Initial impressions: How are you feeling?

[BobbyJet]

It's 11 games in. Aside form 12-13 they are typically right around the 6-4/6-5 mark at this point in the season. In most years they have went on a bit of a streak at that point. This year they had a lot of turnover so that may or may not happen.

The only thing I am concerned about is Q being a total ****ing idiot with the lines. There are some things that are obviously not working, but we have several new faces on this roster. I'm sick of seeing lines changed when TT doesn't light the world on fire after 2 games with Toews/Hoss, or seeing the revolving door on the third line. How are players ever going to improve/get comfortable when they are constantly being yanked around? This is especially true for a young team.

We shall see what happens going forward but I'm not too worried. We just can't afford to have a really bad month in this division. It will likely not you out of the playoffs.

As I've said repeatedly since last summer: This was the fear entering the season. Q obviously thinks that line juggling will prepare the team better for later in the season and into the PO's, and it probably does, but with all the new faces in the line-up, I'd prefer some stability first by leaving the combinations in tact for a while. That said, with each passing game, I become more and more convinced that 88 and 72 need to be split up, and of course Q keeps them together through thick and thin. DOH!

 

[Hawkaholic]

The lines have been pretty much the same all year long. No one can hold that #1LW spot, that's really the only spot that has been messed around with. because what we have for that spot, doesn't work at all. That's not Q's fault.

And he split up 72 and 88 last game after Hossa got injured, and loooks like he will continue to split them up for the foreseeable future.

 

[UKBlackhawk]

The more I see, the less comfortable I feel. Sure, many will say 'hey, its the Hawks, we've seen this before. They'll turn it on and they'll be fine'

While yes, they do posses 3 of the best players in the NHL and one of the best coaches in the NHL, the REALITY cannot be ignored.

- 40% of the scoring firepower is gone from this team. Those players weren't replaced by proven veterans (ala Richards or Vermette). They were replaced by rookies and/or unknown commodities. Some players are getting 1st line shifts (i.e., Tikhonov) when they are effectively 4th line players.

- A key cog in the defense was replaced by one of the worst defenders statistically in the league (and is showing no offensive upside we were promised).

- The first line has been horrible. The loss of Saad is beyond significant. We are talking about a 52 point player. One who had 8 goals in the playoffs and carried much of the load with Kane out. The Hawks lost a critical piece of arguably the best line in the NHL. His absence is showing.

- One of the trade deadline surprises - Desjardins - has come back down to Earth and looks blah.

- One of the key cogs (TT) appears to have regressed. Hopefully that changes and is a symptom of playing on a horrible line.

- At least 2-3 of the forwards are worthless and, as of now, offer no threat to score - Garbutt, Tikhonov and Bickell. Jury still out on whoever is playing on that 3rd line.

- Toews has been bad. Sorry, but I can't get excited about 2 goals in 3:3 hockey. There are dozens of guys who can bury pucks in 3:3. Yes, he gets off to slow starts, but his play in 5:5 has been lackluster as well as taking penalties. It's obvious that the absence of Saad is greatly effecting his game.

- Hossa seems to have lost his shot. I absolutely love his game and put his game (and Datsyuk's) as the example to my sons of playing great two way hockey. That said, he's 36 and this is what happens as players age - they lose their shot.

- #5 is playing every night but is still not an NHL player. #6 is 31 years old and should be better. His hockey awareness is abysmal. Watch the 'hockey awareness' of Hammer and then compare to Daley. It's night and day. That #5 and #6 pairing should never see the ice again.

- Most importantly - they play in the hardest division in sports. STL, NASH and MN will be in the mix. Dallas is vastly improved team.

I'm hoping this is just a 'players have to gel together' thing, but I don't think it is. I can be confident in a Conn Smythe winner like Brad Richards 'gelling' or a guy one season removed from 34 goals like Sharp 'gelling'. I don't have any confidence in unproven players like Tikhonov gelling or cast offs like Garbutt or Daley.

