R.I.P. - Blackhawks Goalie Debate: July 1, 2008 - March 25, 2010

Last night the goaltending (and soon the whole team) had sort of a strnch of death about them. Impending flu epidemic? I would almost welcome it as the ‘excuse du jour’.

If Huet gets bought out, don’t we retain a cap hit for 4 more years?

Iif I remember right, a buy out gives you have the current cap hit for twice the time). Not exactly good news for team that already has serious cap issues to deal with this summer.

Rex Grossman complex my ass.

That after this post all goalie debate is verbotten? Because that would be sweet, there are 18 other dudes playing in front of the crease to yell at.

Bc they’ll give me free housing till I fly home on mon. Old friends, but I don’t really want to hear grief about last night’s loss. It still hurts too much.

when he says:

To make matters worse for Hawk fans Huet couldn’t have picked a worse night to be bad, as many of his teammates weren’t very good either.

Huey’s badness last night did not cost the Hawks, precisely because the rest of the team got beat. Much, much worse to kick a team’s butt and have your goalie blow it.

It WAS bad for Huey of course, and potentially bad for the team if Niemi falters and Huey is now an emotional puddle.

us the Boston Bruins of the past few years?

I have seen him go through what Huet went through last night, and he had to stay out ther because he is the only goalie dressed for a game. If a goalie loses his shit (tub-shit), you have to take him out. 3rd goal would have been that time.
Niemi was sitting there, not playing. Why? I didn’t watch Ditka lite after the game, but I’m sure it was for some delusional reason. And once you take him out, that’s it! Unless, of course there is an injury.

So, Miller Lite will not be served for games in Casa de Laaarmer after this. I’m switching to snob beer. You dillweeds have poisoned me.

(which should be evident by the fact that I’m part of this crowd of misfits), so I can’t access the whole article, but the rest of the league isn’t nearly as down on the Hawks as some of us have been.

Because since the Olympics not much has gone right besides the Coyotes game.

giving up a two goal lead and five goals in one period.
Blowing a two goal lead to the seemingly punchless Flyers.
Losing to the Islanders and giving up 5 goals to them in two periods.

Let’s face it, Niemi has been gifted a shutout in the game the Hawks actually decided to play defense, though he was amazing in net against the Coyotes, the second go round. He shows flashes of brilliance, but flashes can only get you so far. Personally, though I am no hockey genius, I seriously believe Quennvilles obsession with pulling a guy when he has a bad game is not going to help a certain goalies play, Huet. In addition to switching up the lines in a panic like we haven’t scored in ions when we are merely down 2 goals to a BJ team that’s defense has been atrocious. I don’t think it is helping as much as it is hindering.
Niemi is the starter hands down but not by choice but more so elimination which is sad.

The defense is showing vulnerability, of course the injuries are an issue but that won’t stop a team from knocking your ass out of the playoffs.
Certain forwards are looking fatigued and personally I thought Sharp shooter looked damn lost more so than anyone last night, that and the constant line juggling probably isn’t helping.

Last night was just depressing to watch. Hopefully they turn it around. God forbid Niemi giving up more than 3 goals to the BJs Sunday.

if Huet is this bad next start the Hawks should bring Crawford in for a game or two, really?

I don’t know why there is so much aprehension when it comes to Niemi being the starter come playoff time (I don’t believe Q will switch netminders come April)? The ‘Hawks aren’t the only team in that boat as many other teams are starting netminders that have to little to no experience come playoff time. Detroit, Nashville, Colorado, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, Ottawa, are starting netminders with ZERO starts in the post-season with Halak only having one start for Montreal. So with that, 56.25% of the teams in this year’s edition of the Stanley Cup Playoffs will have a netminder entering as the starter for the very first time.

Niemi has been the better of the two netminders for quite some time (the turn of the calendar year) and is more than deserving of this opportunity, but if he fails then the ‘Hawks are in massive trouble because Huet has completely lost it. He’s gone and ain’t coming back this season – if not ever.

Huet does have a better track record but this season has been, by far, his worst and now is nothing more than a supporter than an active participant. Right now Niemi is the better and, more importantly, more confident one and that’s what the ‘Hawks need more than anything else. It doesn’t matter who has the larger sample size or experience, but who is the more confident of the two and right now the answer is Niemi.

Top ten gifts to give your goalie

10. SPF 30 sunscreen, for that annoying back of the neck burn.

9. For the significant other on your list, here’s one that won’t cost you a penny: After the game, you can “tend to his/her equipment”, if you know what I mean.

