Skip to main content

TRADE: Scott Darling to Carolina Hurricanes


CHICAGO, IL -- Well, here it begins, my friends.

 I'm genuinely very, very upset about this. Scott Darling is one of my favorite players, and after seeing him play a great game in December (with some Save of the Year-type saves, no less), I'm really going to miss him.

 And, honestly, the Blackhawks got literally nothing for him--a third-round pick in this year's draft. I know Bowman is trying to get younger guys since the core is getting old, but... I don't know how much I trust this. And believe me, I hope I eat my words.

Darling's played a crazy good game this year, especially having to take over for a good chunk of the season after Corey Crawford had his appendix removed. He had a .924 SV% this season, which was amazing for the 32 games he played in. He won 18 of those starts, which is also a pretty good statistic for a back-up goalie.

Therein lies the problem, and the reason I knew he likely wouldn't stay.

Darling is too good to be a backup anymore. He's definitely made a name for himself in the NHL this season (his SV% this season was 6th in the league). I knew he would go to a team where he could be the starting goalie, but that doesn't make this sting any less.

Still,  I wish the absolute best for Darling. He's become one of my favorite goaltenders in the league, and certainly one of my favorite players.

 If anything else, I do love going to Hurricanes games, so at least I can still see him play.

So. Who's next?

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Out for the Count - Blackhawks Miss Playoffs for Second Straight Season

CHICAGO, IL -- Well, we've reached the end of the road, boys. If you haven't heard, the Blackhawks were eliminated from playoff contention with the Colorado Avalanche's win over the Oilers on Tuesday. I'm not going to lie, it's been a fun season. There have been definite highs and lows this season, and at the end of the day, the Hawks are ending on a higher note than they expected to. This season really has been a whirlwind for this team--there was a relatively big group of new guys at the start of the season (Brandon Manning, Chris Kunitz, Cam Ward, Henri Jokiharju, Andreas Martinsen, to name a few), and while some of them didn't stick around, they all left a mark on the team--good or bad, that's for you to decide. Coach Quenneville was fired fairly abruptly in the midst of what would be an eight-game losing streak in early November, and the Hawks brought in rookie coach Jeremy Colliton to replace him. Colliton really has grown on me this season...
Post a Comment
Read more

Off-Season Round-Up: Preseason Games, Injuries, Lines, Oh My!

CHICAGO, IL -- This off-season has been quite a busy one for the Hawks--though, unfortunately, not in the way they wanted it to be. Now that preseason is finally over for the Hawks, I think it's time to reflect on the off-season as a whole. There's a lot to unpack here, so bear with me here. Preseason/Training Camp I think this seems like the most logical place to start, no? Even though it ended in a disappointing record of 2-4, I don't think it was a total waste of time or a reflection of what's to come, necessarily. If nothing else, we got to see a bit of action from a few players that many fans were anxious to see--including Adam Boqvist (drafted this year and headed to the OHL), Dylan Sikura (fresh out of college and headed to Rockford), Henri Jokiharju (draftee from the 2016 draft who seems finally ready for the big leagues), Chris Kunitz (a veteran player with a nice pedigree), and Cam Ward (another vet with a little ground to make up). I do think that...
Post a Comment
Read more

Blackhawks Fire Assistant Coach Mike Kitchen

CHICAGO, IL -- GM Stan Bowman is keeping to his word about making changes, I guess. This may seem like a surprise to a lot of fans, but honestly, I can't say I'm overly surprised. Kitchen was mostly responsible for the power play and penalty-killing units. It's not an exaggeration to suggest that both units were more than disappointing this season--especially when it really mattered and they needed to be strong. But, Kitchen was a good assistant coach. He saw the last two Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks, starting after the 2009-2010 season with the Hawks. Up until this year, the penalty killing and power play has been stellar--but, obviously something changed. Still, I'm not sure anyone expected Bowman to make changes this quickly, or in this fashion. I think this likely sets the stage for what to expect this summer, which could be shocking to some fans this summer. I'm not even entirely sure who is safe on the roster or coaching staff (except Coach Q, w...
Post a Comment
Read more