Today’s News Clips Dec. 21, 2019

Chicago Tribune

Blackhawks Q&A: How many chances will Alex Nylander get to stay in the lineup? Would Eddie Olczyk consider taking over as GM if Stan Bowman gets fired?

Jimmy Greenfield Dec. 20, 2019

No matter how mediocre the Blackhawks have been during much of 2019, they’ve almost always been interesting.

As have your questions. Thanks for taking the time to read and to write over the last 12 months. I’ll be back with another mailbag in 2020.

Now let’s get to the questions — but first, join our vocal and growing Blackhawks fans Facebook group.

Most Hawks fans on social media want and Stan Bowman fired yesterday. First, would that make sense, and if so, who would be prime candidates for those positions? Would Marc Crawford be considered with his reinstatement? — Kevin P.

I could see Crawford becoming an NHL again now that the Hawks let him return to his job instead of firing him for past transgressions. But not soon, and certainly not this season.

Colliton’s future is linked with that of Bowman, who is by far the more interesting story. Coaches get fired all the time. General managers do not.

Hawks President John McDonough preached accountability when was fired last season. If the Hawks don’t make the playoffs for a third straight season, it would seem somebody needs to be held accountable.

Who’s your favorite player to interview? Does that depend on the score or whether it’s a game day? — Margaret L.

Great question. On the current roster, I’ll go with Duncan Keith. The intensity he brings to the ice, he brings to interviews as well, so you have to be ready for him.

Last month I was interviewing Keith, and in the middle of the conversation, he brought up something I wrote about him earlier in the season about having lost a step. It was a reminder that these guys read what I write, and I loved that he mentioned it.

An honorable mention goes to Robin Lehner, who is a dream come true for a reporter. He’s nearly always available and he’s unfailingly honest. What more can you ask for?

You didn’t ask, but my least favorite players to interview are the ones who talk the fastest and make transcribing a pain in the butt.

How long will the staff and management put up with Alex Nylander’s constant mental mistakes? I know there is virtually no depth with Andrew Shaw and Drake Caggiula out. At least Dylan Sikura, Anton Wedin and Matthew Highmore seem to be engaged when they are in the lineup. Can’t say that about Nylander a good portion of the time. I’ll take hustle and work ethic over talent and lack of focus anytime. — Jonathan S.

For a long, long time.

It helps that Nylander scored his first since Nov. 16 against the Jets on Thursday, but even if he hadn’t, I don’t think he’s at risk of coming out of the lineup.

The embarrassment of Nylander either not playing or being sent down to Rockford would be enormous with defenseman Henri Jokiharju — whom the Hawks sent to the Sabres in July for Nylander — playing every game and having success. Jokiharju is far from a star, but he has become an established NHL player with a defined third-pairing role on a team in the playoff hunt.

Nylander has had multiple opportunities on the Hawks’ top two lines and hasn’t produced much. With three points in his last three games since his undeserved promotion to the top line, he’s now on pace for 32 points this season.

Nylander’s talent is evident. So are his inability to score consistently and his tendency to make rookie mistakes such as a recent turnover against the Blues that led to a goal.

But here’s one thing to keep in mind: Nylander is a rookie, and rookies make mistakes. Because he’s 21 and other top-10 picks from his class are already established stars, there’s an expectation he should be doing more.

The Hawks are in a rebuild, which is why they’re playing six rookies most nights and why they’ll continue to give Nylander every chance to succeed.

Any chance Ed Olczyk would consider becoming the Hawks general manager as soon as Stan Bowman gets the boot? How about (recently fired Sharks coach) Peter DeBoer’s taking over behind the bench if we continue to go south with Jeremy Colliton? — Bill Z.

Most people have asked if Olczyk would consider taking over as head coach, the chances of which I would put at zero. But would he be willing to become the GM if Bowman gets fired? That seems at least within the realm of possibility.

One thing to keep in mind is Olczyk has a fantastic life. He’s a beloved local TV analyst who is also very successful doing national broadcasts. He survived a scary bout with colon cancer and, at 53, isn’t a kid anymore.

