Blackhawks '21

#51      
Very happy with the start - tied for 1st 18 games in is phenominal. Don't expect it to last but this is laying a good foundation for the future.
very very unexpected , esp given the absence of Toews & Dach .

it’s nice to get a lot of points v Detroit , as they aren’t 25% the team they used to be . are a lot of our points against the other weak teams ? I just haven’t paid much attention . I know we started out v Fla & TB , and that was a struggle
 
#52      
very very unexpected , esp given the absence of Toews & Dach .

it’s nice to get a lot of points v Detroit , as they aren’t 25% the team they used to be . are a lot of our points against the other weak teams ? I just haven’t paid much attention . I know we started out v Fla & TB , and that was a struggle

I don't know how much weight I would put into the schedule. We do have 4 wins against Detroit, so we're just 5-5-4 against everyone else. Then again, Detroit is a not-horrendous 4-7-3 against everyone other than the Hawks. You just play the games as they come. Hard to say if starting with Detroit would have been better, but the overall record is great at this point so I'm not complaining.

Certainly some of this is smoke and mirrors in the form of excellent special teams and goaltending, but at least we aren't getting creamed every night, which was the fear (at least mine) coming into this season.

And back to the schedule, most people would assume Dallas will eventually finish above the Hawks, but Dallas is going to have a killer schedule after these latest postponements. I think the volume of games is going to be difficult for them, regardless of how many are against Detroit. I'm not saying the Hawks will be a playoff team, but lots of things have happened in the last 12 months that surprised me...
 
#55      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
Former Hawk Artemi Panarin takes a leave from Rangers.

Panarin

Politics and abuse.
Criticizing Putin is dangerous.

On a much lighter front, Cat is morphing into a 200' 2 way player. He's made huge strides in the past ~15 months. The chemistry between he and Kane is reminiscent of Panarin-Kane's.
 
#56      
Criticizing Putin is dangerous.

On a much lighter front, Cat is morphing into a 200' 2 way player. He's made huge strides in the past ~15 months. The chemistry between he and Kane is reminiscent of Panarin-Kane's.

Agreed. Cat's been very impressive all over the ice. I know his numbers were down last year in part due to an abnormally low shooting percentage, but to me he looks like a completely different player this year.
 
#57      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
Agreed. Cat's been very impressive all over the ice. I know his numbers were down last year in part due to an abnormally low shooting percentage, but to me he looks like a completely different player this year.

Dare I say it? He's been Hossa-esque. Just flying out there, 2 way stud. Some folks are fixated on his height, but he's not small, just short. Really, really strong on his skates. Not shy at all, he goes into the corners and he's physical. Has a VG stick. You gotta love it.
 
#58      
Dare I say it? He's been Hossa-esque. Just flying out there, 2 way stud. Some folks are fixated on his height, but he's not small, just short. Really, really strong on his skates. Not shy at all, he goes into the corners and he's physical. Has a VG stick. You gotta love it.

I'll wait to hop on the HOF-comparison train until I see a little more data, but I like your enthusiasm.

100% agree that he doesn't play small.
 
#60      
Dare I say it? He's been Hossa-esque. Just flying out there, 2 way stud. Some folks are fixated on his height, but he's not small, just short. Really, really strong on his skates. Not shy at all, he goes into the corners and he's physical. Has a VG stick. You gotta love it.
I don't know about the Hossa comp, Hossa was a horse. He would overpower guys. But yeah, Cat's playing great, much like his rookie season.
 
#61      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
I don't know about the Hossa comp, Hossa was a horse. He would overpower guys. But yeah, Cat's playing great, much like his rookie season.
His second season was the real eye opener. But he was a lot more of a one dimensional sniper then. Really love what he's morphing into.
 
#62      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
Ugh. At least the Hawks won. Giving up 2 goal leads (twice!) is not ideal though. Kane is en fuego. Nice to see Hagel get rewarded and Boqvist net one too.
 
#65      
Anyone want a do over on the Saad-Zadorov trade? I think he's our worst defenseman.

It seems like every time Saad is involved in a trade we get screwed.

Not me, but that's mainly because I don't miss Saad. I view him as a complementary piece on a contending team, not a building block, so I wouldn't have re-signed him when his contract is up at the end of this season. Could we have gotten more for him at this year's trade deadline? Possibly, but you never know.

