Scott Darling Joins Hurricanes

                                               Those were the days.

It's sad to see him go but it was always gonna happen, right?  It's time for wee Scotty to spread his wings and.... okay, nevermind, let's just agree that he's earned a shot at being an NHL starting goalie.

Which isn't a certainty in Carolina, what with Cam Ward (61 starts and a career 'Cane) and Eddie Lack (20 starts) as incumbents out in Charlotte or Raleigh or wherever the hell they play.  However, neither of those blokes set the world afire this season and either of them and their relatively cap-friendly $3 million-ish salaries could fetch a third-liner or a second-pairing D-man.  I expect that Darling will get his shot at the very least.

WE GET a 3rd Round Pick in the 2017 draft, which ain't at all bad considering The Hawks lacked the cap space to resign him themselves.  Almost something for nothing, really.

Anyway, all the best to you, Scott, and we'll see you in the 2020 Finals.

2017 Wrap-Up and What Lies Beyond

Well, I guess it's time.
I'm unsure how much enthusiasm I can muster for this, so some of this might come out as just random half-thoughts out of context with anything. Let's see what occurs.


On The Nashville Series
The Hawks started the series with one pretty good game but couldn't score, and they finished the series with an okay game...in which they couldn't score. Games two and three were so bad I don't even want to mention them.
They ended the season with a pair of losses in which they had no fire, no urgency. Yes, their place in the standings was secure and avoiding injuries was a priority, but did that ain't-give-a-damn vibe just kind of carry over into the playoffs? I'm probably selling The Hawks short as far as their pride and professionalism goes but, after seeing the lazy thinking and poor decisions that were made in Round One (of One, damn it), I was really wondering if they just stopped caring, or if they were just tired of the grind. Or both.
Did they give up part way through Game Two when they realized they probably had nothing for the supremely dialed-in Predators?
Or was it more a case of not being able to keep up?


Far too often The Hawks had the puck...and then they didn't, and the Preds didn't make especially heroic plays to gain possession - they just played their positions, were mindful of what was happening and The Hawks just gave it to them, by virtue of a bad pass or trying to skate through the neutral zone when a chip and chase might have been the safer bet. I'd agree that several Nashville goals had a tinge of good fortune 'pon them, but if you do the fundamental things correctly and keep skating you'll be more likely to capitalize on those lucky bounces, converting close calls into goals. On the flip, if you're constantly out of position and not keeping your feet moving, those same close calls aren't going to go your way very often.


We didn't get the best performances from some players who are expected to provide more than they did. I'll type more about that a little further down, but allow me to pop in a few remarks here:
Panarin was a huge disappointment, apparently unwilling to stray too far from his Happy Shooty Place, even when it was clear that The Predators were not going to allow him to camp out there.
I'll pass on casting scorn on Anisimov, as he was clearly not at his best, physically, but what he did provide was nowhere enough. Similarly, Nick Schmaltz was a non-factor, but more because he just hasn't enough miles on him to really prep him for when things get serious. I think his deployment was fine - skating with Toews and Hossa/Panik was wholly appropriate, but I think he did about what he can do at this stage in his career.
Oduya wasn't the answer. I never really believed he would be, as he'd already lost a gear before leaving to Dallas, but a girl can dream.
I've probably written the equivalent of a novella on the many ways in which van Riemsdyk drags the entire Hawks' effort down, so why stop now? Ultimately, the blame where TVR is concerned falls on Coach Q, as he draws up the roster & doles out the ice time. There's always a guy, it seems, in which Q sees something that probably doesn't exist. Barker, Cullimore, Boynton, O'Donnell and Handzus all came before, but no one has stuck around as long nor have they had the profound negative effect that van Riemsdyk has. Case in point: Q dressed seven D for Game Four which would, one would hope, mean less ice time and therefore less harm caused by 57-Varieties-Of-Bad. Oh my, no, as TVR logged the second-most ice time among the D, second only to Keith, including 1:55 on the power play. This was in a do-or-die game. TVR rarely succeeds in making a defensive play, has little idea of positioning and is dead slow, to boot, so when he's inevitably not where he should be it takes forever for him to get there, if it occurs to him at all. The mind reels. I'll also note that TVR benefited from incredibly cautious and generous zone starts, so his stat line is flattering to deceive, which might actually be a good thing with Las Vegas drawing up their expansion draft wish list.
Hartman needs to sort himself out. He basically wasted Games Two and Three, first by being a complete dumbass and then by barely playing after being inexplicably included in the lineup. Then he played a fantastic Game Four. Just do that, for god's sake, and skip all the bullshit. Maybe it's silly and unfair to once again draw comparisons to Shaw, but when he's switched on, Hartman is miles ahead of what Andrew Shaw can provide, but too often becomes distracted with the very things that bring him back down to Shaw's level.

