The 300 Level

The Blackhawks sign forward prospect Rob Flick to a 3-yr deal. Flick played in Rockford last year.

In his latest article the following are mentioned.

McDonough made it clear the organization wanted to win “Cups” (as opposed to just one “Cup”) and this was not acceptable. Never mind the fact it’s hard to win and that, for 49 years, Chicago wasn’t real close very often.

More was demanded. And, when it didn’t happen, the pressure increased and different factions emerged. There were accusations of “spying.”

Disagreements, too. Apparently, one involved where Patrick Kane should play – wing or centre. Another involved John Scott. (Scott was traded to the Rangers at the deadline, after internal debate about his spot on the team.) Power-play philosophy clearly was an issue. And there was something else.

Don’t know what happened between Quenneville, his good friend/assistant Mike Kitchen and Haviland. Don’t know who is right or who is wrong or who stood where on what issues. But, the decision to remove Haviland – a coaching finalist in Winnipeg last season – and the explanation for it is proof that people did not trust each other.

Players notice stuff like this. It affects your team.

 

The est can be read here http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/opinion/2012/05/quenneville-uses-leverage-plus-30-thoughts.html

Q  said he is going no where.

Bowman said there was dysfunction in the staff and it was up to Q to fix it. So, Q fired Haviland.

Q’s friendship with Kitchen was not a factor. If you believe that I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn..

Again the players thrown in front of the bus.

Joel Quenneville said he’s learned by watching Washington and others that he needs to do a better job delegating icetime: “You earn it.”

No replacements yet.

Well that is a bit of a surprise.

Looks like Kitchen is staying.

Tonight on the Hockey Night in Canada Hotstove Elliot Friedman weighed in on the growing rumor of former Hawks employee and new Montreal GM Bergevin possibly asking the hawks to let go of Coach Q so he can bring him to Montreal.

Video is here http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockeynightincanada/hotstove/video/#id=2231564493&tab=1

This this quote came from a board member.

“Glenn Healy (a class-a Tool, I know) was on Prime Time Sports this afternoon and when asked about who Bergevin should look at for a coach, Healy said Bergevin should go after Joel Quenneville. He noted that Joel did have a contract and wasn’t technically available, but he did note that there was a clear divide within Hawks Management right now and Q moving on to Motnreal might be something all aprties might actually consider, considering said divide.
Healy did note that Q spoke a ittle french, enough to probably have a basic conversation, but that was it. he thought Q *might* still be a viable candidate because of his pedigree…below-par french might get a pass in a case like his.”

This was pure speculation on Healy’s part but interesting to hear once again Stan and Q are having problems.

Another long summer for Blackhawks fans is upon us and it seems the blame for this is getting thrown around more than a drunk Lindsay Lohan at a frat party. Stan blames the coaches, the coach blames the players and the players blame the coach and GM. The Bottom line is they are all right, everyone is to blame.

Lets start with the GM:
Most of Stan’s offseason decisions turned out to be terrible. First of all if he had no plan to play Sharp at 2nd line center then he should have acquired one. Playing Patrick Kane at center was the most brain dead idea since boomerang hand grenades. First of all he’s not a center and second HE’S NOT A CENTER. The move to center resulted in Patrick Kane having his worst point total season ever (even lower than his rookie season). Stan had a chance to rectify this move at the trade deadline and again decided to leave Kane at center. It was a terrible move as Toews was out for 22 games with a concussion and the team ended up with no #1 or #2 center. Stan also seems content going with Kane as the #2 center next year as well. If this is in fact his plan then Rocky needs to fire Stan very soon and let a GM who knows how to run a team correctly take over.

Stan’s off season moves were terrible as well. Carcillo was a decent signing but adding O’Donnell, Lepisto, Brunette and re-signing Frolik were all terrible moves. Stan’s defense he put together this year was one of the big reasons this teams play suffered all year. As well adding Oduya at the dead line for two draft picks was a a bust as well. Oduya was a huge liability vs Phoenix in the playoffs. Another move that is debatable was going with Emery over Salak after training camp. Salak beat out Emery in training camp but Stan still signed Emery anyway and sent Salak to the AHL. Emery had a sub-par year along with Corey Crawford. But Salak had a horrible year in the AHL when he actually did play. So that move could easily be called a wash. However re-signing Emery again for next year is completely baffling.
Stan re-signing Stalberg was a good move but the kid went unnoticed in the post-season unless he was taking a penalty.

The Coaches:
A huge amount of blame also falls to the coaches. With he large amount of offensive talent they did have they failed to execute on the PP and PK all year and especially in the post season. They also caused numerous losses by going into a shell in the 3rd period and trying to hold a lead only to blow it and lose the game. I could go into large detail about each coach but I won’t. The bottom line is they were just as responsible for this poor season as the players and they need to realize that. 10 game losing streaks are as much the coaches fault as the players and a poor PP with so much talent is all on the coaches despite their reasoning that it was the players. The systems the staff used on both the PP and the PK were baffling and confusing to the fans. Imagine how the players felt trying to execute that mess.

The Players:
Much like last year this team did not jell. As we heard in the post season press conference their was obvious chemistry problem and the players Stan brought in just did not bring the cohesiveness he had hoped. The players took periods off on a nightly basis and played only a few games all year where a full 60 minute effort was given.
The goal-tending this year was terrible and the defensive play was horrific. Those two factors alone killed this team along with key injuries to key players.

So once again for the 2nd straight year the off season looks like it will bring numerous changes. The brass have some major decisions to make. Does Rocky really want a GM who thinks Patrick Kane is a 2nd line center and who has shown nothing in two straight years about being able to find capable talent to play on his team? Does Stan want to keep a coach who has shown that where ever he goes his PP and PK schemes fail and bring down the play of the teams he’s evolved with? There are a ton of question marks heading into the off season. The real questions is will this organization answer them properly.

Things I took away from this
1) Q was defensive and evaded many direct questions.
2) Blamed the players a few times on the horrid PP and PK.
3) Likes Kane at #2 C and hopeful Kruger can get there.

The biggest points I took away from this

1) Kane is and will be the #2 C
2) Q determines who his coaches are
3) Core will remain intact
4) Open to Goal tending changes

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/300level/2012/04/26/300-level-radio-show-april-2512