OK, I guess I have to… check in on the Blackhawks that is. I talked about them a week ago, specifically about Hossa’s retirement ceremony, including a brief walk down the 2010s memory lane; that’s always fun. It is the 10 year anniversary of the 2013 Cup; do I hear a feature coming??? Maybe… anything will be better than talking about the current day Hawks.
We knew it would be bad, yet the Hawks started off decently. After beating the Kings 2-1 in OT on November 3rd, the Hawks record was 5-4-2; I was certainly surprised. From the parts of the games that I saw, besides trying to figure out who was who, I noticed a more physical team; this isn’t always linked to wins, as the 2010 Hawks showed us, but it is nice to see. Since then… not too good. 1-7-2 in their last 10 games, including 7 losses in a row; will seven be enough? Probably not; the Hawks host the 12-10 Oilers on Wednesday night. They have already beaten us once this year. The Blackhawks are tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets for 2nd worst in the NHL at this point with 16 points. Only the Ducks are worse with 13 points. Again, we knew this coming in though, right?
As if the Cubs punting the 2022 season wasn’t enough… as if the Bears punting this season wasn’t enough… the Blackhawks will fall in line with their own version of the “not to be mentioned” rebuild. Only the Bulls provide us hope, while the Sox let one of their best players walk, as Abreu will join the defending World Series champion Astros. It’s kind of a rough time right now. Out of all the teams, I do think the Blackhawks will be the worst, and that’s saying something.
Will Kane and Toews be here to see it burned all the way down to the ground? Part of me doesn’t want them to play for another team; part of me wants them to have one more Stanley Cup run, but if it isn’t going to be with us, let it be with someone else. The last men standing; this has to be rough from them. It’s not like last year was so much better, but to subtract rather than add, wasn’t the smartest IMO. I get that the new guys want THEIR team, but… First it was Brandon Hagel getting traded to the Lightning, followed by Marc Andre Fleury to the Wild. Then, on July 7th, it was both Kirby Dach and Alex DeBrincat shown the door… wow, just wow. At that point, the Blackhawks made a conscious decision to punt this season. While I understand the “rebuild” concept, I do not like throwing away any seasons, and while a rebuild means getting younger, the ages of the guys we dumped were… well, pretty damn young. But, like with the other teams, I need to give these guys a chance to see if they know what they’re doing. Meanwhile, we get to watch the Hawks flounder badly this year at the very minimum. Fun times.
Speaking about the guys we dumped… how about Kirby Dach? I really liked him. He returned to the UC on Friday and after getting booed (don’t understand why… I mean, he’s barely 21 years old… and he had been hurt), scored the game winner in the shootout. I think moving Dach was the worst of all the decisions made by this new regime thus far. Both him and DeBrincat have 17 points on the year thus far; surely the Hawks don’t miss any of those… So… it is what it is unfortunately. Get settled in for the long haul. The only silver lining is the empty UC which will mean lower ticket prices; I’m sure I’ll make my way over there for a game or two. Maybe they can at least win when I’m in the house… wishful thinking. Go Hawks.
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