Brian Bickell, Andrew Ladd, and Andrew “I'm Often Mistaken For Schemp” Shaw...gone. Brian Campbell, Marian Hossa, and Michal Rosival...glue factory.
Defensemen Gustav Forsling and Michal Kempney, and forwards Tyler Motte and Nick Schmaltz are all rookies who cracked the Opening Night active roster for Chicago. Forward Ryan Hartman also picked up his first NHL goal in that 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues. Hartman is in his third season, but only had nine games of NHL experience coming into Wednesday’s opener. Schmaltz’s older brother Jordan is expected to see his NHL debut with the Blues at some point this season.
As a lifelong Blues fan (evident by the color scheme of this blog), I grew up hating the Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. It may be just three games into their 2016-17 season, but dating back to that series last April, Chicago has shown they are no closer to getting back to the Stanley Cup Finals than the yet-unnamed Las Vegas franchise, who does not start play until next season.
When the Blues eliminated the Blackhawks in seven games, it marked the first time Chicago did not reach the Western Conference Finals since 2012. In a series marred by the officiating, the first evidence that Chicago’s run at the top is officially over became clearly apparent. The Blackhawks were outskated, and could have been swept if not for blatant calls in their favor to make the series more competitive. After Shaw flipped off an official, and used a homophobic slur in Game Four, Blues fans immediately (and sarcastically) took to social media to figure out how the league was going to somehow call the penalty against St. Louis for Shaw’s antics. Never mind that defenseman Duncan Keith was suspended just six games after spearing Minnesota’s Charlie Coyle in the face late in the regular season. The suspension should have warranted double-digits, as Keith was a repeat offender. Instead, Keith missed five meaningless regular season games, and Game One of the Blues’ series. It was if he was rewarded with a chance to rest before the series really got going. You cannot win a series after Game One, but you can sure put the defining stamp on it after Game Two.
Now most say those who complain about the officiating are bitter because their team is not good enough to win. In the case of the Blackhawks, the argument is that without the officiating to keep them successful in the postseason, they may be exposed as no longer being relevant when discussing championship aspirations.
Of course there was the rape allegation against Kane from August 2015. In the end, the accuser refused to cooperate with authorities during the investigation, and charges were dropped. The league did not discipline Kane whatsoever, and in hindsight it was the correct call. However, Kane should ask Kobe Bryant how that accusation will hang over his head for the remainder of his life, not just his playing career. Kane was 26 at the time of the allegation, and had a distinct reputation as an off-season bar hopper. You just had to figure something like this was going to come out after Chicago won the Cup in 2015. Yet, one would figure that Kane had his third title in six seasons, and should have acted like he should not have to play the “I have a big silver trophy with me...I can do whatever I want” card.
Jonathan Toews is one of the premier captains in the NHL. Toews is one of the few Blackhawks I can respect, wearing the Blue Note proudly as a fan for over three decades. Toews is never in the news, and displays with the same sternness and composure both on and off the ice.
However, Chicago’s biggest issue is not the youth movement, or the loss of key veterans...it is their goaltending. I will not deny that Crawford is an instrumental piece of the Blackhawks resurgence this decade. However, their past two championships have been won not because of Crawford, but distinctly in spite of him. When Crawford is on his game, you can put him in the category of Los Angeles’ Jonathan Quick or Washington’s Braden Holtby. However, when Crawford is not razor-sharp, you may as well put three goals on the opponent’s portion of the scoreboard, and save yourself the trouble. Crawford may not be as hot-headed as journeyman goalie Ray Emery, but seems to become emotionally explosive in recent years. Go back to his altercation with Blues’ forward Robbie Fabbri in Game Three last season if you need proof.
The Blackhawks and Blues meet in the NHL’s Winter Classic on January 2 this season at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. This will mark the fifth-straight year Chicago will play in an outdoor stadium regular season game. The NHL will have hosted 19 regular season outdoor games, meaning the Blackhawks will have played in more than a quarter of them. To put this in perspective, seven franchises (Arizona, Carolina, Columbus, Dallas, Florida, Nashville, and Tampa Bay) have yet to have such an experience.
Did the NHL conveniently forget that three of those teams have Stanley Cup Championship banners hanging in their arenas, and Columbus (3 miles) and Nashville (180 miles) play within driving distance of the third- and fifth-largest seating capacity football stadiums in North America?
-JC24