Here's What We're Not Going to Do

CHICAGO, IL -- Alright, twerps--we're not doing this.

We are not going to even think about talking about trading Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, or Duncan Keith.

(You'll notice I left two core guys out--we'll get there a couple paragraphs down.)

Instead of rehashing the nightmare the Hawks have become (2+ goal deficit by the end of the first period--sound familiar? Actually, they did do something good on Wednesday, but we'll get to that at the end), I'm going to talk about something a little different this week.

Because it has me absolutely fired up. Should it? Probably not, but I get pretty worked up fairly easily, so I'm riding this weird train for now.

If you follow any Blackhawks media, be it their own in-house Twitter/NHL site/Instagram the beat reporters for the Hawks, or even fan bloggers like myself, you'll know that no one has gone completely nuclear yet. For as bad as this season has become, no one's called for anyone's head, save for maybe Stan Bowman's. But, that's irrelevant.

The second you take a step outside of the Hawks bubble, though, there's chaos. I can't tell you how many articles, tweets, blogs, etc. that I've seen screaming that we trade Toews or Kane, or better yet, that we just dump everyone on the side of the road after 100km and keep going (thank you Blackhawks legend Teuvo Teravainen for that gem).

Let me tell you what we're not going to do--we are not going to listen anything those reporters or writers say. They're fine writers and have the freedom to write what they want--but that doesn't make them right all the time.

Look, if the Hawks want to rebuild, that's fine. At this point, it might need to happen. But, rebuilding doesn't always mean "clean house." More often than not, it does, but there are exceptions. I mean, look at the New York Rangers. Last season, they openly admitted to a rebuild. But, they still have their star goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, in net, and aside from a few pieces, they still mostly have their core, and those pieces (Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Mats Zuccarello, Marc Staal) likely won't be moved in the near future.

From the Hawks' perspective, they're in a retooling period right now. Retooling, you'll notice, is different than a rebuild in a lot of ways--and it's been argued that the word more closely aligns with what the Rangers are doing, but I disagree. Retooling is where you keep most of your pieces, and work with what you have, but build from that. A rebuild insinuates that you get rid of the big pieces (which the Rangers sort of did--they traded away Ryan McDonagh and JT Miller, and have since relied on younger guys to fill those roles) and start from scratch.

If the Hawks want to retool, which I think they can (and should), there's no reason to try and whisk Kane, Toews or Keith away.

If you're looking at the rest of the core that's still with this team, though, you might be cocking your head as to why I only listed those three guys. And that's fair.

I love Brent Seabrook, and I love Corey Crawford--this is not new news to anyone if you've followed me for more than a couple of days. At this point, though, those two are likely the most expendable or most likely to bring in something useful for a trade.

Let me preface by saying I don't think they should trade either of them--they both were instrumental in multiple Cup runs and have been stand-up guys on this team. But, I also think they have value if the Hawks want to make a big move.

Back to the main topic here.

I've seen countless articles floating around both the NHL site as well as The Athletic that insinuate that the Hawks have no other option but to trade Toews, Kane, Keith, or a combination of those three.

Excuse me, Mr. Not-Hawks-Reporter?

Look, I know it's best to read outside of your bubble, outside of your team's bubble--it helps you get a better grasp on what people outside the organization think. And I do read outside of the Hawks media. Of course I do. But, there's also value in pointing out when something is downright stupid.

All three of them (and Seabrook/Crawford) have no-movement clauses (NMCs). Those clauses in their contracts specify that they cannot be traded to another team without the player's approval first.

Do you really think any of those guys are going to waive those NMCs?

I just don't buy the 'no other option' argument. The Hawks have plenty of other options--whether Bowman and the rest of the front office will utilize those options is a totally different story.

But, moreover--what the hell do you think you're going to get for Toews/Kane/Keith that would be better than what you have? I'll let you in on something: there's a pretty good chance that three or four guys and some draft picks ain't it.

I don't think so.

This core group is the last (dying) hope the Hawks have for another shot at the Cup. You break that up, the magic is gone, and the Cup dreams go away.

If you retool a little and try to fix the problem areas (ahem, defense), Kane and Toews are still young enough to get that ball rolling again.

And, I know I'm not the only one who thinks that.




On  a totally different note, hey, the Hawks pulled out a win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday!

I'm just as surprised as you are.

It was a resounding 6-3 win, and it was actually... fun to watch. Ah, the magic of scoring first.

Anyways, let's do this again.

Are you in?