No one can accuse the Hawks of ever being boring.
Not even a month into their off-season and the Hawks created quite a stir when they released assistant coach Mike Haviland. Much to the surprise of just about everyone who follows the Hawks closely, Haviland’s head found the sword before Mike Kitchen’s. Since he came here in 2010, Kitchen was the whipping boy to Haviland’s Teflon suit. Surely, a lot of that has to do with Haviland being here longer and plenty of fluff pieces written about him.
The truth is, I have no idea what the inner dynamics of the Hawks coaching staff is. Haviland was anointed as the Hawks head coach in waiting, yet if he was truly head coaching material, he probably would have been hired as a NHL head coach by now. Haviland is held in high regard by plenty of people in Chicago but yet he’s likely no closer to a NHL head coaching spot than when he arrived here.
The other thing that has probably gotten out of control lately is the amount of credit and blame people assign to the assistants. Joel Quenneville is the one calling the shots; he should receive the credit and the blame. His assistants are merely an extension of his voice. If there were mixed messages being sent or “dysfunction” as Quenneville said, then obviously he’s going to side with the guy who agrees with him more.
–I’m doing this with great trepidation but I just can’t take seeing certain things being written and said about this. Patrick Kane made his long awaited return to Deadspin this week. He apparently had a great time in Madison last weekend and allegedly did some pretty naughty things.
I’m not condoning any of his alleged illegal actions but where I get confused and subsequently annoyed is when people use this to springboard into wild opinions about how now, this time, it’s the right time to trade him. Maybe it’s just me, but somewhere along my journey from adolescence and adulthood, I stopped caring what athletes were like once they took off their uniform.
If history is any indicator, the Hawks really don’t care either. Patrick Kane’s intoxicated behavior hasn’t been a secret for some time now and yet, he has continued to be who he is. If the Hawks were really concerned, there would have been some kind of public statement to embarrass him or some kind of attempt to curb his behavior. It’s not like the warning signs weren’t there.
It shouldn’t be that surprising either. This is the same organization that employed a raging alcoholic, wife-beater, and more recently, an advocate of Adolf Hitler. Yet, one of the first things John McDonough did when he took over was name Bobby Hull an ambassador of the Chicago Blackhawks, which is to say they pay him to get drunk in a skybox and be the same lousy person he’s always been. Then they built a statue for him this year.
Patrick Kane is a lousy drunk. There is no debating it. How that negatively affects what kind of player and teammate he is (by all accounts, a very good one) is where I get lost.
Fifth Feather 
John,
Good to hear from you…and I must say I completely agree with your assessment. Way too much parsing of the Haviland dismissal…Q staying put, problems exist, Q makes choice. So be it.
As a fan I have no idea who to blame…just want the organization to sort it out.
Kane is a slightly different matter…just wish he would grow up a bit. Can you just imagine the crap those old timers pulled back in the day? I bet Hull and his contemporaries are thrilled they played in a time when the “media” consisted of the beat reporter, instead of every nosy asshat with a blackberry.
Remember when TV was gonna ruin the next generation? Wow…do times keep a changin’ or what?
im truly disappointed in kaner… college frat parties should be behind him… GROW UP. rather, simply kaner step it up. warm up with some call girls in vegas…then some hot yacht action with actresses off the west coast. jet to europe and check out the exotic czech scene… and please do not wear a t-shirt with your picture on it.
also, i would like to initiate the off season clamoring for bowman’s head… unless he reels in a sharp, young, new goalie who can play consistently for three consecutive periods.
Welcome back. And thank you for articulating exactly what I’ve been thinking on this Kane situation.
From outside the bubble (2000 miles away from ChiTown), it’s pretty irritating to see the hypocrisy of criticizing Kane as somehow undermining the organizing while the morale implications of firing Haviland is ignored. One of the lessons of the post-Cup Yard Sale of players was, when you mess with the off-ice chemistry of your team (read: Byfuglien and Ladd), you’re gonna hurt.
I’m not certain the club is generating much of the noise directed at Kane, but to the degree that they’re annoyed, management and coaching would be well-served to follow Kane’s lead, go on a bender, and get over themselves so the players don’t feel like they’re in the middle of an adolescent lover’s quarrel.
It January 2013 and the NHL drought is over. I miss reading new posts on this blog. Mind you, DGB’s Sean McIndoe is very funny and smart, but for chrissakes, he’s a Maple Leafs fan….