The Blackhawks Lose In Jeremy Colliton's Debut, But He Made One Noticable Adjustment

It was a ROUGH start for Jeremy Colliton and the Blackhawks. I was really hoping there would be an immediate response to Joel Quenneville getting fired. I was hoping the players would take the negative energy swirling around the organization and use it as fuel, but that didn’t happen. The Blackhawks came out flat. They were lathargic, they were playing stupidly in their own end, and before anyone knew what happened the score was 3-0.

Then Jeremy Colliton did something smart. Something revolutionary. Something NOBODY saw coming…he played Patrick Kane for basically the entire game.

27:43 is an INSANE number for anyone in a regulation regular season game, and it preposterous for a forward, but…if you need to change the course of the game and get your team back in it just keep sending the best winger in the world over the boards. I don’t even know this was Colliton to be honest. I think it is pretty likely that Kaner just said “fuck it, I will play on every line all night long until we win this game because I’m the man”. And it almost worked. Blackhawks eventually lost 4-3 and Kane finished with a goal, an assist, and nearly had another on the powerplay. The guy is incredible. A sensational talent, a pro’s pro, and great teammate. I am mad at the Blackhawks, obviously. I am disappointed with how this roster was put together, but players like Kane come around once in a generation…if you’re lucky. So I am going to watch all 82 games this and I am going to be #blessed because he is just that good and he shows up every night. Last night he put the team on his big ole shoulders and almost carried them back from the depths. He makes it fun and special.

As for real adjustments…I didn’t see much. The Blackhawks still ran the 1-3-1 power-play, which I hate, but as I have said many times there’s all kinds of ways to deploy and attack with the 1-3-1. That’s why most teams use it. It works best with big time one-time shot options, which the blackhawks don’t have, but you can attack from low to high and have Toews hit the heart position, Kane, or the backdoor guy sliding down. That could work. If the puck moves and guys move, the PP will be dangerous and dynamic. That’s true of every PP, but we’ll see how it plays out.

Overall, I didn’t notice much change to the breakouts or dzone coverage. Through the neutral zone defensively it looks largely the same. Which, Colliton said as much. You have to smart to play for Joel. It’s why Joel always played guys like TVR who were “reliable” and “predictable” in his words and opted to sit more athletically gifted guys like Kempny. Kempny thrived in Washington because he got to play with John Carlson and because the system requires less thinking. Brent Sopel explained the differences on Redline Radio with me this week.

–Nick Schmaltz looked better last night. Obviously he had his first even strength goal of the year and did it by playing with speed through the middle of the ice and shooting the puck. Schmaltz is an incredibly frustrating player for me. I LOVE so many things he does. He has a great stick. Tremendous speed. Excellent vision. He can make a ton of plays at top speed which only a handful of guys can do across the league. Yet…we don’t get to see it very often. I believe Schmaltz has the talent to be someone who gets 70 points, maybe more if he consistently gets ice time with Kane. Having said that, I wouldn’t bat an eye if the Blackhawks traded him this year rather than deal with him as an RFA. I certainly haven’t seen enough consistency or winning attitude to commit to him long term for similar money to his contemporaries like Dylan Larkin or even an Alex Tuch. Maybe Colliton is a guy he will be more comfortable playing for. I don’t know.

–ROUGH night for Erik Gustafsson in his own end. Especially early. We know what he is. He’s great in transition with the puck on his stick. He usually knows when and where to jump in the play and he has nice vision. He’s definitely an NHL defenseman, but you probably wish he was your 6th or 7th best guy as opposed to the current situation where he is probably the Hawks 3rd/4th best behind Keith, Jokiharju and on some nights Seabrook. I have a friend who coaches in the AHL who got a chance to watch last night and this is what he said to me via text:

So yeah, it’s tough to watch. In addition to playing Kane the entire game, Colliton(or perhaps it was Smith or Granato) basically just rolled with two sets of defensemen. The Rutta and Davidson pair played a total of 12 minutes a piece, while the other four defensemen were all over 21:30. Play the guys you trust. The Hawks should’ve been fresh after four days off and playing at home, so they had an opportunity to play Kane the entire game and basically bench their 3rd pair. That’s not sustainable over 82 games, but I didn’t mind it for one night.

Last night was tough and strange in a lot of ways. From the Blackhawks not allowing people to have signs for the first time I can remember. Stan doing his interview for the pre-game show, but doing it LONG before the game when no fans were around like a coward. It just felt like the Blackhawks are still DESPERATELY trying to control the narrative about what went down, but it isn’t working and I’ve got a feeling that it’s going to get worse for Little John and Stanley before it gets better. I want those two guys gone. I think there’s plenty of reasons to fire Stan and John based on merit and their lack of competance. Having said that…I want the best for the team. I want them to win. I rooted for them HARD last night and I enjoyed the comeback. I’m still all in on the #JoinOrDie movement. It’s just that #JoinOrDie represents a mutiny against Stan and John, now. It’s the voice of real fans.

I also want good things for Colliton. He seems like a good dude who is bright. I am sure he will have a LONG coaching career in the NHL. Feels as though he is in a no-win situation both from a roster stand point and from the organization still in dysfunction. I’m nervous for the rest of the season. I’m still sad and angry about how things went down, but this is still OUR team. We can’t let them become an after thought and die again in the city because Stan and John stink at their jobs. Keep watching, loving, rooting, but don’t let the leadership feel comfortable. That’s what JoinOrDie is about.