Minor tweaking going on

[anotheridiot]

I think he is suspended, he needs to go to a hearing which means it will be a minimum of 5 games.

I dont think much has changed. Seabs and Keith were both pinching at the end of regulation against Carolina after they were thoroughly outplayed for almost all the second and most of the third. I am glad that didnt cost the first point. The first period was greatt. Two goals, won more faceoffs, then it all went away. But securing the point needs a bit more emphasis from the vets here.

I just want Leddy to get a partner for a few games in a row so he does not look so bad, but I will be waiting for keith and seabs to be split apart in this game. They seem to be trying to get Saad third line minutes and if him and nordstrom start getting some chemistry its gonna be a tough line to defend, but I see more juggling of lines and really think he needs to do that to the D as well.

 

[gmalis1]

Don't expect Keith and Seabs to be split up. I don't know where you are getting this from, or if its just on your wish list, but for right now it's not gonna happen, nor do I think it should happen. Hjammer and Oduya have good chemistry right now so they're not moving apart.

I do feel bad for Leddy. He's in the Catch 22 right now, not knowing who he is playing with game in and game out. I know I've beat this to death, but I don't understand the Hawks philosophy of having 8 dmen active on the roster. Seven, I can see that, but not eight.

Personally, Brookbank should be the odd man out. But the Hawks have no options with all eight of them. They would have to go through waivers to go to Rockford, and I'm sure that StanB is certain that they would get claimed by another team. It just makes for a very awkward situation among dman six, seven and eight.

Ben Smith is out tonight and Brandon Pirri gets the nod on the fourth line. Bickell and Saad will be back and forth between the first and third lines depending on how the game goes. What you see to start the game may not be how the lines are at crunch time. We talked about how much flexibility Q has with the lines even before the season started, so it's no surprise here that its happening.

Crawford to start in goal tonight and Saturday night vs the Leafs. Khabby to get one of the two Florida starts. I'm guessing he starts against the Panthers rather than the Lightning. Just a guess though.

Curious quote by Blues coach Ken Hitchcock: Jonathan Toews saying team prepared for rough play. "We'll try not to hit Jonathan." What kind of remark is that?

 

[HockeyDoug]

I think he is suspended, he needs to go to a hearing which means it will be a minimum of 5 games.

The wording in the CBA memo that went out states that the league has to offer an in-person hearing for a suspension greater than 5 games. The implication is he's looking at 6 or more, but there is nothing that states a minimum suspension for an in person. They could still give him two, even though that seems unlikely and different from the established trend.

 

[HockeyDoug]

I expect nothing from Q when it comes to defensive pairs. One bad shift and he's likely to throw everything in the blender. Hjalmarsson and Leddy may end up together for a while for example. Nordstrom-Kane-Saad wouldn't shock me for a second either with Q.

 

[anotheridiot]

Don't expect Keith and Seabs to be split up. I don't know where you are getting this from, or if its just on your wish list, but for right now it's not gonna happen, nor do I think it should happen.

Wish list? Where am I getting it from???? You do realize Q split Seabrook and Keith last season right? Thats a stupid question, of course you dont remember or you might have mentioned in the response.

They were not reunited until the playoffs. They made a pretty big deal about it.

Curious quote by Blues coach Ken Hitchcock: Jonathan Toews saying team prepared for rough play. "We'll try not to hit Jonathan." What kind of remark is that?

Since we have no goons, Toews was the one with his glove in the face of the St Louis Blues last game at the benches until Bickell put the guy in a headlock. Remember, you just want our guys to skate around and not take any hits.

 

[anotheridiot]

I expect nothing from Q when it comes to defensive pairs. One bad shift and he's likely to throw everything in the blender. Hjalmarsson and Leddy may end up together for a while for example. Nordstrom-Kane-Saad wouldn't shock me for a second either with Q.

I only see Hammer with the cardio to keep up with Duncs minutes. I would like to see leddy there, so you dont split the Hammer oduya pair, but playing short minutes I doubt Leddy does not have the wheels yet.

