Reflections on the present and future of my Blackhawks
As this season from hell creeps to its close at an excruciating pace and makes all of us devote more of our attention to spring training for the Cubs than we otherwise might, there are calls for the heads of Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman and even the greatest coach in Blackhawks history, Joel Quenneville.
No general manager or coach could have made Marian Hossa and Corey Crawford healthy or prevented Toews and Keith and Saad from having the worst seasons of their careers or foreseen that a series of trades most of which made perfect sense at the time wouldn't pan out. The Hawks are one season removed from the second-best regular season in their history. This will be the first time in a decade that they haven't made the playoffs.
With the exception of the Pens, maybe the Kings and (for different reasons) the Golden Knights, every other team in the NHL would kill to have won three Stanley Cups in the past decade. In fact, only the Hawks, the Pens, the Kings, the Wings, and the Bruins have won even one since the last time the Hawks missed the playoffs!
The fact is that we're spoiled. We expect to be in the Finals every year. Well, that just doesn't happen. Not every season. The Habs might have pulled it off at one time, or the Red Wings during their run in the 'Fifties. Now, in the age of the salary cap, teams almost never reach the Finals even two years in a row. If we fail to make the playoffs again next year it will be time to back up the truck and to let heads roll. At this point, the smart move would be to shore up the glaring weaknesses which are bound to appear in an aging team, try to get younger and faster where we can, and proceed in the knowledge that it's unlikely that one team can have such bad luck two years in a row.
We also have to greatly improve our defense and- obviously- somehow acquire some depth in goal.
We probably won't win the Cup next year. But we're also probably closer to winning another one than most of us realize. Granted, it will take inspired personnel management. Stan Bowman may or may not be up to the task. Coaches don't often win Cups after as many years with a team as Coach Q has already been with the Hawks. Changes may be needed among the suits as well as among the sweaters. But they should be made because it's clear that it would contribute to our getting back to where we've all grown accustomed to being, not out of panic or because we're looking for scapegoats. Neither Stan Bowman nor Joel Quenneville has played a single minute for the Blackhawks this season.
No general manager or coach could have made Marian Hossa and Corey Crawford healthy or prevented Toews and Keith and Saad from having the worst seasons of their careers or foreseen that a series of trades most of which made perfect sense at the time wouldn't pan out. The Hawks are one season removed from the second-best regular season in their history. This will be the first time in a decade that they haven't made the playoffs.
With the exception of the Pens, maybe the Kings and (for different reasons) the Golden Knights, every other team in the NHL would kill to have won three Stanley Cups in the past decade. In fact, only the Hawks, the Pens, the Kings, the Wings, and the Bruins have won even one since the last time the Hawks missed the playoffs!
The fact is that we're spoiled. We expect to be in the Finals every year. Well, that just doesn't happen. Not every season. The Habs might have pulled it off at one time, or the Red Wings during their run in the 'Fifties. Now, in the age of the salary cap, teams almost never reach the Finals even two years in a row. If we fail to make the playoffs again next year it will be time to back up the truck and to let heads roll. At this point, the smart move would be to shore up the glaring weaknesses which are bound to appear in an aging team, try to get younger and faster where we can, and proceed in the knowledge that it's unlikely that one team can have such bad luck two years in a row.
We also have to greatly improve our defense and- obviously- somehow acquire some depth in goal.
We probably won't win the Cup next year. But we're also probably closer to winning another one than most of us realize. Granted, it will take inspired personnel management. Stan Bowman may or may not be up to the task. Coaches don't often win Cups after as many years with a team as Coach Q has already been with the Hawks. Changes may be needed among the suits as well as among the sweaters. But they should be made because it's clear that it would contribute to our getting back to where we've all grown accustomed to being, not out of panic or because we're looking for scapegoats. Neither Stan Bowman nor Joel Quenneville has played a single minute for the Blackhawks this season.
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