Comments on: Will Talent Win Out?

By: Al Cimaglia

Al Cimaglia — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:28:30 +0000

Yep…I thought the same and wrote so awhile ago.

The game is played with one puck and Kovy is use to plying 25 mins. a night….no Hawk forward plays that much.

By: Dave Morris

Dave Morris — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:42:14 +0000

@JT> if you remember, Bill Clement–who played for the Atlanta franchise when the Flames were there–also said during his interview on PowerPlay today, that if Kovalchuk leaves, that could be the end of the NHL in Atlanta.

By: jt19

jt19 — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:34:49 +0000

bill clement was on xm tonight (on the powerplay) and they were talking about homes for Kovy… he thought that the teams mentioned most (LA, Boston, Chi) have very structured systems and that Kovy’s been doing whatever he wants in ATL for the past few years… that just won’t fit with any of those teams… interesting viewpoint.

By: Al Cimaglia

Al Cimaglia — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:42:56 +0000

I will have more to say on this in coming weeks, but you touched on it…

With Coach Q. the Hawks will have to stay a “system” team and it will be more important next season when the talent level will be down to start.

Consisitency not complacency will be key for this year.

By: Dave Morris

Dave Morris — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:31:42 +0000

Al, all good points.

Right now there appears to be clear distinction between the ‘have’ teams (using your description) like Washington, San Jose, Chicago, and the rest.

However, the picture gets a little fuzzy after that, in my view.

New Jersey and Buffalo seem to get their results based on the application of strong coaching, a well defined system and an elite goaltender. While one can say both teams have a few stars besides Brodeur and Miller respectively (like Parise and Vanek), they are by no means ‘talent-laden’.

Pittsburgh, with essentially the same talent-laden roster as last year, have been inconsistent so far for a variety of reasons.

A look at the standings shows an extremely tight race in both conferences: in the East, ten points separate 5th from 13th places. A crowd of ‘bubble teams’ from 6 to 12 is separated by a single point.

A similar situation exists in the West, though less dramatic, with the gap between 4th and 9th being just seven points.

So a ‘bad week’ by a team (i.e. three consecutive losses) can mean a tumble in the standings.

While I agree deep talent is key, consistent execution appears to be more critical than ever.

With the battle heating up, we may see playoff intensity hockey across the board even before the Olympic break.

The Blackhawks have earned a premium spot so far. The question remains whether they can keep their focus and intensity level through the next few months, with so much hockey left to play…and playoff positions far from a given.

While the Hawks will probably remain in the top seeds, every opponent will be ready to jump on their miscues.

And with the balance so delicate, this makes the decisions by management on whether or not to make changes even tougher.