 

[gmalis1]

1 I remember Keith split with Seabs last year. It worked so well that Q couldn't wait to get them back together again for the playoffs. Not gonna happen this year. And Leddy with Keith? I don't see that happening either. First off, Leddy isn't exactly on the top of the list of dmen for Q (note his demotion from second pairing to third last season, followed by reduced minutes in the playoffs, most notedly the Final where he was benched most of Games 5 and 6). Second, Keith and Leddy have similar styles. Both have good wheels, like to carry the puck out of the zone when they have the chance and shoot at will. Neither Hjammer or Seabrook do those well (Seabrook has a great shot, but IMO he doesn't shoot enough) nor does Oduya, Rozsival or Brookbank. So pretty sure you won't be seeing that breakup tonight.

2 The Hawks will take plenty of hits...and give plenty too. They won't be standing around. But if you think you're gonna see Jonathan Scott, Raffi Torres or Maxim Lapierre out there for the Hawks, forget about it. It's not that the Hawks won't hit, they will. And they will get hit plenty as well. Just don't look for any of the Hawks to go head hunting (ahem, Mr Lapierre). Not the Hawks style. As you noted and are duly aware of. Not suggesting the Hawks are a bunch of pansies. It's just the Hawks won't try to play a muck it up style. Let's face it, these two teams don't like each other much. And as the biggest rivals now in the division, it's only gonna get more intense.

3 Glad you still have to resort to even more personal attacks. I didn't infer anything by the "wish list" comment I made. I was just wondering where in the world you came up with that idea of splitting Keith and Seabs at this time in the season. If you would have said "I WOULD LIKE to see Keith and Seabs split up, then fine". And then state your reason(s) why, like a good argument should have. But you came off as we should expect to see them split up, and in this game. Throwing something out there as conjecture is great, but if you do then you have to expect someone to disagree with it as just conjecture, when there is no fact to substantiate it.

4 BTW, Brookbank to play tonight as the 6th dman on the third pairing...with Nick Leddy. Confirmed by Q. Rozsival out with flu like symptoms.

 

[anotheridiot]

3 Glad you still have to resort to even more personal attacks. I didn't infer anything by the "wish list" comment I made. I was just wondering where in the world you came up with that idea of splitting Keith and Seabs at this time in the season. If you would have said "I WOULD LIKE to see Keith and Seabs split up, then fine". And then state your reason(s) why, like a good argument should have. But you came off as we should expect to see them split up, and in this game. Throwing something out there as conjecture is great, but if you do then you have to expect someone to disagree with it as just conjecture, when there is no fact to substantiate it.

pot meet kettle.

Really. I started with personal attacks? me? now you are saying you are delusional too?

Don't expect Keith and Seabs to be split up. I don't know where you are getting this from, or if its just on your wish list, but for right now it's not gonna happen, nor do I think it should happen.
Wish list? Where am I getting it from???? You do realize Q split Seabrook and Keith last season right? Thats a stupid question, of course you dont remember or you might have mentioned in the response.

They were not reunited until the playoffs. They made a pretty big deal about it.

Curious quote by Blues coach Ken Hitchcock: Jonathan Toews saying team prepared for rough play. "We'll try not to hit Jonathan." What kind of remark is that?

Since we have no goons, Toews was the one with his glove in the face of the St Louis Blues last game at the benches until Bickell put the guy in a headlock. Remember, you just want our guys to skate around and not take any hits.
**************************************************************************

Saying that response is a personal attack is just mindboggling. I dont know what I did to you other than give you darts to throw back at me in personal attacks, but if you read any of that comment as an attack on your person, I am sorry for you. Like they said to you, once you get on a train of thought with a person you dont even bother reading, you just lash out. I simply pointed out the obvious that Q split up seabrook and keith before, he will do it again. I didnt split them Q did last season and it worked.

I dont know where you came up with where I started attacking your person, it must have happened before when you pounced on me in the bears forum, I would be glad to hear in a PM and not fuck up threads others are trying to get involved in with this drama you seem to need..

