I love these threads about the Hawks on the main boards. 3 quarters of the people bring up the roster and/or goaltending. 1 quarter of the Hawks board points to those issues as the downfall.
Are hovering around the bottom five in PP. They had 3 shots total on 5 powerplays against the Blues.
Are in the bottom five for PK, and have been all year
Are the softest team in the league (30th in road hits, which somewhat corrects for bias in real-time stats. Particularly crazy since the Hawks have played the most road games so far)
Are 14th in the West in goals allowed
Are 12th in the West on the road
Are actually in danger of either missing the playoffs or again backing in on the last day.
And for some reason, some people are OK with this. Not coincidently, the majority (and I'm not counting Bubba among them), of those know Quenneville as the "only" coach of the Blackhawks. It reminds me of when the Hawks fired Savard and Kane cried. Savard was a pretty awful coach. But he was still the only coach Kane had had at the NHL level, so he had an emotional connection to him. Now, some fans think that Bowman is the problem, and while I don't wholly agree, I can at least respect that idea since they realize that the current level of play is not acceptable.
Quenneville keeps trying to fit square pegs into round holes, choosing to try Kane and Frolik at center instead of Sharp--you know, the guy that played center for the Cup run. Perhaps the most chilling part of all of this, is that its the exact things that Blues and Avalanche fans warned us about when the Hawks hired Q. After winning the Cup, the intensity is pretty much gone.
Even last year, though they lost their depth, the Hawks were expected to contend for #1 and finish #4. They didn't even come close. We were willing to let it slide as a "fluke", but this year they're in a similar position.
Plus, rumors are circling that Quenneville doesn't get along with management anymore, which isn't going to help his chances any. I'd guess that, unless the Hawks finish in 6th (still a possibility), that Quenneville will be replaced this off-season.
I'm grateful that Quenneville had a part in winning this club's only cup in 50 years. But unless there's a coaching change, that will be the only Cup this team sees in the near future. For some, making the playoffs is "enough". Not for others.
Good points by Teemu. Our special teams are what concerns me most about our team. The problem is, I'm not sure how much say/influence Q has in those areas.
Regardless, we should not be fighting for a playoff spot this desperately at this point in the season with the talent on our roster.
Very Good at implementing a system.
Knows how to bring the skill out of his players.
Doesn't handle adversity well.
Turns on his players when things aren't going well.
Relies on good goaltending for his system to work, but doesn't know how to identify talent at the position.
Is one of the worst coaches in the league according to (apparantly) 75% of the Hawks fans on HF Boards
This. We forget how lucky we are to have him. There may have been some communication issues between him and the players this year, but I don't think one disappointing year is any reason to fire him (last year doesn't count, the team wasn't good enough).
The goaltending issue needs to be fixed before Quenneville gets undeservingly fired.
Teemu made some good points. This team has holes, but the special teams can't be this bad with guys like Kane, Hossa and Toews + Seabrook, Keith and Sharp
Hes a good coach I think, great leader, personality and great with bonding with the players, thats what makes a good coach, ability to bond with the players, just the goaltending is crap, they need to trade for a good goalie prospect or something, the hawks in 2010, were actually a team.
Teemu made some good points. This team has holes, but the special teams can't be this bad with guys like Kane, Hossa and Toews + Seabrook, Keith and Sharp
there is no excuse for this
Well, obviously they can be this bad because they are. The coach can only do so much. It's up to the players to execute.
still see a a team that was so so deep and when they lost that incredible depth...
became a solid team with good core players ....but not the elite team they were....at least until they solve their goaltending woes and/or their young prospects are able to play consistently and fill out their roster,
cant just run their top pairing and top line and expect a great run
so i dont know if you can pin all that on coach Q....although the pp should have been fixed by now
The problem with Q is that I don't think he's very good at evaluating talent.
When things aren't going well his goalies get ****ed, and lines start juggling. He always tries to fit guys into the wrong spots because of his "system" needing certain players.
He's a guy who you bring in to take your team over the top, he's not someone who is good at controlling teams that don't have a lot of talent on the roster.
There are coaches in this league operating with much less of a core who have records that exceed the talent level at their disposal because they are strong systems coaches who demand accountability from their players. Quenneville is not one of those coaches. He does not make teams exceed their talent level. Quite the opposite, he needs a heck of a lot of talent at his disposal.
I wonder what Barry Trotz could do with two scoring lines built around Toews-Kane and Sharp-Hossa, a premier shut-down center in Bolland and two d-men like Keith and Seabrook. Or Dave Tippett. Or Paul McLean and Kevin Dineen.
Assuming you're a Rangers fan, you get to see Chicago up close tonight. Watch how easily the 'Hawks give up the middle of the ice in their own zone tonight. I don't think there is a team in the league that gives up as many quality chances as the 'Hawks do.
Then because of his longevity, you'll probably hear the commentators start to praise Quenneville for the inevitable line-juggling that results, as if he were some task-master genius in the process of out-witting his opposition as he comes up with just the right mix of forward lines that apply to tonight's game and circumstances only.
Don't get me started on his hiring of buddy Mike Kitchen and the special teams...........
Q has a tendancy to overplay his top players. This strategy risks burnout, injuries, and slow downs development of his depth players. Q then becomes less trusting of his depth players and even more reliant on his top players.
Q is a better coach now that John Scott is no longer an option on the lineup card.
