Although he didn't score I saw some good things out of Saad in rd 1. I also thought at many points our third line (on which VS plays) was our best line. I was more disappointed in Toews play than Saad's. The guy who should be on the hot seat is Handzus. He was winning draws in the 30% range most of the series and wasn't exactly lighting up the stat sheet. Interesting to see who Q picks as his whipping boys.

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The motto of the B&B section:

I honestly don't listen much-Reared On The Score Thu Jan 28, 2016 9:38 am

He's pushing them. Stalberg has been bad for us in the playoffs since he's been here and Saad is a 20 year old rookie. You don't push Toews in the media, no point, he knows what he needs to do.

Yeah I agree about not throwing the captain under the bus to the media, just found it odd whom he chose to single out. Hopefully Q's having some conversations with some of the vets behind closed doors (Zeus, Seabrook).

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The motto of the B&B section:

I honestly don't listen much-Reared On The Score Thu Jan 28, 2016 9:38 am

It's not really too odd when you think about it. Saad had an average series, Stalberg had a bad one. We all know they can do so much better. Zeus is who he is, there's not much more he can do. He has to be better at faceoffs but you're not going to call a guy out for faceoffs. I don't know what Seabrook's issue is but he's been demoted to the 2nd d pairing and benched a couple of times this season so there's no use in calling him out at this point. I'm sure he's talked to certain players behind closed doors about what they need to do better.

Q is known to be a coach who has a great feel for his players and how to push their buttons. I trust his judgement on this.

Toews rarely had a shift where presumptive defenseman of the year Ryan Suter wasn't all over him. That's not an excuse, but it's an explanation. Stalberg is harder to explain. Shaw and Bickell played well this series, and he was on their line most of the time. I'm leaning toward keeping Bickell over Stalberg, I gotta say.

Handzus going 30% on the draw is frightening. His job on that line is to establish possession for Sharp and Kane and then mostly stay out of the way. If he can't do that, he's worthless. It'll be interesting to see what happens when Bolland comes back, if he does.

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Right now it's looking like Bolland to the 3rd line. Bickell might end up on the top line with Toews and Hossa.

Back to Zeus, if he is going to win draws at a 30% rate, put him down on the 4th line

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The motto of the B&B section:

I honestly don't listen much-Reared On The Score Thu Jan 28, 2016 9:38 am

Not quite there yet, can't teach speed etc., but well on my way. Need more from 25 though going forward.

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Team Cutler.

Stalberg is a classic project player. Kopecky was another. He'll always have the raw talent that gives teams reasons to think he can be fine-tuned into an elite player, but it'll never really happen. The trick with those guys is to sell high on them, but the contracts never lined up right for the Hawks to do that. I mean, yeah, technically you can trade his expiring negotiation rights for a 7th or some shit, but that's not worth it.

Mikkel Boedker is an intriguing project, but he's only an RFA.

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