All You Have To Do To Get Fired Up About The New Blackhawks Is Read What Their Old Coaches Said About Them
Loaded show. Long show. Rogan long. Like 2.5 hours. Jake Johnson and Cubs 3B Patrick Wisdom. We got to a lot of stuff but we started the only place it could start after what we saw in the last week...with the Chicago Blackhawks. It's been insane. The Toews video, followed by the Keith trade, then the Seth Jones trade, and then absolute chaos seemingly ever single day. Marc-Andre Fleury. Tyler Johnson. Jake McCabe. It has been a rush. I don't know if Fleury plays. I don't know if it is good enough to make the playoffs. The only thing I do know is that the culture of working hard and being accountable is back (at least on the ice). Seth Jones, Tyler Johnson, and Jake McCabe have one thing in common and it's that they are loved by their coaches and teammates. Just read these quotes
Gone are the days of wanting to throw your remote through the TV watching Nick Schmaltz pull up in a race, or Nylander surrender in a board battle, or Boqvist get knocked off the puck like a drunk girl on a mechanical bull. The Blackhawks how have pro's pros up and down their lineup. Again, there are a lot of factors that will play into the Blackhawks ability to win. Health, coaching, the maturation of young players. I can't guarantee playoffs for this group knowing that they will have to go through Colorado, Minnesota, Winnipeg, and Dallas just to qualify. I can guarantee that this team will be hard to play against. No more gimme points on the calendar in Chicago. I am going to enjoy watching this team. October can't get here soon enough.
For good measure, here is my team/line combos for opening night
Debrincat-Dach-Kane
Kubalik-Toews-Kurashev
Hagel-Johnson-Strome
Khaira-Carpenter-Gaudette
I have Kurashev in the top 6 as a RW, but that spot is definitely up for grabs. Reichel, Borgstrom, and theoretically Nylander are all going to be in the mix for that spot. Hagel and Johnson could slide up there too. I think all of those four young guys will be given chances. Kurashev has the most experience here of those guys though and he's got a pretty well-rounded game that could fit in nicely with 19 and 8. I think the 3rd line is ideal for all three guys. You could see Hagel slide down to the 4th line if two of the Kurashev-Borgstrom-Reichel-Nylander guys really step up and earn an opening night job through training camp. That would be ideal.
de Haan - Seth Jones
McCabe - Murphy
Stillman/Jones - Kalynuk/Mitchell/de Haan
For the first time that I can remember the Blackhawks are going to have some real battles in camp on the blueline. In 2014 the Hawks were loaded with Keith, Seabs, Hjalmarsson, Oduya, Leddy, and Rozsival, but nobody sniffed challenging one of those spots. Every year since then training camp was more about praying someone would step up rather than feeling comfortable with the group. I've got concerns on the left side still. I like all four guys, but McCabe is coming off a major injury and Stillman and Jones are both very unproven. If the Hawks truly believed in Kalynuk or Beaudin they wouldn't have signed Stillman and McCabe and they wouldn't necessarily have traded for Jones. I don't understand why some Hawks fans (or even management) would be looking to get rid of de Haan. He is the most reliable guy on the left side by a wide margin at this point. IF Stillman, Jones, McCabe, or Kalynuk really step up and take that top 4 leftside role from de Haan somehow (they won't but if they do) then you can solidify the 3rd pair by putting de Haan there on the right side. Anyway you slice it, this is the deepest blueline the Blackhawks have had in years. It's not better than 2015, but it is deeper.
The goalies...well Flower has to decide. If he plays and plays like he did then this team has what it takes to be in the mix. They have the potential to be a great team if Dach becomes a true 1C, Reichel excels in a top 6 role, and McCabe is what I think he is on the 2nd pair with Murphy. A lot to like and it starts with getting the right kind of players