It's very simple - team won a Cup. Has big salaries kicking in. Had to dump salary which means dumping talent. Replaced with lesser talent. The current Hawks roster lacks talent outside of the core.

Superb summary

 

[Robsker]

Superb summary

I agree with most every point. This will be a fun year to watch and see the youth develop and see what the future might hold... but this year, given the points you have made, the Hawks are not likely to be a Cup contender. Even making the playoffs is not something we can take for granted --- as you say --- with the Blues, the Preds, the Stars, the Wild and the Jets all in our division, landing in the top 3 of the division would be a major, major accomplishment for the Hawks... not ending up 5th or 6th will take something as well.

The Hawks dumped a lot of talent (by necessity --- cap era) and have many, many question marks... if injuries are many (so far, injuries are already a factor) the Hawks will have to battle mightily to make the playoffs... this is not impugning the Hawks so much at all... but we have a tough, tough division in a tough conference. Waiting to "gel" can be deadly.

 

[Enyaw]

How am I feeling?

Im in the minority here ... I believe this is a transition year as the youth get infused to the regular lineup ... this means a certain amount of pain ... not all the kids will work out. Everyone understands that the changes must be made because of the cap ... regardless if we agree or not on the players we received in return ... their are alot of new faces and it will take time to adjust and mesh

This team is a 7th or 8th place team in the conference ... the other teams have gotten better and improved while the Hawks are turning over personal and finding if the new pieces work

The Hawks are playing about where I thought they would ...

This team will have to battle to make the playoffs

 

[BobbyJet]

I agree with most every point. This will be a fun year to watch and see the youth develop and see what the future might hold... but this year, given the points you have made, the Hawks are not likely to be a Cup contender. Even making the playoffs is not something we can take for granted --- as you say --- with the Blues, the Preds, the Stars, the Wild and the Jets all in our division, landing in the top 3 of the division would be a major, major accomplishment for the Hawks... not ending up 5th or 6th will take something as well.

The Hawks dumped a lot of talent (by necessity --- cap era) and have many, many question marks... if injuries are many (so far, injuries are already a factor) the Hawks will have to battle mightily to make the playoffs... this is not impugning the Hawks so much at all... but we have a tough, tough division in a tough conference. Waiting to "gel" can be deadly.

I read an article today in a local newspaper about the possibility of a Central team missing the playoffs despite having a significant higher point total than one or both of the wild card teams. If I recall correctly from the article, at their present pace the top 6 teams from the Central would finish with an average of 110 points. The NHL needs to give their format for making the playoffs a serious tweak.

On point: Yes indeed. Making the playoffs will be a major accomplishment.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

It's 11 games in. Aside form 12-13 they are typically right around the 6-4/6-5 mark at this point in the season. In most years they have went on a bit of a streak at that point. This year they had a lot of turnover so that may or may not happen.

The only thing I am concerned about is Q being a total ****ing idiot with the lines. There are some things that are obviously not working, but we have several new faces on this roster. I'm sick of seeing lines changed when TT doesn't light the world on fire after 2 games with Toews/Hoss, or seeing the revolving door on the third line. How are players ever going to improve/get comfortable when they are constantly being yanked around? This is especially true for a young team.

We shall see what happens going forward but I'm not too worried. We just can't afford to have a really bad month in this division. It will likely not you out of the playoffs.

I disagree. Now is the time to play around with lines and pairings, to see what works and what doesn't. I can see what you are saying about Teuvo, and I'd like to see him given a position and stay there, but otherwise I have no issues trying different line combinations and pairings, especially with how many kids that are on the team.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

People here know I'm willing and able to get as crazy as you can imagine come the playoff push or the playoffs proper, but there's no way I can muster the anxiety necessary to worry about this team in October.

Exactly.

