We'll also have this to contend with.....
Who makes the taxi squad for the Chicago Blackhawks? (blackhawkup.com)
Is Lankinen the required taxi squad 3rd GT who doesn't get regular playing time in Rockford if he doesn't make the roster or is he in Rockford with little if any chance for a call up?
I believe the team gives Suban EVERY chance to start and then Delia when Suban isn't the guy. Lankinen would have to stand on his head while juggling chainsaws to see major minutes but you've pointed out why NOT playing him a lot could be a good idea. The young Finn tender is also signed through 21-22 so he might have to be patient one more time.
I didn't think about the whole taxi squad situation, but it then would make sense to have Lankinen in Rockford.
Unfortunately, he's signed out as long as Subban and Delia. But, on the positive if this year is the litmus test for Subban and Delia (and I agree that Subban is going to get every chance), then by next year I think the weaker of the two has go to be Rockforded or gone, and Lankinen up.
Yeah I can't really fault you for wanting them to tank. 19, 88, and 2 would never want to sit out an entire year though; and I wouldn't want them to, especially at their age -- it's hard to take an entire year off hockey and come back when you're in your early to mid-thirties.
I don't think the team should go into the year looking to tank, but if it does happen, I'd be relatively fine with it. I'm at the point as a fan where I'm just going to see what happens. I have little expectations this year. Even if the Hawks did make the playoffs (which I'm not counting on), they wouldn't go deep -- this is not a team that is anywhere close to a Cup team.
Bowman is such a clown, it impossible to know what his expectations are for this team. He seems to be putting all hope that the vets can stay healthy and actually play like they've been advertised -- not only the core, but guys like Shaw, de Haan, Murphy, and to an extent, Seabrook. On the other hand, f you're rebuilding, then you're not expecting them to be competitive. Again, I really just don't know what the hell his objective is for this team. Maybe he just wants them to tread water -- which is disastrous for a "rebuilding" team. In either case, he's just throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks.
Well, it is Bowman, and he's an accounting mind, not a hockey mind.
I think if the 'hawks were indeed trying to 100% tank then Kane, Toews, etc. would be fetching off Eddie O every other night. That's not the way to do it. What they need to do is get some of the youth into the more critical situations, but with the older core in reserve/guidance. So maybe you rely on Boqvist (or Mitchell if he plays) over Keith in the PP. You might start trying to get Dach to take more critivcal draws or just more draws in general to see if his faceoff skill goes up.
You don't look to tank, you look to train, so-to-speak.
I still never really understood what happened with Delia. If memory serves, he was decent in the time he was with the big club; so Bowman signs him to a multi-year contract around 1 million (I want to say). A .908 % isn't mind-blowing but it certainly isn't horrible for a rookie. All indications were that he would at least be the backup the next year behind Crawford, so why wasn't he? Was it another Bowman ****-up? I mean, why even sign the guy in the first place?
I hated the Lehner move, immediately when it was announced. In the end, it was just another ridiculous misstep by Bowman to not groom Delia -- or whoever -- under Crawford last year. If he hadn't signed Lehner, perhaps we wouldn't be in such a clusterfuck at the position this year.
I partially agree... .908 isn't bad, but it isn't particularly good either. Niemi was better. Crawford was better. There is the chance for improvement of course but it's not world-beating. Plus, you have to take a horrible D in front of him under consideration as well.
It was a fuckup by Bowman...with layers. Yes, if they were worried about the health and longevity of Crawford coupled with how bare the goalie cupboards are, getting a great bonafied starter like Lehner makes sense...if they stuck to the plan. They didn't. Lehner wasn't extended and was traded for Subban (fuckup 1). That mean an entire year of Delia's development was lost (fuckup 2), and then they go into this year with Delia and Subban with no vet presense behind them (fuckup 3), and he locked the D in front of him (fuckup 4).
Delia though--who knows? He could have become better with time. But it really seems like Stan needs to shit or get off the pot. We were nowhere in 2019. Based on a short win streak Bowman decided to go for it in 2020 with his G and D acquisitions...and it went nowhere. Now we're rebuilding at a worse position for development than we were if we would have come into 2020 with a rebuilding/training mindset.
Agree with most of this but I wouldn't trade Murphy unless I was getting a haul back in return. The guys a stud.
Ehh...stud is a heavy word. Hjammer was a stud and the litmus paper we measure defensive studs by--and Murph is not Hjammer--maybe an aged, worn-down Hjammer, but not a prime Hjammer.
Murph and Zaddy are a good, solid middle pair--and ideally one we'd want to keep around...however, we have to liberate someone from the defense and not get rakes over the coals in the process. Seabrook is likely a pipe dream. DeHaan might have negative value. It may be we suck it up and deal Murphy.
