Thoughts on the Chicago Blackhawks?

[Alexander the Gr8]

They won 3 Cups...

He's referring to a diehard Hawks fan who posts here. Haven't seen him lately, but the Hawks fans should be satisfied by what their team has achieved. You can't be the best team in the NHL for more than a few years at a time, and you guys understand your team has had its time as the best already.

The Hawks could return to top contender status, but it would take a few years, good drafting and proper asset management. Kane and Toews are still young, the team could be stacked again 2 or 3 years from now.

 

[MadhouseOnMadison]

Playoff team but wont go far. I'd say 2nd round exit

That's generous.

 

[Hawkaholic]

He's referring to a diehard Hawks fan who posts here. Haven't seen him lately, but the Hawks fans should be satisfied by what their team has achieved. You can't be the best team in the NHL for more than a few years at a time, and you guys understand your team has had its time as the best already.

The Hawks could return to top contender status, but it would take a few years, good drafting and proper asset management. Kane and Toews are still young, the team could be stacked again 2 or 3 years from now.

Ahhh, OK. You are damn right I am satisfied with what I have witnessed in my 32 year old life with the Hawks. Some fans haven't even seen their team lift the Cup yet, I got to witness it 3 times in 6 years.

 

[ChiHawks10]

Ahhh, OK. You are damn right I am satisfied with what I have witnessed in my 32 year old life with the Hawks. Some fans haven't even seen their team lift the Cup yet, I got to witness it 3 times in 6 years.

This.

 

[dk2k]

What do the Hawks have on defense aside from Keith? An aging Seabrook, Kempny, Connor Murphy, Forsling and Rozsival. Now compare these guys to Nashville or St. Louis' depth.

The bottom 6 isn't pretty aside from Hartman and Schmaltz. Wingels, Hinostroza, Bouma, Kero, Rasmussen and Jurco are fringe players.

The Hawks regressed this summer, and that's coming off two straight 1st round exits.

Oh ****, Seabs is AGING? I wonder if we can move him for one of the other defenders in the league who's still getting younger.

 

[Hawkaholic]

What do the Hawks have on defense aside from Keith? An aging Seabrook, Kempny, Connor Murphy, Forsling and Rozsival. Now compare these guys to Nashville or St. Louis' depth.

The bottom 6 isn't pretty aside from Hartman and Schmaltz. Wingels, Hinostroza, Bouma, Kero, Rasmussen and Jurco are fringe players.

The Hawks regressed this summer, and that's coming off two straight 1st round exits.

What did Pittsburgh have for Defense in the playoffs? Chicagos D is better than theirs.

And you are assuming none of Kempny, Murphy, or Forsling are going to get better. All 3 of them could improve quite well, especially Murphy and Forsling.

The bottom 6 isn't great, no. But Hartman and Schmaltz are great for bottom 6 guys, and the other palyers you listed are perfectly fine for 4th liners. They need 1 good 3rd line C or W.

Chicago still has 5mil in cap space after the season starts, let's not act like this is going to be their lineup for the playoffs.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Oh ****, Seabs is AGING? I wonder if we can move him for one of the other defenders in the league who's still getting younger.

Make fun of me if you want, but you can't deny how brutally "Seabs" is declining.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Make fun of me if you want, but you can't deny how brutally "Seabs" is declining.

It's overstated. he has had to babysit the last 2 seasons. He hasn't looked good, but it's hard to get a complete assessment when he has had to paly with the likes of Svedberg, Kempny, Gustafsson, and 2015-16 TvR

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

What did Pittsburgh have for Defense in the playoffs? Chicagos D is better than theirs.

And you are assuming none of Kempny, Murphy, or Forsling are going to get better. All 3 of them could improve quite well, especially Murphy and Forsling.

The bottom 6 isn't great, no. But Hartman and Schmaltz are great for bottom 6 guys, and the other palyers you listed are perfectly fine for 4th liners. They need 1 good 3rd line C or W.

Chicago still has 5mil in cap space after the season starts, let's not act like this is going to be their lineup for the playoffs.

This is a fragile roster in comparison with Edmonton or Nashville. Pittsburgh wins because Crosby, Malkin and Kessel is an unmatched trio. Their star power is just overwhelming. Chicago's potential for success is based on unknown quantities. Yes, the young players are likely to improve. I don't think they're ready to fill the void left by Hossa and Hjalmarsson.