Toews - I'm not sure what to say. The desire seemed to be there but the execution was not. Clearly, his best days are behind him and he's likely carrying one or more significant, lingering physical issues, but what to do? Even at half-chat, he's still among the Hawks' best, but it's getting to be about that time when they shouldn't plan on leaning on him as much as they've done for almost ten years. There's no one ready to assume his 1C spot, yet, but that will be necessary, soon enough.
Hossa lost the plot in Game Two and never really found it again, making lazy or optimistic plays that rarely worked. Hjalmarsson made one in four passes. Could Seabrook get any slower? If Panarin was working...Hossa or Toews or Anisimov or Schmaltz were not, for whatever reason. Mix and match that to suit whatever situation you like, 'cos there were precious few occasions in which an entire Hawks line put together two dominant shifts in succession.


But it wasn't all bad.
Kane was one of only a few Hawks that looked truly invested in the series. As the series wore on he was used a lot outside his usual line, what with Panarin not often making himself useful and Anisimov just out of sync. Efforts to jumpstart Toews didn't quite work, but by the time Q resorted to that The Hawks had skipped past urgency and headed straight into desperation.
Frustratingly, and I hesitate to put it that way because I appreciate these guys and their effort, the most consistent Hawks apart from Kane were Kruger, Panik, Rasmussen and Kero. As mentioned in an earlier post, though, these fellas' maximum just isn't that much, and still falls short of what's required to win a playoff series these days.


Hawks GM Stan Bowman spoke to media on Saturday.
Top to bottom we need more. This is unacceptable to be where we are today. There will be change moving forward. Change comes in many different ways. So the specifics of how we are going to change things into next year are not really meant for this forum. But I can promise you we need to be better.


Oh, good, because The Hawks' winning ways have already proven to be unsustainable if the team remains just as it is.
The Hawks have continued to rely on the same guys that they have for eight seasons, guys that were almost supernatural in their abilities and able to summon even more when required.
Yet, these players are still being asked to be THOSE guys, even when the legs, back, knees etc. are eight years along, many of those years very long ones, with deep playoff runs, Olympics and what-have-you. The honeymoon is over, I'm afraid.
It's past time for The Hawks' team-builders to realize that a succession plan is required and that some of the old boys need to become complementary players or, more likely, be asked to waive their no-trade clauses.
What changes Stan alludes to are anyone's guess. He may not even have a plan in mind, yet, but he's no dummy and he knows that, as tempting as it might be to make small adjustments and hope for the best, some considerable retooling is in order.

Kane, Crawford and Toews are likely untouchable, even with Toews as battered as he is. I also believe that Keith will remain as well; even though he's a shadow of his former self, he's still The Hawks' best defenseman. He tried, and probably did as much as he could, which still wasn't enough but he didn't give up. The lack of speed among The Hawks' D (Seabrook, Hammer, Oduya) and the no skill at all (TVR) made his job harder than its ever been, at a time when he, himself, is past his peak.
But what's on the horizon? Forsling could be ready for a full time gig, or may have to be ready. Whether that's along with Campbell or instead of him, we'll have to see, but I'm leery of Stan relying on Q to use what he's got, since we've all seen the Nick Leddy movie already. Kempny is quicker than Seabrook and Hjalmarsson and should have been in TVR's or Oduya's spot all along, but Q's overestimation of Oduya and TVR kept him on the sidelines until the last moment. I'm not sure what Q expects from Kempny; he was scratched frequently in favour of an idiot, got the least ice time when he did play and was punished for any indiscretion he committed. I've said it before, but Kemp's confidence must be in rough shape, cos he knows if he plays a less than perfect game it's back to the press box, and that's not an ideal headspace to be in. Given the opportunity to succeed, or to fail and learn, at least, I think he'll be fine, but Q doesn't seem to agree.  Really, if Kempny were smart, he'd retreat back to The KHL.
There are sure to be a few quality d-men available over the summer and I wouldn't be too alarmed if Seabs or Hammer are asked to waive their NTCs to make space, both physically and salary cap-wise.


The picture at forward is less clear, I think, as The Hawks may believe they have options already within the organization. Stan may wish to stand pat for the most part, hoping that Hartman and Schmaltz continue to develop. Hinostroza, Motte and even Alex deBrincat have all the speed The Hawks could ask for, and John Hayden will almost certainly stick on the bottom six, but it's left to be seen if the first two have the head and the hands to stick in The NHL and whether deBrincat is ready to make the jump is anyone's guess. Another big question is Hossa; how much has he got left in him, both in terms of skill and desire?


Anyway, I didn't expect to be typing this so early. I guess the saving grace is a long summer for the lads and a chance to recharge and refresh.
We'll catch up at the expansion draft.