8. Chia Pet (hey, everyone loves chia pets).

7. Ice packs, Ice packs, and more ice packs.

6. Patrick Roy’s newest instructional video: “How to alienate a whole city in three easy steps” (endorsed by Mike Keenan)

5. Dominic Hasek’s newest instructional video: “Ugly goaltending made easy.”

4. Blaine Lacher’s newest instructional video: “Riding the Pine with Style”

3. A contract with a real NHL team, instead of an AHL or a contract in hockey hell (Curtis Joesph only)

2. Clothing that brings out the color of bruises.

1. Gift certificate for mental health services.

Top Ten Disadvantages To Being a Hockey Goalie

10. Smart Asses that toss beach balls at the net.

9. Letting those beach balls in.

8. Jealous back-up’s that hide your cup, causing “puck castration”

7. Always annoying death threats from opposition upon stopping a 2-1.

6. Always annoying death threats from teammates upon letting in a 2-1.

5. Always annoying death threats from fans upon stepping onto the ice.

4. Paternity suits from the mother of the Uniroyal man

3. Being a stop rated NHL goalie, being traded to a cold Canadian city, not getting the money you deserve, and having to play in Las Vegas (Curtis Joseph only)

2. The opposite sex just doesn’t understand why you have to wear a mask to bed.

1. When you flip the ref the bird behind the blocker, they can’t even tell.

we all new these were average/mediocre/just-a-guy type goalies, and that they didn’t need to “stand on their heads” for the team to have a chance at the Cup.

If we can all move on now to the porous defence, cluster-fuck line combos, sloppy passing, and general fatigue of the team, I for one will be happy (relatively).

Many of us have said all season that the Goalie Situation won’t be what stops the Hawks from a parade this summer. It’s the inconsistant scoring and defensive lapses that could do the team in.

9 games to figure that crap out. Hopefully they have a proctologist on staff to help with the removal of heads from asses.

Top 25 Reasons Hockey is Better Then Sex
25. It’s ok to bleed during play.

24. If it’s a bad game, you can call a time out.

23. Every player usually has two or three sticks to choose from.

22. There is a limit to the sizes of all equipment.

21. You can still play when you get married.

20. You can change on the fly.

19. Anytime you see an open net, you can go for it.

18. If you can’t get it up, who cares?

17. You can score on all the teams in the league over and over.

16. You can pull the goalie without getting yelled at!

15. It is broadcast live on TV.

14. Everyone can shoot at the same goal.

13. You can shoot in the goal and it’s a good thing!

12. Because of the facemask, nothing can get in your eyes!

11. You always know how big the stick is

10. It’s legal to play hockey professionally.

9. The puck is always hard.

8. Protective equipment is reusable and you don’t even have to wash it.

7. It lasts a full hour.

6. You know you’re finished when the buzzer sounds.

5. Your parents cheer when you score.

4. When you’re tired you’re supposed to get off and let a buddy take your place.

3. You can count on it at least twice a week.

2. You can tell your friends about it afterwards.

And, the number one reason hockey is better than sex…

1. A two-on-one or three-on-one is not uncommon.

a new bloge salming/down goes brown gem

at which point he will be replaced with Burish.

Calendar!Huet got to watch his own clusterfuck last night. Poor picture.

I know we have plenty of problems besides goalie. But in case we need the Frenchman for the playoffs, he has to get at least two or three more starts to build some semblance of confidence. Here’s the rest of the schedule:

v. B.J.’s 3/28
@ STL 3/30
@ Minn. 3/31
@ N.J. 4/2
v. Cal 4/4
@ Dal 4/6
v. Stl 4/7
@ Avs 4/9
v. Scum 4/11

If your Q, what games do you start him? If he wasn’t sick and completely healthy, I thought playing Huey against Columbus yesterday was perfect: against a below average team after a good win and away from the pressures of an over zealous UC crowd. But we saw how that became a complete clusterfuck. Given that, the games I would play him would be the:

3/31 Minn game – second of back to back and Cris can try to overcome the demons of his last Min. start, which I believe was the start of his slide to suckdom, plus you’re probably not going to play Niemi on back to back nights anyways

4/4 Calgary – He needs another start at home b/c the last thing I want for him is to play his first playoff game at the UC with a hostile crowd waiting to erupt, plus Calgary should be fairly close to being eliminated from the playoffs at this point and their offense sucks.

4/6 Dal- I picked this game b/c it allows Huet to get back to back starts and lets Niemi to play the last three going into the playoffs (I qualified this below) and gather some rhythm.

