February 26, 2020
The stench from the garbage emanating from the United Center
is so bad you should be wearing a face mask. For the third consecutive year, neither
the Bulls nor the Blackhawks will make the playoffs. This is hard to accomplish
when half the teams in their respective conferences reach the post season.
What I can’t figure out is how good the Hawks were prior to the All-Star break. They had pulled to within three points of a playoff spot. They came out of the break and lost 4 out of 5 games to teams they were battling with for the final playoff spot. The next two games were home games and the thought was maybe they could get back on track. However, the problem is that they have a losing record at home. This should never happen. The first game was a 6-3 loss to the N.Y. Rangers where they didn’t register a pulse. The next game, the Hawks beat the Nashville Predators. Because it was an overtime win, they only gained 1 point. They reside in last place in their division.
The Hawks have goal scorers. Jonathan Toews is having a good
season and Patrick Kane remains one of the best players in the NHL. Brandon
Saad is having his best year since rejoining the Hawks. Alex DeBrincat is snake
bitten and his goal production is down, though he is creating multiple
chances. They are getting contributions
from Dominik Kubalik, who leads all rookies in goals, and fellow rookie Kirby
Dach keeps improving. So what’s the problem? It may be lack of speed, as they
continue to employ the dump and run offense, while opponents pass and skate the
puck into Hawks territory.
A bigger problem is the defense can’t get the puck out of
their own end. When they finally do clear the zone, the offense dumps it in to
change lines because they are exhausted. Therein lies the big problem: the only
reliable defensemen are Connor Murphy and rookie sensation Adam Bovqist. Duncan
Keith is still good. However, at this stage of his career he has too much ice
time which leads to mistakes, particularly takeaways. They also never come out
with a possession when fighting for the puck along the boards
.

Believe it or not, there are teams worse than the Bulls. As
of right now the Bulls have the eighth worst record in the league. The Bulls
would have to be extremely lucky to avoid another inconsequential pick in the
draft. The Bulls need an impact player and should put together a good offer to
a team with a top three pick. Maybe Zach LaVine and your first round pick?
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