Tee-off on Saturday, 10 am: Predators 4, Hawks 1

Post Mortem to follow in a day or two.

About Last Night: Predators 3, Hawks 2

Just a few notes today since I just watched the thing this afternoon and it's probably all been said already.
Apologists could well point at both of Nashville's goals in regulation time as suspect, but that's the way that cookie crumbles.  Yes, the first one was off a goofy bounce that had Crawford spinning in place, but Keith has to pick up Forsberg.  He has to, after standing still waiting for Crow's behind-the-net pass and seeing it scooped up by Johansson.  On the second goal, I thought it odd that the concern was whether or not Crow was inside or outside of his crease & not that Arvidsson struck him in the head as he passed in front of him. Maybe that puck goes in, regardless of any contact with Crow, I don't know, but I'm sure that Mike Smith was amused, wherever he may be.
Whatever one concludes regarding those goals against, the fact remains that The Hawks were outshot & outhustled by The Predators.
Oduya + van Riemsdyk = begging for trouble.  At this stage in Oduya's career he should never be the better guy in his pairing.  Thrust into having to shepherd TVR when he's already struggling to cope with The Predator's speed was always going to end in tears. Could Kempny have done a better job than either Johnny or TVR? With his confidence likely torn to hell, maybe, maybe not. I can guarantee you, though, Kempny would not have casually observed two Preds enter the hot zone, hesitate and then check neither.
The Hawks' most consistent forward line was, frustratingly, Panik, Kruger & Rasmussen.  They at least played like they gave a damn, but even the maximum we can expect from them isn't enough; even if all four lines were exactly like these guys we still lose 2-1 or 3-2. Throw Kero into this group, as well, with even the best they can offer still being short of what's needed.  Kane played well but without much support from out-of-sync Anisimov and Panarin just not making himself useful.

The Predators have gotten faster and hungrier with each game and can taste blood, now. I don't know if The Hawks have it in them, anymore, but we'll see, we'll see....

Are We Doing This Or Not? Predators 5, Hawks 0

Was that the worst game The Hawks have played in eight years?  Maybe not, but it may have been the worst playoff game they've fumbled through.
It's not like the team was universally bad, although several Hawks were, indeed, outright awful.  It's more that enough Hawks players were bad enough, often enough, for things to get out of control pretty quickly.  Infuriatingly, when they needed to step things up, they actually played worse, even when Nashville were content to let The Hawks come at them and just tried to limit their chances.
By the midpoint of the third period our guys were squeezing their sticks so hard they looked like Del Griffith's steering wheel in Planes Trains & Automobiles.
Panarin appeared indifferent for much of the game.
Hjalmarsson couldn't complete a pass for love nor money.
Every defenseman, for that matter, made at least one pass to nowhere.  That said, oftentimes the forwards were so far up-ice and heading the wrong way it certainly made it more difficult to break out than it needed to be.
Toews and Schmaltz, I thought, put forth a good effort, anyway, but rarely at the same time.
Rasmussen had a mostly good game....for Dennis Rasmussen, but even that was undone by his failure to knock Sissons on his ass, 'cos he was the only guy in a position to do so.
Don't even get me started on T-V-fucking-R.  This team will never meet their potential as long as that waste of skin is in the lineup, let alone soaking up 15+ precious minutes of ice time.
And then....

This idiot posted what must be a team record 5% Corsi.  How is that even possible?  I guess we'll be treated to seven minutes of Tomas Jurco in Game Three, but even that would be better than Hartman's stupidity tonight.  Another game like that and he'll be a Las Vegas Golden-whatever soon enough.

Gotta get the first goal on Monday.  If these guys get down early again, even by a goal, it could be lights out.

About Last Night: Predators 1, Hawks 0

It was another one of those nights in which The Hawks appeared to be the better team but came away with zippo to show for it.  Apart from the last half of the first period the home side demolished Nashville in possession and chances but simply could not close the deal.  Of course I'm gonna tell ya why I think that happened.
The Line Blender was brought out of storage a little too quickly.  Only the third line remained unaltered after the puck dropped for the second period and, while they provided some of The Hawks' most dominant shifts, they remain an incomplete unit to a large extent.  For all his good qualities, Kruger is pretty limited offensively, while Hossa and Hartman are primarily finishers.  If they're not able to get the puck to each other on a regular basis (and they haven't been) goals will be hard to come by.
On that tack, I don't recall what serious indiscretion Schmaltz committed to be relegated to spot duty for the last 40 minutes, but was Kero really the best choice to skate with Toews and Panik for the duration?  Would it have been a bad idea to shoot Hoss in there, instead, as it's not like his trio was accomplishing much, despite their best efforts?  I like Kero, and he puts forth a solid effort every night, but he's far from being a skilled player.
The Nashville goal was made possible to a large extent by the collision of Schmaltz and Panik, with Toews becoming slightly entangled there, as well.  Is THAT what led to Schmaltz's banishment, 'cos he was the only one of those three Hawks forwards who had a Predator in his grasp?  If that's the case then Coach Q and Co. need to look at the tape.
While Anisimov was better in his first game back than I expected his timing was all messed up, so it was unfortunate that he had the lion's share of chances that his line created.
Oduya struggled in all aspects; too slow and couldn't make a simple pass reliably.  On the flip, Campbell had a good bounce-back effort after a few pretty indifferent games to close out the regular season, his only errors in judgement being involving TVR in his plans.  Keith was fantastic, I thought, even if he made a couple of decisions late in the game that didn't pan out.