It's overstated. he has had to babysit the last 2 seasons. He hasn't looked good, but it's hard to get a complete assessment when he has had to paly with the likes of Svedberg, Kempny, Gustafsson, and 2015-16 TvR

So Kempny is going to get better, but he's the reason for Seabrook's poor performance? Which one is it?

 

[CallMeShaft]

So Kempny is going to get better, but he's the reason for Seabrook's poor performance? Which one is it?

Honestly, that pair was pretty good. Looked good and had fantastic advanced stats. I just hope Kempny can continue to improve and Seabrook can stay close to the level he was at last year.

 

[Hunter368]

Slowly degrading before our eyes, the end isn't here yet but it's in sight. Definitely a team declining.

 

[Pez68]

There is no way to assess the Hawks until 20-30 games into the season. Possibly more. They have too many new faces to have any idea where they end up. There's going to be a lot of expectations for the new players to come in and perform. There will be a lot of competition and opportunity for roster spots, as well. Competition can be a good thing. I'm hopefully optimistic they will improve from last season, but wouldn't be surprised to see them miss the playoffs, either... The bright side to missing the playoffs is, it would likely mean a new coach and system gets brought in. I think that's what is really holding them back. They have not adapted to the changes in the NHL.

 

[Melrose Munch]

Should have gunned for price and got rid of Crawford.

 

[The Note]

Should have gunned for price and got rid of Crawford.

Starting goaltender is the least of their concerns.

 

[hagelin1381]

Should have gunned for price and got rid of Crawford.

I think Crawford is the least of their worries. He went from being overrated to underrated. As the team declined, he improved, covering up some of said decline IMO

 

[GordieHowsUrBreath]

He's referring to a diehard Hawks fan who posts here. Haven't seen him lately, but the Hawks fans should be satisfied by what their team has achieved. You can't be the best team in the NHL for more than a few years at a time, and you guys understand your team has had its time as the best already.

.

i haven't seen him since the pens won the cup, and i would say there seems to be a lot less hawks fans overall on the forums since then

 

[SoCalFan]

i haven't seen him since the pens won the cup, and i would say there seems to be a lot less hawks fans overall on the forums since then

be logical. it's summertime and the offseason. people are actually out doing ****. especially if they're in Chicago. fun, young scene there.

as for the Hawks, I'm always in wait and see mode. seems I can never predict what will happen with these changes. I trust Stan though. he and his scouts see things that are beyond me. sometimes they turn out (Panik), sometimes they don't (Ladd). makes the season fun, tbh. I'm secure with 3 Cups in my lifetime. if they never win another, what a ****ing ride that was.

 

[axecrew]

It's overstated. he has had to babysit the last 2 seasons. He hasn't looked good, but it's hard to get a complete assessment when he has had to paly with the likes of Svedberg, Kempny, Gustafsson, and 2015-16 TvR

Sorry but you fail...neither Svedberg nor Gustafsson played a single minute in the NHL last season. And before you try to defend misdirect or whatever...your comment reads that he had to babysit the last 2 years and had to play with svedberg, gustafsson and kempny and tvr in 15-16 meaning tvr 15-16 and the others in 16-17.

Face it the guy has been old for more than the last 2 years and if it weren't for the name he would've been gone or at minimum not gotten the idiotic contract that he currently has. He' slower now than in the past, but he was slow then also, and "babysitting" has nothing to do with it.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

Sorry but you fail...neither Svedberg nor Gustafsson played a single minute in the NHL last season. And before you try to defend misdirect or whatever...your comment reads that he had to babysit the last 2 years and had to play with svedberg, gustafsson and kempny and tvr in 15-16 meaning tvr 15-16 and the others in 16-17.

Face it the guy has been old for more than the last 2 years and if it weren't for the name he would've been gone or at minimum not gotten the idiotic contract that he currently has. He' slower now than in the past, but he was slow then also, and "babysitting" has nothing to do with it.

Actually I think he's saying that TvR in 2015-2016 was a very underwhelming rookie, but TvR in 2016-2017 was a significantly improved #5 Dman at worst. If he said TvR in 2015-2016 and others in 2016-2017, he'd have stated that in my opinion.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

I think Crawford is the least of their worries. He went from being overrated to underrated. As the team declined, he improved, covering up some of said decline IMO

While I agree Crawford is the least of their problems, Crawford traditionally was never a good puck player/rebound controller. This is the first season in a long time that the Hawks will have such a slow and immobile team, followed with Crawford's poor abiltiies means constantly trapped in their own zone. Nevertheless, Crawford is an excellent goalie overall and can make some fantastic saves, so being trapped in his own zone isn't the end of the Hawks, but one can conclude they'll struggle a lot more.

