|
Last night's Blackhawk OT win versus Minnesota, not to mention the comments of the talking heads on NBCSN, were revealing in several ways.
Make no mistake, the Hawks won their biggest game of the year thus far, on the road against a very good team—but for one reason—an absolutely unreal performance in the last 30-40 minutes of the game by their goaltender.
Corey Crawford started strong, then gave up a soft goal before settling in and carrying his team, which was outshot 32-27, with a long series of brilliant saves late in the third period and in 3-on-3.
Crawford has become that kind of goalie, and now has the ability to turn it on when his team needs him. That's huge for the playoff hopes of a team that is otherwise glaringly imperfect.
A few other Hawks had big games last night: Jonathan Toews, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Nick Schmaltz and Patrick Kane gave huge effort up and down the ice. Schmaltz? This is a guy who I've been hard on, and maybe he deserved it early on. But I was highly impressed with his sheer competitiveness and growing confidence last night.
Ryan Hartman and a few others had games that were more up than down last night too.
But the game seemed to come down to this: the Wild knifed through the Hawk defense, or caught them way too far up the ice, also keeping the Hawks pinned in their end the way the Hawks used to do to other teams, all night long, and Crawford delivered.
2 points and something to build on. and anyone who wants to spend a lot of time on the officiating, the bad calls cut both ways last night. The most egregious part is that the bonehead NHL needed 12 minutes to make what was clearly the wrong call. That's not just bad officiating, but bad entertainment. And it's nothing new.
As for the talking heads:
There is growing chatter around a rumor first reported on my message board thread a week or so ago, and in my blog five days ago. The Hawks are deep in discussion this year, yet again, with the Arizona Coyotes. Two years ago (as first reported here) it was around Antoine Vermette, last year (ditto) it was a deal that was never consummated for Mikkel Boedker.
This year, it appears the Hawks are zeroing in on, at least, pending UFA C/W Martin Hanzal. I have been told there have also been discussions around depth defensemen Kevin Connauton and Luke Schenn. While it's been reported elsewhere, my sources have not said anything about Michael Stone. In fact, one went as far a saying they believed the Stone rumor to be a deliberate diversion to mask the Hawks' real target(s).
The player in this I would watch is Hanzal, who potentially checks a lot of boxes for Chicago. He's skilled, he's big, and is approaching 56% in the dot this year. And even if the Hawks only see him as a center, it gives them the flexibility of moving another center out to left wing.
Which leads back to the talking heads. It was confirmed last night on NBCSN that Arizona GM John Chayka is scouting the Hawks. This was also reported earlier yesterday on ESPN and conformed separately by one of my sources. However, in the broadcast, one studio analyst (Bob Mckenzie) said there is no way that Stan Bowman is dealing one of his "prized rookies," while another (Mike Milbury) said he may have to.
Well, as much as we like to pile on Milbury, he's right—he may have to. Along with a roster player like, say, Marcus Kruger.
The Hawks won a big road game last night, but they did it through opportunistic scoring and goaltending—when they were otherwise pretty much outplayed by a very deep, fast, talented team—the kind they are going to see round after round in the playoffs, if they even get out of the first round.
I also can't fault the effort of any Hawk player last night. They laid it out on the ice—but still someone had a horseshoe in his pants—and definitely their goalie did.
So "standing pat" at the deadline, as Milbury adroitly pointed out through his thick Boston accent, is really not a choice for Bowman. Milbury has been in Bowman's shoes as an NHL GM—albeit not a great one. But he gets it.
Fact: the Hawk core, salary structure and (do not discount this last part) balance sheet are built for long playoff runs.
The Hawks as constructed, especially with a lack of experience upfront, are going to struggle big-time versus legitimate playoff teams (like the Wild) in 7-game series.
So sure, Bowman might end up accomplishing nothing or very little at the deadline, but it won't be for a lack of effort. And that's not just opinion, it's what I'm hearing from more than one good source.
Conversely, as we have seen the last two deadlines, any meaningful deal Bowman makes is going to have the feel of an "overpay." Because that's the position he's in.
