What would you do to fix this team right now?

by SCH on Dec 16, 2007 10:22 PM CST

I'd like to open this thread up to anyone who has an opinion right now. Don't be shy, don't be afraid to share your thoughts. Leave a comment if you have something you feel needs to be said about this team.

I'd like to put everyone in the place of Denis Savard. You're the coach of the Blackhawks, a team that now has an overall record of 15-15-2 on the year and is just 1-6-0 in their last seven games. Your team's power play is fading away after a strong start, they can't bury scoring chances, and you're falling in the standings after being right in the thick of things.

Right now, what changes or tweaks would you make to the lineup/team strategy/philosophy to get this team back on the right track? What needs to be done to light a fire under these guys and get them back playing at the level they should be? I'll start off with some of my own ideas:

Figure out what you're going to do with David Koci.

Koci had just 2:08 of ice time in tonight's loss to Florida. I don't understand why Denis Savard bothers dressing him if he's not going to let him play enough to really be a factor. A few games ago, Koci received one shift for 30 seconds. That's ridiculous. I understand Koci is basically just an enforcer and isn't very skilled at any facets of the game, but if Savard doesn't value Koci, then he needs to stop playing him, simple as that.

Move Dustin Byfuglien back to defense.

Byfuglien may have been drafted as a forward but he's been playing defense in the minor leagues and I think this is where he's become comfortable, and with his shot and physicality, he's much more valuable as a defenseman. If you move him back there, there is no need to play Magnus Johansson anymore, which brings me to my next point...

Get Magnus Johansson off the roster.

I'm not sure how I can really elaborate much on this point, but I can say that Johansson is not someone who can play defense in the NHL. Watching him on the ice is brutal, he brings nothing to the table. He doesn't play physical at all and gives the puck away with frightening regularity. Send him down, waive him, get rid of him some how and put Byfuglien in his spot on defense.

Stop juggling the lines so much.

Martin Havlat and Robert Lang have both come out and said how much they would like to be able to play with set lines and develop some chemistry. Denis Savard needs to figure out what lines will work the best and keep them that way. Remember when he did this early in the season, and we were winning? Yeah. Time to go back to that.

Don't give Duncan Keith so much ice time.

I know some people will disagree with me on this, and I understand that, but I have a hard time believing that Duncan Keith is a capable defenseman right now. He improves by small amounts as the game goes on, but the amount of turnovers in his own zone is really frustrating. He's gotten a little better this season, but I still don't believe he should be getting 22-23 minutes on the ice every night.

Call up Cam Barker.

If Savard is going to be scratching Jim Vandermeer or Magnus Johansson so frequently, then maybe it's time to call up a new defenseman and give him a chance. Barker is young, has good offensive abilities and could even help out on the power play. Why not give him a chance at this point and see if he can help out on the blue line?

Well, there it is. Go ahead and have at it, let it be known what you think needs to be done with this team.

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Comments

I hear your frustration...

but is there anything that Savard can really do here? I just don't think there is anyone in the Rockford roster that will solve the puzzle.

With regard to your comments, my thoughts:

Koci does seem to be useless. The Hawks should've known the days of the pure enforcer were over. Is there a FA out there? Would Bickell be better? (I have no idea if he could fill the role).

You're right about Byfuglien. He can clear a crease and lay a hit on with the best of them. Giving him more ice time on defense may just spark things a little.

Which also ties into your follow on - get rid of Johannsen. There's a reason he's a 34 year old rookie. Send him home where he won't embarass himself.

Agree. A little consistency in the lines may lead to them being in better sync.

Disagree. While it's true Keith is not a #1 defensemen, there really isn't anyone on the team who is. Sopel? Maybe on his good days. And Keith seems to be playing more consistently than Seabrook or any of the others.

Do you think Barker is ready to make the leap defensively? Isn't he better off where he is now, no matter how bad it is for the Hawks? I'd like to see him confident and prepared rather than lost and chasing his tail at the U.C.

I was also happy to see you didn't say they needed to give more ice time to Samsonov. He's had plenty of chances to generate offcense and all he can show is a lousy 4 assists. Given his defensive liablities, if he can't generate anything then he ought to be benched. Permanently.

Bottom line - the team started out better than we imagined and got our hopes up. But they're still really young and this will be a roller coaster season for them. And us.

by whw on Dec 17, 2007 5:31 AM CST reply actions

On Barker...

From what I've heard, Barker is doing great in Rockford, it seems to me he doesn't really have anything left to prove down there. Personally, I don't think we would be hurting his development by giving him a look right now. I'm just tired of seeing Vandermeer/Johansson rotated in and out and Savard unhappy with both.

by SCH on Dec 17, 2007 7:28 AM CST reply actions

My opinion

I agree with everything you said except what to do with Buff.

He's been inconsistent which can be expected as a youngster both as a forward and a defender but with the Hawks thin at forward right now, I think that's where we need him most. He has the size to be the low presence we need so badly and I think he'd just prove to be more valuable to us up front if he can keep progressing at the rate he has been.