Regarding Zadorov, I'm having a tough time evaluating him. On the one hand he makes some obvious mistakes, but then his size and reach allow him to recover from many of those and he's also preventing other opportunities with that size and reach. I'm guessing he's probably not a fancy stats darling. He is, however, a positive +/- on a team where several D are negative. So maybe not always pretty, but mostly effective? I feel like I'd need to be at the games seeing the whole ice to make a proper evaluation.
 
#66      
Not me, but that's mainly because I don't miss Saad. I view him as a complementary piece on a contending team, not a building block, so I wouldn't have re-signed him when his contract is up at the end of this season. Could we have gotten more for him at this year's trade deadline? Possibly, but you never know.

Regarding Zadorov, I'm having a tough time evaluating him. On the one hand he makes some obvious mistakes, but then his size and reach allow him to recover from many of those and he's also preventing other opportunities with that size and reach. I'm guessing he's probably not a fancy stats darling. He is, however, a positive +/- on a team where several D are negative. So maybe not always pretty, but mostly effective? I feel like I'd need to be at the games seeing the whole ice to make a proper evaluation.
Reasonable analysis and good points Snake. He just seems that he is noticeably slower than every other d-man we have and a little lackadaisical with the puck. He is probably the most physical of our defensemen but that doesn't say much. He hasn't lived up to the hype in physicality. Wasn't aware of the +/- but the eye test doesn't reflect that to me.
 
#67      
Reasonable analysis and good points Snake. He just seems that he is noticeably slower than every other d-man we have and a little lackadaisical with the puck. He is probably the most physical of our defensemen but that doesn't say much. He hasn't lived up to the hype in physicality. Wasn't aware of the +/- but the eye test doesn't reflect that to me.

FWIW, he's currently 4th in the NHL in hits. I don't think he's ever going to look good with the eye test because even when he's making a good play it still looks awkward. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt because the overall results have greatly exceeded expectations, and he is certainly part of the mix that has been working.
 
#68      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
Reasonable analysis and good points Snake. He just seems that he is noticeably slower than every other d-man we have and a little lackadaisical with the puck. He is probably the most physical of our defensemen but that doesn't say much. He hasn't lived up to the hype in physicality. Wasn't aware of the +/- but the eye test doesn't reflect that to me.
Good Lord, wut? More forwards have bailed in ~20 games than over the past five seasons combined. Plus, teams/players no longer have free license to jack our guys (Savard has one coming). Stuff like that doesn't show up in fancy stats, but it matters.

According to MoneyPuck.com, it looks like the Zadorov-Murphy pairing is the only Hawks pairing to not have been scored on so far — among pairs that have played at least 50 minutes (they’ve played 94 together). Second best corsi, second best expected goals, best goals for %
 
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#69      
Good Lord, wut? More forwards have bailed in ~20 games than over the past five seasons combined. Plus, teams/players no longer have free license to jack our guys (Savard has one coming). Stuff like that doesn't show up in fancy stats, but it matters.

According to MoneyPuck.com, it looks like the Zadorov-Murphy pairing is the only Hawks pairing to not have been scored on so far — among pairs that have played at least 50 minutes (they’ve played 94 together). Second best corsi, second best expected goals, best goals for %
Yeah, the guy's like 6' 6", right? He's never gonna look like a ballerina out there, but he was signed for a reason and he's doing what needs to be done out there. Last season, the Hawks got bullied and pushed around a lot. Not seeing that this year.
 
#73      
We'll find out if the Hawks are contenders or pretenders real soon. Several games coming up versus Tampa and Florida, nine in total this month.
 
#74      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
We'll find out if the Hawks are contenders or pretenders real soon. Several games coming up versus Tampa and Florida, nine in total this month.
Development season. Results have been shockingly good. No way is this season's team a legit contender.

BTW, I expect the Panthers to fade.*

* - I could be wrong. :LOL:
 
#75      
Heck of a pickup. Originally a Sabres pick who never signed with them

It's hard to believe the Sabres didn't sign him. Even if they thought for whatever reason his skills weren't ever going to translate to the NHL, his work ethic on the ice is just so obvious that you have to find a place for a guy like Hagel in your organization at some level. I guess he's just another example of how you go a decade without making the playoffs...