But he’s also far from an age at which he wouldn’t have the energy or desire to take on a new challenge. I have no idea if he would consider taking over as GM, but if the Hawks decide to fire Bowman and ask Olczyk if he’s interested, I suspect he at least would think about it.

If Marc Crawford was cleared of wrongdoing by the organization, why will he not be reinstated until January? — Perry C.

To be clear, Crawford wasn’t cleared of wrongdoing. The Hawks just said he had done nothing wrong since joining the team over the summer.

Here’s what the Hawks wrote in their statement:

The , and independent legal counsel, conducted a thorough review of assistant coach Marc Crawford in response to allegations of misconduct in previous coaching positions. During this process, we engaged with many of Marc’s former players, colleagues and executive management.

We do not condone his previous behavior. Through our review, we confirmed that Marc proactively sought professional counseling to work to improve and become a better communicator, person and coach. We learned that Marc began counseling in 2010 and he has continued therapy on a regular basis since. We believe that Marc has learned from his past actions and has committed to striving to reform himself and evolve personally and professionally over the last decade. We have experienced no incidents during Marc’s coaching tenure with the Chicago Blackhawks.

We have determined that Marc will remain suspended from team activities until January 2, 2020, at which time he will resume his assistant coaching duties, subject to his continued compliance with his contractual obligations and team expectations. In addition, he will continue with his counseling moving forward. We will have no further comment.

The statement doesn’t explain why, if he is being reinstated, the suspension continued. The return date of Jan. 2 is exactly a month after Crawford was initially suspended, so my guess it’s just a tidy way of giving Crawford a one-month suspension based on his past behavior, which the organization and Crawford agree in the statement was unacceptable.

Which is a better predictor of NHL success for players: draft position or organizational development? Nature versus nurture. The Hawks seem to be able to find the occasional nugget in the lower rounds, yet many of their higher-round picks fail to pan out. — Michael J.

For me it’s nature, no question. The top of NHL drafts are still the greatest predictor of success. After that, it’s a crapshoot.

The Penguins are a good example. They had enormous, franchise-altering success with Evgeni Malkin (No. 2 pick), Sidney Crosby (No. 1) and Jordan Staal (No. 2) from the 2004-06 drafts. The next three times they had a first-round pick, they took Angelo Esposito, Simon Despres and Beau Bennett, none of whom panned out and none of whom was selected higher than No. 20.

There’s an old saying from the screenwriter William Goldman about the movie industry that I think loosely applies to predicting the success of young athletes: “Nobody knows anything.”

What Goldman — who grew up in my hometown, one reason I always remembered this quote — meant is you can do all the research you want, but ultimately so many things are unknown, it’s nearly impossible to predict how things will work out.

The Hawks have had some wild misses with their top picks over the last 15 years. The game-changing success of and with their top picks in 2006-07 was sandwiched between misses with first-round picks , , and .

An argument can be made that the Hawks failed to develop those players properly, but does that mean they properly developed Kane and Toews? More likely, the Hawks hit it big because they had the No. 3 pick to take Toews and the No. 1 pick to use on Kane.

The Hawks have done pretty well with their first-round picks in more recent years with (2010), Teuvo Teravainen (2012), Ryan Hartman (2013), (2014) and Henri Jokiharju (2017). Only Teravainen (No. 18) and Schmaltz (No. 20) were top-20 picks.

Yes, they’re all with different teams now, but each is having a decent amount of individual success. The Hawks have drafted well and turned many of their top picks into valuable assets. How they handle their assets once they acquire them is an entirely different story.

Any player taken after the first round is, to my mind, a bit of a crapshoot. When a player such as Brandon Saad falls to No. 43 or Alex DeBrincat to No. 39, it’s a reminder that, ultimately, nobody knows anything.

Saad and DeBrincat weren’t “developed” by the Hawks any more than Kane and Toews were. It’s impossible to predict how successful any of them would have been in other organizations, but my guess is it would have been very similar.

