The futility in trying to forecast a sport as unpredictable as hockey can be summed up in the quote that was in the headline for last season’s version of this piece, in which we ask some of the most knowledgeable people in the NHL what they think of the Blackhawks roster.
“I don’t see a lot of issues.”
The Blackhawks, of course, went on to win just one of their first 12 games and got coach Jeremy Colliton fired. Turned out there were issues all over the place, so much so that new general manager Kyle Davidson burned it all down in a quest to replenish the pipeline and have a shot at drafting Connor Bedard next summer.
“I guess I was just being optimistic,” one of those scouts said this week. “But that team just wasn’t quite ready, that coaching staff wasn’t ready, and that team wasn’t built good enough to compete in a strong Western Conference and a ridiculously strong division. So here we are. Now they’re really going to see what losing is all about.”
Another scout said: “It’s funny, watch them surprise us all this year. I didn’t think last year’s lineup was as bad as it turned out.”
Hey, nobody’s right all the time. So we gave the scouts another chance to get it right. Let’s just say they’re a little less upbeat about this year’s group.
On the tank
• Not all the Blackhawks fans are probably on board with it, but I think it’s something that has to be done. It’s necessary in some cases, and this is one of those cases.
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