I think you're making a mistake with Keith if you sit him. We need all the offense we can get and he offers the most from the blue line. I would also call up Cam Barker though.

My ideal lines (right now) would be as follows:

Ruutu-Lang-Havlat (our stars)
Sharp-Toews-Kane (our young studs)
Byfuglien-Bolland-Burish (our grinders)
Samsonov/Koci-Perreault-Lapointe (our useless guys)

I know, that fourth line is a pile of dog shit. Once Williams or Bourque come back though, you can scratch both Koci and Samsonov since the Hawks currently have an open roster spot. I like Koci when the other team has some meat on the ice but if he's not going to play, keep putting Samsonov out there to see if he can get lucky.

When the second person comes back, one of those four guys on my fourth line have to be traded or put on waivers and I don't care who it is. My guess is that Perreault will be safe since none of the others could play an effective center. Perreault barely can but still...

Defensively, here's my six:

Keith-Seabrook (our young studs)
Zyuzin-Sopel (our salty vets)
Vandermeer-Wisniewski (our grinders)

Scratched would be Barker. Bye bye Magnus!

By the way, I love playing the roster game. :)

http://mvn.com/nhl-blackhawks/

by antbogey on Dec 17, 2007 1:01 PM CST reply actions

Since I disagreed about Keith too

I guess I disagreed on two things

http://mvn.com/nhl-blackhawks/

by antbogey on Dec 17, 2007 1:40 PM CST up reply actions

What was I thinking when I wrote this

Barker wouldn't be scratched. It'd be stupid to call him up just to sit him. I'd scratch Zyuzin instead.

http://mvn.com/nhl-blackhawks/

by antbogey on Dec 17, 2007 1:41 PM CST up reply actions

Logjam of forwards

The Hawks seem to have a lot of forwards that are either useless or don't get much ice time right now:

Perreault (although he's a good faceoff guy)
Lapointe (just plain useless)
Samsonov (I always think he's finally gonna break that scoring drought but it never happens)
Koci (Savard doesn't wanna play him much OR doesn't play him in the right games)

I think that's an issue right now, too much lineup juggling when it's obvious Savard doesn't want to play some of these guys. You can say the same on defense about Johansson, Vandermeer, and Zyuzin, these guys have been rotated in and out of the press box and when any of them play they don't make any kind of difference on the ice. This is why I wouldn't mind seeing guys like Barker, Brouwer, perhaps Blunden called up, give a young guy a chance over someone who clearly isn't earning ice time.

by SCH on Dec 17, 2007 7:34 PM CST reply actions

Trade?

I think that we have all realized that Samsonov is not the player the hawks thought they were getting. He's obviously not a goal scorer which is the entire reason to bring him on the team.

That being said there has to be a market out there for an elite goal scorer to complement our young rookies and Havlat. I don't think you can count on Toews (i'm not going to spend time looking up how to spell these names) and Kane. You kind of have to take the approach the cubs did with wood and prior, you have them and if they produce fine, but don't count on them, except with these two it's because they are rookies. Havlat has shown he can carry a team, but with his shoulder that might or might not be 100% why not go out there and get 1 more top guy. Are they really strapped for cash on the salary cap? If so the Berlin wall came down a long time ago and it seems the same was true for Nikoli. I understand he has the ability to play an outstanding game, but he lets in way to many SOFT goals for a top goaltender. I"m not saying Lalime should be a Number 1, but if there are teams out there that are desperate for goaltending and will give up top scorer for a goalie then i think that this is a choice they should persue. Send Him back to the lightning for St. Louis.

My last point is chemistry, not with the lines, but the daily roster moves. Guys like Vandemeer, LaPointe and Koci are necessary components to all NHL rosters ESPECIALLY with the two 19 year olds on the team. These are not the guys that are costing the Hawks games right now. It really is lack of experience and DUMB TURNOVERS! I don't know if anyone else has noticed but the hawks don't give up goals when they are being pressured. They give up the goals on stupid turnovers in their own zone. That is just inexperience.

Lapointe Koci and Jimbo need to be kept

Yanic and Sergi, whatever, get rid of them i don't know how cutting a player works with the nhl against salaries or whatnot but if you don't think there is a spot for an enforcer on a team then there is definitely not a spot for a guy who only takes faceoffs. It is important but not important enough to keep a guy on the team for when he is not doing anything else.

by benschatz on Dec 18, 2007 3:26 AM CST reply actions

There is room for enforcers

But not for players that are ONLY enforcers who don't know a hockey stick from a tree branch.

You don't need Koci on this team. Vandermeer, Burish, and Wiz would all stand up and defend our fragile valuables. There are other players that can be acquired that fill Koci's role as enforcer but also know how to play hockey.

Lapointe has some value until a new leader can be brought in. I see his intangible value (barely) but as soon as he can be replaced, he will be.

As for Vandy, I'm a fan of his but if he needs to be packaged in a deal to bring in a better, stronger defenseman, I'd be behind it.

http://mvn.com/nhl-blackhawks/

by antbogey on Dec 18, 2007 8:49 AM CST up reply actions