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I hate to say it, but I think they are going to run with the horses they have like Rex mentioned.
I hate to say it, but I think they are going to run with the horses they have like Rex mentioned.
They do have a roster capable of going deep. They just need to play like they care. A little desire/passion and they are golden.
Not without a 2nd line center and a decent 5 or 6-man we aren't.
A GM that gives a damn would help, too.
They do have a roster capable of going deep. They just need to play like they care. A little desire/passion and they are golden.
now you sound like Stan.
The heart and dogged determination of the core of the hawks has the ability to drag the rest of the team kicking and screaming the whole way deep into the playoffs. When those guys go beast mode we don't need a damn thing but with the discontent with upper management why bother giving a damn.
The "vets" of the hawks just punch the clock. I don't like it but I can hardly blame them, you don't try too damn hard for a boss you don't like.
They do have a roster capable of going deep. They just need to play like they care. A little desire/passion and they are golden.
A little desire/passion might not be enough.
After the last lockout, Tallon misread the NHL's intention on calling a closer game and making the game more open. He figured the elimination of clutching and grabbing and interference would last about 10 games into the season and the NHL would revert back to the old ways. He was wrong and his UFA signings(Aucoin, Barnaby, LaPointe, Cullimore) could not keep up with the new NHL.
It appears that the NHL has gone back to the old way of calling games and I can't help but wonder if Bowman and the gang are on the wrong side of that change. It's apparent that defensive interference is just not a penalty in these playoffs, if not a good portion of the entire regullar season. Stats confirm the lack of obstruction penalties in the new/old NHL.
In the West, 4 of the top 5 goal scoring teams in the regular season were eliminated in the first round. The Kings(194 regular season goals for) and the Devils(228) are the lowest goal scoring teams from the regular season in a post lockout SC Final. The Flyers in 2009-10, a team that got into the playoffs on the last game of the season, were the least offensive team(236) to make it to the post-lockout Finals.
If the trend is your friend, it favors teams like the Rangers, Blues, Kings, Coyotes, and Nashville. Even the offensively castrated Capitals made a decent run under Hunter.
And the Hawks wil have three of their top four dmen at about 6 feet and 185 pounds. Maybe. The lack of dmen able to physically engage opponents in front of the net was a big reason for the Hawks PK woes. And the lack of net presence on the PP(Brouwer and Kopcecky filled that role) contributed to the PP woes.
All the desire/passion means nothing when you're 185 pounds trying to defend your net against a forward with 30 pounds on you. The signing of Oduya makes me think that Bowman doe not grasp this concept.
What does calling those penalties matter anyway when the Hawks can't score on the powerplay?
As for the rest of your post, I agree, Stan clearly doesn't see a need for bigger defenseman vs smaller quicker defenseman.
Perhaps the Hawks can't score on the PP due to a lack of ability on net presence.
The core for the PP did not change significantly from 2010-11 to 2011-12. Sharp, Kane, Toews, Hossa, Keith, Seabrook. Only significant change was swapping Campbell with Leddy. And the loss of Pecker and Brouwer.
2010-11 Hawks PP: 277 chances, 64 PP goals
2011-12 Hawks PP: 277 chances, 42 PP goals
Between Brouwer and Kopecky, they had 26 PP points(13 each) in 2010-11. Pretty much all in front of the net. And that production was replaced by ??? Frolik? Brunette? Kruger? No, no, and no. Now granted, Frolik hardly had a sniff of PP time this past season. I included him since Bowman signed Frolik for the same cap hit as Brouwer got from the Caps(Of course Bowman gave Frolik an extra year).
2011-12 Kruger, Brunette, Frolik PP time= 286 minutes, 10 points
2010-11 Brouwer, Kopecky .........PP time= 372 minutes, 26 points
Stan does not know how to build a team.
Stan does not know how to build a team.
But wait!!! He's the spawn of Scotty Bowman!!!! He MUST have the brilliant hockey mind....he grew up around it.....McDonough told us all so.....
Yeah, but I hear Raffi Torres' dad was a really nice guy. And very respectable....
I have no excitement for the upcoming off-season knowing the ineptitude and gongshow that is the current front office. I hope I'm proven wrong, but I am going to place the bar extremely low and expect nothing when it comes to improving this team to become a contender. It has strong elements, but I have absolutely no faith in that Bowman knows how to add the correct pieces making this a team that could be a legit contender. It's really frustrating, they have ton of talent, but can't get it together. It all falls on the players, coaches and the front office.
**** this shit.
I might have said something similar in this thread already or someplace else, but just needed to vent.
I have no excitement for the upcoming off-season knowing the ineptitude and gongshow that is the current front office. I hope I'm proven wrong, but I am going to place the bar extremely low and expect nothing when it comes to improving this team to become a contender. It has strong elements, but I have absolutely no faith in that Bowman knows how to add the correct pieces making this a team that could be a legit contender. It's really frustrating, they have ton of talent, but can't get it together. It all falls on the players, coaches and the front office.
**** this shit.
I might have said something similar in this thread already or someplace else, but just needed to vent.