After This Rant I Would Like The Blackhawks To Hire Ryan Whitney As A Consultant
Hey Whit....
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This is and has been a MAJOR issue for the Blackhawks. I swear Stan Bowman read an article saying the game was going to usher in an era where smaller, faster, more skilled, finesse players were going to rule the future and then he draft Boqvist, Beaudin, traded for Borgstrom, and almost exclusively brought in guys who play like they wish it was the KHL summer league all the time
"It doesn't matter where the game is going, the game is still the game"--Ryan Whitney
As the Blackhawks were transitioning to being one of the softer teams in the league the Blues were loading up with big, strong, mean, competitive assholes on their way to the Stanley Cup against the Bruins were have been one of the toughest teams for a decade. The Lightning looked at the Blues and said "we need Pat Maroon. Not a guy like him. Literally him"…bam, that added toughness put them over the top.
The famous line from the 2015 run was Ryan Kesler saying "no team can withstand that many hits" and then the Blackhawks did. And the reason why is largely all the guys you saw on Toews' 1000 game ceremony.
Patrick Sharp was fucking nails. Hossa was brick shithouse. Byfuglien was a load. Versteeg was hyper competitive. Crawford was dying for a goalie fight his entire career. Seabrook was a load. Hjalmarsson never saw a puck he didn't want to throw his rib cage at. Duncan Keith had no need for teeth. Andrew Shaw would bleed for fun of it. When you have a culture of guys with that mentality you're going to win. You don't need a traditional "enforcer", but you need tough and competitive guys up and down your lineup to win. This is not new and it will not change and it shouldn't. It's why I was always bothered by certain draft picks and acquisitions. You can't miss on 1st round picks and the best way to not miss on those picks is to get the right character type of guys. Boqvist has a ton of natural ability. He has one of the best shots I've ever seen and that is not hyperbole. I would NEVER want him in my top 4 for a playoff series. Drafting a PP quarterback who you can't trust in big moments is a waste of a pick.
I believe that Davidson understands what you need in a way that Stan didn't. It's why that Lafferty trade looks good. It's Katchouk has a 4th line future here. They need to change the culture and bring in guys who will wrestle the game back when it is going sideways so you don't end up blowing 3 and 4 goal leads. The roster will see lots of change, but hopefully the DNA of the team changes too.