Sources: NHL aiming for mid-January start, 52- or 56-game schedule

[Diehardfan]

Ironically, now Crawford is out indefinitely for Jersey due to "personal reasons." Not saying there is a connection, it's just weird.

Crawford seemed to take a very inordinate amount of time to recover from his concussions....never a good sign. I'm hoping this is not related but it sure seems like a possibility.

 

[Raskolnikov]

56 games, all games played within the division, agreed to by NHL and NHLPA today...

View attachment 9104

Thats the best the fucking NHL front office could come up with?

Come on. I don't understand the travel restrictions. Travelling from Minnesota to Vegas or Chicago to Florida...isn't any more or less risk than traveling to Detroit.

The virus isn't slowing down and the new one makes younger people sick too, so 30 yo's might not be clear. I also am not excited about playing the same teams 12 times. WTF? NO NO NO.

They should consider holding several "bubble tournaments"...where you show up to a city and play the same group of 6...3 times each...thats 18 games.

Then you could go to another bubble after 10-14 days rest and do the same. These mini-tourneys would be safer, contain any outbreaks quickly, and most importantly be fun. They could incorporate play-off seeding bonus's into each mini-tourney somehow, so stakes remain high.

This sounds fucking terrible as designed currently.

One division all season?

 

[hawkinmontreal]

Thats the best the fucking NHL front office could come up with?

Come on. I don't understand the travel restrictions. Travelling from Minnesota to Vegas or Chicago to Florida...isn't any more or less risk than traveling to Detroit.

The virus isn't slowing down and the new one makes younger people sick too, so 30 yo's might not be clear. I also am not excited about playing the same teams 12 times. WTF? NO NO NO.

They should consider holding several "bubble tournaments"...where you show up to a city and play the same group of 6...3 times each...thats 18 games.

Then you could go to another bubble after 10-14 days rest and do the same. These mini-tourneys would be safer, contain any outbreaks quickly, and most importantly be fun. They could incorporate play-off seeding bonus's into each mini-tourney somehow, so stakes remain high.

This sounds fucking terrible as designed currently.

One division all season?

They should shut it all down. Just wait Rasko until one of the players falls severely ill because of this virus. We know the players and NHL made a decision to play a game they love during times when people need to escape from the everyday chaos that is currently cycling through society, homes and communities but I have said it before, this is the wrong call.

 

[HSBOB]

Crawford seemed to take a very inordinate amount of time to recover from his concussions....never a good sign. I'm hoping this is not related but it sure seems like a possibility.

Crawford's two years removed from concussion issues and his play last August was as good as it's been in years. I didn't see him absorb any physicality in those series and he made 48 saves to keep the Knights from sweeping his useless team in game four......35 more in game five. I have no idea what's going on with him but if it's a concussion........it had to happen during the offseason.

 

[JimAKABlkhwks918]

They should shut it all down. Just wait Rasko until one of the players falls severely ill because of this virus. We know the players and NHL made a decision to play a game they love during times when people need to escape from the everyday chaos that is currently cycling through society, homes and communities but I have said it before, this is the wrong call.

I think 5 Dallas players and staff are positive and their opener is already delayed; haven't even gotten out of the gate yet...

 

[Diehardfan]

Crawford's two years removed from concussion issues and his play last August was as good as it's been in years. I didn't see him absorb any physicality in those series and he made 48 saves to keep the Knights from sweeping his useless team in game four......35 more in game five. I have no idea what's going on with him but if it's a concussion........it had to happen during the offseason.

Post Concussion Syndrome

 

[HSBOB]

Post Concussion Syndrome

The guy played some of the best hockey of his career only four months ago and hasn't displayed symptoms for two years but anything's possible. Maybe Mrs Crow hit him over the head with a rolling pin in the offseason.

 

[Raskolnikov]

Hahahahaha

If anybody doesn't think there's home cooking for the Hawks in the NHL office, just show them the perceived pandemic divisions.

Tampa is solid but over the cap and will most likely lose a little depth before the season starts, Seguin and Bishop will be gone most of the year in Dallas if not the entire year, Carolina has depth and is solid, the Jackets still have Torts.....

And the Hawks, with their piss poor additions can actually sneak into a top four spot in the division if one of the beer league goalies pulls his weight and the Hawks commit to a forechecking system that JC wants to play.

All they would need is a really hot start 10-2-2?!

See...this is the comment I've been trying to figure since the day it was made, as well as the posts above it from @Granada and @hawkinmontreal about how wonderful it is to be in our division.

This division is like a nightmare specifically assembled to torture the BlackHawks.

Let me recap...

1. we got both stanley cup finalists. So whatever you say next, remember that we have both conference champions in one division for the first time ever.

2. The Blue Jackets are very deep, heavy, and gave the reigning stanley cup champions their best fight.

3. Everybody but us has 2 goaltenders and we have none.

4. The one patsy is our ancient rival. So its like...here you go...aren't you glad you got one knife fight in your division? watch your back.

5. Heavy teams- Stars/Detroit/Florida(also our rival due to coach)/CBJ

6. Deep fast teams- Lightning/Hurricanes/Nashville


This division is a fucking nightmare and the fucking scary and sad thing is


I ACTUALLY DO THINK WE HAD A HOT START!! OMFG we are dead.

