Everything Else

Ground On Down: Hawks 0 – Flyers 3

By 1389

Boxscore

Event Summary

War On Ice

Natural Stat Trick

In an opening week that has seen the Kings get absolutely rolled by the Sharks, Coyotes, and Canucks and see the Sharks roll through DC, it’s best to not make too much of  a 2-2 start. Throw in the fact that the last time the Hawks won a regular season game in Philadelphia, the Chili Peppers were on tour supporting One Hot Minute and Dave Navarro was the guitarist. Fuck, Dave Navarro was doing anything! It’s a testament to generally how focused the Hawks are to starting their season well that these sort of clunkers are a rarity in the season’s opening throes. But that’s what it was tonight for sure, where the Hawks were pretty much in “Eh, you fucking do it,” mode for the first two periods and found Michael Neuvirth up to their 3rd period rally. Obviously wouldn’t be complete if the Hawks didn’t fuck their own face on a 3rd period power play that could have gotten them back into the game. So let’s get to it all:

Everything Else

Back For More: Islanders at Hawks Preview/Howling At The Moon

By 1272

the+island vs. williambdavis_480

PUCKDROP: 7:30pm Central

TV/RADIO: WGN for both

HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPSTERS: Lighthouse Hockey, Islanders Insight

I remember the days when these home-and-homes were played between teams in the division, not wrapping up the entire season series between teams in the opposite conferences. Oh well. Either way, the Hawks and Isles will wrap up their season obligations against each other tonight on Madison St. after opening the Barclays Center to NHL hockey last night (though some there couldn’t see it).

Everything Else

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

By 1607

In the words of Macho Man, “And the beat goes on….”

Much like Toews we did last week, doing a preview of Hossa almost seems folly at this point. You can pretty much bank on what you’re going to get in the regular season, and Hossa really is the barometer for the Hawks treat the regular season. He’ll look great to the new year, basically pace himself for the next couple months while picking his spots, close well enough. Then you won’t get eye-popping numbers from him in the playoffs (though he does seems to beat up the Wild ok), some national and even local writers writing one or two articles wondering where he is where we have to cite the underlying stats to show he’s been effective, rinse, repeat. Though I wonder if this season there won’t start to be something of an undercurrent that we haven’t seen before. We’ll get to that.

Everything Else

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

By 1262 0

I think we’ll keep circling through the new forwards as Matt started that trend yesterday. It’s more interesting that way, as basically you know what you’re getting from the holdovers. So now we’ll get to the main prize in the Brandon Saad deal, or what the Hawks will hope becomes the main prize, Marko Dano.

Last Season: 35 games, 8 goals, 13 points, 21 points, +12, 14 PIM, 54.0% Corsi Percentage (+7.4% Relative), 48.9% Corsi Competition

Everything Else

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

By 1491 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 1909 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.

Everything Else

The Fallout

By 1959 0

It’s rare that the Hawks do something so large that we need a full day to clear out all the feelings and stories from it. But here we are with Brandon Saad’s trade to Columbus.

A day later, I think it tells us a lot when Stan Bowman comes out and says that they weren’t even close in negotiations. Because look at Bowman’s record on this sort of thing: Kruger (possibly twice), Hjalmarsson, Oduya, and even Sharp and Seabrook for what they are have all signed deals probably below market value to stay in Chicago (you could argue Kane and Toews as well, if you really want). When Stan wants to get this done, if it’s in any way possible it almost always gets done. When he tells you they were miles apart, they were probably miles apart.