Everything Else

It’s Different This Time, They Swear: Blues at Hawks Preview/Beach Bonfire

By 1089

old_school_blue_l vs. 250px-Ozymandias

PUCK DROP: 7pm Central

TV/RADIO: NBCSN, WGN Radio 720

GOOD GOD DON’T GO THERE: St. Louis Gametime

Blues Stats

Blues War On Ice

The Hawks continue their home tour through what are perceived to be Western Conference powers, wrapping up against the Blues after seeing the Ducks and Kings in consecutive home games. Obviously, the Oilers on Sunday will break that streak (emphasis on “break” HAHAHA OILERS FANS I SUBSIST ON YOUR TEARS!) And just like every other time the Blues come in here for the first time in a season, they tell us it’s different this time. Sure it is Mr. Sherman…. everything stinks….

Everything Else

MTS Syndrome: Hawks at Jets Preview/Pregame Thread/Bada Bing Meeting

By 1310 0

250px-Ozymandias vs. Kenny Smith

PUCK DROP: 7pm

TV/RADIO: CSN, WGN

EVANDER KANE FAN CLUB: Arctic Ice Hockey

Jets Stats

Jets War On Ice

The Hawks will take their Keithers-less act on the road for the first time tonight, and they’ll face a Jets team that was a major headache for them last year (though not at MTS Centre). Winnipeg won all three games at the United Center last year, and a couple of them pretty handily. This will be a major test for the Hawks’ reshaped blue line, and they very well could need Corey Crawford to bail them out again as he did Monday.

Everything Else

We Are Penn State – Hawks at Flyers Preview, Beef & Beer

By 1467

evil empire at joe paterno

Game Time: 7:00PM Central
TV/Radio: NBCSN, WGN-AM 720
Travis Hughes Is A Shill For SBN And Welshes On Bets: Broad St. Hockey

The entire state Pennsylvania is basically garbage. Aside from having the worst accents known to mankind at both ends of the state, the entire place, from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, from Bucks County to Allegheny, from Pottsville to Pottstown, is basically a front end for the con that is Penn State and its football team. When that enterprise came crashing down four years ago with the institutional coverup of Jerry Sandusky’s serial child rape, the only thing anyone in the state wanted to talk about was corrupt dwarf Joe Paterno’s coaching record, and defend it to the hilt in any and every way possible. From impromptu protests by students to formal proposals within state government, it was the only thing that mattered. It was, and continues to be a grotesque spectacle.

And now Hawks fans are no different, and have proven that vociferously over the past two and a half months.

Both groups share an absolute gaping void in their collective personhood that can only be filled by defending abhorrent acts by touting sports achievement as if it’s anything to be given a shit about in the face of real life horror. Just as the Penn State football stadium being colloquially referred to as “Happy Valley” became ironic to the point of being macabre, so too did John McDonough’s invocation of calling these the “Camelot” Blackhawks at the press conference at Notre Dame (who themselves the associated Catholic church have its own issues with women and children), as if the mythological Camelot wasn’t undone by King Arthur being cuckolded by his best friend and killed by his illegitimate son. Or even if McDonough meant the American Camelot, the Kennedy family, that too is an irresponsible parallel to draw even if Patrick Kane has a lot more in common with Teddy than it might seem.

So tonight the Hawks enter the de-facto capital of the state, home to arguably the most willfully shitty sports fans on the planet, and the team that somehow always manages to play up that terrible image.

Everything Else

Something In The Way – C.I.’s ’15-’16 Season Preview: Scott Darling

By 1240 0

Let’s get back to hockey for the seven minutes before something else breaks.

Much like the backup quarterback in this town, although I suppose that’s a lot of towns (and recently the backup point guard), the backup goalie in Chicago has become something of a revered figure. I’m exactly sure when this started. Hackett over Belfour? Passmore over Thibault? When Khabibulin was stealing all his money after the lockout? Maybe it was two consecutive seasons of Niemi outplaying Huet and then Crawford outplaying Turco. Maybe we’re all scarred from watching Hasek leave after backing up Belfour and just assume every backup is now a multi-Vezina winner in waiting (KEENAN WANTED A TEAM AROUND LINDROS AND HASEK MY GOD!!!!).

It doesn’t hurt when that backup also happens to be from Chicago.

There will be more eyes cast on Scott Darling this year, as some still view him as a path to get some salary cap relief if he can prove to be starter-quality in the NHL (those “some” might be in the front office as well). Will he? Let’s find out (not really)!

Everything Else

Something In The Way – C.I.’s ’15-’16 Season Preview: Corey Crawford

By 1274 0

I feel like this is going to be one of the things I harp on all season and you’re all going to get sick of it, so just be forewarned. Other than maybe Duncan Keith, Corey Crawford is probably going to be the most important Hawk this season and the biggest bellwether on how this season goes, good or bad. And for a team that has done its best to take the goalie out of the equation (which they really haven’t done all that well the past two seasons), it’s kind of an uncomfortable spot to be in.

Everything Else

I Hate Myself And Want To Die – C.I.’s ’15-’16 Season Preview: The Overview

By 1486 0

Ok, the title’s over the top and we won’t be sticking with it, but I thought it encapsulated where a lot of Hawks fans are at the moment (although in clearly heavy handed terms).

So over the next month or so, we’ll be going player by player to preview the upcoming season, which is just somehow 35 days away (and we’re sure they’ll go by in a smooth jiffy!).

There will be other posts to wrangle out what’s going on off the ice, but it’s impossible to discuss the Hawks right now on the ice without really considering two forms of them. While it’s hardly anywhere close to the most important part of the whole story, and no one should care all that much right now, the Hawks could look like just about anything depending on how things go.

Everything Else

Let’s Compare The Destruction

By 1905 0

This is a post we might have to keep coming back to as the summer develops. But I thought it would prove useful to compare the sell-offs of the summers of ’10 and this one, and to compare how poised the Hawks are for their next Cup as they were with that one. It won’t make for pleasant reading, but so much of what we do doesn’t either so you’ll be used to that. No time like the present, let’s dive on in and not care if the water is shallow or not.

What Hawks Lost After ’10: It’s a pretty long list. Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Kris Versteeg (and it’s pretty funny that they simple CAN’T move him now), Brent Sopel, Ben Eager, John Madden, and Colin Fraser. In other terms, the Hawks lost 2/3rd of their third line (Versteeg and Ladd flanked Bolland most of that season), their 4th line center, a top six left winger (that’s where Byfuglien ended up anyway), a couple other components that rotated in on the 4th line in Eager and Burish, and their #5 d-man.

I should also add that Antti Niemi had to be left on the side of the road after his arbitration hearing.