 

[zac]

I disagree. Now is the time to play around with lines and pairings, to see what works and what doesn't. I can see what you are saying about Teuvo, and I'd like to see him given a position and stay there, but otherwise I have no issues trying different line combinations and pairings, especially with how many kids that are on the team.

That's NOT what's happening. How can you possibly see what works, with young players at that, after 1-2 games? Before one could begin to properly evaluate, a lot of lines are broken up. There are times where it's obvious something isn't working, but Q is notorious for ****ing with things that aren't broke and/or refusing to make an obvious change, then giving some ******** reason when he actually does.

He needs to (largely) stick with some things for the better part of a 3-4 game stretch, while mixing it up occasionally within the game (especially with a 2+ goal lead). This every other game ******** has proven time and time again to be ineffective.

This team is at it's best when they have continuity. Q needs to know when to turn the blender off.

 

[Hawkaholic]

That's NOT what's happening. How can you possibly see what works, with young players at that, after 1-2 games? Before one could begin to properly evaluate, a lot of lines are broken up. There are times where it's obvious something isn't working, but Q is notorious for ****ing with things that aren't broke and/or refusing to make an obvious change, then giving some ******** reason when he actually does.

He needs to (largely) stick with some things for the better part of a 3-4 game stretch, while mixing it up occasionally within the game (especially with a 2+ goal lead). This every other game ******** has proven time and time again to be ineffective.

This team is at it's best when they have continuity. Q needs to know when to turn the blender off.

He has hardly blended the lineup at all this year. Until recently, because they weren't scoring goals. We don't have time to wait for lines to start gelling in the Central. We need goals, and the lines the way they were weren't producing goals. Now they are.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

That's NOT what's happening. How can you possibly see what works, with young players at that, after 1-2 games? Before one could begin to properly evaluate, a lot of lines are broken up. There are times where it's obvious something isn't working, but Q is notorious for ****ing with things that aren't broke and/or refusing to make an obvious change, then giving some ******** reason when he actually does.

He needs to (largely) stick with some things for the better part of a 3-4 game stretch, while mixing it up occasionally within the game (especially with a 2+ goal lead). This every other game ******** has proven time and time again to be ineffective.

This team is at it's best when they have continuity. Q needs to know when to turn the blender off.

If this is what Q does all the time, I don't think you can say it's proven to be ineffective.

#3CUPZ

 

[EricRealm]

This season is going to be all about how much we get from TT and Dano.

 

[zac]

If this is what Q does all the time, I don't think you can say it's proven to be ineffective.

#3CUPZ

Yes I can. Because, you know, we actually played our best in the playoffs when he quit taking Bickell off the TK line (back when he was effective), and last year when we had one of the more consistent lineups in recent memory (after the Vermette acquisition).

This team starts to fall on its face when Q starts ****ing with things too much. It's been that way forever.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Yes I can. Because, you know, we actually played our best in the playoffs when he quit taking Bickell off the TK line (back when he was effective), and last year when we had one of the more consistent lineups in recent memory (after the Vermette acquisition).

This team starts to fall on its face when Q starts ****ing with things too much. It's been that way forever.

Q blends when things aren't working. And when they start to work he leaves them alone the majority of the time. His blending is what got us the lineup last year.

Keep zacing though.

 

[BobbyJet]

Q blends when things aren't working. And when they start to work he leaves them alone the majority of the time. His blending is what got us the lineup last year.

Keep zacing though.

I think the point here is that Q can't be too quick to pull a guy off the line after a bad outing or two. The 4 lines that were assembled vs LA did quite well. As I said in the King - Hawk GDT: other than maybe inserting Tiko for Hartman, I'd like to see Q stick with these combos for a while (at least 5 games). After a successful outing vs a hot LA team, we'll see if you are right. Personally I'll be amazed if the lines last even 2 games but I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Hawkaholic]

I think the point here is that Q can't be too quick to pull a guy off the line after a bad outing or two. The 4 lines that were assembled vs LA did quite well. As I said in the King - Hawk GDT: other than maybe inserting Tiko for Hartman, I'd like to see Q stick with these combos for a while (at least 5 games). After a successful outing vs a hot LA team, we'll see if you are right. Personally I'll be amazed if the lines last even 2 games but I hope I'm wrong.

