Re: 2009 Chicago Blackhawks

[brinoch]

Buff with the walkoff goal!!!!

 

That was pretty.

 

Very, very, very pretty.

[Soul]

Damn, I didn't know big buff could even do that! Hawks win!!!

[bcl412]

Damn, I didn't know big buff could even do that! Hawks win!!!

 

I knew he could skate by those guys because he has some speed but I didn't think he'd finish.

[Old Style]

Thank God for the Blackhawks.

[UMFan83]

Can we please get top news status on the Trib's sports site for the Blackhawks. Every game they win, and every game they are a small article with no picture on the right side of the page, while teams like the crappy Bears, or the pathetic Bulls, or the 100 miles away from Chicago Notre Dame get headline status.

 

There is so many horrible teams playing in Chicago lately, and they all get priority over the only hope for Chicago sports.

[Magnetic Curses]

melrose called the blackhawks the best franchise the NHL: right now. a pretty amazing perception after the last 15 years of being the worst.

[NewUserName]

melrose called the blackhawks the best franchise the NHL: right now. a pretty amazing perception after the last 15 years of being the worst.

 

I think right now they are pretty good, but the salary cap is going to bite them hard in the next several years. Also, I wouldnt put that much stock in Melrose.

[Soul]

melrose called the blackhawks the best franchise the NHL: right now. a pretty amazing perception after the last 15 years of being the worst.

 

I think right now they are pretty good, but the salary cap is going to bite them hard in the next several years. Also, I wouldnt put that much stock in Melrose.

 

I'd like to see where people would rank the Hawks' franchise now, as opposed to a few years ago when someone published a list and they were at or near the bottom (can't remember who did the list). It's an amazing turnaround, and one of the best sports stories going. Although, as you say, the looming salary cap concerns could put a damper on things in the future.

[jersey cubs fan]

"Chicago's the best team we've faced all year," Rangers coach John Tortorella said. "They had the puck all night and we weren't strong enough to take it away from them. We were totally void of competing with the Hawks."

[kujay]

"Chicago's the best team we've faced all year," Rangers coach John Tortorella said. "They had the puck all night and we weren't strong enough to take it away from them. We were totally void of competing with the Hawks."

 

Tort was pretty hard on his team after the game, but that's his style. Just the same, I like hearing those sorts of things from the opposing coach. He knew that even though it was a 2-1 OT game, his guys got thoroughly dominated all night.

[kujay]

Can we please get top news status on the Trib's sports site for the Blackhawks. Every game they win, and every game they are a small article with no picture on the right side of the page, while teams like the crappy Bears, or the pathetic Bulls, or the 100 miles away from Chicago Notre Dame get headline status.

 

There is so many horrible teams playing in Chicago lately, and they all get priority over the only hope for Chicago sports.

 

That's why my first stop in the morning is the Daily Herald.

[Soul]

"Chicago's the best team we've faced all year," Rangers coach John Tortorella said. "They had the puck all night and we weren't strong enough to take it away from them. We were totally void of competing with the Hawks."

 

Tort was pretty hard on his team after the game, but that's his style. Just the same, I like hearing those sorts of things from the opposing coach. He knew that even though it was a 2-1 OT game, his guys got thoroughly dominated all night.

 

The total domination was remarkable last night. He's right, they didn't even look like they could skate with the Hawks. The fact that they had a 1-0 lead into the 3rd period was pretty amazing. That's why it was so frustrating to watch until the Hawks finally broke through.

 

But Tort's assessment seems on target.

[Wilson A2000]

melrose called the blackhawks the best franchise the NHL: right now. a pretty amazing perception after the last 15 years of being the worst.

 

It was three years ago that the Blackhawks were rated as the worst franchise in professional sports. What a turn around!

[Magnetic Curses]

melrose called the blackhawks the best franchise the NHL: right now. a pretty amazing perception after the last 15 years of being the worst.

 

I think right now they are pretty good, but the salary cap is going to bite them hard in the next several years. Also, I wouldnt put that much stock in Melrose.

 

regardless of the salary cap situiation, which i think will be handled by next season, they have their stars locked up for a long time and will have players ready to take the places of the guys they're going to lose, not to mention the draft picks that they'll be getting in trades.

[kujay]

melrose called the blackhawks the best franchise the NHL: right now. a pretty amazing perception after the last 15 years of being the worst.

 

It was three years ago that the Blackhawks were rated as the worst franchise in professional sports. What a turn around!

 

If I'm not mistaken it was ESPN Magazine that did the rankings. I think they still do them every year. The "nail in the coffin" they used to bury the Hawks was Wirtz's famous quote that winning the Stanley Cup was "too expensive." What an [expletive].

 

I still remember the morning I went to the Chicago Tribune online and saw that he had died. I could hardly contain my happiness.

[Flames24Rulz]

melrose called the blackhawks the best franchise the NHL: right now. a pretty amazing perception after the last 15 years of being the worst.

 

I think right now they are pretty good, but the salary cap is going to bite them hard in the next several years. Also, I wouldnt put that much stock in Melrose.

 

regardless of the salary cap situiation, which i think will be handled by next season, they have their stars locked up for a long time and will have players ready to take the places of the guys they're going to lose, not to mention the draft picks that they'll be getting in trades.

 

Not to mention the oldest core guy that we have is Hossa. Besides him, we have a lot of guys that could conceivably make a career here for the next 15 years.

 

I'm not really worried at all about the cap situation.

[kujay]

melrose called the blackhawks the best franchise the NHL: right now. a pretty amazing perception after the last 15 years of being the worst.

