I don't usually type anything when The Hawks lose but, it's the first game and there was plenty to see.
- Standing around at an over-long banner raising ceremony that has nothing to do with you, I am sure, is among the most irritating things an athlete might endure. You can bet The Rangers wanted to piss off the crowd at The United Center as much as they wanted two points.
- Not a good night at all for Trevor Daley, eh? On The Rangers' first goal Daley committed the cardinal sin of having two options but choosing neither, and he was a perfect storm of bad decisions and clumsiness on the eventual game winner. So, they really couldn't sign Oduya for the $3.3 mil that Daley will "earn"?
- When David Rundblad plays 18 minutes it either means Rundblad is playing well or The Hawks cannot do any better, and one of these options seems far more likely than the other, I'm afraid.
- Don't get me wrong, 'cos I'm a big fan of Marcus Kruger, but anyone who thinks he has more offensive upside than he's able to show off as The Hawks' safety valve needs to see the open nets he gacked tonight.
- Did Kyle Baun play in the third period? Ah, well, I predicted 8 minutes ice time so he...uh...overachieved by my reckoning.
But it wan't all bad.
- The top two lines were pretty much everything I had hoped for. More, please. Teravainen's goal was exactly what I was picturing in my mind's eye the other day whilst droning on about Toews and Hossa doing the digging and allowing TT to be more shooty. And Panarin...how many guys score their first NHL goal on their first shot against one of the most dominant goaltenders in the game today? Probably just one.
Despite the loss, I find it uplifting that The Hawks got goals from the two guys who need to chip in offensively. If Teravainen and Panarin want to shut up those who say they won't measure up to Sharp and Saad (whose former spots they skated in tonight, BTW) that's the way you do it, son.
Brooklyn next. I expect to see Tikhonov in for Baun and half-expect Pokka to come in for Van Riemsdyk, which isn't entirely fair, 'cos TVR was competently average, just as he's always been. I also have a funny feeling that they'll stick with Crawford on Friday and come back with Darling, at home, on Saturday. But I'm wrong a lot, so...
All this not falling over or knocking goaltenders down was misleading!
If this is your first time hearing this news go ahead and try to guess all eight guys assigned to Rockford, as well as the player placed on waivers.
Hands up, everybody, who included Marko Dano in the list of the Rockford-bound. He is joined by Dennis Rasmussen, Brandon Mashinter, Ville Pokka, Ryan Hartman, Vincent Hinostroza, Erik Gustafsson and Garret Ross.
The widely held assumption entering the preseason was that Dano would line up alongside Toews and Hossa, at least to start the season. Hell, it was Coach Quenneville that equated Dano's appointment to the first line as being like winning the lottery, giving rise to the hacks calling The Hawks' top trio "The Lottery Line". Well, I've never seen anyone have to give their lottery winnings back, but today Quenneville referred to Dano's three-game preseason as "ordinary". None of the other demotions are surprising, although I would not have been shocked to see Hartman or Mashinter stick, not because they belong in Chicago, necessarily...it just wouldn't surprise me.
Part Two of today's excitement involves Bryan Bickell being placed on waivers, ostensibly to send him to Rockford. What this really is, of course, is one final "take him, he's yours" effort, after being unable to trade Bickell The Hawks are prepared to try to give him away. At this point, though, who has $4 million to blow on a third-line banger who doesn't actually do much banging, likely has concussion-related issues and a manky knee? This, to me, is more sad than surprising but I must admit I didn't this, specifically, coming. I'm not sure about the salary cap implications if Bickell clears waivers and reports to Rockford, so I'll find that out and maybe type some more about this after Bick clears, or not.
Where this leaves The Hawks is with 12 forwards, one of which is Kyle Baun. I guess granting a roster spot to a young fella who had one pretty good preseason game is not that different, philosophically, than offering $4 mil a year to a veteran forward who had one great playoffs, right? Baun is projected as a fourth-liner, playing with Kruger and Desjardins, which is likely his ceiling and doesn't really concern me that much. What does bug me is that, with Dano sent to Rockford, you just know that Andrew Shaw is going to be thrust into yet another role he isn't qualified for...first line left wing.
Yeah, the season hasn't even started yet and The Hawks are being dumbasses. I'll try not to get too stressed about any of this, 'cos even if Baun plays 50% beyond himself he'll still only top out on the third line, if he sticks at all. Dano will be back and, I suspect, so will Bickell, providing he is and remains healthy. Wait and see, right?
Meanwhile, on defence, we still see Kyle Cumiskey and Viktor Svedberg hanging around, trying to catch that 7D spot on the roster which, given there are only 12 forwards at the moment, might have evolved into a 7D and 8D sort of thing, which has always worked so very, very well (hi, Mike Kostka!). This is just until Michal Rozsival is "fit" again, of course. I can't wait to see what happens when Rozsie is good to go; Svedberg playing left wing a-la John Scott, anyone?
Uh, is 17 taken....?