Blackhawks.com BLOG: Blackhawks Highlighted in Decade's Best

Monterey Pepper Dec. 20, 2019

As 2019 nears a close and with 2020 right around the corner, ESPN continued their decade countdown of the NHL's best. The 2009-10 Blackhawks were already dubbed the decade's best team, but who cracked the list of the top 100 players?

Turns out, there were quite a few current and former Blackhawks:

No. 80: Dustin Byfuglien

A member of the Blackhawks for just a few months of the decade, Byfuglien was a key piece of the 2010 run - playing a versatile role as a winger and defenseman.

Here's what ESPN had to say:

Big Buff began the decade as a hulking winger with the Blackhawks and ended it as a hulking defenseman with the . So he was technically third among defensemen at 139 goals for the decade.

No. 78: Corey Crawford

The Blackhawks leading man in net for much of the decade propelled the team to two Stanley Cups. The Quebec native currently boasts a .909 SV% with a 3.08 GAA in 19 games played.

Here's what ESPN had to say:

The Blackhawks netminder backstopped them to two Stanley Cups, including a .932 save percentage and a 1.84 goals- against average in 2013. He was also sixth in even-strength save percentage for the decade (.926).

No. 67: Marian Hossa

The Demi-God Marian Hossa secured his legacy within the Blackhawks franchise after being signed in the summer of 2009. The winger has three Stanley Cup wins under his belt, playing a pivotal role in each victory.

Here's what ESPN had to say:

Hossa scored 324 goals in the previous decade, but the 2010s might be the time when he earned newfound appreciation as a two-way player. He had 48 points combined in the Blackhawks' three Stanley Cup championship runs.

No. 64: Artemi Panarin

The undrafted burst onto the scene in his first two seasons in Chicago with 151 points in 162 games with the Blackhawks from 2015-2017.

Here's what ESPN had to say:

Since he burst onto the scene by winning the Calder Trophy with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015, and through his years in Columbus, Panarin has the 10th-best points-per-game average (1.02) among all players. A wizard with the puck, and a possession driver.

No. 15: Jonathan Toews

The captain is no surprise to see on this list. The third-overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft is in his 13th season with the Blackhawks and is sitting third in points (7G, 17A) on the team leaderboard playing in 35 games so far.

Here's what ESPN had to say:

His numbers were stellar: 656 points in 761 games, good for 14th among all players. His plus-167 was fifth highest among all players. His 140.3 goals above average was the sixth highest for the decade. His 57.3 faceoff winning percentage was second best, one of the reasons he won the Selke Trophy and was a finalist three other times. Oh, and then there was that Conn Smythe win in 2010. That too. His 0.87 points per game in the playoffs this decade ranked fifth.

No. 10: Duncan Keith

Keith holds the second most points (589 total, 99G, 490A) in franchise history for a defenseman, trailing only Doug Wilson's 779 points (225G, 554A).The native has tallied six points (1G, 5A) in 26 games so far this season.

Here's what ESPN had to say:

Keith was the backbone of the Blackhawks' success this decade. He averaged 25:16 of ice time per game, scoring 455 points in 755 games (fourth in the NHL). He won two Norris trophies and the 2015 Conn Smythe in what was one of the most dominant postseasons ever for a defenseman: 21 points in 23 games, a 64.29 goals-for percentage and 31:07 average ice time.

No. 9: Patrick Kane

Kane has been a consistent force for the Blackhawks throughout his first 12 seasons. Since being drafted first overall in the 2007 draft, Kane has secured himself a No. 4 spot on the franchise leaderboard in points at 978 (374G, 604A) behind Stan Mikita (1,467), Bobby Hull (1,153) and Denis Savard (1,096). The winger has tallied 40 points (18G, 22A) in 35 games so far this season.

Here's what ESPN had to say:

Kane will end the 2010s as the decade's leading scorer in total points, although his points-per-game average (1.08) ranks him fourth overall. He's the best right wing of the decade, scoring 20 or more goals every season. His run from 2015-16 to now is one of the best stretches for any scorer in the decade, with a 1.17 points per game average. Kane won the Hart in 2016 and the Conn Smythe in 2013, finishing second in the decade in points-per-game average in the postseason (0.98).

