Blackhawks to be power house?

[numberthirtynine 0]

Pretty damned good. You know how much any other team envies us? Rafalski is one of the best in the league. And only on this forum would that sound crazy to anyone. Just because he's not Lidstrom, we think he's horrible. He's a fantastic Dman. Ericsson has shown in his first season that he might become one of the leagues best in a few years and was great this season. Kronwall and Stuart, for a second defensive pairing, can be as good as it gets.

We're just so overly critical of every other Dman who isn't Lidstrom because we're spoiled. You see this so often with great players. Fans aren't satisfied with anyone else.

[Number19 159]

Wings have been a powerhouse since 1994 imo.

I'd have to agree.

[UKWING 8]

Pretty damned good. You know how much any other team envies us? Rafalski is one of the best in the league. And only on this forum would that sound crazy to anyone. Just because he's not Lidstrom, we think he's horrible. He's a fantastic Dman. Ericsson has shown in his first season that he might become one of the leagues best in a few years and was great this season. Kronwall and Stuart, for a second defensive pairing, can be as good as it gets.

We're just so overly critical of every other Dman who isn't Lidstrom because we're spoiled. You see this so often with great players. Fans aren't satisfied with anyone else.

rafalski is one of the best offensive d-men in the league yes - but defensively he is average at best. ericsson has potential but to say he could be one of the league's best in a few years is pretty hopeful. he was awful after the ducks series and stuart and kronwall were far from stellar too. defensively, lilja is the wings 2nd best defenseman behind lidstrom IMO.

as i have already said - the wings have the best offensive D corps in the league; but they are not the best defensively.

[numberthirtynine 0]

Once I saw you call Rafalski average at best I just stopped reading. Like I said, we'er spoiled. Rafalski only catches unnecessary flack here because we expect him to be Lidstrom. He's far better than average.

[Zack is Great 14]

rafalski is one of the best offensive d-men in the league yes - but defensively he is average at best. ericsson has potential but to say he could be one of the league's best in a few years is pretty hopeful. he was awful after the ducks series and stuart and kronwall were far from stellar too. defensively, lilja is the wings 2nd best defenseman behind lidstrom IMO.

as i have already said - the wings have the best offensive D corps in the league; but they are not the best defensively.

When you're comparing all your Dmen to Lidstrom, anybody looks average at best. Lidstrom is a beast, a legend who wont be equalled for a long long time, who will go down as one of the greatest defenseman of all time.

That being said, Rafalaski, Ericcson, Kronwall and and the rest are still a great defensive team.

Or is our defense only good because Osba- er, Osgood in net now?

[UKWING 8]

When you're comparing all your Dmen to Lidstrom, anybody looks average at best. Lidstrom is a beast, a legend who wont be equalled for a long long time, who will go down as one of the greatest defenseman of all time.

That being said, Rafalaski, Ericcson, Kronwall and and the rest are still a great defensive team.

Or is our defense only good because Osba- er, Osgood in net now?

i never said the defence was not good; i said it is not the best in the league. you are entitled to your opinion, but IMO kronwall, stuart and rafalski are not as good defensively as regehr, sarich and bouwmeester.

[numberthirtynine 0]

i never said the defence was not good; i said it is not the best in the league. you are entitled to your opinion, but IMO kronwall, stuart and rafalski are not as good defensively as regehr, sarich and bouwmeester.

That's absolutely rubber room insane. Regehr is massively overrated and Sarich is crap.

[UKWING 8]

Once I saw you call Rafalski average at best I just stopped reading. Like I said, we'er spoiled. Rafalski only catches unnecessary flack here because we expect him to be Lidstrom. He's far better than average.

i like rafalski and overall he is an excellent player but defensively he is average.

[numberthirtynine 0]

Yeah and the sky is green and water is dry. Rafalski breaks up plays better than 9/10 of the league, has pictuer perfect positioning in his own end, is a great passer, has some of the best vision of any player. I'd like to know why you're so dead set on calling him average when he's not.

[UKWING 8]

That's absolutely rubber room insane. Regehr is massively overrated and Sarich is crap.

do you honestly think that rafalski is better defensively than regehr?

[Factorial 0]

I think from Hossa signing the Chicago now command, it is which necessary to beat in the West. The young forwards with their group in the composition and veterans they where the Penguins were a little years ago. Redwings by another year Star, is less the bombardier of purpose 40, and they slant in order to be Islanders 1982-1983. Pens against the Hawks in 2010 Pens of final examinations ..... in 6.

