I think his point is that if one goalie collapses (like Fleury did last year, as well as Crawford), there is a very capable goalie right behind him to step in and stabilize things. That could indeed make a big difference in the playoffs. Pittsburgh very possibly doesn't lose that series to Philly.
As I said earlier though. As bad as Fleury played, its not as if the D was playing any better. The pens completely lost their composure and got destroyed in every facet.
I think Pittsburgh is just as much if not more frail at the blueline than Chicago is at center. They're light on the wings and have a coach that spends too many shifts having his guys chase around to finish a hit. I don't think they'll be much of a gap between Chicago and Pit, or any of the good teams for that matter. I don't normally like to compare teams from the other conference but it's August so why not?
There's still a hole at #2C that could conceivably be filled to give this team an even better chance at the Cup. A fantastic start to the season doesn't mean the team can't be improved.
However, when I created this thread and others agreed, not many expected much more out of this year's group than the last. 20 games without a regular season loss is insane. Once the lockout happened, I knew once hockey came back, teams with the most familiarity would start off the hottest. Never expected this in a million years. We'll see if this group is that much different in the playoffs. WCQF exits aren't good enough.
I'm not happy (and nobody else should be) with this current roster. This line-up is no '2010 SC winner' roster. We don't have the obvious talent and depth that we should count on every player to keep up this pace throughout this shortened season and then the playoffs.
If it were me, I'd try my very best to get another 2nd line center. I know I've said in the past that Bolland is the guy for the job, but like everyone else, I also know that he can play the shutdown role to a T. Let's get a guy like Weiss or Ribeiro who can contribute offensively with Sharp/Kane as well as being responsibly defensively. It would make our offense actually deep. Not just the 'everyone is contributing' kind of 'deep'... but the kind of depth that would make our team the undoubtedly deepest team in the league. We have ever other element needed to win the cup.
Stan Bowman looks like a genius and the guy did nothing except let the same players and coaches from last years failure against Phoenix do their thing. Pretty much every move he made and moves be didn't make all of us on here just ripped. He trades for Oduya gives up picks, then resigns Oduya, resigns Emery (lol) which is what we all thought, keeps Crawford as a starter etc and yet the Hawks are on a 20 game point, unbeaten in regulation team. It's amazing!!
However if this is going to translate to a Cup I would like to see some more consistent scoring on the second like ie. second line centre and some more grit and sandpaper in the bottom 6.
Last edited by Bring Back GLR: 03-01-2013 at 03:03 AM.
Stan Bowman looks like a genius and the guy did nothing except let the same players and coaches from last years failure against Phoenix do their thing. Pretty much every move he made and moves be didn't make all of us on here just ripped. He trades for Oduya gives up picks, then resigns Oduya, resigns Emery (lol) which is what we all thought, keeps Crawford as a starter etc and yet the Hawks are on a 20 game point, unbeaten in regulation team. It's amazing!!
However if this is going to translate to a Cup I would like to see some more consistent scoring on the second like ie. second line centre and some more grit and sandpaper in the bottom 6.
He looks like nothing until this team does the same thing in the play-offs.
I think this team will do much better in the play-offs then in the last 2 years but until they actually do, Bowman hasn't accomplished anything other then a meaningless regular season record.
He looks like nothing until this team does the same thing in the play-offs.
I think this team will do much better in the play-offs then in the last 2 years but until they actually do, Bowman hasn't accomplished anything other then a meaningless regular season record.
Well the playoffs haven't started yet so as of now he does look like a genius. Lets run it down:
Traded and signed for Oduya
Brought in Rosival
Signed Carcillo
Traded for Frolik
Traded for Leddy
Traded for Stalberg
Drafted Saad
Drafted Shaw
Believed in Emery and Crawdaddy when none of us else did
Didn't trade Pat Kane
Right now he looks pretty darn genius like! Maybe it's dumb luck or the right mix of guys syncing with the core whatever it is it's working. I know I wanted Frolik, Emery and at times Oduya off this team now they're total Aces!
Last edited by Bring Back GLR: 03-01-2013 at 04:12 AM.
It's easy to look like a genius when compared with the idiocy of what has been discussed on this site. So far it's looking good. But to judge Bowman's success, you'd have to wait on how this season ends. Right now anything but a Cup will be a failure, but expectations might be different once the regular seasons ends. It's obvious the Hawks will regress towards the mean over the coming months, how high that mean is remains to be seen.
