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Rebuilding The Blackhawks Defense: What The Fuck Is Stan Doing?

Stan Bowman

I wrote a blog about the Erik Gustafsson signing when it happened, but as the week progessed I just get angrier and angrier. Luckily, I’ve got a pretty good platform to vent and we can all be mad online together.

Obviously the Blackhawks biggest problem this year was Corey Crawford’s absense, aside from that the most glaring weakness was the decline of the defense as a unit. Now, losing Crawford definitely impacted the defense as a unit too. Firstly, he’s going to cover up a lot of mistakes made by your D, but also when your goaltending is so bad everyone plays tight and it becomes a game of hot potato in the back-end. Guys aren’t comfortable with the puck on their stick in their own zone because of shaky goaltending. The D have been making the expedient play, rather than the right play. And the coaching staff is actually preaching that to an extent. There was that night a few weeks ago when Connor Murphy(a right shot) was playing the left side and his partner was Dahlstrom(a left shot) was playing the right side. The internet was up in arms saying how dumb it was, but the reason they were playing their off-side actually made sense…when you’re on your offside as a D, it’s actually easier to fire the puck off the glass and out. It’s arguably easier to make that first breakout pass to your wing too.  The angle is just slightly more favorable. Anyways, that’s neither here nor there, I guess. The point is that the defense, as a unit, was not good. Lacks foot speed and or puck skills. It’s clear the Blackhawks need to upgrade the defense if they want to get back to being a Cup contender.

Which brings me to my point from the other blog…if your defense is the problem and you need to upgrade it, then WHY are you setting yourself up for a summer where you’re contractually obligated to bring back the EXACT same group!?!

Blackhawks D

Duncan Keith, while he has certainly struggled this season, is still a legit top 4 type defenseman. Maybe even still a top pair guy. Oesterle has been a nice surprise. He’s probably 5th defensemen on an elite team, and maybe you can get away with him being a top 4 if he’s paired with another top flight type guy. Then….you’ve got a bunch of guys who need sheltering.

Before the Gustafsson signing you could argue that Dahlstrom, Murphy, Seabrook, and Forsling(should he be recalled next year) are all bottom pairing type guys at this time. And yet…you committed yourself to another NHL contract for a 3rd pair guy. WHY

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And…gave Gustafsson $1.2M AAV…again I say…why!?!

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Gustafsson is an RFA. He’s 25. He’s played a total of 61 games in over three years in the organization. He’s got some ability, but he’s a marginal NHL defensemen and Stan DOUBLED his salary…for no reason. Let’s say that you like Gustafsson and you want to bring him back as a 7th/8th Dman…the qualifying offer for Gustafsson would be(by rule) 110% of his current contact. Meaning that Gustafsson would be given a 1-year deal for $715,000. A one-year contract to let Gustafsson prove he’s an NHL dman and/or bridge the gap between now and when Jokiharju/Forsling/Mitchell/Gilbert/Krys/2018 draft pick etc are ready for full-time NHL duty sounds pretty good. Seems logical.

Stan Bowman did the Panik-move again. As in Richard Panik. Over-paying for an RFA when it was COMPLETELY unneeded. NOBODY was going to pay Gustafsson $1.2M with only 60 games under his belt when he hasn’t shown he’s worth that. Worst case scenario someone poaches him for slightly over the QO and he walks for nothing. If that happens…SO FUCKING WHAT?! You lost a marginal Dman. That’s it. Easily replaceable and replacable at a lower cost.

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Mid blog about how the Blackhawks shouldn’t committ themselves to a D-corps that has proven to be terrible and…

$2.25M for Jan Rutta.

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Now look…I like what I have seen from Jan Rutta. He’s a solid player. Has nice offensive instincts, keeps a good gap, adjusted pretty well to the small ice-sheet and NHL competition well, blah blah blah. If they hadn’t signed Gustafsson I would probably like this deal. As things are right now though…I don’t because once again, you’re committed to the same group of players who really under-performed this year.

Rutta, like Murphy and Oesterle, is probably another guy who you’d feel good about in your 3rd pair, but if they’re counted on for tougher minutes and matchups then you’re in trouble. The Blackhawks NEED to upgrade their defense this summer and by signing these guys they’re actually making their job tougher.

$1.2M + $2.25M = $3.45M

You know who you could probably get this summer as a UFA for $3.4M…John Moore of the New Jersey Devils. The Pride of Winnetka. John Moore is playing top 4 minutes now on a good team. He can skate like the wind. He’s 6’3 and 200 lbs. He’s developed into a much tougher player to play against than he was early on in his career. He’s coming off career highs in both hits and blocked shots. I’d MUCH rather have him in the mix than both of these guys.

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Everyone has seen that quote before, and that’s why this is so frustrating. The defense has to be upgraded if they want to win a Stanley Cup and that should be the only goal. One goal, if you will. And yet, for now they’re set to bring back the exact same group.

If the plan is to just get Crawford back and then hope Keith and Seabrook don’t decline, and then Forsling, Murphy, Rutta, Oesterle, and Gustafsson all take a leap forward then that is a terrible fucking plan.

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The other plan is that there is a big trade coming. People always say trade Seabrook. I’ve been told that is next to impossible. He has a full NTC and I think he would use it. Seabrook is likely not going anywhere except to the press box more often. I suppose the Blackhawks could trade Connor Murphy. I like what Murphy brings, and if he can improve his play with the puck in Year2 of a new structure then he’s a pretty decent defensemen. You can find room for a guy like Murphy because he plays physical, can skate well for his size, and blocks shots. What you can’t have is a situation like this year where you have 4 or 5 defensemen who need sheltering on a given night and that is what Stan Bowman has set up at this moment.

Post-game periscope tonight where we can talk about this more at length.