[Copenhagen848 58]

Wings have been a powerhouse since 1994 imo.

x 3

[numberthirtynine 0]

do you honestly think that rafalski is better defensively than regehr?

Are you f***in high?! Yes, obviously he is. Brian Rafalski playing with a ringette stick is better than Regehr, who is so hugely overrated it makes me want to puke. I watch every game the man plays, an unfortunate side effect of where I live and when I get off work and he's nothing special. Where this snowballing opinion of him being a good defenseman came from I'll never know.

[Snazzy 0]

What's up with all these stupid blackhawk threads popping up?

Surely your post NEEDED a new thread... c'mon dude.

[MadMan Mark 0]

Chi still has a mediocre goalie who has never won anything and a mediocre D. Pens didn't do anything to help their D, in fact they lost Gill (no great loss) and Scuderi. IMO, Hawks dump in 2nd Round next year and Pens go out in ECF to Washington, who will be hungrier than Pens, suffering from a Cup hangover.

Wings in 5 over the Caps in the Finals.

Lidstrom hoists the Cup in June 2010 and calls it a career with 5 Cups.

[Johnny Diamonds 25]

There was only one team heading into the playoffs who had a worse GAA than the Wings and guess who that was? The Flames! Now adding Bouwmeester helps quite a bit but it is still a poor defensive unit. The Wings had a Cup hangover as an excuse and Babcock even admitted that they never turned the physical play up to full speed during the regular season. But what was the Flames excuse last season?

Edited July 2, 2009 by Johnny Diamonds

[hooon 1,089]

saying that 'there defense is the same as last year, but their goaltending is worse'

couldnt you say the same exact thing about us?

That being said, they have quenville at the bench who will definately screw things up, and i predict the hawks will have tons of winning/losing streaks throughout season and finish behind us. The central division was the best last year and will likely be the best again

[numberthirtynine 0]

saying that 'there defense is the same as last year, but their goaltending is worse'

couldnt you say the same exact thing about us?

That being said, they have quenville at the bench who will definately screw things up, and i predict the hawks will have tons of winning/losing streaks throughout season and finish behind us. The central division was the best last year and will likely be the best again

We weren't forced to send our starter packing. We may be getting back Lilja too. There's also the thing about us that we're a hell of alot better than them too so if our circumstances were the same we'd handle it better anyway.

[Johnny Diamonds 25]

saying that 'there defense is the same as last year, but their goaltending is worse'

couldnt you say the same exact thing about us?

That being said, they have quenville at the bench who will definately screw things up, and i predict the hawks will have tons of winning/losing streaks throughout season and finish behind us. The central division was the best last year and will likely be the best again

Having Ericsson up for a full season is slightly different. As far as goaltending goes there is a bit of a drop off from Conklin to Howard but that is the backup. Our #1 is still our #1.

[BlackhawksFan 4]

You know what the biggest complaint posters around here seem to have about the Hawks' fanbase? The "Detroit sucks" thing. But it's a good kind of complaint, because it shows that the fans are thinking about the Wings instead of their own team, realizing that Detroit is still the paragon when it comes to NHL organizations.

There have been about 6, 7 threads here discussing the Blackhawks, some saying the Hawks have gotten better, some saying they've at best taken a step sideways, and some saying they're screwed the future. But, in any case, you are all thinking about the Blackhawks.

Whether or not the Hawks will win the division next year (and I'm pretty sure they won't), this will get interesting.

[gcom007 1,465]

Hossa may not be a big improvement in sheer points, but he's a better goal scorer than Havlat which will only serve to help a team that isn't as strong defensively and in goal.

But...

The big thing about signing Hossa over Havlat and adding John Madden is that those two guys will lead the way in getting the already potent forwards thinking 2-way hockey. Hossa's a bonafide superstar that's far superior to Havlat in the defensive zone and will be a great example for the young guys who already know how to score but aren't so strong on D. He'll get them hustling and thinking 2-way hockey. He's a more vocal guy than Havlat as well.

And Madden? He won a Selke in 2001 and has been runner-up in Selke voting 3 times since, including 2008 to Datsyuk. He's great on the PK as well. Signing Madden is a classic Scotty Bowman move in bringing in a veteran with a lot of Cup experience who can still add a lot to the team and lead the team in thinking 2-way hockey.

