Once again, The Hawks found themselves behind late in the game. It wasn't so long ago that, in such a situation, one could be confident that any number of players could rise up and be the difference-maker. With this edition of The Hawks, however, such heroics are not as likely to occur as they once were, and that's not really a knock on anyone, it's just the way it is right now. I wrote last week about patience, and that's what it's going to take to get through this season as the new crop of Hawks gain skills and confidence, as well as the trust of the coach who will not necessarily turn to the young guys when it's time to shorten the bench and push for a late equalizer.
Up until Saturday, Coach Q has been admirably even handed when it came to allotting ice time. Against Columbus, though, a slew of power plays and a late, frantic push in the last half of the third period resulted in Kane playing over 28 minutes, with Toews, Keith and Seabrook also logging massive minutes. I guess it's a cost vs. benefit thing, risking overplaying the key guys to try to eke out a point, while trying to bear in mind the long view, in which the young players are not exposed to the highest pressure situations and the dependable veterans become worn out by St. Patrick's Day.
On the other bench, Leafs head coach Mike Babcock is in a similar yet oddly different situation as he, too, is saddled with a load of young guys but, due to the relative quality of his small crew of veterans, finds himself relying on his future stars as much if not more than his returning players. Naturally, the quality of The Leafs' youngsters is higher than that of The Hawks', but there's also a greater sense of urgency for Toronto; get these young studs out there in all situations and either live or die with that approach. On this night that gambit failed, but one can easily picture Matthews, Nylander and Marner quickly evolving into Toronto's own Toews, Kane and Panarin. Consider Babcock's alternative; keep Marner, for example, on the farm and stick with someone like Brooks Laich?
I mentioned urgency, but Toronto's rebuilding will also require patience, as their future Core will make mistakes and often fail to deliver, but all the while they'll be building a valuable base of experience and, ideally, confidence. To be fair, though, The Leafs have everything to gain from this approach and little to lose - they're not going to slip any further than 30th place, now, are they? And why shouldn't they just Go For It? Leaving all the heavy lifting to their better, experienced players, like Kadri, Bozak and Komarov, has not moved them forward at all. While the circumstances are not identical by any means, I'm sure reminded of The Hawks of 2008 and 2009 when I scan The Leafs' lineup. I'm very interested to see how Toronto continues to build their team, whether they'll restock largely from within or if they take a Stan Bowman tack and insert known quantities via trades or free agency, not only to improve on the ice, but also to assist with leadership as Matthews et al find their feet.
The Hawks, meanwhile, are still heavily invested, talent-wise and money-wise, in eight key players who soak up almost exactly 2/3 of their total salary. Through the first few games of this season it appeared that Chicago was prepared to let Schmaltz, Motte & Co. learn on the fly, as it were, and let them make all the mistakes they're sure to make and not make them pay for it. After this weekend and the late-game points chasing that occurred, I'm less sure how firm they are on that plan. I'm not saying it was wrong to turn to the players you already know and trust when you need a game changer, 'cos you always want to win and you just do what makes sense to achieve that. I guess I'm just a little concerned that the commitment to the apparent legacy plan isn't as strong as I first believed it to be. I fear that The Hawks cannot exercise the required patience to avoid the next half-dozen seasons being an uphill battle, with their stars steadily waning and no one ready to step into their boots.
ANYWAY
It was a fun game to watch; lots of goals, some very good play by several players on both sides, with the young visitors succumbing to the somewhat declining but still very capable former champs.
But it's late, in more ways than one, so that's all I'll say about that.
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