With one quote this past Saturday, regarding his team’s aging, injured #1 goaltender, young Blackhawk head coach Jeremy Colliton may have summarized the entire state of the team.
Speaking to the media about Corey Crawford taking the ice again after his latest concussion, Colliton remarked: “positive he was out there, but I’m not sure if it means a ton. Hopefully, he continues to feel better.”
Even taken at straight face value, this statement (especially the “not sure if it means a ton” part) speaks volumes.
First, Colliton recognizes what all but the most silly Hawk fans do at this point—that this Hawks season is essentially lost.
Second, that even a “healthy” Crawford (relatively speaking) is not going to give you much more at this point than the tandem of Cam Ward and Collin Delia.
And make no mistake, Colliton is a Delia fan (“he gives us confidence”—say no more).
But taking that a bit further, what all this suggests is, even while the marketing department and team media may occasionally float the trial balloon of “the playoffs are still possible,” Colliton is not mired in the hopes and expectations of a gloried past or a depressingly bad present. Rather, he’s looking ahead—as Hawk fans should hope the entirety of the front office is as well.
To the kind of future that calls for pure, unvarnished player assessment and honesty—right now.
While some in the media, and the fans who follow them, have gotten way out over their skis about Erik Gustafsson’s ability and upside, Colliton clearly seems to see both the potential and the ongoing issues of the 26-year old Swedish defenseman. Colliton has said as much, and he’s followed up with action: a recent benching and a couple of healthy scratches.
Obviously, Colliton is trying to send a message to a player—and most likely also using the crucible of a lost season to decide whether Gustafsson (and others) can or should be part of a future resurgence of the Blackhawks. Because if Gustafsson doesn’t care about or respond to reduced TOI or being stapled to the pine at the end of a game now, he probably won’t when midseason games matter again in a couple of years.
Ditto Dylan Sikura, a recent college prospect, heavily hyped by GM Stan Bowman and the rest of the organization last year and this summer, who has struggled to establish a foothold in the NHL under both Colliton and his predecessor—likely hall of fame coach Joel Quenneville.
What makes Colliton’s forthrightness stand out now is that the rest of the organization seems to be trying to reformulate stale marketing spin (“Believe In One Goal”), with a roster that has more than one foot firmly entrenched in the past. Which brings us back to Colliton’s recent comment on Crawford’s return to the ice—something the media and some fans were quick to jump on as a flicker of “hope.”
But the truth is, while Crawford should be applauded and greatly respected for his battle to regain his health and keep his career going, the harsh reality is that he probably played his last truly meaningful game as a Blackhawk last season, or maybe even in Game 4 of the first round series loss to Nashville the year before.
Like it or not, the rebuild is here—with rebuild-level losing and turnaround timing in not just months, but likely years.
But there’s an earnestness and a seriousness about Colliton that is refreshing and encouraging right now—and reminiscent of Quenneville. So, while the organization and, again, some in the media, are now pushing the narrative of “The Four Horsemen of a Fully Repaired NHL Defense in 2019-20” (junior and NCAA prospects Adam Boqvist, Nicolas Beaudin, Ian Mitchell and Chad Krys), you can bet Colliton will only play those prospects who are fully ready—for their sake and the team’s.
Meanwhile, there’s a lot of hope of an “imminent turnaround” being peddled right now. And what I’m about to say may not go down well for some—it’s probably false. The Hawks, at this writing, are tied with Detroit for the next to worst point total in the league. And they are likely more than 1 or 2 players away from the upper echelons of the league.
It’s going to take time. The Hawks need to be better at every position. At certain ones, a lot better. And not every “hawwwwwt” prospect is going to pan out, maybe not even half of them.
Take heart, though. Jeremy Colliton (at least) has a hard, discriminating eye on what a better future will ultimately look like. And hopefully the rest of the organization, including his front office bosses, shares that vision.
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