Last night, and the majority of this preseason have been hard to watch.
Literally and figuratively since they aren’t on TV yet.
I haven’t tweeted much about them because I am trying to have a more positive tone this year.
I like to see that.
That is a fact.
Crosby and McDavid have it as star guys.
It was good to see last night.
I think everyone has accepted that this won’t be a good year.
A bad year is fine, another lost year isn’t.
What year is this?
They signed with RCN.
The CEO said that 650,000 homes have the over the air ability…bro, who cares?
Don’t EVER say that again as a positive.
It doesn’t matter how many homes have it.
It matters how your fans consume it.
The broadcast has been a complete mess for the current regime.
Forced out Edzo and Foley (don’t believe that those two wanted to leave.
So now Faulkner has her third broadcast crew since being named President in December 2020.
I said…that’s not great.
Hopefully it’s learning from mistakes and third time is the charm.
Only time will tell.
- Is Luke Richardson the right head coach?
It’s been impossible to judge Richardson so far.
He hasn’t had an NHL caliber roster to work with.
The team has to take strides.
Bedard put up absurd numbers last year offensively even though the Blackhawks powerplay was pathetic.
Richardson now has Bedard, Teravainen, Hall, Bertuzzi, and Kurashev.
The PP HAS to be better.
If it’s not then there’s no excuses.
The Blackhawks were terrible with the puck and without defensively.
Teravainen, Martinez, TJ Brodie, etc should help with that.
If they’re as undisciplined as last year that’s a big red flag.
Same goes for how they compete.
The vets they added should help with that too.
Richardson needs to be judged on schemes and competitiveness this year.
He hasn’t proven anything so far.
The Blackhawks need him to be.
He made the most of his opportunities with the puck last year.
That’s not all on Bedard, obviously, but he definitely contributed to that.
He was careless with the puck.
That has to be cleaned up.
I don’t hate the idea of Micheyev or AA on that left wing.
- What is Lukas Reichel?
I am just about ready to give up on Reichel.
He should be better.
He re-signed for two years at $1.2M AAV.
This is make or break time for him to carve out a role.
I don’t think he has the compete or the hockey sense.
It’s not going to be any easier going forward for him either.
Teravainen and Bertuzzi are in the top 6 for sure.
Nazar is knocking on the door.
Oliver Moore and others are coming right behind him.
It’s getting crowded for Reichel and he wasn’t drafted by Davidson.
I hope I am pleasantly surprised.
- What is Kevin Korchinski?
This is a MUCH more important question than Reichel.
This was Davidson’s first pick and he had to give up Alex Debrincat to get him.
That trade was the first real moment of the rebuild.
Another guy with a lot of obvious tools.
Last year doesn’t count.
The team was bad and he wasn’t ready.
Preseason has been VERY rough for him so far.
Korchinski belongs in Rockford.
I am very optimistic about Lev and Rinzel.
The Blackhawks also have Del Mastro, Allen, Phillips, and Crevier battling for spots.
Seth Jones is also signed through the end of time.
Let’s all hope that Korchinski comes good and becomes a fixture in the top 4.
Too early to judge him, but he isn’t close to being that bang out of guy.
you’re able to’t miss on top 10 picks though so he better come good.
BIG year for the organization.
I want to be optimistic.
The last year it was blind optimism.
The goal this year is to have that optimism rooted in reality.