 

[Granada]

See...this is the comment I've been trying to figure since the day it was made, as well as the posts above it from @Granada and @hawkinmontreal about how wonderful it is to be in our division.

This division is like a nightmare specifically assembled to torture the BlackHawks.

Let me recap...

1. we got both stanley cup finalists. So whatever you say next, remember that we have both conference champions in one division for the first time ever.

2. The Blue Jackets are very deep, heavy, and gave the reigning stanley cup champions their best fight.

3. Everybody but us has 2 goaltenders and we have none.

4. The one patsy is our ancient rival. So its like...here you go...aren't you glad you got one knife fight in your division? watch your back.

5. Heavy teams- Stars/Detroit/Florida(also our rival due to coach)/CBJ

6. Deep fast teams- Lightning/Hurricanes/Nashville


This division is a fucking nightmare and the fucking scary and sad thing is


I ACTUALLY DO THINK WE HAD A HOT START!! OMFG we are dead.

That observation was initially made when the division did not include Dallas, with Minnesota instead. You must have conveniently missed that other post where I immediately reversed course once it was announced (before the season began) that Dallas was in and Minny was out.

No one said our division was "wonderful." And I don't remember you saying shit either way at the time, until now, conveniently. These were my exact words:

" Don't get me wrong -- I have zero hope that this team will go anywhere next year -- but compared to the initial reports of what the "central" division would have looked like, the most recent report gives them waaayyy better of a chance to make the playoffs. Does that mean they will indeed make the playoffs? No, but again, obviously it's better for the Hawks to go up against teams like Detroit, Minny, Nashville, etc. than Colorado, Dallas, St. Louis, and Vegas."

 

[Raskolnikov]

The guy played some of the best hockey of his career only four months ago and hasn't displayed symptoms for two years but anything's possible. Maybe Mrs Crow hit him over the head with a rolling pin in the offseason.

As a goalie for this version of the Hawks he did, as expected, get run and rung a couple times in the bubble. There was one bad one and two I recall we were concerned about him....as well as a bout with covid I believe at the start of the bubble? Or was that not announced and could have been concussion?

Anyway, the report out of NJ camp initially sounded alot like the reports on Crow out of the bubble.

I'm glad he hung them up, he wasn't going to win with New Jersey or Chicago. He probably got a schedule of his timeshare or something and was like...nah I'm done with this if I'm not 1A, he almost sounds superstitious about time between games. The new NHL just isn't his thing, he plays himself into shape.

Multi-causal...alot probably goes into a retirement like his.

 

[HSBOB]

As a goalie for this version of the Hawks he did, as expected, get run and rung a couple times in the bubble. There was one bad one and two I recall we were concerned about him....as well as a bout with covid I believe at the start of the bubble? Or was that not announced and could have been concussion?

Anyway, the report out of NJ camp initially sounded alot like the reports on Crow out of the bubble.

I'm glad he hung them up, he wasn't going to win with New Jersey or Chicago. He probably got a schedule of his timeshare or something and was like...nah I'm done with this if I'm not 1A, he almost sounds superstitious about time between games. The new NHL just isn't his thing, he plays himself into shape.

Multi-causal...alot probably goes into a retirement like his.

CC's been concussion symptom free for nearly two years,he might have been jostled in the bubble games a time or two but the guy made 80 plus save in his last two games.......that's all I'm sure of.
Crawford DID have covid before the PO's started,teams can't lie about that.....IT WAS NOT CONCUSSION RELATED!
The only report out of NJ that I saw was the guy showing off his new mask in mid December so he must have intended to play at that point.
I have no personal insight into a timeshare or where he intended to live,I just think he thought twice about relocating in the age of covid and I believe he wanted to finish his career here but I guess we have better tenders.
All the cup winners will hang em up at some point and we can really get on with winning then.

 

[Raskolnikov]

Stan has really hurt us recently with the draft.

To get basically just Mitchell out of our years of investment in Beudin/Joker/Boqvist/Mitchell/Vlasic...

the army of defenders we need now just aren't here. Keith and Murphy and Zadorov are keeping the wheels on, and thats all we can say about this team.

Many of the fwds will be gone next year and the cubbard in rockford is scary. Sure maybe they get some cash from Toews/Seabs at some point, but this organization looks like a disaster.

These things happen when you start thinking dynasty and do weird things. Its ok...it looks like a decade of pain but its probably only 1/2 a decade.

Stan won't be here to fix this, and the next guy hired might not survive the dumpster fire he inherits. This thing will have to be burned out, just torch the analytics room and trainers and everybody. Somehow the Blackhawks got real big heads and got weird in every way imaginable. It turns out Q, the old timer, was the only thing holding any common sense anymore, and without his voice they are way way way off the rails.

Lets get Kane and Keith onto some contenders if they want, and have some joy watching their stories finish the next few years while we quarantine the building and fumigate, and then flash burn out the insides.

Every part of building this team should be eradicated, its 3 years in already but this is only the beginning of our pain. There is no hope in sight.