If the team is struggling to score goals or create chances in a game, I fail to see the problem with mixing it up to try and get something going. Every game is important in the Central, we need points now.

If vs. NJ we have zero goals in the 3rd period and have 15 shots, I have zero problem with Q blending it up.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

My initial thoughts

Positive
- Happy to see all these kids getting looks
- Happy to see TVR/Panarin having success
- Happy to see Kane playing so great
- Happy to see Crawford's play
- Seabrook looks pretty good to start this year

Meh
- Toews performance thus far has been inconsistent as has Hossa's

Negatives
- Rundblad
- Bickell (That hopefully is thing of past)
- 4th line has been a disappointment
- TT hasn't progressed as I hoped he would
- Lack of scoring depth is concerning
- Darling has been shaky in all his games

Overall plenty of room for improvement

 

[BobbyJet]

Feeling very good about the LA win, but that could easily change later tonight. I imagine that type of roller coaster will be going on for a while, sometimes period-to-period. Hawks' goal is to make the post season and have some team consistency when it arrives.

 

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

I've been pretty hard on Q in the past, but I think he's done a solid job managing the pieces presented to him so far this year. Minor disagreements sure, but there are no Handzus on the second line type decisions that have no rhyme or reason behind them.

Hope he continues to ice the best roster when Rozi comes back. That'll be the real test.

 

[DPHawk]

This season is going to be all about how much we get from TT and Dano.

This. I'm pretty happy with the start, specifically how the Defense and Panarin look, but this team needs another top 6 player. If TT or Dano start to find their game then I really like what this season could be.

 

[Robsker]

At this point the one word that describes my view of the Hawks is... intrigued.

I look forward to seeing:
- just how good Panarin will be this season
- just ho good TVR will be
- whether Svedberg will end up trustworthy (headed that way now... I think)
- whether TT will gel somewhere
- whether Hoss still has it
- whether AA can keep up the great work...

So, this will be an interesting year. I look forward to watching how it plays out. The future, I would think, is bright. The past has been MEGA bright and we cannot expect that to continue. But it should be a fun year.

 

[madgoat33]

Q blends when things aren't working. And when they start to work he leaves them alone the majority of the time. His blending is what got us the lineup last year.

Keep zacing though.

I don't think that's necessarily true though. Remember in the PO's 2 cup runs ago where he found a line combo that worked with bickell on the top line, then went away from it for the first 2-3 games of the following series, hawks struggled, then he brought it back and they won? He's a tinkerer.

 

[Gootie]

That was because Bickell tore a knee ligament in the final game of the WCF

 

[BobbyJet]

Feeling very good about the LA win, but that could easily change later tonight. I imagine that type of roller coaster will be going on for a while, sometimes period-to-period. Hawks' goal is to make the post season and have some team consistency when it arrives.

And there you have it. Last night's game a perfect illustration of how this season will be (hopefully just early in the season).

 

[blacknwhiterose]

As far the team goes, I feel optimism. There's been some good play and there's room for improvement.

Considering the competition though, I'm a little worried. The Central is looking very competitive again at least 3, possibly 5 legit contenders while the Pacific is looking weak and the Eastern Conf also has a lot of weak teams that the Hawks division rivals could beat up on. The Hawks can't afford to squander away points, especially to division opponents, otherwise we are going to be this year's version of the Los Angeles Kings.

I'm hoping TT, Toews, and Hossa step up their games; hoping for some balance in the standings as we push into the season. Anaheim and Calgary could improve to balance off the Pacific so they wont be such pushovers for Winn, Minn, St. L, Nash, and Dallas.