And I will remind all readers that the 2015 Vermette trade and the Andrew Ladd trade last year were widely panned as "overpayment."
Yet, who really misses Klas Dahlbeck or Marko Dano right now? Right.
I'll have a Winnipeg preview tomorrow and any rumor news before then.
» utube 7/25/24 MM&C Iraq Dinar Update - IQD Revaluation-Key Indicators - Deposit Insurance -Arbitra
» utube 7/23/24 MM&C Iraq Dinar-Prime Minister Advisors-Saleh-Al-Nusairi-Facts bringng facts-Reforms
» MMK&C 7/21/24 Government Advisor: Adopting auditing of foreign transfers contributes
» MM&C 7/21/24 Proposed measures to address the rise of the dollar
» Iraq ranks high in income inequality among citizens
» Within months.. Al-Imar: The amount of loans disbursed amounted to about 750 billion dinars
» Parliamentary Integrity confirms the start of opening the files of former officials
» Iraq and the German Development Bank sign an amendment to the loan agreement to finance a number of
» Regional oil...between export ban and smuggling suspicions
» Economist: Faw Port is an important step towards sustainable economic development and a major gatewa
» Parliamentary Investment "Mocks" Solution to Housing Crisis in Complexes: "Joke" and Government Must
» Multi-million dollar agreement to support Iraqi agriculture
» From Chaos to Law.. The Crowd Breathes with the First Reading of “Service and Retirement”
» Oil Minister inaugurates first phase of associated water injection project in Rumaila field
» Water Resources: The reality of desertification in Iraq is better than before
» Disappearance of 50,000 Pakistani tourists in Iraq.. Government position: We will start the investig
» Iraq reveals the value of its agricultural exports: 400 thousand tons in 6 months
» Electricity directs the rapid implementation of the solar power plant project in Khanaqin
» Worth $20 billion.. Iraq is second in trade exchanges with Iran
» (56) megawatt card.. Opening of the gas power plant in Majnoon field
» Parliamentary Committee: Amending this law will address many problems
» Iraq and the German Development Bank (KFW) sign an amendment to the loan agreement to finance a numb
» Finance discusses regulating the work of government banks with international auditing firm Ernst & Y
» The Prime Minister receives the approval of the coalition of companies that won the investment oppor
» US Ambassador: We helped Iraq with $3.6 billion in the displaced file
» In two stages.. The Minister of Oil inaugurates the associated water injection project in the Rumail
» Who manipulated the budget settings? Adding 15 trillion dinars for the benefit of the people or for
» Statement of the Iraqi Communist Workers’ Party on the “Personal Status Law Amendment” Project
» The American arm has become short.. Iraq will eradicate the “SDF” from Syria
» The idea of the “Sunni region” is maturing again.. The insistence of Western politicians collides
» Iraq takes its share of negative development and faces “electronic blackmail”
» Education in Iraq: Between the lack of schools and the delay in providing supplies
» Economist lays out solutions to get rid of the dollar’s dominance: moving towards a currency baske
» The Presidency of the Republic issues a special pardon for a bank manager accused of embezzlement
» The Ministry of Agriculture reveals the volume of its exported products in numbers
» Transport reveals its latest steps towards lifting the European ban on Iraqi Airways
» "Doors are closed" in Parliament.. Will political pressures result in the election of a new presiden
» Prime Minister's Advisor: Kirkuk government formation will be decided within 20 days
» US dollar exchange rate stability in Baghdad
» Reconstruction: New applications for Housing Fund loans will be opened when liquidity is available
» The US Federal Reserve adopts a new strategy towards Iraq.. The dollar is threatened with rising to
» First government comment on the leakage of 50 thousand Pakistanis in Iraq
» Parliamentary Integrity Committee announces keeping the session hosting the Minister of Water Resour
» Parliamentarian reveals the reason for the recent talk about the Sunni region
» Secrets of the Coordination Framework meeting with the Sunni forces.. Three proposals to resolve the
» Iraqis' spending on tourism is equivalent to the electricity budget.. What is the number of traveler
» "Two Papers of the Tashah in Parliament"... Warnings against implicating the legislative institution