 

[Baseballnut77]

well it was so nice to see kane get run last night. Good thing we have so many "skill" players to step in and handle business. I know the blues looked real scared of shaw last night as our resident enforcer

 

[anotheridiot]

well it was so nice to see kane get run last night. Good thing we have so many "skill" players to step in and handle business. I know the blues looked real scared of shaw last night as our resident enforcer

Bollig checked in on the one Krueger took, but nobody took a run at Backus all night. No retribution, no worry whatsoever for the top line of other teams. At least with Carcillo there was a raving lunatic on the ice sometimes that you never knew when he was gonna start ticking. I know he gave that up to become a hockey player, but still, it sure seems like a point of emphasis on St Louis to drive the opposition into the boards. Just takes one hit before kane or Toews are out for multiple games.

Well two games against the blues and no wins.

 

[Baseballnut77]

And the part some dont like to speak about here is that these are not"goons" taking runs at our players. No one is scared to be "taken care of" when they take a run at our guys and this will be a major problem all year

 

[anotheridiot]

Definitely not all goon. They are hockey players that have enough goon in them.

back to the last year lines top line, Saad, Toews, Hossa. Kane Sharp and Handzus will be on the second line. Will be interesting to see Bolland out there, see if the rat smells cheese and exploits more weaknesses. Hopefully it works, I think best pairs last year at the beginning were Toews and Saad, Kane and Sharp. Who knows what we end up getting if they dont play well.

Still no D mixup, Rosie practiced again from his flu like symptoms.

 

[Baseballnut77]

And another thing I noted a few weeks back that I just checked out. I had said that while it is nice to have the prospects we have I feared that the combo of stan and q would let good prospects go and instead opt for the veterans on the back end of the roster that q really seems to like. I believe I have gone on record as not wanting brookbank on this team. And here I have checked out a few canucks games and see Ryan Stanton playing very well on their team. I could easily see Jeremy being next out the door while we keep a bollig or mayers type around. Now I am not saying every prospect as clearly saad and now pirri are seeing time but Jeremy has shown more than enough at Rockford to warrant him snapping up some line time instead of someone like bollig.

 

[averagejoe]

Little off topic...

Has anyone else noticed that the SportsHoopla logo up at the top looks like it has the Blackhawks' stripes running across (like on their hockey pants)?

 

[gmalis1]

You need Bollig around to add some "toughness" to the lineup. Him and Brookbank are the only ones that will fight in a scrap when needed. And you guys like that fighting aspect, right? So why replace Bollig?

Besides, Bollig isn't a defensive liability...he plays pretty solid defensively. He's been more aggressive at the net lately and he will probably get a few goals this season.

Brookbank, I'm not enamored with. I still don't see how you can have 8 dmen on the roster and give them enough playing time to keep them fresh AND sharp. But once again, you can't demote any of them without them going through waivers and you know that Brookbank, Kostka or Roszival would get snatched up by another team in a blink of an eye.

I liked last night's lineup best so far this season. Splitting Kane and Toews was a good choice, once again by Q. And Brandon Pirri just has a nose for the puck and a great shooters touch around the net. He knows what to do with the puck and how to put shots in the right areas, instead of right into the goalie. If Q lets him continue playing, he will be really, really good. Thinking he eventually makes it to that second line center the Hawks have been looking for a long time. I could see him with Sharp and Kane. And then move Handzus to the fourth line with more limited minutes.

Funny how Bickell is just more comfortable on that third line grouping. A lot of bucks to pay for a third line wing, but it gives the Hawks way more depth.

Nice game for the Hawks. And nice to see the Hawks playing the Leafs again.

 

[anotheridiot]

And another thing I noted a few weeks back that I just checked out. I had said that while it is nice to have the prospects we have I feared that the combo of stan and q would let good prospects go and instead opt for the veterans on the back end of the roster that q really seems to like. I believe I have gone on record as not wanting brookbank on this team. And here I have checked out a few canucks games and see Ryan Stanton playing very well on their team. I could easily see Jeremy being next out the door while we keep a bollig or mayers type around. Now I am not saying every prospect as clearly saad and now pirri are seeing time but Jeremy has shown more than enough at Rockford to warrant him snapping up some line time instead of someone like bollig.

I almost see them looking at the prospects and matching them up to someone big on the club and almost trying to keep them hidden away in case their "match" misses significant time.

