 1 goal games interspersed by nada...the 5 goals in first 3 games being a freak chimera of what he really can do ...

Point is this team at vest meh...being Corso Kings gets us nowhere if we kedp giving high danger chances up...keep making sloppy turnovers...keep messing up the PP...cannot get everyone to buy in for the same game...cannot play full 60...fail too often to cash in on prime chances...cannot find consistent donating or danger most games line..

The good moments very sporadic and inconsistent..the bad moments glaring and repeating too often without fix.

If we were real threats then Saad would have shown better ON HIS BRST EFFORT of the season ..he would have at minimum pulled a Virtanen and scored on 2 of his 5 prime chances..a Kessel probably would have had a hattie or 4 ...because there were 4 breaj-aways and 1 other right there at the net chance ..The fact is he Failed on too many of these prime chance cases.And Schmaltz with just 1 goal in 13 GP and -6 now..this is a "budding star "...does this spit waster...all flash ...no cash..even belong on our roster..especially after his egregious sloppy turnover cost us a goal against? AND our leader Toews doing not much to mitigate the loss of Lane for this game..Only 2 shots (yes scored on PP. .but still 2 shots only ..none in 3rd prior when we needed inspiration and momentum and somebody to lead us ...found wanting and instead turnover and goal against)...you are tell g me Murphy and Forsling somehow will make up for all these Fails of omission and comission?

Sorry but your are espousing false hope..Yes they are hopefully better than Manning. ..but they cannot make up for the mess of our inefficient nd sloppy forwards group..

 

[deytookerjaabs]

That was a disappointing game. Hawks very literally handed away two points there. Schmaltz and Toews should have gotten primary assists on two of their goals. Although it’s hard to blame Toews on his, that’s just tough luck.

On the bright side. I really like the Brandon Saad weve seen over the past week or two. This is the guy I remember.

If the Saad & Schmaltz we saw last night keep it up that's a real good sign, they were very dynamic in stealing pucks, creating chances, keeping possession etc.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

I agree. Murphy and Forsling should help A LOT. You are going from Manning to two players who are #4s and are still growing. They will also lessen the burden on 56/7 who can now be give better more offensive situations.

There is talent on the roster. Q just needs to get the lines right.

12-19-8
20-15-88
84-24-40 = thinking more out of the box on this.
16-64-62 = Pure Defensive line

This team would have 2 more wins if they had an average PP imo.



I agree minus the Crow part. He was hung out to dry.

I like these lines. Kahun could be a pretty solid third line center.

 

[Salvaged Ship]

Manning sucks and shouldn’t be on the team but there is no point continually making him the scapegoat. Replacing him is not going to make this team good. Top to bottom they have too many holes, coaching sucks. Easy to keep pointing the finger at the crappiest player on the team and blaming him but there are 18 other guys out there with him. The team overall blows, we all kind of knew it before the season started.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Manning sucks and shouldn’t be on the team but there is no point continually making him the scapegoat. Replacing him is not going to make this team good. Top to bottom they have too many holes, coaching sucks. Easy to keep pointing the finger at the crappiest player on the team and blaming him but there are 18 other guys out there with him. The team overall blows, we all kind of knew it before the season started.

Did you watch the game last night? He literally scored a goal himself then stepped up at the blue line in a fail of an effort that led to another goal. Guy is just terrible.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Manning has been on the ice for 16GA (Keith is 1st with 18GA), but has only been on the ice for 7GF (Absolutely awful considering he his is getting almost 10mins less per game than Keith). He has easily the worst differential on the team. He isn't even a good 6/7 that some people thought he could be.

 

[LordKOTL]

i like what i have seen so far, granted some miscues, but he is developing

Bingo. Joker and hopefully Boqvist are long-game players. You know when Boqvist comes up he'll makes some mistakes. We know Joker has and will do so, but it's not on the same level of at least partially seasoned NHL'ers. It's how they respond to their mistakes and how they build from them that matter. Both Keith and Hammer, in their rookie campaigns, were not better. Now I will say it's early and Joker could completely collapse, I'd have to be very naive to think otherwise, but right now Joker's setting a solid foundation for his future.

 

[Salvaged Ship]

Did you watch the game last night? He literally scored a goal himself then stepped up at the blue line in a fail of an effort that led to another goal. Guy is just terrible.

I never said he wasn’t terrible. He sucks. Some are constantly pointing the finger at him like he is the main reason this team is not good. He should be replaced for sure, but whoever thinks that changes the direction this team is heading is dreaming. The team overall is not good.

 

[Pez68]

I never said he wasn’t terrible. He sucks. Some are constantly pointing the finger at him like he is the main reason this team is not good. He should be replaced for sure, but whoever thinks that changes the direction this team is heading is dreaming. The team overall is not good.

Him playing 15 minutes a night is a pretty huge problem right now. He's that bad. Q is, of course, also misusing him. He's getting 60+% defensive zone starts.... Why???

 

[Toews2Bickell]

I never said he wasn’t terrible. He sucks. Some are constantly pointing the finger at him like he is the main reason this team is not good. He should be replaced for sure, but whoever thinks that changes the direction this team is heading is dreaming. The team overall is not good.

But its impossible to know exactly how much of a difference every incremental improvement can have on a team...its also not just a matter of this season only...he’s taking away minutes from players that a.) might be better than him now and/or b.) will be better than him in the future.

Just because swapping out Manning, Ward, Rutta and Kunitz for Forsling, Forsberg, Sikura, Hillman etc doesn’t make them a contender doesn’t mean they should be indifferent between the two choices. They should always opt for the superior choice and let the chips fall where they may.

They obviously think group one is better but they’re wrong and it will play out over an 82 game season.

 

[Blackhawks]

I agree minus the Crow part. He was hung out to dry.

We never really ever agreed on Crawford till last year so it’s cool lol