Blackhawks 2016-17 regular season

[UMFan83]

Reading the committed indian today and they seem to think the Hawks championship window is closed. Some of the reasons:

 

-Keith is not the same player he was 2 years ago

-Toews is a shell of his former self

-Hossa looks done as a playoff contributor

-Hjalmarsson has begun to decline

 

You could always question the moving pieces that surrounded the sacred Blackhawks core but until now you couldn't question the core. Yes the Hawks have a lot of nice young pieces, but are any of them star quality? Do the Hawks need to condense the core and blow the rest of it up, take 2-3 seasons to rebuild and hope you open another window at the back end of Kane's prime?

 

Most likely I am overreacting and besides the way Panarin's contract is structured and the age of Keith and Seabrook, it probably makes the most sense to milk everything that's left of them because they are hard contracts to move anyways.

 

I know they led the west in points and its bad to draw conclusions from 3 games compared to the 82 preceding it, but even at their best this year the Hawks weren't the same type of puck possession team that was their trademark of the cup runs, and they have been destroyed by Nashville at puck possession.

[FlyTheW]

Seabrook has looked old and not so good all year to me. And don't look at his contract, it's the thing of nightmares. As is Hossa's if he chooses to retire.

 

I love Toews and he'll always be a legend in Chicago but the fact of the matter is, he's not really close to being worth the cap room he's taking up.

Edited April 18, 2017 by FlyTheW

[apete6]

Seabrook has looked old and not so good all year to me. And don't look at his contract, it's the thing of nightmares. As is Hossa's if he chooses to retire.

 

The Seabrook contract was terrible when they first did it. He should have been the sacrificial lamb from the core.

[FlyTheW]

It's whatever I guess, they won 3 Cups in Chicago. I think we all would have happily taken that in 2009. Maybe they'll have one more random year where players find a fountain of youth and they go on a run but this series has really shown how old and slow they're getting as a team. I've never seen a team just dominate the Hawks like the Predators have done in this series. The Hawks have only had one good stretch in this series where they've outplayed Nashville and that was right after the Rasmussen goal. Outside of that, it's been 170 or so minutes of the Predators completely dominating this series.

 

I thought this was Stan Bowman's best year as Blackhawks GM bringing in young talent to surround the core but he really needed to do more than just Oduya and Jurco at the deadline. I've thought this for awhile but I really don't think he's as good at his job as it's appeared. Bowman has lost nearly every trade he's made as GM and he's done a rather poor job with the cap, one of the reasons he was brought in. And I know he has two hands tied behind his back when it comes to the cap. Jonathan Toews isn't worth the money he's being paid but you also couldn't let your captain and franchise center walk so I'm not too sure what he was supposed to do when it came to that.

[apete6]

It's whatever I guess, they won 3 Cups in Chicago. I think we all would have happily taken that in 2009. Maybe they'll have one more random year where players find a fountain of youth and they go on a run but this series has really shown how old and slow they're getting as a team. I've never seen a team just dominate the Hawks like the Predators have done in this series. The Hawks have only had one good stretch in this series where they've outplayed Nashville and that was right after the Rasmussen goal. Outside of that, it's been 170 or so minutes of the Predators completely dominating this series.

 

I thought this was Stan Bowman's best year as Blackhawks GM bringing in young talent to surround the core but he really needed to do more than just Oduya and Jurco at the deadline. I've thought this for awhile but I really don't think he's as good at his job as it's appeared. Bowman has lost nearly every trade he's made as GM and he's done a rather poor job with the cap, one of the reasons he was brought in.

 

Yeah, the Wings got 3 Cups from their core and then another one 6 years later. That's the hope for this group of Hawks. No one can complain about much as 3 is more than you normally get, especially in the salary cap era.

 

Bowman was great rebuilding after the great salary cap purge post-2011, but his recent moves have left a lot to be desired. The Bickell and Seabrook contracts are just awful and will cripple the franchise for years. The Bickell one cost them Saad and Teuvo and everyone knew his postseason was a mirage. Obviously no one could have predicted MS, but he wasn't worth that cash even if he remained the player he was.

 

Oh well, let's just hope Toews isn't completely ruined and they can have one last cup run sometime in the next 5 years.

[Brian707]

horsefeathers, the West was so easy this year too. I thought at minimum a trip to the SCF. When they held the lead 2-0 going into the 3rd, I figured things were getting back to normal. They would right the ship and head into game 5 at 2-2.

 

These guys have a lot of mileage on them, since they won the Cup in 2010, if you include this year they now have 4 first round exits and 3 Cups in 8 seasons. I do remember some of those Wings teams losing to 8 seeds in the mid 00's before making back to back SCF appearances and one more cup. As Keith goes, so do the Hawks. He is what 33 now? Seabrook is getting up there too. I still think this core has one more Cup in them,

 

Maybe Nashville is pulling a 2012 Kings? Maybe we are overreacting to the Hawks pulling a 2008 Cubs.

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[biittner77]

If you're not going to win the cup then losing in the first round is probably the second best outcome. There are are certainly valid concerns about the core but there's also reason for optimism regarding the younger players (7 of them) that had never played in the playoffs before that now know what to expect. An embarrassing exit like this will get the attention of the core. Coupled with an extended off season I'm not ready to say the window is closed just yet. I wouldn't anticipate any big shakeups this off season. TVR gets taken in the expansion draft. Oh well. Kruger gets traded but hopefully Kero can fill that void. If they lose Panik, I suspect Motte will turn out to be the same if not a better player in the long run. Then you have the really young guys like DeBrincat that could very well contribute next year.

 

It's frustrating since the path through the West looks pretty easy. But I think the Hawks management has to understand that they need to win championships to remain relevant. The Cubs winning the WS does put pressure on the other franchises to be more competitive.

[Brian707]

Nashville could make it to the Cup final. They should take care of the Blues(assuming they don't blow a 3-0, now 3-1 lead) and then play one of (Ducks, Oilers, Sharks)

 

I remember the last time the Hawks had back to back first round exits, and what followed the next year. People will overreact but this core will get another Cup soon.

[biittner77]

I read that Stanbo was angry at the EOY press conference and alluded to changes happening this off season. Faxes from Uncle Dale (formerly TCI) hinted that perhaps Panarin for a defenseman might make sense. It's not easy giving up that much offense but Panarin is someone that could be traded without having to retain salary and get actual value in return. Oduya has nothing left, Campbell might not take another cheap deal, TVR is kind of lousy and Roszy I think may have already died. Keith and Seabrook can only do so much. I think Hammer was playing hurt against the Forsbergs.