» Turkish Minister reveals details about the security corridor in Iraq and the development road projec
» Does it stipulate the marriage of minors? What does the paragraph amending the Personal Status Law i
» One of the motives of the "salary scale".. Iraq is ranked 87th globally in "income inequality"
» "Vigilant Guardian"... Harmonious Supervisory Cooperation to Guarantee Citizens' Deposits in Iraqi B
» Saleh: The Central Bank's dollar reserves are solid and the GDP rate is very optimistic
» Economist accuses political parties of controlling the exchange rate on the black market
» Minister calls for establishing centers for Turkish commercial agencies inside Iraq
» 98% increase in foreign remittance sales at the Central Bank of Iraq auction
» Important meeting between Al-Sudani and the "Arabs of Kirkuk" to decide on the formation of the prov
» Housing projects in the Kurdistan Region are expensive internally and suitable externally
» Slight decline in the "green paper" in Baghdad stock exchanges
» OPEC: Iraq, Russia to compensate for surplus oil production
» Economist: The Iraqi banking sector has achieved significant growth
» Does integrity interfere with the work of institutions when they conduct investigations into suspici
» Parliamentary Finance: The Central Bank agrees to increase the capital of the Real Estate Bank to ex
» The region lags behind "electronic systems".. Transactions are still paper-based and the authenticit
» Media Authority: We are working on strategic agreements with global companies to bridge cybersecurit
» Al-Sudani stresses the importance of completing the formation of the Kirkuk government and reaching
» The region lags behind "electronic systems".. Transactions are still paper-based and the authenticit
» Iraq prepares to sign strategic agreements with global companies to bridge the digital divide in the
» Exporting (10) million liters of black oil daily.. Oil: Karbala has become an oil port that supplies
» Used as a gift and used for fraud.. The Central Bank warns against the circulation of commemorative
» Judge Faeq Zidane: International cooperation is important in the field of combating terrorism
» Al-Abbasi: Framing the relationship with Washington according to the Iraqi constitution
» Within 6 months.. The European ban on the green bird will be resolved
» Thwarting the smuggling of 21 million liters of petroleum derivatives
» Record
» Production of 24 thousand electric cars annually
» The second phase of the campaign (restricting weapons to the state) begins
» Inclusion of social protection beneficiaries in internal contracts
» The Prime Minister directs the rapid completion of Baghdad entrance projects
» Minister of Labor announces launch of health insurance service for social protection beneficiaries
» Via "Baghdad Today" .. Oil Minister announces increasing social benefits to 10 million dollars
» Joint Statement by the Iraqi and US Ministries of Defense
» Al-Sudani meets with a delegation from the American engineering consulting company KBR
» Kurdistan procrastinates to obtain the "lion's share".. Discontent over the delay in localizing empl
» Withdrawal is "Out of Reach"... Analysis of the Joint Iraqi-American Statement
» Al-Sudani stresses the importance of completing the formation of the Kirkuk government and reaching
» "Black Money" Fuels Investment Stock Exchange.. Countries That Prospered with Looted Iraqi Money
» Central Bank warns against circulation of $1 million commemorative notes
» Planning for “Al-Zawraa”: The five-year plan targets different sectors and does not include traditio
» “Unfair and deepens sectarianism”.. Why did the amendment to the Personal Status Law spark anger in
» Launching an electronic application for Iraqi retirees
» The crowd responds to Halbousi: A person convicted of forgery is not qualified to appoint himself as
» Al-Fayadh: We appreciate the Iraqi Parliament’s progress with the first reading of the service and r
» Nassif: The political process needs Al-Sadr and Al-Maliki to “rule” it
» Al-Mandlawi winks at Al-Halbousi: We reject insulting those who presented thousands of martyrs
» adhere to the rules of the Islamic religion and needs to be reformulated (tweet)
» Sarwa Abdul Wahid: The rivalry between Baghdad and Erbil is just "clacks"
» Parliamentary Finance: The Central Bank of Iraq’s measures to change the exchange rate did not achie
» Al-Sudani meets with Kirkuk Arabs to decide on the provincial government