Morin does not have all the skills, but over the past two years just tries to get too cute with the puck trying to stick handle around defenders. If anything, his game was like Kane. Jimmy Hayes is the big body that should have a game like Bickell. Before they sent Beach out, he was the Bollig replacement.

I really liked Stanton too, but the other side of this was Q wanting a right hander on the roster. Just glad Kostka had a decent game, took a guy with him to the box, and scored his first goal. It will be nice to see Leddy gaining his confidence by actually having the same partner. For all I care, Rosie can play once a week until the playoffs. He just seems to turn his game up at that time, he should find a way to turn it up early though.

And G, we dont want fights, we dont want goons, we want teams to actually need to consider their top line getting put thru the glass if their physical players take shots at our skill guys. Thats the only argument. If Backus puts kane jaw first in the boards, someone needs to either target their skill or remind Backus someone will be hitting him. They dont have to be cheap shots, they just have to be shots.

 

[HockeyDoug]

Little off topic...

Has anyone else noticed that the SportsHoopla logo up at the top looks like it has the Blackhawks' stripes running across (like on their hockey pants)?

I have now.

 

[HockeyDoug]

Funny how Bickell is just more comfortable on that third line grouping. A lot of bucks to pay for a third line wing, but it gives the Hawks way more depth.

Nice game for the Hawks. And nice to see the Hawks playing the Leafs again.

That's fine if he wants to play well there. He's not a top 6 and never was, he never scored 20 goals as a pro in a year. Thankfully, the overpayment (back pay?) is offset by many other contracts. I hope he pots 20 one of these years, but I'm not counting on it. I like Bickell, but I'll be shocked if he plays to his contract. Since they're in a window, they had to keep him or Stalberg, can't lose too many players. While I'm not convinced it was better to keep Stalberg instead of Bickell, I agreed with the decision.

4 million for a 3rd line wing is way too much, but I'm hopeful they can get away with it this year.

 

[Baseballnut77]

You need Bollig around to add some "toughness" to the lineup. Him and Brookbank are the only ones that will fight in a scrap when needed. And you guys like that fighting aspect, right? So why replace Bollig?

Besides, Bollig isn't a defensive liability...he plays pretty solid defensively. He's been more aggressive at the net lately and he will probably get a few goals this season.

Brookbank, I'm not enamored with. I still don't see how you can have 8 dmen on the roster and give them enough playing time to keep them fresh AND sharp. But once again, you can't demote any of them without them going through waivers and you know that Brookbank, Kostka or Roszival would get snatched up by another team in a blink of an eye.

I liked last night's lineup best so far this season. Splitting Kane and Toews was a good choice, once again by Q. And Brandon Pirri just has a nose for the puck and a great shooters touch around the net. He knows what to do with the puck and how to put shots in the right areas, instead of right into the goalie. If Q lets him continue playing, he will be really, really good. Thinking he eventually makes it to that second line center the Hawks have been looking for a long time. I could see him with Sharp and Kane. And then move Handzus to the fourth line with more limited minutes.

Funny how Bickell is just more comfortable on that third line grouping. A lot of bucks to pay for a third line wing, but it gives the Hawks way more depth.

Nice game for the Hawks. And nice to see the Hawks playing the Leafs again.

lol I think you really love the sound of your own voice just a little too much
As has been said a million times but never comprehended by yourself bollig is worthless. We don't want goons we want tough guys with an ability to put the puck in the net AND be a deterrent to those who want to rough up our top players. The roughing up of our players has already begun and will continue to grow. also I do remember weeks ago saying bickell was a third liner and you spent days telling everyone they were wrong. Most of the other top teams have these players but of course you just want 18 skill guys and a prayer.But its ok we have a 2 worthless players hugging the bench for 50 games a year we can bring out AFTER we get a few players impaled on the glass.

 

[gmalis1]

Bollig is not my favorite player, nor would I miss him if he didn't play. But Q likes him, so what are you gonna do?

Bickell is not a first line player on a regular basis. I said because they are paying him $4 million a year he should be on the first line. That's what top 6 players get paid, but he's not one of those skill-wise.

Bickell will be fine playing with his buddy Shaw, rubbing players out and getting more scoring chances by mucking it up in front of the net on the third line rather than the first.