Both Toews And Kane Have Come Out And Strongly Supported Colliton
I think we’ve shown times last year, you could see it, and the year before, too, when we bought in and it was shift after shift that everyone was playing the right way and the same way. You get results when you play Jeremy’s way.”--Jonathan Toews
A vote of confidence from the two most important players in the history of the franchise should mean something. The fact that both guys felt the need to vocalize their support of young Jeremy should mean something too. After a summer that saw Seth Jones, Marc Andre Fleury, Jake McCabe, Tyler Johnson, Jonathan Toews, and Kirby Dach added to the lineup fans were ready for hockey. I was excited to watch. I was excited to believe. The roster is a playoff caliber roster on paper. On the ice through three games...not so much. Dusted by Colorado without their best player. A miracle needed to get a point against a NJ team expected to be in the lottery. And the doors blown off by a Pittsburgh team without Crosby and Malkin while having warts all over the place. All that hope and optimism vanished like the last week of summer weather in early October. Things look bleak and the captains felt the need to say something publicly to support their coach. Maybe they are on twitter. Maybe they can feel it in the air after being apart of two early season head coaching dismissals. Maybe they're doing their part to support their coach because they think that is the only option at this point.
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I don't know. I am not in the locker room. I am not in the meetings. All I can do is watch the games. The play on the ice doesn't look like a "well-coached team" and there's nothing to suggest that playing Jeremy's way gets results. Unless Toews is saying that the team has never played Jeremy's way.
I see a team that has slept walked through the first period in all three games. Buzz sawed from the opening puck drop every night. I see a team that looks disjointed defensively in transition. An onslaught of odd man rushes. They don't seem to know who to pick up in transition. They don't seem to know how to play this man+ system that Colliton likes in his 4th season as a coach. The Blackhawks have given up 30 high danger chances in their first 3 games. That is 3rd worst behind Toronto and Ottawa to start the young season. Giving up high danger chance is usually one of the by products of a man-to-man system. Even Carolina, a team that plays it very well, gives up a lot quality chances. They also great more chances and limit the amount of actual shots on net. I think maybe the only positive early is that the Hawks aren't getting bogged down in their own zone for long stretches like they have in the past. Is that because they're better than they were last year or is it because they played a New Jersey team that is likely going to be in the lottery and a Pittsburgh team that was missing their two best players? I don't know the answer to that yet.
I am seeing a team that has no ability to maintain possession in the offensive zone. No ability to retrieve pucks on the forecheck and create off of cycles. Just one and done each time with the puck. If it's not off the rush or on the PP then the Hawks have no chance to score.
I watched this show one time about Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells. I can't remember if it was the 30for30 or A Football Life or whatever, but that doesn't matter I guess. This is back when Parcells was with the Giants and Belichick was his defensive coordinator. Parcells was screaming at Belichick to get the defense in order and Belichick popped off back at Parcells and asked what he thinks they should do. Parcells' response was something to the effect of "I don't know, but this is FUCKED and you need to fix it now or it's your ass".
That's where I am with Colliton. There's always been excuses for him. Year 1 he was taking over for Joel Quenneville and guys didn't buy in and even though Stan and John got up there and said "We made this coaching change with the playoffs in mind and we believe in this roster"...the roster wasn't competitive. Then Stan scrapped the rebuild. He brought in Shaw, de Haan, Lehner and tried to make the playoffs...failed, but they had a nice 4 games stretch against an EXTREMELY flawed Edmonton team. Then...the memo. The Blackhawks were rebuilding so they sucked in 2020-21 in a weird covid year. Now...there are no excuses. They spent money. The team is healthy. Kubalik, Dach, Hagel, and Debrincat have developed into very good pieces. They had a full training camp. They've been running the same basic system for 3+ years. And they've had the same issues, more or less, for 3+ years. Old players, young players, players in their prime...it hasn't worked and the Blackhawks haven't won a playoff series still since 2015. Since when is going 7 years while trying to win, allegedly, without making a playoff run acceptable. I mean this team hasn't sniffed the playoffs since 2017 when Stan tried to rebuild the first time.
It's early in the season. 79 games to go. I wouldn't be upset or concerned if the Blackhawks started the season 0-3 as long as they looked competent doing so. They haven't. It's the same breakdowns. The same results. I personally don't care who the coach is. I would love it if Jeremy found success here because I want the team to do well and when the team does well it's good for me personally and professionally. I WANT him to be successful in Chicago. Desperately. No axe to grind against him. I don't know him. Never met him. Seems like a nice enough guy. There's only so many levers to pull here though. If this thing doesn't get turned around quickly then this season will die in the bleak mid-winter.