However, when I created this thread and others agreed, not many expected much more out of this year's group than the last. 20 games without a regular season loss is insane. Once the lockout happened, I knew once hockey came back, teams with the most familiarity would start off the hottest. Never expected this in a million years. We'll see if this group is that much different in the playoffs. WCQF exits aren't good enough.
While I didn't forsee this level of success, I always thought it was an odd position to take that the team wouldn't get better just by young players getting better. Guys like Kruger, Leddy, and Shaw were going to improve as good young players do. You had to expect Kane would bounce back to form after a disappointing year. To me the big ? was goaltending, but I was ok with seeing if Craw could return to form. So far, so good.
He looks like nothing until this team does the same thing in the play-offs.
I think this team will do much better in the play-offs then in the last 2 years but until they actually do, Bowman hasn't accomplished anything other then a meaningless regular season record.
This is stupid. As we can see, the team is MORE than capable of winning a Stanley Cup, as is. The onus will be on the players not performing if they don't win a Cup or go deep at least, not on Bowman. The team is talented enough, they just have to perform.
No one could ever see a 20 game points streak, no matter what kind of team you have.
But there were some people who said this is a Cup contender as is, and a lot of people who disagreed. The people that disagreed should eat some crow.
Well, I definitely underestimated the projection of the young guys. Saad is who I thought he was but Shaw for sure has far exceeded my expectations, Kruger got better in the second half but has taken it even a step further this year. Leddy ha really stepped up; I always thought he would be better on the 3rd pair with a vet. Oduya is playing within himself, not trying to do too much like last year. Obviously Emery is playing far better than he ever did last year. I saw the potential but didn't think all of those things would come together like that since game 1.
I think the people that need the biggest plate of crow are the ones that were saying we should trade Kane, Hossa (or buyout), Bolland, etc. But whatever, let's just all enjoy this, obviously this is what we all wanted.
Wow... I forgot how much hardcore Bowman hate there was.
But at least I can feel redeemed in my support of our GM. For the life of me I'll never understand how someone could look at this roster in comparison to others around the league, and not think we were in the Top5 at worst... though personally I'd say we're more like Top3. At that point, there's not really a whole lot of room for improvement, IMO, while it might have been cool to have Parise or Suter here, Im real happy that we have this 20 game streak to point to as evidence of what this roster can do when it is properly coached, and when everyone knows their role and can be relied upon to contribute effectively in that role, and as evidence that Bowman's strategy of improvement from within has merit.
The Hawks are always a contender with the talent they have, but this group of guys that have mostly been here for the two first-round exits and the streaks have proven little to none in the playoffs. Until they do, I'm going to enjoy the hell out of the streak but be cautiously optimistic once it's playoff time. They are certainly the Cup favorite, but we all know they can take a giant dump in the WCQF. It's the sad truth. I hope they reverse fortune, and I know it's certainly possible and likely they do, though.
The Hawks are always a contender with the talent they have, but this group of guys that have mostly been here for the two first-round exits and the streaks have proven little to none in the playoffs. Until they do, I'm going to enjoy the hell out of the streak but be cautiously optimistic once it's playoff time. They are certainly the Cup favorite, but we all know they can take a giant dump in the WCQF. It's the sad truth. I hope they reverse fortune, and I know it's certainly possible and likely they do, though.
Definitely and we are all waiting for the final result. But you make an excellent point, Ladd, Buff, Campbell, Burish, Eager, Kopy, all critical playoff performances in the Cup run. These guys need to show they can keep it going in the playoffs.
Here's what this group (that has changed a little has done) the last three years:
-WCQF exit to Vancouver
-WCQF exit to Phoenix
-8-seeded team
-6-seeded team
-9-game losing steak
-20-game streak to open the season without a regulation loss (in progress)
-26 straight regular season games with a point going back to the end of last year (in progress)
-Potential division title (likely)
-Potential Presidents' Trophy (strongest candidate)
As you can see, this team can be competitive, but their competitiveness can be all over the place. I think this team can win a Cup, but I just hate the fact that I have to be cautiously optimistic. I believe this team may even upgrade the best roster in the NHL at the deadline with a center addition or something, but I just have to wait until they win a playoff round to unleash my ridiculous optimism and predictions. I hope all you feel that's fair. They have all the talent in the world, so it should be expected they execute much better in the playoffs this year.