I’ll add this too, I might start Huet against Detroit if the Hawks are playing well up to that game and Niemi played well against the the Blues and Avs. The Hawks may be resting some of their regulars for the game anyways if they are set in their playoff spot (which I’m fairly confident they will be set as the 1 seed). However, even though some fans disagree with such strategy, this may be a game that the Hawks cede to the Wings for the sheer fact that it gets them away from us in the first round. If Huet faces 50 shots and gives up 5 against Scum, it’s not a bad loss for him and maybe it gets the bad taste out his mouth form the last Wings game. Yeah, I know, others will say we should take on all comers and beat the best, but I’d rather face a true 7-8 seed in the first round as oppose to one that would easily be in the top 4 of the conference if they were healthy all year. So there you have it, my answer is the three games I mentioned plus maybe the Wings game.

We bitch a lot about Q and how he handles the goalies. Well, what would you do w/ Huet? if you were Q, how many and which games would you play him in for the rest of the year? And if he completely fucks up, do we bring up Crawford or roll the dice and hope Huet can rekindle some kind of form that he has displayed in the previous playoff games he’s been in (not counting game 4 against scum)?

The rest of the team needs to show up, everything is fine and I am not worried about it.. but they better come out on fire on Sunday

“The good news is, we’re gonna score a lot of goals. The bad news is, we’re gonna need to.”

The last time I posted this — about a month or so ago — I got slapped (deservedly, I suppose) with the fact that our goals against at the time was actually pretty good.

But I think that I’m now prepared to say that the path to the Cup lies in just flat-out out-scoring the other team.

“You put up 6 on us? Fuck you, here’s 7, Bitch.”

I tried to read some stuff around here over the last day, but it was just too depressing. Credit to all of you who hung in there. It would figure I don’t get to watch the Hawks play again till Sunday. I can’t believe 1 shit-hole awful game out of 82 and I feel like this. The Bears crap the bed and it’s a giant portion of the season and has huge implications, but this hardly has any real meaning. The goalie bla bla bla, it still doesn’t mean shit till it means shit. Who knows how it will play out?
If _(I’m not even putting a name in here out of fear of jinxing) got taken out for the season, that would be tragic. This shit-hole couple of hours not really, it might light a fire under the team,or they might just play to the level of their completion, who knows.
I am starting to wonder if Chicago fans deserve themselves. A self fulfilling prophecy. Maybe the only way a team can win here is if they’re blatantly superior to all, like the 85 Bears or the Jordan/Pippen Bulls.
Last year when Detroit saw Osgood stinking it up did they try to destroy him? I don’t think so and he rewarded them with a fantastic playoff run. Are they better fans?
I think part of the problem I have is I see this team and think realistically they could win every game 7-1 or 7-2.
As for some hope,well they played their best when it mattered, they played their best in the playoffs, their elite players looked like the worlds best in the Olympics, and it’s reasonable to think they’ll give it their A effort come playoff time.
Everyone who’s burying Huet has no more control over his next outing than the raccoon that keeps tipping over my garbage can but are just as noisy. I hope he’ll do well, the team needs him.

Or maybe… Doctor Phil, Oprah, Dr. Drew, or the Goalie Nanny?

is Kick-Ass. This looks like it’ll be a fun movie.

At the IMDb page the trailer link all the way on the right is the R-rated version (lots of foul language).

the road to the Cup goes thru Huet.
Mark my words…Huet will catch fire…play as good…. for as bad as he has played.

There I said it….and I believe it.

None of my pals (or even asshole Detoilet fans) are calling – it’s fuckin’ great. It’s understood I’m dangerous as shit right now. I’m enduring a 15 minute quasi-sober period this a.m. to read and write here and I can’t wait to throw away the cap off the next bottle of Appletons. Okay, I’m done. I’ll check in tomorrow night. Fuck.

I don’t want my movie experience to be ruined by that meth-head forgetting what type of dictation he’s supposed to be using.

I’m going out to find this Sleeman’s crap. I’ll have to test it watching some other team or basletball.
It better be good. Luckily there are 3 more Pint cans in the fridge.

Kane with 0 shots really is a bad thing. That little bastard better be wasted right now. I need some offense.

During this period getting the 8th seed would have been a great season

Just a few empty seats in the middle of the 2nd.

Remember it could be worse, than just a goalie fiasco!

And Fuck Scum

playoffs last season? He almost took them to the GD Stanley Cup.

Ignore me while I try and regain my psyche on the Hawks for the playoffs.