Denver Post Philipp Grubauer’s spectacular night unravels as Avalanche remains confident in goaltender split

Kyle Fredrickson Dec. 20, 2019

In 57 minutes of ice time before it all came crashing down Thursday inside the Pepsi Center — a stunning 3-1 Avalanche loss to the visiting Carolina Hurricanes — the night was defined by Philipp Grubauer’s excellence in Colorado’s net.

The Avs’ starting goaltender saved the first 37 shots he faced with instincts and quickness that surely began to quiet those who wondered: Should Pavel Francouz be Colorado’s go-to goalie?

Of course, a disastrous final 3 minutes with a pair of Grubauer-allowed goals and one open-netter cast a shadow over his otherwise impressive outing. Grubauer earned third-star honors in the loss, but a quick exit from the Avalanche locker room signaled a sour mood.

Teammates were quick to defend their guy.

“(Grubauer) is lights out,” forward Matt Nieto said Thursday night. “We’re getting really consistent play from him and (Francouz). They give us a chance to win every night. Those guys have been our backbone all year and they’re continuing to do that.”

Coach Jared Bednar’s explanation for the Avs’ meltdown was not an indictment of Grubauer, but rather a result of defensive breakdowns that allowed Carolina’s tying tap-in, and less than 2 minutes later, a winning slapper off an odd- man rush. Bednar shook his head in the postgame news conference: “Three different guys could have broken that up. Bad play.”

No need to panic. The Avalanche are still 9-2-1 in their last 12 games with goaltending a considerable strength. Francouz has been a brilliant backup — riding a streak of eight wins, zero regulation losses, and one defeat since early November. Bednar still affirmed confidence in Grubauer, the Avs’ goaltender in seven postseason victories a year ago, as his top choice moving forward.

“Based on what (Grubauer) did for us at the end of last year and through the playoffs, it’s clear that he’s our starter and Frankie is our backup,” Bednar said. “But we want to make sure that we’re not overplaying Gruby and we’re giving (Francouz) enough games to make an impact on our team as well. It sets us up better. You’ve seen more teams balance their goaltending … if they have that luxury.”

Grubauer is now 10-7-2 on the season with a .915 save percentage after missing seven games over the past two months with hamstring issues.

Hurricane homecoming. Carolina forward Jaccob Slavin, an Erie native, scored the game-winning goal Thursday night in Pepsi Center.

“Lots of family here,” Slavin said in the visiting locker room. “I remember playing here when I was a little mini-mite out on the ice during intermission. So to get out here during the real game, to contribute and obviously get the two points is huge for us.”

Next up. The Avalanche (22-10-3) hosts the Blackhawks (14-6-6) at 7 p.m. Saturday. Colorado has beaten Chicago in all three of their previous meetings this year.

Denver Post

Erik Johnson returns to Avalanche lineup from 11-game injury absence

Mike Chambers Dec. 19, 2019

Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson, originally listed as day to day, returned to the lineup Thursday night after missing the previous 11 games with an upper-body injury.

Johnson, who partnered with Anton Lindholm on the third pairing against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes, went down Nov. 23 against Toronto, when former teammate Alex Kerfoot checked him into the end boards. Kerfoot served a two- game suspension for boarding.

Johnson is the Avalanche’s longest-tenured player and an alternate captain. Avs coach Jared Bednar allowed him to return Thursday despite not going through a full team practice, which is usually mandatory with players coming off injured reserve.

With Johnson’s return, the Avs have just one major player still missing in action. Rookie defenseman Cale Makar missed his sixth game with an upper-body injury — believed to be to his left shoulder — Thursday. Makar entered the game still as Colorado’s second-leading scorer, with 28 points in 29 games.

Makar, 21, has been skating on his own and might be a candidate to play when Colorado hosts the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday to conclude an extremely busing week with four games in six nights.

The Avs have had 16 players miss games with injuries or illness, including 15 who have missed multiple games. Forward Colin Wilson is the only regular still unavailable, and he had surgery recently and is out long-term.