chicago_suntimes
RALEIGH, N.C. — The scrutiny on Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson intensified significantly on Saturday after the team suffered a humiliating 9-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. The defeat, the Blackhawks' most lopsided in nearly three years, made it clear that the current roster cannot continue as is, and the pressure on Davidson to make changes has reached a boiling point.
Entering the four-day break in the schedule, which now arrives after an 0-3 road trip, the Blackhawks are at a critical juncture. The only questions now are what Davidson will do and when he will do it. Saturday's performance certainly looked like the kind of game that could get a coach fired, though head coach Jeff Blashill stated afterward that he is not thinking about his job security. He expressed belief in the trust between him, the players, and management, but acknowledged that this break must be a turning point.
"We've got to make this a bottom point in the year, and we've got to find a way to claw our way out of this," Blashill said. "Is there any tweak to anything we do that can put our guys in a better position to win games? We'll look at that tonight. Not that we haven't, but we'll certainly do a deep dive tonight into tomorrow and see if there's any kind of solutions that we can give to these guys."
Trades involving the playing roster also appear necessary and likely. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday that the Blackhawks have become very active on the trade market, shopping the first-round picks they own from the Oilers and Panthers, as well as their surplus of second-round picks. Friedman also mentioned that pending free agents Teuvo Teravainen and Jordan Greenway are being shopped, presumably to clear space for incoming players.
With more than three-quarters of the season remaining, the Blackhawks could certainly use an infusion of talent to at least deliver a respectable product. However, at 4-13-1, they have already dug themselves into such a deep hole that it is fair to question whether investing more assets into this current season is wise.
Atrocious Effort
Blashill has defended the team's effort after most losses this season, but he did not on Saturday. Nor did Connor Bedard, who called the loss "embarrassing." The Blackhawks made virtually every mistake possible, and on several Hurricanes goals, they seemed to forget basic hockey fundamentals or even stop trying altogether.
The Hurricanes' third, fifth, and sixth goals were particularly egregious from the Blackhawks' perspective. On the third goal, the fourth line of Jordan Greenway, Dillon Boucher, and Cole Smith attempted an ineffective 2-1-2 forecheck that the Hurricanes quickly carved up, leading to a two-on-one rush finished by Jordan Martinook. On the fifth goal, Roman Kantserov committed an inexcusable defensive-zone turnover, Tyler Bertuzzi and Bedard were beaten on lazy stick-based defense, and Artyom Levshunov and Alex Vlasic made little effort to stop Andrei Svechnikov from burying his own rebound. On the sixth goal, Kaiser made a terrible decision to pass into the slot with three Hawks forwards deep and three Hurricanes in the way, creating an instant two-on-one rush that Sebastian Aho finished off. That made it 6-0 barely halfway through the game.
After the final horn, the Blackhawks held a players-only meeting in which they vented frustrations, floated ideas for changes, and tried to "get to the reality" of the situation, according to Kaiser. "There's frustration all the time when you're waking up, when you're going to bed, you're thinking about the record and the hole that we're in," said Bedard, who is facing his own mountain of adversity just two months into his captaincy. "What we've been able to do really well is every practice, every pregame skate, every lunch, [every] dinner, every time we hang out, we still have that camaraderie and have that joy to be at the rink. But at the end of the day, it's a results league, and we've got to be better. There's nothing else to do it."
For now, the Blackhawks are scheduled to have a day off on Sunday and practice on Monday before the annual season-ticket member party that night.
Originally reported by chicago_suntimes.