 

I think right now they are pretty good, but the salary cap is going to bite them hard in the next several years. Also, I wouldnt put that much stock in Melrose.

 

regardless of the salary cap situiation, which i think will be handled by next season, they have their stars locked up for a long time and will have players ready to take the places of the guys they're going to lose, not to mention the draft picks that they'll be getting in trades.

 

Not to mention the oldest core guy that we have is Hossa. Besides him, we have a lot of guys that could conceivably make a career here for the next 15 years.

 

I'm not really worried at all about the cap situation.

 

I'm not either. Sure, other teams are going to overpay for guys like Sharp and Versteeg, but they aren't the core of this team. And we aren't going to be burdened with paying all of Huet's ridiculous contract, I can guarantee you that.

[Soul]

melrose called the blackhawks the best franchise the NHL: right now. a pretty amazing perception after the last 15 years of being the worst.

 

It was three years ago that the Blackhawks were rated as the worst franchise in professional sports. What a turn around!

 

If I'm not mistaken it was ESPN Magazine that did the rankings. I think they still do them every year. The "nail in the coffin" they used to bury the Hawks was Wirtz's famous quote that winning the Stanley Cup was "too expensive." What an [expletive].

 

I still remember the morning I went to the Chicago Tribune online and saw that he had died. I could hardly contain my happiness.

 

I don't want anyone to die, but Wirtz made it so hard to be a Blackhawks fan, most of us just put our fandom on hold until he was gone. Sure enough, almost immediately this franchise broke out. It was uncanny, really. Like a cloud being lifted.

[kujay]

I don't want anyone to die, but Wirtz made it so hard to be a Blackhawks fan, most of us just put our fandom on hold until he was gone. Sure enough, almost immediately this franchise broke out. It was uncanny, really. Like a cloud being lifted.

 

For a few seconds that morning I realized I was being sort of mean, being happy the guy died. But he was old, and he had ruined the franchise that I and so many people grew to love in spite of his efforts to drive us away.

 

And as you said, the chance was immediate. Just like we all knew it would be.

[kujay]

Rosenbloom's thoughts on the state of things:

 

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/rosenblog/2009/12/hawks-breathtaking-and-breathtakingly-good.html

 

Not to piss on the parade or anything, but part of the reason we were so shocked at Buff's speed on that rush last night is because he doesn't show it very often. He almost has a bit of that Derrek Lee " I don't really care about this job" look to him at times. The difference is that Buff also skates half-hearted like he doesn't care way too often.

 

Now we know how fast he is, and I wonder why he's only like that on one shift per game, if that.

[jersey cubs fan]

Rosenbloom's thoughts on the state of things:

 

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/rosenblog/2009/12/hawks-breathtaking-and-breathtakingly-good.html

 

Not to piss on the parade or anything, but part of the reason we were so shocked at Buff's speed on that rush last night is because he doesn't show it very often. He almost has a bit of that Derrek Lee " I don't really care about this job" look to him at times. The difference is that Buff also skates half-hearted like he doesn't care way too often.

 

Now we know how fast he is, and I wonder why he's only like that on one shift per game, if that.

 

I've never gotten that vibe out of DLee, but Buff definitely has some invisibility issues, and I think he's a great candidate to be traded some day this season or offseason.

[Soul]

Rosenbloom's thoughts on the state of things:

 

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/rosenblog/2009/12/hawks-breathtaking-and-breathtakingly-good.html

 

Not to piss on the parade or anything, but part of the reason we were so shocked at Buff's speed on that rush last night is because he doesn't show it very often. He almost has a bit of that Derrek Lee " I don't really care about this job" look to him at times. The difference is that Buff also skates half-hearted like he doesn't care way too often.

 

Now we know how fast he is, and I wonder why he's only like that on one shift per game, if that.

 

I've never gotten that vibe out of DLee, but Buff definitely has some invisibility issues, and I think he's a great candidate to be traded some day this season or offseason.

 

I find too many people have that "I don't really care" look about them in general. Makes it hard for everyone else as they try to pick up all the crap that person is busy not caring about and get it the hell done.

 

A pet peeve of mine.

[kujay]

Another article I read today alluded to the fact that Buff worked really hard to keep himself in shape this offseason, which I can see being a struggle for him, because he really wants to play on the U.S. Olympic team.

 

Just the same, if the first 20+ games of this season is his idea of max effort, it's time to get him out of town.

[Butterscup1679666578]

Rosenbloom's thoughts on the state of things:

 

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/rosenblog/2009/12/hawks-breathtaking-and-breathtakingly-good.html

 

Not to piss on the parade or anything, but part of the reason we were so shocked at Buff's speed on that rush last night is because he doesn't show it very often. He almost has a bit of that Derrek Lee " I don't really care about this job" look to him at times. The difference is that Buff also skates half-hearted like he doesn't care way too often.

 

Now we know how fast he is, and I wonder why he's only like that on one shift per game, if that.

 

I've never gotten that vibe out of DLee, but Buff definitely has some invisibility issues, and I think he's a great candidate to be traded some day this season or offseason.

 

I was just thinking the other day that I hadn't really seen/heard much from Buff this year, then last night he does that. Hopefully this is the start of something for him, because if it isn't, I definitely think he'll be moved at the end of the year to free up some cap space.

[kujay]

Miller not starting tonight for Buffalo. Think Ruff doesn't want his star goalie to get shell-shocked? :D

 

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2009/12/blackhawks-avoid-nhls-top-goaltender-tonight.html

 

Instead we get the craptastic Patrick Lalime.