Monday was not a great day for the Blackhawks.
The team practiced ahead of Tuesday’s home game against the Anaheim Ducks but news items that emerged from post-practice interviews stole most of the attention, largely revolving around the decision to scratch Taylor Hall for Saturday’s road game against the Vancouver Canucks.
That decision caught plenty of people off-guard, including the person directly affected by it:
Taylor Hall on getting scratched Saturday: “It was unexpected. I just didn’t know I was even close to being in that spot, really. If there were some conversations in the days leading up about my game, or if I was constantly being shown video, it would be one thing."
— Ben Pope (@benpopecst.bsky.social) November 18, 2024 at 12:23 PM
Richardson did own up to the lack of communication with Hall prior to making that decision:
Luke Richardson on that lack of communication with Hall: "That could be part of my problem, too. You sometimes give veterans a little bit more grace period. I know he's been frustrated. I don't want the frustration to leave too long, so it was a good time for maybe a setback.
— Scott Powers (@scottpowers.bsky.social) November 18, 2024 at 12:30 PM
"But for me to communicate with him, I need to get to know the player more, see how they like to handle that. Obviously we've talked lots during and after, but maybe before, it needs to be more before. That's just something I learn about one player."
— Scott Powers (@scottpowers.bsky.social) November 18, 2024 at 12:30 PM
Nothing about this is going to inspire much confidence in the coach, though. A player with an MVP trophy among his career accolades — even though he’s clearly on the back-nine of his career — is going to command a measure of respect in the locker room and should receive a similar measure of respect from the coach. A surprise trip to the bench isn’t doesn’t seem to be in line with the idea of showing a veteran respect, does it?
Hall was at least back among the four forward lines at Monday’s practice, but skating with Ryan Donato and Ilya Mikheyev on the third line. The top line has Bedard with … Jason Dickinson and Joey Anderson? Yeah, sure. Fine. Whatever. And then the second line was Teuvo Teravainen and Philipp Kurashev on the wings for Nick Foligno in the middle. Tyler Bertuzzi appears to have been demoted to the fourth line alongside Lukas Reichel and Craig Smith, with Pat Maroon apparently headed for a view from the press box:
Blackhawks' forward lines in practice today — they keep getting wackier: Bedard-Dickinson-Anderson Teravainen-Foligno-Kurashev Hall-Donato-Mikheyev Bertuzzi-Reichel-Smith *Maroon rotating
— Ben Pope (@benpopecst.bsky.social) November 18, 2024 at 11:17 AM
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Chicago has the worst record in the league, its coach can’t find a lineup that works despite a plethora of shuffles, one of the team’s veterans is publicly airing grievances and the team has scored a whopping SIX goals in its last FIVE games.
And all this can be yours to watch for the low price of $20 per month!