You can't think about the addition of Hossa and Madden just by the numbers. You miss the bigger picture. Adding these 2 guys signals that the Hawks want to get their forwards playing smarter, 2-way hockey. And that's no surprise considering they've got Bowman in the decision-making mix. As said, the Hawks forwards are plenty good at scoring but they've got to get back and play hard in their end too. You couldn't have signed two better guys to lead the charge than a superstar like Hossa who hustles his ass off every shift while still putting up 90-100 point seasons and Madden who is a Selke/Cup-winning veteran workhorse. There were great signings.

And Tallons said he's not done and is going to be strengthening the D over the next few days, throughout the summer through trades (they have plenty of young offensive depth that they can afford to trade to strengthen D) and look for them to make a Bowman/Holland-esque splash at the deadline by trading for a guy like Brad Stuart who's not a huge name but a solid guy who will help solidify the D.

And of course, Huet. He's certainly the biggest question mark. With the way this team will score, he doesn't have to be great, but it would sure help if he could be halfway-descent. If the defensive pairings improve and the team-D improves, that will help a lot. But time will tell. It's most certainly the biggest question mark, but again, I don't think it's going to be as bad as some think and if the overall defensive situation improves, it'll greatly minimize the issue.

And lastly, I'm not scared of Chicago. I think we'll be able to compete with them (and the other teams improving in the West) and it'll make for a far more exciting regular season and some great playoff match-ups. We're capable of coming out on top still, but don't for a second think Chicago isn't capable either. They're an average move or two away from being contenders next year if you ask me.

I'm really excited for next season to start. All the more so now. As much as I hate losing guys like Hossa, Conklin and Samuellson, I'm excited for the competition that's sure to come this season.

Don't forget how bored we all get when we win relatively easy games every night...

[Johnny Diamonds 25]

You know what the biggest complaint posters around here seem to have about the Hawks' fanbase? The "Detroit sucks" thing. But it's a good kind of complaint, because it shows that the fans are thinking about the Wings instead of their own team, realizing that Detroit is still the paragon when it comes to NHL organizations.

There have been about 6, 7 threads here discussing the Blackhawks, some saying the Hawks have gotten better, some saying they've at best taken a step sideways, and some saying they're screwed the future. But, in any case, you are all thinking about the Blackhawks.

Whether or not the Hawks will win the division next year (and I'm pretty sure they won't), this will get interesting.

If the Blackhawks had signed Daniel Sedin or Marian Gaborik instead of Marian Hossa you wouldn't see as many threads discussing the Blackhawks. But the fact is the Hawks signed a player a former player of ours many on here wanted to keep and many didn't. He's a former Wing that has been talked about quite a bit on this board. Not to mention our team is doing nothing and really can't do anything this offseason so there isn't much to talk about concerning the Wings right now. If you feel flattered by this then fine. But do take it for what it's worth.

[BlackhawksFan 4]

But do take it for what it's worth.

Deal.

I'm not quite sure what the panic is about...The Hawks' Offense maybe, just maybe, could be better than the Wings', but I don't think you could convince anyone that the Hawks have a better D corps or goaltending.

[Johnny Diamonds 25]

Deal.

I'm not quite sure what the panic is about...The Hawks' Offense maybe, just maybe, could be better than the Wings', but I don't think you could convince anyone that the Hawks have a better D corps or goaltending.

Hossa is an improvement over Havlat no doubt so that should make the Hawks slightly better offensively. But it seems there is a book written on how to stop the guy in the playoffs, force him wide keep him on the boards and he meltsdown. He really needs to play harder and be willing to take more punishment drving to the net to score goals where goals are scored in the playoffs. If he doesn't take it upon himself to do so then expect more of the same from him.

[Snazzy 0]

Chi still has a mediocre goalie who has never won anything and a mediocre D. Pens didn't do anything to help their D, in fact they lost Gill (no great loss) and Scuderi. IMO, Hawks dump in 2nd Round next year and Pens go out in ECF to Washington, who will be hungrier than Pens, suffering from a Cup hangover.

Wings in 5 over the Caps in the Finals.

Lidstrom hoists the Cup in June 2010 and calls it a career with 5 Cups.

Very plausible. Wings are still the team to beat since we have arguably the best trio in forwards in the game and possibly the best defense in the NHL, not to mention Osgood is an absolute playoff beast.