Everything Else

Today’s question comes from ExOnMS.

How long until we see Stephen John’s in the lineup, and what should we expect from him straight away?

Johns has somewhat gotten lost in all the Teuvo hysteria, but we shouldn’t think the Hawks are any less excited about the Golden Domer. The Hawks tried to pry Johns out of South Bend for at least the past two years, disappointed when Johns chose to finish out his entire college career. But they have him now, and he’s clearly the best prospect the Hawks have on the blue line.

Everything Else

Today’s question comes from ExOnMS.

How long until we see Stephen John’s in the lineup, and what should we expect from him straight away?

Johns has somewhat gotten lost in all the Teuvo hysteria, but we shouldn’t think the Hawks are any less excited about the Golden Domer. The Hawks tried to pry Johns out of South Bend for at least the past two years, disappointed when Johns chose to finish out his entire college career. But they have him now, and he’s clearly the best prospect the Hawks have on the blue line.

Everything Else

Today’s line of discussion comes from SuperHawk27:

The Hawks addressed what many said was their biggest weakness by signing Brad Richards for the 2nd line center spot, so ….What is the Hawks biggest weakness now if Richards pans out? Which team(s) in the west is the best equipped to take advantage of this weakness?

This is a tough one, because looking over the roster there certainly aren’t any glaring holes. And while I’m heavily tempted to say the head coach is the biggest weakness because I’m a giant smartass, that almost certainly isn’t true and even if Q has faults (at times crippling ones) the things he does well help make this team the force that it is.

So, where should we look?

Everything Else

Today’s line of discussion comes from SuperHawk27:

The Hawks addressed what many said was their biggest weakness by signing Brad Richards for the 2nd line center spot, so ….What is the Hawks biggest weakness now if Richards pans out? Which team(s) in the west is the best equipped to take advantage of this weakness?

This is a tough one, because looking over the roster there certainly aren’t any glaring holes. And while I’m heavily tempted to say the head coach is the biggest weakness because I’m a giant smartass, that almost certainly isn’t true and even if Q has faults (at times crippling ones) the things he does well help make this team the force that it is.

So, where should we look?

Everything Else

We continue our roll through what will matter and what won’t in the upcoming season. Today we go over to longtime guy I Am Not Chico Maki and his two queries.

Will the addition of Dineen (and subtraction of Kompon) be noticed in any tangible way on and/or off the ice?

On the ice maybe. If Kompon was in charge of the power play, then we can assume that Dineen will be as well. If Kitchen takes it over, then God help us all. Anyway, the thing is it’s fun to joke about how incompetent Kompon made the power play (it’s one of Kings’ fans faves), but the Hawks did finish 10th last year with a respectable 19.5% clip. Of course, the year before that they were awful, and each year in the playoffs they’ve been pretty much woeful for long stretches.

Everything Else

We continue our roll through what will matter and what won’t in the upcoming season. Today we go over to longtime guy I Am Not Chico Maki and his two queries.

Will the addition of Dineen (and subtraction of Kompon) be noticed in any tangible way on and/or off the ice?

On the ice maybe. If Kompon was in charge of the power play, then we can assume that Dineen will be as well. If Kitchen takes it over, then God help us all. Anyway, the thing is it’s fun to joke about how incompetent Kompon made the power play (it’s one of Kings’ fans faves), but the Hawks did finish 10th last year with a respectable 19.5% clip. Of course, the year before that they were awful, and each year in the playoffs they’ve been pretty much woeful for long stretches.

Everything Else

With actual blades hitting actual ice today, and the temperature dropping below Bikram yoga in hell, it actually feels just a little bit like hockey is pretty close. Not so you could reach out and touch it, but soon enough.

Today I’m going to make up my own question to answer, because that’s just the guy I am. And it addresses who the Hawks will miss most that is gone from last year’s team.