 

[lomiller1]

The Hawks are a tough call. They still have some really good players and are still really well constructed in terms of position but they are paper thin after that. They have holes almost everywhere. If some of the younger guys can step up and fill those holes they can still be a really good team.

In any other division I’d have them in the playoffs and fighting it out for the 2/3 spot, but the central is just so good and so deep someone is going to be left on the outside looking in and I think it could be Chicago. Someone always gets hammered with injuries and/or underachieves so there is still an opportunity but if everyone lives up to expectations I think the Hawks miss the playoffs.

 

[ChiHawks10]

While I agree Crawford is the least of their problems, Crawford traditionally was never a good puck player/rebound controller. This is the first season in a long time that the Hawks will have such a slow and immobile team, followed with Crawford's poor abiltiies means constantly trapped in their own zone. Nevertheless, Crawford is an excellent goalie overall and can make some fantastic saves, so being trapped in his own zone isn't the end of the Hawks, but one can conclude they'll struggle a lot more.

Where do you get that? Who is slow on the Hawks? Seabs? Anyone else? I can go through the roster if you'd like, as it doesn't feature many slow players... They were below average the year prior to last, and their D was not as mobile the past couple due to age and the players that were acquired, like Oduya, Rozsival, etc.. But the team as a whole is not slow. Not with the infusion of young talent that they've had over last season, and a roster that will see more young talent added to it this upcoming season. If anything, they'll be faster than they were last year. And their speed was probably league average last year, at worst.

This is what gets me about these types of threads. I don't come in thinking I know jack about other teams if I visit another one. Not at all. Because I don't watch them enough. But everyone who isn't a Hawks fan seems to be an expert on the Hawks because they watch 6-10 national broadcasts every season.

But then when someone who is a Hawks fan says something to counter any of the ridiculousness... they're instantly a homer. No... they just know more about the team they watch play for 82+ games a season. Funny concept, that is, huh?

 

[CokenoPepsi]

It is really tough, they should do whatever they can to get rid of Toews' contract but there needs to be a replacement and that would **** off the fangirls with their "Marry me Tazer" signs

They are a brand after all, i'm sure 40 years from now Toews and Kane will still be selling Chevys

 

[SpaceCoyote]

So many people in this thread that know absolutely nothing about the Hawks commenting with all kinds of ridiculousness.

Reminds me of all these Hawk fans who think they know how Murphy plays. The idea that he is some kind of speedy outlet specialist is a joke. The guy is good for a blueline offensive zone turn over once every three games and plays average defense the rest of the time. For the majority of last season Luke Schenn and Deangelo out played him for the RHD top 2 spots. Murphy could never gel with the talent of OEL, he just mentally isn't on the same page. Not a good sign for all this growth people are still expecting of him.

 

[ChiHawks10]

Reminds me of all these Hawk fans who think they know how Murphy plays. The idea that he is some kind of speedy outlet specialist is a joke. The guy is good for a blueline offensive zone turn over once every three games and plays average defense the rest of the time. For the majority of last season Luke Schenn and Deangelo out played him for the RHD top 2 spots. Murphy could never gel with the talent of OEL, he just mentally isn't on the same page. Not a good sign for all this growth people are still expecting of him.

I have no business judging how he plays, and wouldn't. Not until I see him for more than highlight videos and a handful of games. For Murphy, in my eyes, he has a lot of upside. Especially learning/playing with someone like Keith, which is his likely partner. At least in comparison to playing in Arizona for a bad team, whether on a pairing with OEL or not. Most logical Hawks fans know that he's a question mark with some upside and potential on this roster. But he's still young, and has time to improve. Most dmen take much longer to develop in comparison to forwards. Take Keith as an example. He didn't play for the Hawks until he was 23 years old, and he wasn't a serious consideration for the Norris until he was 25.

Murphy is 24, and a former first round pick. For Hawks fans to think he could develop to be a very good top 4 D, and/or possibly a good top pair guy isn't outlandish, IMO.

I expect he'll be a very good top 4 guy for the Hawks. If he surprises and develops into the next Keith... hell I'm fine with that. I don't expect it. But it's not out of the realm of possibility.