2010/2011 Chicago Blackhawks thread

[soulman]

Another good win for the Hawks. They seem to be playing like the team that just won the cup.

Looks like their starting to gel with the new blood and now we've finally got the big dogs healthy again. Wings have got quite a lead in the division but if they keep playing like this they could shrink that lead. Woohoo!

[Dagan81]

Looks like their starting to gel with the new blood and now we've finally got the big dogs healthy again. Wings have got quite a lead in the division but if they keep playing like this they could shrink that lead. Woohoo!

The Hawks have championship playoff experience now. I think they could do some serious damage in the playoffs if they hold on tight. They are starting to kick some major ass.

[4th and 26]

[soulman]

Best overall player on the team and maybe the league. We could use two or three more of him.

[Dagan81]

Best overall player on the team and maybe the league. We could use two or three more of him.

I don't know about you, but I'm a little disappointed in Patrick Kane. I thought that he would have by now become more dominant than he is. He was the number one overall pick in the NHL Draft a few years ago, yet he's never lived up to the hype in my opinion. I'm not saying that he's not a good player, or even not a clutch player; I think his Stanley Cup-winning shot in Game 6 last year in Philadelphia tells you that he is a clutch performer. What I'm saying is that I would have thought that he would have Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin type of statistics, and it's just not happening. Maybe it's because he plays on a team that spreads the puck around more to other players. (Toews, Sharp, Hossa, etc.) I think what bothers me about Patrick Kane is some of the off-the-ice issues he's had with the law. While he wasn't charged with anything major other than disorderly conduct, it proves that he perhaps is not fit to be a leader of this team, and since such is the case, it's good that we have players of high character in Toews and Sharp who can fill those roles.

[soulman]

I think you got part of it right with the off field issues Dags. I don't know how much that bleeds over to his hockey life but it probably doesn't help. I think maybe you've hit the other issue too. Does playing with those other guys who are far more than just a supporting cast for him make a difference? Does the teams style of play prevent his super-stardom as well? He had great year in 2009-10 but if I'm not mistaken he's lost more than a few games to injury this year which has affected his stats but helped to boost Sharps.

I still think it's better to have 4 very talented players like the Hawks have than one or two super-stars. We won the Cup not Pittsburgh or Washinton.

[Dagan81]

I think you got part of it right with the off field issues Dags. I don't know how much that bleeds over to his hockey life but it probably doesn't help. I think maybe you've hit the other issue too. Does playing with those other guys who are far more than just a supporting cast for him make a difference? Does the teams style of play prevent his super-stardom as well? He had great year in 2009-10 but if I'm not mistaken he's lost more than a few games to injury this year which has affected his stats but helped to boost Sharps.

I still think it's better to have 4 very talented players like the Hawks have than one or two super-stars. We won the Cup not Pittsburgh or Washinton.

This could be true, but then you have to take into consideration the great Edmonton Oilers teams of the 1980s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton_Oilers

Their first Stanley Cup Championship season of 1983-1984 produced three 50 goal scorers (Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson), and Paul Coffey became the second defenseman to score 40 goals in season. Those teams were loaded with great and talented players. None of the Hawks players stand out like this; we might see potentially two to three players wind up with approximately 30 goals a piece (Sharp, Kane, Toews), but I doubt we'll ever see a team with that high of level play out of an entire line-up (Gretzky, Messier, Coffey, Curri, Anderson) that the Oilers had.

I guess, then, you are right, soulman. It's just that the Oilers had five superstars, while the Blackhawks have four talented players (Toews, Kane, Hossa, Sharp), and a couple of key team players in Seabrook and Keith. Even the Red Wing teams of the past fifteen years haven't produced the type of star power than we saw with the Oilers.

[4th and 26]

Kane is not a crosby or Ovechkin but he is more of a finess player who is only 21 right now. When he was drafted he was only 18 yet I have seen major improvement out of him. I would say he will be a 40 goal scorer in a few years but he is still getting better. Kane was huge in the playoffs last year with his tying goal against the predators with just a few seconds left and the game winner was the biggest goal of his career. Remember that Kane is a small guy so he does get pounded on in the games where someone like Toews and Hossa can take a more physical beating and keep the puck. This hawks teams has a lot of talent on it and it varries in different areas. Toews is best overall player on the team but remember he always starts out real slow each year. He face offs are great and him setting up the power play is awesome. He is more physical and plays defense. Hossa is one of the best defensive offensive players in the game. He has a great back check and one of the best puck controlling players. He is constantly getting hacked on when he has the puck. Sharpe is a great defensive offensive players also who plays the penalty kill situations. He usually gets 2-3 short handed goals each year where this year his goal numbers especially on the power play are up.

Duncan Keith is our best defensemen that logs almost 30 minutes per game where his offensive numbers are down he is still logging a lot of time and setting up the power play. Seabrook is being more of a physical force on the ice. He offensive numbers are getting better but his defensive play is really showing. Now the guy that really impresses me is Hjalmarsson, I have never seen a guy block so many pucks and still manage to not miss hardly any time. He gets drilled game after game and still manages to suit up everyday. You won't get much scoring out of him but he will take one for the team.

[soulman]

This could be true, but then you have to take into consideration the great Edmonton Oilers teams of the 1980s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton_Oilers

Their first Stanley Cup Championship season of 1983-1984 produced three 50 goal scorers (Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson), and Paul Coffey became the second defenseman to score 40 goals in season. Those teams were loaded with great and talented players. None of the Hawks players stand out like this; we might see potentially two to three players wind up with approximately 30 goals a piece (Sharp, Kane, Toews), but I doubt we'll ever see a team with that high of level play out of an entire line-up (Gretzky, Messier, Coffey, Curri, Anderson) that the Oilers had.

I guess, then, you are right, soulman. It's just that the Oilers had five superstars, while the Blackhawks have four talented players (Toews, Kane, Hossa, Sharp), and a couple of key team players in Seabrook and Keith. Even the Red Wing teams of the past fifteen years haven't produced the type of star power than we saw with the Oilers.

Just like some of the great Yankees teams Dags that Oiler team was one of the all time greatest teams to ever take the ice. Now with a salary cap you couldn't ever keep cast like that on your team very long. The Hawks finally put it all together and if they could have kept some of the guys who they had to part company with they'd probably been the favorites to repeat.

Different eras and also why it takes a real effort to build and then keep a cup team together.

[soulman]

Hawks are beginning to gel now and picking up serious ground on Red Wings.