It's far from panic time. The Hawks could well have won this one; if the sticks start working and the lines begin gelling again we'll be just fine.

Spring Break: Lavalantulas 4, Hawks 3

                              This is when it all started to go wrong, more or less.

Alright, practically nothing about last night's game is worth remembering, let alone mentioning here. The fact that only Kane saw more icetime than Desjardins is all we need to know about The Hawks' attitude going in.  And that's not a knock on Des, that's just a fact.

SO, unless something stirring occurs in the last two games, we'll reconvene when we know who The Hawks will play in Round One of the 2017 NHL Playoffs.  How's that?

Well, At Least That Frees Up The Evening: Bruins 3, Hawks 2

Keith looks like he's already had enough, here, and Kane had to be stitched up before the game even started.  Yeah, just get it over with.  Several of The Hawks just weren't mentally invested in the game. Keith had the puck go through his wickets or hop over his stick a bunch of times, Panarin looked like he was playing rat hockey on half of his shifts, I can't say I really noticed Toews much at all today and I won't even start on TVR.  The guys who tried hardest were the ones with the least ability to make a difference in the match.
But so what?  They have the Conference locked up, there's not really anything left to play for, yet they have another three games to just get through, hopefully without anyone getting hurt.  It's not even like they played badly...just not as well as they can, and that's okay.

An Open Comment to Ryan Hartman:
Let's give the embellishment a rest, already.  Why was it necessary, when hacked a little on the chest area, to try to sell a shot to the face?  It's unbecoming.  Just keep doing what you're doing - it's great so far - but knock it off with the histrionics. Understand that I HAVE to mention this, having mocked The Coyotes' Mike Smith for several years now.  Do yourself and everyone else a favour by rising above the level of that idiot.

Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good: Hawks 3, Blue Jackets 1

Y'know, despite their record-setting season and glowing record & all that, The Columbus Blue Jackets are going to live and die with Sergei Bobrovsky.  They have two very good but very young D-men in Jones and Werenski, as well as a handful of useful forwards but, past that....a pretty average group.  Get to Bob and down they'll go.
And down they went.  CMB launched a furious attack in the third period, in which The Hawks had only one really great shift, but we've heard this song before.  Maybe they shouldn't always circle the wagons in a close game but this tactic so seldom backfires, so there's no impetus to change, is there?
That said, and despite CMB outshooting The Hawks and pulling ahead in the possession department during their full-court-press-third-period, Corey Crawford wasn't called upon to make any highlight reel saves.  Yes, the one goal against looked a little soft from this angle but, without Hjalmarsson having a blowout a few seconds earlier, The Jackets don't even get that chance. Meanwhile, at the other end, Bob made several fantastic, point-blank saves.  This game wasn't as close as it looks on paper.
The Hawks moved the puck exceptionally well in the offensive zone for much of the game, with lines one through three all mounting sustained pressure at various times throughout the first two periods. Only the Kruger-Hossa-Hartman line managed to get something going in the third but, regardless, there was some excellent passing and creativity on display, early on.  
Nik Hjalmarsson sure took a thrashing tonight, getting a stinger off the foot in the second and clipped with a stick in the third.  He Never Goes Down, though, just like that black knight in the Monty Python film....
Meanwhile, what the hell was TVR doing?  How do you lose every puck battle, fail to break up any plays and still remain in the lineup?  
I wasn't crazy about The Hawks trying to set up Kane at all costs while the CMB net was empty, 'cos some of those failed attempts to get him the puck ended up coming right back at them.  Let's not put the horse before the cart there, lads.

Despite my irritation over The Hawks trying too hard to pad Kane's stats, he was the best Hawk out there tonight.  How many times did he hit Panarin and create a shot attempt?  His puck control was crazy good, particularly when he found himself cycling out to the point, expertly corralling uncontrolled pucks and finding a passing lane in an instant.  And this was all with a fourth-liner as his center.